World Headlines: Shaw Capital Management

10April 2012 - Shaw Capital Management News: NASA Study Shows Health, Food Security Benefits From Climate Change Measures - A new study led by a NASA scientist features 14 key air pollution control measures that, if implemented, could sluggish the pace of global warming, improve health and increased agricultural production.

The research, led by Drew Shindell of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City, found out that focusing on these measures could slow mean global warming 0.9 ºF (0.5ºC) by 2050, boost global crop yields by up to 135 million metric tons per season and could stop hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each in every year. While all regions of the world would benefit, countries in Asia and the Middle East would see the biggest health and agricultural gains from emissions reductions.

“We’ve shown that implementing specific practical emissions reductions chosen to maximize climate benefits also would have important ‘win-win’ benefits for human health and agriculture,” said Shindell. Shindell together with the international team considered about 400 control measures based on technologies assessed by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria. According to Shaw Capital Management News, the new study centers on 14 measures with the utmost climate benefit. All 14 would restrain the release of either black carbon or methane, pollutants that exacerbate climate change and human or plant health, either directly or by leading to ozone structure.

Methane, a colorless and flammable substance that is a major constituent of natural gas, is both a potent greenhouse gas and an important precursor to ground-level ozone. Ozone, a key component of smog and also a greenhouse gas, damages crops and human health.

While carbon dioxide is the primary driver of global warming over the long term, limiting black carbon and methane are complementary actions that would have a more immediate impact because these two pollutants circulate out of the atmosphere more quickly.

Black carbon, a product of burning fossil fuels or biomass such as wood or dung, can deteriorate a large number of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The small particles also absorb radiation from the sun causing the atmosphere to warm and rainfall patterns to shift. In addition, they darken ice and snow, reducing their reflectivity and hastening global warming.

Shindell and his team concluded that these control measures would provide the greatest protection against global warming to Russia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, countries with large areas of snow or ice cover. Iran, Pakistan and Jordan would encounter the most improvement in agricultural production. Southern Asia and the Sahel region of Africa would see the most beneficial changes to precipitation patterns.

The south Asian countries of India, Bangladesh and Nepal would see the largest reductions in premature deaths. The study estimates that globally between 700,000 and 4.7 million premature deaths could be prevented each year.

Black carbon and methane have many sources. As being mentioned on Shaw Capital Management News, Plummeting emissions would have needed of that societies make multiple infrastructure upgrades. For methane, the key strategies the scientists considered were capturing gas escaping from coal mines and oil and natural gas facilities, as well as dipping leakage from long-distance pipelines, preventing emissions from city landfills, upgrading wastewater treatment plants, aerating rice paddies more, and controlling emissions from manure on farms.

For black carbon, the strategies analyzed include putting up filters in diesel vehicles, keeping high-emitting vehicles off the road, upgrading cooking stoves and boilers to cleaner burning types, installing more efficient kilns for brick production, upgrading coke ovens and banning agricultural burning.

The scientists used computer models developed at GISS and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany, to represent the impact of emissions reductions. The models showed extensive benefits from the methane reduction for the reason that it is evenly distributed throughout the atmosphere. Based from the Shaw Capital Management News, Black carbon falls out of the atmosphere after a few days so the benefits are stronger in certain regions, especially ones with large amounts of snow and ice.

“Protecting public health and food supplies may take precedence over avoiding climate change in most countries, but knowing that these measures also mitigate climate change may help motivate policies to put them into practice,” Shindell said. The new study builds on a United Nations Environment Program/World Meteorological Organization report, also led by Shindell, published last year.

“The scientific case for fast action on these so-called ‘short-lived climate forcers’ has been steadily built over more than a decade, and this study provides further focused and compelling analysis of the likely benefits at the national and regional level,” said United Nations Environment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner.

Shaw Capital Management Financial News

10April  2012 - Shaw Capital Management Financial News: Stocks: Market Edges Lower on Worries about China, Greece – NEW YORK — Two signs of trouble elsewhere in the world pushed U.S. stocks lower: slowing economic growth in China and a possible hitch in a deal to get Greece its bailout money.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed the day down 14.76 points to 12,962.81, or down 0.1 percent. The Dow closed above 13,000 last week for the first time since May 2008.

Monday was the 45th consecutive trading day without a loss of 100 points or more for the Dow. The last streak longer than that was 93 trading days from July 17 to Nov. 24, 2006.

Much of the pessimism in the market stemmed from China’s premier, Wen Jiabao, lowering China’s target rate for economic growth to 7.5 percent from 8 percent, where it has stood for years. That’s a negative sign because growth in China has been a key factor shoring up the global economy since the financial crisis of 2008.

The news sent steel company stocks sharply lower. Half of the world’s steel is consumed in China. AK Steel Holding Corp. lost 6 percent, while US Steel fell 4.7 percent.

The lower projection for Chinese growth also hurt stocks of U.S. materials companies that depend on China for profits. Caterpillar, which makes heavy equipment, fell 2.1 percent. Alcoa, the aluminum maker, fell 3.6 percent.

The Dow fell as much as 93 points in the morning before recouping some of that loss in the afternoon. Some market strategists said it was an overreaction to read too much into China’s projection.

“China is still a driver of global growth, even at its slightly reduced pace,” said Richard Cripps, chief market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus. “The growth rate is still far better than the U.S. and Europe.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 5.30 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,364.33.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 25.71 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,950.48. The technology-heavy Nasdaq index fell slightly more than the other indexes as its star stocks Apple fell 2.2 percent and Google fell close to 1.1 percent.

Also weighing on the market were worries that not enough private investors will participate in a bond swap in Greece and accept bonds of lower face value and lower returns.

Trying to reassure world markets, a group representing a dozen banks, insurers and investment funds that hold Greek government bonds said they will participate in the swap by the Thursday night deadline.

Greece needs private investors to sign on before it gets a second international bailout worth $172 billion. Without the bailout, it could default on its debt later this month, an event many fear could shock the world financial system.

The stock market’s losses were limited by some positive news from the U.S. economy. Service companies expanded in February at the fastest pace in a year, helped by a rise in orders and job growth.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its index of non-manufacturing activity rose to 57.3, up from 56.8 in January and the third straight increase. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.

In recent months, markets have been lifted by signs of improvement in the U.S. economy. U.S. stock indexes have been trading at their highest levels since before the collapse of the Lehman Brothers investment bank in 2008.

Among other stocks making big moves:

— Alpha Natural Resources, a coal producer, fell 6 percent after the price of natural gas fell close to 5 percent due to weak demand for gas in a mild winter.

— Archipelago Learning stock soared 22.7 percent after the online education company agreed to be bought by Plato Learning for $291 million in cash, helping boost the number of customers.

— US Airways Group fell 8.4 percent after the airline said passenger revenue growth slowed in February, indicating it is having a tough time raising fares and fees to offset climbing oil prices.

— American International Group rose close to 2 percent. AIG will raise $6 billion by selling part of its stake in an Asian insurance company and pay down some of its debt to the U.S. government from a bailout during the financial crisis. AIG owed $50 billion at the end of 2011.

Company Overview of Cochrane Shaw Capital Management Pty Ltd.

Company Overview

Cochrane Shaw Capital Management Pty Ltd. provides investment and securities advisory services to individuals, corporations, accounting firms, and legal practices in Australia. The company offers advice on shares, debentures, superannuation, life insurance, unit trusts, and master fund products, as well as ongoing review on their investment portfolio. Its services include financial planning and investment strategies, superannuation planning, retirement and pension planning, risk insurance management, estate planning, and taxation planning. Cochrane Shaw Capital Management Pty Ltd. was incorporated in 1969 and is based in Melbourne, Australia. As of December 24, 2010,

Detailed Description

Suite 2

41 Railway Rd, Blackburn

Mebourne, VIC 3130

Australia

Founded in 1969

Phone 61 3 9894

                3788

Fax 61 3 9898 1015

http://www.cochraneshaw.com.au/

Shaw Capital Management and Financing - About Us

About Us

Shaw Capital Management and Financing provides export trade financing to clients in every major world market and can convert accounts receivable finance transactions in 17 currencies.

We have no minimum or maximum monthly volume requirements. Other factoring companies require a financial commitment for the amount of freight bills you factor each month.

Our highly skilled team provides full administrative support - including credit management, invoicing, collections, account reporting, expense reporting, fuel card management and much more!

With Shaw Capital Management and Financing, you get paid in full minus our fee the day we receive your freight bills. Other factoring companies holdback 10 to 15 percent of your money or more for each invoice in a reserve account. That reserve amount is not immediately provided to your company. In the end, you receive part of that percentage back, depending on how long it takes the factoring company to receive payment on the invoice.

At Shaw Capital Management - flexible funding requirements ...

Shaw Capital Management Investment Deadlock for Japan

The Democratic Party of Japan’s (DPJ) landslide victory

in the Lower House election a year ago ushered in

euphoric predictions of bold new policies, and even a

transformation of the Japanese political system.

There were widespread hopes that the DPJ would end

the run of short-lived leaders. Instead, Prime Minister

Yukio Hatoyama’s tenure proved to be a slow-motion

train wreck. Indeed, the DPJ quickly showed itself to

be no more competent in governing Japan than its

much-derided opponent, the Liberal Democratic Party

(LDP).

After shedding its two albatrosses of Hatoyama and

general secretary Ichiro Ozawa, and many of its earlier

campaign pledges, the DPJ hoped for a respectable

showing in the last Upper House election. Instead, the

ruling DPJ suffered a stunning defeat, when voters had

the opportunity to show whether they were confident

in Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s just over 1-month-old

administration.

The party ended with only 106 seats, far short of the

122 needed for an outright majority. The gap is too

large to be filled by creating a coalition, because the

most likely potential partners also lost seats.

As a result, the DPJ coalition can no longer ensure

approval of its legislative initiatives.

A twisted parliament portends even greater legislative

stalemate and political gridlock. Gerald Curtis, a

professor at Columbia University in New York and a

long-time expert on Japanese politics, said the election

had returned Japan to the paralysis and gridlock of the

past few years. “You cannot pass a budget now in this

political environment. You’ll have weak and unstable

government. While the world changes fast, the Japanese

government will change very slowly”.

Trying to put a good face on the results, Kan said he

viewed the election as a “starting point” for his push

for a more responsible government ...

The policy implications of the election outcome do not

suggest an aggressive approach to monetary, fiscal or

structural policy over the next few months.

Indeed, the attention of the large parties will most

likely be focused on internal matters, leaving less time

for focus on the economy.

Gridlock is bad for the economy and for investor

sentiment if policy drift continues for a prolonged

period.

According to Alan Feldman, managing director at

Morgan Stanley in Tokyo, there are so many pressing

problems in the Japanese economy that the costs of

gridlock could be very high.

In particular, pressure on the Bank of Japan for more

aggressive monetary policy will likely be minimal, at

least until political disarray ends.

Without strong political leadership little progress is

likely on budget priorities.

The same goes for tax decisions.

At Shaw Capital Management we give you the information and insight you need to make the right investment choices.

Shaw Capital Management Investment Equity Markets 2010 Part 2

For the moment attention is focused on the strength

of the German economy, and the beneficial effects that

will be felt elsewhere in the zone; and there has also

been a relaxation of tension about debt defaults, after

the rescue package agreed by the member countries,

and the intervention by the ECB to support the weaker

bond markets.

The German export performance depends of the

maintenance of strong growth in the global economy

that may not be sustained; and the odds still suggest

that one or more of the weaker countries will at least

be forced to defer interest payments on its sovereign

debt, and may even default. The latest improvement

in the markets therefore seems likely to need further

support from Wall Street if it is to be sustained.

The best performance amongst the major markets over

the past month had occurred in the UK market. The

measures announced by the new Coalition government

to reduce the size of the fiscal deficit have been well

received by the market, despite the fact that they will

slow down the pace of the economic recovery over the

coming months; and the latest estimate of a 1.1% growth

rate in the second quarter of the year suggests that the

effects of the fiscal retrenchment might even be less

than had been expected, and has removed most of the

fears about the possibility of a move into a “double-

dip” recession.

The improvement in sentiment amongst investors is

therefore easy to understand.

Even before the announcement of the estimate of

growth in the second quarter of the year, there had

been further evidence of an improving economic

situation.

The unemployment rate fell; retail sales volumes rose

by 1%, the strongest monthly increase in almost a year;

and the latest quarterly survey from the CBI reported

that manufacturing output increased at its strongest

rate since 1995.

The 1.1% estimated rate was well above most forecasts.

It was the result of expansion in both the manufacturing

and services sectors of the economy.

But the most surprising figure was the estimated 6.6%

rate of growth in the construction sector that accounted

for around one third of the overall growth in the period.

It has also produced considerable interest regarding

the reaction of the Bank of England to these figures.

The bank has previously been mainly concerned about

the risk of slower growth, and had even considered at

the last meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee

“arguments in favour of a modest easing in monetary

policy” because “prospects for gross domestic product

growth had probably deteriorated a little over the

month”.

The mood will have changed now; but the governor,

Mervyn King, has recently indicated that there will be

no early changes in policy as a result of one set of

figures.

The background factors affecting the market therefore

remain. Short-term interest rates will remain low, and

the economy is performing better than expected; but

the austerity measures that are to be introduced, and

especially the increase in VAT in January, will depress

demand over the coming months.

It therefore seems likely that the UK market, like the

markets in mainland Europe, will need further support

from Wall Street if the recent strength is to be sustained.

The Japanese market is lower over the past month.

There has been further evidence that the pace of the

recovery in the Japanese economy is weakening; and

the poor performance by the ruling Democratic Party

in the recent election seems likely to lead to a period

of political uncertainty that will make it difficult for

action to be taken to reverse the trend.

The earlier decision to introduce measures to reduce

the massive fiscal deficit was a major reason for the

government’s poor election performance in the

election, and may well be reversed; and the Bank of

Japan’s action to try to increase the rate of bank lending,

especially to smaller companies, also seems unlikely

to have much of an effect on the economic situation.

The background situation in Japan is therefore very

disappointing, and this is reflected in the performance

of the equity market. It seems unlikely that there will

be any early improvement in the situation, and so the

Japanese market weakness looks set to continue.

At Shaw Capital Management we give you the information and insight you need to make the right investment choices.

Shaw Capital Management Investment Deadlock for Japan

The Democratic Party of Japan’s (DPJ) landslide victory

in the Lower House election a year ago ushered in

euphoric predictions of bold new policies, and even a

transformation of the Japanese political system.

There were widespread hopes that the DPJ would end

the run of short-lived leaders. Instead, Prime Minister

Yukio Hatoyama’s tenure proved to be a slow-motion

train wreck. Indeed, the DPJ quickly showed itself to

be no more competent in governing Japan than its

much-derided opponent, the Liberal Democratic Party

(LDP).

After shedding its two albatrosses of Hatoyama and

general secretary Ichiro Ozawa, and many of its earlier

campaign pledges, the DPJ hoped for a respectable

showing in the last Upper House election. Instead, the

ruling DPJ suffered a stunning defeat, when voters had

the opportunity to show whether they were confident

in Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s just over 1-month-old

administration.

The party ended with only 106 seats, far short of the

122 needed for an outright majority. The gap is too

large to be filled by creating a coalition, because the

most likely potential partners also lost seats.

As a result, the DPJ coalition can no longer ensure

approval of its legislative initiatives.

A twisted parliament portends even greater legislative

stalemate and political gridlock. Gerald Curtis, a

professor at Columbia University in New York and a

long-time expert on Japanese politics, said the election

had returned Japan to the paralysis and gridlock of the

past few years. “You cannot pass a budget now in this

political environment. You’ll have weak and unstable

government. While the world changes fast, the Japanese

government will change very slowly”.

Trying to put a good face on the results, Kan said he

viewed the election as a “starting point” for his push

for a more responsible government ...

The policy implications of the election outcome do not

suggest an aggressive approach to monetary, fiscal or

structural policy over the next few months.

Indeed, the attention of the large parties will most

likely be focused on internal matters, leaving less time

for focus on the economy.

Gridlock is bad for the economy and for investor

sentiment if policy drift continues for a prolonged

period.

According to Alan Feldman, managing director at

Morgan Stanley in Tokyo, there are so many pressing

problems in the Japanese economy that the costs of

gridlock could be very high.

In particular, pressure on the Bank of Japan for more

aggressive monetary policy will likely be minimal, at

least until political disarray ends.

Without strong political leadership little progress is

likely on budget priorities.

The same goes for tax decisions.

At Shaw Capital Management we give you the information and insight you need to make the right investment choices.