Wednesday 20 August 2014

Jobstreet, Masterskill, MH17, Madoff, Pension Funds

[1] Jobstreet announced that Seek has increased its offer from RM 1,730 million to RM 1,890 million, an increase of RM 160 million. Good news for the shareholders who held on to their shares. Probably good negotiations by Mark Chang.


[2] Masterskill announced that it sold its shares in Hong Kong listed company Gayety Holdings Ltd. for a total cash consideration of RM 33 million, netting Masterskill a profit of RM 12 million. I didn't believe much in this (in my opinion rather strange) acquisition, so this sale (and the profit) looks good for the company. Finally some good news for the minority shareholders.


[3] I never used to believe much in those typical US conspiracy theories, but these days, I am not so sure anymore. The following article looks interesting enough to share, although I can't guarantee the truthfulness of the contents (reader beware):

MH17 Verdict: Real Evidence Points to US-Kiev Cover-up of Failed False Flag


[4] Interesting article about the Madoff fraud case:

36,000 Madoff Victims Have Not Received a Dime in Restitution; 1,129 Fully Reimbursed

On May 5, 2014, Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee in charge of finding and distributing Madoff’s swindled funds to investors released this statement in a press release announcing the fourth interim distribution of funds to victims: “…1,129 accounts will be fully satisfied following the fourth interim distribution. All allowed claims totaling $925,000 or less will be fully satisfied after the distribution.”

Just eight days later, Richard Breeden, the Special Master that’s working on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice to distribute a separate pool of funds to Madoff’s victims reported that more than 36,000 claimants have filed documents with his office indicating that they haven’t yet received a dime of restitution. Yes, 36,000 people from all over the globe.

That’s bad enough but the story goes downhill from there. Almost six years from the date that Bernard Madoff turned himself in as the largest Ponzi fraudster in the history of finance, the U.S. Department of Justice is still scratching its head over just how much money Madoff actually ripped off from investors and puzzling over how to divvy up its inadequate pot of money

......
The only consistent message here is that the U.S. financial regulatory structure is just as bad at delivering fraud restitution as it is at detecting fraud.


[5] And lastly an article by Yves Smith: "How Your Pension Fund Became a Casino".

The original premise of the prudent-man rule was that pension-fund managers needed to operate as if their clients were widows and orphans. Sadly, experience has shown that the managers are often as vulnerable to exploitation as the people on whose behalf they are investing.


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