Another week another European summit to, allegedly, save the Eurozone etc.
This summit (scheduled for Thursday and Friday), as with all the others, has no chance of success. Indeed even Angela Merkel realises it is a waste of time, as she has warned members of her Christian Democrat party that the' summit is unlikely to result in an agreement on deepening economic and monetary union in the Eurozone.
The only purpose, and tangible outcome, of these summits is to provide a recurring source of revenue for the catering companies.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Christmas Bokeh
Thank you for linking up your gorgeous Christmas trees yesterday! There is still time to link up yours, just go here. I'll be featuring some of them soon.
I've always wondered how to create that cool bokeh effect in photographs (you know, those glowy white circles in the background on a Christmas tree). I googled around the other night and found Kevin & Amanda's blog post, which really helped. The "trick" is to place something in front of your tree (about 8 feet from the tree) and focus on that image with your camera in manual focus. With your lens open as far as it will go (1.4 to 1.8 for my 50 mm camera) bump your ISO way up (I used around 1250 for daytime and 2000 to 2500 at night). Finally, my shutter speed was around 1/40.
Using my Nikon D90, I took a few photos and show you below what settings I had the camera on for each picture. I hope this helps if you are aiming for some bokeh shots of your own.
With a Pointsettia . . .
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 2000
Aperture: f/1.4
Shutter Speed: 1/40
Manual Focus
Three miniature Nutcrackers . . .
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 2500
Aperture: f/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/40
Manual Focus
And my Old Navy slippers:)
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 2000
Aperture: f/1.4
Shutter Speed: 1/40
Manual Focus
The above photos were taken at night, but these stocking photos below were taken in the afternoon when our house had some natural sunlight shining in. I like how bright they came out without any editing.
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 1250
Aperture: f/1.4
Shutter Speed: 1/60
Manual Focus
* * * * *
Tomorrow, Natasha at Schue Love is hosting our Christmas Cheer holiday party featuring tasty recipes of all kinds. I made some dark chocolate and natural peanut butter cups and they were divine! So easy to make, I can't wait to share. See you there!
And, I'll be announcing the winner of the $100 Nordstrom gift card on Friday at Honey We're Healthy. If you'd like to enter, go HERE.
* * * * *
I've always wondered how to create that cool bokeh effect in photographs (you know, those glowy white circles in the background on a Christmas tree). I googled around the other night and found Kevin & Amanda's blog post, which really helped. The "trick" is to place something in front of your tree (about 8 feet from the tree) and focus on that image with your camera in manual focus. With your lens open as far as it will go (1.4 to 1.8 for my 50 mm camera) bump your ISO way up (I used around 1250 for daytime and 2000 to 2500 at night). Finally, my shutter speed was around 1/40.
Using my Nikon D90, I took a few photos and show you below what settings I had the camera on for each picture. I hope this helps if you are aiming for some bokeh shots of your own.
With a Pointsettia . . .
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 2000
Aperture: f/1.4
Shutter Speed: 1/40
Manual Focus
Three miniature Nutcrackers . . .
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 2500
Aperture: f/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/40
Manual Focus
And my Old Navy slippers:)
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 2000
Aperture: f/1.4
Shutter Speed: 1/40
Manual Focus
The above photos were taken at night, but these stocking photos below were taken in the afternoon when our house had some natural sunlight shining in. I like how bright they came out without any editing.
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 1250
Aperture: f/1.4
Shutter Speed: 1/60
Manual Focus
* * * * *
Tomorrow, Natasha at Schue Love is hosting our Christmas Cheer holiday party featuring tasty recipes of all kinds. I made some dark chocolate and natural peanut butter cups and they were divine! So easy to make, I can't wait to share. See you there!
And, I'll be announcing the winner of the $100 Nordstrom gift card on Friday at Honey We're Healthy. If you'd like to enter, go HERE.
* * * * *
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Northern Rock Customers To Receive Windfall
In the spirit of a game of Monopoly, where a "bank error in your favour" has occurred, some of Northern Rock's customers are to receive an unexpected windfall.
Reuters reports that Northern Rock Asset Management, the state-owned remnant of defunct lender Northern Rock plc, is refunding £270M of interest payments to approximately 152,000 customers.
For why?
Northern Rock failed for some reason to make mandatory disclosures in loan documentation and customer letters in 2008. The mistakes pre-date the separation of Northern Rock plc and Northern Rock Asset Management.
There is of course a downside, the refund according to Treasury Economic Secretary Sajid Javid is "likely to increase public sector net borrowing for 2012/2013".
Reuters reports that Northern Rock Asset Management, the state-owned remnant of defunct lender Northern Rock plc, is refunding £270M of interest payments to approximately 152,000 customers.
For why?
Northern Rock failed for some reason to make mandatory disclosures in loan documentation and customer letters in 2008. The mistakes pre-date the separation of Northern Rock plc and Northern Rock Asset Management.
There is of course a downside, the refund according to Treasury Economic Secretary Sajid Javid is "likely to increase public sector net borrowing for 2012/2013".
HSBC On Probation
Congratulations to HSBC for entering the record books, wrt the size of settlement that it has agreed to for money laundering.
A US Senate investigation said the UK-based bank had been a conduit for "drug kingpins and rogue nations".
HSBC has announced it has appointed a former US official to work as its head of financial crime compliance, which is a new position.
Bob Werner was previously the head of the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) - the agency responsible for enforcing the US sanctions on countries including Iran.
He will be responsible for beefing up HSBC's anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance systems.
As per HSBC's statement on the matter, it is now effectively on probation for the next five years:
The BBC reports that HSBC has confirmed it is to pay US authorities $1.9BN in a settlement over money laundering, the largest paid in such a case.
HSBC has announced it has appointed a former US official to work as its head of financial crime compliance, which is a new position.
Bob Werner was previously the head of the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) - the agency responsible for enforcing the US sanctions on countries including Iran.
He will be responsible for beefing up HSBC's anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance systems.
As per HSBC's statement on the matter, it is now effectively on probation for the next five years:
"Over the five-year term of the agreement with the Department of Justice, an independent monitor will evaluate HSBC's progress in fully implementing these and other measures it recommends, and will produce regular assessments of the effectiveness of HSBC's compliance function."The full text of the statement is reproduced below:
"HSBC has reached agreement with United States authorities in relation to investigations regarding inadequate compliance with anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. This includes a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the US Department of Justice. HSBC has also reached agreement to achieve a global resolution with all other US government agencies that have investigated HSBC's past conduct related to these issues1 and anticipates finalising an undertaking with the United Kingdom Financial Services Authority shortly.
Under these agreements, HSBC will make payments totaling US$1.921bn, continue to cooperate fully with regulatory and law enforcement authorities, and take further action to strengthen its compliance policies and procedures.
Stuart Gulliver, Group Chief Executive, said: "We accept responsibility for our past mistakes. We have said we are profoundly sorry for them, and we do so again. The HSBC of today is a fundamentally different organisation from the one that made those mistakes. Over the last two years, under new senior leadership, we have been taking concrete steps to put right what went wrong and to participate actively with government authorities in bringing to light and addressing these matters.
"While we welcome the clarity that these agreements bring, ensuring the highest standards wherever we do business is an ongoing process. We are committed to protecting the integrity of the global financial system. To this end we will continue to work closely with governments and regulators around the world."
In the past several years, the Board of HSBC Holdings plc has taken decisive action to direct management to fix past shortcomings as they have come to light. Since 2011, with new senior leadership teams in place at both HSBC Group and HSBC North America, HSBC has taken extensive and concerted steps to put in place the highest standards for the future.
The Department of Justice has recognised these efforts in the DPA: "Management has made significant strides in improving 'tone from the top' and ensuring that a culture of compliance permeates the institution. The efforts of management have dramatically improved HSBC Bank USA's and HSBC Group's Bank Secrecy Act / Anti-Money Laundering and Office of Foreign Assets Control compliance programs."
As noted in the DPA, HSBC Bank USA already has, over the past several years, undertaken the following voluntary remedial measures:
HSBC Group has also undertaken a comprehensive overhaul of its structure, controls, and procedures. A number of these improvements is included in the DPA. Among other measures, HSBC Group has:
- increased its spending on anti-money laundering (AML) approximately nine-fold between 2009 and 2011;
- increased its AML staffing nearly ten-fold between 2010 and 2012;
- revamped its Know Your Customer programme, including treating non-US HSBC Group Affiliates as third parties subject to the same due diligence as all other customers;
- exited 109 correspondent relationships for risk reasons;
- clawed back bonuses for a number of senior officers, and
- spent over US$290m on remedial measures.
Over the five-year term of the agreement with the Department of Justice, an independent monitor will evaluate HSBC's progress in fully implementing these and other measures it recommends, and will produce regular assessments of the effectiveness of HSBC's compliance function.
- simplified its control structure, allowing the Group to manage risks worldwide more effectively;
- elevated the role of Group Compliance and given it direct oversight over every compliance officer globally, so that both accountability and escalation now flow directly to and from HSBC Group Compliance;
- created the new role of Head of Group Financial Crime Compliance and Group Money Laundering Reporting Officer, who will help to establish a Global Financial Intelligence Unit;
- made other new senior hires with extensive experience handling relevant international legal and regulatory issues, including a new Chief Legal Officer and a new Global General Counsel for Litigation and Regulatory Affairs;
- adopted a set of guidelines limiting business in those countries that pose a high financial crime risk;
- issued a new global sanctions policy using a more extensive and consistent set of lists to screen all cross-border payments;
- commenced a review of all Know Your Customer files across the entire Group - the first phase of this remediation will cost an estimated US$700m over five years, and
- undertaken to implement single global standards shaped by the highest or most effective anti-money laundering standards available in any location where the HSBC Group operates.
The agreement notes that HSBC Bank USA and HSBC Group have "provided valuable assistance to law enforcement." HSBC conducted multiple extensive internal investigations, voluntarily made employees available for interviews, and collected, analysed and organised voluminous evidence and information.
HSBC is firmly committed to putting in place robust standards that will help promote the integrity of the global financial system.
Media enquiries to:
London
Patrick Humphris
+44 (0)20 7992 1631
patrick.humphris@hsbc.com
New York
Robert A Sherman
+1 212 525 6901
robert.a.sherman@us.hsbc.com
Hong Kong
Gareth Hewett
+ 852 2822 4929
garethhewett@hsbc.com.hk
Investor Relations enquiries to:
London
Guy Lewis
+44 (0)20 7992 1938
guylewis@hsbc.com
Robert Quinlan
+44 (0)20 7991 3643
robert.quinlan@hsbc.com
Hong Kong
Hugh Pye
+852 2822 4908
hugh.pye@hsbc.com
Footnote:
1 These include: (i) a deferred prosecution agreement with the New York County District Attorney's Office; (ii) consent orders with the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System; (iii) an agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control; (iv) agreements and consent orders with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the "OCC"); and (v) a consent order with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") of the Treasury Department.
Notes to editors:
The websites of the agencies involved in these agreements are as follows:
US Department of Justice: www.justice.gov/UK Financial Services Authority: www.fsa.gov.uk/
The New York County District Attorney's Office: www.manhattanda.org/The Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System: www.federalreserve.gov/US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control: www.treasury.gov/ofac
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency: www.occ.gov/
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Treasury Department: www.fincen.gov/
The HSBC Group
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 6,900 offices in over 80 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, North and Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,721bn at 30 September 2012, the HSBC Group is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations."
Christmas Tree Link Party
Hi all! Welcome to our Holiday Cheer link party- Christmas Tree edition! Our tree is strung with red wooden garland, white lights, and an array of red, pink, aqua, and green ornaments. This is a bit of a departure for me, but I like how it turned out.
My favorite ornament this year is from Crate & Barrel- the colors and shape are so pretty!
Having no proper mantle, I hung our stockings on the iron scroll on our stairs and you can see our tree in the background. Of course, the "love" one is mine, and "joy" belongs to James. I've been looking for a Mickey or Elmo or a more toddler-like stocking for him, but haven't found one yet.
It's nice how our leaning mirror reflects the tree when you enter our home.
This adorable fabric wreath is a new find from Lowe's. Don't overlook the hardware stores for holiday decor, they have some great stuff!
And over the weekend, I attempted some Christmas tree Bokeh! I'll share with you tomorrow how I took these photos and got the bokeh behind the stockings also.
This year, we bought a 3 foot real tree for our son's room. The tree is cute, but loses more and more needles by the day. By Christmas, I anticipate we'll have just the trunk! We strung the pom pom garland we made, and he put most of the ornaments on by himself.
I love how little kids cluster all the ornaments together. I left them that way since it's his tree and it makes me smile every time I see it.
Now it's your turn! Show us your Christmas trees here and please grab a button!
My favorite ornament this year is from Crate & Barrel- the colors and shape are so pretty!
Having no proper mantle, I hung our stockings on the iron scroll on our stairs and you can see our tree in the background. Of course, the "love" one is mine, and "joy" belongs to James. I've been looking for a Mickey or Elmo or a more toddler-like stocking for him, but haven't found one yet.
It's nice how our leaning mirror reflects the tree when you enter our home.
This adorable fabric wreath is a new find from Lowe's. Don't overlook the hardware stores for holiday decor, they have some great stuff!
And over the weekend, I attempted some Christmas tree Bokeh! I'll share with you tomorrow how I took these photos and got the bokeh behind the stockings also.
This year, we bought a 3 foot real tree for our son's room. The tree is cute, but loses more and more needles by the day. By Christmas, I anticipate we'll have just the trunk! We strung the pom pom garland we made, and he put most of the ornaments on by himself.
I love how little kids cluster all the ornaments together. I left them that way since it's his tree and it makes me smile every time I see it.
Now it's your turn! Show us your Christmas trees here and please grab a button!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Christmas Windfall For Barnsley Building Society
Members of Barnsley Building Society are in for an unexpected Christmas present as they will receive up to £5,000, after the building society recovered money tied up in failed Icelandic banks.
However, as per the Telegraph, it promised that any money it recovered from the banks' administrators would be returned to its savers and borrowers. Approximately £8.8M has been recovered.
To qualify for the windfalls, savers and borrowers are required to have maintained continuous membership between October 21 2008 and October 21 this year with one or more of the brands in the Yorkshire Group, which also includes Chelsea and Norwich & Peterborough building societies and Egg.
The payments are expected to be completed by 21 December, just in time for Christmas.
Barnsley was forced to merge with Yorkshire Building Society after £10M it had deposited with two Icelandic banks, Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander and Heritable Bank, was feared lost.
However, as per the Telegraph, it promised that any money it recovered from the banks' administrators would be returned to its savers and borrowers. Approximately £8.8M has been recovered.
Barnsley's savers will receive 3.31% of their total savings balance held with the society on October 21 2008, subject to a minimum of £25 and a maximum of £5,000. Borrowers will get a flat payment of £250, although all payments will be taxed at source. Approximately 28,000 account holders will benefit.
To qualify for the windfalls, savers and borrowers are required to have maintained continuous membership between October 21 2008 and October 21 this year with one or more of the brands in the Yorkshire Group, which also includes Chelsea and Norwich & Peterborough building societies and Egg.
The payments are expected to be completed by 21 December, just in time for Christmas.
Greece Extends Bond Buyback Deadline
Friday was the alleged "deadline" for the Greek bond buyback. However, as I stated at the time:
"Note the use of the word "expected". Doubtless if insufficient bondholders have come forward the deadline will be extended."Unsurprisingly, the deadline has indeed been extended to noon GMT Tuesday, in the hopes of selling another Euro3-4BN of bonds.
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