The presence and spirit of giving and sharing is always felt, especially when the cool Christmas breeze passes by. It’s good to see and feel the warm feelings of giving and sharing in this season worth celebrating. While online pet stores offer seasonal sale items and holiday gifts, check out this list of cool holiday gift ideas for pet lovers, most specially in this winter season.Letters and PostcardsAnimal smiles always bring energetic happy feeling to see, take some pictures of your pet’s smile and send to your friends and relatives. Print some pictures for posters or for a Christmas greeting letter along with a small message and update about your pet. Very simple and memorable yet very heart-warming, isn’t it?Heated Pet BedsThis is one of the very reasonable and perfect gifts for the “fur babies”, especially for older dogs and cats because of the warm, comfort and healing benefits from amazing beds. Heated pet beds can help animal’s relief some sore of joints and muscles, they have therapeutic nature can and stimulate circulation of blood, calms and soothes animals from surgery, ease pet separation anxiety and improves the level of activity of pets.Coats, Jackets & Paw SocksProtective dog clothing like dog coats, jackets, paw socks and dog hoodies are essential accessories for more than one reason. Aside from keep your dog dry and warm when the weather turns stormy and cold, they are fabulous fashionable pet accessories that are perfect gifts for pet lover’s pets.Heated Bird Perch & Heated Pet BowlThese hermostatically controlled devices are great too both for ferrets, dog & cat lovers with their ease and comfort of use. Choose heated bowls that are UL and CUL listed, the cord is safety sealed while the bowl is steel wrapped to prevent abrasion and protect the cord from a chewing, the answer to freezing water bowls. Heated bird perch should be harmless low-voltage design with irregular surface that prevent foot pressure sore or cramping, and it can be left continuously so the bird can hop whenever he needs warmth. WiFi and Wireless Pet FenceThey are the latest and revolutionary wireless pet fence with the same training and protection of pets from entering the restricted or dangerous areas like outside yard or busy road, without setting up on your cold and snowy backyard. WiFi Rechargeable Pet Fence uses the latest digitally encoded WiFi signal technology used in advanced wireless communications with the 802.15 WiFi protocol. While the Wire-Free Pet Fence intelligently tracks the location of your dog at all times, reminding your pet to respect the established boundary safe area, all while communicating critical safety information back to you.
Monthly Archives: October 2011
Banks That Got $188 Billion in Bailout Money This Year Paid Out $1.6 Billion to Top Execs Last Year
The 116 banks that are receiving billions in taxpayer-provided bailout money this year actually paid out $1.6 billion in compensation and benefits to their top executives last year – even though the results at some of these institutions were so poor that they would soon have to turn to Washington for a government-engineered rescue.
The $1.6 billion was paid out to nearly 600 executives at the 116 banks that have so far accepted federal money to bolster their financial foundations, The Associated Press concluded after a review of U.S. securities filings. In addition to salary, the compensation included bonuses paid in both cash and stock. The benefits reaped by top executives included the use of company jets for personal purposes, personal chauffeurs, home-security services, country-club memberships and professional-wealth-management services, the news service said.
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., a longtime critic of the fat pay packages given to U.S. executives, said the bonuses and perks tallied by The AP review amounted to a bribe paid “to get [CEOs] to do the jobs for which they are well paid in the first place.”
“Most of us sign on to do jobs and we do them best we can,” Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services committee, told the news service. But “we’re told that some of the most highly paid people in executive positions are different. They need extra money to be motivated!”
The AP review is just the latest in a series of media investigations that have questioned the effectiveness of – and banks’ commitment to – the so-called “Troubled Assets Relief Program” (TARP), part of an overall $700 billion bailout plan that was originally unveiled in late September.
The plan was originally conceived to boost the strength of U.S. financial institutions by having the federal government purchase non-performing mortgages and other bad assets. In November, the Bush administration changed TARP’s objectives, instructing the U.S. Treasury Department to pump tax dollars directly into banks in a bid to prevent wholesale economic collapse.
Ideally, TARP was supposed to jumpstart bank-to-bank and bank-to-consumer lending, helping to unfreeze a credit crisis that may be the worst the U.S. economy has experienced since the Great Depression. But that hasn’t happened. Instead, as a Money Morning investigation has shown, banks are using the money to buy other banks in a dual effort to build market share for when the economy recovers, and to perhaps make themselves “too big to fail” in the interim, many experts say.
TARP did set restrictions on some executive compensation for participating banks, but it did not limit salaries and bonuses unless they had the effect of encouraging excessive risk to the institution. Banks were barred from presenting so-called “golden parachute” financial packages to departing or ousted executives and from deducting some executive pay for tax purposes.
The AP study found that the 116 banks received $188 billion in TARP money. The study also discovered that:
The average amount paid to each of the 116 banks’ top executives was $2.6 million in salary, bonuses and benefits.
Lloyd C. Blankfein, president and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), took home nearly $54 million in compensation in 2007. The company’s top five executives received a total of $242 million. On Oct. 28, Goldman received $10 billion in federal bailout money. On Dec. 16, Goldman reported a $2.12 billion quarterly loss, its first since it went public back in 1999. So for 2008, Goldman’s seven top-paid execs will work for their base salaries of $600,000 each, but will forgo any cash and stock bonuses, the company said. Facing increasing concern by its own shareholders on executive payments, the company described its pay plan in a written report back in the spring as being essential to retain and motivate executives “whose efforts and judgments are vital to our continued success, by setting their compensation at appropriate and competitive levels.” Goldman spokesman Ed Canaday would not elaborate beyond that written report.
Even where banks slashed pay, some executives still reaped a payday of seven – or even eight – figures. Richard D. Fairbank, the chairman of Capital One Financial Corp. (COF), which received $3.56 billion in bailout money back on Nov. 14, took a $1 million hit in compensation after his company had a disappointing year, but still got $17 million in stock options.
Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER) CEO John A. Thain topped all banking chieftains with more than $83 million in total earnings in 2007. Thain, a former chief operating officer for Goldman Sachs, took over the top job at Merrill in December 2007, avoiding the blame for a year in which Merrill lost $7.8 billion. Since he began work late in the year, he landed a $15 million signing bonus, $57,692 in salary, and an additional $68 million in stock options. Like Goldman, Merrill got $10 billion from taxpayers on Oct. 28. Merrill shareholders have approved its sale to Bank of America Corp. (BAC), though the value of the deal has plunged to $20 billion (from $50 billion at the time the deal was announced) as a result of the stock market decline. BofA will reportedly slash 35,000 jobs as a result of the combination.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) CEO James Dimon ran up a $211,182 private jet travel tab last year, because his family lived in Chicago and he was commuting to New York. JP Morgan received $25 billion in bailout funds.
Bank of New York Mellon Corp., (BK) CEO Robert P. Kelly received $66,748 for financial services – on top of his $975,000 salary and $7.5 million bonus. His car and driver cost $178,879. Kelly also received $846,000 in relocation expenses, including help selling his home in Pittsburgh and purchasing one in Manhattan, the company said. At Goldman, the bill for leased cars and drivers ran as high as $233,000 per executive. The firm told its shareholders this year that financial counseling and chauffeurs are important because it grants executives more time to focus on their jobs.
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), which received $25 billion in bailout cash, gave its top executives as much as $20,000 each for personal financial planners.
When asked to justify the personal use of company aircraft for some executives, banks cite security as a key reason. But U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., questioned that rationale, saying executives visit many locations more vulnerable than the nation’s security-conscious commercial air terminals.
U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said excessive pay and perks undermines the development of good economic policies at banks and fuels an already problematic pay spiral in the U.S. financial sector. And that’s especially difficult for shareholders and taxpayers to accept when virtually the entire sector needs bailing out [Check out this related story on the growing U.S. CEO pay controversy that appears elsewhere in today’s issue of Money Morning].
Sherman told The AP that he wants the banks to appear before Congress, like the automakers did, and spell out their spending plans for the bailout money.
Said Sherman: “The tougher we are on the executives that come to Washington, the fewer will come for a bailout.”
[Editor’s Note: The ongoing financial crisis has changed the investing game forever, making uncertainty the norm and creating a whole set of new rules that will help determine who wins and who loses. Investors who ignore this “New Reality” will struggle, and will find their financial forays to be frustrating and unrewarding. But investors who embrace this change will not only survive – they will thrive.
Money Morning Investment Director
Keith Fitz-Gerald has already isolated these new rules and has unlocked the key to what he refers to as “The Golden Age of Wealth Creation.” But Fitz-Gerald brings more than a realization – and an understanding – to the table, here. After a decade of work, he’s also developed a new computerized trading model based on a mathematical concept known as “fractals.” This system allows him to predict price movements of broad indexes, or individual stocks, with a high degree of certainty. And it’s particularly well suited to the kind of market we’re all facing right now. Check out our latest report on these new rules, and this new market environment.]
Song Lyric T-shirts — A Tribute to the Legends of music
If music is your life and you want to live, breathe and wear it every day; then music t-shirts are definitely for you. There is nothing better for a music lover than wearing a brand that symbolizes and supports your music inspired ideas, thoughts, feelings, and lifestyle. Music t-shirts become so popular due to the development of show business with tons of bands, adding the latest new artists all the time, and a great selection of styles as they are a combination of both fashion and music. Music t-shirt is very much more than simply fashion and wish to look stylish.
As music industry produces dozes of pop, rock and jazz stars; some of them become legendary and won people’s hearts forever. People want to act like them, look like them, talk like them; they believe in their favorites’ talent and do not shy to express their admiration and the result is that today music t-shirts “decorate” millions of their owners all over the world, telling to thousands of people about their favorite band or singer. To many music fans, the music t-shirt is held in almost sacred esteem. It is a uniform, a statement of your affiliation, a symbol of the devotion you have sworn to your favorite stars.
Imagine the t-shirt you would like to wear if for you, there is life in music and there is music in life. The song lyric means everything to you and when you turn music on, the music turns you on. However there are many ways to express yourself, but the best way to express your musical tastes is music t-shirts. They are cheap so you can have many of them and put them on according to your mood or situation. There are many clothing company devoted exclusively to music lovers; that learn music, create music, perform music, share music, play music, teach music, and most importantly enjoy music. Music lovers as musicians, music DJs, music promoters, music teachers and that for that know the feeling – like you.
Now you have the opportunity to choose your lyrics and the type of t-shirt on which you want to imprint your favorite lyrics to have a unique, personalized songs t-shirt. Many Web sites cater to custom-clothing designs, where you can also choose to translate custom lyrics to different languages as well. Custom made music t-shirts can make a great gifts for music lovers. These t-shirts are great to wear to concerts, shows, festivals, school, work, and for hanging out with your music friends.
The clothes you wear no doubt can tell much about yourself and your music t-shirt describes your personality from a different angle, as the music you like is a mirror of your character and maybe even of you the way of your life. Armed with your custom made hot music t-shirt, you are certain to create a look that will not only get you noticed, but will definitely be remembered! People are different and music is different as well. Your music t-shirt is the best way to tell everyone who you really are. Enjoy the power of those beautiful words which are now a part of your soul. Motivate yourself and others while wearing your music t-shirt.