Pristine meteorite found within hours of hitting Earth - Astronomy magazine - planetary science

Pristine meteorite found within hours of hitting Earth: Samples of the Winchcombe meteorite quickly revealed its origins trace back beyond Mars to the asteroid belt, shedding light on the birth of the solar system.

Atlas V AEHF-5 Live Launch Broadcast - Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite providing secure connectivity for the United States Air Force

Brexit and the Investment After Effects

Financial mavens and governments immediately went to work Monday morning on understanding the aftermath of the UK's choice of the Brexit option.
Obviously this is a shock,said Jurrien Timmer,head of Global Macro at Fidelity Investments in Boston.The UK economy needs to adjust;the stock market and banks need to deal with this new reality.It's not surprising the financial sector is taking the brunt of the hit here.Somebody threw a bunch of sand into the gears.It's a period of reassessing where the growth is,how trade pacts and other agreements are going to be rewritten.*
The S&P 500 has been stuck on 1800-2100 for about a year-and-a-half.Now we have a negative catalyst that I think will lead to revaluation of US and world equities.We may see some form of stagflation,which is really more consistent with a 15x multiple.It's pretty orderly;it's just the market needs to rerate based on a new fundamental.Bascally it depends on how systemic a Brexit is.For the US investor,it's somewhat systemic.I think some degree of rerating is in order.We're a somewhat closed economy.The 15x multiple will lead to basically the lower edge of the range,but no farther.*
The Lehman moment was a liquidity crisis,a funding crisis.With central bank policy over-accommodative here,that's not going to be an issue.I don't see it necessarily as a crisis,unless the euro comes under attack,and it's too early to see that.If the Fed moves to the side,that's definitely an offset.I do think we're going to go into fiscal stimulus in the UK.The UK government could basically fund pretty aggressive stimulus.Even without a shock,some US focus on fiscal stimulus is likely in the election season.*
If we're moving into a mild stagflation environment,we could see less growth with more inflation,so some inflation-protected investing would be in order,Mr.Timmer advised.*
Responding to the Brexit vote,S&P lowered the UK's credit rating from AAA to AA with a negative outlook.*
Investors will be looking into Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities,or TIPS,a type of government bond suitable for buffering portfolios in a stagflation environment.The TIPS bonds' principal is indexed to the Consumer Price Index and rises and falls accordingly;while the TIPS bonds' coupon rate remains steady,yielding more when multiplied by the rising CPI in inflationary conditions. *
iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP)

Approaching the Brexit Vote,Hopes For Action in Europe

I'm hoping for a Sputnik moment-the collective realisation that,if we don't do something now,something bad is going to happen,said Mohamed El-Erian,referring to the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 that triggered the Cold War space race with the United States.Mr.El-Erian,chief economic advisor at Allianz,was commenting following the latest UK poll,which showed Britons leaning against approving the Brexit,the prospective British leaving of the European Union that goes to referendum on Thursday.*
If Brexit were to occur,it would add institutional instability and accelerate the journey to the neck of the T-junction of the global markets and the economy.Imagine this chair with one-and-a-half legs.Monetary union is complete;banking union halfway.We need to complete the regional architecture in Europe,and we need a lot better global policy engine.*
Mr.El-Erian is a native of Egypt and formerly headed the Harvard Endowment.He was most recently co-CEO and co-CIO at PIMCO.*
Allianz SE (Milan:ALV)

Citi's Global and US Economic Forecasts - what the risks are

In late February,Citigroup issued its global economic outlook.It cut its global expansion forecast from 2.7% to 2.5%.Global prospects are worsening further,with deterioration across advanced economies alongside previous weakness in the emerging markets,Citi's research note said.Britain's upcoming vote on whether to leave the eurozone is a key extra near term global risk that would hurt both the UK and EU economies;while more policy easing from the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan will provide only limited stimulus.*
On 15 April,Citi released its US forecast.Our US outlook has little potential to be surprised on the upside,but the risks are very evident on the downside,said William Lee,head of North American Economics.Risk is from looming uncertainty as to when the Fed will make rate hikes,as well as many important political events here and abroad scheduled in the next few months.Recently reviewed and incoming data imply GDP will grow by 0.9% in Q1 and 1.7% for the year.
Despite such tepid growth prospects,we project a slow decline in the unemployment rate to 4.6% by end-2016,and 4.5% by end-2017.We continue to believe there will be only one rate increase this year-likely in September-unless developments stir financial markets and/or dampen further growth prospects.In that event,December or a later meeting would be a more likely date for an increase,Mr.Lee noted.*
Citigroup (C)

HSBC,Changing With the World

HSBC,Europe's largest bank,has reported first half pretax profits of 13.6 billion dollars on a strong Hong Kong performance,up from 12.3 billion a year ago.The bank was helped by its brokerage customers using the Stock Connect link to the Shanghai stock exchange earlier in the year,when Chinese shares were still hot.Indeed,HSBC may move its headquarters from London to Hong Kong,pending completion of a review of the matter by year's end.
By contrast,its businesses slowed in Europe,the US and other emerging markets apart from Hong Kong.HSBC is selling its underperforming Brazilian operations to Banco Bradesco SA for 5.2 billion.It is also considering selling its lagging Turkish business to the Netherlands' ING Group.
HSBC set aside 1.3 billion to cover legal costs stemming from regulatory investigations into the rigging of foreign exchange markets by banks worldwide.On the plus side,its investment bank saw a 21% rise in FX trading revenue.The British retail bank also did well.You should work on the assumption that it is a bank we would like to keep,said chief executive Stuart Thomson Gulliver,because it's got excellent returns from what we see going forward and the UK is a profitable banking market.*
HSBC is in the process of moving its UK retail operations headquarters to Birmingham within three years.This British bank will be renamed and have a staff of 22,000.*
We don't see anything alarming coming from what has happened recently in China,Mr.Gulliver added,but there will be some muted impact on our business both from the sell-off in the stock market and from the more reduced economic activity we have seen.Now it's less than two months since our investor update where we unveiled our actions to capture the value of our international network in the changed world.Executing these actions is our number one priority.Work is proceeding in all of these areas,in particular those aimed at reducing risk-weighted assets,cutting cost,and turning around or disposing of underperforming parts of the business.
In order to maintain broad-based growth and a diversified profile,we expect around half of incremental risk-weighted assets to be redeployed to Asia,with the rest spread across Europe,the Middle East,and North America including Mexico,Mr.Gulliver noted in a conference call following the earnings release.*
HSBC wants to boost its growth in Asia by expanding its insurance business in the Pearl River Delta region of China,and seeks to return its global banking and markets division to profitability.Overall,it wants to save 4.5-5 billion dollars annually by the end of 2017,shedding 8,000 jobs in the UK and 25,000 worldwide,although it has added 2,200 compliance staff.
HSBC has increased shareholder value by initiating a five billion dollar buyback and raising its dividend by 124% to 0.28 a share.*
HSBC Holdings PLC ADR (HBC)

Renewing McDonald's

Change may be coming to a McDonald's near you.The storied fast food chain is seeking to reinvent itself in light of declining sales worldwide.It wants to be seen as a modern,progressive burger chain,in line with such peers as its former subsidiary Chipotle's,Burger King and Wendy's.Table service is being introduced in Germany.Other updates being tried are customised burgers;less antibiotics in chicken;digital ordering kiosks;and all-day breakfast food.
CEO Steve Easterbrook was brought on to spearhead the new direction,replacing Don Thompson as of 1 March.He will be focusing on turnarounds in the US,Germany,Australia and Japan.Easterbrook,who is British,had been chief brand officer before assuming his new position.Earlier in his career,he had been a McDonald's manager in London before leaving the firm to lead British casual dining chains PizzaExpress and Wagamama.Mr.Easterbrook returned to McDonald's in 2013 as head of UK and Northern Europe,and was credited with an uptick in UK sales.
McDonald's shares closed at 97.83 in New York on Monday,up 0.90%.*
McDonald's (MCD)

Drug Companies Swap Units,Join Forces

Two pharma titans,GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis,are entering into a complex 25 billion dollar transaction.Novartis,based in Geneva,Switzerland,is buying GSK's oncology unit for 14.5 billion dollars;at the same time,Britain's GSK is buying Novartis' vaccine unit.Finally,the two firms are forming a joint venture that combines their over the counter drug businesses.
Today we announced we are focusing on our pharmaceutical,eye care,and generics businesses,said Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez.We're gonna add probably one billion people on earth,and 50% of them will be over 50.It's gonna take innovation to deal with it.We've got these powerhouses that fit exactly with the demographic changes for the next 20 years-for example,GSK's two drugs for metastatic melanoma.
I believe increased technology is gonna allow new targets in cancer that we've never seen before.We're at the beginning of having new tools to combat this disease like never before.This deal with GSK changes the financial profile of Novartis,increasing our operating margin significantly.The whole portfolio review was to allow us to have great strength in that new world.I'll be able to feed these big engines a lot more.We're generating better leverage than we have in the past,explained Mr.Jiminez,who is an American.*
In addition,Novartis is selling its animal health business to Eli Lilly.Even when the deal with GSK is completed,Novartis will still be open to more bolt-on acquisitions that benefit its three lines of business.*
Novartis(NVS),Eli Lilly&Co(LLY),GlaxoSmithKline(GSK)

New Study Suggests Dementia-Oral Health Link

A new British study from the University of Lancashire School of Medicine and Dentistry suggests a link between poor oral health and dementia,including Alzheimer's disease.The study detected a specific bacterium,Porphyromonas gingivalis,in the brains of four out of ten dementia patients.Sim Singhrao,PhD,senior research fellow at the School,said that when the brain is repeatedly exposed to bacteria and/or material from our gums,subsequent immune responses may lead to nerve cell death and possibly memory loss.Seeing your dentist could be vital for brain health.The future of the research aims to discover if P.gingivalis can be a marker,via a simple blood test,to predict the development of Alzheimer's disease in at-risk patients,she noted.Further research is needed to confirm the theory,several other British scientists emphasised.A number of other studies have suggested a link between dementia and inflammation from bacterial infection.

Meeting Your Goal:Real Estate Funds

Income investors are taking a look at real estate funds such as Invesco's.Half the fund is in equities,said Joe V. Rodriguez,Jr.,Head of Global Real Estate Securities and Portfolio Manager of Invesco Real Estate Fund.Our goal is to produce equity-like returns.It's been paying  a 4.5-5% dividend yield.
On the equity side,we really like Kilroy Realty Corp.It's on the West Coast office side.In fixed income,we like shorter duration higher quality bonds.We're also focused on things like commercial mortgage-backed securities,or CMBS.UK CMBS are yielding 2.5-4%.We're getting high yields.
In Japan,seismic-proof buildings with backup power are doing quite well.They're up over 20% in the past year.
In the US,we're gonna build a million units of single family this year.Both single family and apartments are doing well.We like Essex Property Trust,which is concentrated on the West Coast.It's well-positioned to grow rents.
Invesco Real Estate Fund(IARAX),Kilroy Realty Corp.(KRC),Essex Property Trust(ESS)

Leading Analyst Disturbed By D.C.'s Tax Cuts

To Ed Yardeni,the analyst who coined the term "bond vigilantes,"there seems to be a coincidence between today's rising bond yields and D.C.'s tax cut plans.D.C. is making it all too easy to increase the deficit by readily cutting taxes and hence decreasing revenue.As the deficit balloons,the government must pay more and more interest to skeptical investors who buy government bonds,which ultimately stresses the budget even more.
There's also a fear Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may overshoot in his QE2 policy of buying Treasury bonds:another reason to lighten up on the bond holdings.The bond vigilantes have woken up in Europe,and are now waking up in the U.S.,Mr.Yardeni thinks.They're in the position to shut the bond market down unless the U.S. changes its policy.
Rising bond yields means retirement portfolios stuffed with bond funds will lose value,since bond prices fall as yields rise.
The U.K.'s making tremendous progress in cutting the deficit,and Europe's moving in the right direction,Mr.Yardeni said.He certainly doesn't like what he's been seeing in the U.S. recently,however,and neither do the bond vigilantes.
Bond vigilantes are big traders who insist on ever-higher interest rates to cover their risk as governments sink deeper into debt,making the cost of money increase even more.
Other observers disagree with Mr.Yardeni's assessment,saying the increase in bond yields is simply the bond market adjusting to better economic data and growing national debt,rather than the bond vigilantes waking up,and will not be disastrous.
Nonetheless,most financial advisors are urging their clients to move away from a bond market that is seen as being toppy now,and toward an improving stock market.

Key Committee Recommends Lupus Drug Approval

On November 16,a key Food and Drug Administration committee recommended approval of Benlysta,the Human Genome Sciences/GlaxoSmithKline drug for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus.
The Arthritis Advisory Committee,which made the recommendation,provides the FDA with independent expert advice on rheumatology drug products such as Benlysta.Its nonbinding recommendation normally carries a great deal of weight in the FDA's deliberations.
Benlysta is the first new treatment expressly for lupus in 50 years.The vote to recommend approval was hailed by patient advocates as a sign of hope.Benlysta is also the first in a new class of drugs,the BLys-specific inhibitors.
Since 2006,Human Genome and Glaxo have been developing Benlysta together,with Human Genome having lead responsibility for conducting Phase 3 trials.The companies will share equally in development costs,sales,marketing expenses and any profits pending final FDA approval.Analysts consider Benlysta a prospective blockbuster,worth billions of dollars.
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disorder most common in black,Hispanic and Asian women.It causes the immune system to attack the body's own organs and tissues,resulting in effects ranging from joint pain to kidney damage.The disease is potentially life-threatening.Like another autoimmune disorder,multiple sclerosis,lupus is hard to diagnose and varies from patient to patient.
Human Genome is located in Rockville,Maryland,and Glaxo is based in London,England.
Human Genome Sciences(HGSI),GlaxoSmithKline(GSK)

Early Edition:Merkel Pleased With Summit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the weekend's G20 summit in Toronto,Canada was ahead of her expectations because of the detail involved.The world leaders agreed to cut their deficits in half by 2013.By 2016,the debt,or accumulated deficits,will start to come down.Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that,as our stimulus programs expire,we will focus on getting our fiscal houses in order.
The G20 leaders of leading economic nations also agreed to raise capital requirements for banks.The specificity of the goals was indeed unusual for such a gathering,which typically would have a statement of general principles released as a communique.This highlights the fragility of the global economy,which cannot accept anything less than exactitude at this point.
Ms.Merkel was in a jovial mood,given this adoption of German policy by the G20,not to mention Germany's decisive victory over England in the World Cup.The leaders followed the World Cup on their Blackberries and even watched some of it together on a big screen TV.Chancellor Merkel spoke animatedly with President Barack Obama.Clearly they have become friends during this difficult period of history.It is perhaps somewhat reminiscent of the late President Ronald Reagan and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain.

Richard LeFrak:Man of Many Insights

Prominent investor Richard LeFrak,head of The LeFrak Organization,who is ranked number 212 on the Forbes list of billionaires,is a man of many business insights.For instance,he notes that the Chinese are going from a rural to an urban setting,and that's a tremendous change in the population.We wish the people well.The Chinese government has its own agenda,in Mr.Lefrak's view:to stay in power.
Mr.LeFrak says it's a good time to own a bank with a clean balance sheet.They've been investing money in certain banks,such as Bank United in Florida and Metro Bank in London.The London bank is friendly,open seven days a week.They will open 12 branches in the next two years.It's meant to be a nice place to hang out.
The Lefrak Organization has a property in Panama City,Florida.They're struggling because,what with the oil spill,no one wants to commit to travel.It's having a serious effect on the market now.They went from 80% pre-book to 30% pre-book for Memorial Day.This is the high season for that part of the world.
Mr.Lefrak has an easy,unaffected manner on his business television appearances.His family business,The Lefrak Organization,founded in 1901,builds and owns a vast amount of real estate in the New York,Los Angeles and London metro areas.It focuses on residential and office property,but its affiliates also own substantial hotel and retail assets.LFO has an investment management division as well,combining traditional merchant banking with value-based equity and fixed income investing strategies.Since 1971,LFO has been a major investor in oil and gas holdings.

Queen Opens Parliament

Queen Elizabeth II opened the British Parliament in an ornate ceremony last week,but most Americans only got to see it tonight,when C-Span broadcast the old ritual.It's a moment for the bickering to stop,for Members of Parliament to pause and reflect-indeed,for the whole nation to do so.That is much of the meaning of the monarchy today.As the pageantry plays out,memories are made and recalled,and the pace of modern life is radically slowed by tradition for a brief few hours.The Lord High Chancellor and the Duke of Norfolk,the Earl Marshal of England,are among the participants in the stylized tribute to constitutional government.
One of the MPs made a wisecrack when an official summoned them to the House of Lords to hear the Queen's speech,but no one took great offence.It was perhaps a way to assert the supremacy of the House of Commons in reality.The ceremony went on despite a bit of laughter.

Waves of Financial Crisis

Jessica Haverson of MF Global sees the financial crisis as ongoing.The analyst says she believes we can always go lower.It is a crisis that comes in waves.The first wave was the financial freezing of credit;the second wave was the economic expression of the credit freeze;the third and current wave is a sovereign debt problem.
The sovereign debt issue is a rolling crisis.It has rolled from Southern Europe to the U.K.Eventually,it will roll to the U.S. as America faces a day of reckoning with its own debt.
MF Global is now headed by former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine.Mr.Corzine was also CEO at Goldman Sachs before he served in the U.S. Senate and as Governor.

Health Uncle:Swine Flu Update

Swine flu,or H1N1,hasn't disappeared-far from it.Yesterday,the World Health Organization declared a flu pandemic.That means the virus is spreading in at least two regions of the world.It doesn't mean the illness is any more severe.Dr.Margaret Chan,head of the WHO,said the declaration of a pandemic places us in a strong position,but it also creates a need for advice and reassurance.
There has been a sharp rise in cases of H1N1 in Chile,Japan,the U.K. and Australia,but vaccine development is well underway,and the world is better prepared to fight a pandemic now than ever before.It is the first pandemic in 41 years;however,the death rate is far less than for regular flu-perhaps because it is mainly affecting young people.On the other hand,Dr.Chan reminds us that,like all influenza viruses,this one can change the rules,without rhyme or reason,at any time.All the more important,then,for us to get a good night's sleep,as this bolsters the immune system.

A Crisis of Irony

The very financial instruments that were meant to manage risk,turned into a global contagion,Prime Minister Brown pointed out to Congress.We win our future,not by retreating from the world,but by engaging with it.In these unprecedented times,we must educate,invent and invest our way out of the downturn.We conquer our fear of the future through our faith in the future.The lesson of this crisis must be,we must build for tomorrow today.Now more than ever,the rest of the world wants to work with America.The new frontier is that there is no frontier.Global problems need global solutions,the British leader stated.

The Application of Values

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently shared his views on the financial crisis with a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.For me,Mr.Brown said,this global recession is not just to be measured in statistics.We the representatives of the people have to be the people's last line of defense.We have learned through this global downturn that markets should be free;but markets should never be values-free.The world has learned that what makes for a good society,makes for a good economy,too.These enduring values are the values we need for this time.An economic hurricane has swept the world.We are summoned not just to manage our times,but to transform them,the Prime Minister feels.

The Essential Task

The British government will work with our partners to establish a new International Monetary Fund as a sentinel,Prime Minister Brown promised,and to achieve the transparency,integrity and responsibility of the financial system.Confidence in the future is the key to bringing back confidence today.I am confident in the future,Mr.Brown asserted,wearing a white bow tie,white shirt and black dinner jacket,a red poppy on his lapel to commemorate Armistice Day.