Argentina challenges U.S. court with bond plan

By Nate Raymond and Hugh Bronstein

NEW YORK/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina challenged a U.S. court over the weekend by proposing that "holdout" bond investors be repaid only about one sixth the money federal judges hearing the case say they are owed, setting the stage for a legal showdown in New York.

The terms offered by Argentina are the same as those accepted by bondholders who chose to participate in the country's 2010 sovereign bond restructuring. The holdouts rejected that restructuring and are holding out for full repayment.

Aside from the implications the case has for Argentina's finances, it could also have wide ramifications for the way future sovereign restructurings are carried around the world.

Argentina defaulted on $100 billion in sovereign debt in 2002 at the height of a financial crisis in Latin America's third largest economy. The bonds now under dispute were issued in New York, which is why the case is being heard in U.S. court.

Elliott Management affiliate NML Capital Ltd, one of the lead plaintiffs, has said that it will not accept 2010 terms They and other holdouts are sure to argue that Argentina's proposal does not respond to the court's request.

"The court said 'You owe the holdouts $1.3 billion. Tell us how you are going to pay that to them,'" said Josh Rosner, managing director at research firm Graham Fisher & Co in New York.

"Instead of answering how they will pay the full amount, Argentina responded with a plan for paying a much smaller amount," he said. "Argentina is flirting with technical default, which would take a serious toll its economy."

The specter of technical defaults comes from the fact that a U.S. District Court in New York has said that until the holdouts start getting paid, Argentina cannot make payments to holders of the restructured bonds.

Elliott stands currently to receive $720 million from Argentina following a New York judge's order in November, according to Argentina.

But the bonds NML could take had a market value of just $186.8 million before a major decision in the case last October favoring the holdouts, or $120.6 million as of March 1, the filing said. Argentina estimates NML paid about $48.7 million in 2008 for its stake in the bonds.

"The Republic is prepared to fulfill the terms of this proposal promptly upon Order by the Court by submitting a bill to Congress that ensures its timely implementation," Jonathan Blackman, Argentina's U.S. lawyer, wrote.

Around 92 percent of Argentina's defaulted bonds were restructured in 2005 and 2010, with bondholders receiving 25 cents to 29 cents on the dollar.

But holdouts led by NML Capital and Aurelius Capital Management have fought for years for full payment. Argentina calls these funds "vultures."

In October, the 2nd Circuit upheld a trial judge's ruling by finding Argentina had violated a so-called pari passu clause in its bond documents requiring it to treat creditors equally.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa in Manhattan subsequently ordered Argentina in November to pay the $1.33 billion owed to the bondholders into an escrow account by the time of its next interest payment to holders of the exchanged debt.

The 2nd Circuit heard an appeal of that order on February 27. Two days later, it directed Argentina to provide details of "the precise terms of any alternative payment formula and schedule to which it is prepared to commit."

BOND OPTIONS

In its 22-page submission late on Friday, Argentina said that under a so-called par bond option, the bondholders would receive new bonds due in 2038 with the same nominal face value of their current bonds. They would pay 2.5 percent to 5.25 percent a year, Argentina said.

Bondholders would also receive an immediate cash payment similar to what it provided under the 2010 debt swap, Argentina said. And they would receive derivative instruments that provide payments when the country's gross domestic product exceeds 3 percent a year.

The par option is restricted to small investors, unlike the discount option, the more applicable fit for big investors like NML and Aurelius.

Under the discount proposal, holdouts could receive new discount bonds due in 2033 that pay 8.28 percent annually. Argentina said the holdouts would also receive past due interest since 2003 in the form of bonds due in 2017 paying 8.75 percent a year, and GDP-linked derivative units.

Blackman, Argentina's lawyer, wrote that the proposal, unlike what he called the "100 cents on the dollar immediately" formula Griesa adopted, "is consistent with the pari passu clause, longstanding principles of equity, and the Republic's capacity to pay."

It was unclear on Saturday how the court might view Argentina's proposals. The same three-judge panel had said in October, though, that the holdouts "were completely within their rights" to reject prior debt swap offers.

Euginio Bruno, a lawyer and bond restructuring expert with the law firm Estudio Garrido Abogados in Buenos Aires, said the government's Friday proposal "was within expectations, considering the legal constraints on offering anything better than the terms of the 2010 restructuring."

Argentina has a "lock law" that keeps new governments from improving the terms of previous restructurings.

Earlier in the week, the holdouts scored a victory over Argentina when the 2nd Circuit denied a full court review of its October ruling on the equal treatment provision.

The United States had backed Argentina in seeking the review, contending the 2nd Circuit's decision ran "counter to longstanding U.S. efforts to promote orderly restructuring of sovereign debt.

Argentina and holders of its restructured bonds say granting the holdouts 100 cents on the dollar could complicate future sovereign restructurings around the world.

Argentine Vice President Amado Boudou repeated on Saturday that Argentina would continue repaying investors who participated in the restructuring no matter how the U.S. court case is resolved.

"One way or another, Argentina will pay," he said.

The case is NML Capital Ltd et al v. Republic of Argentina, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 12-105.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond; Additional reporting by Helen Popper, Alejandro Lifschitz and Guido Nejamkis in Buenos Aires; Editing by Todd Eastham, Will Dunham and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/argentina-challenges-u-court-bond-plan-011959470--sector.html

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Cheap Accommodation In Central London

London is one of the most visited cities in the world and based on statistic, most tourists spend a bulk on their budget while in the city. For tourists, finding an affordable accommodation in Central London hotel is a high priority, as not all travellers can afford an expensive hotel.

Majority of travellers look for bed and breakfast hotels where they can spend less but stay comfortably. Given a choice, these travellers will opt for an accommodation that can provide them easy access to various tourist attractions within the city.

For such, Central London is considered as the best location. Staying at the heart of the city can provide access to various locations, such as the Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Tate Gallery and the Cathedral. All these attractions are just walking distance away from the best bed and breakfast hotels in Central London. Apart from that, visitors can also find restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues to ensure extreme enjoyment during the vacation. There are banks, supermarkets and post offices around the area as well.

From Central London, public transportations are accessible as well, thus allowing you to visit various locations. From here, you can easily reach Gatwick Airport within 30 minutes through the Gatwick Express Train. Riding a bus can take you to the airport in as short as 15 to 20 minutes but if you prefer to go by taxi, you can also ask the reception desk for assistance and they can get your preferred transportation for you. This is just another reason why bed and breakfast hotels within Central London are most preferred by majority of travellers.

These hotels can also provide basic amenities to ensure that you will have a comfortable stay while in the city. Rooms come with an en-suite bathroom and complimentary breakfast, as well as wireless internet service, en-suite toiletries, and complimentary tickets for theatres and local attractions. As a traveller, you would want to have a comfortable place to stay and this is ensured by the owners themselves. Hotel staffs and owners are very accommodating and pleasant to all visitors.

When looking for a bed and breakfast hotel in Central London, you can simply check the internet. You can find a good list of hotels where you can stay and compare the rates and amenities available. All the information you need can be easily found over the internet, as most hotels in London have their own websites. You can also place an advance booking to ensure that you will have a place to stay once you arrive in the city. This should be done, especially during holidays, as most hotels are packed with visitors.

Finding a cheap accommodation in Central London hotel can surely provide you with good value for your savings. There are some people who think that staying in a cheap hotel can be troublesome due to lack of basic facilities. However, bear in mind that this is not true, as most bed and breakfast hotels in London are now equipped with all the necessary facilities that will provide travellers with a comfortable and affordable place to stay. When looking for an accommodation in central London hotel, you can also check out reviews provided by previous visitors to make sure that you are choosing the best hotel for your vacation.

About the Author:
The author of this article is associated with Hallam Hotel, providing bed and breakfast accommodation in central London. To know more, log on to Hallamhotel.com.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Cheap-Accommodation-In-Central-London/4512380

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B&N Sweetens The Deal For Windows 8 Users With Free Nook Books And Magazines

Barnes & Noble content and tablet subsidiary Nook Media, part-owned by Microsoft specifically to help boost content for its new Windows 8 platform, today put some of that strategy into action: it has announced that people who download the Nook app for Windows 8 will get five books and five magazines free of charge.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/2sYU97AGjC4/

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New type of solar structure cools buildings in full sunlight

Mar. 27, 2013 ? A Stanford team has designed an entirely new form of cooling panel that works even when the sun is shining. Such a panel could vastly improve the daylight cooling of buildings, cars and other structures by radiating sunlight back into the chilly vacuum of space.

Homes and buildings chilled without air conditioners. Car interiors that don't heat up in the summer sun. Tapping the frigid expanses of outer space to cool the planet. Science fiction, you say? Well, maybe not any more.

A team of researchers at Stanford has designed an entirely new form of cooling structure that cools even when the sun is shining. Such a structure could vastly improve the daylight cooling of buildings, cars and other structures by reflecting sunlight back into the chilly vacuum of space. Their paper describing the device was published March 5 in Nano Letters.

"People usually see space as a source of heat from the sun, but away from the sun outer space is really a cold, cold place," explained Shanhui Fan, professor of electrical engineering and the paper's senior author. "We've developed a new type of structure that reflects the vast majority of sunlight, while at the same time it sends heat into that coldness, which cools humanmade structures even in the day time."

The trick, from an engineering standpoint, is two-fold. First, the reflector has to reflect as much of the sunlight as possible. Poor reflectors absorb too much sunlight, heating up in the process and defeating the purpose of cooling.

The second challenge is that the structure must efficiently radiate heat back into space. Thus, the structure must emit thermal radiation very efficiently within a specific wavelength range in which the atmosphere is nearly transparent. Outside this range, Earth's atmosphere simply reflects the light back down. Most people are familiar with this phenomenon. It's better known as the greenhouse effect -- the cause of global climate change.

Two goals in one

The new structure accomplishes both goals. It is an effective a broadband mirror for solar light -- it reflects most of the sunlight. It also emits thermal radiation very efficiently within the crucial wavelength range needed to escape Earth's atmosphere.

Radiative cooling at nighttime has been studied extensively as a mitigation strategy for climate change, yet peak demand for cooling occurs in the daytime.

"No one had yet been able to surmount the challenges of daytime radiative cooling -- of cooling when the sun is shining," said Eden Rephaeli, a doctoral candidate in Fan's lab and a co-first-author of the paper. "It's a big hurdle."

The Stanford team has succeeded where others have come up short by turning to nanostructured photonic materials. These materials can be engineered to enhance or suppress light reflection in certain wavelengths.

"We've taken a very different approach compared to previous efforts in this field," said Aaswath Raman, a doctoral candidate in Fan's lab and a co-first-author of the paper. "We combine the thermal emitter and solar reflector into one device, making it both higher performance and much more robust and practically relevant. In particular, we're very excited because this design makes viable both industrial-scale and off-grid applications."

Using engineered nanophotonic materials the team was able to strongly suppress how much heat-inducing sunlight the panel absorbs, while it radiates heat very efficiently in the key frequency range necessary to escape Earth's atmosphere. The material is made of quartz and silicon carbide, both very weak absorbers of sunlight.

Net cooling power

The new device is capable of achieving a net cooling power in excess of 100 watts per square meter. By comparison, today's standard 10-percent-efficient solar panels generate the about the same amount of power. That means Fan's radiative cooling panels could theoretically be substituted on rooftops where existing solar panels feed electricity to air conditioning systems needed to cool the building.

To put it a different way, a typical one-story, single-family house with just 10 percent of its roof covered by radiative cooling panels could offset 35 percent its entire air conditioning needs during the hottest hours of the summer.

Radiative cooling has another profound advantage over all other cooling strategy such as air-conditioner. It is a passive technology. It requires no energy. It has no moving parts. It is easy to maintain. You put it on the roof or the sides of buildings and it starts working immediately.

A changing vision of cooling

Beyond the commercial implications, Fan and his collaborators foresee a broad potential social impact. Much of the human population on Earth lives in sun-drenched regions huddled around the equator. Electrical demand to drive air conditioners is skyrocketing in these places, presenting an economic and an environmental challenge. These areas tend to be poor and the power necessary to drive cooling usually means fossil-fuel power plants that compound the greenhouse gas problem.

"In addition to these regions, we can foresee applications for radiative cooling in off-the-grid areas of the developing world where air conditioning is not even possible at this time. There are large numbers of people who could benefit from such systems," Fan said.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford School of Engineering. The original article was written by Andrew Myers.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Eden Rephaeli, Aaswath Raman, Shanhui Fan. Ultrabroadband Photonic Structures To Achieve High-Performance Daytime Radiative Cooling. Nano Letters, 2013; : 130311121615001 DOI: 10.1021/nl4004283

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/STQ2QlQf-MY/130327132544.htm

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Bar Refaeli Controversy: Model Criticized For Role in Pro-Israel Campaign

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/bar-refaeli-controversy-model-criticized-for-role-in-pro-israel/

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The Collapse of the Value of a College Education - Economic Policy ...

College education has become expensive and nearly useless. Got that? Price up, quality down. No surprise, when government gets involved. Even WSJ seems to get this (partially). In a recent article, they write:

By some measures, nearly half of employed college graduates are in jobs that don't traditionally require a college degree.

Unfortunately, WSJ seems to blame this on robots:

Ia paper released Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a team of Canadian economists argues that the U.S. faces a longer-term problem.?

They found that unlike the 1990s, when companies needed hundreds of thousands of skilled workers to develop, build and install high-tech systems?everything from corporate intranets to manufacturing robots?demand for such skills has fallen in recent years, even as young people continued to flock to programs that taught them.

If it was simply a case of robots replacing workers in certain jobs, this would mean that there would be productivity gains for the economy overall, beginning and end of story. But, it is not as though we live in paradise where goods and services are so plentiful that none of us has to work. Something else is going on

The problem is that a college education for the most part does not ?increase the value of a potential worker for an employer (aside from accounting and engineering degrees). The college system is far from a free market profit oriented system. Almost 100% of colleges take money from government or accept students who?receive government loans. This results in colleges being required to meet government guidelines which have dramatically dumb downed the system.

The Chinese government has created 60 million vacant apartments through its central planning policies, while the U.S. government through its intervention in the education system has created tens of millions of college graduates with vacant minds.

College for most is really a waste of time, unless you want that accounting or engineering degree, or you are really sharp, can get into an Ivy League school and have a strong enough mind that you won't be corrupted by the system. In this latter category, I suspect no more than 1 in 500,000 could pull it off. Tom Woods did it, but few others. I can think of many more that were swallowed up by the system and now spend their time justifying some intervention in the economy.

If you are interested in studying Austrian economics, just go to the Mises Institute web?site?and absorb that material. Studying under Professor Walter Block at Loyola University New Orleans or Richard Ebeling at Northwood University are outlier options, but that is about it. For most who want to advance, they are much better off reading James Altucher than going to college.

Source: http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/03/the-collapse-of-value-of-college.html

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How to Make and Drink Greek Coffee | Olive Tomato

We have known for a while that coffee can be good for you and particularly Greek style coffee as that recent study on elderly Greeks showed us. So how do you make it?

Well, first of all taste is subjective and when it comes to coffee the variations are limitless. The same goes for Greek coffee, obviously you won?t add milk or syrups to it, but the ratio of sugar to coffee, the amount of coffee, the length of time it is boiled, whether it has bubbles or not, all these are factors that can affect the taste and texture of the coffee.?So in this post I will show you how I make the coffee and present the numerous other ways it can be prepared.

You will need
You will need some equipment to make a proper Greek coffee.

• A gas source. In Greece most people used to have gas stove tops, nowadays these have been replaced with electric stove tops, which I am not very fond of, as I cannot see flame. Since most people no longer have gas stove tops, here they use what you call a gazaki, it is a single camping gas burner. Traditionally this type of coffee is made in what is called hovoli, which is basically heated sand.
• Get a small coffee pot called a briki.
• Greek coffee, known also as Turkish or Arab coffee (see section below)
• Sugar
• Water
• Espresso coffee cup or Greek coffee cup like the one in the photo

*Note Greek coffee does not have any spices added to it such as cardamom.

Briki on the gas burner

What Type of Coffee Should you Use?
Now many people think that if they grind their favorite coffee beans in a fine powder they will have Greek style coffee. This is not the case. I remember when I was the Food and Beverage Director for Starbucks in Greece and we were launching the first store in Greece back in 2002, we had to serve Greek coffee in the store. Apparently there is a law in Greece that requires all coffee shops to serve Greek coffee. However, Starbucks only serve their own coffee blends, so they ground?their beans in a powder and made a ?Greek? coffee. I can assure you that it looked like Greek coffee, but it did not taste like Greek coffee. ? specific combination of beans is used to make this Greek blend, with specific bean varieties, roasted at specific temperatures and used in specific ratios. If there is a place that grinds/roasts Greek/Turkish/Arab style coffee near you, then by all means get the coffee from there. If not, many ethnic super markets sell it and you can also order Greek coffee from Amazon, they carry the 2 popular Greek brands Loumidis and Bravo.

DIRECTIONS
1. Measure out a full coffee cup of water (about 2 1/2 -3 ounces or 75-90 mls) and pour into the briki. If you are making more than one coffee make sure your briki is big enough, you will need space to let the coffee bubble and foam.

2. Add 2 teaspoons of coffee and 2 teaspoons of sugar for every 1 coffee cup and stir. This ratio is considered a somewhat strong coffee.

3. Place the briki on the gas and turn on so that it is on low heat.

4. Very slowly let the coffee heat up, (keep the flame very-very low). Do not leave the coffee unattended.

5. You will slowly see the surface start to tremble (I describe it like a volcano waiting to explode). Once it starts foaming, lift it slightly from the heat until the foam/bubbles settle and then put it on the fire again and let it start foaming and puffing up. Then remove. This step is important to get a good coffee. You don?t want to let it over-boil otherwise it will not have that creamy/foam on top, but you don?t want it under-boiled because then you may taste the grounds in the coffee.

6. Serve in the coffee cup. If you are making more then one, separate the foam in each coffee cup.

7. Serve the cup on a small saucer with a glass of cold water.

Greek coffee has a lighter color then similar style coffees.

How to drink Greek coffee
While this is a small coffee, it is not to be confused with the espresso, which is basically consumed quickly standing up. This coffee is consumed sitting down slowly. To get the full flavor you should sip the coffee slowly. I remember the older generations taking loud sips of coffee; while this may be rude, I find that it increases the enjoyment of the coffee. Once you start tasting the first grounds you are done. Do not try and drink the coffee grounds at the bottom of the cup.

In Greece, traditionally coffee was consumed two times a day: In the morning and in the afternoon after their nap. Although the coffee seems thick and black it is not extremely high in caffeine, it is actually lower then regular filter coffee.

Different Preparations of Greek Coffee
As I mentioned earlier there are different ways to enjoy coffee (some say that there are 45 different ways to prepare Greek coffee), so you may always reduce the sugar or not add any at all. The way I make it is considered somewhat moderate to strong. Here are some of the ways it can be consumed:

• Plain pronounced Sketos: Only coffee and no sugar
• Strong pronounced Varis: 2-3 teaspoons of coffee with 1 teaspoon sugar
• Light pronounced Elafris: ?-1 teaspoon of coffee + 1 teaspoon sugar
• Sweet pronounced Glykos: 1 teaspoon coffee +2 teaspoons sugar
• Strong-Sweet pronounced Variglykos: 3 teaspoons coffee +3 teaspoons sugar
• Yes and No pronounced Ne ke Ohi: 1 teaspoon coffee + ? teaspoon sugar

Photos by OliveTomato

Tags: Arab coffee, Boiled coffee, Briki, Greece, Greek coffee, Health, Turkish coffee

Source: http://www.olivetomato.com/how-to-make-and-drink-greek-coffee/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-make-and-drink-greek-coffee

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