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I've no idea how much money we make from advertising alongside porn says Google chief - Daily Mail
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Power: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is in a position to filter out adult content for all searches
A google executive claimed yesterday to have ‘no idea’ how much money the search giant makes from advertising alongside online pornography which can be viewed by children.
Sarah Hunter, head of UK public policy for the company, pleaded ignorance during a debate hosted by Google on whether to block porn on the internet to protect youngsters.
A spokesman for the firm later said: ‘We do not break out our revenues for any area.’
But it is clear that Google makes thousands of pounds per day from paid-for advertising alongside search results after a user keys in a word such as ‘porn’ on the British site.
Google’s own AdWords programme, designed to help advertisers work out how much it will cost to buy the top advert next to a key word such as porn, indicates it will cost as much as 8,000 a day.
Adverts further down the list cost less, but Google’s British profits would clearly run to thousands from ads placed next to every word associated with pornography. Worldwide profits would be far more.
Mrs Hunter told the Google Big Tent media event yesterday in Hertfordshire that the responsibility for protecting children from pornography on the internet lies solely with parents.
Her comments fly in the face of a Daily Mail campaign to protect children by blocking internet porn from computers unless an adult user specifically opts in and elects to see the content.
Google has nearly total domination of the search engine market and is in a position to filter out adult content for all searches, but it refuses to do so as it insists it is a parental responsibility.
Campaigners suggested one reason for Google’s insistence that children’s internet use is the responsibility of their parents is the amount of money the search giant makes from porn advertising.
Daily Mail columnist Amanda Platell argued that the internet was ‘full of the most debasing sado-masochistic pornography that no child should ever see’ and said an opt-in policy was the best option.
But Mrs Hunter, a former adviser to Tony Blair on media issues, warned that legislation to filter pornography on the internet was a ‘mistake, absolutely’.
Fortune-maker: The boards at the Nasdaq change one by one as Facebook begins trading at the Nasdaq in Times Square in New York City
BIG BROTHER THREAT
CONCERNS over Google’s creeping intrusion into private life were heightened yesterday when its executive chairman said it would like to know even more about its customers.
Eric Schmidt told the Big Tent event that knowing who users’ friends were and what they cared about would improve its services.
‘Don’t you think that Google search – with your permission, I need to say very precisely – will do a better job if we have more information that singles you out – who you are, what you care about – in terms of search results?’ he asked.
His words will strike a sinister note for civil liberties campaigners who already believe that Google harvests too much information about its users. Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch, said: ‘Sadly it is impossible for the average person to figure out what data Google is collecting and how it is being used, a problem exacerbated by the company’s pursuit of combining data from across its services.
‘As far as companies like Google are concerned, you and I are not their customers, we are their product.’
Asked about the amount of money pornography brings in for Google, which makes almost all of its profits through advertising, Mrs Hunter said: ‘I have no idea. We don’t go out of our way to make money from pornography.
‘Like all search engines, we do allow advertisers to place adverts alongside searches that show adult content.
‘But it’s legal. Let’s just be clear. I don’t see the problem with that as long as we put in place sufficient safeguards, as much as we can, for children.’
The event, at the five-star Grove Hotel, was hosted by Channel 4 figures and free copies of the Guardian were handed out.
The Google spokesman added: ‘Like other search engines, our policies allow ads to appear next to search results that contain links to legal pornography.
'We also place ads on other people’s web pages but not on pornographic sites.
‘We understand that some people don’t want to see this material, or have their kids stumble upon it.
‘Google’s Safe Search screens for adult websites and advertising and removes them from search results.’
Triumph Expands Commercial Finance Platform with Addition of Industry Veterans Karas and Copple - YAHOO!
Triumph Commercial Finance LLC, a subsidiary of Triumph Savings Bank SSB, hires seasoned veterans Dan Karas and Dirk Copple to head asset based lending and equipment finance units.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) May 23, 2012
Triumph Commercial Finance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Triumph Savings Bank, SSB, today announced the naming of two senior executives to lead its asset based lending and equipment finance operations. Dan Karas has been named EVP, Asset Based Lending and Dirk Copple will serve as EVP, Equipment Finance.“The expansion into asset based lending and commercial finance is a logical next step for Triumph," said Aaron P. Graft, CEO of Triumph Savings Bank, SSB. "Earlier this year, we acquired Advance Business Capital, a best in class factoring company. Our plan was to leverage the strength of Advance Business Capital’s leadership team and platform to build a mutli-faceted commercial finance organization. With the addition of Dan Karas and Dirk Copple, we’ve assembled a top notch team to lead us forward.”
“Both of these guys are terrific relationship lenders,” said Steven Hausman, who besides leading Advance Business Capital will now serve as President and CEO of Triumph Commercial Finance. “Dan Karas and Dirk Copple have each built organizations that really got to know their customers.” George Thorson, Advance Business Capital’s Chief Operating Officer, will also serve as the Chief Credit Officer for the Triumph Commercial Finance.
Dan Karas to Lead Asset Based Lending
Dan Karas brings nearly thirty years’ of experience in all aspects of commercial finance to Triumph Commercial Finance. For the last five years Karas has been Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Marquette Business Credit, where he led Marquette’s general factoring business as well as marketing for its asset based lending platform. Prior to that, he spent seven years at GE Commercial Finance/Heller Financial as Managing Director of the Corporate Lending Group, then the Enterprise Client Group and finally Energy Financial Services. He received his BS in Finance and Management from Temple University and his MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University.
Said Karas, “I’m thrilled to be joining a team with the capacity, vision and drive to build an organization that delivers superior value to our clients and stakeholders. Triumph Commercial Finance is a client-centric business designed to meet the growth needs of the small and middle market businesses that play such a critical role in our economy.”
Dirk Copple to Lead Equipment Financing
Dirk Copple is a twenty-two year veteran of commercial equipment finance, beginning his career at the Associates Commercial Corporation and, subsequently, CitiCapital Commercial Corp. He joined Financial Federal Corporation in 2002, building a significant transportation portfolio for the Southwest region. After Financial Federal was acquired by People’s United Bank in 2010, Copple’s responsibilities were expanded to include construction equipment and other asset financing. He has a BS in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas.
Said Copple, “There’s an energy level to this Triumph team that is truly irresistible. Core values are visible and communicated openly, and there's a commitment to doing business the right way. I'm very honored to be part of the Triumph Commercial Finance team."
Triumph Savings Bank, SSB
Triumph Commercial Finance is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triumph Savings Bank. Triumph Savings Bank was founded in November 2010 when a group of investors led by Dallas entrepreneur Aaron P. Graft, acquired and recapitalized the financially troubled Equity Bank, SSB. Triumph is now pursuing its goal of expanding into non-traditional banking sectors. The bank’s commercial finance subsidiary, Triumph Commercial Finance, acquired Advance Business Capital, one of the nation’s leading transportation factoring companies, in January of 2012.
Said Graft, “When we evaluate any new business opportunity, we primarily focus on the quality of the people who will lead the team. Our secondary consideration is the market fundamentals for the particular segment. Whenever we find outstanding people with experience in structurally underserved market segments, we move quickly. That’s what led to the decision to bring Dan Karas and Dirk Copple to Triumph Commercial Finance to lead us into these new markets, and we are very excited about the future.”
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Steven Hausman
Triumph Commercial Finance
214-513-9610
Email Information
Forex: New Zealand releases annual budget; Kiwi around 0.7500 - FXStreet.com
Money to preserve Mitchelville community on Hilton Head tied up in SC budget debate - Island Packet Online
The S.C. Senate debated amendments to the 2012-13 budget Tuesday and Wednesday. Among them is a measure from Sen. Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, stripping $4 million worth of projects earmarked for private nonprofits and local governments, including $200,000 for the Mitchelville Preservation Project.
Some senators, however, are considering whether the money could be routed through state agencies, which would decide how best to disburse the dollars.
Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, who supports Mitchelville's restoration, says he will vote in favor of Massey's amendment.
"I think preserving Mitchelville is a worthy project, but it ought not be funded via a political earmark in the budget," Davis said. "All politicians think their projects are worthy. That's why it's important for the projects to go through a competitive selection process before the appropriate executive agency, which in the case of Mitchelville would be the Department of Archives and History."
Davis believes he can persuade the state agency to fund its preservation, and says he's eager to help, comparing the effort to preserving Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg, Pa., and Manassas, Va.
"It's an extraordinary story, a compelling reminder of a defining moment in our nation's history right here in our own backyard," he said. "I am a strong proponent of limited government, but preserving something of great historical significance is a proper state function, and I am prepared to advocate its funding to the appropriate state agency in an open and competitive process."
THE PAST
Mitchelville was established in 1862, nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation and a year after Union ships drove Confederate troops from Hilton Head Island.
Barracks were initially set up for "contraband" slaves left behind Union lines and those who fled to freedom from plantations on nearby islands. Living conditions, however, soon became intolerable.
Union Gen. Ormsby Mitchel, for whom Mitchelville is named, issued military orders freeing the slaves and setting land aside to create the village. Each family was given a quarter-acre plot to build a home and grow crops. The village of 1,500 or so was built along what is now Beach City Road at the island's north end.
The freedmen elected their own officials and passed their own laws, including the first compulsory education law in the South, before Constitutional amendments granted such rights for African Americans.
THE PRESENT
The nonprofit group seeking to preserve the site hopes to use the state money to help buy plots adjoining 35-acres of town- and county-donated land along Beach City Road.
The land abuts Fish Haul Creek Park, which the Town of Hilton Head has tentatively agreed to lease to the group so parts of the village can be recreated. The 10.5 acres would help the group preserve more of Mitchelville, which over time has been split, built up, sold, resold and eyed for development.
"We want to acquire as much of the original Mitchelville land as we can to preserve the spot where these freed slaves saw the dawn of freedom," newly named project chairman Randy Dolyniuk said.
The group is particularly interested in buying Jerre Weckhorst's house, a replica home and headquarters for Gen. Mitchel, which includes a trove of artifacts from the mid-19th century and earlier.
The house is not on the market, but Weckhorst said he will consider selling to the Mitchelville group.
The nonprofit group hopes it can purchase the five parcels for about $2.9 million.
"Two-hundred thousand dollars is a drop in the bucket, but is a very important drop in the bucket," Dolyniuk said. "That may be the seed money that will help us leverage more donations."
There is no timetable for completion of the project, which is in its early stages. Plans include ongoing archeological digs and research; replicas of cottages, a school, and a prayer house; commemorative statues and a welcome center.
"It's a shame more people, even those in Beaufort County, don't know about Mitchelville," Davis said. "We rightly recognize Penn Center and the historic district of downtown Beaufort, but don't give Mitchelville its due, and I will do whatever I can to raise public awareness and ensure it is preserved."
The Associated Press contributed to this story
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FINANCE VIDEO: McEwen Mining (TSE:MUX) Senior Vice President Ian Ball Interviewed at Hard Assets Conference in New York, 2012. - ABN Newswire Chinese
TSE:MUX) Senior Vice President Ian Ball Interviewed at Hard Assets Conference in New York, 2012.ABN Newswire interviews Ian Ball, Senior Vice President of McEwen Mining (TSE:MUX) at the Hard Assets conference in New York, 2012. The following transcript is associated with the full video interview.
Tim Mckinnon
I am with Ian Ball, Senior Vice President of McEwen Mining. Welcome Ian.
Ian Ball
Thank you very much. Thank you for having us today.
Tim Mckinnon
We are at Hard Assets New York. Now listen, just tell me a little bit about McEwen Mining, What does the company do, and how are you involved in it?
Ian Ball
McEwen Mining is a gold/silver producer. We have an operation in Southern Argentina. We are developing our second mine in Mexico and have a third project that is going through the permitting phases in Nevada. In addition we have one of the world's largest copper discoveries in North Western Argentina.
Tim Mckinnon
Fantastic, so what is the immediate project that you have got your focus on right now?
Ian Ball
Right now we are constructing in Mexico, so a lot of our attention is going there to ensure we get it done on time and on budget, as so many in the industry are falling over themselves with that, so that is where most of the immediate attention is going.
Tim Mckinnon
Are there any problems with infrastructure in Mexico because you are operating in a number of different provinces or regions?
Ian Ball
The infrastructure in Mexico is fairly good, we are about 10 kilometers away from electric power, we have paved roads within 2 kilometers of the project and we have good access to water, labor, so with the mine right now, the first phase is 70% built and we expect to have our first gold pour by the end of July.
Tim Mckinnon
End of July? That is very quick. So for investors wanting to get involved now, it is probably a good time?
Ian Ball
Right now a lot of investors are getting cautious because of Argentina with the recent nationalization of the state owned oil company and the new regulations that you see. People are saying "is this the beginning of something more for mining companies", so our share price has been under a lot of pressure because what has been happening in Argentina.
Tim Mckinnon
And across the industry the share prices are down.
Ian Ball
Across the industry certainly, yes.
Tim Mckinnon
But in terms of a company producing gold in the next, what, two months..
Ian Ball
Well we are producing gold right now, we are doing 100,000 ounces of gold a year, and then Mexico will increase that to 130,000 and we are projecting to up go to just under 300,000 ounces.
Tim Mckinnon
So in terms of projections where do you see the organisation in say two to three years?
Ian Ball
We are thinking that in three years we will have Mexico fully ramped up, we will have our Nevada property through the permitting phase and we see ourselves doing around 285,000 ounces of gold equivalent a year.
Tim Mckinnon
That is fantastic, and that would be on a market cap now of...
Ian Ball
Right now our market cap is 650 Million, so we have come off much of the industry.
Tim Mckinnon
So you are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange?
Ian Ball
Toronto Stock Exchange as well as the New York Stock Exchange.
Tim Mckinnon
And if somebody wanted to find out more about these projects or possibly get involved as an investor, they can go to your website?
Ian Ball
Yes, we have www.mcewenmining.com. You can go there for information or you can give us a phone call at our office, and we will be happy to speak to anyone.
Tim Mckinnon
Terrific thank you very much.
Ian Ball
Thank you very much having us. Thank you.
View the Video Interview at:
http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/72703/Mcewen
Spain injects €9bn into ailing lender Bankia - Daily Telegraph
The Spanish government had already been forced to part-nationalise the lender earlier this month and reports last week that customers had pulled €1bn out of the bank triggered a 30pc fall in shares.
Mr de Guindos said a total restructuring of the bank would occur after a thorough assessment and that the government would seek to sell Bankia once it has been cleaned up, as part of a strategy to restore investor confidence in the country’s banking sector.
The minister sought to ease concerns as fears about the health of the Spanish banking system have mounted in recent weeks because of their exposure to the collapsed property market. Spanish banks have an estimated €184bn of what the Bank of Spain describes “problematic” real estate-linked assets.
A week ago Moody’s slashed the ratings of 16 Spanish banks, citing the reduced ability of the Spanish government to provide support to the sector, as well as the “adverse operating conditions” created by a renewed recession.
The ratings agency also downgraded Santander UK, although it noted it has “no direct exposure to the Spanish government (or regional governments)”.
Spain has appointed consultancies Oliver Wyman and Roland Berger to carry out a stress test on the nation’s lenders, the results of which are to be published in the second half of June.
“The question is now about the long-term solvency of parts of Spain’s banking system, especially what is going to happen with mortgage loan default. This concern is not being addressed,” said Martin van Vliet, senior economist at ING.
Forex: JPY rises on traditional flight to safety - FXStreet.com
Access to Finance for Women, G20 - Unlocking Economic Potential - huffingtonpost.co.uk
The G20 represents the world's most important industrialised and developing economies and is the premier forum for international economic growth and development across the globe. Next month's meeting in Mexico brings an opportunity for the G20 to recognise the critical role that women play in global economic growth and stability in roles as producers, consumers, employees, and entrepreneurs. It is the G20's duty to call for women's inclusion to ensure they receive access to finance, markets, ownership of land, and the education and training that will allow them to operate in today's economy.
In these challenging financial times the world cannot afford to ignore the collective potential of women to contribute to economic development whilst improving the wellbeing of their families. Their business acumen is very often underpinned by a drive not only to improve their own future but also to provide for their families.
The meeting of the G20 leaders is an important event when changes can be made and challenges discussed. This year advancing financial inclusion for economic growth has been established as top priorities for the summit.
Women all over the world are constantly faced with the inability to provide for themselves and their family, blocked by discrimination and cultural norms forcing them to face an unnecessarily bleak future. Although women are often the main provider for the family, they are disadvantaged by access to finance or no access at all. If this was rectified they would be able to pay for their children to go to school and enable the next generation to have a better future, as well as be more stable providers for the family.
Agriculture plays a critical role in millions of women's survival. By giving a women access to finance in a rural village, she can purchase a solar panel and start a small business through her neighbours paying to charge their electrical goods, or she can purchase livestock to feed her family and produce goods to sell. Equal access to finance will open many doors for these women who currently have nowhere to turn and are discriminated against because of their gender.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and Farming First have produced an interactive graphic showing how women play a leading role in agriculture around the world and the challenges they are up against due to inequality. Investing in rural women has been proven to dramatically increase productivity and positively impact their lives. This doesn't just help women but also the family they are providing for and the communities they are members of.
On average in developing countries, 43% of the agricultural labour force are women and account for an estimated two-thirds of the world's 600 million poor livestock keepers. These women are discriminated against by societies, laws, tradition and access, that prevent them from owning and inheriting land.
By removing these gender discriminations it would dramatically improve food and nutrition security globally, and enable millions of women to provide for their families.
There are signs of progress with the G20 Finance Ministers recognising the need to increase women's access to financial services. This has been helped by the organisation La Pietra Coalition who has been asking the G20 to take action to advance women's financial inclusion, by endorsing the recommendations of the IFC and GPFI, and to insist that progress towards those commitments for women be measured and reported publicly.
I urge banks to work to ensure women have access and support to be able to obtain finance. I call on the G20 leaders to create the environment where women receive the support they deserve and require in order to continue to build on their contribution to the global economy. If the G20 collaborates with banks we can really start to tackle the disparities that exist in the global market and work towards creating a better environment for women.
Follow Baroness Mary Goudie on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BaronessGoudie
Put up an on-line poll for your readers to vote on. If and when you find the bottle to do this please don't be surprised by the result. It's time you put this crusade to rest.
- steve, exeter, 24/5/2012 04:36
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