Other lobbyists look for lessons in NRA success

The National Rifle Association notched another victory this week with the defeat of gun control legislation in the Senate, burnishing its reputation as one of the most effective — if not the most effective — lobbying organizations around. Lobbyists for all sorts of other causes are looking at the NRA’s success and wondering how they might crib some of the secrets of its playbook.

Jim Thurber has taught a how-to lobbying course at American University for 30 years. The NRA is so good, Thurber says, he brings their chief lobbyist in to talk to students. Thurber says the NRA does have lots of money, but the real lesson here is how it organizes its members to pressure lawmakers.

“So they have at least 180,000 that are immediately reactive to anything that’s going on,” Thurber says. “Through the internet, they get mobilized and send a message.”

Toby Moffett knows some of the targets of those messages. He’s a former member of Congress, who now lobbies mostly on behalf of foreign countries. He says some House Democrats told him they were amazed at how their incoming emails suddenly turned against gun control, during the recent debate.

“Their mail had totally flipped,” he explains. “From 5-1 in favor of doing something, to 5-1 against doing something.  Now, that didn’t just happen by accident. That was the NRA.”

Even though Moffett is a gun control supporter, he appreciates the NRA’s lobbying prowess. He uses similar tactics to build citizen coalitions for his clients.

Steve Fox is also a lobbyist. He’s with the Marijuana Policy Project, which wants to change federal laws on pot. He tries to emulate the NRA’s ability to frame an issue in terms of fundamental rights.

“They are focused on guns, he says. “We are focused on marijuana. They’re similar in that way. It’s sort of an individual liberty issue.”

Fox’s group has even tried to join forces with the NRA to overturn a law that prohibits marijuana users from owning guns. But so far, the NRA isn’t interested.

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Other lobbyists look for lessons in NRA success

From Snow White to Wreck-it Ralph: A look back at Disney animation

Disney is letting go of nine of its animators from the company’s hand drawn animation team, a month after it announced it has no further plans to work in the traditional 2D format. That’s despite the success of the Oscar winning short Paperman, a hybrid of hand drawn and computer animation. So how did Disney go from Snow White to Wreck-It Ralph?

In 1908 Émile Cohl debuted what is widely considered to be the first animated film ever, Fantasmagorie.

20 years later Walt Disney released its own animated short, this time with sound.It was called Steamboat Willie, and it features a black and white mouse named Mickey.

But the process of drawing individual animation cells was time consuming. When Disney released his first feature film Snow White in in 1937, it had taken 3 years to complete.

“He had to keep hiring animators because he realized, ‘Oh my god, I’m never going to get this project done in time, says Dana Hawkes is an animation arts consultant at Bonams. “So now it doesn’t take quite as long, probably half that time.”

Movie goers don’t seem to miss hand drawn animation though. Disney’s recent hand drawn features The Princess and the Frog and Winnie the Pooh both made significantly less money than Disney’s latest computer animated feature Wreck it Ralph which grossed nearly $ 200 million at the box office.

 

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From Snow White to Wreck-it Ralph: A look back at Disney animation

UPDATE 1-ECB seen on hold, markets look for signs of later cut

Thu Apr 4, 2013 3:16am EDT

* ECB expected to keep interest rates at 0.75 pct

* May loosen collateral framework to revive lending

* Rate decision due at 1145 GMT, press conference 1230 GMT

By Eva Kuehnen

FRANKFURT, April 4 (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday but investors will be looking for any signs it is preparing for a cut in coming months to help lift the euro zone out of recession.

Despite a recent drop in economic sentiment and falling inflation, a Reuters poll of 73 economists showed little change in expectations, with rates set to remain at 0.75 percent – tiny, but still the highest level among the world’s major central banks.

As the world recovers from the financial crisis, the ECB has lent less support to the economy than its peers in Japan, the United States or Britain, who have launched massive asset purchase programmes and cut rates closer to zero.

Japan went a step further on Thursday. The Bank of Japan’s new governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, shocked markets with a radical overhaul of its policymaking, adopting a new balance sheet target and pledging to double its government bond holdings in two years as it seeks to end nearly two decades of deflation.

The unexpected scope of the changes drove the yen lower and knocked the 10-year bond yield to its lowest in a decade.

Earlier in the week, ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure had warned against countries directly pursuing overt competitive devaluations, especially if other central banks had limited room to manoeuvre.

Japan’s moves are designed to push inflation higher, lifting the country out of decades of deflation and minimal growth.

Less is expected of central bank meetings in Europe where the Bank of England concludes its policy meeting at 1100 GMT and is expected to wait with further bond buys.

The ECB itself is unlikely to go down a similar path to its international peers at its policy meeting, which began early on Thursday, not even to boost lending to households and companies in the euro zone periphery, which so far enjoy limited benefit from record-low ECB rates.

“Apart perhaps from loosening some of the collateral rules again, we don’t expect that the ECB is yet ready to launch into any programmes in terms of purchases of assets,” said Citi economist Guillaume Menuet.

“The Governing Council will be mulling over a change of tone to prepare investors for an easing of monetary policy later in the quarter,” said Menuet, who had pencilled in a 25-basis point cut in the main refinancing rate for May or June.

RECOVERY STALLS

After early signs of stabilisation in the euro zone economy at the start of the year, March marked a set back as Cyprus narrowly escaped a financial meltdown by securing a last-minute bailout and Italy struggled to end a post-election deadlock.

Euro zone economic sentiment fell after four months of gains, surveys showed manufacturing across the bloc fell deeper into decline and inflation eased to 1.7 percent, departing further from the ECB’s target of below, but close to 2 percent.

One month’s readings will not be enough to change the ECB’s policy stance, but any indication of heightened concern about growth prospects or the inflation outlook will not go unnoticed ECB President Mario Draghi’s post-meeting news conference.

Draghi will also likely be asked by journalists whether the Cyprus rescue deal that for the first time penalised large bank depositors will serve as a model for future bank bailouts, something some ECB policymakers have denied.

ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny two weeks ago doused hopes for further cuts, saying in the current situation lower interest rates would not have much of an effect. His colleague, Yves Mersch, made similar comments last week.

The ECB’s main worry is that its low rates are not reaching households and firms in the euro zone periphery, mainly because banks’ funding costs in crisis stricken countries are higher than those in the core countries, pushing up loan costs.

This affects small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular as they have few alternatives to bank funding.

Draghi said after the March policy meeting that the ECB was studying options to address the issue, but that they were not planning “anything special”. Since then, several policymakers have said a number of options were being looked at.

Nowotny said one plan was to package SME loans, but rejected suggestions the central bank could buy them directly, saying instead that the ECB would work through the banking system.

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Reuters: Bonds News

UPDATE 1-ECB seen on hold, markets look for signs of later cut

A look at Cyprus" move to seize bank deposits

PARIS (AP) — Lawmakers in Cyprus are still scrambling for a way to raise €5.8 billion ($ 7.5 billion) to help pay for an international bailout of the country’s banks and government.
Business Headlines

A look at Cyprus" move to seize bank deposits

A look at Cyprus" decision to tax depositors

PARIS (AP) — People with bank accounts in Cyprus were shocked Saturday to learn that as part of an agreement reached with international creditors the government has imposed a tax on all deposits to help bail out the nation and its banks. Here’s a look at the tax, which can be as high as 9.9 percent, and the problems it may pose.
Business Headlines

A look at Cyprus" decision to tax depositors

Icahn gets confidential look at Dell"s books

Investor Carl Icahn speaks at the Wall Street Journal Deals & Deal Makers conference at the New York Stock Exchange in this June 27, 2007 file photograph.

Credit: Reuters/Chip East/Files

Reuters: Business News

Icahn gets confidential look at Dell"s books

Politicians look for credit in a rising economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Increased hiring, lower unemployment, stock market on the rise. Who gets the credit?
Business Headlines

Politicians look for credit in a rising economy

Does This Look Like An "Adverse Scenario"?

The chart below summarizes the “unprecedented” balance sheet and income statement “stress” that the Fed envisions would occur in its draconian “Adverse Case.” Ok, we give up: we seriously don’t get the joke here. Can someone please explain?

Via Table A1 Page 37 (here)

 

and the tabular version – the red and green arrows show the actual downturns before things start to improve…

 

Amazing…

Zero Hedge

Does This Look Like An "Adverse Scenario"?

Look past the headlines: Horse meat is cheaper, healthier

A major scandal in Europe over horsemeat is having an unexpected consequence in Britain: A surge in sales of horseburgers.

The scandal is over the mis-labelling of ready-to-eat meals that were said to contain beef but were discovered to be mostly horsemeat. Tens of thousands of products have been removed from supermarket shelves, multi-million dollar lawsuits are looming and criminal prosecutions pending.

But one corner of the British food industry is benefiting from the crisis: Speciality meat suppliers are reporting a roaring trade in horse.

Julia Toomey of Kezie Foods in Scotland says she is selling more horseburgers than ever:

“Because of this scandal that’s broken out, people are quite curious to taste it. So sales have increased at least 100 percent in the last few weeks. People are wanting to try it.”

As in the U.S., there is still a powerful taboo in Britain about eating horse. But the scandal has cast an accidental light on the potential benefits: Horsemeat is said to be healthier than beef, with half the fat and more protein — and it’s up to five-times cheaper.

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Look past the headlines: Horse meat is cheaper, healthier

CFPB to look at college-backed financial products aimed at students

The college ID card ain’t what it used to be. Ask Chris May, who lives in Atlanta and recently enrolled at Georgia State University. Like many students, the 29-year old relies on financial aid. In years past, we would have waited for a paper check or a refund from the school’s business office. But Chris’s student ID has all that cash pre-loaded.  It’s half ID card, half Discover debit card.

“I’ve been able to get gas with it and eat with it,” he says, adding that it’s been helpful and convenient. 

For Chris and about 40 percent of U.S. college students, their student IDs not only get them into the library, but also pay for dinner and a movie.  But there’s growing concern over how colleges and banks work out those co-branded agreements, prompting an inquiry by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“Are school marketing agreements with banks and credit unions letting students get a better deal,” asks Rohit Chopra, student loan ombudsman at the CFPB. “Or, are they sometimes worse off?”

Chopra says colleges are required to disclose agreements they have with banks for traditional credit cards. But not so with bank cards pre-loaded with student aid. And the cards can be big business for colleges and universities. Arizona State reportedly earns $ 15 for each new student it links to a debit account offered by MidSouth Bank. 

At Ohio State, a deal with Huntington Bank is raking in $ 25 million over the next 15 years.

“We ensure there is no marketing of credit products,” says Geoff Chatas, Ohio State’s CFO. “We’re asking and working with the financial institution to provide financial literacy education. I think when you look at all of those things together, you see that these can be structured in a very positive way.”

Chatas says the Huntington Bank/OSU deal is funding things like classroom renovations and the school’s endowment. But not all bank marketing deals are good for students, says the Public Interest Research Group.

In a recent report, PIRG found students often pay fees big and small, eating away at money that’s supposed to be set aside for tuition.  A company called Higher One is one of the biggest players in the game, holding card agreements with more than 500 campuses with a combined enrollment of more than 4.3 million students. In August, Higher One settled with the FDIC over unfair and misleading practices.  It paid restitution to 60,000 students. Teresa Valerio Parrot, a spokeswoman for Higher One, says the company will not comment until after the CFPB inquiry.  

Another big player in the college debit card field is Wells Fargo, which handles college-related debit cards for some two-million students. “We want students to have a good experience so they continue to choose us,” says Erin Constantine, a senior VP with the bank.

Constantine says getting young adults’ business early can lead to long-term gain for the bank.

“It starts out with a checking account, a savings account, but then they continue to bank with us as their financial needs change,” she says, adding that debit cards teach students financial responsibility.

The National Association of College and University Business Officers, or “NACUBO,” also says agreements between banks and universities can be beneficial. The deals often streamline the financial aid process for college business offices, says Liz Clark, NACUBO’s Director of Congressional Affairs. 

 “At the end of the day, we don’t want to see the baby thrown out with the bathwater. We think that these programs bring a lot of benefits to students and campuses,” says Clark.

NACUBO has published a list of “best practices” to serve as a guide on how schools should handle co-branding IDs and debit cards. The organization also plans to file comments with the CFPB. Parents, students, colleges and financial institutions have until March 18^th to offer input. Based on what it hears, the CFPB will decide later this year what regulation, if any, could be warranted.   

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CFPB to look at college-backed financial products aimed at students

Look, up in the sky ... a gold mine in space?

There was a lot of attention on the sky Friday.. 

While most of us were sleeping, an exploding meteor — the size of an 18-wheeler — pummeled parts of Russia with massive shock waves that injured thousands.

 It also blew out parts of a zinc plant there, causing zinc prices to spike almost one percent. There were worries thay the damaged plant would crimp supplies of the metal. 

 Not so, says Alex King, who directs the Ames National Laboratory.

 “This [facility] is a very small component of the world’s total supply,” he says.

 Zinc prices fell back to terra firma by day’s end, actually closing slightly down. 

A bit later in the day, a totally unrelated asteroid known as DA14 — 150 feet in length — skirted past the earth at a record-close 17,200 miles.

 DA14’s passage didn’t trigger any fluctuations in metal prices. But in the near future, similar flybys might.

 Take, for example, if DA14 had been 150 feet of platinum.

 “That’d be pretty valuable,” says Stephen Fleming, vice president of the Enterprise Innovation Institute at Georgia Tech. “Actually, it’d crash the world markets.”

 As DA14 passed, scientists hit the asteroid with radar to find out exactly what it’s made of. Most believe it’s probably just rock. 

Even so, Fleming says two companies — Planetary Resources and Deep Space, Inc. — are working on ways to mine precious metals from asteroids near and far.  

 “Now that you’ve got two people in it, now you’ve got a horse race.  Suddenly, it’s an industry,” he says.  

 Fleming believes early missions are on the horizon, although they’ll likely net only small amounts of precious metals at first. But there exists the potential for billions of dollars to be made.

 Proof that what’s now considered space debris could one day be space treasure.   

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Look, up in the sky ... a gold mine in space?