Bank of Nova Scotia reported higher profit and revenue, but its share price fell after the bank narrowly missed analysts’ expectations.
The bank was the fifth to report its quarterly earnings and, like others in the sector, it found savings on lower loan loss provisions were offset by weaker trading revenues.
“The bank is performing as it was expected to perform. It was a really unsurprising type of quarter,†Edward Jones analyst Craig Fehr said in an interview after bank executives held a conference call Tuesday with analysts.
The bank said profit jumped 14 per cent to $1.06 billion, or 98 cents a share, as revenue held steady at $3.85 billion, up 11 million from last year.
However, the per share cash earnings, at 99 cents, missed analysts’ forecast by a penny, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue was relatively flat at $3.85 billion, up $11 million from the year earlier period, the bank said.
“Scotia’s third quarter earnings repeated many of the themes that we have seen in the Canadian bank reporting season. Lower than forecast provisions largely offset greater than anticipated weakness in trading revenues,†Barclays Capital Corp. analyst John Aiken wrote in a note to clients earlier in the day.
“While better than some of the results reported by its peers, we would be surprised if today’s earnings received more than a lukewarm reception.â€
The bank’s share price fell for the second day in a row to close at $51.25 down 65 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange, after following the sector higher for three days. It remains 11 per cent higher than a year ago.
It’s been a mixed quarter for the country’s big six banks so far.
The Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal both missed analysts’ consensus estimates, while National Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce beat them.
Toronto-Dominion Bank is the last to report, on Thursday.
The third largest bank by assets, the Bank of Nova Scotia is also Canada’s most international.
In its domestic banking business, the bank said it enjoyed another record quarter, earning $604 million, up 21 per cent from the year earlier period, on strong asset growth and higher contributions from wealth management.
Revenue rose $116 million, or 9 per cent, on gains in mortgage loans and mutual funds.
The bank cut its loan-loss provisions, funds set aside to cover defaults on loans, by half to $276 million from $554 million, as sign credit conditions are improving.
However, earnings at Scotia Capital, its securities dealer, fell 35 per cent to $305 million, while total revenue fell 37 per cent to $697 million as investors sat on the sidelines amid growing uncertainty about the global economic recovery.
“Scotia Capital delivered a solid quarter, notwithstanding a decline in trading revenues, as expected, from the records set in previous quarters,†chief executive officer Rick Waugh said in a release.
“Corporate lending revenues were negatively impacted by lower lending volumes, in part due to slower than expected merger and acquisition activities,†Waugh also noted.
Trading revenue plunged 43 per cent to $293 million, as revenue from securities trading fell 66 per cent and derivatives trading revenue fell 51 per cent. Foreign exchange and precious metals trading slipped to $122 million.
In its international operations, the bank said earnings rose 2 per cent to $317 million, despite the negative impact of a $89 million hit in foreign currency translation as the Canadian dollar rose.
International revenue rose 9 per cent to $1.38 billion. The bank has operations in 50 countries. It said conditions in some countries are improving, but the Caribbean remains challenging.
MIAMI – More than $389,000 worth of counterfeit merchandise was seized by special agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) during a two-day enforcement operation targeting flea markets in the South Florida area that were suspected of selling counterfeit trademarked goods.
On Aug. 22 and 23, ICE-HSI Commercial Fraud Investigations special agents, and officers from the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), conducted “Operation Fire Sale” at Miami-area flea markets. They seized counterfeit trademarked goods that were being sold by local merchants at numerous booths at the Homestead Bargain Town Flea Market at 24400 Packing House Road in Homestead, Fla. and the Opa Locka/Hialeah Flea Market at 12705 NW 42 Ave. in Miami.
The searches resulted in seizing 28,474 individual items, including counterfeit Adidas shirts and shorts, DVDs, CDs, and knock-off sunglasses by Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Christian Dior. Authorities estimate the collective value of the merchandise seized during the operation to be about $389,710, based upon the items’ suggested retail price if they were legitimate. The largest cache of counterfeits, estimated to be worth nearly $204,000, was CDs confiscated during an Aug. 23 search by ICE special agents at the Homestead Bargain Town Flea Market.
“Retailers who sell counterfeit products are ripping off consumers by selling sub-standard products,” said Anthony Mangione, ICE special agent-in-charge of ICE-HSI in Miami. “Selling counterfeit products undermines the U.S. economy, robs Americans of jobs, stifles American innovation, and promotes crime.”
The ICE-led enforcement action was assisted by the following law enforcement agencies: U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Import Specialist Branch and Seized Property, the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) and the Dade County Medical Examiners Photography Unit. Private industry brand security specialists also assisted from the following companies: Adidas, Coty, the Motion Picture Association of America, and the Recording Industry Association of America; two private investigations companies representing over 100 registered trademarks also participated.
ICE-HSI’s participation in the crackdown on counterfeit goods vendors is part of Operation Fire Sale, an agency initiative targeting intellectual property crime in several major cities nationwide, including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Philadelphia and Las Vegas. Spearheaded by the ICE-HSI-led National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), Operation Fire Sale resulted in seizing more than $16 million worth of counterfeit merchandise in those cities last week.
ICE-HSI plays a leading role in investigating the production, smuggling and distribution of counterfeit products and combating intellectual property rights (IPR) violations. While many ICE-HSI enforcement actions involve counterfeit designer clothing and accessories, some of the top commodities seized in ICE-HSI IPR investigations are products that pose disturbing risks to public safety and security, including counterfeit pharmaceuticals and critical technology components, such as computer chips for defense systems and airplane equipment.
ICE-HSI’s intellectual property theft enforcement efforts have continued to escalate in the past 18 months under this Administration. In fiscal year 2008, ICE initiated 643 intellectual property theft investigations during the entire year. In the first two quarters of this fiscal year, ICE-HSI initiated 560 intellectual property theft investigations. At that pace, ICE-HSI expects to increase its intellectual property theft enforcement by 40 percent compared to just two years ago.
Niki Chin Designs will headline Harlem Weeks fashion showcase and act as a spokesperson for the event on the WB11 Morning News at 8:45 am on Thursday August 12th.
The release of Niki Chin Designs 2010 swim wear line earlier this year has placed Niki Chin’s brand on the tongues of movers and shakers throughout fashion and music industries. The international fashion icon is making her impact felt with a rippling effect that is touching all demographics in all parts of the world.
Fresh off her “show stopping”, “scene stealing” display at the JRG “Bikini Under the Bridge” fashion show in Dumbo Brooklyn, Niki Chin Designs continued its international tour by headlining the fashion showcase for Fashion Connection at the Palisades Go-Kart Track in
Kingston, Jamaica. At Fashion Connection, NikiChin’s support team included EJ Albowicz and Sean “Due” Lashley of GoodThyme Click/MaxaMusic Group, dancehall personality Missy Soprano, Jeff Robinson of MBK Entertainment (Alicia Keys, Letoya Luckett) and up-and-coming celebrity host/VJ Kerry “Chiney K” Collins.
This Saturday Niki Chin will showcase her designs at the WBLS Flava Fashion showcase on August 14th in Harlem, NYC during the historic and prestigious Harlem Week. The runway is scheduled to commence at 5:00pm. Niki Chin will also appear on the WB11 Morning News on Thursday August 12th at 8:45 am to represent Harlem Week as the headlining designer. Harlem is the capital of African American Culture and Niki Chin’s diverse clientele is deeply rooted therein.
This event will be part of the yearly festivities that celebrates Harlem, it’s community and culture. Harlem is known for birthing many legends and this opportunity will be a perfect fit for NikiChin and her exceptionally unique designs.
The event will be held on Aug 14th 2010 at 5pm sharp on 135th and St Nicholas Avenue on the WBLS Stage. Its sure to be another great success for Niki Chin Designs.
Niki Chin Designs Inc.
Niki Chin Designs is poised to take the fashion world by storm. Niki Chin offers a fresh and unique approach to contemporary fashion which has caught the eyes of industry tastemakers and entertainment trendsetters. Niki Chin Designs have participated in fashion shows throughout the United States including the 2009 Harlem Fashion Week and 2009 South Florida Dancehall Awards Show. Niki Chin shows have been hosted by such notables as Kiki Shepherd (former co-host of Showtime at the Apollo), Toccara Jones of America’s Next Top Model, Paula “Suzie Q” Henry (host of Video Alley Reggae Top 10) and David “Squeeze” Annakie (publisher of Jamrock Magazine & host of Linkup Radio 93.5 in New York), as well as 98.7 Kiss FM in New York
Francine “Niki Chin” Gordon
Fashion designer Francine “Niki Chin” Gordon is the true meaning of the word talent. Her product lines include: Niki Chin Couture, Niki Chin Urban Wear, and also Niki Chin Accessories. It makes us wonder who is the woman behind the name “Niki Chin”?
Born Francine Gordon on December 20, 1981, in Kingston, Jamaica, Francine Gordon has come a long way from dreaming of being a star to actually interviewing stars on International television shows. Francine’s fashion sense was blossoming at an early age. As a child she would use scraps of old cloth to make her dolls new clothes. As she got older, she began altering her own clothes to fit or adorning them to look more unique and trendy. In 2007, she and longtime friend, musician and photographer Harold Grate decided to start a unique clothing line. Couture and funky Urban wear became the focus of Niki Chin.
Fashion design is just a portion of her outstanding capabilities. Apart from being a clothing designer and television host, Francine is a make-up artist, hair stylist, and portrait artist. In 2004, Francine landed a gig hosting a Caribbean television show in New York called “Plush TV” and eventually made a household name for herself in the Caribbean communities.
By Aisha Iqbal
Leeds turned into Rainbow City for a few joyous hours yesterday as the 43rd annual Leeds West Indian Carnival brought the streets to vibrant, multi-coloured life.
Thousands of people flocked to Chapeltown for the annual Caribbean flavoured bank holiday gala.
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The tempting smells of jerk chicken, goat curry and Jamaican rum wafted through the air as the crowds gathered in Potternewton Park to enjoy the pre-parade entertainment, including steel bands, Soca music, and arts and crafts stalls.
It was all a buzzing build-up to the main event – the carnival procession.
A magnificently adorned army of carnival troupes of all ages had the watching crowds enthralled as they wound their way out of the park from around 2pm.
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Led by the new carnival queen, the procession – including dragons, sun gods, tigers, peacocks, giant butterflies and a whole menagerie of magical costumes – made its way down Harehills Avenue for the beginning of a three-hour tour of inner-city Leeds.
Blazing sunshine had ensured a massive attendance for the 2010 community party.
Local families came out of their houses to watch the procession, with a cacophony of whistles and vuvuzelas welcoming the floats and fancy-dressed participants.
And coachloads of visitors from other cities were proof – if it was ever needed – that no one does carnival like Leeds!
One reveller summed up the mood saying: “It’s carnival man! It’s a celebration!”
Another visitor, Joanne Stevens, who was there with husband Andy and their two young children, said: “It’s great fun. It’s so colourful and magical, the children love it.
“Our favourite part was the procession, but the food was great too!
“The atmosphere is amazing and everyone seems to be having a fabulous time. We’ll definitely be back next year.”
A week of carnival- themed events in the lead-up to the big day ensured even those who couldn’t make it to the main day did not miss out on the party vibe.
The traditional King and Queen Show on Friday at Millennium Square featured the RJC Dance Group, the New World Steel Orchestra and a host of African dancers.
Participants had gathered early at carnival HQ, the Leeds West Indian Centre, on Monday for the traditional J’ouvert Morning call and warm-up.
Foreign real estate investors are being granted leases on government land for up to 99 years in a move that could see a raft of luxury villas, holidays homes and golf courses being built.
Developers have been urging the Cuban government to open up to foreign investment and more and more tourists are arriving on the Caribbean island.
A new law published last week loosened property rules to allow 99 year leases for foreigners as part of a package of measures introduced by President Raul Castro to scale back the state’s near total dominance of the economy while attempting to generate new revenue for a government short on cash.
One developer, Canadian based Leisure Canada, is pleased by the move. It wants to build hotels, villas and two golf courses on a beach in Jibocoa, 40 miles east of the capital Havana.
Cuba already allowed leases of state land for up to 50 years with the option to extend them for an additional 25, but foreign investors had long pressed tourism officials to endorse the 99 year lease as norm to attract more investors.
The longer leases also mean lower interest rates on international banking mortgages, making it easier for foreign investors to get loans to buy property.
Leisure hopes to begin construction on a luxury hotel in the Havana neighborhood of Miramar next year with the project at Jibacoa and another plan for development on Cayo Largo, a cay off Cuba’s southern coast, in the pipeline.
There are said to be a large number of real estate investors in Canada, Europe and Asia who want to cash in on the growing number of tourists visiting Cuba. They also hope that in the future relations between the island and the US will thaw, although both developers and buyers from the US to invest.
Developers are also keen to cash in on the demand for golf and a number of lavish 18 hole international standard golf courses are likely. The tourism Ministry says it would like to build 10 more.
British owned Esencia Hotels and Resorts has been at the forefront of real estate development in Cuba and has plans for a $300 million Carbonera Country Club, outside Varadero with a golf course, 800 luxury apartments and 100 vi
By Kara Patterson • Post-Crescent staff writer • August 31, 2010
Homegrown heart and soul fuels this weekend’s Fox Jazz Fest, which features headliners with Wisconsin ties who have achieved widespread recognition in their fields.
Pianist Geoffrey Keezer, a California-based Eau Claire native whose 2009 album “Aurea” received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album, headlines Saturday, the first day of the two-day free and public event. Vocalist Janet Planet of Oshkosh performs Sunday and will feature selections from three professional projects.
The Jazz Corner Society, the event’s umbrella organization, offers the 17th annual festival to the community as a free gift of jazz celebration, education, enjoyment and appreciation, said John Harmon, a pianist and composer from Winneconne who is the festival’s artistic director and emcee.
“Geoffrey Keezer, he was an absolute prodigy,” Harmon said. “He has virtuoso talent and sometimes displays it, but often he can be very simple and quite elegant. I think that’s part of his maturity as an artist. I think probably Janet (Planet) is probably one of the top five jazz singers in the country, personally. … She is probably the most articulate singer, it’s so clear. Plus, she’s so evocative. She can make you cry, and she can make you laugh.”
The event, themed “Home Cookin’,” takes place from noon to 8 p.m. each day at Jefferson Park in Menasha.
Keezer brings to the fest music from his CD “Wildcrafted” and also from the newer “Aurea,” which he says is not typical Latin jazz.
“It’s Afro-Peruvian and Argentine folk music mixed with jazz,” he said. “I went to Peru in 2004 for a jazz festival there and met several Peruvian musicians. It was really inspiring so I decided to start a project and play some of that music. What happened in Peru is … they had a slave trade so there are a lot of African Peruvians living there. They developed a kind of music that’s really interesting. It’s kind of a hybrid of Caribbean music and West African rhythms and the Spanish flamenco mixed in with it and then the native Andean Indian music.”
Planet said her audiences can expect to hear material from “Of Thee I Sing,” a 2009 concept album that she calls “a musical love letter to our country”; “Janet Planet Sings the Bob Dylan Songbook,” an homage to Dylan’s songs of the 1960s; and “Love Letters from Cary Bluff,” a CD in production that is a tribute to the late musician Chris Swansen.
“There are songs that just groove and really pay tribute to the words, which is kind of my thing,” Planet said. “Then there are the sensitivities as well as the kind of fun, spunky, bluesy types.”
“Janet Planet Sings the Bob Dylan Songbook” is scheduled for nationwide release Sept. 15, Planet said, but she plans to sell pre-release copies at Fox Jazz Fest.
Harmon said the festival is reaching out to youth, for they are the next generation of jazz listeners and musicians.
The fest’s third annual Jazz Improvisation Competition, sponsored in part by Heid Music, selected two high school students from a seven-county application pool to solo Saturday with a professional ensemble.
First-place winner Mike Darling, a Hortonville High School sophomore who plays the drums, piano, vibes and guitar, will showcase his skills on three of the four instruments. Ana M. Nelson, a saxophonist and clarinetist from Berlin High School, also will take the stage.
“I really love just playing blues guitar and really soulful stuff so I picked ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.’ You can have the space you need for the guitar just to speak,” Mike Darling, 15, said. “And then for my vibes piece I picked ‘Mr. P.C.’ because it’s faster. For ‘Donna Lee,’ which is the other soloist’s choice, I’m taking the drum solo.”
For members of the Neenah High School Jazz Ensemble, one of several student ensembles that perform during the fest, there is excitement in seeing how far they’ve come and also what possibilities may lie ahead for them.
“It makes the students part of this genre, this language,” said conductor David Dunning, who encourages students to take in as much of the event as possible. “Two Neenah grads (John Schwerbel and Patrick Kelly) are out in California in school, and they just finished freshman year … they’re going to be playing a duo on Sunday afternoon. They’re slotted in just like some of the regular professionals. The students are excited that somebody they know from being in school with is now playing like that.”
The festival, which takes about $40,000 to run, relies on grants, donations and sponsorships to return each year, said Harmon, who said attendance last year amounted to about 3,500 listeners on Saturday and at least 2,000 on Sunday.
Planet said jazz is powerful, and she has noticed over the years how people have been affected by its honesty and heart.
“What it truly boils down to is hoping you bring love and compassion and hope to the listeners,” she said.
Source: Post Crescent News
Hurricane Earl
Earl, one of the two strongest hurricanes of the Atlantic season, headed toward the U.S. East coast after passing north of Puerto Rico today packing sustained winds of 135 miles (215 kilometers) per hour.
The Category 4 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale was 150 miles north-northwest of San Juan in Puerto Rico moving west-northwest at 13 mph at 5 a.m. Miami time, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on its website.
The storm may strike North Carolina’s Outer Banks by Sept. 3 while a “major†hurricane with winds of at least 111 mph, the center predicted. Tropical storm conditions are likely to affect the Turks and Caicos Islands today while heavy winds will subside in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, it also said.
Earl’s northward march poses “a serious threat to the East coast as we approach the Labor Day weekend,†Jim Rouiller, senior energy meteorologist at the commercial forecaster Planalytics Inc., said in an e-mail. U.S. East coast beaches are often crowded for the Sept. 6 Labor Day holiday.
Earl is being followed by Tropical Storm Fiona, which formed yesterday over the Atlantic Ocean, and remained a “weak†system early today with sustained winds of 40 mph, the hurricane center said.
Fiona was 590 miles east of the Leeward Islands heading west-northwest at 23 mph, the center said. The storm is predicted to pass to the northeast of the Caribbean islands on a course between Bermuda and the U.S. Eastern seaboard.
Hovensa Refinery
Tropical storm watches, which indicate such conditions are expected within two days, were in place for Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius.
Earl’s winds have reached the same intensity as Danielle, which late yesterday weakened to 70 mph over the North Atlantic as the system became a post-tropical storm, an indication it’s no longer deriving its energy from warm waters. Earl’s tropical storm-force winds extended up to 200 miles from its eye and hurricane-force winds reached 70 miles, the center said.
Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos all remained under tropical storm warning because of Earl, which was causing torrential downpours.
Hovensa LLC’s St. Croix refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands operated though the island ports were shut as Earl passed to the east. The refinery sends finished products including heating oil and gasoline to the U.S. Gulf and East coasts, according to the company’s website.
“The outer rain bands of Hurricane Earl will continue to bring periods of torrential rainfall and tropical storm-force winds to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through the morning hours,†the National Weather Service said in a local advisory. “Due to very saturated soils across the local islands, flash flooding as well as mudslides can be expected with the heavier showers.â€
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November, with the coming weeks usually the most active.
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