Police elections: Welsh ballot paper decision 'shambolic'

Arrangements for next month's cops and criminal activity elections in Wales have been known as a "shambles" after it appeared an approximated £350,000 value of ballots documents are likely to be destroyed.

Peers accepted programs to create multilingual ballots in both Welsh and British on Thursday, 48 time before a due date for delivering out mailing ballots in Wales.

Ballots published only in British will now have to be tossed away.

Labour said countless numbers had been invested on "creating spend paper".

But ministers said it was not unmatched for identical legal purchases to be accepted soon before elections and the same had occurred in the run-up to this years common selection.

Voters will go to the forms across Britain and Wales on 15 Nov to opt cops and criminal activity commissioners to substitute current hired cops govt bodies.

Ministers said they were dedicated to guaranteeing "full parity" between British and Welsh dialects on poll documents in Wales.

But Labor and Checked Cymru said it was absurd that the issue had come to Parliament for acceptance so delayed in the day and that ministers had originally designed to search for their acceptance in May.

"With the moving of this purchase, enabling the use of multilingual poll documents, the British poll documents already printed will be tossed away - £350,000 invested on developing spend document," said Labor fellow Master Touhig.

Lib Dem fellow Master Roberts said it was "a shambolic way" to perform any kind of selection. "The poll documents are expected to be going out within the next 48 time," he said. "It is beyond my understanding."

For the govt, Master Taylor said the price of the poll documents would be met from the £75m funds for the elections.

Earlier, at a conference of the Third Assigned Regulation Panel, monitoring reverend Damian Natural said that 2.3 thousand British terminology only poll documents would be "dealt with securely".

The Four Most Important Things I Have Ever Learned by WOW JV Partner, Beverly Lewis

One of the first blogs I started reading by a fellow speaker was John Spence. His March post with this same title was very thought–provoking and I determined right then and there to start a Lifepoint blog. It’s pretty hard to limit this list to 4 things, but here it is:
1. I don’t have to be right. Having the attitude of “I’m right and I’ll prove it” is definitely an obstacle in effective communication. Whether it’s dialogue with a co-worker or my spouse, when I am focused on being right, I don’t truly listen. I’m too busy thinking about my rebuttal to hear or respond well to them. (Warning – your pride will take a beating if you apply this lesson. But your relationships will improve with more effective communication. Pride – as in inflated ego is overrated anyway.)
2. Be real and be willing to confront an issue. Okay – I’ll admit it. I’m a pleaser. Like most characteristics, there are 2 sides to this. Indeed, I’m quite a diplomat and I excel at customer service. But as a leader, (“boss-lady”), there are times when direct confrontation is called for. I have found that a problem left to fester only gets worse with time – not better. So the ostrich’s approach of sticking his head in the sand is a sorry tactic and simply doesn’t work in business.
3. Take care of yourself – stress will eat you alive if you let it. None of us are indispensable – though we perceive ourselves to be. Rest, refuel, refresh and take time for family and friends.
4. The 80/20 rule is as certain as the law of gravity. Understanding the rule is critical. It prevents whining, resentment and bitterness. You simply can’t change people. Be thankful when you have the passion, vision and energy to do what others are unwilling to do. (That means you’ll have things they only dream of having.)
The Best is Yet to Come,

Beverly
850-773-0004
BeverlySpeaks.com
Slingshotsuccess.com
Twitter: @beverlyspeaks
The Lion's Guild - A Strategic Alliance for Business Owners & Non-profit Leaders. Increase Your Impact & Your Income with a Team that ROARS!

Time to Move into International Stocks by Bonnie Gortler

The stock market is off to a good beginning in 2012. Within the setting of the market rally there have been some shifts in the relative performance of different areas of the market that have taken place since the start of the year.  Utilities and consumer staples, which were strong last year, have been out of favor so far. The international sector was hit hard last year, but this formerly weak area of the stock market has been improving in relative strength on both a short and intermediate term basis. 

One of our favorites is the iShares Emerging Markets Index ETF (EEM) which is one of the most popular ETFs for gaining exposure to the emerging market area.  EEM holds stocks in ten of the world’s largest emerging markets, with its three biggest weightings being China (17%)  Brazil (15%) and South Korea (15%) as of 12/31/11.  It also holds stocks in Taiwan, South Africa, Russia, India, Mexico, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Top holdings and sector breakdown can be found on the iShares website http://bit.ly/yHtp5V

The chart below shows that after being weaker than the S&P 500 Index for much of 2011 a shift in strength has taken place, with EEM stronger than the S&P 500 Index for the past month.  Moreover, EEM has crossed above its 200-day moving average, and has bested its high from last October.  All of these developments are bullish, both for emerging markets in particular and for global stock markets generally.

Figure: iShares Emerging Markets Index ETF (EEM), daily (top half), and relative strength of EEM versus the S&P 500 SPDR (bottom half). Notice that EEM has crossed above its 200-day moving average for the first time since last July.  The level of this moving average,  $42.39, is now a support zone.  EEM is now also higher than its October high point.

The bottom half shows that emerging markets (EEM) were weaker than the S&P 500 (SPY) starting from August 1 through early January.  However, that trend has reversed itself, as evidenced by the trendline break on January 13, 2012.

Another ETF that can be used for an international representation is the iShares MSCI EAFE Index ETF (EFA). The benchmark EAFE Index for this ETF represents mainly large-cap stocks from developed countries outside of North America.   The top three countries in this ETF are United Kingdom 22.7% Japan 21.17% and France 8.7%. The top 3 sectors are 22.56% financials 12.7% industrials and 10.8% consumer services. More details about the top holdings as of 2/1/11 along with the sector breakdown can be found at: http://bit.ly/A9f8gm. 

Figure: iShares MSCI EAFE Index ETF (EFA) weekly, and relative strength versus the S&P 500 SPDR.
Top clip: The price of EFA remains below its October 2011 peak, unlike emerging markets (EEM) or SPY.
Middle clip: The relative strength between EFA and SPY has been in a downtrend since October 2009.
Bottom clip: The MACD of the relative strength is far below zero, suggesting that EFA has the potential to recover some ground lost relative to the S&P 500. 

This ETF has been under pressure and in a down trend since late April, 2011, losing 12.25% in 2011 including dividends. The relative strength chart pattern is long-term oversold on a weekly chart and is therefore in position for a meaningful rally to occur.  (See chart above.) As with EEM, the short term down trend in relative strength compared to the S&P 500 was broken on a daily and intermediate term basis in January.

Investors wishing to invest in foreign markets can use a combination of the iShares Emerging Markets Index ETF (EEM) and the EAFE Index ETF (EFA).  We have recently increased our foreign equity exposure for clients.

Bonnie Gortler, Head Portfolio Manager
Signalert Asset Management, LLC

phone:  516 829 6444    *    email: bgortler@signalert.com  

Add

How Do You Create a Lifestyle of Happiness and Well-Being? by Gena Livings

In order to create a lifestyle of true happiness, balance and well being you first must journey deep down inside yourself. The answer lies deep within where no one else is looking but you. Happiness is not just something that comes to you; it’s something you choose to create for yourself. Waiting for something to happen or change in order to be happy is putting your life on permanent hold. It is not what happens to you that counts but instead how you choose to “react” and “handle” what happens to you that really matters. It’s your attitude of gratitude that sets the foundation for the rest of your life. When you adopt a positive attitude and are grateful for what already “is” then life becomes much more rewarding and fulfilling instead of just something you simply endure.

Positive emotions give you energy and vitality, while negative emotions completely drain and deplete your life force. When you are excited and happy and living life to its fullest, you radiate with energy and enthusiasm. When you are feeling angry, resentful, or negative for any reason, you feel drained, frustrated and eventually burn out and lose all your life energy. Feelings and emotions are very normal and serve various purposes. For example, anger, guilt, bitterness and hopelessness are a sort of internal guidance system. Negative emotions let us know that something in our lives is out of balance. They can provoke us to action, help us make decisions and alert us to emotional needs that are unmet. While emotional variety can spice up your life, remaining stuck in a prolonged negative emotional state is something to be avoided.

Exercise is one way to foster a positive state of mind and is one of the best things you can do to maintain your mental and physical well being. When the body is healthy and full of vitality the mind will follow. If your body doesn’t feel right, you won’t be in the mood to fully enjoy life and be happy. The hormone believed to be responsible for our feelings of happiness is known as an “endorphin.” The more endorphins we have in our bodies and reaching into our brains, the more content and happier we feel. Exercise has been found to raise the level of endorphins in the body and when this reaches the neurons of the brain, we experience a lifting of the happiness and contentment we feel.

Adopting a positive attitude and exercising takes commitment, planning and dedication. Be patient with yourself and follow your plan through. Strive for a regular routine, one that is realistic and manageable.

Don’t worry about being perfect, instead be kind and appreciate yourself for the person you already ARE. But it’s also very important to begin to make your new healthy lifestyle a “habit” of conscious decision and choice. Becoming a more healthy and happy person is the ultimate goal and the path towards a healthy lifestyle. ~Gena

Download your Fr*ee gift online at GenaLivings.com