The best mutual funds you can buy Don't dwell on your losses.

Money 70: The best mutual funds you can buy Don't dwell on your losses. Focus on things you can control, like investing costs and consistency. That's what the MONEY will help you do. window.onerror funcion By Penelope Wang, Money Magazine senior writer (Money Magazine Could 2008 have been any worse for fund investors? As we went to press, not a single stock fund made money, and defying the laws of diversification, many bond funds fell too. Still, the MONEY 70, our recommended list of mutual and exchange-traded funds, held up better than most. More than 60% of our actively managed funds ranked in the top half of their categories last year; over the past five, 83% beat their peers. Of course, category-trouncing performance isn't the mission of the MONEY 70, since no one can predict future returns. Instead, we provide a mix of high-quality funds - including index funds and ETFs - which you can use to build a diversified portfolio. We stick with the criteria that matter most, like low fees, which let you keep more of your returns. When it comes to actively managed funds, we also look for consistent strategies and experience. And we care how well funds treat their shareholders. So we pay attention to Morningstar's stewardship grades, which rate such factors as a fund group's culture and regulatory history. As for performance, we focus on funds that rank in the top half of their peers over five years but make exceptions when a manager's style is out of favor. This year we're making only two switches. First, we're dropping Matrix Advisors Value because its assets slipped below our $100 million minimum. Funds that small pose a greater risk of raising fees or merging. If you own it, though, there's no reason to sell. We're then adding Allianz NFJ Small Cap Value, a fund that invests in dividend-paying small stocks and that recently reopened. We're also bringing back a former MONEY 70 fund that reopened, Third Avenue Small Cap Value, which buys undervalued high-quality stocks. To fit it in, we're dropping Bridgeway Small Cap Value - a fund we like but that tends to have wilder swings. Whichever funds you choose, be patient. Whether the recovery takes another five months or five years, you can be sure that the low fees, consistent strategies and trustworthy management of the {true;} if(!self.clickURL) clickURL=cleanClickURL(parent.location.href);EMAIL PRINT SHARE RSS TWITTER DIGG FACEBOOK DEL.ICIO.US REDDIT STUMBLE .rss Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader See all cnnShareLinks.iniMoney','rss.cnn.com/rss/magazines_moneymag.rss'); // EDIT THIS catch(e) { By Penelope Wang, Money Magazine senior writer (Money Magazine) -- Could 2008 have been any worse for fund investors? As we went to press, not a single stock fund made money, and defying the laws of diversification, many bond funds fell too. Still, the MONEY 70, our recommended list of mutual and exchange-traded funds, held up better than most. More than 60% of our actively managed funds ranked in the top half of their categories last year; over the past five, 83% beat their peers. Of course, category-trouncing performance isn't the mission of the MONEY 70, since no one can predict future returns. Instead, we provide a mix of high-quality funds - including index funds and ETFs - which you can use to build a diversified portfolio. We stick with the criteria that matter most, like low fees, which let you keep more of your returns. When it comes to actively managed funds, we also look for consistent strategies and experience. And we care how well funds treat their shareholders. So we pay attention to Morningstar's stewardship grades, which rate such factors as a fund group's culture and regulatory history. As for performance, we focus on funds that rank in the top half of their peers over five years but make exceptions when a manager's style is out of favor. This year we're making only two switches. First, we're dropping Matrix Advisors Value because its assets slipped below our $100 million minimum. Funds that small pose a greater risk of raising fees or merging. If you own it, though, there's no reason to sell. We're then adding Allianz NFJ Small Cap Value, a fund that invests in dividend-paying small stocks and that recently reopened. We're also bringing back a former MONEY 70 fund that reopened, Third Avenue Small Cap Value, which buys undervalued high-quality stocks. To fit it in, we're dropping Bridgeway Small Cap Value - a fund we like but that tends to have wilder swings. Whichever funds you choose, be patient. Whether the recovery takes another five months or five years, you can be sure that the low fees, consistent strategies and trustworthy management of the MONEY 70 funds will keep working in your favor.the hedging contracts that had prevented the company from taking full advantage of the recent upswing in gold prices were hurting the company's bottom line and its share price. For many years, Barrick has engaged in hedging selling much of its production at pre-determined prices. That guaranteed a certain minimum price for its gold but prevented it from taking full advantage of rising gold prices. "The gold hedge book has been a particular concern among our shareholders and the broader market, which we believe has obscured the many positive developments within the company," Barrick CEO Aaron Regent said in a statement. "As a result of today's decision, we have addressed that concern and maintained our financial flexibility." The company announced in 2003 that it would end its hedging program within 10 years. Barrick Gold is the world's largest producer of gold. the hedging contracts that had prevented the company from taking full advantage of the recent upswing in gold prices were hurting the company's bottom line and its share price. For many years, Barrick has engaged in hedging selling much of its production at pre-determined prices. That guaranteed a certain minimum price for its gold but prevented it from taking full advantage of rising gold prices. "The gold hedge book has been a particular concern among our shareholders and the broader market, which we believe has obscured the many positive developments within the company," Barrick CEO Aaron Regent said in a statement. "As a result of today's decision, we have addressed that concern and maintained our financial flexibility." The company announced in 2003 that it would end its hedging program within 10 years. Barrick Gold is the world's largest producer of gold. the hedging contracts that had prevented the company from taking full advantage of the recent upswing in gold prices were hurting the company's bottom line and its share price. For many years, Barrick has engaged in hedging selling much of its production at pre-determined prices. That guaranteed a certain minimum price for its gold but prevented it from taking full advantage of rising gold prices. "The gold hedge book has been a particular concern among our shareholders and the broader market, which we believe has obscured the many positive developments within the company," Barrick CEO Aaron Regent said in a statement. "As a result of today's decision, we have addressed that concern and maintained our financial flexibility." The company announced in 2003 that it would end its hedging program within 10 years. Barrick Gold is the world's largest producer of gold. the hedging contracts that had prevented the company from taking full advantage of the recent upswing in gold prices were hurting the company's bottom line and its share price. For many years, Barrick has engaged in hedging selling much of its production at pre-determined prices. That guaranteed a certain minimum price for its gold but prevented it from taking full advantage of rising gold prices. "The gold hedge book has been a particular concern among our shareholders and the broader market, which we believe has obscured the many positive developments within the company," Barrick CEO Aaron Regent said in a statement. "As a result of today's decision, we have addressed that concern and maintained our financial flexibility." The company announced in 2003 that it would end its hedging program within 10 years. Barrick Gold is the world's largest producer of gold.

Real Estate September 10th, 2009

Buyers will be allowed to return their car or truck within 60 days if they’re not satisfied.Buy a new General Motors car. Don’t like it? Return it and get your money back.General Motors, in a bid to appeal to consumers upset about decades of poor quality and the carmaker’s government bailout, is launching an unusual [...] Tags: businesses, buyers, general motors, money No Comments » more... Case: Commercial Real Estate Next to Fall September 10th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Wellesley College economics professor Karl Case, co-founder of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, says commercial real estate “absolutely” could be the next domino to fall.“It’s not as big as residential,” he pointed out in an interview with Dan Mangru of Moneynews.About 30 percent of U.S. loans are secured with residential real estate, compared to 13 [...] Tags: economics, economy, loans, real estate No Comments » more... GM will offer 60-day, money-back guarantee on new cars September 10th, 2009 by Financial Writer Frustrated that many shoppers won’t even consider its cars, General Motors says starting Monday, buyers of new GM models can bring them back within 60 days, no questions asked, and get back the price of the car.GM’s Vauxhall brand used a money-back guarantee in the U.K. some years ago, GM marketing chief Bob Lutz says, [...] Tags: buyers, general motors, money, us No Comments » more... China Ramps Up To Buy Cheap U.S. Real Estate September 10th, 2009 by Financial Writer China Investment Corporation, China’s $300 billion sovereign-wealth fund (SWF), is preparing to buy distressed U.S. real estate assets.It will do so using the U.S. Treasury Department’s Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP) to fund the investments, reports the Wall Street Journal.Meanwhile, several Chinese officials warned that Wall Street isn’t taking the recession seriously, and that much more [...] Tags: China, economic, financial crisis, real estate, USA No Comments » more... Stocks end at 2009 highs September 10th, 2009 by Financial Writer Wall Street cheers as strong debt auction, P&G forecast, Geithner comments and drop in jobless claims draw investors.Stocks surged Thursday, with the major gauges ending at the highest point in nearly a year, having responded strongly to a debt auction and Procter & Gamble’s improved forecast.The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 80 points, or [...] Tags: Debt, Dow Jones Industrial, jobless, Nasdaq composite, recession No Comments » more... The United States ranked as the top economy in terms of innovation and efficiency September 8th, 2009 by Financial Writer Switzerland pushed the United States out of the top spot as the planet’s most competitive economy while Canada moved up one to ninth, according to rankings released Tuesday.The World Economic Forum said the tiny landlocked European country received high marks for its banking system, established infrastructure and stable inflation and growth policies in the group’s [...] Tags: canada economy, top economy, usa conversion No Comments more... Gold has quadrupled in value September 8th, 2009 by Financial Writer The price of gold has touched $1,000 an ounce for the first time in six months.The move could be seen as a sign that investors believe the worst of the global recession is over and are worried about inflation.Others who are less convinced about the strength of the recovery are moving into gold, which is [...] Tags: economy, gold price, uk news No Comments » more... Debt Expert September 8th, 2009 by Financial Writer Personal debt problems have become more complicated in the past few years because of changes in income and people having mortgage arrears, says a debt expert.Frances Walker, spokesperson for the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), said that it is encouraging see that people are starting to pay off their debts, but in some cases it [...] Tags: complicated economy, personal debt, usa residents No Comments » more... No more cheap loans August 31st, 2009 by Financial Writer Are banks, building societies and other lenders ripping people off by charging over the odds for loans and mortgages? Figures out this week suggest they’re doing just that with margins – the difference between the cost of a loan and the charge the lender makes – at all-time highs.Unsecured personal loan rates have soared by [...] Tags: cheap loans, mortgages, uk banks, UK Finance No Comments » more... Economy shrinks less than thought August 31st, 2009 by Financial Writer The rate of contraction of the UK economy in the three months from April to June has been reduced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).Gross domestic product (GDP) has been revised to a fall of 0.7% from 0.8% compared with the previous quarter.The year on year decline has been revised to 5.5% from 5.6%.the hedging contracts that had prevented the company from taking full advantage of the recent upswing in gold prices were hurting the company's bottom line and its share price. For many years, Barrick has engaged in hedging selling much of its production at pre-determined prices. That guaranteed a certain minimum price for its gold but prevented it from taking full advantage of rising gold prices. "The gold hedge book has been a particular concern among our shareholders and the broader market, which we believe has obscured the many positive developments within the company," Barrick CEO Aaron Regent said in a statement. "As a result of today's decision, we have addressed that concern and maintained our financial flexibility." The company announced in 2003 that it would end its hedging program within 10 years. Barrick Gold is the world's largest producer of gold. the hedging contracts that had prevented the company from taking full advantage of the recent upswing in gold prices were hurting the company's bottom line and its share price. For many years, Barrick has engaged in hedging selling much of its production at pre-determined prices. That guaranteed a certain minimum price for its gold but prevented it from taking full advantage of rising gold prices. "The gold hedge book has been a particular concern among our shareholders and the broader market, which we believe has obscured the many positive developments within the company," Barrick CEO Aaron Regent said in a statement. "As a result of today's decision, we have addressed that concern and maintained our financial flexibility." The company announced in 2003 that it would end its hedging program within 10 years. Barrick Gold is the world's largest producer program within 10 years. Barrick Gold is the world's largest producer of gold. the hedging contracts that had prevented the company from taking full advantage of the recent upswing in gold prices were hurting the company's bottom line and its share price. For many years, Barrick has engaged in hedging selling much of its production at pre-determined prices. That guaranteed a certain minimum price for its gold but prevented it from taking full advantage of rising gold prices.

Japanese to Buy U.S. Drug Firm Sepracor for $2.6 Billion

Japanese to Buy U.S. Drug Firm Sepracor for $2.6 Billion Article Font Size BOSTON/TOKYO -- Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co Ltd agreed on Thursday to buy U.S. drugmaker Sepracor Inc for $2.6 billion, giving the Japanese firm a big, local sales force in the world's largest drugs market. The deal is the latest in a string of overseas acquisitions by Japanese drugmakers keen to grow outside a mature home market and build product pipelines before key drug patents expire. Dainippon, Japan's No.7 drugmaker by revenues, will gain a sales force of 1,200 familiar with central nervous disorders as it looks to promote its experimental schizophrenia drug lurasidone, which has performed well in late-stage trials. It will also gain Sepracor's insomnia drug Lunesta, asthma drug Xopenex and an experimental epilepsy drug. "We anticipate our business will shrink if we focus only on Japan, where medical prices are under pressure," Dainippon Sumitomo President Masayo Tada told a news conference. "Even if the U.S. carries out healthcare reform it's not as if the market is going to halve. It will remain the world's biggest drug market." The deal is the fourth-largest overseas acquisition by a Japanese drugmaker, and the second-biggest this year by any Japanese company. For related graphic click here Dainippon's shares climbed 1.2 percent in a weaker Tokyo market, with volume at six times the daily average this year. Some analysts said the purchase was the easiest route into the U.S. market, others said it looked pricey and risky. Dainippon will pay $23 cash for each share, a premium of 27.6 percent on Tuesday's close before media reports of the deal sent Sepracor's stock surging to $22.8 on Wednesday. The acquisition cost is roughly equal to Dainippon's annual sales. "It's a very expensive deal for a company of Dainippon Sumitomo's size and also very risky, given the series of patent expirations on Sepracor's mainstay drugs in the next few years," said Credit Suisse analyst Fumiyoshi Sakai. "Dainippon must be extremely confident in lurasidone, although I have some doubts," he said, adding the deal would not have been possible without the backing of the Sumitomo Group, which includes Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Japan's third-biggest bank. Dainippon is majority-owned by Sumitomo Chemical. Aaron Gal, an analyst at Sanford Bernstein, said that based on projections for 2013, the deal values Sepracor at 3.5 times sales, compared with 3.1 times for the average of other specialty pharmaceutical and generic drug industry acquisitions. It also values Sepracor at 19.4 times EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) compared with an average of 15.1 times for other deals, he said. "Arguably, Dainippon is buying a U.S. sales force it can leverage to promote its current and pipeline products," said Gal. "We are unconvinced that this is the most sensible option for the company given the alternatives of building a sales team internally or acquiring a higher-performing sales team at a more rational price." Dainippon said it would raise 200 billion yen ($2.17 billion) in bridge loans and use 50 billion yen in cash on hand for the acquisition. NEW DRUG CLASS Dainippon, which sells the hypertension drugs Amlodin and Prorenal, said last month that lurasidone worked significantly better than a placebo in a late-stage clinical trial. It will apply for U.S. approval next year and aims for launch in 2011. The U.S. market for schizophrenia drugs is worth about 1.3 trillion yen a year, or 10 times the Japanese market, Dainippon's Tada said. With annual sales of 264 billion yen, Dainippon has been overshadowed by bigger rivals such as Takeda Pharmaceutical Co and Daiichi Sankyo Co, both of which have made large acquisitions to expand overseas. Buying Sepracor will allow Dainippon to generate 40 percent of its sales outside Japan, which it now counts on for more than 90 percent of its business. At the same time, its research and development budget will increase by 45 percent to 80 billion yen. Dainippon's four mainstay products have patents that have either expired or will expire shortly. But its shares gained 21 percent in the year to Wednesday, bolstered by hopes that lurasidone will do well overseas. Top-selling schizophrenia drugs such as AstraZeneca's Seroquel and Eli Lilly and Co's Zyprexa garner annual sales of around $4.5 billion. Other competitors include Johnson & Johnson's Risperdal and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Abilify. Lurasidone belongs to a new generation of schizophrenia drugs known as atypical antipsychotics. Rival products are Fanapt from Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Schering Plough's Saphris and Serdolect from Danish pharmaceutical firm Lundbeck. Sepracor has long been the subject of takeover speculation, and could face generic competition to Lunesta as early as 2012 if a generic drugmaker successfully challenges its patent, which expires in 2014. Xopenex is set to face generic competition in 2012. Sepracor, based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, had 2008 sales of $1.3 billion. Financial advisers to Dainippon Sumitomo were Nomura Securities and Thomas Weisel Partners LLC, while JP Morgan Securities Inc and Jeffries & Co advised Sepracor

Ahead of UN General Assembly’s high-level summit on the economic

Ahead of UN General Assembly’s high-level summit on the economic crisis on June 24-26, UN Millennium Campaign says new analysis indicates that finding money for aid is a matter of political will – not lack of resources – and calls on donors to finally meet their aid commitments The United Nations Millennium Campaign today released an analysis showing that since the inception of aid (overseas development assistance) almost 50 years ago, donor countries have given some $2 trillion in aid. And yet over the past year, $18 trillion has been found globally to bail out banks and other financial institutions. The amount of total aid over the past 49 years represents just eleven percent of the money found for financial institutions in one year. The UN Millennium Campaign is urgently calling on rich countries gathering at this week’s high-level summit on the economic crisis to make no further excuses that they lack resources and to urgently deliver on their aid commitments. “The stark contrast between the money dispersed to the world’s desperately poor after 49 years of painstaking summits and negotiations and the staggering sums found virtually overnight to bail out the creators of the global economic crisis makes it impossible for governments to any longer claim that the world can’t find the money to help the 50,000 people who are dying of extreme poverty every day,” said Salil Shetty, Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign. “This is a straightforward question of political will. Rich countries’ priorities will become crystal clear at this week’s summit on the economic crisis, where we hope they will finally deliver on the aid they have repeatedly pledged but not delivered to those who need it most.”
Worse still, the global economic crisis is expected to further impact the delivery of aid to poor countries at a time when the need is greatest. Already, the consequences of the crisis, caused by the richest people in the richest countries, are being disproportionately borne by poor countries. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the economic crisis has resulted in 100 million more people going hungry, taking the total number of hungry people in the world to a staggering one billion. At the same time, only $9.4 billion of the $28.3 billion -- less than a third -- pledged at the Gleneagles Summit in 2005 to be delivered to Sub-Saharan Africa by 2010, has actually been delivered.The Millennium Campaign believes any discussions of a new financial architecture must be inclusive of the voices and needs of the poor. The Campaign is therefore calling on donor countries to immediately and unconditionally do the following:
Urgently agree to a timetable to accelerate delivery of their aid commitments.
Make rapid progress toward achieving the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda to simplify and streamline aid, including a clear timetable for implementation of existing commitments. Reduce and/or eliminate all trade-distorting agricultural subsidies. Ensure that poor countries are fully represented in all decision making bodies and in the restructuring of the global financial infrastructure. The Millennium Campaign is calling on poor countries to immediately do the following: Ensure that national development policies and plans are pro-poor and focused on women and excluded groups. Prioritize expenditures on the Millennium Development Goals. Ensure accountability and transparency in the management of public money. Prioritize domestic resource mobilization. To arrange interviews with spokespeople across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America contact:Kara Alaimo212-906-6399Kara.Alaimo@undp.orgNote to editors:The UN Millennium Campaign was established by the UN Secretary General in 2002. The Campaign supports citizens’ efforts to hold their governments to account for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Development Goals were adopted by 189 world leaders from the north and south, as part of the Millennium Declaration which was signed in 2000. These leaders agreed to eradicate extreme poverty and its root causes by 2015. Our premise is simple: we are the first generation that can end poverty and we refuse to miss this opportunity. For more information, visit www.endpoverty2015.org. Ahead of UN General Assembly’s high-level summit on the economic crisis on June 24-26, UN Millennium Campaign says new analysis indicates that finding money for aid is a matter of political will – not lack of resources – and calls on donors to finally meet their aid commitments June 23, 2009 – The United Nations Millennium Campaign today released an analysis showing that since the inception of aid (overseas development assistance) almost 50 years ago, donor countries have given some $2 trillion in aid. And yet over the past year, $18 trillion has been found globally to bail out banks and other financial institutions. The amount of total aid over the past 49 years represents just eleven percent of the money found for financial institutions in one year. The UN Millennium Campaign is urgently calling on rich countries gathering at this week’s high-level summit on the economic crisis to make no further excuses that they lack resources and to urgently deliver on their aid commitments. “The stark contrast between the money dispersed to the world’s desperately poor after 49 years of painstaking summits and negotiations and the staggering sums found virtually overnight to bail out the creators of the global economic crisis makes it impossible for governments to any longer claim that the world can’t find the money to help the 50,000 people who are dying of extreme poverty every day,” said Salil Shetty, Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign. “This is a straightforward question of political will. Rich countries’ priorities will become crystal clear at this week’s summit on the economic crisis, where we hope they will finally deliver on the aid they have repeatedly pledged but not delivered to those who need it most.” Worse still, the global economic crisis is expected to further impact the delivery of aid to poor countries at a time when the need is greatest. Already, the consequences of the crisis, caused by the richest people in the richest countries, are being disproportionately borne by poor countries. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the economic crisis has resulted in 100 million more people going hungry, taking the total number of hungry people in the world to a staggering one billion. At the same time, only $9.4 billion of the $28.3 billion -- less than a third -- pledged at the Gleneagles Summit in 2005 to be delivered to Sub-Saharan Africa by 2010, has actually been delivered. The Millennium Campaign believes any discussions of a new financial architecture must be inclusive of the voices and needs of the poor. The Campaign is therefore calling on donor countries to immediately and unconditionally do the following: Urgently agree to a timetable to accelerate delivery of their aid commitments. Make rapid progress toward achieving the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda to simplify and streamline aid, including a clear timetable for implementation of existing commitments. Reduce and/or eliminate all trade-distorting agricultural subsidies. Ensure that poor countries are fully represented in all decision making bodies and in the restructuring of the global financial infrastructure. The Millennium Campaign is calling on poor countries to immediately do the following: Ensure that national development policies and plans are pro-poor and focused on women and excluded groups. Prioritize expenditures on the Millennium Development Goals. Ensure accountability and transparency in the management of public money. Prioritize domestic resource mobilization. To arrange interviews with spokespeople across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America contact:Kara Alaimo212-906-6399Kara.Alaimo@undp.orgNote to editors:The UN Millennium Campaign was established by the UN Secretary General in 2002. The Campaign supports citizens’ efforts to hold their governments to account for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Development Goals were adopted by 189 world leaders from the north and south, as part of the Millennium Declaration which was signed in 2000. These leaders agreed to eradicate extreme poverty and its root causes by 2015. Our premise is simple: we are the first generation that can end poverty and we refuse to miss this opportunity. For more information, visit www.endpoverty2015.org.

China is calling for a new

China is calling for a new global currency controlled by the International Monetary Fund, stepping up pressure ahead of a London summit of global leaders for changes to a financial system dominated by the U.S. dollar and Western governments. The comments, in an essay by the Chinese central bank governor released late Monday, reflect Beijing's growing assertiveness in economic affairs. China is expected to press for developing countries to have a bigger say in finance when leaders of the Group of 20 major economies meet April 2 in London to discuss the global crisis. Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan's essay did not mention the dollar by name but said the crisis showed the dangers of relying on one nation's currency for international payments. In an unusual step, the essay was published in both Chinese and English, making clearit was meant for an international audience.
"The crisis called again for creative reform of the existing international monetary system towardsaninternational reserve currency," Zhou wrote. A reserve currency is the unit in which a government holds its reserves. But Zhou said the proposed new currency also should be used for trade, investment, pricing commodities and corporate bookkeeping. Beijing has long been uneasy about relying on the dollar for the bulk of its trade and to store foreign reserves. Premier Wen Jiabao publicly appealed to Washington this month to avoid any steps in response to the crisis that might erode the value of the dollar and Beijing's estimated $1 trillion holdings in Treasuries and other U.S. government debt. The currency should be based on shares in the IMF held by its 185 member nations, known as special drawing rights, or SDRs, the essay said. The Washington-based IMF advises governments on economic policy and lends money to help with balance-of-payments problems. Some economists have suggested creating a new reserve currency to reduce reliance on the dollar but acknowledge it would face major obstacles. It would require acceptance from nations that have long used the dollar and hold huge stockpiles of the U.S. currency.
"There has been for decades talk about creating an international reserve currency and it has never really progressed," said Michael Pettis, a finance professor at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management. Managing such a currency would require balancing the contradictory needs of countries with high and low growth or with trade surpluses or deficits, Pettis said. He said the 16 European nations that use the euro have faced "huge difficulties" in managing monetary policy even though their economies are similar. "It's hard for me to imagine how it's going to be easier for the world to have a common currency for trade," he said. China has pressed for changes to give developing countries more influence in the IMF, the World Bank and other finance bodies. G20 finance officials issued a statement at their last meeting calling for such changes but gave no details of how that might happen. Russia also has called for such reforms and says it will press its case at the London summit.
Zhou said the new currency would let governments manage their economies more efficiently because its value would not be influenced by any one nation's need to regulate its own finance and trade. "A super-sovereign reserve currency managed by a global institution could be used to both create and control global liquidity," Zhou wrote. "This will significantly reduce the risks of a future crisis and enhance crisis management capability." Zhou also called for changing how SDRs are valued. Currently, they are based on the value of four currencies - the dollar, euro, yen and British pound. "The basket of currencies forming the basis for SDR valuation should be expanded to include currencies of all major economies," Zhou wrote. "The allocation of the SDR can be shifted from a purely calculation-based system to one backed by real assets, such as a reserve pool, to further boost market confidence in its value."

The Board of Regents voted Friday

The Board of Regents voted Friday to go ahead with a budget request that is $61.5 million above what they were left with to run eight institutions after cuts this past year.The trouble is, said Greg Stauffer, the state's associate commissioner for finance and facilities, as the economy sours, it's not only the state appropriations that go into a tailspin, but financial aid options for students, overall family and individual incomes and federal research dollars and private donations, leaving higher education institutions running on the bare minimum."The economic environment clearly has a significant impact on the situation we're in," Stauffer said. "But then again, higher education clearly is the way out of a negative economy."Higher education can provide a great dividend in the long term, both to the state and to individuals who make it through graduation. Utah's support for its schools already is below the national average."Our institutions are complex financial organizations," said Paul Morris, assistant commissioner of budget and planning. He likened colleges and universities to miniature communities, responsible to provide education, but also housing, stores carrying supplies, activities for the community to participate in and food. "To pull all this off, we count on a lot of revenue sources," he said.The biggest revenue source for Utah schools is the state, in the form of sales and income tax allocated from the Education Fund. But schools also rely on tuition and fees from students.It all adds up to more than a billion dollars.With more than 13,000 employees relying on that revenue to pay their own bills, "it takes a lot of support to run an institution," Morris said.The ongoing cuts, which officials are estimating will continue at 17 percent, are a "hard reality" to face, Morris said. Increased enrollments set up the system for a perfect storm, one that if not handled correctly, could mean decreased efficiencies at Utah institutions."We hope at some point we get some funding to help with it all," Morris said.Included in the operating budget request summary is what Commissioner of Higher Education William Sederburg is calling "mission-based funding," or "an incentive for institutions to fulfill their missions with quality," he said. The $30 million request is a new take on what some other states are doing to be accountable for what they say they intend to do. For some schools, it would mean turning out research, others degrees, and for others, further development of programming.The details, Sederburg said, must still be worked out, but he asked regents for a "conceptual blessing," with a hope that a full agreement could be worked out in a couple of years.Other items in the budget increase include mandatory utility rate increases, full funding for various scholarship and scholars programs offered by the Utah System of Higher Education, as well as money for the Engineering Initiative and various institutional priorities.Regents also approved a list of their top-11 capital development priorities, which if accomplished, would cost $320 million. Rarely are all the building requests approved by the Legislature, but this year's projects, all highly prioritized by individual institution presidents, would generate nearly a million new square feet of building space, in the form of classrooms, labs, new infrastructure and remodeled student commons areas.

The Board of Regents voted Friday to go ahead with a budget request that is $61.5 million above what they were left with to run eight institutions after cuts this past year.The trouble is, said Greg Stauffer, the state's associate commissioner for finance and facilities, as the economy sours, it's not only the state appropriations that go into a tailspin, but financial aid options for students, overall family and individual incomes and federal research dollars and private donations, leaving higher education institutions running on the bare minimum."The economic environment clearly has a significant impact on the situation we're in," Stauffer said. "But then again, higher education clearly is the way out of a negative economy."Higher education can provide a great dividend in the long term, both to the state and to individuals who make it through graduation. Utah's support for its schools already is below the national average."Our institutions are complex financial organizations," said Paul Morris, assistant commissioner of budget and planning. He likened colleges and universities to miniature communities, responsible to provide education, but also housing, stores carrying supplies, activities for the community to participate in and food. "To pull all this off, we count on a lot of revenue sources," he said.The biggest revenue source for Utah schools is the state, in the form of sales and income tax allocated from the Education Fund. But schools also rely on tuition and fees from students.It all adds up to more than a billion dollars.With more than 13,000 employees relying on that revenue to pay their own bills, "it takes a lot of support to run an institution," Morris said.
The ongoing cuts, which officials are estimating will continue at 17 percent, are a "hard reality" to face, Morris said. Increased enrollments set up the system for a perfect storm, one that if not handled correctly, could mean decreased efficiencies at Utah institutions."We hope at some point we get some funding to help with it all," Morris said.Included in the operating budget request summary is what Commissioner of Higher Education William Sederburg is calling "mission-based funding," or "an incentive for institutions to fulfill their missions with quality," he said. The $30 million request is a new take on what some other states are doing to be accountable for what they say they intend to do. For some schools, it would mean turning out research, others degrees, and for others, further development of programming.The details, Sederburg said, must still be worked out, but he asked regents for a "conceptual blessing," with a hope that a full agreement could be worked out in a couple of years.Other items in the budget increase include mandatory utility rate increases, full funding for various scholarship and scholars programs offered by the Utah System of Higher Education, as well as money for the Engineering Initiative and various institutional priorities.Regents also approved a list of their top-11 capital development priorities, which if accomplished, would cost $320 million. Rarely are all the building requests approved by the Legislature, but this year's projects, all highly prioritized by individual institution presidents, would generate nearly a million new square feet of building space, in the form of classrooms, labs, new infrastructure and remodeled student commons areas.