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They warned us. The geniuses at Peace Now warned us. The brilliant diplomats warned us. The think tanks warned us. Even the Arab dictators warned us. For decades now, they have been warning us that if you want “peace in the Middle East,” just fix the Palestinian problem. A recent variation on this theme has been: Just get the Jews to stop building apartments in East Jerusalem and Efrat. Yes, if all those Jews in the West Bank and East Jerusalem would only “freeze” their construction, then Replica Tag heuer Watches, finally, Palestinian leaders might come to the table and peace might break out.

And what would happen if peace would break out between Jews and Palestinians? Would all those furious Arabs now demonstrating on streets across the Middle East feel any better?

What bloody nonsense.

Has there ever been a greater abuse of the English language in international diplomacy than calling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the “Middle East peace process?” As if there were only two countries in the Middle East.

Even if you absolutely believe in the imperative of creating a Palestinian state, you can’t tell me that the single-minded and global obsession with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the expense of the enormous ills in the rest of the Middle East hasn’t been idiotic, if not criminally negligent.

While tens of millions of Arabs have been suffering for decades from brutal oppression, while gays have been tortured and writers jailed and women humiliated and dissidents killed, the world — yes, the world — has obsessed with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As if Palestinians — the same coddled victims on whom the world has spent billions and who have rejected one peace offer after another — were the only victims in the Middle East.

As if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has anything to do with the 1,000-year-old bloody conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, or the desire of brutal Arab dictators to stay in power, or the desire of Islamist radicals to bring back the Caliphate, or the economic despair of millions Replica Tag heuer watches, or simply the absence of free speech or basic human rights throughout the Arab world.

While self-righteous Israel bashers have scrutinized every flaw in Israel’s democracy — some waxing hysterical that the Jewish democratic experiment in the world’s nastiest neighborhood had turned into an embarrassment — they kept their big mouths shut about the oppression of millions of Arabs throughout the Middle East.

They cried foul if Israeli Arabs — who have infinitely more rights and freedoms than any Arabs in the Middle East — had their rights compromised in any way. But if a poet were jailed in Jordan or a gay man were tortured in Egypt or a woman were stoned in Syria, all we heard was screaming silence.

Think of the ridiculous amount of media ink and diplomatic attention that has been poured onto the Israel-Palestinian conflict over the years, while much of the Arab world was suffering and smoldering, and tell me this is not criminal negligence. Do you ever recall seeing a UN resolution or an international conference in support of Middle Eastern Arabs not named Palestinians?

Of course, now that the Arab volcano has finally erupted, all those chronic Israel bashers have suddenly discovered a new cause: Freedom for the poor oppressed Arabs of the Middle East!

Imagine if, instead of putting Israel under their critical and hypocritical microscope, the world’s Israel bashers had taken Israel’s imperfect democratic experiment and said to the Arab world: Why don’t you try to emulate the Jews?

Why don’t you give equal rights to your women and gays, just like Israel does?

Why don’t you give your people the same freedom of speech and freedom to vote that Israel does? And offer them the economic opportunities they would get in Israel? Why don’t you treat your Jewish and Christian citizens the same way Israel treats its Arab and Christian citizens?

Why don’t you study how Israel has struggled to balance religion with democracy — a very difficult but not insurmountable task?

Why don’t you teach your people that Jews are not the sons of dogs but a noble, ancient people with a 3,000-year connection to the land of Israel?

Yes, imagine if Israel bashers had spent a fraction of their energy fighting the lies of Arab dictators and defending the rights of millions of oppressed Arabs. Imagine if President Obama had taken one percent of the time he has harped on Jewish settlements to defend the democratic rights of Egyptian Arabs — which he is suddenly doing now that the volcano has erupted.

Maybe it’s just easier to beat up on a free and open society like Israel.

Well, now that the cesspool of human oppression in the Arab world has been opened for all to see, how bad is Israel’s democracy looking? Don’t you wish the Arab world had a modicum of Israel’s civil society? Would you still be worrying about “stability in the Middle East?”

You can preach to me all you want about the great Jewish tradition of self-criticism — which I believe in — but right now, when I see poor Arab souls being murdered for the simple act of protesting on the street, I’ve never felt more proud of being a supporter of the Jewish state.

Journalists are schooled in investigating and reporting events objectively and when it comes to conflicts, they report on the progress of wars, gang violence, white color crime and what might have caused these to occur. For opinions, one would usually check the editorial page.

The team at the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab challenges this notion. What if journalists, in combination with their current jobs, could also promote peace and find ways to facilitate peace by soliciting creative ideas on social media platforms?

Change of this type can provide huge benefits, however it can also be a slippery slope. Proactively influencing world events Replica Tag heuer Watches, beyond simply reporting events, makes one complicit and responsible for the consequences. As with the physician’s oath of “First, do no harm,” before soliciting and selecting ideas it was important to make sure the framing, direction and decision criteria were well thought through. In short, a good design brief was needed.

Recent research at Stanford assisted the creation of the Inspirational Design Briefing method that balances nine Design Quality Criteria addressing Strategy (Philosophy, Structure, Innovation), Context (Social, Environmental, Viability) and Execution (Process, Function, Expression). These findings show that most design briefs are badly balanced and fail to communicate strategic criteria Replica Breitling Watches, which results in budget overruns that, in turn, foster poor solutions. When done correctly however, the brief effectively translates business criteria into useful design inspiration leading to superior design team performance and a much higher quality in the final deliverable.

For a specific project, the designer needs to determine exactly what these criteria are. Therefore, adjustments had to be made when conducting crowd sourcing on a challenge as abstract as Peace Journalism. To do this we engaged a selection of creative professional LinkedIn groups. Guiding participants though the creative crowd sourcing process, we posted three increasingly comprehensive briefs in consecutive order, with one week between. The first was a “Pitch” that introduced the strategy of the challenge; the second, a “Mini Brief,” established the context; and the third was an “Inspirational Design Brief” focusing on the execution. We posted to multiple LinkedIn groups reaching close to 50,000 members.

Starting out with the brief judged by the team to be the best possible, we iterated between challenging the creative professionals, learning how the brief worked, making adjustments and then challenging the creative professionals once again. Though out this process, we optimized our Inspirational Design Brief while gaining valuable insights into what we could expect using a global commercial platform.

The next step is to conduct a second-level crowd sourcing process using a global commercial platform where we will gather data about the innovation challenge. The analysis will focus on how to apply multiple team/crowd iterations, alternating between diverging and converging challenges to move the discussion from abstract ideas to concrete solutions.

One big insight from the crowd sourcing experiment was feedback on how biased we had been regarding the brand value of journalists. Forty percent of those responding found journalists biased and manipulated by business interests. Not even one supported journalists and everyone expected the objective reporting of facts only and stated that when opinions were expressed they should be clearly indicated as opinions. Though their judgment of journalists was harsh, their ideas on how journalists could proactively promote peace were surprisingly constructive.

Preliminary data gathering rounds have been conducted to create a good design brief for the challenge and the process of setting up the challenge continues. As Tanja Aitamurto reports on her blog post, citizen journalists have had a strong impact on the developments in the Arab World, and this may inspire us to contribute as well.

New York – Call it All-You-Can-Jet: Business Edition.

JetBlue introduced several new three-month, unlimited flight plans Thursday in an attempt to snare more higher-paying business travelers.

BluePass is available only for departure from Boston Logan International Airport or Long Beach Airport for travel between Aug. 22 and Nov. 22.

The offer is a more focused version of its All-You-Can-Jet plan, announced in 2009. That plan, where travelers could go anywhere JetBlue flies, sold out within days, as did the second incarnation in 2010. JetBlue didn’t offer the pass this year. All-You-Can-Jet was used to pump up travel volumes during September and October, typically one of the slowest times of the year for airlines.

Under the new plan there are three options. The first, costing $1299, allows for travel between Long Beach and nine Western cities. The second Replica tag heuer watches, at $1499, offers Boston fliers unlimited travel to 13 cities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The third option is $1999 for travel from Boston to any city JetBlue serves.

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JetBlue and its rival, Southwest Airlines Co., have been eagerly courting business travelers in recent years. The two airlines have traditionally sold almost exclusively to vacationers in search of cheap tickets, but business travelers are increasingly vital to the bottom line. They not only pay more, but they fly when vacationers don’t — like when kids go back to school in September.

Among the services JetBlue added to get more business travelers was its Even More Legroom seats, since the airline doesn’t offer business or first class. It recently tacked on an Even More Speed option, which allows those customers that buy the roomier seats a chance to jump lines. It’s also revamped its frequent flier program and started selling directly to corporations.

JetBlue is based in New York, but Boston and Long Beach have become important centers to its business. JetBlue started flying out of Boston in 2004 and now offers the most destinations (42) of any airline from the airport.

Long Beach is the airline’s main airport from which it serves the Los Angeles area; it has a much smaller operation at LAX.

Customers can book starting Aug. 15. Just like the All-You-Can-Jet pass, there are a limited number of passes available and JetBlue won’t say how many.

There are no change fees or blackout dates with the pass. Travelers can also book tickets as late as 90 minutes before departure — a key selling point for business travelers who often book and change travel at the last minute. JetBlue is relaxing its no-show policy on the pass as well Replica rado watches, charging a $100 fee for every two flights a customer doesn’t show up for within a week.

Dennis Corrigan, JetBlue’s vice president of sales and revenue management, said in an interview with The Associated Press Thursday that BluePass model was based on feedback from customers who bought the All-You-Can-Jet pass.

Shares of JetBlue Airways Corp. rose 5 cents to $4.75 at the opening bell. Shares closed at $4.70 Wednesday, the lowest point in more than a year.

Drum roll… and roll the music… In the spirit of Elton John’s Lion King tribute “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” — our latest GIG Spark was crafted with lots of love by Kevin Schow, a senior at Huntington Beach High School near Los Angeles.

Kevin hit the busy streets of downtown San Francisco with one mission: To spread the love. How? By simply giving flowers to strangers.

Hope this video makes you smile, count your blessings — things in your life that make you feel love — and of course sparks a fire inside you to do what you can to make someone else feel loved.

Love this! Hope you do too…

Gigster: Kevin Schow
Where: San Francisco
Spark: Spreading the LOVE in San Francisco
Your Turn: It’s simple — think about a thoughtful deed and take action.

FEELING INSPIRED? GET INVOLVED! Make your own GIG Spark.

WHAT’S A GIG Spark & CREATE your own!

As a part of GoInspireGo’s mission to inspire our viewers to discover their power, we’ve joined forces with Youth Service America (YSA), Lil’ MDGs and Miley Cyrus’ “Get Ur Good On” to bring you GIG Spark: A Lesson on Compassion.

A “GIG Spark” is a short 1-1:30 minute video that inspires viewers to take action and help others after they’ve watched the video. The video will feature you showing and telling viewers what you want them to do on video. It’s simple, quick and can generate inspiration for others! The goal: a fun, easy way to inspire action.

We’re inviting YOU and your community (school, organization Replica Tag heuer watches, friends, etc.) to use your passion and creativity to produce a “GIG Spark” and inspire viewers with your story. This is for anyone who can shoot and edit short videos. Get Started on a GIG Spark now.

Inspiration can be fun and infectious! We believe in the power of small acts and using technology to crowdsource ideas, capture it on video, spread the word online, and inspire immediate action. We know that people (especially youth) care and want to do something good for others Replica Tag heuer Watches, but just don’t know how. So why not teach compassion to kids and adults in your life? This is a quick way for you to use your power to spark civic engagement and inspire a small ripple of kindness that will create a domino effect…

We can’t wait to see inspiring acts popping up all over the state, country, and world! What can YOU do?

* Follow us on: LinkedIn, Twitter & Facebook

I’m officially wearing my grandmother’s panties.

If you’re a female, and you live long enough, it will happen to you.

I never thought Replica Tag heuer watches, when I was very young and knew everything and had tight skin all over my body, I would one day wake up in the middle of the night starring down at a roll of belly fat and would find myself wearing white cotton panties the size of circus tents.

When I was just a little kid — maybe back in the very, very late ’50s — I have memories of my sweet matronly grandmother (preparing to get dressed in the early morning) laying her panties on her bed alongside her soft cotton floral dress and roll-up hose. I remember staring at those panties thinking you could house a family of raccoons in there. The elastic alone could stretch to Montana.

When did I become my grandmother? She was barely 50 at the time, but in my child-like mind, my grandmother could have been 65 or 70 or whatever “old” was back then. She dressed her age (kind of like Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show), and I never — not once — saw her wear slacks or jeans. She always wore a nicely pressed dress that fell well below her knees with an apron tied around her waist and those stockings (no garter needed) that she rolled up and tied around the top of her shins. She was the best grandmother in the whole world because she cared for me and protected me and loved me unconditionally. Her underwear was just big.

It’s the year 2012, and I’m a grandmother now but times have changed. Grandmothers today certainly don’t look or dress like Aunt Bee. They look more like Raquel Welch. Fifty is supposedly the new 30 and 60 is the new 40, but what gives a woman’s real age away is the underwear she keeps. I had been wearing those uncomfortable bikini panties since my early 20’s and — sometime not long after I turned 50 — I had my first serious encounter with wedgies. When you’re out shopping, you try to ignore them. You begin walking like a model prancing down a runway being chased by a rabid dog hoping to un-wedge them, but it’s hopeless. You make your way to the back of the store or somewhere between two racks of clothes so you can discretely tug at your jeans hoping to dislodge the cotton stuck between your “cheeks.”

I’d had enough so I recently broke down and bought one of those eight-pack packages of white cotton “full-figured” women’s panties in Walmart hoping the elastic would stay above my waist covering my belly button rather than the bikini type with the elastic that turns itself over four times and settles just above the vagina. I don’t date so it clearly doesn’t matter how these panties look on me. Who’s gonna see them? My husband Buffoon hasn’t seen me naked since shortly after the birth of our fourth child (who is over 25) so who do I have to impress?

It’s the little things that remind us that we’re not in our 40’s anymore.

First it’s the little subtle lines that show up around the eyes, then the cellulite crawls under your chin giving you the first signs of a turkey neck, then it makes its way to your hips, legs and arms while sneaking in around your mid-section showing off that attractive belly fat. Then it’s the dry skin on your legs that make you look like your mother was an alligator.

And, oh yes, the jowls. Jowls are precious when you’re three to six months old. Not so much after you start to eat solid foods… especially over the age of 50.

And, please, somebody destroy those hip-hugger jeans! I couldn’t have been more thrilled when Jessica Simpson wore her “mom jeans” even though the media made fun of her. God bless you, Jessica! I was rooting for an adorable mom jean role model. After you have your precious baby, Miss Jessica, you can officially wear your mom jeans again with pride. I’m begging.

There are answers for some of these unfortunate signs of aging: moisturizer, Botox, facelifts, exercise Replica Omega Watches, diets, liposuction, but there is one thing that all those tricks can’t change. One day, young ladies — somewhere between the age of 50 and 65 — you will be wearing my grandmother’s panties. I promise.

What we really need is an Aunt Bee’s fashionable panty line. Put me down for five packs. Mercy!

Anyone doubting the power of words need only look to the recent prison sentences handed out in the wake of the nationwide riots of August 2011. Two teenagers posted up a call to insurrection on Facebook. Another young man urged his friends to violence and destruction via the BlackBerry Messenger system. None of them had smashed a window or looted a shop or set a property on fire or struck a civilian or police officer; but for composing such words and pressing the send button in a moment of childish adrenaline fuelled madness they all received a combined prison sentence of more than a decade. Sending out a tough message indeed.

If we set aside the obvious need to punish wrong doers and protect the public from the most violent of offenders, the pressing question for everyone involved in the prison service – on both sides of the door – is what purpose does prison need to serve? For many people who go there, prison is simply not a deterrent. Some of them even prefer it to home – if they are lucky enough to have such a safe refuge on the outside. But the ever-swelling prison population is a very clear signifier that either too many people are being sent there, or too many people are going back in. Rehabilitation? If such a thing is possible, then it’s clearly not happening to any satisfactory degree behind the walls of Her Majesty’s Prisons.

I’ve been a writer in residence in HM prisons for 18 months now. Despite making a living from writing for the last 10 years, I think I’ve learnt more about the power of words in this environment than any other in my so called career. I have seen young men who have only ever expressed themselves through violence and rage pour their energy into prose and verse and in the process discover a sensitivity and self awareness previously buried beneath years of brutal neglect. I have seen men previously adamant that they had done nothing wrong discover an empathy for others and a sense of real regret through the emotions their writing has released. I have seen men who greeted the world with a snarl have their hearts and minds calmed by the thrill of creating their world anew with the power of words. I have seen real reform and genuine commitment to change. And it has all happened through the creative power of writing.

John Major once famously said that we should “condemn more and understand less.” I would suggest that this attitude has had its day and has been proved to be dismally unconstructive. If we are going to change our society we need to change our tactics. The Writers In Prison Network, of which I am proud to be a part, have had their funding pulled by the British Arts Council as part of this coalition government’s cuts. In times of austerity it seems that the arts are always the first to suffer.

But I would argue that the responsibility for funding creative writing workshops in prisons should not fall to the Arts Council. If society is serious about rehabilitating offenders and reducing the prison population then creative writing in prison should be funded on a permanent and ongoing basis and that happy task should fall to the governmental department for social inclusion – if such a thing exists. And it should provide as much money as possible; the equivalent to a banker’s bonus, for instance. Imagine the good that could be set in motion for the future generations. Imagine the money that could be saved. Imagine that.

If we are ever to truly rehabilitate those who routinely break Britain, we need to provide other outlets for their energy Replica Omega watches, other avenues for them to explore apart from mindless tasks for little or no reward. We need fewer destroyers and more creators. We need more writers in prison, both those with keys and those without.

As Raymond Carver once observed when quoting Saint Teresa: “words lead to deeds… they prepare the soul and move it to tenderness.”

We need to repair society’s damaged souls and move them from ignorance and brutality to compassion and respect Replica Tag heuer watches, for the sake of both themselves and the society they will return to. We need positive action. And actions, as we all know start with words.

NEW YORK — The wildest week in Wall Street history ended with a second day of gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished Friday with a gain of 125 points. Most other times it would have been a fairly big day. By this week’s standards, it was a sleeper. Friday capped a week when the blue-chip index had four 400-point swings in a row for the first time in its 115-year history.

Trading was frantic across financial markets all week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note hit a record low. Gold briefly topped $1,800 per ounce. Nearly every one of the 500 stocks that make up the Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended down midweek.

“It was a sharp and violent week in the stock market, but it’s my sense that the worst is over,” said Michael Kaufler, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors.

Investors reacted to every scrap of news and each whispered rumor. A credit downgrade for the U.S. Concerns about European bank solvency. Fears of a possible new recession in the U.S. Word that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates low for two more years because of slowing growth. A positive retail sales report. Strong earnings from a technology bellwether. Better unemployment news.

The Dow dropped 634 points Monday, its sixth-worst point drop ever, as investors responded to Standard & Poor’s withdrawal of the country’s AAA credit rating. It was the first downgrade of U.S. government debt in history. The Dow rose 429 points Tuesday, only to plunge 519 points Wednesday. It surged 423 points on Thursday following a better than expected drop in new applications for unemployment benefits.

A rebound in retail sales in July pushed the stock market higher Friday as traders looked past a Reuters-University of Michgan survey that found that consumer’s were pessimistic about their own finances and the economy. The measure of consumer sentiment fell to a 30-year low.

It was the first time since early July that the Dow and S&P index rose for two consecutive days.

Normally, such a bad consumer survey would have pushed shares sharply lower for the day, said Quincy Krosby, an investment strategist with Prudential Financial.

“But these are not normal times,” she said. Market volatility cuts both ways, sending shares way up or way down, Krosby noted. That can cause stock prices to defy economic data.

The strong retail sales added to other bits of more positive data about the economy. The government said last week that hiring picked up slightly in July after two dismal months, though employers still are adding jobs too slowly to significantly reduce unemployment. A Thursday report showed applications for unemployment benefits fell to a four-month low. Some analysts believe recently announced layoffs will cause that number to rise in the coming weeks.

Companies that rely on an expanding economy for profits led the Dow higher. Boeing Co., Hewlett-Packard Co., and United Technologies Corp. each rose by 4 percent or more.

A separate government report on Friday showed that businesses increased their stockpiles of everything from raw materials to retail products for the 18th month in a row.

Growing inventories are usually a sign of business confidence. But in June Americans cut their spending for the first time in nearly two years. If the market’s gyrations spook consumers further, people might spend even less just as retailers stock up for the crucial holiday season.

“We are at a turning point,” said Bill Hampel, chief economist for the Credit Union National Association. “If the stock market continues to be volatile next week, I would expect a pretty serious effect on consumer confidence.”

The Dow finished Friday with a gain of 125.71 points, or 1.1 percent, to 11,269.02. It finished the week down 1.5 percent after being down as much as 6.3 percent for the week.

The broader S&P 500 index rose 6.17 points, or 0.5 percent Replica tag heuer watches, to 1,178.81. It finished with a the week down 1.7 percent. The technology-focused Nasdaq composite rose 15.30, or 0.6 percent, to 2,507.98. It lost 1 percent for the week.

All three major stock indexes are now down more than 10 percent from their April highs. That is a big enough drop to signify what traders call a market correction. A drop of more than 20 percent signifies a bear market, a period of sustained losses.

Financial stocks continued to slide Friday. Investment bank Morgan Stanely fell 7 percent amid concerns about U.S. banks’ exposure to the financial crisis in Europe and lawsuits related to poor-quality mortgage securities sold before the financial crisis of 2008. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. also lost ground.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. jumped 7 percent after the company told investors that it expects revenue this quarter to offset its higher raw material costs. The company had said last month that raw material costs might hurt its profits in the second half of the year.

Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was above average at 5 billion shares, but lighter than earlier in the week when it reached 9.7 billion shares, the fourth-highest on record.

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Picture: Ewan Mcgregor leaving his Manhattan hotel with turn up jeans and smoking a cigarette. New York City Replica Rolex Watches, USA ….

By Sheenagh Matthews

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) — BASF SE, the world’s largest chemical manufacturer Replica Tag heuer Watches, may resume bigger acquisitions after completing the integration of cosmetics-ingredient maker Cognis that the company had cited as hampering further major purchases.

Cognis’s operations were fully brought into BASF’s by the end of January and teams working on the project have disbanded, Ulrich Boettger, global integration manager, said in an internal newspaper. Chief Executive Officer Kurt Bock has said repeatedly in the past year that Ludwigshafen, Germany-based BASF’s work to integrate Cognis would probably forestall a “larger” purchase.

“They have made an acquisition approximately every two years, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they made another soon,” said Heiko Feber, an analyst at Bankhaus Lampe KG with a “buy” recommendation on the stock. “I doubt it will happen immediately with the current economic environment in Europe, but I wouldn’t rule out their becoming active if something interesting comes along.”

Bock’s predecessor, Juergen Hambrecht, spent more than 18 billion euros ($23.7 billion) on purchases during an eight- year term that ended when he retired in May 2011. BASF may be interested in an acquisition that adds enzyme technology, Bock said in November.

BASF bought Monheim, Germany-based Cognis in December 2010 for 3.1 billion euros, and expects the combination to add 290 million euros to earnings before interest and taxes. The company raised its sales target for the end of the decade by 28 percent on Nov. 29 to 115 billion euros as emerging markets drive growth.

The manufacturer has generally made “a medium-sized investment” of 3 billion euros to 5 billion euros every two to three years Replica Rolex Watches, which is “compatible with our financial profile” and with the capacity to absorb new businesses, Bock said at the time. BASF hasn’t budgeted for a major purchase, he said.

Jennifer Moore-Braun, a BASF spokeswoman, declined to comment today beyond referring to Bock’s comments in November.

–Editors: Tom Lavell, David Risser

To contact the reporter on this story: Sheenagh Matthews in Frankfurt at smatthews6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net

Business Exchange E-mail Print READER DISCUSSION

By Bei Hu

(Adds private bank executive comments in sixth paragraph.)

July 11 (Bloomberg) — Benjamin Fuchs, who leads the Global Opportunities Group proprietary trading desk at Nomura Holdings Inc., aims to start his own Hong Kong-based hedge fund with at least $400 million, said two people with knowledge of the plan.

Nomura, Japan’s largest brokerage, will back the “commingled” fund being planned by B.A.F. Capital Management, the company named after Fuchs’s initials, with as much as $200 million, according to a marketing document seen by Bloomberg News. A commingled fund pools assets from different investors rather than keeping them in separate accounts.

The group, part of Nomura Principal Investments Asia Ltd., will start operation separately as B.A.F. later this year, said the people, who declined to be identified as the information is private. B.A.F. will have 24 employees including 13 investment professionals, the document said.

“Sophisticated investors want to invest with managers with a proven track-record of generating alpha in Asia,” said Joseph Pacini, head of alternative investments of JP Morgan Private Bank in Asia. “Some investors are viewing the recent spin-offs of proprietary trading desks into hedge fund firms differently than a traditional start fund. Some of these managers are bringing entire teams with them and are only leaving given regulatory changes.”

Hong Kong-based Fuchs declined to comment, and referred inquiries to Nomura’s corporate communications staff. Felicity Albert, a Nomura spokeswoman in Hong Kong, declined to comment.

Leaving Nomura

Fuchs and his team are leaving Nomura after global hedge fund industry assets topped $2 trillion for the first time. An estimated 298 new hedge funds started in the first quarter, making it the busiest three months for new hedge funds since 2007, according to Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc.

Azentus Capital Management Ltd., a Hong Kong-based hedge fund led by Morgan Sze, has raised $1.9 billion since it started trading in April. The majority of his staff worked in the Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Principal Strategies proprietary trading group that he once headed.

The Global Opportunities Group was initiated by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in August 2007 to set up an Asia-based internal fund to trade global assets, Fuchs said in an August 2009 interview. It was reborn when Nomura took over Lehman’s Asian assets following the U.S. investment bank’s collapse in September 2008. It started trading in mid-April 2009 with $300 million of capital from the Japanese company, focusing on Asia- Pacific securities, he added.

Estimated Returns

B.A.F. is estimated to have returned 49 percent in 2009, 21 percent last year, and 1.6 percent in the first five months of 2011 Replica Cartier watches, said the document.

Nomura will also provide a working capital loan to B.A.F. to enable its start up Replica Tag heuer watches, one of the people said.

B.A.F. will trade equity-linked products such as convertible bonds, equity volatility and credit, according to the document. It will focus on Asian investment themes with the possibility to benefit from global opportunities, it added.

The B.A.F. fund will target an annual return of 15 percent to 20 percent after fees, according to the document.

–Editors: Linus Chua, Tomoko Yamazaki

To contact the reporter on this story: Bei Hu in Hong Kong at bhu5@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andreea Papuc at apapuc1@bloomberg.net

Business Exchange E-mail Print READER DISCUSSION