Taipei, May 21 (CNA) As the economy recovers, the average entry- level monthly salary of new graduates with master's degrees this year is NT$31,813 (US$989), up NT$1,296 or 4.2 percent from last year, a job bank said Friday.
According to a survey conducted by 104 Job Bank, the average monthly salary of new graduates with bachelor's degrees is NT$27,652, and new technical college graduates receive an average NT$25,410 -- both slightly higher than last year.
Fang Kuang-wei, public relations manager of 104 Job Bank, said job opportunities in the electronics industry increased the most -- with 44,000 more openings through May 1 compared with the same period last year -- making the industry willing to pay higher starting salaries.
The electronics and information industry offered the highest average salary for new graduates at NT$29,817, followed by construction and real estate related industries, which offered an average salary of NT$27,590, and manufacturing industries, with an average starting salary of NT$27,283.
In terms of job categories, new graduates with bachelor's degrees can earn the highest pay for jobs related to biotechnology research (NT$31,070) , engineering (NT$30,649) , and electro-optical communication and engineering (NT$30,040).
The survey was conducted online between April 20-29 with 621 valid responses. It has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. (By Cheng Yun-hsuan and Fanny Liu) ENDITEM/bc
US Senate passes historic Wall Street overhaul
WASHINGTON (AFP) - In a major victory for President Barack Obama, the US Senate has passed the most sweeping overhaul of financial industry rules since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
By a 59-39 margin, lawmakers approved Thursday an ambitious effort to curb Wall Street excesses blamed for fueling the 2008 global economic meltdown, amid smoldering voter anger months before November mid-term elections.
"To Wall Street, it says: No longer can you recklessly gamble away other people's money," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "It says to those who game the system: The game is over."
Senate Banking Committee chair Chris Dodd, a key author of the legislation, said it was "a major step toward creating a sound economic foundation for the American people we represent. This is their victory."
The legislation, Obama's top domestic goal, must still be merged with the House of Representatives' rival version into a compromise measure before the final package can go to the president to sign into law.
House Financial Services Committee chair Barney Frank, a Democrat, told CNBC television that he foresaw smooth sailing and that "the president, I am certain now, will have signed this bill well before the Fourth of July."
The measure aims to rein in big firms' use of high-risk practices blamed for the collapse of 2008, end taxpayer-funded bailout of financial titans previously deemed "too big to fail," and create an unprecedented consumer protection agency to shield Americans from industry abuses.
It also seeks to curb big banks' lucrative, largely unregulated business in complex securities called derivatives, essentially bets on the future cost of an asset, which many businesses use to control risk from volatile prices.
It includes several measures aimed at increasing the transparency at the US Federal Reserve and the central bank's accountability, as well as a measure aimed at blocking International Monetary Fund aid packages like the one for Greece without a guarantee that the money will be repaid.
A few hours before the vote, Obama pledged that the law would not smother the market.
"The reform I sign will not stifle the power of the free market -- it will simply bring predictable, responsible, sensible rules into the marketplace," he said in the Rose Garden of the White House.
"Our goal is not to punish the banks, but to protect the larger economy and the American people from the kind of upheavals that we've seen in the past few years," said the president.
Obama also took aim at the financial industry, accusing it of deploying "hordes of lobbyists and millions of dollars in ads" to kill the bill and trying to "water it down."
"Today, I think it's fair to say that these efforts have failed," he said.
Four Republicans joined all but two Democrats to approve the measure, drawing praise from Reid at the end of a month-long, sometimes bitter debate expected to stretch into the House-Senate "conference" to build a compromise.
US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said in a statement that he looked forward to working with lawmakers "to produce a sensible, prudent reform bill that strengthens the American financial system and preserves our ability to innovate and compete in a global economy."
The two chambers were to pick negotiating delegates on Monday.
Some of the remaining disputes include curbs on derivative trading and restrictions on investment activities by deposit-holding banks.
Senate Agriculture Committee chair Blanche Lincoln, a Democrat, authored a measure in the bill aimed at ending the largely unregulated derivatives business, a step forcefully opposed by big banks and their lobbyists trying to shape the legislation.
Dodd introduced and then pulled back from but did not withdraw a measure gutting Lincoln's proposal.
Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley and Carl Levin, authors of a measure to enact the so-called "Volcker rule" curbing deposit-holding banks' investment activities, expressed faint hopes the final bill would include it.
The measure, named for former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, would stop banks from holding customers' deposits at the same time as making investments for their own gain -- so-called proprietary trading.
Curbs on "prop trading" went into effect after the Great Depression. In 1933, the Glass-Steagall Act prohibited commercial banks from underwriting corporate securities, or acting as brokerages, but it was undone in 1999.
By a 59-39 margin, lawmakers approved Thursday an ambitious effort to curb Wall Street excesses blamed for fueling the 2008 global economic meltdown, amid smoldering voter anger months before November mid-term elections.
"To Wall Street, it says: No longer can you recklessly gamble away other people's money," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "It says to those who game the system: The game is over."
Senate Banking Committee chair Chris Dodd, a key author of the legislation, said it was "a major step toward creating a sound economic foundation for the American people we represent. This is their victory."
The legislation, Obama's top domestic goal, must still be merged with the House of Representatives' rival version into a compromise measure before the final package can go to the president to sign into law.
House Financial Services Committee chair Barney Frank, a Democrat, told CNBC television that he foresaw smooth sailing and that "the president, I am certain now, will have signed this bill well before the Fourth of July."
The measure aims to rein in big firms' use of high-risk practices blamed for the collapse of 2008, end taxpayer-funded bailout of financial titans previously deemed "too big to fail," and create an unprecedented consumer protection agency to shield Americans from industry abuses.
It also seeks to curb big banks' lucrative, largely unregulated business in complex securities called derivatives, essentially bets on the future cost of an asset, which many businesses use to control risk from volatile prices.
It includes several measures aimed at increasing the transparency at the US Federal Reserve and the central bank's accountability, as well as a measure aimed at blocking International Monetary Fund aid packages like the one for Greece without a guarantee that the money will be repaid.
A few hours before the vote, Obama pledged that the law would not smother the market.
"The reform I sign will not stifle the power of the free market -- it will simply bring predictable, responsible, sensible rules into the marketplace," he said in the Rose Garden of the White House.
"Our goal is not to punish the banks, but to protect the larger economy and the American people from the kind of upheavals that we've seen in the past few years," said the president.
Obama also took aim at the financial industry, accusing it of deploying "hordes of lobbyists and millions of dollars in ads" to kill the bill and trying to "water it down."
"Today, I think it's fair to say that these efforts have failed," he said.
Four Republicans joined all but two Democrats to approve the measure, drawing praise from Reid at the end of a month-long, sometimes bitter debate expected to stretch into the House-Senate "conference" to build a compromise.
US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said in a statement that he looked forward to working with lawmakers "to produce a sensible, prudent reform bill that strengthens the American financial system and preserves our ability to innovate and compete in a global economy."
The two chambers were to pick negotiating delegates on Monday.
Some of the remaining disputes include curbs on derivative trading and restrictions on investment activities by deposit-holding banks.
Senate Agriculture Committee chair Blanche Lincoln, a Democrat, authored a measure in the bill aimed at ending the largely unregulated derivatives business, a step forcefully opposed by big banks and their lobbyists trying to shape the legislation.
Dodd introduced and then pulled back from but did not withdraw a measure gutting Lincoln's proposal.
Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley and Carl Levin, authors of a measure to enact the so-called "Volcker rule" curbing deposit-holding banks' investment activities, expressed faint hopes the final bill would include it.
The measure, named for former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, would stop banks from holding customers' deposits at the same time as making investments for their own gain -- so-called proprietary trading.
Curbs on "prop trading" went into effect after the Great Depression. In 1933, the Glass-Steagall Act prohibited commercial banks from underwriting corporate securities, or acting as brokerages, but it was undone in 1999.
The tough sell of nuclear investing. By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Complex industry offers a global play into rising fuel costs, shortages
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- For investors who can push aside a troubled history, and their own squeamishness, the complex nuclear industry can offer a global play on the rising costs of commodities and increasing energy demand.
Of course, pausing over the historical legacy is understandable. Outside of the obvious human and environmental cost of such disasters as Chernobyl in 1986 and Three Mile Island in 1979, the dollar cost is high if something goes wrong. The Three Mile Island disaster turned into a $2 billion liability within minutes, by some estimates.
Nuclear is also a tough sell because new reactors are extremely expensive and time-consuming to build, so returns are rarely realized quickly. It's been over 30 years since the last power station was built in the U.S., and only a handful have been built in Europe since the mid-1980s.
But there are plenty of reasons to think investing in nuclear power will pay off. Uranium, which forms the basis of nuclear energy, is in abundant supply, unlike many other commodities. Surging global demand for energy, concerns over global warming, erratic fossil-fuel prices and high-profile accidents related to oil and coal production have all pushed nuclear back to the top of political and environmental agendas worldwide. See full story: Nuclear option is back on the table.
"There is a tigerlike market out there right now of aggressive capitalist activity that is occurring in anticipation of a huge growth in the global nuclear industry," said London-based John Ritch, director general of the World Nuclear Association, or WNA, an association comprising 180 companies that represents the global nuclear-energy industry. He said major companies are competing to claim a role in the supply chain.
"In the 21st century, the nuclear industry will build hundreds, then thousands of power reactors worldwide." Ritch added. "You can see the activity most vividly in India and China, which have the world's two largest nuclear construction programs. But nuclear reactors will be built in at least 40 other countries." See story on Asia's nuclear ambition.
Since 2008 the WNA has had its own nuclear index acting as a benchmark of performance for the nuclear-energy industry and, through licensing, as a basis for exchange-traded funds such as the PowerShares Global Nuclear Energy Portfolio ETF /quotes/comstock/13*!pkn/quotes/nls/pkn (PKN 16.94, -0.73, -4.13%) and London-based WNA Global Nuclear Fund ETF.
Launched in 2008, the PowerShares ETF is down 3.3% in 2010, through mid-May, after having rallied 27% in 2009. In comparison, the MSCI EAFE (Europe Australasia Far East) index is down 10.3% in 2010 after a 2009 advance of 15%.
Two other trackers are the S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index, which is tracked by iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy fund /quotes/comstock/15*!nucl/quotes/nls/nucl (NUCL 35.58, -0.54, -1.50%) , also launched in 2008, and the DAXglobal Nuclear Energy Index, the base for the Market Vectors Nuclear Energy ETF /quotes/comstock/13*!nlr/quotes/nls/nlr (NLR 18.56, -0.89, -4.55%) , launched in 2007. The iShares fund is down 11.9% on a year-to-date basis, while the Vectors fund is down 9.4%. The Vectors fund lost 45% in 2008, bouncing back 17% in 2009.
The nuclear plays
Ritch said ETFs are a good way to play the nuclear industry because an index like the WNA's is composed of global stocks from seven different subsectors: uranium mining, nuclear generation, plant infrastructure, uranium storage, nuclear conglomerate, uranium enrichment and nuclear-fuel transport.
"Nuclear is a complicated investment because there is no single stock that will give you a composite of the entire range of activities involved in producing nuclear energy," said the WNA's Ritch.
The DAX index comprises many of the same sectors, with nuclear cleanup and uranium processing separate sectors. Reactor maker Areva /quotes/comstock/24s!e:cei (FR:CEI 342.90, -1.90, -0.55%) of France and Japan's Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502 469.00, -24.00, -4.87%) /quotes/comstock/11i!tosy.y (TOSYY 30.89, -1.09, -3.41%) , are the first- and third-heaviest-weighted stocks in the WNA index.
Exelon Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!exc/quotes/nls/exc (EXC 39.68, -0.91, -2.24%) , which operates the biggest fleet of nuclear-power plants in the U.S. and the third-largest fleet in the world, is the No. 2 stock for the WNA and owns the top weighting in the DAX index.
Roger Conrad, the Alexandria, Va.-based editor of Utility Forecaster, said investors who want nuclear exposure should stick to the biggest players in each sector, such as French power operator EDF SA /quotes/comstock/24s!e:edf (FR:EDF 34.74, -0.88, -2.47%) or Exelon in the U.S.
"Big companies can run a plant better," Conrad said. "That's because they have scale and financial power, and they can apply lessons learned at one plant to another, minimizing outage times and costs."
Bigger also equals better, in his view, on the engineering side and among uranium producers. He said Canadian-based uranium producer Cameco Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!ccj/quotes/nls/ccj (CCJ 23.33, -1.17, -4.78%) , which ranks No. 2 globally in its category, is politically secure and also is a desired acquisition for a lot of Chinese uranium companies. See also Uranium's all aglow.
Commodity prices are a big factor for nuclear stocks, which is another reason big companies fare better.
"There have been times we've seen, in the last 10 to 15 years, natural-gas prices at $1. They don't last long, but, while they do, nuclear energy can't compete with that," Conrad said. "Companies of scale have the best chance of weathering these ups and downs in the marketplace."
And engineering, mining and power providers in the U.S. are dealing with totally different issues from those faced by companies in Europe and China, he said. Huaneng Power International /quotes/comstock/13*!hnp/quotes/nls/hnp (HNP 23.09, -0.41, -1.75%) has the power to build nuclear plants and intends to, but he said there is more risk with Asia owing to a lack of regulatory history.
The funds
The Market Vectors ETF considers itself a pure nuclear play because it targets companies that generate 50% or more of their revenue from the nuclear industry. Utilities -- EDF, Exelon Corp. and Constellation Energy /quotes/comstock/13*!ceg/quotes/nls/ceg (CEG 33.28, -1.40, -4.04%) -- are the top three holdings, but the bulk of the portfolio leans toward miners and suppliers.
The basic drivers for a fund weighted toward miners and builders, such as the Market Vectors ETF, are supply and demand for uranium and the construction of new plants, said Ed Lopez, marketing director at Van Eck. "Demand for parts, supplies for new construction around the world and political-will talk from governments seeking out clean energy may lead to demand for the shares of suppliers and miners," he said.
Shares may also get a bump when prices of fossil fuels go up, which make nuclear look cheaper.
"If crude oil continues to move up, or you get beyond $100 [a barrel], and if people start to feel that in their pocket there may be a greater urgency to seek out alternative sources of energy," said Lopez.
Lopez said Market Vectors is well-placed if the industry starts to see a build out again, but he said investors may find it takes time to see returns on utilities that are financing the plants.
"If there is a buildout, investors may want exposure to the suppliers, the people doing the work and building the plants and the miners, companies supplying the fuel. The potential to see returns from these types of players may come more readily than you might see from a utility, which can take five to 10 years to build," he said.
The third-biggest holding in the ETF is Constellation Energy. Cameco and uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia claim the next two spots.
John Kohli runs one of the oldest utilities funds around: the Franklin Utilities Fund /quotes/comstock/10r!fkutx (FKUTX 10.68, -0.08, -0.74%) , which got its start in 1948. The San Mateo, Calif.-based manager said that more than half of the utilities he owns -- all U.S.-focused -- have some nuclear exposure, but the exact level is hard to quantify, as nuclear only makes up 20% of the U.S. power supply, with coal the dominant supplier at 50%.
His fund has fallen 3% on a year-to-date basis and has lost 4.6% on a three-year basis, but it's up 5% and 8% by five- and 10-year measures.
He said he's got his eye on two drivers for his nuclear exposure: a U.S. energy bill and Southern Co.'s /quotes/comstock/13*!so/quotes/nls/so (SO 33.78, -0.15, -0.44%) plans to build the first new power plant in the U.S. since the industry stalled 30 years ago.
The top two holdings in his fund are Southern and Entergy /quotes/comstock/13*!etr/quotes/nls/etr (ETR 75.33, -1.47, -1.91%) , and he also owns Exelon. He called those the purest plays available for nuclear. "We like nuclear because it's clean, there are no carbon emissions from nuclear unlike coal and we like the fact it's cheap to produce," he said.
His fund has benefited from nuclear exposure for much of the past decade, he said, though he noted the economic decline has been a short-term negative for almost all of the industry over the past two years.
The reservations
There are plenty of socially responsible funds out there that won't touch nuclear, such as the New Alternatives Fund /quotes/comstock/10r!nalfx (NALFX 35.65, -0.56, -1.55%) , which makes heavy bets on alternative energy. Co-manager David Schoenwald subscribes to the view that the potential benefits of nuclear power are outweighed by safety risks and high costs.
Domini Social Equity /quotes/comstock/10r!dsefx (DSEFX 26.20, -0.18, -0.68%) is another fund that won't invest in nuclear, said David Kathman, a Morningstar analyst based in Chicago who covers utilities funds.
"There still is some squeamishness, mainly among socially responsible funds," he said in an email interview. "I don't think anybody needs nuclear power as an investment, but some of my utility-fund managers think that nuclear-heavy utilities are a good investment."
To be sure, the risk of accidents never really goes away for nuclear investors, said Utility forecaster's Conrad. "If there were to be an accident, it would be catastrophic. You've always got that working against it."
But the WNA's Ritch said safety measures are vastly improved these days. He pointed out that systems deemed unsafe after Chernobyl have been eliminated.
"Investors can be quite confident that there will not be another Chernobyl. Reactors like that simply don't exist anymore and will never be built again," Ritch said. "The global nuclear industry today boasts an extremely impressive safety record built on 14,000 reactor-years of operating history."
Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- For investors who can push aside a troubled history, and their own squeamishness, the complex nuclear industry can offer a global play on the rising costs of commodities and increasing energy demand.
Of course, pausing over the historical legacy is understandable. Outside of the obvious human and environmental cost of such disasters as Chernobyl in 1986 and Three Mile Island in 1979, the dollar cost is high if something goes wrong. The Three Mile Island disaster turned into a $2 billion liability within minutes, by some estimates.
Nuclear is also a tough sell because new reactors are extremely expensive and time-consuming to build, so returns are rarely realized quickly. It's been over 30 years since the last power station was built in the U.S., and only a handful have been built in Europe since the mid-1980s.
But there are plenty of reasons to think investing in nuclear power will pay off. Uranium, which forms the basis of nuclear energy, is in abundant supply, unlike many other commodities. Surging global demand for energy, concerns over global warming, erratic fossil-fuel prices and high-profile accidents related to oil and coal production have all pushed nuclear back to the top of political and environmental agendas worldwide. See full story: Nuclear option is back on the table.
"There is a tigerlike market out there right now of aggressive capitalist activity that is occurring in anticipation of a huge growth in the global nuclear industry," said London-based John Ritch, director general of the World Nuclear Association, or WNA, an association comprising 180 companies that represents the global nuclear-energy industry. He said major companies are competing to claim a role in the supply chain.
"In the 21st century, the nuclear industry will build hundreds, then thousands of power reactors worldwide." Ritch added. "You can see the activity most vividly in India and China, which have the world's two largest nuclear construction programs. But nuclear reactors will be built in at least 40 other countries." See story on Asia's nuclear ambition.
Since 2008 the WNA has had its own nuclear index acting as a benchmark of performance for the nuclear-energy industry and, through licensing, as a basis for exchange-traded funds such as the PowerShares Global Nuclear Energy Portfolio ETF /quotes/comstock/13*!pkn/quotes/nls/pkn (PKN 16.94, -0.73, -4.13%) and London-based WNA Global Nuclear Fund ETF.
Launched in 2008, the PowerShares ETF is down 3.3% in 2010, through mid-May, after having rallied 27% in 2009. In comparison, the MSCI EAFE (Europe Australasia Far East) index is down 10.3% in 2010 after a 2009 advance of 15%.
Two other trackers are the S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index, which is tracked by iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy fund /quotes/comstock/15*!nucl/quotes/nls/nucl (NUCL 35.58, -0.54, -1.50%) , also launched in 2008, and the DAXglobal Nuclear Energy Index, the base for the Market Vectors Nuclear Energy ETF /quotes/comstock/13*!nlr/quotes/nls/nlr (NLR 18.56, -0.89, -4.55%) , launched in 2007. The iShares fund is down 11.9% on a year-to-date basis, while the Vectors fund is down 9.4%. The Vectors fund lost 45% in 2008, bouncing back 17% in 2009.
The nuclear plays
Ritch said ETFs are a good way to play the nuclear industry because an index like the WNA's is composed of global stocks from seven different subsectors: uranium mining, nuclear generation, plant infrastructure, uranium storage, nuclear conglomerate, uranium enrichment and nuclear-fuel transport.
"Nuclear is a complicated investment because there is no single stock that will give you a composite of the entire range of activities involved in producing nuclear energy," said the WNA's Ritch.
The DAX index comprises many of the same sectors, with nuclear cleanup and uranium processing separate sectors. Reactor maker Areva /quotes/comstock/24s!e:cei (FR:CEI 342.90, -1.90, -0.55%) of France and Japan's Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502 469.00, -24.00, -4.87%) /quotes/comstock/11i!tosy.y (TOSYY 30.89, -1.09, -3.41%) , are the first- and third-heaviest-weighted stocks in the WNA index.
Exelon Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!exc/quotes/nls/exc (EXC 39.68, -0.91, -2.24%) , which operates the biggest fleet of nuclear-power plants in the U.S. and the third-largest fleet in the world, is the No. 2 stock for the WNA and owns the top weighting in the DAX index.
Roger Conrad, the Alexandria, Va.-based editor of Utility Forecaster, said investors who want nuclear exposure should stick to the biggest players in each sector, such as French power operator EDF SA /quotes/comstock/24s!e:edf (FR:EDF 34.74, -0.88, -2.47%) or Exelon in the U.S.
"Big companies can run a plant better," Conrad said. "That's because they have scale and financial power, and they can apply lessons learned at one plant to another, minimizing outage times and costs."
Bigger also equals better, in his view, on the engineering side and among uranium producers. He said Canadian-based uranium producer Cameco Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!ccj/quotes/nls/ccj (CCJ 23.33, -1.17, -4.78%) , which ranks No. 2 globally in its category, is politically secure and also is a desired acquisition for a lot of Chinese uranium companies. See also Uranium's all aglow.
Commodity prices are a big factor for nuclear stocks, which is another reason big companies fare better.
"There have been times we've seen, in the last 10 to 15 years, natural-gas prices at $1. They don't last long, but, while they do, nuclear energy can't compete with that," Conrad said. "Companies of scale have the best chance of weathering these ups and downs in the marketplace."
And engineering, mining and power providers in the U.S. are dealing with totally different issues from those faced by companies in Europe and China, he said. Huaneng Power International /quotes/comstock/13*!hnp/quotes/nls/hnp (HNP 23.09, -0.41, -1.75%) has the power to build nuclear plants and intends to, but he said there is more risk with Asia owing to a lack of regulatory history.
The funds
The Market Vectors ETF considers itself a pure nuclear play because it targets companies that generate 50% or more of their revenue from the nuclear industry. Utilities -- EDF, Exelon Corp. and Constellation Energy /quotes/comstock/13*!ceg/quotes/nls/ceg (CEG 33.28, -1.40, -4.04%) -- are the top three holdings, but the bulk of the portfolio leans toward miners and suppliers.
The basic drivers for a fund weighted toward miners and builders, such as the Market Vectors ETF, are supply and demand for uranium and the construction of new plants, said Ed Lopez, marketing director at Van Eck. "Demand for parts, supplies for new construction around the world and political-will talk from governments seeking out clean energy may lead to demand for the shares of suppliers and miners," he said.
Shares may also get a bump when prices of fossil fuels go up, which make nuclear look cheaper.
"If crude oil continues to move up, or you get beyond $100 [a barrel], and if people start to feel that in their pocket there may be a greater urgency to seek out alternative sources of energy," said Lopez.
Lopez said Market Vectors is well-placed if the industry starts to see a build out again, but he said investors may find it takes time to see returns on utilities that are financing the plants.
"If there is a buildout, investors may want exposure to the suppliers, the people doing the work and building the plants and the miners, companies supplying the fuel. The potential to see returns from these types of players may come more readily than you might see from a utility, which can take five to 10 years to build," he said.
The third-biggest holding in the ETF is Constellation Energy. Cameco and uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia claim the next two spots.
John Kohli runs one of the oldest utilities funds around: the Franklin Utilities Fund /quotes/comstock/10r!fkutx (FKUTX 10.68, -0.08, -0.74%) , which got its start in 1948. The San Mateo, Calif.-based manager said that more than half of the utilities he owns -- all U.S.-focused -- have some nuclear exposure, but the exact level is hard to quantify, as nuclear only makes up 20% of the U.S. power supply, with coal the dominant supplier at 50%.
His fund has fallen 3% on a year-to-date basis and has lost 4.6% on a three-year basis, but it's up 5% and 8% by five- and 10-year measures.
He said he's got his eye on two drivers for his nuclear exposure: a U.S. energy bill and Southern Co.'s /quotes/comstock/13*!so/quotes/nls/so (SO 33.78, -0.15, -0.44%) plans to build the first new power plant in the U.S. since the industry stalled 30 years ago.
The top two holdings in his fund are Southern and Entergy /quotes/comstock/13*!etr/quotes/nls/etr (ETR 75.33, -1.47, -1.91%) , and he also owns Exelon. He called those the purest plays available for nuclear. "We like nuclear because it's clean, there are no carbon emissions from nuclear unlike coal and we like the fact it's cheap to produce," he said.
His fund has benefited from nuclear exposure for much of the past decade, he said, though he noted the economic decline has been a short-term negative for almost all of the industry over the past two years.
The reservations
There are plenty of socially responsible funds out there that won't touch nuclear, such as the New Alternatives Fund /quotes/comstock/10r!nalfx (NALFX 35.65, -0.56, -1.55%) , which makes heavy bets on alternative energy. Co-manager David Schoenwald subscribes to the view that the potential benefits of nuclear power are outweighed by safety risks and high costs.
Domini Social Equity /quotes/comstock/10r!dsefx (DSEFX 26.20, -0.18, -0.68%) is another fund that won't invest in nuclear, said David Kathman, a Morningstar analyst based in Chicago who covers utilities funds.
"There still is some squeamishness, mainly among socially responsible funds," he said in an email interview. "I don't think anybody needs nuclear power as an investment, but some of my utility-fund managers think that nuclear-heavy utilities are a good investment."
To be sure, the risk of accidents never really goes away for nuclear investors, said Utility forecaster's Conrad. "If there were to be an accident, it would be catastrophic. You've always got that working against it."
But the WNA's Ritch said safety measures are vastly improved these days. He pointed out that systems deemed unsafe after Chernobyl have been eliminated.
"Investors can be quite confident that there will not be another Chernobyl. Reactors like that simply don't exist anymore and will never be built again," Ritch said. "The global nuclear industry today boasts an extremely impressive safety record built on 14,000 reactor-years of operating history."
Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.
Career and family -- can you have it all? By Michelle Singletary - Washington Post
Many women, and men, know the daily challenges of balancing family and a successful career. Soccer practice, doctor's appointments, business meetings--there aren't enough hours in a day.
If you are a parent with a career, would it be easier to strive for success without a Rugrat? (for the uninformed, that's the term used for little ones on a popular Nickelodeon cartoon by the same name. I like it so much that it's what I call my kids, especially when they are getting on my nerves.)
Would it be easier as a woman to climb the ladder of success without a family?
These are questions posed by Lauren Ashburn in Childless: How the Most Ambitious Women Choose not to Be Sidetracked by Family.
Ashburn applauds the successes of recent Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan and Justice Sonya Sotomayor as they ascend to the pinnacle of their profession, yet argues that the corporate culture must change so that advancing one's career doesn't mean having to choose between family and work.
Seventy-one percent of women in the workforce have children ages six to 17, and for the first time in history, there are more women working than men, Ashburn reports.
She writes: "Some speculate that there is a fear among ambitious women that they can't rise to a preeminent position if they start a family because of the intense job pressures -- late nights, long trips, the need to be available 24/7. Let's face it, could Justice Sotomayor really schedule car pool from One First Street, N.E.?"
Ashburn's article is an interesting read, and of course goes down that road of whether parents (mothers, in particular) can have it all.
Personally, I don't think you can have it all, at least not at the same time and do everything well. Something will suffer. Or you will try to do it all -- ambitious career, be adequately available for your family -- but will eventually drop from exhaustion or exasperation.
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I can't have it all and do it all well.
Ashburn says the solution is the following: "If being childless is not an option for you, it's time to raise your voices, demand flexibility in your workplace and show the world that, yes, you can work full-time and be productive members of a corporation without being chained to a desk just because that's the way it's always been done."
So what do you think? Can a woman (or man) have both professional and personal success at the same time? Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Put "Working Parents" in the subject line.
Medical Move
Looking for work? Well, think about the health-care sector.
The recent passage of the health-care law has added 244,000 jobs in the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reports Vickie Elmer in Health care offers healthy prospects for second careers.
An amendment to the financial reform bill being debated in Congress right now would give some consumers a free look at their credit scores. Those who have been denied credit or a job would be allow to get a free copy of their credit score.
While consumers are allowed to obtain a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months at www.annualcreditreport.com, they are not entitle to free credit scores. Gail Cunningham, a spokesperson for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling says, "this may be a first step toward universally providing free credit scores to consumers," reports Chavon Sutton of CNNmoney.com in Washington pushes for free credit scores.
Color of Money Question: Your responses
For last week's Color of Money Question, I wanted hear what financial advice you would give to recent college graduates, as well as tips you have received that helped you keep your financial footing.
In today's column, I share some of that wisdom. Here are some additional comments:
For Jeanette Watkins of Randallstown, Md., mama always knows best.
My mother "said pay your rent or your mortgage first if you don't pay anything else. If you pay your rent or mortgage there will always be a roof over your head. You can always stop by mom's house to eat and grab a few rolls of toilet paper."
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Jenelle Turner-Reid of Oklahoma City, Okla. advises recent graduates to, "continue to live like you are on a college student's budget and max out any matching 401 (k) or 403 (b) contribution from your employer."
For Nancy Dubiell of Burke, Va., a little goes a long way.
"Everyone can afford to have $5 or $10 automatically deducted from their paycheck and put into a credit union savings account. If you don't see it, you won't miss it."
Brad Glickman of Chevy Chase, Md. says, "Whenever possible, pay with cash! When credit card usage spins out of control, one can fall well behind in the race to financial independence. Consumer debt can be very hard to control especially as the interest piles up."
If you are a parent with a career, would it be easier to strive for success without a Rugrat? (for the uninformed, that's the term used for little ones on a popular Nickelodeon cartoon by the same name. I like it so much that it's what I call my kids, especially when they are getting on my nerves.)
Would it be easier as a woman to climb the ladder of success without a family?
These are questions posed by Lauren Ashburn in Childless: How the Most Ambitious Women Choose not to Be Sidetracked by Family.
Ashburn applauds the successes of recent Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan and Justice Sonya Sotomayor as they ascend to the pinnacle of their profession, yet argues that the corporate culture must change so that advancing one's career doesn't mean having to choose between family and work.
Seventy-one percent of women in the workforce have children ages six to 17, and for the first time in history, there are more women working than men, Ashburn reports.
She writes: "Some speculate that there is a fear among ambitious women that they can't rise to a preeminent position if they start a family because of the intense job pressures -- late nights, long trips, the need to be available 24/7. Let's face it, could Justice Sotomayor really schedule car pool from One First Street, N.E.?"
Ashburn's article is an interesting read, and of course goes down that road of whether parents (mothers, in particular) can have it all.
Personally, I don't think you can have it all, at least not at the same time and do everything well. Something will suffer. Or you will try to do it all -- ambitious career, be adequately available for your family -- but will eventually drop from exhaustion or exasperation.
ad_icon
I can't have it all and do it all well.
Ashburn says the solution is the following: "If being childless is not an option for you, it's time to raise your voices, demand flexibility in your workplace and show the world that, yes, you can work full-time and be productive members of a corporation without being chained to a desk just because that's the way it's always been done."
So what do you think? Can a woman (or man) have both professional and personal success at the same time? Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Put "Working Parents" in the subject line.
Medical Move
Looking for work? Well, think about the health-care sector.
The recent passage of the health-care law has added 244,000 jobs in the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reports Vickie Elmer in Health care offers healthy prospects for second careers.
An amendment to the financial reform bill being debated in Congress right now would give some consumers a free look at their credit scores. Those who have been denied credit or a job would be allow to get a free copy of their credit score.
While consumers are allowed to obtain a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months at www.annualcreditreport.com, they are not entitle to free credit scores. Gail Cunningham, a spokesperson for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling says, "this may be a first step toward universally providing free credit scores to consumers," reports Chavon Sutton of CNNmoney.com in Washington pushes for free credit scores.
Color of Money Question: Your responses
For last week's Color of Money Question, I wanted hear what financial advice you would give to recent college graduates, as well as tips you have received that helped you keep your financial footing.
In today's column, I share some of that wisdom. Here are some additional comments:
For Jeanette Watkins of Randallstown, Md., mama always knows best.
My mother "said pay your rent or your mortgage first if you don't pay anything else. If you pay your rent or mortgage there will always be a roof over your head. You can always stop by mom's house to eat and grab a few rolls of toilet paper."
ad_icon
Jenelle Turner-Reid of Oklahoma City, Okla. advises recent graduates to, "continue to live like you are on a college student's budget and max out any matching 401 (k) or 403 (b) contribution from your employer."
For Nancy Dubiell of Burke, Va., a little goes a long way.
"Everyone can afford to have $5 or $10 automatically deducted from their paycheck and put into a credit union savings account. If you don't see it, you won't miss it."
Brad Glickman of Chevy Chase, Md. says, "Whenever possible, pay with cash! When credit card usage spins out of control, one can fall well behind in the race to financial independence. Consumer debt can be very hard to control especially as the interest piles up."
College Grads Flood U.S. Labor Market With Diminished Prospects By Mike Dorning - Bloomberg
Ten months after graduating from Ohio State University with a civil-engineering degree and three internships, Matt Grant finally has a job -- as a banquet waiter at a Clarion Inn near Akron, Ohio.
“It’s discouraging right now,” said the 24-year-old, who sent out more than 100 applications for engineering positions. “It’s getting closer to the Class of 2010, their graduation date. I’m starting to worry more.”
Schools from Grant’s alma mater to Harvard University will soon begin sending a wave of more than 1.6 million men and women with bachelor’s degrees into a labor market with a 9.9 percent jobless rate, according to the Education and Labor departments. While the economy is improving, unemployment is near a 26-year high, rising last month from 9.7 percent in January-March as more Americans entered the workforce.
The graduates’ plight has been the subject of high-level discussions within President Barack Obama’s administration, which so far has concluded the best response is to focus on reviving overall employment and bolstering assistance for higher education, said Peter Orszag, the White House budget director.
“What’s clear is that there is harm to those who graduate at the wrong time through no fault of their own, which is one reason why it is so important to improve the jobs market,” Orszag said. “That is the bottom line here.”
The scramble for jobs may depress earnings of new and recent college graduates for years to come and handicap their future career opportunities, according to Lisa Kahn, an assistant professor of economics at Yale University’s School of Management in New Haven, Connecticut. It also might hurt Democrats in the November Congressional elections, as the young voters who helped propel the party to power in 2008 grow disenchanted with their economic prospects.
Wage Losses
Students who graduated in the early 1980s -- when two recessions drove unemployment to a peak of 10.8 percent -- suffered wage losses of more than $100,000 in the next 15 years compared with those who came into the job market during the decade’s boom years, according to Kahn’s research.
“They get shifted down into a lower level and lower pay scale,” she said. “They are working for worse firms, they’re not learning as many skills and they’re not moving up the career pyramid as quickly.”
The average salary offered to bachelor’s degree candidates this year is $47,673, 1.7 percent less than 2009, when the economy already was in recession, according to data compiled from campus job-placement offices by the National Association of Colleges and Employers in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Increasing Competition
“More so in the last year to 18 months than at any time, we have seen applicants from prior graduating classes looking for the kind of entry-level jobs we’re recruiting for,” said Dan Black, director of campus recruiting for Ernst & Young LLP, a professional-services firm headquartered in New York. “There are a lot more cohorts competing with each other: ‘09 with ‘10, probably ‘10 with ‘11.”
Unemployment among people under 25 years old was 19.6 percent in April, the highest level since the Labor Department began tracking the data in 1948. Their economic travails may haunt Democrats in the November midterm elections. The youthful voters who helped propel the party to victory in the 2006 Congressional elections and gave the 2008 Obama campaign much of its vibrancy are showing signs of waning enthusiasm.
Democrats held a 62 percent to 30 percent advantage over Republicans in 2008 among “millennials,” born after 1980, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press in Washington D.C. Their 32-point margin shrank to 18 points this year, with 55 percent leaning Democratic and 37 percent Republican, based on polls taken from January through April.
Less Excitement
“It’s definitely tamped down the energy and the excitement and activism that the Obama campaign had sparked among that entry-level age group,” said Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, who advised Howard Dean’s 2004 campaign and is working with candidates in several midterm races.
Even graduates of elite and graduate universities feel the impact. A new listserv of “Hot Opportunities” Harvard’s career-services office began compiling in March garnered 1,000 student subscribers in its first two days.
“This is the first year we have seen such a demand for our services this close to graduation,” said Robin Mount, director of the office in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Thirty-three percent of Harvard’s graduating seniors had accepted a job as of commencement last year, down from 51 percent the year before. The survey results for this year’s class haven’t been released.
On-campus recruiting at schools of business declined 65 percent during the fall job-interview season, according to the MBA Career Services Council in Tampa, Florida. Peter Giulioni, assistant dean and executive director of MBA Career Services at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business in Los Angeles, said he is encouraging this year’s graduates to be more flexible in the jobs they seek.
“Whereas in the past maybe 10 percent of my students had to go with their Plan B, about 30 percent are now,” he said.
--Editors: Melinda Grenier, Christopher Wellisz......Read more>>>>
“It’s discouraging right now,” said the 24-year-old, who sent out more than 100 applications for engineering positions. “It’s getting closer to the Class of 2010, their graduation date. I’m starting to worry more.”
Schools from Grant’s alma mater to Harvard University will soon begin sending a wave of more than 1.6 million men and women with bachelor’s degrees into a labor market with a 9.9 percent jobless rate, according to the Education and Labor departments. While the economy is improving, unemployment is near a 26-year high, rising last month from 9.7 percent in January-March as more Americans entered the workforce.
The graduates’ plight has been the subject of high-level discussions within President Barack Obama’s administration, which so far has concluded the best response is to focus on reviving overall employment and bolstering assistance for higher education, said Peter Orszag, the White House budget director.
“What’s clear is that there is harm to those who graduate at the wrong time through no fault of their own, which is one reason why it is so important to improve the jobs market,” Orszag said. “That is the bottom line here.”
The scramble for jobs may depress earnings of new and recent college graduates for years to come and handicap their future career opportunities, according to Lisa Kahn, an assistant professor of economics at Yale University’s School of Management in New Haven, Connecticut. It also might hurt Democrats in the November Congressional elections, as the young voters who helped propel the party to power in 2008 grow disenchanted with their economic prospects.
Wage Losses
Students who graduated in the early 1980s -- when two recessions drove unemployment to a peak of 10.8 percent -- suffered wage losses of more than $100,000 in the next 15 years compared with those who came into the job market during the decade’s boom years, according to Kahn’s research.
“They get shifted down into a lower level and lower pay scale,” she said. “They are working for worse firms, they’re not learning as many skills and they’re not moving up the career pyramid as quickly.”
The average salary offered to bachelor’s degree candidates this year is $47,673, 1.7 percent less than 2009, when the economy already was in recession, according to data compiled from campus job-placement offices by the National Association of Colleges and Employers in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Increasing Competition
“More so in the last year to 18 months than at any time, we have seen applicants from prior graduating classes looking for the kind of entry-level jobs we’re recruiting for,” said Dan Black, director of campus recruiting for Ernst & Young LLP, a professional-services firm headquartered in New York. “There are a lot more cohorts competing with each other: ‘09 with ‘10, probably ‘10 with ‘11.”
Unemployment among people under 25 years old was 19.6 percent in April, the highest level since the Labor Department began tracking the data in 1948. Their economic travails may haunt Democrats in the November midterm elections. The youthful voters who helped propel the party to victory in the 2006 Congressional elections and gave the 2008 Obama campaign much of its vibrancy are showing signs of waning enthusiasm.
Democrats held a 62 percent to 30 percent advantage over Republicans in 2008 among “millennials,” born after 1980, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press in Washington D.C. Their 32-point margin shrank to 18 points this year, with 55 percent leaning Democratic and 37 percent Republican, based on polls taken from January through April.
Less Excitement
“It’s definitely tamped down the energy and the excitement and activism that the Obama campaign had sparked among that entry-level age group,” said Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, who advised Howard Dean’s 2004 campaign and is working with candidates in several midterm races.
Even graduates of elite and graduate universities feel the impact. A new listserv of “Hot Opportunities” Harvard’s career-services office began compiling in March garnered 1,000 student subscribers in its first two days.
“This is the first year we have seen such a demand for our services this close to graduation,” said Robin Mount, director of the office in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Thirty-three percent of Harvard’s graduating seniors had accepted a job as of commencement last year, down from 51 percent the year before. The survey results for this year’s class haven’t been released.
On-campus recruiting at schools of business declined 65 percent during the fall job-interview season, according to the MBA Career Services Council in Tampa, Florida. Peter Giulioni, assistant dean and executive director of MBA Career Services at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business in Los Angeles, said he is encouraging this year’s graduates to be more flexible in the jobs they seek.
“Whereas in the past maybe 10 percent of my students had to go with their Plan B, about 30 percent are now,” he said.
--Editors: Melinda Grenier, Christopher Wellisz......Read more>>>>
The stock exchange and circuit breakers - The facts
What do circuit breakers mean in trading?
In May of 2010 the SEC moved to implement circuit breakers in stock exchange. Well, the purpose of circuit breakers is to temporarily stop the trading process should the exchange rises or falls more than 10% within 5 minutes.
In May of 2010 the SEC moved to implement circuit breakers in stock exchange. Well, the purpose of circuit breakers is to temporarily stop the trading process should the exchange rises or falls more than 10% within 5 minutes.
Earning a Master of Business Administration Pays Off
Earning a Master of Business Administration Pays Off With a Lifetime of Returns on the Investment - and It's Not All About Salary
AUSTIN, Texas, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Great Recession continues to wind down, the news is full of stories about experienced, qualified people who've been out of jobs for months — and who are still looking for meaningful work. "This is the ideal time to invest in yourself by earning a Master of Business Administration degree," Dr. Donald Christian, Dean of Concordia University Texas' College of Business, said.
Recent studies show that people holding MBAs can make substantially more money over a lifetime than those with an undergraduate degree only. Depending on the graduate's industry and specialty, the pay increase may range from 10% to 82%. Research also shows that an MBA graduate will likely experience a return of investment on tuition within three-to-five years.
"While salary differential studies can be controversial, what can be stated definitively is that earning an MBA sets you apart," Christian said. "A Concordia MBA graduate will be a much more desirable hire and a considerably more valuable employee because he or she will have the training to be a strong leader, a critical thinker and a problem solver."
"Job satisfaction and overall life satisfaction increase with an education that is relevant and meaningful. The Concordia MBA is unique in its philosophy of developing the whole person," Dr. Linda Ford, Concordia MBA Program Director, said. "The Concordia MBA enables individuals to transform themselves in order to transform their communities."
Concordia University Texas launched its MBA program in early 2010. The Concordia MBA is designed for anyone with an interest in post-graduate business education who is looking for a rigorous program that fits into the life of a busy, working professional. The degree can be earned in two years with classes only one night a week.
Students are admitted into a cohort — they stay with the same classmates throughout the program. In order to attract students with diverse academic and professional backgrounds, Concordia is offering several options for students to meet prerequisites. Online study guides or lessons on CD will be offered to those lacking a traditional business education.
"Our students hone the 'hard' skills of accounting, finance, economics, marketing and business strategy," Christian said. "On top of that, they develop the solid leadership skills they need to make a positive difference in the workplace and beyond."
AUSTIN, Texas, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Great Recession continues to wind down, the news is full of stories about experienced, qualified people who've been out of jobs for months — and who are still looking for meaningful work. "This is the ideal time to invest in yourself by earning a Master of Business Administration degree," Dr. Donald Christian, Dean of Concordia University Texas' College of Business, said.
Recent studies show that people holding MBAs can make substantially more money over a lifetime than those with an undergraduate degree only. Depending on the graduate's industry and specialty, the pay increase may range from 10% to 82%. Research also shows that an MBA graduate will likely experience a return of investment on tuition within three-to-five years.
"While salary differential studies can be controversial, what can be stated definitively is that earning an MBA sets you apart," Christian said. "A Concordia MBA graduate will be a much more desirable hire and a considerably more valuable employee because he or she will have the training to be a strong leader, a critical thinker and a problem solver."
"Job satisfaction and overall life satisfaction increase with an education that is relevant and meaningful. The Concordia MBA is unique in its philosophy of developing the whole person," Dr. Linda Ford, Concordia MBA Program Director, said. "The Concordia MBA enables individuals to transform themselves in order to transform their communities."
Concordia University Texas launched its MBA program in early 2010. The Concordia MBA is designed for anyone with an interest in post-graduate business education who is looking for a rigorous program that fits into the life of a busy, working professional. The degree can be earned in two years with classes only one night a week.
Students are admitted into a cohort — they stay with the same classmates throughout the program. In order to attract students with diverse academic and professional backgrounds, Concordia is offering several options for students to meet prerequisites. Online study guides or lessons on CD will be offered to those lacking a traditional business education.
"Our students hone the 'hard' skills of accounting, finance, economics, marketing and business strategy," Christian said. "On top of that, they develop the solid leadership skills they need to make a positive difference in the workplace and beyond."
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