Celebrating citizenship
Six years ago, when Gabi Diligent arrived in the United States, the odds of achieving the elusive American dream were not in her favor. The 22-year-old had just left her native Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake. Arriving in the greater Boston area with her mother and five siblings, Diligent didn’t speak a word of English.Today, she speaks it effortlessly. What’s more, she has a driver’s license, owns a home, and is working toward her high school diploma. And just last year, Diligent became a U.S. citizen.“My life has changed over the last four years,” she told an audience who gathered Tuesday evening for a dinner celebrating the 14 Harvard employees who this year became U.S. citizens with help from the Harvard Bridge Program. “I have accomplished a lot. I am very proud of how far I have come.”She has reason to be. After securing a position in custodial and cleaning services at Harvard, Diligent connected with the Bridge Program, an education and training curriculum offering courses in career, language, and computer skills to Harvard faculty and staff. The program pairs prospective citizens with student volunteer tutors from the Institute of Politics (IOP) at the Kennedy School. Since the program began in 1998, roughly 231 new citizens have completed it.“The Bridge Program means a lot to me,” Diligent said.“Citizenship is not something to be taken for granted,” Harvard President Drew Faust told the audience. “For those of us who were born in this country and didn’t have to pass a test — and didn’t have to be challenged — we remind ourselves today that it is an enormous privilege to have citizenship, and that it comes with very special responsibilities.”The test Faust referred to was the civics component of the naturalization test. All applicants for citizenship must memorize 100 questions and answers covering American history, civics, and government. With the aid of a Bridge Program tutor, Diligent worked tirelessly to master all of the topics.Other speakers included Maggie Williams, director of the IOP, who briefly told of her own family history and their struggles emerging from poverty. “We honor your journey to citizenship, and I am grateful for all you have done and will do to enrich this country,” she said.Lars Madsen (from left), speaks of his path to citizenship as President Drew Faust, Maggie Williams, Maria Mendoza, and Raquel Leslie listen. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff PhotographerCarol Kolenik, director of the Bridge Program, summed up its spirit by quoting the legendary humanitarian Albert Schweitzer: “The purpose of the human life is to serve, and to show compassion, and the will to help others.”Tamara Suttle, program coordinator and instructor at the Bridge Program, described how this spirit is exemplified in Joseph Passeri, a program instructor who was honored Tuesday. Passeri teaches language and citizenship classes at Harvard Medical School for custodial staff who work the evening shifts. On Tuesday and Wednesday nights he teaches from 10 p.m. to midnight, and on Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.“Thank you for your dedication to your students, and all you’ve given the program over the last 15 years,” said Suttle.Civic responsibility, for citizens old and new, was an overarching theme. Lars Peter Knoth Madsen, Faust’s chief of staff and a native of Denmark who last year became a citizen, reminded the audience of the importance of voting rights, a sentiment that echoed Faust.“As I congratulate the new citizens, I also want to say to those who have been citizens for a long time, remember how precious your citizenship really is, and use it,” said Faust. “Take up not just its privileges, but also its responsibilities, in service … to one another and to the larger ideal of what citizenship must mean in this country, which is openness and opportunity and the embracing of difference, and the recognizing that we are all stronger if we are together as we think about what this country can be.”
FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享WVIR:A federal judge has thrown out a permit needed to build a natural gas compressor station in Buckingham County. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is a victory for opponents of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP).The community of Union Hill has been fighting to appeal the permit issued by the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board. Now, Dominion will have to resolve the issues addressed by the court if it wants the project to move forward.In its written ruling, the three-judge panel said it agreed with opponents that the board failed to assess the station’s potential for disproportionate health effects on the community of Union Hill.“It’s going to force them to do the work they should’ve done in the beginning,” Sharon Ponton, a member of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, said.Construction on the 600-mile pipeline that would run from West Virginia to North Carolina has been halted since December 2018.A statement from Dominion says it is confident that it can resolve the issues outlined by the court in a timely manner.[Annie Schroeder]More: Court throws out permit needed for Atlantic Coast Pipeline Appeals court tosses permit, further slowing Dominion’s delayed Atlantic Coast Pipeline
“The Nicaraguan Navy has conducted successful drug seizures in spite of our limited resources,” said Pedro Trujillo, the director of Guatemala’s Political and International Relations Research Institute. In addition to installing the solar technology, SOUTHCOM trained with the Nicaraguan and Honduran Armed Forces on using and maintaining it. The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) recently installed in Nicaragua and Honduras solar panels with one day of battery storage capacity – new assets in the fight against transnational organized crime and drug trafficking. For example, in Nicaragua, the renewable solar power system – worth $85,000 – was installed at the Nicaraguan Naval Military outpost in Cayo Miskito, one of a few keys located in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region of Nicaragua’s Caribbean. The area has become a key corridor that transnational criminal organizations use for trafficking weapons, people, and drugs from South America into Mexico and North America; it’s also a hot spot for illegal fishing. In addition to installing the solar technology, SOUTHCOM trained with the Nicaraguan and Honduran Armed Forces on using and maintaining it. “The supplied equipment is extremely “user friendly” and requires minimal maintenance, but it is important for the users to understand the functionality for optimal use.” Good morning The other, larger energy system will be used to support the Honduran Navy at a counter-narcotics operation center in the heart of Gracias a Dios. For example, in Nicaragua, the renewable solar power system – worth $85,000 – was installed at the Nicaraguan Naval Military outpost in Cayo Miskito, one of a few keys located in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region of Nicaragua’s Caribbean. The area has become a key corridor that transnational criminal organizations use for trafficking weapons, people, and drugs from South America into Mexico and North America; it’s also a hot spot for illegal fishing. The photovolataic (PV) solar energy systems will provide energy for operating radios and equipment at surveillance posts located in remote areas where power sources are scarce or unavailable. When placed on the roofs of surveillance posts, the panels increase the available energy capacity from 400 watts to 7,000 watts, which is stored in accumulators. Nicaragua makes major drug seizures Nicaragua has in recent years achieved several important successes in the fight against international drug trafficking. For instance, in December 2014, the Nicaraguan Navy seized 560 kilograms of cocaine in support of Operation MARTILLO — a joint effort among 14 partner nations to counteract drug trafficking in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus. “This renewable energy system is supporting critical communication equipment which is necessary during combined counter narcotic missions,” said David Wilde, Operational Energy Program Manager for SOUTHCOM’s Office of the Command Engineer. “In this regard, the United States’ assistance has been valuable, relevant and timely for our fight against drug trafficking,” said Orlando López Selva, an international relations analyst at the American University in Nicaragua. “All of the technical assistance the U.S. has given to Nicaragua has increased the coverage, surveillance capacity, and efficacy of law enforcement agents.” Such cooperation has helped improve Nicaragua’s security infrastructure. For example, in August 2014, the United States donated to Nicaragua equipment to build an operational center and two maritime interdiction vessels — resources worth about $4 million, according to the website La Tercera. And in both 2013 and 2014, SOUTHCOM provided 12 Phantom thermal vision binoculars, worth more than $36,000, which security forces can use at night or in low-light conditions, according to Nicaraguan daily Última Hora. Such cooperation has helped improve Nicaragua’s security infrastructure. For example, in August 2014, the United States donated to Nicaragua equipment to build an operational center and two maritime interdiction vessels — resources worth about $4 million, according to the website La Tercera. And in both 2013 and 2014, SOUTHCOM provided 12 Phantom thermal vision binoculars, worth more than $36,000, which security forces can use at night or in low-light conditions, according to Nicaraguan daily Última Hora. “In short, both Washington and Managua seek agreement in their best interests when it involves perennial threats against the security of both nations that arise in this natural, Mesoamerican corridor that connects the North and the South,” López said. Nicaragua makes major drug seizures The multinational operation, launched on January 15, 2012, consists of forces from the United States, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Colombia and Canada, as well as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain and France. The solar panels will help both countries fight organized crime and drug trafficking. “SOUTHCOM realizes the value of energy security across the Area of Responsibility, and is committed to investing in many renewable energy and conservation initiatives as a result of the increased energy/fuel cost and unreliable host nation power,” concluded Wilde. The photovolataic (PV) solar energy systems will provide energy for operating radios and equipment at surveillance posts located in remote areas where power sources are scarce or unavailable. When placed on the roofs of surveillance posts, the panels increase the available energy capacity from 400 watts to 7,000 watts, which is stored in accumulators. The installations are part of the ongoing cooperation between the Nicaraguan Navy and the United States. A valuable tool against drug trafficking
“The supplied equipment is extremely “user friendly” and requires minimal maintenance, but it is important for the users to understand the functionality for optimal use.” By Dialogo March 25, 2015 The other, larger energy system will be used to support the Honduran Navy at a counter-narcotics operation center in the heart of Gracias a Dios. “It is clear that the governments of Nicaragua and the United States are working toward the same goals and are moving in the same direction. For more than two decades, agreements have been in place that were signed at the highest levels of the Military and the police.” Security forces from the two countries have also participated in joint training exercises. For instance, in May 2013, five Nicaraguan Sailors trained with U.S. Military forces in Florida on the maintenance and operation of maritime vessels, according to Honduran online magazine Estrategia y Negocios. The installations are part of the ongoing cooperation between the Nicaraguan Navy and the United States. “This renewable energy system is supporting critical communication equipment which is necessary during combined counter narcotic missions,” said David Wilde, Operational Energy Program Manager for SOUTHCOM’s Office of the Command Engineer. The solar panels will help both countries fight organized crime and drug trafficking. The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) recently installed in Nicaragua and Honduras solar panels with one day of battery storage capacity – new assets in the fight against transnational organized crime and drug trafficking. Security forces from the two countries have also participated in joint training exercises. For instance, in May 2013, five Nicaraguan Sailors trained with U.S. Military forces in Florida on the maintenance and operation of maritime vessels, according to Honduran online magazine Estrategia y Negocios. Many energy analysts consider such systems – along with wind, hydropower, and biomass systems – the energy sources of the future, since unlike petroleum, coal, natural gas, or uranium, these sources are renewable and don’t create significant amounts of pollution or waste. “It is clear that the governments of Nicaragua and the United States are working toward the same goals and are moving in the same direction. For more than two decades, agreements have been in place that were signed at the highest levels of the Military and the police.” “In this regard, the United States’ assistance has been valuable, relevant and timely for our fight against drug trafficking,” said Orlando López Selva, an international relations analyst at the American University in Nicaragua. “All of the technical assistance the U.S. has given to Nicaragua has increased the coverage, surveillance capacity, and efficacy of law enforcement agents.” The multinational operation, launched on January 15, 2012, consists of forces from the United States, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Colombia and Canada, as well as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain and France. Many energy analysts consider such systems – along with wind, hydropower, and biomass systems – the energy sources of the future, since unlike petroleum, coal, natural gas, or uranium, these sources are renewable and don’t create significant amounts of pollution or waste. “Operational energy is a necessary component of the bigger mission, said Wilde. “Without energy technology, reliance on fossil fuel becomes necessary and is nearly nonexistent in these extremely remote locations. Our military forces must become more expeditionary in nature and will require a smaller logistical footprint in part by reducing large fuel and energy demands, reducing demand, expanding supply, and building an energy-secure force will mean a military that uses less energy, has more secure energy sources, and has the energy resources it needs to support these and like missions.” “SOUTHCOM realizes the value of energy security across the Area of Responsibility, and is committed to investing in many renewable energy and conservation initiatives as a result of the increased energy/fuel cost and unreliable host nation power,” concluded Wilde. A valuable tool against drug trafficking “The Nicaraguan Navy has conducted successful drug seizures in spite of our limited resources,” said Pedro Trujillo, the director of Guatemala’s Political and International Relations Research Institute. “In short, both Washington and Managua seek agreement in their best interests when it involves perennial threats against the security of both nations that arise in this natural, Mesoamerican corridor that connects the North and the South,” López said. “Operational energy is a necessary component of the bigger mission, said Wilde. “Without energy technology, reliance on fossil fuel becomes necessary and is nearly nonexistent in these extremely remote locations. Our military forces must become more expeditionary in nature and will require a smaller logistical footprint in part by reducing large fuel and energy demands, reducing demand, expanding supply, and building an energy-secure force will mean a military that uses less energy, has more secure energy sources, and has the energy resources it needs to support these and like missions.” Nicaragua has in recent years achieved several important successes in the fight against international drug trafficking. For instance, in December 2014, the Nicaraguan Navy seized 560 kilograms of cocaine in support of Operation MARTILLO — a joint effort among 14 partner nations to counteract drug trafficking in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus. 
The ability of staff members at Lake Trust Credit Union($1.9B, Brighton, MI) to interpret and leverage data has spread across the enterprise in the two years since the Michigan cooperative deployed a business intelligence team.Today, the credit union’s BI team helps Lake Trust managers integrate separate data sets into dashboards that deliver deep levels of insight into the operation’s performance.The credit union began this journey in its collections department, where the BI team used Microsoft’s PowerBI tool to build a reporting mechanism that draws data — including application information, credit score trends, balances and last transactions, payment and employment history, and more — from the core and third-party systems and gives collectors the information they need to make a successful call. continue reading » ShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr
ShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr The Senate Banking Committee announced its plans to hold nomination hearings for key posts at the NCUA and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) next week.Scheduled for Feb. 14, the hearing will consider nominees Todd Harper and Rodney Hood to be members of the NCUA Board, and Dr. Mark Calabria to be director of the FHFA. If advanced out of committee, the nominees will face a confirmation vote by the full Senate.The hearing is set for 10:00 a.m. Eastern Thursday, and can be livestreamed via the Senate Banking Committee’s website.President Donald Trump recently nominated Todd Harper to the NCUA Board. Harper previously served as the director of public and congressional affairs and chief policy advisor to the chairman at the NCUA. If confirmed, he will fill a six-year term that expires in 2021; Harper would fill a board seat previously held by former NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz, who left the board in April 2016. continue reading »
Students can expect changes such as fewer desks in the classrooms, one-way direction hallways, no use of lockers, and a lot more. The school is even planning on providing machines that will clean reusable classroom items everyday. Some of the first few things everyone at the school can expect is a mask mandate, daily temperature checks, and having to sign in and out of the school every day. Students will be able to remove their masks once they are seated six feet apart from their peers. BCSD has been planning for months how it will follow state and local mandates while providing an education for the students. One of the first things officials mentioned was providing more in-person learning for the younger grades than the high schoolers, since the younger students need more interaction to learn better. In the surveys people took, they found faculty and families agreed mostly on hybrid learning, which is part virtual and part in-person. However, teachers expressed some concerns, such as trying to enforce the rule of wearing masks. They also say while it is their passion and job to teach children, they fear they are putting themselves and their families at risk by being in-person. That student would then be isolated in an observed room until a parent or guardian picks him or her up. The place where the outbreak was in the school would be blocked off and disinfected.
Parents also shared concerns such as what would happen if there was an infection outbreak in the school. Officials responded to that question Tuesday, saying teachers will be trained to spot symptoms and send students to the nurse’s office if they are showing the symptoms. More information can be found on the Binghamton City School’s website. Parents, faculty, and staff all filled out surveys and submitted questions to the Binghamton City School District, which was discussed in Tuesday night’s webinar with hundreds of attendees. BINGHAMTON (WBNG) — Binghamton City School officials unveiled the upcoming school year plan Tuesday night after getting survey results from faculty, staff, and parents.
Banking shares are likely to remain under pressure as the financial authorities’ loan-restructuring program to help borrowers affected by the COVID-19 could affect their bottom-line, analysts have said.Artha Sekuritas Indonesia vice president Frederik Rasali said the outlook for banking shares was still gloomy as the prospect of lower earnings this year made the banking sector not so promising.As a result of uncertainties in the global and domestic economies, investors will continue to take a wait-and-see approach and hold on to their cash to reduce risk, he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. The lack of a mood for buying would affect stock trading as a whole, he added. Last week between May 4 and 8, the financial index depreciated by 2.28 percent. The fall in the prices of banking shares also contributed to the fall in the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), which lost 2.52 percent during the same period.The previous week, between April 27 and April 30, the financial index gained 3.54 percent, while the JCI rose 4.9 percent, while between April 20 and 24 it fell by 6.03 percent and the IDX lost 2.99 percent.According to Mirae Asset Sekuritas Indonesia’s monthly strategy report published on May 8, the financial sector was among the “least preferred sectors during the outbreak”. The sector has dropped by 4.2 percent throughout April, although the JCI rose by 3.9 percent last month.The share prices of big banks have been leading the fall this year. Bank Mandiri’s (BMRI) price nosedived by 48.26 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BBRI) plunged by 43.54 percent while Bank Central Asia (BBCA) lost 21.97 percent year to date (as of Tuesday).Banks shares, particularly BBRI and BBCA were mostly sold by foreign investors during April, according to Mirae Asset’s report, adding that the foreign net sales in the financial sector reached Rp 4.3 trillion (US$289.4 million) during the month.The total foreign fund outflows from Indonesian banking shares have amounted to a staggering Rp 11.39 trillion throughout 2020, leaving banking the sector with the largest foreign capital flight so far this year, Mirae Asset’s research data reveal.The COVID-19 pandemic has severely weakened the operations of Indonesian banks, international credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has said. On March 24, Fitch revised its operating environment mid-point score for Indonesian banks to bb+ from bbb-, reflecting significant near-term risks to growth, asset quality and profitability in the sector.The government, well aware that the current business climate poses a risk to bank profitability — as nonperforming loans (NPLs) will subsequently rise as people’s ability to pay their debts decreases — has rolled out a number of stimulus packages to prevent mounting bad loans.In March, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) issued a regulation to relax debt quality assessments and restructuring requirements for loans of up to Rp 10 billion. OJK Regulation No. 11/2020 stipulates that banks are allowed to classify loans as good loans despite declining quality.Paul Sutaryono, a banking observer and former assistant vice president of Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), told the Post on Tuesday that although the loan restructuring was good for both borrowers and banks, it still held liquidity risks if the restructuring failed.“If loans default, credit quality will go down thus the coverage ratio will go up. It could, therefore, eat up banks’ capital, hence the potential for liquidity risks,” he said.OJK chairman Wimboh Santoso said on Monday in an online hearing with Regional Representatives Council (DPD) Commission IV that as of May 10, Indonesian banks had restructured the loans of 3.88 million borrowers, worth around Rp 336.97 trillion.Wimboh said that 7.8 million borrowers with debts amounting to Rp 1.11 quadrillion might apply for loan restructuring.The country’s banking industry recorded an NPL rate of nearly 2.8 percent in February, the highest since May of last year, although still below the 3 percent threshold.The ratio of liquid assets to non-core deposits was 112.90 percent, well above the 50 percent threshold. The capital adequacy ratio, which measures a bank’s financial strength, was 21.77 percent, the OJK reported.Topics : He said that if there was no strong recovery in the economy until the end of this year, banking shares would remain under pressure. If the pandemic ends in the next few months, bank performances would also improve as there should be an increase in lending, he added. “The debt-restructuring policy actually puts more pressure on banks in terms of performance,” Frederik said. However, he noted that the policy measure had to be taken to ease the burden on borrowers impacted by the health crisis, many of whom might have lost their jobs or have seen their businesses closed down, resulting in the inability to pay off their loans.Pilarmas Investindo Sekuritas research director Maximilianus Nico Demus expressed a similar view. He told the Post on Tuesday that despite the loan-restructuring policy possibly causing negative sentiment for banks, it was part of a strategy “to keep the economy running in order to reduce the impact of the coronavirus”.In recent weeks, the index of the financial sector in the local stock exchange has fluctuated, Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) statistics show.
The Health Ministry Research and Development Agency (Balitbangkes) has issued a circular letter instructing doctors involved in the global clinical Solidarity Trial to suspend the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients over safety concerns.Twenty-two hospitals in the country have joined the program, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), to run clinical trials on several antiviral treatments to measure their effectiveness, including remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, lopinavir/ritonavir plus interferon and hydroxychloroquine. According to a Balitbangkes letter addressed to the Indonesian Solidarity Trial research team dated May 26, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, “hydroxychloroquine randomization for new subjects is suspended”.The agency wrote that new patients should not be treated with hydroxychloroquine but that patients who had been treated with hydroxychloroquine should continue the treatment under the monitoring, with special attention to the medicine’s side effects on the cardiovascular system.”[The circular] is only for those involved in the trial. For those who aren’t, it’s fine to continue the current treatment,” Balitbangkes chairman Abdul Kadir said on Friday.Read also: WHO suspends trials of hydroxychloroquine as virus treatment The Indonesian Society of Respirology (PDPI) called on doctors involved in the study to stop treating patients with hydroxychloroquine on Thursday. However, doctors not involved in the study could continue to follow the COVID-19 management protocol compiled by the PDPI with four other professional organizations until they issued a new one.The letter, signed by PDPI chairman Agus Dwi Susanto, also asked doctors to evaluate the condition of patients who had been taking hydroxychloroquine and report the results to the organization for consideration in a potential revision to the protocol.A copy of the protocol obtained by the Post suggests the use of several drugs for COVID-19 treatment, including antimalarials chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine, antiviral oseltamivir (Tamiflu), which has been used to treat bird flu, and experimental antiviral favipiravir (Avigan), which has been used to treat Ebola patients.The protocol suggested doctors use the antimalarials to treat patients with mild to severe symptoms within different ranges of time.Experts are still divided over what medication should be used to treat COVID-19. They have warned doctors to be very cautious when prescribing chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine and to only use it in severe cases as the side effects may include ruptured blood vessels and heart attacks.University of Indonesia epidemiologist Pandu Riono suggested the government completely suspend chloroquine treatment.“Due to the safety concerns, the government should suspend the use of chloroquine and audit all the COVID-19 deaths,” he said.Read also: ‘No benefit’ in hydroxychloroquine virus treatment: Two studiesPresident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said in March that doctors could use hydroxychloroquine only if they considered it necessary to treat COVID-19 patients. Millions of chloroquine doses had been produced in the country by state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Kimia Farma.The medicine was easy to find in Papua, where malaria remains a problem. It was later discovered that the drug was being widely sold on e-commerce platforms in the country.The State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry said it would wait for the Health Ministry’s recommendation about the drug before choosing to limit distribution.”It is widely used in many hospitals. If the Health Ministry says they should stop, we will withdraw the medicine,” SOE Ministry spokesperson Arya Sinulingga said.Topics :
Topics : “The Chicago Marathon is our city’s beloved annual celebration of more than 45,000 runners, as well as tens of thousands of volunteers, spectators and city residents,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.”Like all Chicagoans, I’m personally disappointed that this year’s event won’t take place as originally planned; however, we look forward to welcoming all runners and their cheering squads once again when the Chicago Marathon returns to our city in full force for another very exciting race.”Race director Carey Pinkowski said the decision had been taken with the safety of participants and volunteers in mind.”We understand the disappointment, but when we return to the streets of Chicago, it will be a celebratory moment and an uncompromising statement about the collective spirit of who we are as a running community: We are powerful, we are persistent, and we will reach the finish line again,” Pinkowski said. The Chicago Marathon became the latest major marathon to fall victim to the coronavirus on Monday as organizers confirmed cancellation of the race for only the second time in its history.The decision had been largely expected, with several other major marathons around the world already suffering the same fate because of the pandemic.The 43rd edition of the race was due to take place on October 11, with an estimated field of around 45,000 runners and wheelchair athletes.
Chicago is one of the world’s six Major marathons along with races in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin and New York.The Chicago race was last cancelled in 1987 after a loss of sponsorship.Tokyo went ahead in March with only elite and wheelchair athletes taking part, while Boston was due to take place in April but was then rescheduled for September before eventually being cancelled altogether.Both Berlin and New York were also cancelled, leaving London — which was moved from April 26 to October 4 — as the last marathon race standing.
In the defensively invested portfolios with an equity allocation below 16%, the largest pension fund VBV had the best performance.The spread between the best and the worst performers per category was greatest in the dynamically managed (highest risk) portfolios, at almost 400 basis points.Overall, the 16 Austrian Pensionskassen returned 5.14% on average for 2013.Mercer’s figures confirmed those released earlier by the Austrian pension fund association FVPK. Owing to the very fragmented portfolios of Austrian multi-employer Pensionskassen, which have to offer each company with more than 1,000 employees its own risk/return portfolio, the overall average performance only has limited representative value, Mercer said.Instead, the consultancy looked at only the 26 risk/return portfolios – out of more than 100 in total – that are open to new entrants and found that those returned 5.2% on average, which is above the market average.As for severance pay funds, or Vorsorgekassen, Mercer also noted a wide spread in returns, with the average return at 2.8%.All Vorsorgekassen had an equity allocation well below the 16% threshold. The worst-performing Vorsorgekasse, which was not named by Mercer, returned only 0.78% over the period, while Bonus performed best at 4.06%.In total, the 10 Vorsorgekassen are now managing €6.2bn in assets. Austrian multi-employer pension funds returned 5.3% in 2013, while company pension funds managed a 3.91% return, according to estimates from Mercer.The consultancy said the “decisive lever” for multi-employer schemes’ outperformance was their equity allocations, which stood at 28.23% on average in company pension funds and 36.71% in multi-employer funds.Looking at the various risk portfolios Austrian Pensionskassen can offer under the new pension fund law – with not all pension funds offering every risk level – Mercer found Allianz was the best performer overall.The Allianz Pensionskasse outperformed the other five multi-employer funds in all categories – conservative, balanced, active and dynamic – but one.