BEIJING: Chinese leaders are expected to allow peasants to buy or sell land-use rights for the first time, a step that could draw hundreds of millions of farmers more firmly into the city-centered market economy.
The new policy, which is being discussed this weekend by Communist Party leaders and could be announced within days, would be the biggest economic reform in many years and would mark another significant departure from the system of collective ownership and state control that China built after the 1949 revolution.
Party leaders began reviewing a draft of proposed rural land reform laws on Thursday at their annual planning session, now under way. Policy changes are expected to be announced after the session ends on Sunday, scholars and government advisers say.
The most important change would allow China's peasantry, which by official count includes about 800 million people, to sell land-use contracts to other farmers or to agricultural companies. Some economists say this shift would lead to more efficient land use and allow much larger farms to be established.
The Chinese leadership has long insisted that the country must remain self-sufficient in the production of staple foods, and is highly unlikely to allow farmers to sell land-use rights for nonagricultural development. But if a market for trading farmland developed as expected, peasants could gain a new source of cash income that could help revitalize the stagnant rural economy.
"If all the speculations are true, if senior leadership is going to lift all the restrictions out the door, I'd say this is a great positive," said Keliang Zhu, a lawyer with the China research division of the Rural Development Institute, a Seattle-based organization that has pushed for land rights for the rural poor. "It'll free up the dead capital and allow all this wealth to materialize."
Zhu added that the change would give China "huge momentum in terms of agricultural development."
Chinese leaders are alarmed by the prospect of a deep recession in leading export markets at a time when their own economy, after a long streak of double-digit growth, is slowing. Officials are eager to stoke new consumer activity at home, and one potentially enormous but barely tapped source of demand is the peasant population, which has been largely excluded from the raging growth in cities.
Average income in rural areas lags far behind the average in cities, giving China one of the starkest income gaps in the world, according to government estimates.
Many farmers work on tiny, state-allocated plots of land for a small fraction of the year, investing little in agriculture. While they are entitled to 30-year land-use contracts, the state retains ownership of rural land, and local officials often seize or reallocate it to suit their development priorities.
Rural land disputes are perhaps the biggest source of social unrest in China. Protests and riots in rural areas number in the thousands each year, according to national police estimates. They are often incited by allegations of corruption and illegal land seizures.
Many farmers leave the land to seek work in cities, but they are still classified as farmers under the country's population control policies and tend to work in low-wage factory or construction jobs on a seasonal basis.
Advocates for land reform say the proposed changes would create more asset wealth for farmers and increase land security, which would in turn encourage peasants to invest in farming and increase productivity.
A law enacted in 2002 allows limited land-use trades between individual farmers, but does not permit unrestricted trade between farmers and companies, straight sales of land-use rights or the option to use the land as collateral to obtain a loan, Zhu said.
The major state news organizations reported Friday that rural land reform was at the top of the agenda for the plenary session. China Daily, the country's official English-language newspaper, said, "The meeting is expected to make it easier for farmers to lease or transfer the management rights of their land, measures that have become necessary as many farmers move to cities as migrant workers."
Private ownership of land is not allowed under the Constitution, and rural land is still effectively controlled by township- and village-level leaders. Officials characterize the proposed policy changes as allowing the farmers to lease or trade their 30-year land-use contracts to individuals or companies.
The issue remains a delicate one. Many party traditionalists strongly favor collective land ownership. They have argued that China's economy is still not robust enough to absorb hundreds of millions of rural laborers full time. They also defend the system of allocating small plots of land to all rural families as guaranteeing farmers at least a subsistence income.
But repeated efforts to enliven the rural economy without freeing up land have failed, and proponents of moving toward partial privatization appear to have the upper hand.
One point under discussion is whether land contracts should be extended to 70 years from 30 years, scholars say, a move that would give farmers more security and presumably increase the value of their land-use rights.
Chinese leaders have been carefully preparing the public for a major announcement.
On Sept. 30, President Hu Jintao, who is also the secretary general of the Communist Party, made a well-publicized visit to Xiaogang village in Anhui Province, the site in 1978 of a bold experiment in rejecting Maoist-era land collectivization. Since then, the village has been held up as a symbol of rural land reform.
Hu said at the time that farmers would soon be allowed to transfer their land contracts.
"Not only will the current land contract relationship be kept stable and unchanged over time, greater and protected land contract and management rights will be given to the peasants," Hu said, according to Xinhua, the state news agency. "Furthermore, if the peasants wish to, they will be allowed to transfer the land contract and management rights in various ways and to develop management on an appropriate scale."
Some farmers are already informally leasing out their land-use contracts. After Hu's visit to Xiaogang, China Daily reported glowingly that one farmer who took part in the risky experiment in 1978, Yan Jinchang, had recently joined about 10 other households in renting 44 acres of land to a Shanghai company. In 2006, the company built a pig farm on the land.
Yan, 65, was made the pig farm's manager. "We raise special pigs that produce lean pork," Yan said, according to The China Daily. "Our meat sells well in Shanghai, and we are profitable."
From dynastic times onward, control of farmland has always been a central part of the relationship between Chinese rulers and the common people. Rulers are keenly aware of the fact that peasant rebellions related to land use and taxes have overthrown kingdoms throughout Chinese history.
Mao forced farmers into collectives, a move that turned out to be disastrous. In 1978, before the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping officially announced the start of his bold Reform and Open policy, 18 families in Xiaogang, including Yan's, quietly decided to divide up communal farmland for personal use. It was the precursor to the land-use contract system that the government later enacted.
But since then, rural land reform has failed to keep pace with urban land reform, which partly explains while farmers have failed to capitalize on the economic gains of the past few decades. China allows urban residents to trade or sell their land-use contracts freely. That right has allowed people to profit from city property in ways that farmers have not legally been able to do.
There is speculation that Hu has chosen the party's planning session this year to announce the rural reforms in order to link himself in the public eye with Deng, whose initial economic reforms were unveiled 30 years ago this month.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Frantic day on Wall Street as banks fall
In one of the most dramatic two days in Wall Street's history, Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America for roughly $50 billion to avert a deepening financial crisis, while another prominent securities firm, Lehman Brothers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The humbling moves, which reshape the landscape of American finance, mark the latest chapter in a tumultuous year in which once-proud financial institutions have been brought to their knees as a result of tens of billions of dollars in losses because of bad mortgage finance and real estate investments.
They culminated a weekend of frantic around-the-clock negotiations, as Wall Street bankers huddled in meetings at the behest of Bush administration officials to try to avoid a downward spiral in the markets stemming from a crisis of confidence.
"My goodness. I've been in the business 35 years, and these are the most extraordinary events I've ever seen," said Peter Peterson, co-founder of the private equity firm the Blackstone Group, who was head of Lehman in the 1970s and a secretary of commerce in the Nixon administration.
It remains to be seen whether the sale of Merrill, which was worth more than $100 billion during the last year, and the controlled demise of Lehman will be enough to finally turn the tide in the yearlong financial crisis that has crippled Wall Street. The market took a strong turn down Monday, reacting to Lehman's plan to wind down its trading operations. Questions remain whether other companies may still falter, like the American International Group, the large insurer, and Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan. Both companies' stocks fell precipitously last week.
Though the government took control of the troubled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac only a week ago, investors have become increasingly nervous about the difficulties of major financial institutions to recover from their losses.
How things play out could affect the broader economy, which has been weakening steadily as the financial crisis has deepened over the last year, with unemployment increasing as the nation's growth rate has slowed.
What will happen to Merrill's 60,000 employees or Lehman's 25,000 employees remains unclear. Worried about the unfolding crisis and its potential impact on New York City's economy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg canceled a trip to California to meet with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Instead, aides said, Bloomberg spent much of the weekend working the phones, talking to federal officials and bank executives in an effort to gauge the severity of the crisis.
The weekend that humbled Lehman and Merrill Lynch and rewarded Bank of America, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, began at 6 p.m. Friday in the first of a series of emergency meetings at the Federal Reserve building in Downtown New York.
The meeting was called by Fed officials, with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. in attendance, and it included top bankers. The Treasury and Federal Reserve had already stepped in on several occasions to rescue the financial system, forcing a shotgun marriage between Bear Stearns and JPMorgan Chase this year and backstopping $29 billion worth of troubled assets — and then agreeing to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The bankers were told that the government would not bail out Lehman and that it was up to Wall Street to solve its problems. Lehman's stock tumbled sharply last week as concerns about its financial condition grew and other firms started to pull back from doing business with it, threatening its viability.
Without government backing, Lehman began trying to find a buyer, focusing on Barclays, the big British bank, and Bank of America. At the same time, other Wall Street executives grew more concerned about their own precarious situation.
The fates of Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers would not seem to be linked; Merrill has the nation's largest brokerage force and its name is known in towns across America, while Lehman's main customers are big institutions. But during the credit boom both firms piled into risky real estate and ended up severely weakened, with inadequate capital and toxic assets.
Knowing that investors were worried about Merrill, John Thain, its chief executive and an alumnus of Goldman Sachs and the New York Stock Exchange, and Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America's chief executive, began negotiations. One person briefed on the negotiations said Bank of America had approached Merrill earlier in the summer but Thain had rebuffed the offer. Now, prompted by the reality that a Lehman bankruptcy would ripple through Wall Street and further cripple Merrill Lynch, the two parties proceeded with discussions.
On Sunday morning, Thain and Lewis cemented the deal. It could not be determined if Thain would play a role in the new company, but two people briefed on the negotiations said they did not expect him to stay. Merrill's "thundering herd" of 17,000 brokers will be combined with Bank of America's smaller group of wealth advisers and called Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
For Bank of America, which this year bought Countrywide Financial, the troubled mortgage lender, the purchase of Merrill puts it at the pinnacle of American finance, making it the biggest brokerage house and consumer banking franchise.
Bank of America eventually walked away from its talks with Lehman after the government refused to take responsibility for losses on some of Lehman's most troubled real-estate assets, something it agreed to do when JP Morgan Chase bought Bear Stearns to save it from a bankruptcy filing in March.
A leading proposal to rescue Lehman would have divided the bank into two entities, a "good bank" and a "bad bank." Under that scenario, Barclays would have bought the parts of Lehman that have been performing well, while a group of 10 to 15 Wall Street companies would have agreed to absorb losses from the bank's troubled assets, to two people briefed on the proposal said. Taxpayer money would not have been included in such a deal, they said.
Other Wall Street banks also balked at the deal, unhappy at facing potential losses while Bank of America or Barclays walked away with the potentially profitable part of Lehman at a cheap price.
For Lehman, the end essentially came Sunday morning when its last potential suitor, Barclays, walked away from a deal, saying it could not obtain a shareholder vote to approve a transaction before Monday morning, something required under London Stock Exchange listing rules, one person close to the matter said. Other people involved in the talks said the Financial Services Authority, the British securities regulator, had discouraged Barclays from pursuing a deal. Peter Truell, a spokesman for Barclays, declined to comment.
Lehman said early Monday it had filed a Chapter 11 petition with the U.S. bankruptcy court in what was the largest failure of an investment bank since the collapse of Drexel Burnham Lambert 18 years ago. Lehman's subsidiaries were expected to remain solvent while the firm liquidates its holdings, people close to the deal said. Under this scenario, a group of banks have tentatively agreed to provide a financial backstop to assist in an orderly winding down of the 158-year-old investment bank. Such an agreement could expose those banks to losses on Lehman's assets.
Herbert McDade III, Lehman's president, was at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York late Sunday, discussing terms of Lehman's dissolution with government officials. The Fed was expect to play a supporting role in the process by temporarily accepting lower-quality assets from banks in return for loans from the government.
Lehman's filing is unlikely to resemble those of other companies that seek bankruptcy protection. Because of the harsher treatment that federal bankruptcy law applies to financial-services firms, Lehman cannot hope to reorganize and survive. It was not clear whether the government would appoint a trustee to supervise Lehman's liquidation or how big the financial backstop would be.
Lehman has retained the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges as its bankruptcy counsel.
The collapse of Lehman is a devastating end for Richard Fuld Jr., the chief executive, who has led the bank since it emerged from American Express as a public company in 1994. Fuld, who steered Lehman through near-death experiences in the past, spent the last several days in his 31st floor office in Lehman's midtown headquarters on the phone from 6 a.m. until well past midnight trying to find save the firm, a person close to the matter said.
The weekend's events indicate that top officials at the Federal Reserve and the Treasury will take a harder line on providing government support of troubled financial institutions.
While offering to help Wall Street organize a shotgun marriage for Lehman, both the Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, and Paulson had warned that they would not put taxpayer money at risk simply to prevent a Lehman collapse.
The tough-love message was a major change in strategy, but it remained unclear until at least Friday whether the approach was real or just posturing. If the Fed was faced with the genuine risk of another market meltdown, analysts said, it would be almost duty-bound to ride to a rescue of one kind or another.
What few people anticipated was that the Treasury and Fed officials might reach for an even broader strategy.
"They were faced after Bear Stearns with the problem of where to draw the line," said Laurence Meyer, a former Fed governor who is now vice chairman of Macroeconomic Advisors, a forecasting firm. "It became clear that this piecemeal, patchwork, case-by-case approach might not get the job done."
At first glance, the new strategy by Paulson and Bernanke represents a much purer and tougher insistence that Wall Street work out its own problems without government help.
But that is only the first glance. If Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch, its capital reserves would immediately fall below the minimum requirements for bank holding companies. Federal regulators, including the Federal Reserve, would have to show lenience for as long as it took the capital markets to regain their confidence — which could be quite a while.
And Merrill Lynch is hardly the only troubled financial institution on the horizon. Administration officials acknowledged this week that more bank failures were inevitable, and the main protection for depositors — the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — is likely to exhaust the reserves it has built over the years from bank insurance premiums.
"What we need now is a systemic solution and to admit that this is an extraordinary situation," Meyer said. He said the government should go to the heart of the crisis — the mortgage market — and start buying mortgage-backed securities in a broad rescue.
That is similar to an approach urged by Alan Greenspan, Bernanke's predecessor as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Greenspan, who has long been a staunch opponent of government intervention in the economy, said Sunday that the federal government might have to shore up some financial institutions.
"This is a once-in-a-half-century, probably once-in-a-century type of event," Greenspan said in an interview on ABC. "I think the argument has got to be that there are certain types of institutions which are so fundamental to the functioning of the movement of savings into real investment in an economy that on very rare occasions — and this is one of them — it's desirable to prevent them from liquidating in a sharply disruptive manner."
Most economists say that bailouts are often bad economic policy because each rescue tends to encourage "moral hazard" — the tendency of institutions and investors to take even bigger risks because they assume the government will rescue them, too.
Both Paulson and Bernanke worried that they had already gone much further than they had ever wanted, first by underwriting the takeover of Bear Stearns in March and by the far bigger bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Officials noted that Lehman's downfall posed a lower systemic threat because it had been a very visible and growing risk for months, which meant that its customers and trading partners had had months to prepare themselves.
Outside the public eye, Fed officials had acquired much more information since March about the interconnections and cross-exposure to risk among Wall Street investment banks, hedge funds and traders in the vast market for credit-default swaps and other derivatives.
But James Leach, a former Republican congressman from Iowa and chairman of the House Banking committee, said the Fed and Treasury might not be able to avoid a broader rescue.
"The Fed's historic position is to object philosophically to a rescue role but in the end to do everything in its power to avoid anything that poses systemic risk," said Leach, now a lecturer at Harvard.
"My sense is that the systemic question will be the only question on the table if Lehman falters," he continued. "If systemic risk is considered grave, the Fed, perhaps with Treasury playing at least an advisory role, will intervene."
The humbling moves, which reshape the landscape of American finance, mark the latest chapter in a tumultuous year in which once-proud financial institutions have been brought to their knees as a result of tens of billions of dollars in losses because of bad mortgage finance and real estate investments.
They culminated a weekend of frantic around-the-clock negotiations, as Wall Street bankers huddled in meetings at the behest of Bush administration officials to try to avoid a downward spiral in the markets stemming from a crisis of confidence.
"My goodness. I've been in the business 35 years, and these are the most extraordinary events I've ever seen," said Peter Peterson, co-founder of the private equity firm the Blackstone Group, who was head of Lehman in the 1970s and a secretary of commerce in the Nixon administration.
It remains to be seen whether the sale of Merrill, which was worth more than $100 billion during the last year, and the controlled demise of Lehman will be enough to finally turn the tide in the yearlong financial crisis that has crippled Wall Street. The market took a strong turn down Monday, reacting to Lehman's plan to wind down its trading operations. Questions remain whether other companies may still falter, like the American International Group, the large insurer, and Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan. Both companies' stocks fell precipitously last week.
Though the government took control of the troubled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac only a week ago, investors have become increasingly nervous about the difficulties of major financial institutions to recover from their losses.
How things play out could affect the broader economy, which has been weakening steadily as the financial crisis has deepened over the last year, with unemployment increasing as the nation's growth rate has slowed.
What will happen to Merrill's 60,000 employees or Lehman's 25,000 employees remains unclear. Worried about the unfolding crisis and its potential impact on New York City's economy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg canceled a trip to California to meet with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Instead, aides said, Bloomberg spent much of the weekend working the phones, talking to federal officials and bank executives in an effort to gauge the severity of the crisis.
The weekend that humbled Lehman and Merrill Lynch and rewarded Bank of America, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, began at 6 p.m. Friday in the first of a series of emergency meetings at the Federal Reserve building in Downtown New York.
The meeting was called by Fed officials, with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. in attendance, and it included top bankers. The Treasury and Federal Reserve had already stepped in on several occasions to rescue the financial system, forcing a shotgun marriage between Bear Stearns and JPMorgan Chase this year and backstopping $29 billion worth of troubled assets — and then agreeing to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The bankers were told that the government would not bail out Lehman and that it was up to Wall Street to solve its problems. Lehman's stock tumbled sharply last week as concerns about its financial condition grew and other firms started to pull back from doing business with it, threatening its viability.
Without government backing, Lehman began trying to find a buyer, focusing on Barclays, the big British bank, and Bank of America. At the same time, other Wall Street executives grew more concerned about their own precarious situation.
The fates of Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers would not seem to be linked; Merrill has the nation's largest brokerage force and its name is known in towns across America, while Lehman's main customers are big institutions. But during the credit boom both firms piled into risky real estate and ended up severely weakened, with inadequate capital and toxic assets.
Knowing that investors were worried about Merrill, John Thain, its chief executive and an alumnus of Goldman Sachs and the New York Stock Exchange, and Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America's chief executive, began negotiations. One person briefed on the negotiations said Bank of America had approached Merrill earlier in the summer but Thain had rebuffed the offer. Now, prompted by the reality that a Lehman bankruptcy would ripple through Wall Street and further cripple Merrill Lynch, the two parties proceeded with discussions.
On Sunday morning, Thain and Lewis cemented the deal. It could not be determined if Thain would play a role in the new company, but two people briefed on the negotiations said they did not expect him to stay. Merrill's "thundering herd" of 17,000 brokers will be combined with Bank of America's smaller group of wealth advisers and called Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
For Bank of America, which this year bought Countrywide Financial, the troubled mortgage lender, the purchase of Merrill puts it at the pinnacle of American finance, making it the biggest brokerage house and consumer banking franchise.
Bank of America eventually walked away from its talks with Lehman after the government refused to take responsibility for losses on some of Lehman's most troubled real-estate assets, something it agreed to do when JP Morgan Chase bought Bear Stearns to save it from a bankruptcy filing in March.
A leading proposal to rescue Lehman would have divided the bank into two entities, a "good bank" and a "bad bank." Under that scenario, Barclays would have bought the parts of Lehman that have been performing well, while a group of 10 to 15 Wall Street companies would have agreed to absorb losses from the bank's troubled assets, to two people briefed on the proposal said. Taxpayer money would not have been included in such a deal, they said.
Other Wall Street banks also balked at the deal, unhappy at facing potential losses while Bank of America or Barclays walked away with the potentially profitable part of Lehman at a cheap price.
For Lehman, the end essentially came Sunday morning when its last potential suitor, Barclays, walked away from a deal, saying it could not obtain a shareholder vote to approve a transaction before Monday morning, something required under London Stock Exchange listing rules, one person close to the matter said. Other people involved in the talks said the Financial Services Authority, the British securities regulator, had discouraged Barclays from pursuing a deal. Peter Truell, a spokesman for Barclays, declined to comment.
Lehman said early Monday it had filed a Chapter 11 petition with the U.S. bankruptcy court in what was the largest failure of an investment bank since the collapse of Drexel Burnham Lambert 18 years ago. Lehman's subsidiaries were expected to remain solvent while the firm liquidates its holdings, people close to the deal said. Under this scenario, a group of banks have tentatively agreed to provide a financial backstop to assist in an orderly winding down of the 158-year-old investment bank. Such an agreement could expose those banks to losses on Lehman's assets.
Herbert McDade III, Lehman's president, was at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York late Sunday, discussing terms of Lehman's dissolution with government officials. The Fed was expect to play a supporting role in the process by temporarily accepting lower-quality assets from banks in return for loans from the government.
Lehman's filing is unlikely to resemble those of other companies that seek bankruptcy protection. Because of the harsher treatment that federal bankruptcy law applies to financial-services firms, Lehman cannot hope to reorganize and survive. It was not clear whether the government would appoint a trustee to supervise Lehman's liquidation or how big the financial backstop would be.
Lehman has retained the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges as its bankruptcy counsel.
The collapse of Lehman is a devastating end for Richard Fuld Jr., the chief executive, who has led the bank since it emerged from American Express as a public company in 1994. Fuld, who steered Lehman through near-death experiences in the past, spent the last several days in his 31st floor office in Lehman's midtown headquarters on the phone from 6 a.m. until well past midnight trying to find save the firm, a person close to the matter said.
The weekend's events indicate that top officials at the Federal Reserve and the Treasury will take a harder line on providing government support of troubled financial institutions.
While offering to help Wall Street organize a shotgun marriage for Lehman, both the Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, and Paulson had warned that they would not put taxpayer money at risk simply to prevent a Lehman collapse.
The tough-love message was a major change in strategy, but it remained unclear until at least Friday whether the approach was real or just posturing. If the Fed was faced with the genuine risk of another market meltdown, analysts said, it would be almost duty-bound to ride to a rescue of one kind or another.
What few people anticipated was that the Treasury and Fed officials might reach for an even broader strategy.
"They were faced after Bear Stearns with the problem of where to draw the line," said Laurence Meyer, a former Fed governor who is now vice chairman of Macroeconomic Advisors, a forecasting firm. "It became clear that this piecemeal, patchwork, case-by-case approach might not get the job done."
At first glance, the new strategy by Paulson and Bernanke represents a much purer and tougher insistence that Wall Street work out its own problems without government help.
But that is only the first glance. If Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch, its capital reserves would immediately fall below the minimum requirements for bank holding companies. Federal regulators, including the Federal Reserve, would have to show lenience for as long as it took the capital markets to regain their confidence — which could be quite a while.
And Merrill Lynch is hardly the only troubled financial institution on the horizon. Administration officials acknowledged this week that more bank failures were inevitable, and the main protection for depositors — the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — is likely to exhaust the reserves it has built over the years from bank insurance premiums.
"What we need now is a systemic solution and to admit that this is an extraordinary situation," Meyer said. He said the government should go to the heart of the crisis — the mortgage market — and start buying mortgage-backed securities in a broad rescue.
That is similar to an approach urged by Alan Greenspan, Bernanke's predecessor as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Greenspan, who has long been a staunch opponent of government intervention in the economy, said Sunday that the federal government might have to shore up some financial institutions.
"This is a once-in-a-half-century, probably once-in-a-century type of event," Greenspan said in an interview on ABC. "I think the argument has got to be that there are certain types of institutions which are so fundamental to the functioning of the movement of savings into real investment in an economy that on very rare occasions — and this is one of them — it's desirable to prevent them from liquidating in a sharply disruptive manner."
Most economists say that bailouts are often bad economic policy because each rescue tends to encourage "moral hazard" — the tendency of institutions and investors to take even bigger risks because they assume the government will rescue them, too.
Both Paulson and Bernanke worried that they had already gone much further than they had ever wanted, first by underwriting the takeover of Bear Stearns in March and by the far bigger bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Officials noted that Lehman's downfall posed a lower systemic threat because it had been a very visible and growing risk for months, which meant that its customers and trading partners had had months to prepare themselves.
Outside the public eye, Fed officials had acquired much more information since March about the interconnections and cross-exposure to risk among Wall Street investment banks, hedge funds and traders in the vast market for credit-default swaps and other derivatives.
But James Leach, a former Republican congressman from Iowa and chairman of the House Banking committee, said the Fed and Treasury might not be able to avoid a broader rescue.
"The Fed's historic position is to object philosophically to a rescue role but in the end to do everything in its power to avoid anything that poses systemic risk," said Leach, now a lecturer at Harvard.
"My sense is that the systemic question will be the only question on the table if Lehman falters," he continued. "If systemic risk is considered grave, the Fed, perhaps with Treasury playing at least an advisory role, will intervene."
Friday, October 10, 2008
The Fall of capitalism or what?
U.S government is considering $700 Billion bailout of its financial sector, it is nearly equivalent of entire Indian economy. This is just to save one loosing sector. On other hand, I have been trying to find a sector which actually made money consistently – I can only think of hi-tech industry, particularly software industry which actually made real money with almost zero debt. Of course, many folks argue software sector just prints stock instead of printing debt/money like other industries. Obviously we had seen bad effects of printing stock in late 90\'s which caused dot.com bubble to burst and millions to lose their life savings in NASDAQ
crash. Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and virtually disintegrated by 1992, many around the world called it fall of communism. What about $700 billion dollar bailout and great depression like financial crisis in the U.S, should we call it fall of capitalism. Let us face the fact; U.S government will be owning most of the financial sector assets after this bailout. Of course, oil rich Middle East and rest of the world will be owning at least $700 billion more of the U.S debt. Let us look back into profitability of core industries in the U.S, in 80\'s most of the steel makers were wiped out, telecom equipment got wiped out along with dot coms in 90\'s, infamous collapse of Enron which caused entire energy trading companies to collapse in 2001, several airlines have filed bankruptcy multiple times in the past decade, auto sector is virtually at verge of bankruptcy, home builders are surviving on lifeline, then mother of all bankruptcies is the collapse of financial sector. The origin of bankrupt comes from Italian \"Money-lenders in Italy used to display the money they had to lend out on a banco or bench. When one of these money-lenders was unable to continue business, his bench or counter was broken up, and he himself was spoken of as a bancorotto —i.e. a bankrupt\". Well several banks and financial institutions in the U.S started saying \"bancorotto\" too frequently, I guess history repeats itself. Borrow and spend has been the secret of the U.S economy in the couple of decades, it started during Regan era and took a brief pause under senior Bush then continued economic boom under President Clinton, for a brief period U.S did have balanced budget and forecasting budget surplus. Thanks to current Bush unwanted tax cuts and Bush doctrine of invading the world purely based on potential threat or suspicious activity or they just don\'t like them caused uncontrollable current account deficit, loss of U.S dollar strength against most major currencies, burst of housing bubble eventually sheer collapse of capitalism. Average American saves less than 5% of their annual income which is one of the lowest compared to most industrialized economies. Americans are known to be big on everything from their shirt sizes to cars they drive, to energy they consume, to credit they borrow, to products they invent to adventures they take-up now bailout they have. India should learn lessons from the financial debacle of the U.S, in recent times we started stretching beyond our means. Not too long ago, we were afraid of the strength of Rupee how it can effect our exports once it broke 40 Rupee per dollar mark, within a few months Rupee lost nearly 20% of the value and many financial analysts are forecasting it can cross 50 soon. Lots of our banks are taking higher risk than 70\'s and 80\'s in the name of financial reform or opening our markets. RBI must ask our banks to go back to basics, you should only lend a portion of savings each financial institution has rather than issue paper and lend, even worse in case of derivatives. It took decades for India to gain investment grade for our national bonds in the international market, we are at verge of falling below investment grade again. Thanks to high commodity prices such as steel, oil, food grains etc. and popularist social programs by our politicians are to be blamed for India\'s upcoming financial crisis. All of us can be proud India is one of a few third world countries never had to file for bankruptcy, we always found a way to pay off our debt burden (usually by taking fresh loans) but we are reaching a point that our debt burden will cross military spend and most of our annual national budget. This is what I call, debt more than we can afford. We are adding nearly 80 to 100 billion dollar to national debt, this is alarming rate. Our state government is offering free medical service, virtually free ration, free housing several other free deals just to attract votes. Instead of offering free programs our government should figure out a way to create jobs and employment opportunites. It is like good old saying \"Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life\" One of the state recently started 1 Rupee per K.G rice scheme and the same political party had election agenda to give away free TV set. These are unhealthy programs, hope our Election Commission or Supreme Court will start asking political parties by preparing balanced budget against their programs/free scheme spend against the state budget as part of election manifesto. We can not handout a bankrupt economy to our children, it is better to be poor than being bankrupt. While we must take lessons from the U.S about their power of inventions, we must stay away from borrow and spend economic philosophy of the U.S. India will face tough global economic conditions next couple of years, our software sector will continue to struggle due to severe slow down of the U.S economy and oil will continue to raise and our dependency on oil imports will continue to raise, food shortage is around the horizon, populations will continue to grow and overall national debt will continue to grow at an accelerated pace. To add all of these, we will also be facing election year uncertainty in 2009 so buckle your seat belts we are about to apply sudden breaks to economic growth and prosperity
crash. Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and virtually disintegrated by 1992, many around the world called it fall of communism. What about $700 billion dollar bailout and great depression like financial crisis in the U.S, should we call it fall of capitalism. Let us face the fact; U.S government will be owning most of the financial sector assets after this bailout. Of course, oil rich Middle East and rest of the world will be owning at least $700 billion more of the U.S debt. Let us look back into profitability of core industries in the U.S, in 80\'s most of the steel makers were wiped out, telecom equipment got wiped out along with dot coms in 90\'s, infamous collapse of Enron which caused entire energy trading companies to collapse in 2001, several airlines have filed bankruptcy multiple times in the past decade, auto sector is virtually at verge of bankruptcy, home builders are surviving on lifeline, then mother of all bankruptcies is the collapse of financial sector. The origin of bankrupt comes from Italian \"Money-lenders in Italy used to display the money they had to lend out on a banco or bench. When one of these money-lenders was unable to continue business, his bench or counter was broken up, and he himself was spoken of as a bancorotto —i.e. a bankrupt\". Well several banks and financial institutions in the U.S started saying \"bancorotto\" too frequently, I guess history repeats itself. Borrow and spend has been the secret of the U.S economy in the couple of decades, it started during Regan era and took a brief pause under senior Bush then continued economic boom under President Clinton, for a brief period U.S did have balanced budget and forecasting budget surplus. Thanks to current Bush unwanted tax cuts and Bush doctrine of invading the world purely based on potential threat or suspicious activity or they just don\'t like them caused uncontrollable current account deficit, loss of U.S dollar strength against most major currencies, burst of housing bubble eventually sheer collapse of capitalism. Average American saves less than 5% of their annual income which is one of the lowest compared to most industrialized economies. Americans are known to be big on everything from their shirt sizes to cars they drive, to energy they consume, to credit they borrow, to products they invent to adventures they take-up now bailout they have. India should learn lessons from the financial debacle of the U.S, in recent times we started stretching beyond our means. Not too long ago, we were afraid of the strength of Rupee how it can effect our exports once it broke 40 Rupee per dollar mark, within a few months Rupee lost nearly 20% of the value and many financial analysts are forecasting it can cross 50 soon. Lots of our banks are taking higher risk than 70\'s and 80\'s in the name of financial reform or opening our markets. RBI must ask our banks to go back to basics, you should only lend a portion of savings each financial institution has rather than issue paper and lend, even worse in case of derivatives. It took decades for India to gain investment grade for our national bonds in the international market, we are at verge of falling below investment grade again. Thanks to high commodity prices such as steel, oil, food grains etc. and popularist social programs by our politicians are to be blamed for India\'s upcoming financial crisis. All of us can be proud India is one of a few third world countries never had to file for bankruptcy, we always found a way to pay off our debt burden (usually by taking fresh loans) but we are reaching a point that our debt burden will cross military spend and most of our annual national budget. This is what I call, debt more than we can afford. We are adding nearly 80 to 100 billion dollar to national debt, this is alarming rate. Our state government is offering free medical service, virtually free ration, free housing several other free deals just to attract votes. Instead of offering free programs our government should figure out a way to create jobs and employment opportunites. It is like good old saying \"Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life\" One of the state recently started 1 Rupee per K.G rice scheme and the same political party had election agenda to give away free TV set. These are unhealthy programs, hope our Election Commission or Supreme Court will start asking political parties by preparing balanced budget against their programs/free scheme spend against the state budget as part of election manifesto. We can not handout a bankrupt economy to our children, it is better to be poor than being bankrupt. While we must take lessons from the U.S about their power of inventions, we must stay away from borrow and spend economic philosophy of the U.S. India will face tough global economic conditions next couple of years, our software sector will continue to struggle due to severe slow down of the U.S economy and oil will continue to raise and our dependency on oil imports will continue to raise, food shortage is around the horizon, populations will continue to grow and overall national debt will continue to grow at an accelerated pace. To add all of these, we will also be facing election year uncertainty in 2009 so buckle your seat belts we are about to apply sudden breaks to economic growth and prosperity
Hacking Softwares Collection
Hello, Dear friends I am back again with very good hacking softwares. You can use these softwares for many purposes such as hacking, security etc. There are so many softwares to secure yourself or to get password of someone. Also you can record your web cam. I have also uploaded so many hacking tutorial books. I hope that you'll like them. So please do give comments and if you need any new software, movie, song or e-book, just make a request here. I give you surety that you'll get that in one or two days.
So without wasting your precious time here i give you the links as following:
Make Your Copy of Windows 100 Genuine in 1 Seconds
http://rapidshare.com/files/52603034/Make_Your_Copy_of_Windows_100_Genuine_in_1_Seconds.rar
10 Useful Hacking E Books
http://rapidshare.com/files/50224916/10_Usefull_Hacking_eBooks.rar
Password Hacking A I O
http://rapidshare.com/files/50230566/Password_Hacking_AIO_WCcT.us.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/50233332/Password_Hacking_AIO_WCcT.us.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/50236350/Password_Hacking_AIO_WCcT.us.part3.rar
G mail Generator
http://rapidshare.com/files/50227241/GmailGen.zip
Crack Searching Software
http://rapidshare.com/files/50225712/Crack_Searching___Shareware_Ha.softarchive.net.part1.rar http://rapidshare.com/files/50227224/Crack_Searching___Shareware_Ha.softarchive.net.part2.rar
Web cam Recorder
http://rapidshare.com/files/50224635/__Webcam_Recorder__.zip
Yahoo Messenger Password Show V2
http://rapidshare.com/files/50241756/Yahoo_Messenger_Password_Show_V2.rar
So without wasting your precious time here i give you the links as following:
Make Your Copy of Windows 100 Genuine in 1 Seconds
http://rapidshare.com/files/52603034/Make_Your_Copy_of_Windows_100_Genuine_in_1_Seconds.rar
10 Useful Hacking E Books
http://rapidshare.com/files/50224916/10_Usefull_Hacking_eBooks.rar
Password Hacking A I O
http://rapidshare.com/files/50230566/Password_Hacking_AIO_WCcT.us.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/50233332/Password_Hacking_AIO_WCcT.us.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/50236350/Password_Hacking_AIO_WCcT.us.part3.rar
G mail Generator
http://rapidshare.com/files/50227241/GmailGen.zip
Crack Searching Software
http://rapidshare.com/files/50225712/Crack_Searching___Shareware_Ha.softarchive.net.part1.rar http://rapidshare.com/files/50227224/Crack_Searching___Shareware_Ha.softarchive.net.part2.rar
Web cam Recorder
http://rapidshare.com/files/50224635/__Webcam_Recorder__.zip
Yahoo Messenger Password Show V2
http://rapidshare.com/files/50241756/Yahoo_Messenger_Password_Show_V2.rar
Thursday, October 9, 2008
FREE INTERNATIONAL CALLS
free international calls services
We try and update this page as often as possible. However, with many different mobile tariffs across several networks things can change very quickly in the way networks charge for their calls.
If in doubt whether your contract allows you to call our access numbers free we recommend that you make a short call using our access number. After a couple of days check your online billing. If you do not have online billing call your mobile customer services, quote when the call was made and ask the operator to check your bill for the cost of calling the number. You do not have to tell them what the number was for.
If they tell you it was free from your inclusive minutes you may continue using the number. Please ensure you check this regularly.
Service provider support numbers are:
O2 : 0870 241 02 02
Virgin Mobile : 789 from your mobile or 0845 6000 789 from a land-line
Vodafone : 191 from your mobile or 08700 700 191 from a land-line
Orange : 150 from your mobile or 07973 100 150 from any other phone
T-Mobile :150 from your mobile or 0845 412 5000 from a land-line
When you’ve used your month’s allocation of free minutes calls will be charged at regular cross network call rates. Some providers may charge for these calls, so it’s best to check with them in advance.
Virgin Mobile
Free* international calls. Dial 07744 688 833
Free 07744 service available: Yes (*some contracts)
Alternative Services
TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Access number: 07744 688 833
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Cost: FREE (Check with provider if in doubt)
Countries you can call: Country List - published in next post
Orange
Free* international calls. Dial 07744 688 833
Free 07744 service available: Most contracts no longer allow this service. *News 08.06.07 ORANGE are now charging on some contracts for 07744 and 07755 calls. Check with Orange to see if your contract charges for 07744 calls prior to using the 07744 service. See here for more details http://www.orange.co.uk/termsupdate
Alternative Services
TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Access number: 07744 688 833
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Cost: FREE (See news above and check with provider if in doubt)
Countries you can call: Country List - published in next post
Vodafone & Easy Mobile
Free* international calls. Dial 07744 688 833
Free 07744 service available: *Most contracts no longer allow free calls to this service. Please read our advice at the top of this page or use an alternative service below.
Alternative Services
TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Access number: 07744 688 833
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Cost: See Above
Countries you can call: Country List
o2
Free 07744 service available: No
Free 0870/0844 service available: Most contracts no longer allow free calls to this service. Please read our advice at the top of this page or use an alternative service below.
Alternative Services
TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Access number: 0870 041 3952 (peak) 0844 545 6175 (off peak)
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Countries you can call: Country List listed in next post
T-Mobile
Great value international calls 0871 9191556
Free 07744/0870/0844 service available: No
Latest News (30/05/07): T-Mobile will began charging for 07744 from 1st June 07.
New access number: 0871 9191556. Available all day every day.
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Cost: Only 10p/min so still great value calls.
Countries you can call: Country List
Alternative Service: TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Three Mobile(3)
Great value international calls 0871 9191556
Free 07744/0870/0844 service available: No
Access number: 0871 9191556. Available all day every day.
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Cost: Calls cost 10p a minute for contract subscribers within 3 video service areas & 15p a minute outside those areas. Off-peak 1000 subscribers are charged at 35p/min peak & 15p/min off-peak.
Countries you can call: Country List
Alternative Service: TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Topup 2Talk - Text Calls4u to 83006
More Information and rates : TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min
Networks: Available on all UK networks
Cost: From 1p/min deducted from calling credit
Access Number: Landline access numbers available
Countries you can call: Country List
Who can use it?
We monitor this regularly, but you should check quickly first to ensure you don't receive an unexpected charge.
Singlepoint Vodafone contracts unfortunately do not allow this number within free minutes, although you should again check to be sure as your contract might allow it.
How can I check this?
Simply call your service provider and ask whether the access number is allowed within your free minutes. Service provider support numbers are:
O2 : 0870 241 02 02
Virgin Mobile : 789 from your mobile or 0845 6000 789 from a land-line
Vodafone : 191 from your mobile or 08700 700 191 from a land-line
Orange : 150 from your mobile phone or 07973 100 150 from any other phone
T-Mobile :150 from your mobile phone or 0845 412 5000 from a land-line
How can I program the number into my phone for one-touch dialling?
For convenience, you can store your mobiledialthrough number in front of the numbers you call most ofternon your mobile phone.
There are two ways to do this, you can either save the number into the phone book on your phone in the regular way, or you can edit the numbers in your phone book to include the mobiledialthrough number and dial using pause dialling. This can be done as follows:
On a Nokia phone: Step 1 Enter the mobiledialthrough number; Step 2 Press * 3 times to show ÔpÕ (this causes dialling to pause) ; Step 3 Enter your destination number, including the full international code) For example: 08449 883 000 p 001 XXXX XXXX.
On a Seimens or Panasonic phone: Step 1 Enter the mobiledialthrough ; Step 2 Press and hold Ô0Õ to show Ô+Õ (this causes dialling to pause) ; Step 3 Enter your destination number, including the full international code) For example: 08449 883 000 + 001 XXXX XXXX.
On a Motorola or Ericsson phone : Step 1 Enter the mobiledialthrough number ; Step 2 Press and hold to show ÔpÕ (this causes dialling to pause) ; Step 3 Enter your destination number, including the full international code) For example: 08449 883 000 p 001 XXXX XXXX.
Are there any other terms or conditions I should know about?
There are a few other things to bare in mind. As we've said, you must have inclusive minutes to benefit from this service (pay-as-you-go customers will be charged by their provider for the call so you should check how much); you should check with the person who owns the phone before you make the call (if it is not you); and you should call the customer service number on the left if you have any doubt that the number you are calling is covered.
You should also come back to this regularly just to check the destination list has not changed.
We are not responsible for any charges made on your bill. We do our best to keep this page updated and help you to save on your international calls but you must check with your provider if in doubt when dialling one of our access numbers.
We try and update this page as often as possible. However, with many different mobile tariffs across several networks things can change very quickly in the way networks charge for their calls.
If in doubt whether your contract allows you to call our access numbers free we recommend that you make a short call using our access number. After a couple of days check your online billing. If you do not have online billing call your mobile customer services, quote when the call was made and ask the operator to check your bill for the cost of calling the number. You do not have to tell them what the number was for.
If they tell you it was free from your inclusive minutes you may continue using the number. Please ensure you check this regularly.
Service provider support numbers are:
O2 : 0870 241 02 02
Virgin Mobile : 789 from your mobile or 0845 6000 789 from a land-line
Vodafone : 191 from your mobile or 08700 700 191 from a land-line
Orange : 150 from your mobile or 07973 100 150 from any other phone
T-Mobile :150 from your mobile or 0845 412 5000 from a land-line
When you’ve used your month’s allocation of free minutes calls will be charged at regular cross network call rates. Some providers may charge for these calls, so it’s best to check with them in advance.
Virgin Mobile
Free* international calls. Dial 07744 688 833
Free 07744 service available: Yes (*some contracts)
Alternative Services
TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Access number: 07744 688 833
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Cost: FREE (Check with provider if in doubt)
Countries you can call: Country List - published in next post
Orange
Free* international calls. Dial 07744 688 833
Free 07744 service available: Most contracts no longer allow this service. *News 08.06.07 ORANGE are now charging on some contracts for 07744 and 07755 calls. Check with Orange to see if your contract charges for 07744 calls prior to using the 07744 service. See here for more details http://www.orange.co.uk/termsupdate
Alternative Services
TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Access number: 07744 688 833
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Cost: FREE (See news above and check with provider if in doubt)
Countries you can call: Country List - published in next post
Vodafone & Easy Mobile
Free* international calls. Dial 07744 688 833
Free 07744 service available: *Most contracts no longer allow free calls to this service. Please read our advice at the top of this page or use an alternative service below.
Alternative Services
TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Access number: 07744 688 833
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Cost: See Above
Countries you can call: Country List
o2
Free 07744 service available: No
Free 0870/0844 service available: Most contracts no longer allow free calls to this service. Please read our advice at the top of this page or use an alternative service below.
Alternative Services
TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Access number: 0870 041 3952 (peak) 0844 545 6175 (off peak)
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Countries you can call: Country List listed in next post
T-Mobile
Great value international calls 0871 9191556
Free 07744/0870/0844 service available: No
Latest News (30/05/07): T-Mobile will began charging for 07744 from 1st June 07.
New access number: 0871 9191556. Available all day every day.
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Cost: Only 10p/min so still great value calls.
Countries you can call: Country List
Alternative Service: TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Three Mobile(3)
Great value international calls 0871 9191556
Free 07744/0870/0844 service available: No
Access number: 0871 9191556. Available all day every day.
1. Dial the access number
2. Enter International Number
3. Press hash (Please remember not to press the green 'call' button again)
Cost: Calls cost 10p a minute for contract subscribers within 3 video service areas & 15p a minute outside those areas. Off-peak 1000 subscribers are charged at 35p/min peak & 15p/min off-peak.
Countries you can call: Country List
Alternative Service: TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min or cheap instant dial from landlines
Topup 2Talk - Text Calls4u to 83006
More Information and rates : TopUp 2Talk from 1p/min
Networks: Available on all UK networks
Cost: From 1p/min deducted from calling credit
Access Number: Landline access numbers available
Countries you can call: Country List
Who can use it?
We monitor this regularly, but you should check quickly first to ensure you don't receive an unexpected charge.
Singlepoint Vodafone contracts unfortunately do not allow this number within free minutes, although you should again check to be sure as your contract might allow it.
How can I check this?
Simply call your service provider and ask whether the access number is allowed within your free minutes. Service provider support numbers are:
O2 : 0870 241 02 02
Virgin Mobile : 789 from your mobile or 0845 6000 789 from a land-line
Vodafone : 191 from your mobile or 08700 700 191 from a land-line
Orange : 150 from your mobile phone or 07973 100 150 from any other phone
T-Mobile :150 from your mobile phone or 0845 412 5000 from a land-line
How can I program the number into my phone for one-touch dialling?
For convenience, you can store your mobiledialthrough number in front of the numbers you call most ofternon your mobile phone.
There are two ways to do this, you can either save the number into the phone book on your phone in the regular way, or you can edit the numbers in your phone book to include the mobiledialthrough number and dial using pause dialling. This can be done as follows:
On a Nokia phone: Step 1 Enter the mobiledialthrough number; Step 2 Press * 3 times to show ÔpÕ (this causes dialling to pause) ; Step 3 Enter your destination number, including the full international code) For example: 08449 883 000 p 001 XXXX XXXX.
On a Seimens or Panasonic phone: Step 1 Enter the mobiledialthrough ; Step 2 Press and hold Ô0Õ to show Ô+Õ (this causes dialling to pause) ; Step 3 Enter your destination number, including the full international code) For example: 08449 883 000 + 001 XXXX XXXX.
On a Motorola or Ericsson phone : Step 1 Enter the mobiledialthrough number ; Step 2 Press and hold to show ÔpÕ (this causes dialling to pause) ; Step 3 Enter your destination number, including the full international code) For example: 08449 883 000 p 001 XXXX XXXX.
Are there any other terms or conditions I should know about?
There are a few other things to bare in mind. As we've said, you must have inclusive minutes to benefit from this service (pay-as-you-go customers will be charged by their provider for the call so you should check how much); you should check with the person who owns the phone before you make the call (if it is not you); and you should call the customer service number on the left if you have any doubt that the number you are calling is covered.
You should also come back to this regularly just to check the destination list has not changed.
We are not responsible for any charges made on your bill. We do our best to keep this page updated and help you to save on your international calls but you must check with your provider if in doubt when dialling one of our access numbers.
free GPRS on VODAPHONE
Manual Hutch Gprs Settings
1. Account Name - Hutch_GPRS
2. User Name - Blank
3. Password - Blank
4. Proxy - Enabled/yes
5. Access Point Name - portalnmms
6. Full Internet Access Point Name - www
7. Proxy and Server address - 10.10.1.100
8. Proxy and Server Port - 8080
9. Homepage - http://hutchworld.co.in
10. Authentication Type - Normal
free GPRS ON BSNL
Manual Bsnl Gprs Settings
1. Account Name - BPL WAP
2. Username -
3. Password -
4. Proxy - Enabled/yes
5. Homepage - http://wap.mizone.bplmobile.com
6. Proxy and Server address - 10.0.0.10
7. Proxy and Server Port - 8080
8. Acces Point Name - mizone
9. Data bearer - GPRS/ Packetdata
10. Authentication Type - Normal
free recharge AIRTEL
AIRTEL RECHARGE
HI guys now it's time 4 joy who uses airtel.Hack airtel prepaid card to get free balance....
But....But.....But......listen it will totaly on upto ur risk.
This site or member related to this site is not liable for ur harm.It's totaly onto users.
i cant assure u that dis will work everytime..............
for airtel prepaid ...........when u recharge of 30 or 60 or 120
u observe that the scratch no is some what like dis
41198546115468.........
there r exactly 14 digits
after 4119 u can see 8546
try replacing 8546 with any no .......
suppose u put 9867............
now in place of 11 try any tow same nos ......22 or 33 ....
after that from those 9867 put 8679................(the last 3 digits similar and the first one appears in the last )
now those two center nos 11................if u put 22 den the no shld start with 422.....
i cant assure u 100% that dis trick would work ..................
it may fail many times ...........u just hav to keep trying with numbers....
but 5th 6th 7th and 8th digit .........keep repeating in a different way as the 11th 12th 13th n 14th ones...
the 6,7,8 digits are the same as 11,12,13 digits.......and the 5th ==14th digit
try out wid different numbers ..................
It may not work always ...
the chances are 1 out of 30 tries
Note:-please note first 4 latter by your area recharge card
free AIRTEL GPRS
FREE AIRTEL GPRS
Airtel Hack for free internet
these are all the tricks available !!
working too!
It cannot go beyond this!!
~cheers~
You need a PC or a Laptop and the required connectivity tools ,ie.,
Serial/USB cable OR Infrared Device OR Bluetooth dongle
1) Activate Airtel Live! ( It’s FREE so no probs)
2) Create TWO Airtel gprs data accounts (yep TWO) and select the
FIRST as the active profile.
3) Connect your mobile to the PC (or Laptop) and install the driver for
your mobile’s modem.
4) Create a new dial-up connection using the NEW CONNECTION
WIZARD as follows
Connecting Device : Your mobile’s modem
ISP Name : Airtel (or anything you like)
Phone Number : *99***2# / Try 99***1
Username and Password : blank
5) Configure your browser and download manager to use the proxy
100.1.200.99 and port 8080.( My advice is to use Opera since you
can browse both wap and regular websites)
6) Connect to the dial-up account. You will be connected at 115.2
kbps (but remember, that is a bad joke).
7) Pick up your mobile and try to access any site. You will get “Access
Denied…”(except for Airtel Live!). IT DOES NOT MATTER.
Keep the mobile down.
8 ) On the PC ( or Laptop) open your browser, enter any address ,
press ENTER and…….WAIT
9) After a few seconds the page will start to load and you have the
WHOLE internet at your disposal. **********************************************************
TWO
Under DATA COMM
~~~~~~~~~~~~
APN : airtelfun.com
USERNAME : blank
PASSWORD : blank
PASS REQ : OFF
ALLOW CALLS : AUTOMATIC
IPADDRESS :
DNSADDRESS :
DATA COMP : OFF
HEADER COMP : OFF
Under INTERNET PROFILES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INTERNET MODE : HTTP or WAP (both worked for me)
USE PROXY : YES
IP ADDRESS : 100.1.200.99
PORT : 8080
USERNAME :
PASSWORD :
No Risk Here, Try it and Enjoy
Three
1st go to settings menu then to connectivity tab now choose the option Data comm. then "DATA ACCOUNTS" go to new account now the settings r as follows
ACCOUNT TYPE:GPRS
NEW ACCOUNT NAME:A1
APN:airtelfun.com
usr name: (blank)
password: (blank)
now save it
NOW!
go to Internet Setting in connectivity here choose intrnet profile--go to new profile setting are as below
NAME:A1
CONNECT USING:A1(which was created in data comm.)
save it
now u would be able to see it now selest it and take "more" option then select setting here in use proxy option it will be selected no if it is no then change it into yes
now go to proxy adress and give the adress as
100.1.200.99 and then the port number as 8080
Usr name:
password:
now save all the settings u made . come back 2 connectivity
choose streaming settings now in connect using option choose a1 that we created leave the use proxy option as no itself
THESE R THE SETTINGS
now access airtellive! from ur activated SE phone goto VIDEO GALLERY OR VIDEO UNLIMITED(varies according to states) choose live streaming then choose CNBC OR AAJTAK WHILE CONNECTING TO MEDIA SERVER cancel AFTER 9 or 10 sec then type any web adress if it shows access denied then once again select CNBC and wait for a few more sec than before if its fully connected also no prob its free then cancel it or if ur connected then stop it and the internet is ready to take of .GOOD LUCK SE AIRTEL USERS
alternate
For All Airtel Users
Requirements:
1. Airtel live (available 4 free)
2. Nokia series60 handset eg 6600,6630,n series,7610,6670 etc
3. Opera wap browser 4 mobile
Procedure:-
1. Go to ur connection settings and make a new internet profile using the default settings of airtel live. name that new profile as nething(for eg masala); change the home page of that profile to nething u like for eg www.google.com.
2. Go to ur Opera browser and set the default connection as AIRTEL LIVE. this is the original settings u received thru airtel.
3. Go to the services(in n6600) and Web(N6630) and change the default profile for connection as masala (newer one).
**Note: always make sure that ur access point is airtelfun.com
Apply:-
1. Open Opera and u will see that homepage of Airtel Live is opened. Minimize the application.
2. Now open web using the duplicate Profile and u will see that two gprs connections will work simultaneously and at the web or the services page it will show "Unable to connect" or any error. well thats the signal of ur success.
3. Simply go on the Opera with web on and open any site u want for free. No Charges No nothing.
U can also use it through ur computer..........
someone said dis too
The main principle behind this is we hav 2 fool the bsnl techies 2 activate portal and thus get gprs activated / get "G" signal on ur cell as bsnl portal (wap.cellone.in) needs "gprs signal on ur cel (whether gprs is formaly activated/registerd or not (by my method )i dont know)
NORMALLY THEY DONT DO THAT INSPITE OF THE FACT THAT THEY SHOULD ACTIVATE GPRS SIGNAL SERVICE FOR PORTAL!!!
AND THEY WILL GIVE U NO OF REASONS----
---THAT portal is message based , so go to cellone icon in menu and use that sms based portal (what the f**k)
---THAT portal service will be activated when u will activate gprs by filling up form and registering at nearest CCN!!
---THAT ur handset has some problems (if u say that "G" signal is not present)
----etc,etc!!
U HAVE 2 ACTIVATE PORTAL FIRST WHICH IS FREE AND U CAN EAT UP CC'S FOR THIS REASON!!
SO WHAT U HAV 2 DO IS--
1) SEND PORTAL to 3733 AND CONFIRMATION SHD COME WITH 5 MIN AT-MAXIMM !!
2) SEND FOR ATLEAST 20-30 TIMES (CAN B ANY MORE THAN THAT)
JUST S**K UP THE NETWORK(3733) WITH THESE MESSAGES !!!
THAT'S FREE NO!! BOTH ON POST AND PRE!!
3) NOW ALONG ALSO SEND 20-40 SMS AS GPRS TO 3733
(NO OF SMS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL 2 HATE FOR BSNL AND HOW EARLY U WNAN GET UR GPRS ACTIVATED) this is also free both on post and pre!!
4) U WILL GET CONFIRMATION IN BOTH CASES AND MSG TELLS U 2 GET SETTINGS FROM 9400024365, THE NO OF CC!!
HERE AT MY PLACE I CAN DIAL 9419024365 ALSO!
BOTH R TOLL FREE AND BOTH R LOCATED IN CHANDIGARH!!!
(((((((AND SOME OF THE CC'S SAY they cant give such sensitive information that where they r located, as if thay have a 3 rd world of their own! and the other dumbs said that they r in chandigarh!!!!)))))
I WOULD ADVISE ALL FIRST, 2 call them once 2 get the settings!!
(most of the times that is incorect but gives u an idea of settings in ur area))
Try and in ur 1 st call only,
talk roughly and tell them u r calling 10-20th time just for settings and is that their service!!!
5) Now when u get them save them AND plz post them here!!!
6) now GET ATLEAST 2-3 COMPLAINTS REGISTERED( each after 1 day) THAT UR PORTAL HAS NOT ACTIVATED AND GET THEIR SERIAL NO.
and in the end bombard them abt the status of all those complaints !!
b4 registering ur complaint they will hesitate much and always say taht they will b sendin new settings which r accurate! but dont belive them and just register complaints!!
6)AFTER THAT, u have 2 only wait until "G" signal is there on ur screen!!
LOOK, WHAT I HAVE WRIITEN ABV IS METHOD by which i got activated my "G" service !!! without fillin any form or such and without any money drain!!
may be since it bypasses the formal way of registeration, that is why this trick is working !!!!!!!!!!!!
U may also Try this
first open ur msg window and type LIVE and send it to 2567 so that after 5 min u get the setting of Airtel Live or if u have already no need for this procedure.
now then open that setting and copy all the settings from it and create one access point manually which has all the settings like Airtel Live has.
now only one change will be there and it would be in access point name which is "Airtelmms.com" instead of originally "Airtelgprs.com".
ok u've done it just active that setting and access free airtel gprs on ur phone.
Another Trick
somya_cse
You need a PC or a Laptop and the required connectivity tools ,ie.,
Serial/USB cable OR Infrared Device OR Bluetooth dongle
1) Activate Airtel Live! ( It’s FREE so no probs)
2) Create TWO Airtel gprs data accounts (yep TWO) and select the
FIRST as the active profile.
3) Connect your mobile to the PC (or Laptop) and install the driver for
your mobile’s modem.
4) Create a new dial-up connection using the NEW CONNECTION
WIZARD as follows
Connecting Device : Your mobile’s modem
ISP Name : Airtel (or anything you like)
Phone Number : *99***2#
Username and Password : blank
5) Configure your browser and download manager to use the proxy
100.1.200.99 and port 8080.( My advice is to use Opera since you
can browse both wap and regular websites)
6) Connect to the dial-up account. You will be connected at 115.2
kbps (but remember, that is a bad joke).
7) Pick up your mobile and try to access any site. You will get “Access
Denied…”(except for Airtel Live!). IT DOES NOT MATTER.
Keep the mobile down.
8 ) On the PC ( or Laptop) open your browser, enter any address ,
press ENTER and…….WAIT
9) After a few seconds the page will start to load
main thing is the advance initialization command.
a recent comment says dat
Guys i tried and its working, I'm using airtel mumbai,..the Method TWO worked, also i request everyone to change the Phone number from *99***2 to *99***1 and its working,.. it'll get connected at 462.8kbps but its the speed between the phone and your computer but actual BAndwidth is 42kbps
Friday, October 3, 2008
My Best Movies Section
Hello friends, Here i am back again with the best movies ever.
I'll give you links of world's best movies and if you like them, then please give atleast your comment. Because your comments are like appreciation to us and encourage us to do more hard work. If you like any movie and you are not getting it from anywhere then write directly to us, we shall give it to you in one or two days.
So without wasting time here i give you links to the world's best movies ever.
10000 B.C.
http://rapidshare.com/files/144142072/10_000.B.C_2008_.part4.rar
War Of Worlds
http://rapidshare.com/files/152279096/War-Of-The-World-Sandy-1.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/152279314/War-Of-The-World-Sandy-2.avi
War Of Worlds
http://rapidshare.com/files/152279096/War-Of-The-World-Sandy-1.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/152279314/War-Of-The-World-Sandy-2.avi
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Here you can Download each and everything free
Hello Everybody, This is one of your friend. I've started this blog to make it sure that you get each and every thing for free. Because this is our right. So you need anything just request here.Such as SONGS(Hindi,Punjabi or English), SOFTWARES (Any type),Latest MOVIES(ENGLISH,HINDI,PUNJABI) or OLDER MOVIES, E-BOOKS(ANY TYPE)This is your own site so please keep it alive. Dont be shy and please reply and request for anything.
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