Earth,Wind, and Fire..Live in Davao, August 24, 2008!

Yup! For the first time in the history of that famed city of the south, residents there got the thrill of their lives when a band of known international fame and caliber, the highly popular Earth, Wind and Fire did a live performance at the sprawling parking lot of SM Davao City.

The city celebrates its famous annual thanksgiving festival called “Kadayawan Festival” at about this time of the year. It is a yearly festival to celebrate and showcase the bountiful harvests and other blessings that the almighty has bestowed on the residents. Aside from the  regular colorful street dancing competitions, this year’s celebrations will be the most remembered because the undying and truly adored group that has entertained the world for decades now, the Earth, Wind and Fire, joined the festivities and performed live in the city.

But hey, I have an even better scoop for you. There were fans who could not afford the stiff Php2,500 ticket per head for the concert, so they settled (and at least they were allowed) to watch at the back of the walled venue. Since the stage was elevated, the ecstatic fans were still able to get glimpses of the night’s highly anticipated concert. And you know what, the band members took notice of the poor fans at the back portion of stage who were yelling, and dancing, and singing along as the group performed on stage. So, they would occasionally turn towards them all throughout the night’s performance, to the satisfaction and delight of this backstage crowd. My whole family and some of our neighbors were there with that crowd to try to get a free view of the concert. They got more than what they expected!

Here now is the biggest scoop of the night!

What must have been a planned picture taking session with the fans after the concert was botched…but not after a concert staff made a call for some of the backstage fans to come in for some pics… and hey, not after my youngest daughter, Carlota, on hearing the call, made an immediate bee line to where the band members where standing. It was too late for anyone to stop her ‘coz she was already hugging no less than Philip Bailey, one of the lead singers of Earth, Wind, and Fire. And guess what? She got her picture taken with the guy! Out of the thousands of fans who were there that night, Carlota was the only fan lucky enough to get a picture taken with Philip, also the only photo session of the group that night at the concert venue. This is one memory thread that my daughter will be so proud to recall for the rest of her life. On coming home, she got into the computer and excitedly sent me these pictures via ym photoshare.

New Regulatory Requirement For Forex Brokers at CFTC – Good News To Investors,Bad News To Scammers

One of the reasons why the Philippines is the favorite milking cow of forex boiler room operators for more than two decades now is the fact that the government regulators and legislators here have not taken concrete steps to plug the loopholes in the Securities Act of the country, not to mention the fact that some of them can be bribed into complacency and indifference. Thus, all that these shrewd manipulators need to do is to let things cool off for a while only to strike again when the issue has died down. I’ve seen it happen over and over again! – (chuckle!)

I am posting herewith excerpts from a Public Notice issued by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission entitled “Proposed Changes to Net Capital Requirements for Forex Dealer Members” , datelined July 23, 2008 which I lifted from the web site of the National Futures Association of the US (http://www.nfa.futures.org/news/newsNotice.asp?ArticleID=2165).

Notice I-08-20

July 23, 2008

Proposed Changes to Net Capital Requirements for Forex Dealer Members

The CFTC Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Reauthorization Act) increases the adjusted net capital requirement for certain forex counter party Futures Commission Merchants and Retail Foreign Exchange Dealers to $20 million. This increase is phased in, with the first increase scheduled for 120 days after enactment or at such later date as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) proposes and finalizes rules regarding retail forex transactions. If implemented under the 120 day schedule in the Reauthorization Act, NFA’s Forex Dealer Members would be required to have $10 million as of September 19, 2008, $15 million by January 17, 2009, and $20 million by May 16, 2009.

RAISE THE NET CAPITAL REQUIREMENT! A simple solution to this plaguing problem!

This requirement filters out the scam operators from the ranks of the legitimate brokers. A surefire measure adapted earlier by the Hong kong Securities and Futures Commission in the early ’90s.

Hong kong was where most of these scrupulous operators started a long time ago. So, when these fly-by-night scam artists could no longer operate there (HK)because of the stringent capital requirement, they farmed out to the neighboring countries to include the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, and even Australia. But these countries except the Philippines, followed Hong Kong’s example immediately and raised the net capital requirements of forex brokers in their own countries forcing these scam artists to migrate once more elsewhere. A lot of them tried to operate in the U.S. and for a while they were sprouting like mushrooms in the West Coast. Everywhere they went in the “land of milk and honey”, they were leaving behind a trail of lawsuits and a heap of shattered dreams. Now, US authorities are seriously after them and are constantly making it harder and harder for them to operate there. This new regulatory requirement and the US authorities’ vigilance on the issue are indeed a welcome break for all forex investors.

In the meantime, back in the Philippines where they feel secured behind the protection of corrupt officials, blanketed by a platoon of known top legal personalities, and fronted by known business figures, these scam artists continue to stalk Philippine investors, lurking like hungry vultures waiting for an opportune time to strike again. Some are still operating in the open seemingly taunting the helpless authorities. In the meantime, authorities and legislators have remained complacent to the issue and will only show up in the media only to grandstand when another scam puts the issue once more in the limelight.