Douglas Hamilton

From The Reformed Broker...

The family is spending Thanksgiving with my sister at Luke Air Force Base in Surprise, AZ. Guest housing on the base comes with a helpful instruction manual, including this:

(Click to enlarge in new window)

ST CHARLES, Illinois – This has been a voyage of discoveries.

Not least of which has been the mere fact that we were able to pull this off: 22  consecutive days with a minimum of 18 hours work a day. We traveled and conducted interviews all day before working late into the night -- only to start all over again the next day.

I am lucky that everyone who accompanied me on this trip from start to finish – Sharon Reich, Lucy Nicholson, Carlos Barria and Brian Snyder – are all true professionals willing to put in whatever time it takes to get the job done, not to mention lovely people.

But the biggest discovery has been one I have been able to dwell upon only since returning home. When you’re on the road talking, writing, driving and planning the next stop, there is little time for genuine reflection.

That discovery was that everywhere we went people were in the process of working out where America goes from here after two illusory booms – the dotcom bubble and the housing bubble – and where will the jobs come from to fuel real, sustainable growth.

This is not a debate I see much of at the national level, but connecting with Americans along the some 6,000 miles of our journey renewed my faith in this country’s greatest capacity: the ability to reinvent itself.

The greatest asset that will help America achieve that is its people. In most of the places we visited the people we met were earnestly looking to the future or were reconnecting with their communities because the housing crisis had affected them or their neighbors.

After decades of rampant, credit-fueled consumption, people like Denny Robertson in Bella Vista, Arkansas, who has had his salary cut, are reexamining the way they spend and live their lives.

Or people Mike McGreevy, Brandon Barry and Edwin Andino, three young men in Buffalo, New York, who are working for below-poverty wages rehabbing homes because they are tired of hearing people complain about how bad things were in the city and decided to do something about it themselves.

Or Megan Smith, 21, a student in Providence, Rhode Island, speaking out on behalf of the state’s growing number of homeless people.

All of them good people. We met good people wherever we went, doing the best they can to make a difference where they are.

Then at night while I worked on blogs in my hotel room I would turn the television to one of the cable news channel. The America they talked about was full of Democrats and Republicans, ideology pitted against ideology. Froth and vitriol.

I did not see their America on the ground, I just saw good people doing the best they can, together. The contrast between the angry men on television and good people on the ground could not have been more striking. And I found myself wondering just how much of a disservice the media and this country’s two parties do the American people by dividing them up into “us” and “them.”

Because just as this country’s greatest strength is its ability to reinvent itself, it first needs to acknowledge what is broken and what can be done to fix it. Therein lies the real route to recovery.

Political divisions, however, appear to stand in the way of that process on a national level.

This is not just a foreign observer talking. Time and again throughout this trip I talked to Americans making a difference on a local level who told me they had lost faith in Washington or even state governments because ideology had trumped common sense.

People like Jack Hakim, the Republican mayor of Bullhead City, Arizona, who was angry that the state’s Republican leaders were cutting revenue to towns like his for ideological reasons.

Or Jay Williams, the mayor of Youngstown, who ran against the city’s Democrat political machine because he wanted to affect real change. A registered Democrat, he had to run as an independent with Republican funding to beat local entrenched interests.

Again, both of them good people.

Most heartening for me on this trip was seeing people stepping up and doing something for their communities, realizing perhaps that while the government should be there to help, it cannot do everything.

People like Pastor Jonathan Watson in Bella Vista, Arkansas, have reached that conclusion. He said he had to overcome his fear of using his church to raise funds in order to launch a book and CD to raise money for healthcare and other services for the elderly in his community.

Watson said Reuters coming to his church was God’s will. Our arrival confirmed for him that he was doing the right thing. And while I didn’t see it that way, nor take up his offer of spiritual advice at the end of his Sunday service, I like to think we parted as friends.

To Watson, I was part of his conversation with God. To me, his raising money for the elderly was simply just a good thing. For what it's worth, perhaps one of my greatest discoveries on this trip was my faith in good people like Pastor Watson and other Americans, of any religion or none.

Click here for the Route to Recovery slideshow.

Pictures: From top to bottom

People in a truck leave after shopping at Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas, November 8, 2009. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Paul McDouglad sits on a table at the Urban Ministry soup kitchen in Charlotte, North Carolina November 15, 2009.  Since 1979, the Urban Ministry is the largest and oldest soup kitchen in Charlotte serving more than 300 meals a day.  REUTERS/Carlos Barria

A U.S. flag decal is stuck to the window in a door to the Harrington Hall homeless shelter in Cranston, Rhode Island November 18, 2009. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

A woman walks down the street in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood of Buffalo, New York November 19, 2009. Buffalo has 15,000 vacant lots from houses that have been demolished, amounting to 3200 acres of vacant land. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Steve Patronas stands at the Organized Seafood Association of Alabama office in Bayou La Batre, Alabama November 10, 2009.  REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Pastor Charles Hudson cries as he looks at the damage to the Madison School, where Hudson worked with the anti-violence organization Bondage Busters, in Youngstown, Ohio November 21, 2009. Youngstown has 4,500 vacant structures in a city of about 75,000 people, and about 22,000 vacant parcels of land.     REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Denny Robertson (R) sits with his daughter Heidi, 6, in the living room of their home in Bella Vista, Arkansas, November 7, 2009.  REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Senior Pastor Rev. Jonathan Watson (R) blesses parishioners during a Sunday service at the Bella Vista Assembly of God church in Bella Vista, Arkansas, November 8, 2009.  REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

A pelican flies near a fisherman in Pensacola, Florida November 11, 2009. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Everybody thinks they're a comedian -- or so goes one of the oldest sayings in showbiz. If you are one of those people in the United States -- sitting on the couch after a big Thanksgiving Day dinner wondering what to do with yourself in 2010 -- and a career in comedy comes to mind, think about this.

The Improv at Harrah's Las Vegas, which is affiliated with Los Angeles' Improv comedy club, has begun a contest to find the "next funniest person" in the US. The contest is being held in conjunction with the release of the movie "Funny People" on DVD and Blu-Ray. To win, you must video yourself for at least one minute performing your best jokes, upload the video to the "Funny People" section of comedy website ijoke, and wait for a panel of pros to pick you -- with any luck.  Budd Friedman, who founded The Improv and has helped the careers of Jay Leno, Sarah Silverman, Adam Sandler and others, is one of the people sponsoring the contest, which runs two weeks from Nov. 24 to Dec. 8.

The panel of judges will pick 5 videos that will be posted on ijoke no later than Dec. 14, and people can then vote. From there, three finalists will be chosen and flown to Las Vegas to perform at The Improv at Harrah's. One winner will be chosen from the group of three and win a grand prize of a six-night gig at the club in 2010 -- not too shabby, as Sandler might say.

So, if you are reading this in the States and the turkey has settled in and you're wondering what's next. Look in the mirror at that newly rounded stomach of yours and smile. Then, take out your video camera and make the rest of us laugh. For more info, click here.

People say to me, "Bob, what are YOU thankful for on this Thanksgiving?" and I tell them plenty of stuff, because I am truly blessed.

I'm thankful for family, friends, home and health, and a chance to entertain people with this blog, which I may actually start doing any day now.

I'm also thankful that as of 2:30 p.m. today I haven't caught even the briefest glimpse of the Macy's Parade, and that I live in a country where nobody can force me to listen to ukulele music.

But I guess most of all, I'm thankful that I'm not either of these guys in these pictures... Life is great!

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Left: Detroit Lions fan wears a turkey hat on his head before the start of the Thanksgiving Day NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Detroit, Michigan November 26, 2009.

Right: Green Bay Packers fan wears a cheese head hat with a fake turkey on top before the start of the game.

REUTERS photos by Rebecca Cook

More stuff from Oddly Enough

The Dubai World default is big news -- big enough that it's even made it into Gawker. Your one-stop shop for bloggy coverage this Thanksgiving is Alphaville, which features for instance this wonderful chart of the debt structure which is now being crawled over by lawyers around the world.  

Personally, I'm quite happy about this default, since it sets another very useful precedent of a state-owned company defaulting on its debt. Historically investors in state-owned companies have perceived an implicit sovereign guarantee -- there's even a German word for it, Anstaltslast. The result is a huge and unhelpful moral-hazard trade.

So it's great that the government of Dubai has made it clear that Dubai World's lenders aren't going to be automatically bailed out by the sovereign, despite the fact that the government has hundreds of billions of dollars in its sovereign wealth fund. Would that Treasury will follow suit when it comes to the creditors of state-owned companies like AIG.

After our (rather unsuccessful) attempts to convince you of Raymond Domenech's appealing qualities, our thoughts turn to that much-maligned manager from Madrid, Rafa Benitez.

Liverpool went out of the Champions League on Tuesday night despite a 1-0 win over Debrecen, as Lyon failed to bite in Fiorentina.  

Benitez is taking a lot of stick from fans and non-fans alike but here are 10 (OK, nine) good reasons to love the man:

1. His detractors still put it down to as much to luck as judgment, but the achievement in taking that ragtag bunch of players to Champions League glory in 2005 just can't be underestimated. The shake-up at half-time, bringing on Dietmar Hamann and switching to a three-man defence, changed a game that no one in the world believed could be salvaged and gave Benitez the defining moment of his coaching career.

2. David Ngog. You can pore over the transfer record all you like, and many, many fans, bloggers and journalists have, but the signing of French striker Ngog for just 1.5 million pounds from PSG will surely go down as a terrific piece of business. Ngog has a great career ahead of him, if used wisely. If...

3. Montse. Kenny Dalglish once claimed that he couldn't give a TV reporter any clues about who would be playing the Cup final as it was his wife, Marina who always picked the team. Rafa doesn't go that far but his wife Montse did have a role in keeping him at the club in 2007. "Benitez is not going anywhere. He's under contract and he told me that his wife has said that if he ever did go, he'd have to go without her because she's staying in Liverpool!" co-owner Tom Hicks was quoted as saying.

4. Doctor Who? Rafa was made a Doctor 'Honoris Causa' of the University Miguel Hernandez of Elche in 2008. So if love is out of the question you should at least look up to him unless you have a higher degree, too.

5. Attacking style. Valencia fans have mixed feelings about Benitez but most recognise that he at least tried to play a more attacking style -- as opposed to the counter-attacking strategy under Hector Cuper -- and it was rewarded with those two league titles. When he joined Liverpool, it was a similar story, at least early on, as the team played the ball around much more than they had done towards the end of the Gerard Houllier era. So at least he tried.

6. Speaking of attack, how about that one on Alex Ferguson. Great entertainment. Fact. 

7. Zonal marking. This has been a source of great joy for opposition teams in the Premier League this season, so if you are a fan of another club you should be praising Benitez to the skies.

8. That trip to the pub. It is by no means unusual for Liverpool fans to go to the boozer on a European trip but no one expected the team manager to turn up at an Irish bar in Cologne.

9. Fernando Torres. If David Ngog shows Benitez has an eye for a bargain, the signing of Torres shows it's sometimes worth shopping at the nose-bleed end of the market... as long as you get the right player. Torres cost 20 million pounds or so and would be worth at least twice that now and quite possibly a lot more, which if nothing else should make up for purchases such as Dossena, Riera, Babel, etc, etc...

10. Ok, that's only nine. Anyone care to nominate a 10th?

PHOTO: Liverpool's coach Rafa Benitez gives instructions to his players during their Champions League match against Atletico Madrid in Madrid October 22, 2008. REUTERS/Felix Ordonez

There's been so much talk of whether or not London's hedge fund community will migrate to the lower tax climes of Switzerland in the spring that the opportunities in Asia may have been overlooked.

However, today's news that Anthony Bolton -- widely regarded as the UK's top long-only fund manager for his unparalleled returns at the helm of Fidelity Special Situations -- is moving to Asia to launch a China fund shows other centres can easily emerge as rivals to the U.S. and London for fund management talent.

Bolton's interest in China and the potential of Chinese companies is long-standing, so in one sense the news of a fund launch and his relocation to Hong Kong is of little surprise.

But it comes as other fund executives are setting up in the region.

Start-up costs can be lower than in Mayfair, while hedge funds don't always need a critical mass of $50 million or $100 million to get going.

Meanwhile, Asian private clients offer a great opportunity for asset-gathering, while Asia ex-Japan has far outperformed global equities and the region's markets offer a wide array of exposures and opportunities.

With taxes on UK top-earners set to rise to 50 percent next spring and Hong Kong and Singapore offering much lower rates, how many other fund managers will take flight?

The banking index dropped 2.6 pct on Thursday, dragged down by losses of over 3 percent in top counters ICICI and SBI.

Stocks in this sector were under pressure throughout trade, which saw all counters in the bankex, except Canara Bank, closing in the red.

HDFC Bank, another major player, ended down 2.4 percent.

Mid-cap counters like Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank too struggled in trade and ended down 6.5 percent and 5.8 percent respectively. Both stocks were among top losers in the mid-cap index.

The banking index has gained 7.7 percent in November, a tad higher than the benchmark Sensex’s return of 6 percent.

Would you take advantage of the fall and invest in this sector?

Attention all eaters (and shoppers)!  
    
Today, as the scent of turkey and spice wafts through your cozy abode ahead of the big meal, you may feel frustrated that your natural instinct to hunt and gather -- remember our forefathers? -- is thwarted by store opening hours. 
    
But never fear! You don't have to wait for the stroke of midnight, when many retailers will open wide their doors. Assuage your instincts now by clicking on Reuters' selection of holiday shopping stories, from women shoppers finally buying for themselves to food donations by Wal-Mart. Or how about a look at retailers vying for more full-price sales, or social media providing a boost to sales.
    
Reuters will be sending its reporters across the country to visit stores, interview shoppers and retailers throughout the long weekend, providing an advance look for investors, and shoppers, of how the crucial holiday sales season is shaping up.

(Reuters photo)

A government-backed inquiry has accused several of India’s top opposition politicians of having a role in the destruction of an ancient mosque in 1992 that triggered some of the country’s worst religious riots.

The report has sparked political protests from opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which finds itself in even more trouble as it struggles to emerge from internal feuding after an election defeat in May.

Hindu mobs demolished the 16-century Babri Mosque in the north Indian town of Ayodhya, claiming it stood on the birthplace of their god-king Rama. Riots between Hindus and Muslims left hundreds dead across India.

The report, 17 years in the making, says some of India’s best known BJP politicians — including former Prime Minister Aal Behari Vajpayee and current opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani — did little to stop the destruction despite knowing of plans to demolish it.

Here is our news story on the report and a Q&A explaining the background.