And the themes can occasionally get heavy, like when we learn why Nessie the gill-woman is so promiscuous. She’s such a light-hearted character that the darkness of her back-story is surprising, though not nearly as surprising as how tenderly Moore relates it. He’s masterful with the way he switches from laughter to tears and back again, but it’s not a transition that most kids are going to be able to make.
As I said, Boneyard is the story of a young man who inherits a cemetery. Michael Paris hasn’t had a lot go right in his life, but things begin to look up when his grandfather leaves him the graveyard and a nearby town makes him a very generous offer to take it off his hands. It’s when he travels to the town to close the deal that he realizes his bad luck is holding true. The boneyard is full of creatures who make their home there: a couple of gargoyles, a leather-jacket-and-shades-wearing werewolf, a lecherous skeleton, a sarcastic raven, a Cockney witch, a megalomaniacal demon, and – most importantly for Paris – a kind and beautiful vampire named Abbey. She and the others convince Paris not to sell to the pitchfork-and-torch-wielding townspeople; a decision that sets one of Boneyard‘s two, continuing plots into motion.
Over the course of the seven books, the forces that want the graveyard (I won’t spoil who it is, but will just say that the townsfolk aren’t the ringleaders, but only tools) try various schemes to get what they want. The other, over-arching story is the sweet, will-they-won’t-they romance between Paris and Abbey. That kind of thing can often be frustrating and annoying, but Boneyard avoids that by making it clear that Paris and Abbey do truly like each other; they just can’t get past their own insecurities enough to express it. It’s obvious that they’ll end up together eventually; Moore’s just coy about the when and how.
While
October was positive for FTSE 100 UK pension schemes, with the overall
deficit reducing by £11.0bn to £43.5bn, it did little to improve the
risk picture, according to the first issue of PF Risk Report.
The
new publication from PensionsFirst, which provides advanced risk
management and advisory services to the defined-benefit pensions
industry, said that at the end of October, the one-month 95%
value-at-risk figure on an IAS19 basis was £25.4bn.
This
means that in November there was a 1-in-20 chance that the IAS19
deficit could increase by £25.4bn or more - and the expectation that in
one of the next twenty months it will. "The corresponding VAR figure at
September month-end was £26.6bn, so the improved deficit position
changed little from a risk perspective," commented the report.
The
PF Risk Report breaks down pension risk into its key components. On an
uncorrelated basis, interest-rate risk is the largest risk factor,
contributing £17.8bn to the VAR, closely followed by equity risk, which
contributes £15.7bn. The report also focuses on inflation, FX, credit
and property risk exposures, while ignoring longevity, which is a
genuine long-term risk exposure but has negligible volatility in the
short term.
The report illustrates the impact of the key
factors that could cause variation in deficits. For example, a 20%
decrease in equities would increase the aggregate deficit by £34.2bn
and a 1% increase in long-term inflation would increase the deficit by
£60.8bn. The two events combined would increase the deficit by almost
£100bn.
"The simple fact is
that many UK companies (not just those in the FTSE 100) have
significant unhedged exposure to financial market volatility through
their pensions schemes", the report stated.
The report
puts into context the expectation that the monthly accounting deficits
of the FTSE 100's UK pension schemes will move by £25.4bn at least once
in a two-year period by underlining the fact that in August 2010 the
accounting deficits increased by £20.8bn, driven primarily by a 60bp
fall in interest rates. "And it is important to note that while...such
large monthly movements can be reasonably anticipated, there is also
the potential for much more extreme outcomes," the PF Risk Report concluded.
It's
not just UK companies that have significant unhedged exposure to
financial market volatility through their pensions schemes. The problem
is widespread and as the report concludes, there is also potential for
much more extreme outcomes.
bench_craft_company
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Your daily cup of Orange and Blue Coffee - Horse Tracks.
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Jade Raymond making Splinter Cell 6 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
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Small Business <b>News</b>: Small Biz Bonanza
On this day after Thanksgiving, we thought we'd create a feast of small business resources ourselves. Please dig in and enjoy every tasty morsel. This bonanza.
Denver Broncos <b>News</b>: Horse Tracks 11/27/10 - Mile High Report
Your daily cup of Orange and Blue Coffee - Horse Tracks.
bench_craft_company
And the themes can occasionally get heavy, like when we learn why Nessie the gill-woman is so promiscuous. She’s such a light-hearted character that the darkness of her back-story is surprising, though not nearly as surprising as how tenderly Moore relates it. He’s masterful with the way he switches from laughter to tears and back again, but it’s not a transition that most kids are going to be able to make.
As I said, Boneyard is the story of a young man who inherits a cemetery. Michael Paris hasn’t had a lot go right in his life, but things begin to look up when his grandfather leaves him the graveyard and a nearby town makes him a very generous offer to take it off his hands. It’s when he travels to the town to close the deal that he realizes his bad luck is holding true. The boneyard is full of creatures who make their home there: a couple of gargoyles, a leather-jacket-and-shades-wearing werewolf, a lecherous skeleton, a sarcastic raven, a Cockney witch, a megalomaniacal demon, and – most importantly for Paris – a kind and beautiful vampire named Abbey. She and the others convince Paris not to sell to the pitchfork-and-torch-wielding townspeople; a decision that sets one of Boneyard‘s two, continuing plots into motion.
Over the course of the seven books, the forces that want the graveyard (I won’t spoil who it is, but will just say that the townsfolk aren’t the ringleaders, but only tools) try various schemes to get what they want. The other, over-arching story is the sweet, will-they-won’t-they romance between Paris and Abbey. That kind of thing can often be frustrating and annoying, but Boneyard avoids that by making it clear that Paris and Abbey do truly like each other; they just can’t get past their own insecurities enough to express it. It’s obvious that they’ll end up together eventually; Moore’s just coy about the when and how.
While
October was positive for FTSE 100 UK pension schemes, with the overall
deficit reducing by £11.0bn to £43.5bn, it did little to improve the
risk picture, according to the first issue of PF Risk Report.
The
new publication from PensionsFirst, which provides advanced risk
management and advisory services to the defined-benefit pensions
industry, said that at the end of October, the one-month 95%
value-at-risk figure on an IAS19 basis was £25.4bn.
This
means that in November there was a 1-in-20 chance that the IAS19
deficit could increase by £25.4bn or more - and the expectation that in
one of the next twenty months it will. "The corresponding VAR figure at
September month-end was £26.6bn, so the improved deficit position
changed little from a risk perspective," commented the report.
The
PF Risk Report breaks down pension risk into its key components. On an
uncorrelated basis, interest-rate risk is the largest risk factor,
contributing £17.8bn to the VAR, closely followed by equity risk, which
contributes £15.7bn. The report also focuses on inflation, FX, credit
and property risk exposures, while ignoring longevity, which is a
genuine long-term risk exposure but has negligible volatility in the
short term.
The report illustrates the impact of the key
factors that could cause variation in deficits. For example, a 20%
decrease in equities would increase the aggregate deficit by £34.2bn
and a 1% increase in long-term inflation would increase the deficit by
£60.8bn. The two events combined would increase the deficit by almost
£100bn.
"The simple fact is
that many UK companies (not just those in the FTSE 100) have
significant unhedged exposure to financial market volatility through
their pensions schemes", the report stated.
The report
puts into context the expectation that the monthly accounting deficits
of the FTSE 100's UK pension schemes will move by £25.4bn at least once
in a two-year period by underlining the fact that in August 2010 the
accounting deficits increased by £20.8bn, driven primarily by a 60bp
fall in interest rates. "And it is important to note that while...such
large monthly movements can be reasonably anticipated, there is also
the potential for much more extreme outcomes," the PF Risk Report concluded.
It's
not just UK companies that have significant unhedged exposure to
financial market volatility through their pensions schemes. The problem
is widespread and as the report concludes, there is also potential for
much more extreme outcomes.
bench_craft_company
Jade Raymond making Splinter Cell 6 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Read our news of Jade Raymond making Splinter Cell 6.
Small Business <b>News</b>: Small Biz Bonanza
On this day after Thanksgiving, we thought we'd create a feast of small business resources ourselves. Please dig in and enjoy every tasty morsel. This bonanza.
Denver Broncos <b>News</b>: Horse Tracks 11/27/10 - Mile High Report
Your daily cup of Orange and Blue Coffee - Horse Tracks.
bench_craft_company
Jade Raymond making Splinter Cell 6 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Read our news of Jade Raymond making Splinter Cell 6.
Small Business <b>News</b>: Small Biz Bonanza
On this day after Thanksgiving, we thought we'd create a feast of small business resources ourselves. Please dig in and enjoy every tasty morsel. This bonanza.
Denver Broncos <b>News</b>: Horse Tracks 11/27/10 - Mile High Report
Your daily cup of Orange and Blue Coffee - Horse Tracks.
bench_craft_company
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