Ted Williams On Development and Sustainance of Self Confidence

Ted Williams is one of the most successful baseball players of all time. Inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame, this major league baseball player was arguably the “greatest hitter in baseball.” However, it’s not just his statistics that make Williams a great inspiration, but what he has to say about his career and how he looks at his career. Learning from his successes and the way he perceives his life can help you transform your life.

Bryan Flanagan uses Ted Williams as an incredible example of somebody who embodies confidence in its purest, truest and most honest form. When talking about the importance of confidence in his bookEncouragement for the Sales Professional, Flanagan points to Williams’ “lifetime batting average of .344 and his 521 home runs” to “qualify him for that distinction” of being the “greatest hitter in baseball.”

He then tells the story of Williams’ 70^th birthday and how a sports writer asked the storied Hall of Famer “Ted, if you were playing in today’s game with the smaller ball parks and lack of quality pitching, what would you hit?” What the write obviously meant to ask is how Williams thinks he would have sized up to the people of today, playing baseball in conditions that differed greatly from the conditions Williams was used to as a professional major league baseball player.

However, the tremendously confident Ted Williams was not about to let a sports writer make him feel as if his age would prevent him from reaching success. “Without hesitating, Williams replied, ‘Oh, I’d hit about .320.’ The writer was taken aback and quickly said, ‘But, Ted, you were the last player to hit .400 and your lifetime average is .344. And, you think you’d only hit .320?’ Williams said, ‘Yeah, but I’m 70 years old!’ Now, that’s confidence!” We would have to agree!

If somebody like Ted Williams can maintain the confidence to say that he could still play baseball at seventy years old with people a third of his age, and not just play – but play well, you might just need to realize the lesson being taught here. You can transform your life if you just remember to be confident in yourself you’re your abilities. “Confidence is maintaining faith in yourself no matter your age,” no matter your situation and no matter your environment. Confidence is what gets you through life when you are feeling down, when you are feeling old, when you are feeling like the cards are stacked against you.

“Confidence makes a difference. Confidence is a firm belief in yourself; it’s a certainty or belief in one’s own abilities.” Flanagan wants people to remember to “never leave home without” confidence because, as Williams shows here, it can not only help you with success – but it can help you when you are beyond your successes and need humor in your life again, or when you just want to get back out there and see what you can do again. Confidence can help you transform your life.

Central Bank Of Nigeria Reduces Daily Withdrawal Limits On ATM's

The battle for defence of the Naira value has widened, affecting existing withdrawal limits on Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) and foreign transactions on all existing Naira debit cards (ATM cards).

In the new arrangement, all ATMs that were hitherto enabled for domestic and foreign transactions have been restructured to limit Naira cash withdrawal at ATMs to N60,000 per day while foreign currency is $300 per day. Hitherto, the domestic withdrawal limit was N150,000 per day.

The new arrangement has separated traditional ATM from MasterCard credit card where the former has now been deactivated and can no longer be used for transactions abroad. Hitherto, a single ATM card serves for transactions for both domestic and abroad.

Also, the restructured cards now have spending limits on POS/eCommerce (online shopping) pegged at $300 (about N60,000) per day. Before this, the limit was N2 million per day.

In the new arrangement, a bank customer with multiple debit cards (ATM cards), only the one linked to the primary transactional account will be enabled for use abroad. Hitherto, such customers could transact with any of the cards that is funded.
However, banks are putting in place alternatives in these adjustments to address the concern of customers who are now being directed by their banks to reapply for a new card arrangement to suit their purposes.

For instance, Standard Chartered Bank has asked its customers to request a complementary ATM card for domestic use only so that the original N150,000 daily cash withdrawal limit can be restored and also reactivate POS/online purchase limit of N2 million per day.

The bank also required their customers to apply for a foreign currency denominated ATM linked to domiciliary account which would be enabled with no daily or annual international transaction limits.
Earlier, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc had informed its customers of its decision to reduce the daily international spending limit on their Naira MasterCard to $300 with effect from yesterday.
In a communication to the customers, the bank explained: “In view of the increased difficulty in sourcing foreign currency to settle international transactions on Naira MasterCards, we have reduced the daily international spending limit on your Naira MasterCard to $300.This means that you can only spend up to $300 daily when using your GTBank Naira MasterCard for international payments via POS and online.

“You will, however, continue to have the option of paying for medical bills, school fees, mortgages and credit cards using Form A, as these are eligible transactions for foreign currency. Simply visit any GTBank branch to complete a Form A along with the required documents to make these payments.”
These developments were coming on the heels of Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) statement on Sunday that all legitimate requests for foreign currency for eligible transactions, normally referred to as “invisibles,” such as remittances for school fees, student maintenance allowances, BTA, PTA, medical and other eligible transactions, shall be fully met at the official/interbank exchange rate.
A statement from the CBN added that already all the legitimate demands for such transactions through recognised channels have so far been fully met by CBN.

The statement stated: “The CBN hereby directs all authorised dealers in foreign exchange in Nigeria to henceforth treat as top priority all legitimate demand for foreign exchange for eligible transactions.

“The CBN once again advises individuals that wish to source foreign currency for such eligible transactions to approach their banks with their legitimate demand as the CBN has made adequate provisions of foreign currency for all such legitimate and eligible purposes.

“Furthermore, holders of Naira denominated debit and credit cards shall continue to have access to the use of their cards at ATMs in any part of the world but subject to the annual limit of $50,000. ATM Withdrawsaws shall continue to be a maximum of of $300 per day.”

Culled from Vanguard News

OPEC Leader Saudi Arabia Is Having To borrow Money

The oil kingdom is facing a big hole in its budget, caused by the slump in oil prices and a sharp rise in military spending. That's forcing the government to raid its reserves, and it may even borrow from foreign investors, analysts say.

Saudi Arabia has already burned through almost $62 billion of its foreign currency reserves this year, and borrowed $4 billion from local banks in July -- its first bond issue since 2007.

Its budget deficit is expected to reach 20% of GDP in 2015. That's extraordinarily high for a country used to running surpluses. Capital Economics estimates that government revenues will fall by $82 billion in 2015, equivalent to 8% of GDP. The IMF is forecasting budget deficits through 2020.

Oil's slump from $107 a barrel last June to $44 right now is largely responsible for the squeeze. Half of the country's economic output and 80% of government revenue is generated by the oil industry.

Yet Saudi Arabia has only itself to blame. Its aggressive fight to defend OPEC's share of the global oil market has led to a massive supply glut.

Riyadh is refusing to cut output, hoping to drive other producers, such as U.S. shale companies, out of business.

At the same time, it is ratcheting up spending. It has intervened in a war in neighboring Yemen, and has been involved in airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. Its military budget grew by 17% last year to roughly 10% of GDP.

King Salman also lavished generous bonuses on public sector workers after his accession to the throne in January. The gesture was popular, but stretched the kingdom's finances even further.

"We will see increased borrowing in the coming months," Fahad al-Mubarak, the governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, told local media last month.

The country's central bank would not comment on how many bonds it might issue.

Analysts suggest the Saudis could issue around $5 billion worth of bonds a month through the end of this year, some of those to foreign investors.

Still, it could quickly revert to drawing on reserves, rather than borrowing, if global interest rates rise.

Its foreign currency reserves, while depleted, still amounted to $660 billion at the end of June.

Culled from CNN

Malaysian Authorities say washed up debris from Missing MH370

Malaysia said on Thursday paint color and maintenance-record matches proved that a piece of wing found on the shore of an Indian Ocean island was part of the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which vanished without trace last year.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said investigators on the French island of Reunion had collected more aircraft debris, including a plane window and aluminum foil, but there was no confirmation they also belonged to the missing plane.

With the first trace of the plane confirmed, Malaysia has asked the governments of neighboring Mauritius and Madagascar to help widen the search area, he told reporters.

Earlier, Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed that the piece of debris was from the Boeing 777 airliner that was bound for Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 passengers and crew on board when it went missing.

"Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370," Najib said in a televised address.

The airline described the find as "a major breakthrough".

The first piece of direct evidence that the plane crashed in the sea closed a chapter in one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history.

But exactly what happened remains unknown and Najib's announcement did not appear to represent any kind of resolution for the families of those on board, most of whom were Chinese.

The fragment of wing known as a flaperon was flown to mainland France after being found last week covered in barnacles on a Reunion beach.

Despite the Malaysian confirmation, prosecutors in France stopped short of declaring they were certain, saying only that there was a "very strong presumption".

Deputy Paris Prosecutor Serge Mackowiak said this was based on technical data supplied by both the manufacturer and airline but gave no indication that experts had discovered a serial number or unique markings that would put the link beyond doubt.

Representatives of manufacturer Boeing confirmed that the flaperon came from a 777 jet, he said, and Malaysia Airlines provided documentation of the missing aircraft.

Mackowiak told reporters more analysis would be carried out on Thursday, and a fragment of luggage also found in Reunion would be examined by French police.

"We appreciate the French team and their support and respect their decision to continue with the verification," Liow said, adding that Malaysian experts were convinced the flaperon was from MH370 because a seal on the part matched a maintenance record and the paint was the same color.

A group of families from China said French investigators and Boeing must also say definitively the wing piece was from the plane.

"We are not living in denial ... but we owe it to our loved ones not to declare them lost without 100 percent certainty!" the families said on their microblog.

China's foreign ministry urged Malaysia to keep investigating and to "safeguard the legitimate rights and interests" of relatives.

Investigators looking at the wing flap at an aeronautical facility in the French city of Toulouse are likely to start by putting slices of metal under a high-powered microscope, to see clues in its crystal structure about how it deformed on impact, said Hans Weber, president of TECOP International, Inc., an aerospace technology consulting firm.

They would probably then "do a full physical examination, using ultrasonic analysis before they open it up to see if there's any internal damage", Weber said.

"That might take quite a while. A month or months."

John Goglia, a former board member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, told Reuters much could be learned from examining the metal and how the brackets that held the flaperon in place had broken.

However, other experts cautioned that the cause of the disaster may remain beyond the reach of investigators until other debris or data and cockpit voice recorders are recovered.

"Debris such as the flaperon can only increase our understanding of the last seconds of the flight," said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor at industry publication Flightglobal.

Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, and is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean, about 3,700 km (2,300 miles) east of Reunion.

Investigators believe that someone may have deliberately switched off the aircraft's transponder, diverted it off course and deliberately crashed into the sea.

An initial search of a 60,000 sq km (23,000 sq miles) patch of sea floor has been extended to another 60,000 sq km.

 Culled from Reuters News

Canada On The Verge Of a Recession

The latest economic data from Canada shows that it is inching toward recession, after its economy posted its fifth straight month of contraction.

Statistics Canada revealed on July 31 that the Canadian economy shrank by 0.2% on an annualized basis in May, perhaps pushing the country over the edge into recessionary territory for the first half of 2015.

"There is no sugar-coating this one," Douglas Porter, BMO chief economist, wrote in a client note. "It's a sour result."

The poor showing surprised economists, who predicted GDP to remain flat, but it the result followed a contraction in the first quarter at an annual rate of 0.6%. Canada's economy may or may not have technically dipped into recession this year -- defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth -- but it is surely facing some serious headwinds.

Attempts to rebound: Canada's central bank slashed interest rates in July to 0.50%, the second cut this year, but that may not be enough to goose the economy. With rates already so low, there comes a point when interest rate cuts have diminishing returns. Consumer confidence in Canada is at a two-year low.

There are other fault lines in the Canadian economy. Fears over a housing bubble in key metro areas such as Toronto and Vancouver are rising.

"In light of its hotter price performance over the past three to five years and greater supply risk, this vulnerability appears to be comparatively high in the Toronto market," the deputy chief economist of TD Bank wrote in a new report.

A run up in housing prices, along with overbuilding units that haven't been sold, and a high home price-to-income ratio has TD Bank predicting a "medium-to-moderate" chance of a "painful price adjustment." In other words, the bubble could deflate.

Housing markets in the oil patch have already started losing value. The Calgary Real Estate Board predicts that the resale value of homes will fall by 0.2% by the end of the year. And total home sales could fall by 22% in 2015. That is a dramatic downward revision from the group's prediction in January that home sales would rise by 1.6%.

It's all about oil: But that's because the economic situation is much worse in the oil patch than many had predicted six months ago. And oil prices have crashed again, a detail not yet captured by the disappointing GDP figures. Crude oil (WTI) is now below $50 per barrel, and Canada's heavy oil trades at a discount to even that low figure due to pipeline constraints and lower quality.

That's bad news for companies like Canadian Oil Sands (COSWF), which owns a 36.74% stake in the Syncrude project, Canada's largest producer of synthetic oil made from Canadian oil sands. The company lost $128 million in the second quarter due to lower oil prices and higher corporate taxes in Alberta.

Recessionary conditions along with low oil prices could lead to "deteriorating" asset quality for some of Canada's largest banks, according to Moody's.

What's next? The grim oil price picture is forcing companies to slash spending and delay projects. Canada's oil sands tend to come from large-scale, multibillion dollar projects. The high cost puts them on the frontlines for cancellations when oil prices sink.

According to the Financial Post there have been 33 major oil and gas projects that have been delayed or cancelled so far this year, and 16 of them are located in Canada's oil sands. Many, if not most, of these cancelled projects will need much higher oil prices in order to breakeven.

For now, it is unclear when that might happen. Oil price predictions should be taken with a large grain of salt, but Again Capital's John Kilduff, appearing on CNBC, said that oil could dip into $30 territory later this year.

"Christmas time we'll probably be rebounding off new lows off of the mid to low 30s," he said on Squawk Box. "We have a lot to go. We're going to take out the March lows of $43 and trade down to the 30s in my view."

And of course long-term projections are not worth much, but Goldman Sachs now says that oil could remain around $50 through 2020.

That is not something Canada's oil producers want to hear.

Culled from CNN

US To Lift Arms Embargo On Nigeria

THERE were strong indications on Monday that the United States would soon lift the current arms embargo placed on Nigeria.

The Head of a Delegation of the US Congress Committee on Judiciary to the country, Mr. Darrel Issa, said this while speaking with journalists after an indoor meeting with the nation’s defence and military chiefs at the National Defence College, Abuja.

Issa said that the US had commenced the process of lifting the restrictions of the Leahy Law on Nigeria because of the recent moves to professionalise the military by the Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, and the service chiefs.

The Leahy Law is a human rights law of the US, which prevents the US State Department and the Department of Defence from selling arms and ammunition to countries whose military are believed to have committed brazen acts of rights violation.

The refusal of the US government to sell arms to the country because of the Leahy law had made Nigeria under former President Goodluck Jonathan to explore other options, including the Black Market, to get desperately needed arms and ammunition to halt the advances of the Boko Haram insurgents in 2014.

Issa added that most of America’s support for Nigeria in the area of training, technical support and equipment provision was not tied to the Leahy and had not been stopped.

He said that the US was relying on President Muhammadu Buhari and the military chiefs to rebuild the trust of Nigerians in the military as an institution that would protect the citizenry.

The US congressman said that Nigerian military chiefs and the American delegation had discussed the issue of additional support, especially in the area of aerial surveillance critical to the fight against insurgency and the theft of the nation’s crude oil.

He said, “There are a number of things that we discussed today. Basically, there was the need for additional technical support, including overhead surveillance. This is important for Boko Haram but it is also important to stop the theft of this country’s oil by pirates and others.

“The fact is that this new regime with the new general staff has begun the process of ensuring that military professionalism in all post-civilians and combats has been made in a way that we can both be confident that the rule of law is being obeyed.

“So the process has begun to lift the restriction of the Leahy. But let’s understand that the vast majority of support that the US provides and would provide would be provided regardless of those. Our technical support, our training and most of the equipment we supply have never stopped and will continue.

“But we are looking forward to the President, with the new General Staff to work to make sure the people of Nigeria can have the confidence in the professionalism of the military, something the people rely on when the military is trying to clear insurgents and protect civilians.

“That is important to the new President; that is important to our President. So those are some of the areas that we discussed but we are very much looking forward to a great difference in the relationship, a proactive relationship and one in which we can provide a much greater level of support. Many of the items we discussed today are new and enhanced items that would be provided to this government.”

Issa said that the leadership of the military had been showing an understanding that the war against terrorism involved getting the people out of the insurgency and securing the communities as well as creating the environment for them to have trust in the government rather than the Boko Haram.

He stressed that the Boko Haram had not only disrupted the peace of the area, it had also caused famine in the affected communities.

He added that USAID “would be providing assistance as the military close areas and make it safe for communities to be rebuilt.”

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Alhaji Aliyu Samaila, said that the visit of the American delegation to the country was a follow-up to President Buhari’s recent visit to the US.

Samaila said that the President’s visit was of great gain to the country and that it rekindled the hopes and aspirations of both the US and Nigeria.

He said, “This is a delegation from the United States Congress; they are on a visit to Nigeria and this is a follow-up to Mr. President’s visit to the US. We have said it again and again that the visit of Mr. President was of great gain to this country. It has rekindled the hopes and aspirations of the two countries.

“The United States believes in Nigeria; they have trust in our President and the government of the people of Nigeria. And they are also very concerned about the security situation in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin area.

“And that is one of the reasons they are here to discuss with us and the military, that is, the services. We have discussed the issues concerning the insecurity in Nigeria and also the issue of human rights. They are pleased with the discussions. We hope that at least we would continue to build on this. Gaps that had been created before have been identified and they are definitely going to work on them.”

Culled from PUNCH News

A Former US Army Sniper Shares A Trick For Staying Focused

Here’s a question for you: Do you control your day or do you simply react to it? Or to put it another way—how often do you feel like all you did was keep your head above water? 

Nodding along right now? You’re not alone.

When transitioning from being in the army to a 9-to-5 desk job, time management and feeling in control of my work day was one of the hardest challenges I had to overcome.

That was, until I applied a trick from my military training to my office job. The great part about it is that it’s so easy to do, anyone can do it (without holding a a loaded weapon)! 

The trick

Once upon a time, before emails and office life, I was a sniper in the Army. As a sniper, I was trained to go into a dangerous area, collect reconnaissance, and get out without ever being seen. This is the hardest part of the job. Most people think it’s all about shooting from really far away, and while that’s certainly an important skill, it’s not the most difficult.

Staying virtually invisible, while moving from point to point with 75+ pounds of gear in extreme weather, while being completely exhausted, requires a tremendous amount of focus. The fatigue, the discomfort, the racing thoughts are all distractions that can throw off your focus and your cloak of invisibility that keeps you alive. 

So how do you brush off distractions and maintain your focus? 

Well, when the external stimuli take over and you begin to lose focus on your priorities, my sniper instructors taught me an extremely simple and profound trick to regain control. 

SLLS: Stop, Look, Listen, and Smell

They said, “When the heat, weight, and fatigue take your focus off moving in silence and invisibility, take a SLLS break — Stop what you are doing. Look around. Listen to your surroundings. Smell your environment.” 

The purpose of this is to take a timeout and refocus. This allows you to stop reacting to the external stimuli, be mindful of your environment, and focus on what really matters. 

Yes, it works. It helped me be invisible as a sniper. And later on, at my desk job, I discovered that it helped me regain control of my workday when all I was doing was reacting to emails and other people’s priorities.

One particular day, I was attempting to buckle down and knock out several hours of important, but monotonous work. It was crucial I completed it that day, but my mind was struggling to stay focused, and my attention bounced around from other people’s conversations to my phone to anything but what I needed to do. Time for a SLLS break! After five minutes of stopping and refocusing with SLLS, I was able to sit down with resolve and accomplish my work.

Bonus: It even helped me in my personal life to be more mindful and focused. I was able to soak up and fully experience a recent backpacking trip to the Yucatan peninsula.

So, how do you use this trick to immediately make an impact and help you regain control of your workday and personal life?

The challenge

Set a recurring alarm on your phone for every two hours, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., that simply says “SLLS.” This is your cue to take a SLLS break. Stop whatever you’re doing, look around, listen to your surroundings, and smell your environment. Whether it’s for 30 seconds or five minutes, take as long as you need to regain clarity on the present moment. 

By doing this you’ll stop the reaction cycle and be able to focus on the present — allowing your mind to breathe and enter a higher state of thinking where you decide what’s important and worthy of your time. You’ll regain mindfulness and purpose by taking back control of those elusive thoughts that usually escape you during stressful moments.

The every-two-hour alarm is just a starting point. Practice this until it’s a habit, then turn off the alarm. Use this trick whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed, when you’re just reacting to the world around you, and when you want to take control of your day and your life.