Six top-paying freelance jobs

Whether you're just looking to earn some extra income on the side or you want to freelance full-time, there are freelance opportunities that can at least match full-time employment, if not earn you even more. Of course, most freelancers won't earn their full potential right out of the gate. A freelancer has to line up clients and find work, but there are some paths that can lead to more income, faster.
(Source: Investopedia; Images: ThinkStock)

 Writing
There are freelance writers who manage to pull in more than six figures every year. It takes plenty of work, but the upside to writing is that you don't need any special equipment to get started. There are plenty of sites that list freelance writing gigs that can help you land your first client today. You don't even need to be Hemingway to land these projects, you just need to be able to write clearly and avoid grammar mistakes.

 Translation
If you're fluent in a second language, translation can provide an excellent opportunity for freelancing. There are some variables in how much a freelance translator can earn that can make a major difference. However, a freelancer who is certified by the American Translators Association can earn an average of $72,000 a year, while someone without that certification will average $53,000 a year. There can also be some variation depending on just what languages you can translate. There's just more demand for Spanish translators than for Malayalam.

 Photography
A freelance photographer who specializes in wedding photography can easily start his or her pricing at $2,000 for a few hours of shooting, plus some editing time and go up from there. Different photography specializations come with different price tags, but wedding photography and portraiture generally bring in the most income. Of course, a lot of photography equipment can come with equally high price tags, but you can start out small and then scale up.

 Social Media
Social media may not even have existed a few years ago, but today's knowledge of how social media works can result in a healthy income for a freelancer. While newcomers to the field may charge around $15 per hour, experienced social media experts with a proven track record can charge up to $250 per hour. It takes more than just experience to reach those higher pay grades though. You'll need to focus on high-paying industries that don't handle social media in-house.

 Mobile Development
While web designers and developers, in general, can make a lot of money freelancing, mobile developers, in particular, can earn a lot. Some corporate clients will pay more than $100,000 to have a single app developed. Because building the best mobile apps can take hundreds of hours to build, you will earn the fees you charge.

 Search Engine Optimization
There are a few absolutely top-of-the-line SEO specialists who charge $1,000 per hour. It's more common for high-end freelancers in this field to charge between $300 and $500 per hour, which is still very good. People new to the field can still close in on $50 per hour very quickly, provided that they can pick up the skills necessary to do the work. Since, at entry-level, you'll generally be following some set steps to make sites more search engine-friendly, that isn't hard.
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 The Bottom Line
If you've got creative skills, you can start freelancing immediately. Illustrators, videographers, designers, artists, musicians and other creative professionals can all find regular, well-paying gigs with a little work. However, if you can focus in on these areas of work, you can work up to earning more than you would by working a day job. It's just a matter of finding the right fit

CCI slams 11 cement firms with over 60 bln rupee fine

Eleven cement makers were slapped with $1.1 billion in fines on Thursday for price fixing, a record penalty from an increasingly assertive anti-trust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
The CCI said the companies colluded to underuse their plant and create an artificial shortage of cement, the government said in a statement.

Analysts said the ruling, which was heavier than expected, reflected an increasingly tough approach by the three-year-old regulator and represented a coming of age for Asia's third-largest economy, hit by a spate of high-profile corruption cases in recent years.
UltraTech Cement (NSI:ULTRACEMCO), part of the diversified Aditya Birla Group, Holcim-controlled ACC (NSI:ACC.NS - News) (VTX:HOLN.VX - News) and Ambuja Cement (NSI:AMBUJACEM.NS - News), India Cements (NSI:INDIACEM.NS - News) and the Indian unit of France's Lafarge SA (PAR:LG.PA - News) were among those fined the equivalent of 50 percent of their net profit for the fiscal years ending in March 2010 and March 2011.
"As economies get bigger there is a greater need for competition laws to regulate corporates that have grown with those economies from either abusing their dominance or cornering markets through cartels," Samir Gandhi, partner at law firm AZB Partners, said ahead of the ruling.
Executives from the fined companies denied price fixing.
"We have not indulged in any cartelisation," said O. P. Puranmalka, who heads UltraTech's cement business, adding the company will challenge the order.
"We deny the charges of cartelisation, there is no question about it," N. Srinivasan, managing director of India Cements told Reuters.
"I don't think this order is based upon any proof that they have," said Srinivasan.
The ruling, handed down after markets closed, comes five years after a similar order against 44 companies by the CCI's predecessor.
In April, the CCI fined agrichemical companies United Phosphorous (UNPO.NS) and Excel Crop Care (EXCR.NS), among others, for colluding over a government tender.
It is also expected to rule next week on tyre companies including Apollo Tyres (NSI:APOLLOTYRE) and CEAT (CEAT.NS) over alleged price fixing, Ashok Chawla, the head of the CCI, said earlier this month.
Some industries in India such as telecoms see fierce price competition. Others, including fuel retailing and packaged foods, are governed by state-set prices.
"The CCI has demonstrated that it is willing to use its considerable fining powers, which has made companies take competition law compliance particularly seriously," said Gandhi.
For the full ruling, click http://www.cci.gov.in/May2011/OrderOfCommission/CaseNo29of2010MainOrder.pdf
MUSCULAR WATCHDOG
The watchdog could have imposed a maximum penalty of 10 percent of the average turnover of each company for the last three financial years.
"The act of these cement companies in limiting and controlling supplies in the market and determining prices through an anti-competitive agreement is not only detrimental to the cause of the consumers but also to the whole economy," the CCI said in the statement.
The companies were ordered to pay the fine within 90 days.
"We are already 'underperform' on the sector and are building in a 15 percent [net present value] discount in our calculation factoring CCI verdict," said Rakesh Arora, analyst at Macquarie Equities Research in Mumbai.
A spokesman for Ambuja Cement declined to comment on the ruling as it had not received a copy, while a spokesman for ACC could not be reached by Reuters.
The joint secretary of the Cement Manufacturers' Association, an industry body also fined in the ruling, declined to comment.
The CCI could face a slew of appeals.
"There are a lot of legal options available, they will keep on fighting," R. Prasad, a CCI member, told the ET Now television channel after the ruling. "It is for the betterment of the market that such orders are required," he added.
Last year the watchdog slapped a 6.3 billion rupees penalty on DLF Ltd (DLF.NS), India's biggest developer, for abusing its dominant position. The company is appealing the decision and the next hearing in the case is scheduled for June 27.

Indian airlines to cut domestic fares by 5-20 pct - govt

 Indian airlines have proposed slashing airfares in the highest fare bracket on domestic routes by between 5-20 percent, a government statement said on Monday.


"Whereas passenger traffic has seen a downward swing in May 2012 over the corresponding period of last month, the airfares have seen a disproportionate spurt," the statement said.
"Airlines have been directed to address the above issues in a time bound manner," the statement, issued after a meeting of the sector's regulator and chief executives of local airlines, said.

Offbeat tax saving avenues for the Indian tax payer

The importance of planning your savings and understanding tax components that you can utilise to maximize your income cannot be stressed upon enough. One of the best ways to plan your taxes is to start well in advance on this exercise; right in the beginning of the financial year and not wait till the end of the financial year, when there are bound to be constraints on the cash flow and a confusion over what investment route to choose.

It is critical to know all the possible ways one can save tax, to help plan your budget properly. The IT Act of 1961 is loaded with big dollops of taxpaying/tax saving information. Ways to save tax have always been an interesting consideration for tax payers all across the world, as tax saved is money saved. While some of the tax-saving avenues are well-treaded by the tax payers in the nation, there are some roads to tax saving which are lesser known. Two of them are explained below.

Save tax for your contributions to political parties/charitable organizations

In India, you can enjoy a tax deduction if you have contributions to make to a political party. The IT Act says that any amount of money that is donated to an acknowledged political party can be lawfully claimed for deduction, under Section 80GGC (For corporate it is 80 GGB). This deduction was launched very recently, April 2010, and the same applies to any contributions made to electoral trusts as well.

There is no upper limit set for the deduction amount, but it can exclusively be claimed only if the contribution goes into the party funds.

It is interesting to note here that deduction on donations does not come into play if you are donating money to an individual. It is only applicable if you are donating it to specific organizations.

For example, Section 80G of the IT Act says that if you are donating funds to a charitable organization, you are entitled to get a deduction of 50%-100% for that.  However, note that there exists a ceiling here — the percentage of deduction is restricted to 10% of the donor's (gross) total income. Also, only donations in cash are taken into consideration for the purpose and not donations in kind.

Needless to say that the amount of tax you can save is dependent on the amount that you contribute.

You would require a proof to claim this deduction and that's a stamped receipt of the amount donated, from the party or the organization to which you have made the contribution.

Save tax for disabilities

The Indian taxman has a heart of gold and it is seen nowhere better than this. Section 80 U of the IT Act says that if a taxpayer happens to suffer from any of the listed disabilities (see below), he is entitled to a tax deduction of INR 75,000.

If the tax payer has a disabled dependent (spouse/parents/children/siblings) to support, Sec 80DD allows him to claim the same.

Disability list includes low vision, blindness, hearing disability, leprosy, loco-motor impediment, mental illness and mental retardation.

Things to note

This deduction is obtainable only if the disability is 40% at least.

For severe impairments, 80% or above, the deductible amount becomes more — 1 Lakh.

The dependent must be fully dependent for upkeep on the taxpayer and must not be claiming deduction for it independently under Sec 80 U.

Proof required to claim this deduction will be a disability certificate from a CMO of a government aided hospital or a civil surgeon.

More of such special deduction news for income tax is available in IT Act, 1961. Check further to know more.

Diverse cities, same story: 'We're jobless!'

Waleed Ahmed el-Sayed, 31, who received a BA in social services from Assyiut University in 2004, sells juice in Tahrir square in Cairo May 4, 2012. Waleed has been working as a street vendor for almost seven years as he has not found a steady job since his graduation. Picture taken, May 4, 2012.


Jessica Mazza, a 28 year-old waitress, serves a customer at Novel cafe in Santa Monica, California April 24, 2012. Mazza studied for five years at Ball State University where she received a degree in painting and business management. She hoped to find a job as an artist but has been working in the cafe for just under a year. Picture taken, April 24, 2012. 

"I'm Jhunjhunwala", not India's Buffett

 India's best known stock investor, billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, doesn't much like the moniker of 'India's Warren Buffett'.

"It's not a fitting comparison. In terms of wealth and success and maturity, he's far, far ahead," says Jhunjhunwala in an interview at his office in a prime location in Mumbai overlooking the Arabian Sea.

Much like the famed Omaha investor, Jhunjhunwala has made a fortune from some savvy investments - Forbes magazine puts his net worth at $1.1 billion, ranking him 41st on India's rich list - but the similarities end there. Dressed simply in a white shirt and grey pants, he draws heavily on a cigarette, burps loudly, tells ribald jokes and peppers his interview with the cliches and one-liners that have become his stock-in-trade.

The 51-year-old has the brash confidence of a self-made man - he built his fortune from an early bet on Tata Tea - and of a risk-taking investor.

"I'm not a clone of anybody. I'm Rakesh Jhunjhunwala," he booms. "I've lived the world on my own terms. I do what I enjoy. I enjoy what I do."

Unlike Buffett, Jhunjhunwala has been an advocate of leverage, which he has often used in his career and perhaps best defines his big, bold bet investment philosophy.

"See, I'm a risk taker," he says. "If I feel very opinionated, I can really put the money on the table. I don't think too much deep research is needed. I don't go into analysis paralysis," he says. "All you need is common sense."

(Also know about Jhunjhunwala's top holdings, click http://in.reuters.com/article/idINL3E8HE3GS20120614)

VIRTUE OF RISK

"Trend is your friend," he quips, adding that at a time of intense global market volatility he is fully invested, yet cautious about adding too much risk. He has, however, extolled the virtue of risk and profited from being able to make big contrarian bets - as he did in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

Markets, he says, have priced in a Greek exit from the euro zone, but the bigger concerns are about other vulnerable single currency members, a United States that's "on steroids" and a "crisis of governance" in India. "When there's doom and gloom, don't forget there's darkness before dawn," he says.

Despite the concerns over weak governance, he's still a believer in the India story that has made him rich. "When a child is sick, the mother is concerned. It doesn't mean the child's going to die," he says.

In a country that reveres its gurus, Jhunjhunwala, with his large frame and small glasses, would be easy to parody - there is a fake blog that lampoons the investor's life - but thousands hang on his every market move.

"Many clients ask when we recommend stocks whether Rakesh has bought it, and what he's holding," said Chirag Shah, assistant vice president for dealing at broker Bonanza Portfolio. "People follow him like anything. Whenever they come to know that he's taken a stake in a stock, they try to invest in it."

For the record, he's bullish on retail, financial services, agriculture and software services, but he declines to elaborate.

A BUMPER CUPPA

Jhunjhunwala's passion for playing the market began as a teenager, prompted by his father, a government tax official, pointing out stocks that would react to the day's news.

He made his first big profit by borrowing what in 1986 was a sizeable sum to buy 5,000 shares in Tata Tea, confident that the markets had under-estimated the potential of a company looking to grow at a time of rising yield production. He trebled his money within months. "I was apprehensive, but if you don't have confidence, you shouldn't come to the stock market. You have to risk," he recalls.

Better, bigger investments followed, including a leveraged bet in the late 1980s on iron ore exporter Sesa Goa (NSI:SESAGOA.NS - News). He bought the stock at 60-65 rupees each and sold at 2,200 rupees.

His timing has been fortuitous. The Bombay Stock Exchange, Asia's oldest, introduced the benchmark Sensex in 1986 and markets developed swiftly after economic liberalisation five years later. "I'm the right person at the right place with the right attitude," he says. "If the Sensex had not gone up 100 times from when I started, I could not have been successful."

The index has dropped more than 9 percent in the past 16 weeks as India's economic growth stutters, prompting a warning from Standard & Poor's that its credit rating could be downgraded to junk status because of political inaction.

RARE BREED

Today, Jhunjhunwala presides over his investment firm Rare Enterprises, named using his and his wife's initials, which has a dozen or so employees whose sole job is to help him make his market bets. "This isn't a fund. I have no money other than my own and my wife's," he says. "She's my only client. I don't manage anybody's money except hers."

Jhunjhunwala's office has three monitor screens and an ashtray. There is a large conference table, statues of Ganesha, and framed copies of Jhunjhunwala's 10 Commandments for Investing and 10 Commandments for Trading.

Some of the commandments are slightly misspelt, but that wouldn't seem to matter to him. "Even if my wealth is 20 percent of what it is today, I'd smoke the same cigarette, drink the same whisky, drive the same car, have the same office, the same house, wear the same clothes, have the same wallet, eat the same food," he says. "Money is not anything which is going to affect me, or the way I live."

He says he will give away a quarter of his wealth.

Jhunjhunwala may not take the trappings of his work too seriously, but he is dedicated to trading, and portraits of well-known investors Peter Lynch and John Templeton hang in the company's offices. There is also a bound collection of his speeches covering his investment methodology, such as evaluating corporate price-to-earnings ratios - a hark-back to his studies in chartered accountancy. He also includes a prayer from the Dalai Lama, and an eclectic compilation of quotations from Shakespeare and Voltaire to George Soros and Buffett.

MIDAS TOUCH?

His financial disciples continue to be swayed by his track record. Shares in A2Z Maintenance and Engineering Services (NSI:A2ZMES.NS - News) jumped as much as 11 percent on May 23 after he and his wife disclosed buying 2.65 million shares of the company.

Do all his investments turn to gold? He's not saying. He does not report his holdings as a private investor, or dwell on past mistakes.

"People will only know of my good side, and not the mistakes I've made. I know what my mistakes have been, and what they've cost me financially. But I'm not bothered about that because I only look at the end results," he said.

Jhunjhunwala has no plans to leave his business to his three children or burning ambition to found a financial conglomerate, unlike other Indian billionaires such as Uday Kotak, who started small but went on to build Kotak Mahindra Bank (NSI:KOTAKBANK.NS - News).

"All I've known is trading and investing. I don't want to do anything else in life," says Jhunjhunwala. "I'll call it quits the day I die."

Fitch cuts India rating outlook to negative

Fitch Ratings cut its credit outlook for India to negative from stable, nearly two months after rival Standard & Poor's made a similar call, citing risks that India's growth outlook could deteriorate if policymaking and governance don't improve.

"A significant loosening of fiscal policy, which leads to an increase in the gross general government debt/GDP ratio, would result in a downgrade of India's sovereign ratings," Fitch said in a statement on Monday.

The agency estimated general government debt for India of 66 percent of GDP at the end of the most recent fiscal year, compared with a median of 39 percent for BBB-rated countries.

India's economy grew just 5.3 percent in the March quarter, the weakest in nine years, but earlier on Monday the central bank unexpectedly left interest rates on hold, sending bonds, stocks and the rupee lower.

The rupee weakened further to 56 per dollar from around 55.82 before the Fitch statement. Bond yields were range-bound, while stocks were already shut for the day.

"Against the backdrop of persistent inflation pressures and weak public finances, there is an even greater onus on effective government policies and reforms that would ensure India can navigate the turbulent global economic and financial environment and underpin confidence in the long-run growth potential of the Indian economy," Art Woo, a Fitch director, said in a statement.

Fitch maintained its BBB- rating, the lowest investment grade.

Fitch said it expects the Indian economy to grow just 6.5 percent in the fiscal year that ends in March, down from its earlier forecast of 7.5 percent, while it expects wholesale price index inflation to average 7.5 percent.

"India also faces structural challenges surrounding its investment climate in the form of corruption and inadequate economic reforms," it said.

A week ago, S&P said India could become the first of the BRIC economies, which also include Brazil, Russia and China, to lose its investment-grade status, prompting an angry response from the government.

RBI stuns, keeps rates steady as growth crumbles

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) defied widespread calls on Monday to revive the flagging economy with cuts in interest rates and cash reserve minimums at banks, putting the onus on a fractious coalition government to pull the country out of crisis.

The RBI left its policy repo rate at 8 percent and the cash reserve ratio at 4.75 percent, saying a rate cut now could "exacerbate" the country's inflation, the highest among industrialised or BRIC nations.
Bonds, stocks and the rupee fell after the decision and economists scaled back their expectations for future rate cuts. Calls for action from the central bank, including from corporate India, had intensified after economic growth in the March quarter slumped to its weakest annual pace in nine years.
"India is in this deep crisis due to the lack of proper governance," said A. Mahendran, managing director at Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GOCP.NS). "What happened today is extremely disappointing. We needed the central bank to act because of the current condition of the economy."
After cutting its policy rate by a sharper-than-expected 50 basis points in April, the RBI had been expected to leave rates unchanged in June.
But global and domestic economic conditions had deteriorated sharply since then. Many had expected the central bank to act because a politically hamstrung government is unable to drive reform to revive investment or curtail populist spending, fa ct ors that led Fitch Ratings on Monday to cut India's credit rating outlook to negative.
India's benchmark 10-year bond yield rose 9 b asis points from before the policy announcement to close at 8.43 percent.
The main BSE index erased gains before the decision to end 1.44 percent lower, missing out on a rally in Asian stocks after the election in Greece eased fears for a break up of the European currency bloc.
The rupee, which has slumped to a record low against the dollar as India's economic fortunes waned, tumbled to close at about 55.91 per dollar from around 55.35-55.40 before the rate decision.
"It is to the central bank's credit that it managed to stand up to the pressure from the government and businesses, and remains justifiably concerned about inflation," Rajeev Malik, an economist at CLSA in Singapore, said in a client note.
CRUMBLING BRIC
The RBI made clear it expects the government to do its bit to bring down inflation, which rose in May to 7.55 percent on the wholesale price index, the country's main gauge.
Many analysts argue that structural bottlenecks in the economy are the main reasons inflation in India is so high, so monetary policy can have little affect.
The RBI said on Monday that its "frontloaded" April rate cut "was based on the premise that the process of fiscal consolidation critical for inflation management would get under way, along with other supply-side initiatives."
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had called for a rate cut and the chairman of State Bank of India (SBI.NS), the country's biggest lender, had sought a 1 percentage point cut in the cash reserve ratio.
"Unless the government takes steps on fiscal adjustment, the RBI is not prepared to cut rates. Based on this document, there's unlikely to be a rate cut in July," said A. Prasanna, economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership in Mumbai.
The government has failed to contain its fiscal deficit by enacting reforms or slashing costly subsidies on diesel.
Opposition from partners in the ruling coalition forced India to backtrack in December on a decision to open the retail sector to foreign supermarkets, which had been aimed at bringing investment into supply chains in a country where an estimated one-third of fresh produce is wasted.
INDIA'S CREDIT RISK
The slump in March quarter growth to 5.3 percent was far worse than expected and sparked calls for action to lift an economy that Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings have threatened to cut to junk credit status.
Both rate India BBB minus, the lowest investment grade.
"Against the backdrop of persistent inflation pressures and weak public finances, there is an even greater onus on effective government policies and reforms that would ensure India can navigate the turbulent global economic and financial environment and underpin confidence in the long-run growth potential of the Indian economy," said Art Woo, a director at Fitch.
Chief economic adviser Kaushik Basu said he had expected Fitch's action because there is a "herd mentality" among ratings agencies, while Mukherjee said Fitch "has ignored the recent positive trends in the Indian economy."
April industrial output figures last week suggested little pickup in growth heading into the current quarter.
Rahul Bajoria, regional economist at Barclays in Singapore, said he expects the RBI to cut interest rates by a total of 1 percentage point in the current fiscal year, possibly starting at the central bank's next review on July 31.
"The growth weakness is such that it does call for monetary easing," he said.
A Reuters poll after Monday's RBI decision showed economists had scaled back their rate cut expectations.
Economic policymaking was cast into further uncertainty on Friday when India's ruling Congress party named Mukherjee as its nominee for the largely ceremonial post of president, ending a protracted political drama that had exposed the weakness of the coalition government.
With no obvious successor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 78, is expected to take charge of finance on an interim basis.
"We are very disappointed by the lack of action from any quarter. What is happening here is that you are getting the worst of both worlds, neither getting growth or inflation down," Rajiv Kumar, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) told Reuters.

Rajat Gupta's lawyers say others tipped Rajaratnam

Lawyers for Goldman Sachs's former director Rajat Gupta, on trial for inside trading, have suggested that leaks from the bank to convicted hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam came from other sources and not Gupta.

As Joseph Yanagisawa, who works in Goldman Sachs's technology unit, Wednesday testified about records of phone calls between Gupta's office and Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein's office, defence lawyer David Frankel confronted him with the logs of another executive.
The logs showed more than two dozen calls between phones associated with David Loeb, Goldman Sachs's head of Asia Equity Sales in New York, and Galleon Group co-founder Rajaratnam and others at Galleon.
These included calls from Loeb's phones to numbers associated with Rajaratnam and Galleon trader Adam Smith on dates when Gupta is alleged to have tipped Rajaratnam, bolstering a defence claim that it was Loeb or others who leaked data.
Prosecutors say that within seconds of hanging up from the board meeting on Sep 23, 2008, Gupta tipped Rajaratnam at around 3:55 p.m. about Berkshire Hathaway's $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs.
Earlier, an Indian-American witness testified that Gupta stood to profit from investments he made in funds managed by Rajaratnam, but conceded she had "no information," whether Gupta actually profited or if he got back his $10 million investment.
Isvari Mahadeva, former Galleon portfolio manager said the fund firm's records showed Rajaratnam, Gupta and a third money manager, Ravi Trehan, formed Voyager Capital Partners in 2005, with Gupta contributing $5 million.
She said that in 2007 Gupta had an option to invest an additional $5 million that could reap 10 percent in additional profit.
"I was told he chose to exercise the option," said Mahadeva, who worked for Galleon for 12 years until Rajaratnam was arrested in October 2009.

Exclusive: Massachusetts subpoenas Morgan Stanley for Facebook

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth William Galvin has issued a subpoena to Morgan Stanley over an analyst's discussions with investors on Facebook

The Facebook logo is seen on a screen inside at the Nasdaq Marketsite in New York in this May 18, 2012, file photo. 

"The Securities Division has put out a subpoena to Morgan Stanley in connection with the analyst's discussion with certain institutional investors about the revenue prospects for Facebook," a spokesman for Galvin's office said on Tuesday.

"Morgan Stanley followed the same procedures for the Facebook offering that it follows for all IPOs. These procedures are in compliance with all applicable regulations," a Morgan Stanley spokesman wrote in an e-mailed statement.

The analyst's revisions came after Facebook revised its prospectus on May 9, which the firm forwarded to all of its retail and institutional clients, according to the statement.

The much-anticipated social media site's initial public offering has been steeped in controversy since it started trading on Friday. Much of the controversy stemmed from a Nasdaq glitch that caused the stock to delay trading by 30 minutes.

As of Monday afternoon, some customers of Fidelity Investments, Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab were still waiting to see if their trades for Facebook shares were completed on Friday.

Then Reuters reported late Monday that the consumer Internet analyst at lead underwriter Morgan Stanley cut his revenue forecasts for Facebook in the days before the offering, information that may not have reached many investors before the stock was listed.

On Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority called for a review of the Facebook IPO call for a review.

By Tuesday's close, shares were down more than 18 percent, to end at $31.

Over 55 and jobless, Americans face tough hunt

Jean Coyle, 67, has a new kind of ministry.

The former professor had just begun a career as a Presbyterian minister in Virginia when the economic downturn forced her church to let her go in 2007. After that, she found only temporary work.

She relied on savings while job hunting, but at 64, had to dip into her Social Security benefits. She officially retired in 2010. For spending money, she plans to start teaching a water aerobics class to earn $40 a week.

"I'm not going to get wealthy on that," she said. "It's not really the ministry I expected to have."

Coyle is among the many unemployed, older Americans who, while struggling to reenter the workforce, have growing worries that their retirement security is at risk.

The number of long-term unemployed workers aged 55 and older has more than doubled since the recession began in late 2007. Getting back to work is increasingly difficult, according to a government report being released on Tuesday.

For unemployed seniors, the chances of reentering the workforce are grim.

Experts worry that unemployed seniors face a long-term threat as the impact of lost wages compounds.

In what should be their prime earning years, these older workers rely on savings, miss out on potential wages and prematurely tap into Social Security - all at a time when Americans live longer and health care and other living costs are rising.

About 55 percent of jobless seniors, or 1.1 million, have been unemployed for more than six months, up from 23 percent, or less than 200,000, four years earlier, according to a Government Accountability Office report released on Tuesday.

The GAO, a non-partisan investigative arm of Congress, also found that years of lost work significantly reduced retirement income, particularly for those with defined contribution retirement plans.

Overall, older workers fare better than their younger counterparts, with a lower unemployment rate and less risk of losing jobs, the GAO found, even as it highlighted the struggles of jobless seniors.

"While Americans were hit hard by this recession, the ramifications for older workers were particularly severe," Sen. Herb Kohl, chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, said at a Tuesday hearing in which the report was released.

Those seniors who continue looking for work amid a tepid economic recovery confront competition from younger, cheaper workers. They also must keep pace with ever-changing technology.

Kohl and other lawmakers are investigating ways to counter age discrimination and boost seniors' job prospects.

"Left unchecked, long-term unemployment among older workers is a problem that will continue to grow as our workforce grays," he said.

LOST WAGES, LESS SAVINGS

A flurry of recent reports have raised fresh concerns about the ability of some older Americans to support themselves in retirement.

More seniors with jobs expect to work longer, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, and just 14 percent say they believe they can retire comfortably.

"At this point, I don't really expect to retire, even if I am able to find a job," Sheila Whitelaw, 73, testified at the hearing. A former store manager in Philadelphia, she said she has struggled to find work since 2010.

The GAO assessed the impact of job loss and forced early retirement on older workers' income. It showed a significant impact on income in later years.

It found those who had been part of a 401(k) or other similar employer-sponsored defined contribution pension plan stood to lose more of their expected retirement income than those who had defined benefit pension plans or relied solely on Social Security, the nation's benefit program for retirees.

For example: an individual with a defined contribution plan who stops working at age 55 instead of age 62 would see a 39 percent drop in median-level retirement income, from $817 per month to $500 per month, according to the GAO, which did not take other retirement income sources into account.

Another similar worker would see a 13 percent drop in median Social Security retirement benefits from $1,467 to $1,273 a month.

Workers with employer plans have the most retirement income to lose from job loss because they are typically better placed to save more for retirement, among other factors, GAO said.

A worker relying only on Social Security may see $30 to $60 less each month but face harsh consequences, it said, b ecause they have less savings to provide a cushion and may be laid off before they can claim the government benefit at age 62.

Several employment experts warned that growing long-term unemployment is an increasing concern amid an aging U.S. population.

"Older workers can expect to live until their mid-80s, sometimes longer, and dropping out of the labor force at 55 could mean 30 years of retirement," said Diana Furchtgott-Roth, an economist with the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

ONLINE STRUGGLES

Refusing to hire someone because of age is illegal, but GAO experts found potential discrimination still lingers.

Often employers assume that older workers used to earning more money or having a higher-level job would not stay long in an inferior position, according to the GAO's interviews. Higher health care costs are also an issue.

The GAO, which talked to seniors in Maryland, Virginia, California and Missouri, also chronicled the toll of long-term unemployment. Self-esteem took a beating, and it became increasingly hard to sustain job searches, they said.

At the AARP, the lobbying group for 36 million older Americans, legislative policy director David Certner told Reuters that older women and minorities are particularly at risk of poverty. That is due to an "incredible perfect storm" of low savings rates, shrinking pensions, lower home values and longer lives.

It is unclear what action Congress will take, particularly in an election year ripe with political gridlock. Some lawmakers want to strengthen discrimination laws while others back efforts to prevent employers from screening out unemployed workers.

Joseph Carbone, head of the job training nonprofit The WorkPlace, said the U.S. Labor Department and others could do more to help seniors find jobs.

Coyle understands how a younger minister might have a better chance landing a full-time job. But she remains hopeful that she will find a place to preach again.

"I used to tell my gerontology students if you know your date of death you could plan very well," she said, "but I really want to be useful. It's not just a money issue."

S&P 500 faces key test, Wall Street set to slide

Stocks were set to fall on Monday, tracking global equity markets lower as a political impasse in Greece heightened concerns about Europe's debt crisis and fears mounted about an economic slowdown in China.

The general move out of risky assets, such as equities and commodities, was likely to see the S&P 500 retest an important support level at 1,340 which, if broken, could result in a steeper pullback for the index.

Greece's president met little enthusiasm from political leaders on Monday to avert new elections, reinforcing fears the country was on the path to bankruptcy and an exit from the euro zone. The consequences of such an event are unknown. Investors fear it could prompt wider instability in Spain and Italy.

"The growing possibility of Greece saying bye bye has put the entire region into the realm of the unknown in terms of the economic ripple effects," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist and portfolio manager at Miller Tabak in a note. "Spanish and Italian bond yields are spiking and the cost of insuring against a Spanish default is now more expensive than for Hungary."

Early indications suggested that stocks in economically sensitive sectors such as banks and those linked to natural resources would lead the decline. Morgan Stanley fell 1.1 percent to $14.77 inpremarket trade. Aluminum producer Alcoa fell 1 percent to $8.97.

Concerns about a slowdown in China have been troubling investors for several months. The decision of the world's second-largest economy on Saturday to cut the amount of cash banks must hold as reserves, normally seen as a pro-growth move, suggested the country may be facing more significant headwinds.

S&P 500 futures fell 9.8 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 80 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 20 points.

"The world markets are all sharply lower on mounting fears over euro land, Europe's potentially steepening recession and worries over a global slowdown," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. "It's all about fear and whether or not the market may hold major support."

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell to a four-month low, losing as much as 2.1 percent to an intraday low of 1,001.47 points - just off a 2012 low of 1,001.30 points reached on January 2. <.EU>

Three top executives involved with a failed hedging strategy that cost JPMorgan Chase & Co at least $2 billion and tarnished its reputation are expected to leave the bank this week, sources close to the matter said on Sunday. The shares were volatile premarket, last trading down 0.1 percent to $36.94 after losing 9 percent on Friday.

In merger news, Avon Products Inc on Sunday said it told Coty Inc that it would consider the smaller company's $10.7 billion takeover bid and it expected to respond within a week. The shares were trading up 4.5 percent at $21.10 in premarket.

Concho Resources Inc said it would buy all of the oil and natural gas assets of Three Rivers Operating Company LLC, a portfolio company of private equity firm Riverstone Holdings LLC, for $1 billion in cash.

Yahoo Inc is replacing its CEO for the third time in as many years, and giving three board seats to a hedge fund led by Daniel Loeb, putting him in a strong position to influence strategy at the struggling Internet company. The stock rose 2.2 percent to $15.53.

AMR Corp , parent of American Airlines, bowed to pressure on Friday from its unsecured creditors, including its largest labor unions, and said it would explore merger options while it is still in bankruptcy.

India's monsoon and impact on economy

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's monsoon rains are likely to be within long-term averages in 2012, the weather office head said on Monday, reassuring farmers ahead of next week's official forecast from New Delhi.

Global weather experts will gather in Pune on Thursday to assess the outlook for the overall south Asian monsoon at a meeting seen as a precursor to the official India prediction.

The June to September rains are crucial for India with 60 percent of its arable land dependent on them.

With the end of the La Nina weather pattern, associated with heavy rains in south Asia, and its opposite El Nino unlikely to start until August when much sowing is completed, neutral conditions are seen in India for the crucial first half of the season, a weather expert said on Wednesday.

"Normal rains are likely this year as the La Nina ended and has entered a neutral phase which is expected to continue till August," said D. R. Sikka, former director of the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.

India has had two consecutive years of monsoon rainfall within long-term averages after 2009's worst drought since 1972.

CLASSIFICATION

A normal or average monsoon means rainfall between 96-104 percent of a 50-year average of 89 centimetres in total during a four-month season from June, according to the India's weather office classification.

In 2011, the monsoon rains were 101 percent of the long period average.

Rainfall below 90 percent of the average is considered as a drought. T he last time there was a drought with rains below this range was 2009 and before that, in 2004.

Rainfall above 110 percent of the average would mean an excessive monsoon -- not as damaging as drought but potentially hurting yields of sugar cane.

ARRIVAL

The monsoon season starts with the arrival on the Kerala coast on about June 1 and covers the whole country by mid-July. Its progress triggers planting of summer crops.

PROGRESS

After hitting the Kerala coast, it takes about a week to cover the coffee, tea and rubber growing areas of south India.

It spreads to the rice areas of eastern parts in the first 10 days. It usually covers half of the country in the first fortnight and enters the oilseed-producing areas of central India in the third week of June. Cotton-growing areas in the western region get rains by the first week of July.

Half of India's farm output comes from crops planted during the first half of the June-September season.

The quantum of summer rains also influences winter food crops such as wheat and rapeseed which are grown in irrigated areas which use water in reservoirs dependent on monsoon rains.

Distribution of the rains across key arable regions is also a major factor in farm production.

Here are some facts on the monsoon and its impact:

CROPS

RICE -- Farmers sow paddy at the start of the monsoon season in June and the key areas are in eastern and southern regions. The crop is heavily dependent on rains for irrigation.

A bumper harvest last year led the government to lift a four year ban on exports and rainfall within averages will erase any chance of a return of the export ban for the world's second largest producer of the grain after China.

India is likely to emerge as the world's second largest rice exporter in 2012, selling around 7 million tonnes, while Pakistan's shipments are expected to bounce back to about 4 million tonnes amid the high prices of rival Thailand, the world's biggest exporter.

India produced 103 million tonnes of rice in the crop year to June 2012, according to the farm ministry, while it consumes around 90 million tonnes of rice annually.

SUGARCANE: An average monsoon will help the world's top sugar producer after Brazil to keep exports flowing for the new season from October 1. India has allowed 3 million tonnes of sugar for overseas sales in the 2011/12 season and could consider more.

India is expected to produce a total 26 million tonnes in 2011/12, higher than annual demand of about 22 million tonnes, with at least 25 million tonnes likely in 2012/13.

OTHERS: Corn, lentils, oilseeds and cotton -- important crops in western and central India -- have some dependency on the seasonal rains. India remains a net importer of lentils and cooking oils and domestic output can alter overseas purchases.

An average monsoon could also allow the world's second biggest producer of cotton to lift its current ban on exports after record overseas sales in 2011/12 on a bumper harvest.

ECONOMY AND MARKETS

-- The monsoon rains are vital for farm output and economic growth in India, the world's second-biggest producer of rice, wheat, sugar and cotton. Agriculture accounts for about 15 percent of India's nearly $2 trillion economy, Asia's third biggest.

-- India is largely self-sufficient in major foodgrains such as rice and wheat, but drought can send the country to global markets. In 2009, India had to import sugar, sending global prices to record highs and pushing up inflation.

-- If monsoon rains lift farm output, that can boost domestic demand as it raises incomes of rural people, who make up about two-thirds of India's population of 1.2 billion. The consequent higher demand for goods and services can boost economic growth.

-- Higher farm output would also rein in food prices and help the government to take steps to cut the fiscal deficit and farm subsidies. India's food inflation rose to 8.22 percent in March from 6.62 percent in February, latest figures show.

-- A stronger economic outlook can lift sentiment in equity markets, mainly of companies selling products in rural areas, including consumer goods and automobiles.

-- Monsoon rains impact demand for gold in India, the world's top consumer of the metal, as purchases get a boost when farming incomes rise amid high crop output. Rural demand is about 70 percent of India's annual gold consumption as bullion is a popular investment in areas where banks are scarce.

IRRIGATION, POWER

-- Monsoon rains replenish reservoirs and lift ground-water levels, allowing better irrigation and more hydropower output.

-- Higher rainfall levels can trim demand for subsidised diesel, which is used to pump water from wells for irrigation when rainfall is scant. Diesel accounts for about 40 percent of India's oil products demand.

Communications at work

Communications at work

Face-to-Face communications at work..

Today, most of your clients, colleagues and stakeholders are just a phone call or email away -- technology has made communication that simple. However, while tools like telephones and computers score high on convenience and speed, they lack the warmth and emotion that face-to-face communication provides.

Appreciating colleagues

In the words of Helen Keller, 'We are all walking with a signboard on our forehead which reads -- 'Appreciate me'.' It seems we have replaced the pat on the back with 'Thank you' and 'Good job' emails. But there is nothing that motivates someone more than seeing their boss walk up to them and appreciate them in front of everyone. Read more after the break...



Go to your colleague's cubicle and congratulate them on the great report they sent or the presentation they made recently. I remember one of my ex-bosses who used to call us team members to his cabin just to say 'thanks' and pat our backs. The team immediately took a liking to him as most people expect a warning or feedback when the boss invites them to their cabin.

"It's difficult to build rapport over an email; I would feel much better if my boss appreciates me in person," says Ashok Krishnan, a CA with Nestle.

Criticising or providing feedback

When you provide feedback over an email or a phone call, the receiver may have a completely different perception about its relevance. This effect is amplified when you are not communicating face-to-face. The reader or listener may think you are cold and indifferent and that's why you avoided meeting them in person to discuss the issue. A face-to-face meeting gives you the opportunity to put your point across, while being sensitive and diplomatic at the same time.

"I have noticed that colleagues often use emails to avoid confronting the real issue. If someone fails to meet their target, I would prefer they tell me in person than offer an explanation over email," says Vidhanshu Bansal, a director with Pixel Webtech.

Assigning new responsibilityThere is a great risk of the message getting diluted when a responsibility gets delegated through email or a phone call. Don't be surprised if your team does not show a sense of ownership or complete tasks on time if you are not communicating face-to-face. Nonverbal communication, such as tone of voice, facial gestures and eye contact help individuals understand the importance of a task and the need to complete it on time.

"We rely on conference calls, video conferencing and online meetings but, from my experience, there's nothing more impactful than meeting the team in person," says Delhi-based Ashu Gosh, a manager with Aviar IT Consulting.

Damage control with clients
If you haven't provided the product or service the client expected, you are putting your relationship with the client at stake. An apology mail would not suffice in a sensitive issue like this. Go to the client's office, if possible, without them having to call you for an explanation, and reassure them that the confidence they demonstrated when they gave you business was not misplaced. Your client would be pleasantly surprised that you took the time to come and meet them, especially when things went wrong.

"I used to interact on almost a daily basis with a client over emails without ever figuring out whether the person was male or female. When a report I was supposed to send got delayed, I made a rude comment about a female colleague which offended the client who happened to be a lady herself," says Deepak M.L, a manager with Convergys.

Resolving conflicts

Workplace conflicts are common in most organisations. The lack of interpersonal communication only worsens the situation. It's important to remember that 55 per cent of meaning in an interaction comes from facial and body language and 38 per cent comes from vocal inflection. Only seven per cent of an interaction's meaning is derived from the words themselves. So, trying to resolve a conflict over email or a phone call is often a bad idea.

"A colleague complained about another colleague and copied the senior management on the mail. I was surprised to see that mail translating into a flood of mails providing and seeking explanation. The person who sent the original mail was just one floor above the person who was at the receiving end. I had to sit down with both of them in person to resolve the conflict," says Kailasam R, a manager with Lufthansa Airlines.

Your communication style says a lot about you as a professional. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 'You are always under examination by people around you, awarding or denying you very high prizes when you least think of it.' So leave the comfort of your cubicle and build trustworthy relationships by communicating face to face.