Word: swaps
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...every nearby block, it will lose its cachet as well as its customers. Likewise, if the McD's starts serving pricey, five-course meals, its fans will take a hike. That's the central notion of this illuminating book. Maney, a veteran business journalist, calls this dichotomy the "fidelity swap." He argues that there is an inevitable tension between fidelity (quality and snob appeal) and convenience (low cost and ease). The secret of success is deciding which type of product you are selling and staying true to that goal...
...others, including well-known supporters of Israel like David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who think a breakthrough is possible. Makovsky's idea is to start with what seems the toughest problem: the Israeli settlements. "It is actually possible to work out a land swap that would satisfy both sides," he says. "I've done the maps: a 4% land swap would do it. Eighty percent of Israeli settlers live on 5% of the West Bank. You could give the Palestinians some very attractive land in return for those settlements." That would leave more than...
...credibility on this subject. He and top Obama adviser Dennis Ross offered a version of this idea in a recent book with a long title. Makovsky then presented the plan to Benjamin Netanyahu over the summer. And? "He was noncommittal," Makovsky says. Indeed, if Netanyahu agreed to the land swap, his right-wing coalition would atomize. But he could still form a new government by aligning with the centrist Kadima Party. And then he would have the chance to be remembered as the man who finally secured Israel's borders - the sort of achievement that actually might merit a Nobel...
...Trying to boost returns by adding stocks can make matters worse. Even if you withdraw a mere 4% a year from your 401(k) and have an ultraconservative portfolio of 80% bonds and 20% stocks, you still have a chance of outliving your retirement account. Swap the bonds for stocks, and the chance of outliving your money actually rises. In reality, most of us don't have nearly enough in our 401(k) to live off just 4%. At a 6% withdrawal rate, hypothetical retirees in more than a third of the Monte Carlo simulations crapped...
...fiasco, Hamas was on a roll. It scored fresh popularity points on Oct. 2 by securing the release of 20 Palestinian women from Israeli jails in exchange for a video confirming that Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by Gaza militants in 2006, is alive. The German- and Egyptian-mediated swap stirred up fresh hope on both sides that an exchange of Shalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners was close at hand. Prime Minister Haniyeh personally greeted the final prisoner in the swap with flowers, underscoring the political gains to be made on the prisoner-release issue, a primary grievance among...