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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) spent about $11.4 billion on prescription drugs for beneficiaries in fiscal year 2009. Reflecting national trends, VA and DOD drug expenditures have risen significantly. Since the early 1980s, Congress has urged the departments to achieve greater efficiencies through increased collaboration. Therefore, VA and DOD have attempted to restrain pharmacy costs by jointly contracting for some drugs to obtain discounts from drug manufacturers. In 2001, GAO recommended that VA and DOD jointly procure all brand name and generic drugs for which such procurement was clinically appropriate and cost-effective and report to Congress annually on their joint drug procurement efforts. VA and DOD agreed with GAO's recommendations. Also, GAO testified that addressing differences in their health care systems could increase joint contracting for brand name drugs, which make up a smaller share of the departments' drug volume than generic drugs but account for a far higher share of expenditures.
As GAO previously recommended, from fiscal year 2002 through 2005, VA and DOD increased joint procurement of brand name and generic drugs. However, GAO found that by fiscal year 2009, joint national contracts[1]for prescription drugs accounted for only a small proportion of VA and DOD spending on prescription drugs. Specifically, in fiscal year 2009, VA spent about $3.7 billion and DOD spent about $7.7 billion on prescription drugs, while spending under joint national contracts represented about 5 percent and less than 1 percent of those totals, respectively. As the following bar chart shows, although VA and DOD spending on joint national contracts increased from $183 million on 76 contracts in fiscal year 2002 to $560 million on 84 contracts in fiscal year 2005, it decreased by fiscal year 2009 to $214 million on 67 contracts.[2]
VA and DOD Joint National Contracts and Spending
With regard to brand name drugswhich account for more than 80 percent of VA's and DOD's total drug spendingVA and DOD had no joint national contracts for brand name drugs in 2002, had three in 2003, four in 2004 and 2005, three in 2006, two in 2007, and none in 2008 or 2009. VA and DOD have attributed significant cost avoidance[3]to their joint contracting efforts; for example, VA estimated about $666 million in cost avoidance in fiscal year 2005 alone. These cost avoidance estimates have declined significantly as joint contract spending has decreased.
VA and DOD officials attributed the decline in joint contracting since 2005 primarily to the elimination of joint contracting for brand name drugs due to a change to DOD's drug procurement process which occurred as a result of its implementation of its uniform formulary.[4],[5]Prior to DOD's implementation of its uniform formulary process, a VA contracting officer offered formulary placement to a drug manufacturer in connection with the award of a brand name drug joint contract, taking into account clinical reviews conducted by the relevant VA and DOD committees.[6]By statute, responsibility for DOD's uniform formulary is vested under the Secretary of Defense, and by DOD regulation the Director of DOD's TRICARE Management Activity is responsible for formulary placement decisions.[7]VA and DOD officials told us that DOD's uniform formulary process therefore precludes DOD from participating in a VA-led joint contract that offers formulary placement as part of the contracting process. According to VA and DOD, they can still jointly contract for generic drugs because these contracts do not usually require formulary addition.[8]In 2001, GAO reported that a DOD uniform formulary could increase joint contracting opportunities because the larger the departments' formularies, the greater the chance they would overlap and provide opportunities to jointly procure brand name drugs.However, DOD's formulary process appears to have limited rather than increased joint contracting opportunities. VA data confirm that the decline in spending under joint national contracts since 2005 can be largely attributed to the elimination of joint contracting for costly brand name drugs. VA data show that spending under joint national contracts for generic drugs has remained relatively constant between fiscal years 2005 and 2009, fluctuating between $175 million and $196 million, while VA spending under joint national contracts for brand name drugs declined over this period, from $232 million in 2005 to $0 in 2008 and 2009.
In addition, officials told us that joint contracting is not available for a large segment of drug spending. Specifically, DOD does not contract, jointly or on its own, for drugs dispensed through retail pharmacies. In fiscal year 2009, DOD officials reported $5.8 billion in retail pharmacy drug spending, none of which currently presents a joint contracting opportunity.
Despite the limits to joint contracting, VA and DOD officials said they are independently achieving cost savings in other ways. VA officials told us that VA obtains equally good prices working independently as it does when it jointly contracts with DOD, and consequently VA officials believe VA is not missing any savings opportunities by not jointly contracting with DOD for brand name drugs. VA officials told us they do not think additional joint contracting could lead to increased cost savings for VA. Additionally, DOD officials said that while joint contracting has declined, their uniform formulary process has been more effective at producing savings, citing $926 million in cost avoidance in fiscal year 2007.[9]
[1]Joint national contracts are one of the strategies used by VA and DOD to obtain discounts on drugs from manufacturers beyond those that might otherwise be available to federal purchasers.
[2]The Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000 included a provision encouraging VA and DOD to increase their level of cooperation in the procurement and management of prescription drugs. Pub. L. No. 106-419, § 223, 114 Stat. 1822, 1845 (2000).
[3]VA and DOD generally calculate the cost avoidance attributable to joint contracting efforts by determining the difference between actual costs under the joint contract pricing and estimated costs they would have incurred had the joint contract pricing not been in place.
[4]Formularies are lists of medications that health care organizations encourage or require providers to prescribe for patients. By concentrating their purchases on particular drugs, organizations can negotiate with manufacturers to secure better prices. Likewise, manufacturers have a strong interest in having their drugs listed on formularies in order to capture greater market shares for their drugs. VA and DOD each has had centralized formularies since 1997, but DOD implemented its current uniform formulary in fiscal year 2005.
[5]DOD was required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 to establish a uniform formulary. Pub. L. No. 106-65, §701, 113 Stat. 512, 677-80 (1999). Neither the act nor the accompanying reports addressed joint contracting with VA, and it is not clear whether ornot Congress considered the matter when passing the uniform formulary requirement.
[6]For VA these committees are the VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Strategic Healthcare Group, Medical Advisory Panel, and Veterans Integrated Service Network Formulary Leaders Committee. For DOD, this committee is the Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee.
[7]TRICARE is DOD's regionally structured health care program for active duty personnel and their dependents, eligible National Guard and Reserve servicemembers and their dependents, and retirees and their dependents and survivors.
[8]Typically, a generic drug being considered for a joint national contract would already be included on VA's and DOD's formularies. For generic drug joint contracts, one manufacturer is selected from a group of manufacturers who make the same generic drug. In contrast, a joint contract for a brand name drug would typically involve selection of one brand name drug from a group of drugs that were determined to be therapeutic alternatives, with the selected drug being placed on the formularies.
[9]For more information about uniform formulary cost savings, see GAO, DOD Pharmacy Benefits Program: Reduced Pharmacy Costs Resulting from the Uniform Formulary and Manufacturer Rebates, GAO-08-172R (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 31, 2007).
While VA and DOD officials assert they are independently achieving significant drug cost savings, the departments' spending on brand-name drugs has been increasing, totaling almost $10 billion dollars in fiscal year 2009, or about 85 percent of the approximately $11.4 billion in total drug spending that year. Since it is unclear whether substantial cost savings could be realized if the departments resumed joint contracting for brand name drugs, VA and DOD should analyze whether greater cost savings could be achieved through joint contracting for brand name drugs than are currently achieved through their independent strategies, and determine whether it would be cost-effective to take steps to resume joint contracting for brand name drugs. Regardless of whether joint contracting for brand name drugs is practicable, the departments face continued challenges in controlling increasing drug costs, and should make finding drug savings a priority. For example, GAO previously recommended that DOD identify, implement, and monitor efforts to control retail pharmacy spending, an area for which drug spending is increasing and cannot be controlled through joint contracting efforts.[1]DOD agreed with this recommendation. The departments should also continue their efforts to jointly contract for generic drugs, and look for opportunities to increase joint contracting efforts as generic versions of existing brand name drugs become available. Officials noted, for example, that generic versions of drugs for reducing cholesterol and controlling asthma may become available within a few years.
VA and DOD provided comments on GAO's draft analysis of this issue. VA stated that it would explore whether cost savings might be possible if it resumed joint contracting for brand name drugs, and agreed that the departments should continue and potentially increase joint contracting for generic drugs. DOD concurred with the draft and offered additional contextual information. For example, DOD noted that while its retail pharmacy network remains the largest and most costly component of its pharmacy benefit, the agency has received a total of over $960 million in federal pricing discounts[2]on purchases made through retail pharmacies in fiscal years 2009 and 2010.[3]
[1]See GAO, DOD Pharmacy Program: Continued Efforts Needed to Reduce Growth in Spending at Retail Pharmacies, GAO-08-327 (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 4, 2008).
[2]The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 required that federal pricing arrangements be applied to drugs dispensed at retail pharmacies as of January 28, 2008.See Pub. L. No. 110-181, § 703, 122 Stat. 3, 188 (codified at 10 U.S.C. § 1074g(f)).
[3]DOD reported federal pricing discounts received through July 31, 2010.
The information contained in this analysis is based in part on the related GAO products listed under the "Related GAO Products" tab. In addition, to determine the factors that contributed to the decline in joint contracting since 2005, GAO interviewed VA and DOD pharmacy and procurement officials and obtained and reviewed relevant documents, including articles and reports to Congress related to VA's and DOD's pharmacy management systems. GAO also reviewed VA and DOD drug spending and joint contracting data from 2002 through 2009 and determined that the data were sufficiently reliable for use in this report.
For additional information about this area, contact Randall B. Williamson at (202) 512-7114 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Millions of individuals receive prescription drugs through federal programs. The increasing cost of prescription drugs has put pressure to control drug spending on federal programs such as the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), Medicare Part D, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and Medicaid. Prescription drug spending within the FEHBP in part...
Estimated to reach $15 billion by 2015, the Department of Defense's (DOD) prescription drug spending has been a growing concern for the federal government. The John Warner National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2007 required GAO to examine DOD's pharmacy benefits program. Specifically, as discussed with the committees of jurisdiction, GAO examined DOD's prescription drug spendin...
Rising pharmacy costs have been a long-standing issue for the Department of Defense (DOD). In 1998, we reported that DOD's fiscal year 1997 total pharmacy costs were $1.3 billion--a 13 percent increase from fiscal year 1995. In fiscal year 2006, DOD dispensed 115 million prescriptions to about 6.5 million beneficiaries at a cost of about $6 billion. One effort to control pharmacy costs is through...
There has been long-standing congressional interest in whether the Department of Defense (DOD) could use the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) system as a cost-effective alternative to beneficiaries picking up outpatient refill prescriptions at DOD military treatment facilities (MTF). To evaluate this possibility, DOD and VA conducted a pilot program...
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have made important progress, particularly during the past year, in their efforts to jointly procure drugs to help control spiraling prescription drug costs. Although their collaborative efforts have been impressive, the two agencies have largely targeted generic drugs, which comprise less than 10 percent of their combined...
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed what the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) have done and what more they could do to reduce drug prices and dispensing costs, focusing on the: (1) extent of joint DOD and VA drug contracting thus far and the prospects for further contracting; (2) prospects of DOD using VA's consolidated mail outpatient pharmacy (CM...
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MWC 15 Special
Back in May, Nokia announced that it will start in July/August to rebrand its first Ovi services as Nokia services which basically means that each of the services under the Ovi umbrella will simply be rebranded as Nokia - with no planned disruption to the service roadmaps. Today, Nokia Germany announced that its Ovi Maps is now known as Nokia Maps. The transition from Ovi to Nokia began in July this year, with the intention of it being completed across all countries and all services by the end of 2012. It's likely that anybody buying a new Nokia smartphone or mobile phone later this year will start to see the new branding on services included within.
It's expected that Nokia made this decision after it joined Microsoft to focus on Windows Phone 7 smartphones. Ovi was very much aligned to Nokia's Symbian devices while Nokia's Windows Phone devices will use Bing services like Bing Maps. However, it's also expected that Nokia will contribute to Bing, for instance its maps coverage is far better than Bing Maps (especially here in Europe) and therefore it makes much sense to continue with a single-brand strategy under the Nokia umbrella; especially since the Nokia brand by itself is so strong and trusted while Ovi is widely unknown.
Cheers ~ Arne
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Conventional wisdom has it that student loans, whether federal or private, are impossible to walk away from. But recent research shows that's not the case.
Jason Iuliano, a Princeton political science doctoral student who also has a degree from Harvard Law School, did a comprehensive search of bankruptcy cases in which borrowers sought to discharge student loans; he found that in four out of 10 cases, judges erased all or part of the debt. Here's the rub: Only 0.1 percent of student loan borrowers who declared bankruptcy actually tried to get their loans forgiven.
If you or a family member are struggling under financial pressures and have student loan debts that you can't pay, you should first pursue a break from payments, known as deferment or forbearance, or an income-linked repayment plan such as Pay as You Earn, which I discussed in a previous column. But here's what you need to know about taking the last resort to get rid of your debts.
Student loans aren't dischargeable under normal bankruptcy proceedings. You have to file a separate suit, called an adversary proceeding, that is like a mini-trial within a bankruptcy case.
Most courts use something called the Brunner test to decide if your student debts cause you "undue hardship," which is necessary for getting all or part of the loans written off. The Brunner test requires proving three things in your adversary petition: first, that you cannot maintain a minimal standard of living for yourself and your dependents while making your loan payments; second, that this situation is likely to persist (sometimes called the "certainty of hopelessness"); and third, that you have made a good-faith effort to repay your loans.
One attorney I spoke with, Steve Richardson of Woodbury, N.J., said that in his experience, meeting the three conditions of this test is difficult -- or, at least, people who have money to pay an attorney are rarely in such dire straits.
However, in the cases Iuliano looked at, those with a chronic medical condition, a history of unemployment, a low income in the year leading up to filing bankruptcy and who had been in repayment on their loans for several years were more likely to meet the Brunner test and get their loans forgiven. He also found that whether you have a lawyer did not affect your chances of success. "Some judges -- not all -- are more forgiving of pro se plaintiffs," he said, referring to people who represent themselves.
Most of the cases Iuliano looked at involved federal student loans. Typically, the lender, like Sallie Mae, offered the borrower a settlement out of court. He believes that if more people were aware of the adversary proceeding option, there would be far more cases of getting federal loans forgiven.
If you have private (sometimes called "alternative") student loans, Richardson has a final piece of advice. Private lenders are usually pretty unwilling to negotiate. "You have two choices: pay or not pay," he says. And the loans, like federal loans, are not discharged in bankruptcy.
However, if you really can't pay, the lender will have to take you to court and get a judgment in order to collect. After a few years, if the bank doesn't take the time to pursue you, the statute of limitations on the unpaid debt will run out. And seven years after you first go into default, the incident should be expunged from your credit report.
In no way is this a recommended course of action, but if you truly have no other choice, it's good to know that your life doesn't have to be over because of an ill-considered loan.
Anya Kamenetz' latest book is "DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education." Email her at diyubookgmail.com
Student loan forgiveness is possible, but tough
Conventional wisdom has it that student loans, whether federal or private, are impossible to walk away from. But recent research shows that's not the case.


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The Dawn of Metric (Driven) Medicine for Heart Failure Care
Bhimaraj A. The Dawn of Metric (Driven) Medicine for Heart Failure Care. Methodist DeBakey Cardiovasc J website. journal.houstonmethodist.org. April 18, 2018.
Medicare , healthcare reform , quality , metrics , readmission reduction program
Current Quality Paradigm
The readmission reduction program (RRP) is intended as a cost saving measure to optimize the healthcare delivery system. It presumes that a punitive philosophy will lead to a change in healthcare delivery and, ultimately, to value-driven quality of care in medicine. While these presumptions seem farfetched, what is obvious is that the immediate intent of the program is to save money for the country's healthcare system—or more specifically, for the government payer. There is no doubt that cost saving is necessary, but the RRP puts undue pressure on hospitals while ignoring the obvious disparate incentives of all the parties that constitute the healthcare system: the hospitals who are being penalized, the practitioners who make money on any kind of admissions, and patients who might rather be admitted for thoroughness (rather than be turned away from an emergency room). The RRP has forced the institutions to hold their quality officers and administrators responsible for meeting the metric of 30-day readmission rate. However, the complexities of chronic disease states like heart failure are beyond simple quality paradigms, so this responsibility is inevitably shared by physicians caring for heart failure patients. Depending on the hospital, such physician engagement could range from internists to general cardiologists to advanced heart failure cardiologists. The fact that heart failure is cared for a broad spectrum of physician specialties almost makes it necessary to engage a multi-specialty and even a multidisciplinary team. Irrespective of their expertise and qualifications, are they ready to take the helm of such a responsibility?
Responsibility of the Clinician Representatives
More than ever, physicians are becoming involved in their institutions' efforts to create solutions to improve care for heart failure patients. Despite the fact that readmission rate has no bearing on any meaningful clinical outcome for individual patients, reducing readmission rates has suddenly become a responsibility of the physicians to save money for Medicare. The cost-saving atmosphere has extended to efforts in optimizing length of stay an hence another important metric to assess heart failure quality programs. The conundrum for today's physicians is to create systems that expedite care and enhance and sustain recovery while remediating all issues (medical, social, behavioral, personal and financial) that may lead to readmission.
Although a focus on economic metrics is essential for long-term sustainability of Medicare and the entire health system, making it the primary focus could distract from building the best quality paradigm to assure cost-effective care from the perspective of all relevant parties. This distraction and misdirection is obvious when looking at Medicare's priorities: Whereas Medicare has implemented a RRP requiring strict reporting of readmission rates, the system does not mandate reporting compliance to life-saving, guideline-directed medical therapy. Moreover, meaningful quality programs like "Get With The Guidelines" that provide process measures specific to evidence-based medicine remain voluntary for hospitals, with no special incentive to drive them to sign up. While many hospitals track in-hospital mortality, out-of-hospital mortality is not tracked in a timely manner for quality programs to ensure that patients are not dying when sent home. It becomes incumbent on modern physicians to recognize such disconnects in the quality metrics so that changes in delivery of care are made in a sustainable, patient-centered manner focusing on an entire spectrum of metrics—not just one. This is not to minimize the importance of fiscal responsibility, but to avoid unintended consequences that could harm our patients.1
Picking the Yardsticks to Measure Heart Failure Care
With punitive dollars associated with the 30-day readmission rate, this metric has become a focus for many institutions; thus, efforts over the last several years have led to a reduction in 30-day readmission across the nation.2 Although initiatives like observation units and diverting patients who re-present within 30 days from emergency rooms to urgent care clinics or observation units can reduce the readmission rate, it is imperative for us to acknowledge that keeping people out of the hospital is not equal to keeping them healthy at home. On the contrary, it is possible that we are inappropriately avoiding admission of patients who may be sick—a sobering possibility reflected in the 30-day mortality rate that is rising even as the readmission rate is falling.1
Balancing Patient Centeredness and a Metric Focus
In general, patients do not want to be admitted to the hospital, but in the pure sense of patient-oriented care, there is no evidence to suggest that a 30-day readmission is harmful or not preferred by patients. On the contrary, when a recently hospitalized individual seeks medical care by making an effort to return to the hospital, it only makes sense for that individual to be thoroughly evaluated and, if necessary, admitted to treat the condition. A more patient-centered effort would be to make avoiding hospital admission a quality metric for outpatient practices, incentivizing them to prevent their heart failure patients from decompensating.
Although the current metric focus is relevant to the long-term financial viability of the healthcare system, metric-driven medicine can easily take the focus away from the individual patient. Constantly admonishing practitioners to reduce length of stay and avoid readmission can play a subconscious role in their decision-making, potentially leading to premature discharge or inappropriate avoidance of a readmission. That kind of metric-based decision-making could lead physicians to inadvertently deviate from their oath, "primum non nocere."
The quality measures driving today's heart failure care have been implemented without a thorough understanding of their unintended consequences. While the nation is experimenting with perfecting the paradigms of cost-effective healthcare delivery, it is incumbent upon all practitioners to get involved in orchestrating the quality programs at their institutions to assure adoption of appropriate measures that are not too focused on a single metric; we must implement "responsible quality." At the same time, administrators and quality departments need to acknowledge the complexity of chronic diseases like heart failure and not get carried away implementing regulatory metrics in a hasty, reactionary manner that loses sight of our patients. The constructs of quality healthcare are most powerful when used conscientiously and appropriately by individuals who deliver care by keeping all aspects of the disease and the individual patient in mind. Medicare's recent example of implementing quality framework for heart failure should make us realize that we need to practice responsible quality care and avoid defaulting to metric-driven medicine.References
- Gupta A, Allen LA, Bhatt DL, et al. Association of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program Implementation With Readmission and Mortality Outcomes in Heart Failure. JAMA Cardiol. 2018 Jan 1;3(1):44-53.
- Bergethon KE, Ju C, DeVore AD, et al. Trends in 30-Day Readmission Rates for Patients Hospitalized With Heart Failure: Findings From the Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure Registry. Circ Heart Fail. 2016 Jun;9(6). pii: e002594


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India Faces iPhone 5 Shortage
By Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Rumman Ahmed
Just days after the iPhone 5 went on sale in India, most retailers are already out of stock.
"We were sold out within 24 hours of launch. It's all gone," said Himanshu Chakrawarti, chief executive of The MobileStore Ltd., a retailer that stocks iPhones and which has 900 outlets across India. Apple Inc.'s latest iPhone officially launched in India on Friday, more than a month after it hit major markets elsewhere.
About 10,000-15,000 units were shipped to India for the first round of sales after the launch, a person familiar with the matter told India Real Time. Overall, specialized distribution companies and mobile phone companies have together placed orders with the Cupertino, Calif. company to ship 100,000 iPhone 5 units to India to be sold in the first month, according to analysts.
Apple's service-provider partners in India and local mobile phone retailers are hoping fresh stock will be available for sale by the end of the week. In the meantime, they are taking early bookings for the next round of sales.
So far, the iPhone 5 has done much better than earlier iPhone models. Around 200,000 iPhones are expected to be shipped to India by the end of December, said Rachel Lashford, managing director for mobile at Singapore-based research firm Canalys, which closely tracks handset sales. By comparison, between April and June, Apple had shipped fewer than 50,000 earlier iPhone models to India, according to Canalys.
A key reason why the number of units shipped to India has increased has to do with an improved distribution system. The company recently tweaked its sales strategy for India by tying up with specialized distribution companies such as Ingram Micro and Redington India
Before this, Apple sold the iPhone only through Indian telecom providers, which bundled the phones with data services. This meant that independent mobile phone retailers like the MobileStore previously had to go through service providers in order to stock the iPhone.
Mr. Chakrawarti said the earlier distribution model of Apple was "inefficient," saying wireless operators were unaccustomed to dealing with mobile phone retailers. Specialized distributors like Ingram and Redington, on the other hand, understand the mobile handset market better and are faster at responding to market demand, he argues.
The faulty distribution strategy was one of the reasons why Apple's share of the smartphone market in India was below 2% in April-June, when rival South Korea's Samsung Electronics held a more than 50% share in the country, according to research firm IDC Inc.
Ms. Lashford said that, on top of an improved distribution network, the upcoming festival season and a drop in price of older models will also help boost iPhone sales in India. The iPhone 5 launch comes just a few days before the Hindu festival of Diwali, which this year falls on Nov. 13. This is traditionally considered an auspicious time to make purchases.
"We are stocked out within the first couple of days of the launch," said a spokesman for Aircel Ltd., one of two service provider partners for Apple in India.
A spokesman for Bharti Airtel, another telecom provider that partnered with Apple to distribute iPhones, said the company saw a 78% jump in preorders for iPhone 5s compared with the previous version of iPhone. He added that Bharti Airtel saw a spike in pre-orders from non-resident Indians looking to gift the smartphones to their friends and family in India for Diwali. The pre-bookings started three days ahead of the Friday launch.
Satish Babu, founder and managing director of Chennai-based UniverCell, which runs 450 retail outlets in southern India, says his company sold all the 1,000 iPhone 5 units it had within two days. The retailer is now taking pre-bookings for the next round of sales.
The iPhone 5 is priced at 45,500 rupees ($833) for the basic 16-gigabyte version. The 32-gigabyte model is priced at 52,500 rupees and the 64- gigabyte version at 59,500 rupees.
A spokesman for Apple in India declined to comment.
Follow India Real Time on Twitter @indiarealtime.
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Shrimp lettuce wraps
Makes 4 servings
These wraps make a nice appetizer served solo, or as a great soup accompaniment. They're also a good candidate for a light and tasty lunch accompanied with a basket of pita chips.
1 teaspoon cold water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
12 ounces medium (26 to 30 count) shrimp, shelled, deveined, and cut into ¼-inch pieces (1 ¾ cup)
2 tablespoons Chinese hot oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
½ cup frozen baby peas
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon dark (Asian) sesame oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
8 whole iceberg lettuce leaves
Stir together the cold water and cornstarch in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the shrimp and stir until the mixture is evenly combined.
Heat the Chinese hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until they begin to turn pink. Transfer to a bowl and cover to keep warm.
Heat the canola oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in the shrimp and the remaining ingredients, except the lettuce. Stir for 30 seconds or until the shrimp turn pink and the peas are warm. Remove from the heat.
Spoon a scant ¼ cup of the shrimp mixture into each lettuce leaf and roll.
Paulette Mitchell, a culinary instructor, television personality, spokesperson, freelance food writer, and the award-winning author of 13 cookbooks, is known internationally for her quick-to-prepare recipes with gourmet flair. Paulette's most recently published cookbook is "The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet: Creative Cuisine Made Fast and Fresh." She is also the author of "A Beautiful Bowl of Soup" and "The Spirited Vegetarian," which was voted "Best Book in the World on Cooking with Wine" at the 2005 Gourmand World Media Awards. Paulette says that international travel is her favorite source of culinary inspiration.


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Review Tutorial
How To Write A Review
- Navigate to the page of the item you would like to review.
- Click "Write a Review" There is a link near the top for this, or a button under the user reviews.
- The review creator has a few different fields. In order to submit your review, you MUST fill in a Review Title, an Overall star rating, and a Full Review. You are more than welcome to add Pros, Cons, other star ratings, a purchase date, and price paid to tell other users more about your experience.
- Set the notification level- this will determine how frequently you are updated about your review when someone replies.
- When you are satisfied, click the "Submit Review" button. At any time, you can edit your review.
How To Edit A Review
- Navigate to the item page whose review you would like to edit or update.
- If you have already reviewed the product, you will see a status bar at the top of the product page with a link to edit your review. An "Edit Your Review" button will also appear further down on the page immediately above your review. Click one of these to open your review editor.
- The review editor will open with your review title, full review, star ratings, and more. Feel free to edit your review however you wish. The only fields that are required when editing your review are the Review Title, the Overall star rating, and a Full Review.
- When you are satisfied, click the "Submit Review" button. Your updated review will appear.
What Makes A Great Review?
Great reviews are thorough, honest, and thoughtful. Whether you love or hate a product, your constructive commentary will add great value to the community. The best reviews are personal, offer suggestions on the best use of a product, or descriptive reasons about why the item just didn't work for you.
Can I Review My Own Products or Business I Am Connected To?
The focus of our community is user generated content. To preserve its integrity, you should not review your own products or business or a business at which you have been or are currently employed.


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- WiFi
- Car park
- Air conditioning
- Swimming pool
- Spa
- Golf
- Transfer service
- Accessible
- Family
- Gym
- Business
Choose your room
With a stay at Ciloms Airport Lodge in Melbourne Airport, you'll be near the airport and close to Broadmeadows Park. This family-friendly motel is within the vicinity of Woodlands Historic Park and Northern Golf Club. Enjoy a range of recreational amenities, including an indoor pool, a spa tub, and a sauna. Guests can get around on the complimentary shuttle, which operates within 5 km. Featured amenities include a 24-hour business center, a computer station, and complimentary newspapers in the lobby. Event facilities at this motel consist of a conference center and meeting rooms. A roundtrip airport shuttle is complimentary (available 24 hours). Make yourself at home in one of the 95 air-conditioned rooms featuring refrigerators and microwaves. Flat-screen televisions with cable programming provide entertainment, while complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected. Private bathrooms have complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Conveniences include phones, as well as desks and complimentary newspapers.
Reviews: Hotel Ciloms Airport Lodge
Useful information:Other names for Hotel Ciloms Airport Lodge:
Ciloms Melbourne Airport


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Every resort seems to be just obsessed with cost cutting nowadays and its steadily getting worse by the day. Maybe it has something to do with the current government's pledge to be 'carbon-free' or it might be because of the perceived immediate threat to the country by Global warming (which some believe is a hoax.) Anyways, the first usual answer to the question of how to save energy in a resort normally comes like, to change all the lights to energy saving bulbs, to change all normal air conditioners to Daikin VRV systems etc.. or something simplistically similar. However this can be very wrong. While energy saving bulbs are in fact more economical to use in the long term, the cost of one energy saver bulb is several times more than a normal bulb. So the costs pretty much even out over a long enough space of time. However the typical longer life span of an energy saver bulb means less inconvenience for the guest and less work for the work overloaded maintenance desk.
Much more energy could be saved in a typical guest room by taking care of the air-conditioner and water heater. If an air-conditioner is not serviced routinely, dust attaches to both the condenser and evaporator of the system which clogs and lowers the energy efficiency of the unit which will cost much more times the difference saved from bulbs being changed to energy saver type.
The water heater can also waste a lots of energy if its thermal cut-out temperature is higher than is necessary. Together with air-conditioner these two units are the most energy intensive units in a typical guest room.


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Hat Heads: 1 Man + 2 Knitting Needles = 50 Fun Hat Designs by Trond Anfinnsen, aka Knitkid
For the last 8 or 9 years, I spend many winters knitting hats for babies, kids, and adults to give as gifts for the holidays. After a while, as I find my groove with my favorite patterns, the novelty wears off and after a few weeks of knitting it gets boring for me. Picking up the new book, Hat Heads by Trond Anfinnsen, I've found my new knitting hat inspiration.
Norwegian Anfinnsen aka Knitkid taught himself to knit and made custom knit hats for each of his friends where each design is inspired by their personality. He decided to document it as an interactive art project and teamed with photographer Klaus Skrudland to take portraits of each recipient in his or her hat. You can see all the photos of The Knitting Project on his web site. The book provides a complete knitting pattern for each hat including a chart for the intarsia pattern. I can't stop staring at the light blue and red hat worn by Silje on the cover above. In that hat, Anfinnsen tried to "convey the feel of a stylish piece of furniture…to match her chic city image." Love it!
I also love the hat worn by Ingvild (pictured bottom left) who has a pink eagle because she's "both strong and sweet" as well as the ones worn by Erik (bottom center), and Tonje (bottom right). Anfinnsen also covers how to knit as well as how to design your own unique hat. Hat Heads is the perfect book if you are an avid hat knitter or are need more knitting inspiration.
Book Giveaway Time!
Three lucky CRAFT winners are going to win a copy of this book, Hat Heads! Just leave a comment to this post and tell us why you want this book. Make sure you enter in your email address in the form field (won't be published). All comments will be closed on Friday, August 7th at Noon PST. The winner will be announced next week on CRAFT. Good luck!
Book Review & Giveaway: Hat Heads by Trond Anfinnsen


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ORLANDO, Fla. – Declaring "we are going to get this done," an emotional Michelle Obama rallied a central Florida crowd Monday night, telling supporters on the eve of the election that it's "all on the line" Tuesday.
"Your president is nowhere near satisfied," she said, making the pitch for a second term for her husband, President Barack Obama.
The first lady has maintained a busy schedule visiting key swing states since the Democrats' national convention in Charlotte, N.C., in September.
Here in an Orlando park, she made her final solo campaign appearance of the 2012 cycle.
"Together, slowly but surely, we have been pulling ourselves out of that hole that we started in," Obama said, casting her husband's first term in office as a difficult but productive road to economic recovery.
Though she didn't mention Republican nominee Mitt Romney, she warned against moving backward, touting her husband's overhaul of the health care system and regulation of the financial industry.
The campaign estimated the crowd at 2,600. The decision to hold the first lady's final rally here in Central Florida is no doubt tied to the campaign's strategy to win the state's 29 electoral votes.
Both the Obama and Romney campaigns have poured tens of millions into advertising in the Sunshine State, hoping to win the so-called "I-4 corridor," a key part of the Florida puzzle.
Obama was joined on stage Monday by Sen. Bill Nelson and Puerto Rican-born performer Ricky Martin.
Nelson, who is leading in polls against his Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, made a pitch for support in Spanish.
Almost 4.5 million people in Florida have already cast ballots, taking advantage of early and absentee voting opportunities here. The latest data from the Florida Secretary of State's office shows that Democrats have cast 1,915,630 votes – giving them a lead against Republicans, who have cast 1,747,977 votes.
But Michelle Obama warned that the president needs every vote he can get.
"Don't let anybody push you out of line," the first lady said, telling those who haven't voted yet to get to the polls early. "Don't let any delays deter you."
Michelle Obama was scheduled to appear later Monday with her husband in Des Moines, Iowa.


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Chocolate spread
Is there anything nicer on a Saturday breakfast than a delicious crisp bread roll with some rich, deep chocolate-flavored spread? I invented this recipe after playing with butterscotch, and it makes a superb sweet, yet bitter, aromatic spread. And the best part is that you can make it in no-time on your own whenever you want!
French toast
I believe in food recycling, i.e. when something is still edible, and there is a delicious and healthy way to eat it, then why not? We should never let our food spoil, even when there's overabundance of it! :-) Enjoy these delicious, savory French toasts, which make a perfect weekend breakfast.
Coffee cake
My first real cake, made with delicious coffee-flavored buttercream. It was really good, and simple! Because this cake doesn't require leveling, you can simply bake two layers separately, then stack them — a perfect recipe for beginners! :-)
I made my cake with normal instant coffee, but you can also use decaf coffee for same taste, but caffeine-free cake! :-)
I started my cake-making adventure lately, and the first, most basic cream used to ice the cake is the buttercream — it's very simple, and makes a delicious, thick and stable cake cream that you will love!
As you can see in the recipe image, I used it already in my vanilla butterscotch cupcakes, which got rave reviews from my friends and coworkers! :-) Unfortunately the cream alone is rather not spectacular, just a sweet, delicious blob of butter and sugar ;-)
When you make your own pasta, you will always end up with some scraps, even more if you make ravioli. You can easily recycle this leftover pasta to make maltagliati, meaning "poorly cut" in Italian, which was traditionally meant as food for the poor. We are way past that, and today you can enjoy rich texture and amazing flavor of your pasta without the social stigma ;-)


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Leo Messi's free kick goal today, in slo-mo from the stands:
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Thing of beauty
Leo Messi's free kick goal today, in slo-mo from the stands:
New Fascism
This piece on the rise of New Fascism is a decent enough read, though much like IKN it's a bit too mouthy for it's own good. But read it I did and I'm glad I did so because about half way down there's this, which really resonated:
"A generation of leftists decided instead that the true opposition wasn't a right-wing economics locally — but a global politics they called "neoliberalism". But much of neoliberalism, in stark opposition to trickle-down economics did in fact lift millions across the globe out of poverty, misery, and despair. Why? Because liberalism, however you choose to define it, is not trickle-down economics: it is precisely the opposite — investing in institutions, people, and societies, so that gluts do not pile up at the top."Yet, the left began targeting and protesting the very institutions that were defending the globe from trickle-down economics — the World Bank, the IMF, the UN. Of course, I'm sure that those of you who are leftists will quibble with me vehemently here, and call me a Terrible Person. But the simple fact is that the IMF and World Bank were created by Keynes precisely to prevent wealth piling up at the top — and that is precisely what they did."
That's sharp insight. Go read it all
A Minera IRL Ltd (Team Hodges) Saturday news release
We'll explain what this means in The IKN Weekly issue 344 tomorrow, subbers. In fact it's really quite simple.
December 12, 2015
Minera IRL Board Concludes Investigation in Anticipation of EGM ResumptionLIMA, PERU--(Marketwired - Dec. 12, 2015) - Minera IRL Limited ("Minera IRL" or the "Company") (AIM:MIRL)(BVLAC:MIRL) announces that it has been advised that the Company's registrar has received a proxy revocation in respect of the votes whose validity came into question at the Company's Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders (the "EGM") on November 26, 2015, resulting in the adjournment of the EGM and the commencement by the board of directors of Minera (the "Board") of an investigation into the validity of such votes. In light of such proxy revocation, the Board has determined that any potential issue with such votes has been resolved to its satisfaction and therefore the investigation has terminated. In his capacity as Chair of the EGM, Mr. Jaime Pinto confirms that, following such proxy revocation, he presently knows of no reason that any proxies submitted for the EGM cannot be validated.The adjourned EGM will be re-convened on the 24th Floor at 333 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2T6, on December 16, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. EST (3:00 p.m. GMT).
James Hansen on Paris COP 21: Some quotes
Some of the better chunks of this interview with James Hansen, these days being framed as the father of climate change awareness. My how we human beings like our nametags. Anyway, it's good stuff.
"It's a fraud really, a fake," he says, rubbing his head. "It's just bullshit for them to say: 'We'll have a 2C warming target and then try to do a little better every five years.' It's just worthless words. There is no action, just promises. As long as fossil fuels appear to be the cheapest fuels out there, they will be continued to be burned."
Hansen, 74, has just returned from Paris where he again called for a price to be placed on each tonne of carbon from major emitters (he's suggested a "fee" – because "taxes scare people off" – of $15 a tonne that would rise $10 a year and bring in $600bn in the US alone). There aren't many takers, even among "big green" as Hansen labels environment groups.
"We all foolishly had such high hopes for Obama, to articulate things, to be like Roosevelt and have fireside chats to explain to the public why we need to have a rising fee on carbon in order to move to clean energy," he says. "But he's not particularly good at that. He didn't make it a priority and now it's too late for him."
Hansen is just as scathing of leading Republicans who have embraced climate science denialism to the chagrin of some party elders.
"Many of the conservatives know climate change is not a hoax. But those running for president are hamstrung by the fact they think they can't get the nomination if they say this is an issue. They wouldn't get money from the fossil fuel industry."
For what it's worth, I fully agree with Hansen's capitalist-based solution. Full thing here.
PS: I don't care what you think about this subject so don't bother writing in with carefully chosen links that feed your own prejudices, I won't reply. Please recall at all times that this blog is not a paragon of democracy; it's a dictatorship, it's run by a dictator (me), my opinion is always absolutely correct.
The Friday OT: Holst, planet suite: Jupiter, bringer of jollity
Instantly recognizable 20th century classic classical. If you have one of those friends in your group who "doesn't like all that classical music stuff", play them this seven and a half minutes of greatness. If they haven't grudgingly admitted some change to their absolute position by the end of it, unfriend them and find better people to spend your time with.
This Chicago Symphony version really bangs it out too, killer stuff.
Callidus Capital and the Yellowknife government get ripped off in a diamonds scam
A wonderful tale of scammery over at The Muck Pile today, as Muckpile Mike regales us with his usual wit and eloquence. Go see.
Samarco: Brazil's environmental bureau speaks
Yesterday Marilene Ramos, president of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) held a press conference which included:
The River Doce will take ten years to recover from the Samarco tailings dams failures. Impressive for a spill that Vale and BHP assured was non-toxic when it occurred.The November 5th disaster is one of five tailings dam failures in the Minas Gerais region over the last ten years. There is obviously an engineering problem in the area and with so many other tailings facilities there, "it's feasible" that more failures will happen.Ibama, which has already imposed several fines on Samarco, says it will add substantially more fines to its list next week. This is aside from the U$5.24Bn lawsuit now underway against the company.Ibama underscored the position of Vale, which says it is not responsible for the failure. Yes of course, Vale. Of course.
So tell me, IKN reader who also reads the general mining press, did you hear about this press conference held by Brazil's most important environmental control body? Nah, didn't think so, BHP and Vale has the English language media in lockdown.
Chart of the day is...
...copper, dailies:
Now be clear, I'm a bear on copper and I think its fundies suck, now and for 2016. In the case of precious metal exposures I've suffered in 2015 but in the case of industrial metals, headed up by copper, I did okay and managed to step out of the way of the speeding express train of financial death.
And I'm still a bear, but on looking at what might be building in the metal's price chart there's a look of a potential break-out and some relief for the sector. Perhaps. Not calling it, just admitting my bearish position may take a knock in the next couple of weeks. As in maybe. We'll see. Vamos a ver...
Has pretend World Class miner Tahoe Resources (TAHO) (THO.to) told us about the death yet?
Two plain facts:
1) When there's a death at one of its operations, any world class mining company has the common decency to tell the market.
2) Late November this year, one of the workers at Tahoe's Escobal mine in Guatemala died in a work-related accident while on duty. Tahoe prefers to hide this from the market.
Hey Kevin, the guy who died wouldn't have dark-coloured skin now, would he?
Almaden Minerals (AMM.to) (AAU)
The market shrugged its shoulders today, but I thought the news out of Almaden (AMM.to) (AAU) yesterday about its new downsized PEA plan was pretty interesting. So this weekend in The IKN Weekly issue 344 we're going to pretend that the world cares about exploreco projects and do an old-style look at the thing. Just so you know, subbers.
Full disclosure: No position in AMM. Yet.
Global Mining Observer interviews Sean Roosen
Another decent industry scoop* from Alex W over at GMO, this Q&A with Sean Roosen of Osisko in which he claims he's drinking from a fire hydrant. No hubris there, eh Sean?
Well worth your time, mining sector people.
*beats me why these people never want to talk to IKN...
Dear Chuck
Thanks for coming over and checking the blog so regularly Chuck, it's kind of you (your hits show up on the back office stats here, don't try and pretend otherwise Chuck).
And I know you're feeling nervous about next week because you and your pals still think you have a chance of pulling it off. Well, enjoy the meeting next week Chuck, sit back, relax and let it all flow over you, but I guarantee that you're getting no extra snippets of fun or insight from this humble corner of cyberspace between now and then. Go scurry off and find a better place to feed your neuroses, Chuck.
And I know you're feeling nervous about next week because you and your pals still think you have a chance of pulling it off. Well, enjoy the meeting next week Chuck, sit back, relax and let it all flow over you, but I guarantee that you're getting no extra snippets of fun or insight from this humble corner of cyberspace between now and then. Go scurry off and find a better place to feed your neuroses, Chuck.
And talking of scurry, here's a song especially for you. And we can extend the dedication to anyone who eats at The Pilot in Toronto this weekend. Sing along, Chuck. Lah lah lah, Chuck.
Love and kisses, Otto.
Love and kisses, Otto.
A death at Tahoe Resources (TAHO) (THO.to) Escobal mine
According to Radio Bemba Guatemala*, a full two weeks ago an employee of Tahoe Resources (TAHO) (THO.to) was killed while at on duty and at work at the company's Escobal mine. Which begs the question...
...because hell's bells this is 2015 and do they seriously expect to keep things such as deaths at their mines quiet? That aside, we're in a world in which world-class mining companies operate in an open and transparent manner, so this incident points to one thing only, that TAHO is not run in a world-class way.
And now, a mighty U$2Bn market cap mining company has to play catch-up on its internal affairs to a pissant blogger. Nice going, MacArthur. Lookin' good, Ira.
*if you have to ask...
Happy Hanukkah
Reader B kindly sends in the link to this video with heartfelt wishes for Hanukkah and tips on how to celebrate the season. Highly wonderful and worthy of sharing here on IKN.
Oh yeah, this: ----> The sentiment is good and pure, but the language is NSFW (and that's a severe understatement).
Today's South America show is...
...Mauricio Macri in Argentina as he swears in and becomes the country's next Prez. Ceremony at Congress (without CFK, who threw a hissyfit) and then speechifying (to a half empty hall because CFK's party has also thrown a hissyfit). All good clean fun and as I write these words, Macri's in his motorcade on the way to the gig.
Chart of the day is...
...two years of Jemi Fibre (JFI.v):
There's one thing that all Bobby Genovese companies have in common: Sooner or later, the shape of their price chart (plus the periods of heavy traded volume) are exactly the same. The M.O. is simplicity itself too, anyone who can read a balance sheet can see how the share price was destined for Crush City.
Until the OSC/BCSC closes down thieves like Bobby G, nobody will ever take the Canadian markets seriously again. This is 2015, information flows like water and the segment of the investment community that isn't taken in by scam merchants can see that the structure they're offered by the regulatory authorities begets this financial violation, time after time.
PS: And yes, IKN has run many posts on JFI since this pump and dump began, starting on August 9th 2014 with this and covering many aspects, including the obvious deterioration of its financials this year (e.g. this post). Many more besides.
PS: And yes, IKN has run many posts on JFI since this pump and dump began, starting on August 9th 2014 with this and covering many aspects, including the obvious deterioration of its financials this year (e.g. this post). Many more besides.
Atico Mining (ATY.v) news
That was then (October 2013):
Mr. Nelson makes several allegations in his claim, including: alleging a key role in recognizing the mineral potential of the El Roble project and acting as a founder of Atico; alleging the existence of a partnership or joint venture; and alleging oppressive and unfair treatment related to the issuance of shares, benefits and his exclusion from the management of Atico. Mr. Nelson seeks various relief, including: claiming payment of a finder's fee of approximately $436,000 in connection with the El Roble project; seeking the right to purchase 2,500,000 additional shares of Atico at a pre-IPO subscription price from Atico, or alternatively, the individual defendants; seeking appointment to the board of directors of Atico or accorded such other meaningful and ongoing role in the affairs of Atico; and claiming other damages and costs in addition to the amounts already paid to him for his geological consulting services.
The allegations of Mr. Nelson have not been proven. The Company disputes Mr. Nelson's claims and will defend itself in this matter.
This is now (December 2015):
"Mr. Nelson, the Company and three of its Directors reached a solution satisfactory to all parties whereby Mr. Nelson will receive a cash payment of CAD$550,000, of which CAD$200,000 will be paid by the Company, and the balance by insurance."
If you consider what's happened to the PPS in the last two years (makes the pre-IPO share price unattractive) that cash payment, plus the long-ish explanation in tonight's NR all about how Carl Nelson was a key part of the ATY decision to move on El Roble, all sounds like a win for the geol in this one.
Zinc: It must be December
As traditional in Canada as fat men in red coats yelling Ho Ho Ho is the Christmas zinc pump, with "zinc supply squeeze next year...promise" always centre stage.
"On a macro-scale, zinc continues to display the strongest short-term fundamentals of all the base metals (perhaps with the exception of lead, of which we also produce significant quantities). Global zinc mine closures have been accelerating however the full impact of well documented concentrate supply constraints has yet to be felt. LME zinc warehouse drawdown rates have recently increased to almost double its normal pace while spot treatment charges have been dropping in conjunction with announced smelter closures globally, suggestive of a tightening zinc concentrate market. Given Trevali's strong zinc exposure and leverage, the Company is well positioned to crystallize value from strengthening in zinc (and lead) prices going forward."
Scotia today (from the house 'Scoop' morning mailer):
- Zn Revisit: Zinc TCs trending lower on tighter supply (lowest since September 2014): Zinc TCs, the discounts on refined prices miners grant to smelters to cover the cost of turning concentrate into metal, slipped to $170-180 per tonne from $175-185 at the end of November on a cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis for delivery to Chinese ports - the lowest since September 2014 and down from $185-195 in October. Market participants are saying that some Chinese smelters are buying at TCs of $165 to $175/t for standard grade material. Many didn't expect TCs to drop this quickly, thinking that the production cuts we have been reading about take hold next year but TCs now are reflecting tighter supply already. Recall that Nyrstar will put its Middle Tennessee Mines (MTN) in the US on care and maintenance due to depressed metal prices, which will translate into 50,000 tonnes per year of zinc-in-concentrate being taken out of the market. This follows the planned suspension of 400,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate in addition to the 100,000 tonnes removed by the Myra Falls and Campo Morado suspensions. As well, Glencore has slashed annual zinc production by 500,000 tonnes, cutting around 100,000 tonnes of contained zinc metal in the fourth quarter alone. Chinese domestic supply has also tightened as some medium-sized miners have closed due to low prices. Some market participants are saying that Chinese smelters are operating at around 80 percent of capacity in November.
Oh you funny guys, you so funny. You be make us the laughing.
The 'Regional Politics' section of The IKN Weekly issue 343 (out last Sunday evening)
This mixed bag of reports is typical of what The IKN Weekly does while covering the political scene in LatAm. It's mostly mining-related and we try our best to cover events in as many countries as possible, but sometimes it's pure political on a macro level (eg the Peru presidential candidates section last weekend).
The only thing that's missing is the Peru Sol forex chart.
Regional politics
Argentina Santa Cruz: The "mining tax" is voted down
Back in 2013, the province of Santa Cruz caused a ruckus in its mining sector by creating the "Impuesto Minero", or "mining tax, based on charging companies for 1% of the value of their in-situ mineral reserves per year. Companies such as Goldcorp (Cerro Negro) and Pan American (Triton) in the region railed against the idea, said it was unconstitutional or impossible to calculate or just plain and simply unfair. The province meanwhile, under Governor and erstwhile CFK supporter Daniel Peralta (who has since fallen out with the Kirchnerists) insisted on its plan, needing the cash to shore up its empty regional coffers. Since that time legal challenges to the law have blocked any real payments and the mining company lawyers along the way won several victories, not least when Pan American managed to get a court to agree that it didn't have to pay (under the terms of that time) in July 2015.
We therefore cut to last week and what now looks like the final chapter in this surcharge tax story. During in its last session before dissolving the current provincial administration (the new one starts on December 10th same as at the national level), the parliament overwhelmingly voted to annul the 'mining tax' (8) and it is now a thing of the past. Good news for mining companies in Santa Cruz.
Argentina: The Macri mining team
With the inauguration of the new President Macri on December 10th just days away, we now have the names of the people who will run mining in Argentina. Top job of Minister of Energy and Mines goes to Juan José Aranguren, an ex-executive of Shell in Argentina who will surely have more to do with the country's hydrocarbon policy (Vaca Muerta etc) than hard rock mining, as Argentina has always been a bigger player in oil anyway.
Meanwhile the job of Secretary of Mining (i.e. Veep Mining and reporting to Araguren) has been given to Daniel Meilán, a career mining guy and public servant who for a while was sub-secretary of mining in the 1990's in the Carlos Menem administration. For a glimpse of the way Meilán sees mining in Argentina today, this link (9) is to an interview he gave a few months ago to a Cordoba provincial newspaper and an interesting look at the way he sees the sector, this of course long before he was picked (to many people's surprise) as the new main mining man. It includes quotes such as this on the mining sector under the CFK government and Jorge Mayoral, the outgoing mining vice-minister:
"We (as a nation) have done so many things badly that to become credible again we need to demonstrate (credibility). This is the job, first to demonstrate all this and then go out looking for foreign investors, but with a package of things already done."
Then this on the anti-mining attitude of some Argentine provinces:
"The issue of being for or against mining is an issue of lack of dialogue. Without dialogue between parties, the extremist view are favoured. What we need to do is go back and to national/provincial dialogue. If there are provinces that don't want mining, then accept it, but define territories and zones where mining will be prohibited. We need to get it down an writing (make official) once and for all, we need to go back to making agreements between the Federal government and the provinces, because the last ones were many years ago and we need to revalidate them, to redefine the rules.
"What we need to do is to get agreement with the grassroots concerns before we start calling for investment. The work to do is inside the system."
All that sounds reasonable enough to me. We wish Meilán good luck (he'll need it).
Peru: Five candidates do CADE
As noted in last week's edition, the top five candidates for the 2016 Presidential election ( in no particular order Alejandro Toledo of the 'Perú Posible' party, Alan García of 'Partido Aprista', César Acuña of 'Alianza para el Progreso', Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of 'Peruanos por el Kambio', and current poll leader Keiko Fujimori of 'Fuerza Popular', normally known as "Fujimorista Party") had speaking spots at the Peru Chamber of Commerce (CADE) annual conference in Paracas last week. All of them spoke on Friday so I dedicated part of my day on the speechifying. I wish I hadn't bothered.
Most of the time all they talked about was themselves and how they were cut out to be the next President, rather than talk policies or manifestos. A long way second came real policy notes, which I found surprising to an audience of Peru's rich and successful business community and the people you need to have on your side at this early stage. A potted summary:
Alejandro Toledo: The deterioration of Toledo is marked, which could be due to his long-documented drink problem (I get to write these things, other places worried about lawsuits will only whisper or suggest). He's turned into a joke, a cardboard cut-out politician who is an embarrassment to his country. He had his moment in the early 2000s, that time has gone and so has any credibility he might have had.
César Acuña: Boorish, pompous and a terrible public speaker. Unpresentable in polite society, he may be a successful businessman, politico and rector of the university he founded (that's made him very rich) but he has the charisma of a wet lettuce and is so full of himself he's almost as painful to witness as Toledo. Mind you, none of those character weaknesses ever stopped people from becoming high level politicos in any country. Even though he's polling fairly well at the moment I cannot see Acuña mounting a real challenge, plus there are some dark corners of his personal life that won't sit well with the public (e.g. history of family violence and an ex-wife who isn't afraid of telling the world about it).
Alan García: As usual, world class oratory and a control of an audience that the others who shared the podium on Friday can only dream about. García is Peru's only serious politician and a master of his (dark) art. However, García also managed to use his time to say virtually nothing of substance in his eloquent manner (another of his strong points). Of the five he came off best, because only he's by far the best speaker of them all. Content was light, he'll be relying on the APRA party machine to get him up in the polls in 2016.
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski: He went over a few of the manifesto points that have already been announced, such as his plan to reduce sales tax (IVA) to 15% from the current 18% (a liquidity thing, which will help money velocity), while offering pre-boxed platitudes such as his thoughts on mining (translated), "Mining is 50% of Peru's exports. We must support mining, (but) no in an irresponsible way. Mining has to be environmentally responsible", which revealed nothing new to anybody present or listening in, perfect politikese. The rest of his time was spent playing up his business background and qualifications. The worse thing was his persistent cough, which was distracting all through his speech but also returns focus to his health and whether a man in his mid-80s is in conditions to be President. It's one of the main points against PPK among rank and file Peruvians, so any signs of health weakness will be jumped upon by his detractors. He did himself no favours on the health score last Friday though on the other hand he got the highest approval rating from those present, a solid 84% thumbs-up for his speech by the CADE business crowd. That's to be expected, after all.
Keiko Fujimori: Alberto's daughter of course, and as such I personally think she'd be negative for the country and set Peru back in terms of judicial reform and the fight against corruption, but that's based more on internal social matters than economy thoughts and I will give her the credit for being the only one who unveiled real policies and some of her election platform on Friday instead of going the "Aren't I wonderful?" onanist route of the other male strutting candidates. My chief Keiko takeaway was that her economic policies would be hands-on, with a Finance Ministry that would be proactive to promote growth (i.e. neo-Keynesian style government intervention in macro matters) rather than the current (in her words) auto-pilot Economy Ministry.
Summing up the five, the good news is that when it comes to Foreign Policy, Foreign investment and economic growth, none of the five are far from each other and they can all be classed as "business friendly" and miner friendly", they're all pretty neoliberal with some small degrees of difference. There's nothing in these five for those on the outside looking at Peru as an FDI destination should fear. The bad news is that they're all mediocre.
Moises Naim does CADE
Head of the influential magazine Foreign Policy, the right-wing Venezuelan national Moises Naim was invited (paid) to address the Peru CADA conference and his main message is captured by this short report in El Comercio (10) which I'll translate in full.
During his presentation at CADE, Naim said that micro-regional powers can block national interests, such as what has happened with the Conga project in Cajamarca, which generates poverty.
The expert recommended not to use hardline strategies nor have a predilection to violently repress protests against (mining) projects.
"It's a false temptation to go in heavy handed (ottonote: In Spanish "mano dura", which means "hard hand" and explains the situation when e.g. police move in with firearms and batons to break up protests). Projects would have national appeal. In which universities, media, the church and others are involved. These issues won't be solved by pressure but by democracy", he said.
In Peru mining represents 14% of GDP and more than 60% of total exports. In copper, it's the world's third largest producer.
This is one of those situations where Peruvians may finally react and the subject gain traction because instead of being told the obvious by the usual suspect greenies and lefty hand-wringers, somebody "famous in business" tells them instead. Naim is right, he's not making any startling new discovery here, but its the type of discourse that could positively affect the upcoming election run.
More Peru: Peru's forex versus the dollar
Here below is a ten year chart of the Peru Sol (PEN) versus the US Dollar (USD) and it's a good visual on how the currency pair has rushed back up to the highs last seen in 2006, when Toledo was President and gold traded around U$600/oz (seems a long time ago). Peru's Sol is a decent proxy for the state of other LatAm countries' currencies against the dollar, as its strength has been commodity-based, it's a free floating currency and has a Central Bank that normally uses orthodox policies to keep the transitions smooth (i.e. intervention is on a short-term level to stop big moves). The interesting bit is the last few weeks in the pair, because the move up to this weekend's 3.36 versus the US Dollar has been a spike, but we now have most national commentators saying that it's no flash in the pan and the Sol is likely to keep moving up, to 3.50 or 3.60, because the Central Bank doesn't have much in the way of ammo left to defend it.
If you check the official figures, the Peru Central Bank (BCRP) currently counts on U$62Bn in international currency reserves but that figure is padded out by the number of dollars held in bank accounts by citizens and companies, which comes to around U$36Bn. In fact the BCRP itself has around U$25Bn in liquid reserves and because it's been selling dollars in 2015 to keep the Sol from any sharp deval event, that's down from just over U$35Bn at the end of 2014. Put in simple terms, the BCRP is running out of ammunition. The market is now keenly aware of this (of course) and the Central Bank isn't likely to drain its dollar holding down to zero, the result being the acceleration of the deval.
This is good news for mining costs in Peru in dollar terms, of course. Not so great for its citizenry, who are about to go through a burst of inflation due to the import costs of goods.
Chile: More on the country's rise in mining unemployment
Following on from last week's report in IKN342 that 167 of Chile's 1,100 small copper mining concerns have closed in 2015, this week the country's official stats office, INE, reported (11) that total employment in mining in 2015 has dropped by 19,000, or 7.9%, compared to the same period of 2014. At present some 222,770 people are directly employed by mining, compared to 241,770 this time last year. All sector commentators expect the layoffs to continue and say that there isn't a company out there that hasn't seen significant layoffs. Even the State controlled Codelco has rid itself of 4,292 employees.
For a little more context, Chile's government normally uses a 2.5X factoring for direct to indirect jobs in mining, i.e. the number of auxiliary jobs that depend on the wealth created by the mining industry. If we use that thumb-rule number and put the two groups together, we can estimate that 66,500 jobs have been lost in Chile due to the slowdown in mining. In a country with a labor force of 7.6m, that works out at 0.9% added to the unemployment stats just this year by mining layoffs. That's significant and even more so when you consider that mining jobs in Chile are traditionally some of the highest paid jobs in the country, especially when compared on a like-for-like basis to similar level employment opportunities in other sectors.
Ecuador: Cordova does Mines & Money
It was interesting to read that Javier Cordova, Mining Minister for Ecuador, was doing the rounds at London's Mines & Money conference last week and talking to the press about the State burden deal his country expects to close with Lundin Gold (LUG.to) soon (according to Global Mining Observer (12). The deal is 22% corporate tax plus a 5% royalty), or that according to this Bloomie report (13) Rio Tinto "is considering investment in Ecuador" on one or more of the copper project areas coming up for grabs as from January 2016 when the government tenders new concession areas to the world.
I voiced my...errr...opinion of Señor Cordova on the blog on Thursday (14) when hearing these multiple messages start coming through, but I'll expand on that here by saying that Cordova is a classic "jam tomorrow" artist who has been promising the world for the Ecuador mining sector ever since Correa came to power, but so far has delivered very little.
Also, the LUG situation is already flagged as the company has stated its timeline includes a finalized deal with the government at end 2015 or early 2016 (by law each mining company in Ecuador negotiates its own State burden deal). The figures cited by Cordova sound reasonable too, but we must remember that they're only part of the whole package and according to the nation's constitution, the State must take at least 51% of total gross proceeds.
As for Rio Tinto, it may be true and it may be false, but as it comes at a time when Rio Tinto is pulling out of copper projects such as La Granja in Cajamarca Peru, the thought of it moving to pick up space in the sketchy Ecuador jurisdiction doesn't sit right. Especially from a man with Cordova's track record while pressing flesh at a trade bash. Avoid Ecuador.
Political risk increases for Tahoe Resources (TAHO) (THO.to)
Last week we noted the potential for increased political risk for Tahoe Resources at Escobal in Guatemala and part of the translated report was about Alberto Rotondo, the Peruvian ex-army man who was contracted by TAHO to run its security campaign and as a result of the violence as arrested by the government. Here's an excerpt:
The ex-army officer is currently in prison waiting to stand trial for acts of violence against community members (in San Rafael Las Flores). Also, according to the CALAS lawyer, "Since 2012 the company has faced a legal action for environmental damage caused since the time of its construction and the legal case is about to come before a judge."
As luck (?) would have it, it turns out that Señor Rotondo absconded from his house arrest in Guatemala, an event reported by Mining Watch on December 1st (15). Rotondo made his escape on November 28th because he didn't want to face his trial that was due to start in January. He is now in Peru according to his own defence attorney (16), but here's how Mining Watch told it earlier in the week:
Guatemala City/Ottawa/Tatamagouche) On Monday, plaintiffs in the criminal case against Tahoe Resources' former security manager, Alberto Rotondo, were informed that he had escaped police custody. Rotondo is accused of having ordered private security guards to attack peaceful protestors outside the Escobal mine in southeastern Guatemala on April 27, 2013, wounding seven men.
"This demonstrates that the Guatemalan justice system, especially the National Civil Police, still suffers from high levels of corruption and influence peddling. The police failed to implement the judge's order to ensure constant police supervision of Rotondo, now turned fugitive," remarked Rafael Maldonado, Director of the Centre for Environmental, Social and Legal Action (CALAS).
This could cause a major headache for TAHO, as even though they're bound to swear blind it has nothing to do with them the optics are very poor and come at a time when the incoming President Jimmy Morales may look for his example for a crusade against corruption and sketchy goings on in the Otto Pérez Molina administration period. Meanwhile, the political risk mounting in Guatemala for TAHO is being completely ignored by the market and TAHO continues to trade in the front rank of precious metals plays (and more like an outperforming goldie, rather than a stock largely dependent on silver for its well-being). IKN reiterates its "avoid" call on this stock, risk does not justify the potential reward and there are far safer ways of playing the PM space.
Colombia awards an environmental permit to an open-pit project
This went largely undetected by the English language trade press but I think it's important. Last week the Gramalote project (51% AngloGold Ashanti, 49% B2Gold) was awarded its environmental permit to continue work, a permit that will allow Gramalote to move forward with work on its pre-feasibility study eventually to feasibility stage that AngloGold Ashanti (project operator) estimates for 2018.
Notably B2 didn't make a squeak about this event (it doesn't seem to care much about Gramalote any more) but it caught my eye because as this local report (17) points out, even though it's only a permit to continue exploration work rather than a full EIA for a mine operation to come it's the first time that any environmental impact permit has been awarded to any open-pit gold mining project in Colombia in decades (and yes, that statement includes La Colosa). When it comes to the bureaucratic swamp that is the government of Colombia, anything positive that that happens to promote the mining industry needs to have as much light as possible shone on it because if so, they may feel willing to do it all again. Or as Ken Kluksdahl, Senior VP Projects for AngloGold Ashanti in Colombia, put it (translated), "This is an important step for the future, which shows us that the Colombian authorities back large and modern mining projects that comply with the highest social and environmental standards. It shows the opening of the country to business and that our future in Colombia is advancing, as we work towards concluding our current pre-feasibility study". A more obvious hint towards La Colosa's future is difficult to imagine.
Samarco: IKN shows you what the mining industry media refuse to show
This is the town of Bento Rodrigues, before and after the November tailings dam failures at the Samarco mine (50% owned BHP, 50% owned Vale):
Keep ignoring it, you sold out shits. Keep ignoring it.
The financial joke that is Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) (a.k.a "What Casey Research can do for your portfolio" part 429)
My isn't it strange how Casey Research pumps so many things run by Amir Adnani, it's surely just pure coincidence how they buy into his stocks and then promote them to the world and then suddenly go quiet about them? Just coincidence. Anyway, you remember the Casey Research pump on Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) earlier in the year? How Marin Katusa pumped it to death via his Energy Report thing before jumping ship, then how Louis Lobito Little Wolf James picked it up and called it (and I quote), "UEC is without question my favorite pick in the uranium space"?
Yeah well UEC published its quarter last night and reported yet another loss, which isn't a surprise because it didn't sell anything. But some of the numbers that came along with the quarter make for interesting reading:
- In one quarter, cash dropped from U$10m to U$5.35m
- Workings capital is now negative U$2.3m
- As from July next year, it has to pay back $1.667m per month until its U$20m financial debt is fully paid.
- And unlike the unsubstantiated and wholly anecdotal claims made by Casey Research early this year, there's no stockpiling of product going on. All you need to do is check the inventories line item (unchanged at U$252k) to know that.
- Bottom line: These people aren't doing anything, but they're happy enough to get through $2.5m a quarter in G&A
So how does UEC plan to fill in the obvious gap in its finances. Well as UEC says itself, they're not about to go profitable anytime soon so they plan to sell paper. Here's a quote from the 10-Q:
"As the Company does not expect to achieve and maintain profitability in the near term, the continuation of the Company as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to obtain adequate additional financing which the Company has successfully secured since its inception, including those from asset divestitures. However, there is no assurance that the Company will be successful in securing any form of additional financing in the future when required and on terms favorable to the Company, therefore substantial doubt exist as to whether the Company's cash resources and working capital will be sufficient to enable the Company to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months. The continued operations of the Company, including the recoverability of the carrying values of its assets, are dependent ultimately on the Company's ability to achieve and maintain profitability and positive cash flow from its operations."
At its current share price of U$1.03, UEC has a market cap of U$101.86m. Its book value is $27.5m (give or take the change) which means this company is running a price/book of 3.7X.
- Price Book at three point seven times.
- In this market for miners.
- For a company with dwindling cash.
- No production.
- Every intention to dilute the share count and finance.
- And $20m of real financial debt on board.
This is the type of bovine excrement that Casey Research recommends to people. A more obvious short in the mining space is difficult to envisage.
Four charts
HudBay (HBM): Come back David, all is forgiven (aka the Alan Haircut).
Goldcorp (GG): Come back Chuck, all is forgiven.
Continental (CNL.to): That old saw about the soufflé not rising twice comes to mind.
NGEx Resources (NGQ.to): What part of "Don't buy news in this market" did you not understand?
News round-up
We haven't done one of these for a while, so...
First the non-news, as the mining world's lapdog press corps continue to give zero coverage to the Samarco disaster and how its industry has managed to ruin a whole Amazon basin river. Contemptible media coverage, vomitworthy. Shame on you all.
Movin' on, Goldcorp's "Conflict free" policy causes conflict, death, violence, extortion and other such lovelinesses in Guerrero Mexico? Hoodathunkit! Here's Reuters with the story.
Galt's Gulch Chile is the Libertarian scam that just keeps on giving. This new (looking) website is the foot-stomp "it's not fair!" approach from the scammed suckers who were stupid enough to trust someone who has Ayn Rand (me first....that a clue guys?) as the central pillar of their life philosophy. Here's a chunkette:
As of November 2015, the investors do not have title to the residential lots, orchards or shares of Agricola GGC (the farm operating company) for which they paid and that Johnson agreed to deliver. Loan payments to GGC investors have not been paid. In addition, titles to two GGC companies and the two parcels that were to become Galt's Gulch Chile are clouded. The project is insolvent.
Unintentionally hilarious.
Here's Shore Capital this morning on Minera IRL. Yes true, what are those irregularities?
PS: The news that the location of the San José galleon, reputedly carrying around a billion dollars' or seventeen billion dollars or choose-you-own-report billion dollars' worth of gold and jewels when it sunk off the coast of Cartagena, has been located and its booty assigned to the country has caused a massive uptick in stories that spell Colombia with a "U". Dumbass gringo hacks never die, they just hibernate a while.
Jaime Pinto and Elliot Associates: The full case file in English
Apparently, Jaime NOT HODGES! Pinto, non-executive chairman of Minera IRL (IRL.to) MIRL.L) with a dark and murky past, has been telling people he knows nothing about his links with the corruption case involving the State of Peru and Elliot Associates (Paul Singer et al) which, according to the government of Peru, ripped off the country to the tune of U$50m.
Therefore and to help Jaime Pinto catch up on what the rest of us already know, here's the official Peruvian Congress case file translated into English. This should embed here if I've done it right but if not you can get your own copy of the downloadable PDF at this link.
Or paste this into the right place:
And here are a few screen captures of the file, including the front page...
...the contents page...
...and this jolly little segment from the conclusion section (and there's lots more where that came from).
Enjoy reading about yourself "for the first time", Jaime. It's little wonder the investigation into these allegations of corruption have been reactivated recently, what with Keiko riding high in the polls. Because yes, no matter what Jaime NOT HODGES! Pinto might tell you or want to make you believe, this case has now been re-opened by the Peruvian public prosecutor and is being actively investigated by the State authorities.
Strong traded volume in Lake Shore Gold (LSG.to)
Lake Shore (LSG.to) (LSG) has done approx 4X average daily volume on its main Canadian ticker this morning and in the process has held onto its price gains of Friday while all around it wilt.
There are two theories doing the rounds, this desk one of many place to have heard the same:
1) That GG is interested in buying out LSG has been an open secret for many months (and hey, full disclosure, it's one of the basic reasons I'm long LSG).
2) Chuck leaving and Garofalo entering means that Chuck will want to seal his deal before exit.
3) Chuck leaving and Garofalo entering means the other possible deal, that of the much larger Detour acquisition, is now off the table because the new boy won't want to bite at that big a cherry early in his tenure.
And that's about the size of it, thus LSG gets a new influx of buyers today.
How to become CEO of Goldcorp (GG)
1) Join a mining company.
2) Stay for five years. Do things.
3) Turn the company from a U$2.038Bn market capper with a share price of U$11.89 into a U$1.08Bn market capper with a share price of U$4.58.
4) Become CEO of Goldcorp
Math is fun
Peter Lynch gives advice to investors:
"If you can't understand the balance sheet, you probably shouldn't own it."
Exactly. Thank you reader PMK for the heads up. Full WSJ piece here.
Minera IRL (IRL.to) (MIRL.L): The EGM continues on December 16th
Here's the NR, here's the pay dirt:
December 7, 2015
Minera IRL Limited Announces Adjourned EGM Will be Re-convened on the 24th Floor at 333 Bay Street, Toronto,
Ontario M5H 2T6, Canada on December 16, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. EST (3:00 p.m. GMT)
LIMA, PERU--(Marketwired - Dec. 7, 2015) - Minera IRL Limited ("Minera IRL" or the "Company")
(AIM:MIRL)(BVLAC:MIRL) today announces that the adjourned Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders ("EGM")
will be re-convened on the 24th Floor at 333 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2T6, on December 16, 2015 at
10:00 a.m. EST (3:00 p.m. GMT).
The top three most visited IKN posts this week are...
...in reverse order:
Third Place: "Basic Life Mistakes #43: Taking career advice from academia" . Good to see the sarcastic ones still get love.
Second Place: "Minera IRL (IRL.to) (MIRL.L): An interesting post...". My stars I'll be glad when this saga's all over with.
First Place: "A news release from Minera IRL SA", the one on Wednesday that announced the subsidiary board meeting wouldn't go ahead until the main IRL EGM was completed. To stop Hodges from running with his sneaky plan, the one that he daren't tell Jones about.
The IKN Weekly, out now
Labels: otto, the IKN weekly
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Food & Drink
6 Slow-Cooked Sunday Suppers
Jennifer Segal is the chef and photographer behind Once Upon a Chef, a family-friendly recipe blog featuring tested and perfected recipes with step-by-step photos.
These hearty dinner recipes are perfect for a chilly Sunday night when you're craving comfort food. You don't need a special appliance or slow-cooker to make them; they're all made in the oven or on the stove-top.
1. Beef Stew with Carrots and Potatoes (pictured above) — This is a classic French beef stew. The meat is seared in olive oil first, and then braised with garlic and onions in a wine-based broth. After a few hours in the oven, the meat becomes deliciously tender and enveloped in a rich, deeply flavored sauce. It takes some time to make but is well worth the effort!
2. Fettucine Bolognese — This is one of my favorite Sunday night meals. The sauce simmers on the stove for several hours, making the house smell delicious and inviting, and the end result is a comforting yet elegant meal that the whole family loves.
3. Chicken Chili With White Beans — Here's a hearty and healthy chili that you can actually feel good about eating: it's made entirely from scratch, loaded with veggies, and chock-full of chicken and beans.
4. Onion-Braised Beef Brisket — This recipe comes from Nach Waxman — owner of the New York City cookbook shop, Kitchen Arts & Letters – and was originally published in The Silver Palette New Basics Cookbook in 1989. Apparently, it is the world's most Googled brisket recipe. It's surprisingly simple: there's no wine, stock or bottled sauces added. Instead, the brisket is cooked on top of a massive heap of onions, which slowly caramelize and release their juices, making a flavorful French onion soup-like braising liquid all their own.
5. Guinness Lamb Stew with Vegetables — Here's a traditional Irish stew made with lamb and Guinness. Try serving it with homemade buttermilk biscuits.
6. Easy Slow-Baked Boneless BBQ Shortribs — When you're craving comfort food, you can't beat meltingly tender short ribs slow-cooked in a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce. The best part? Only 15 minutes of prep and the oven does the rest.