Radio Shalom looks to the future


Radio Shalom president Charles Barchechath mans the microphone at the station.


David Lazarus, Staff Reporter, Tuesday, January 15, 2013
MONTREAL — Since its debut in 1999 on subcarrier radio, a secondary signal from the main transmission, and its May 2007 launch at 1650 kHz on the AM dial, Radio Shalom has persevered as a 24-hour, volunteer-run Jewish radio station despite persistent predictions of its imminent demise.

The rumours have only made the non-profit station more determined than ever to remain viable, says president Charles Barchechath, and to prove all those pessimistic prognosticators wrong.

The station recently launched an all-out effort to attract more non-francophone listeners and more advertisers in general.

“We don’t understand it,” said Barchechath, a retired businessman who succeeded founding president Robert Lévy at the helm. “People have perceived us as the “Sephardic” radio station, but this is absolutely not the case.

“We are the only Jewish radio station in Canada and the only bilingual station commissioned by the CRTC [Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission], and we alternate two hours of French with two hours of English, 24 hours a day.

“We are the voice of the Canadian Jewish community, and the source of Jewish and Israeli news for many, many people.”

The station – whose call letters are CJRS (Canadian Jewish Radio Station) – is making use of Barchechath’s experience and expertise as a businessman to develop Radio Shalom’s potential and “position it” more fully for the Jewish market, to create momentum, he said in an interview where he was joined by Lévy.

A freshly minted board of directors led by Barchechath includes prominent representative figures, including Ralph Bénatar, Sylvain Abitbol, Neil Bernstein, David Bensoussan, Henri Abitan, Dolly Mergui, Patricia Rimok and Lévy.

Barchechath said there’s every reason to be optimistic about being able to attract more English-language listeners and about the station’s overall future, despite a deficit of $10,000 each year, modest advertising revenue and the need to rely on donors in trying to meet a $500,000 annual operating budget.

But Barchechath and Lévy are convinced that the potential is there. Last year, Radio Shalom was the only source of advertising in the city for a Passover matzah being sold at Walmart, “and it completely sold out,” Barchechath said.

And last May, the station held a sold-out fundraiser at the Olympia Theatre featuring comedian Sugar Sammy.

According to a recent survey, more than 100,000 listeners tune in to Radio Shalom each week. Thirty-six per cent are English-speaking, and more than 60 per cent are between the ages of 36 and 64. Close to 80 per cent are university graduates and have incomes of more than $50,000.

At a humble 1,000 watts, the station is picked up as far as the American border and the Laurentians, but there is no limit on the Internet. Since 2010, there have been 4.5 million visits recorded to www.radio-shalom.ca, 144,000 each month.

“We are heard everywhere,” Barchechath said, brandishing letters the station has received from countries including Italy, Denmark, France and Austria.

English-language programming at the station has remained reliable under veteran hosts such as Stanley Asher, Howard Silbiger, Julien Bauer and Stephen Scheinberg, covering everything from current affairs and news analysis to travel and music. But more recent programs that have also been catching on include the popular Money and Business with Sam Ezerzer, the Jewish Comedy Hour with Beta Wayne, Wellness with Dr. Sima Goel and Designs With Sherry.

In addition to the equal time given for programming in French, Radio Shalom broadcasts several hours each week in Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, Arabic and Ladino, and contains religious, Jewish and liturgical musical content, ranging from Sid Dworkin’s Cantor’s Corner to klezmer to the Rocking Rabbi Show. A source for much of the news is Kol Yisrael radio in Israel.

From the onset to the completion of Shabbat and on Jewish holidays, Radio Shalom hands over its broadcast antenna to a non-Jewish gospel music station.

The station itself, tucked away in a nondescript building on an industrial road in Town of Mount-Royal, has only two salaried employees, but four well-equipped broadcast booths from which the dedicated volunteer hosts do their stuff.

“We operate with no money – and with the help of God,” Barchechath said with a laugh.

_______________________________________________

No Matter who Wins the Election, Cycles show a rough 2013;Charles Nenner...

No Matter who Wins the Election, Cycles show a rough 2013;Charles Nenner...
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http://www.radio-shalom.ca/site/emissions-1042
Samuel Ezerzer Radio show host

David Gurwitz
the archives are on website
Charles has been the talk of Wall Street since accurately predicting some of the biggest moves in the Markets over the past few years. His newsletter focuses on various financial Markets - Equities, Bonds, Commodities - Oil and Gold - and Currencies - Euro, Yen, Aussie Dollar, as well as Economic Indicators - VIX, Payrolls, etc.












Charles Nenner's system uses a unique algorithm that factors in multiple cycle movements. With international and institutional clients managing hundreds of billions of dollars, Charles' advice is highly sought after. He also provides media appearances and private speaking engagements around the globe.

Radio Shalom business show drawing listeners/Samuel Ezerzer

Radio Shalom business show drawing listeners

http://www.radio-shalom.ca/EN/showemission.php?ID=1042

DAVID LAZARUS, Staff Reporter, Thursday, January 20, 2011

Tags: News http://thecjn.ca/node/87070

MONTREAL — It is only one little show on one little radio station with very little money. Yet Money and Business, which airs live each Wednesday at 4 p.m. on the all-Jewish Montreal-based Radio Shalom (CJMS) – 1650 on the AM dial and radio-shalom.ca on the web – is managing to attract an increasing level of buzz.

Samuel Ezerzer
One of the reasons seems to be its host, financial consultant Samuel Ezerzer, who despite no previous broadcasting experience when the show went on the air in October 2009, has a style that’s been praised as smooth, polished and professional.
Maybe more important, Money and Business is being regarded as a program with real substance. Ezerzer’s questions and discussions with guests are sharp, incisive and conversational, and apparently because of that, he has managed to snare an impressive array of guests.
They include Gill Michael Bufman, chief economist of Israel’s Bank Leumi; Robert Pozen, chair of the huge MFS Investment Management; David Kaufman, president of Westcourt Capital Corporation; Mike Vinokur, vice-president of Portfolio Management at Trapeze Asset Management, and life insurance successions and charitable gift planning specialist Robin Behar.
The list goes on, and some of the interviews have gone “viral” on the web. One occasional guest has been well-known Toronto writer and comedian Carla Collins.

Ezerzer works with a team that he said in an interview he could not do without.
They include business commentator Maurice Cousineau of the National Bank; regulatory expert Jack Bensimon; business and trading specialist and commentator Gregory Lupu; real estate expert and commentator Joseph Winterstern.
Behar, Ezerzer said, has also provided valuable advice to the team.
For Ezerzer, who was born in Tangiers, grew up next to the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, attended Hebrew Academy of Montreal, and went on to spend 12 years as an investment adviser at the National Bank of Canada, the new hat he wears as a broadcaster has translated into one of the most stimulating periods of his 46-year-long life – even though the radio station is all-volunteer.
“I still can’t believe I am doing this,” he said.
But it all came about by sheer happenstance. Ezerzer had “grabbed a mike” at a fundraiser for a synagogue Torah and sounded so good that he was approached at the event by Radio Shalom sales director Avi Kimchi to try his hand at radio.
Ezerzer’s initial nerves, however, were soon enough replaced by self-assurance.
“By nature, I’m not scared by the prospect of failure or by challenges,” Ezerzer said.
The format of the show – live “call-ins” and interviews – suits Ezerzer’s easygoing style. Ezerzer, who describes himself as “very pro-Israel and very pro-business,” said he spends six or seven hours preparing for each show.
“We are a true talk show,” he said. “The show really is about learning and understanding. We don’t want any infomercials. The guests are not there to promote their own products,” although an occasional reference is allowed. “I try to put myself in my guests’ shoes.”

It is as a result of this approach, said Ezerzer, that Money and Business has become the highest-rated Internet show on the Radio Shalom platform. “We’re very ‘global’ in our approach,” he said.
Still, finding new sponsors remains a continuing challenge for those involved with the show (not to mention the station), with Kimchi, founding Radio Shalom president Robert Levy and others, always on the lookout.

“We put a lot of work and a lot of heart into it,” Ezerzer said.
“I am always asking myself: ‘At the end of the day, what is the listener going to learn?’

“I’m not getting paid and the guest isn’t getting paid. So who benefits? The listener.”

sample show

http://www.radio-shalom.ca/EN/player.php?URI=/../mp3/Programs/1042/1433.mp3

2012-02-22 : Canada's Aging Population ; Financial Tsunami Ahead ; David Gillan, Debbie Gilbert, Dr. Kellie Leitch MP for Simcoe-Grey

‘Greece sliding towards third-world status’

‘Greece sliding towards third-world status’

Published: 20 February, 2012, 21:13

Greece needs a greater rescue package than the one being negotiated in Brussels, says economist Johan van Overtveldt. In fact, the new bailout should be worth at least as much as the entire Greek economy.

­As eurozone finance ministers meet in Brussels to decide if Greece has done enough to get an additional 130-billion euro financial aid package, Overtveldt told RT that Greece actually needs around 170 billion euros to make it through the next few years.

On top of that, he says, Greece needs an additional 35 billion euros to recapitalize its banks.
“So we are talking now about a package that in reality is about 200 billion euros, which happens to be exactly the amount equal to Greek gross domestic product,” he explained.
But even a bigger aid package will not pull the Greek economy out of a deep recession, Overtveldt believes.



“The negative spiral in which the Greek economy and Greek society have been imprisoned for almost two years will only get worse,” he explained. “The austerity program that is imposed on the country will worsen the recession, which in its turn will worsen the budget outlook.”
Overtveldt says what Greece really needs at the moment is a growth perspective for its economy – which can be achieved only by exiting the eurozone.
“It will lead, of course, to a devaluation of the new drachma but that is exactly what is needed to get the economy growing again through international trade,” he concluded.

Over the last two years, Greece has seen a number of rallies and demonstrations that often escalate into clashes of angry and desperate people with the police. Last Saturday, the approval of a new austerity package was followed by a major clash with tear gas being used against some demonstrators. One person was injured and about 60 detained over the violence. 

­‘Greece sliding towards third-world status’

­What Greece really needs right now is a redevelopment plan – and the IMF is the best pick for for the job, economist Harlan Green told RT.
“Greece is sliding very quickly into being a third world country, and the IMF knows how to deal with third world countries,” the editor of PopularEconomics.com said. “In Greece’s case, they’ve lost productivity, they’ve lost what economists call aggregate demand, by just demanding austerity without a plan for recovery.”
Green says that productivity has fallen dramatically not only in Greece, but in Europe as a whole when compared with the US.
“Greeks themselves are very hard workers,” he added. “But it is very inefficient.”

http://rt.com/news/greece-rescue-package-economy-779/

Greece downgraded next to default level by Fitch
Published: 22 February, 2012, 17:32

Fitch has downgraded Greece to a pre - default level (Reuters / John Kolesidis)

TAGS: Crisis, Greece

Fitch rating agency wasn’t impressed by the EU leaders’ decision to grant a second bailout for Greece.It downgraded the country to pre-default level.
The sovereign long-term default rating of Greece now stands at the pre-default "С" level, down from "ССС".
The decision comes after the Eurogroup agreed on Tuesday it’ll release a second lifeline of 130 billion euro to Greece, with private creditors also writing off 53.5% of the country’s debt. Fitch says should private creditors complete a bond swap, the agency will have the grounds to announce a Greek default.
“The rating downgrade won’t influence the world markets dramatically, as they have already taken into consideration the unsteady Greek economy and its probable default. If markets demonstrate any reaction to the rating decrease, these will be short-term changes. Long-term trends might not change,” says Anna Bodrova from Investcafe.
However, the downgrade, which reflects existing doubts whether Greece will be able to solve longer term Greek debt problem, “sets a negative tone for other South European countries, like Portugal and Spain,” Dimitri Kryukov, a head of Russian office of Verno Investment Research, tells Business RT.

http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/currency-currents/2012/02/21/
So what?” he asked. “Things will only get worse. We have reached a point where we’re trying to figure out how to survive just the next day, let alone the next 10 days, the next month, the next year.”


           -Anastasis Chrisopoulos, Athens taxi driver (from Reuters)

130-billion-euro here, 130-billion-euro there, and pretty soon you have to start finding some growth!

One adage that seems to work as much as anything else, and why it is an adage I guess, is “buy the rumor and sell the news.” I won’t bore you with the behavioral aspects of why this works, I think you know. We are seeing it a bit this morning on display on news a Greek default has been averted: the euro is lower, and ditto for most Eurozone bonds since the announcement of a deal that gives Greece another 130-billion-euro it can pour down the rabbit hole with the rest of the money funneled in by Eurozone taxpayers.


Of course, sooner or later financial engineering reaches the limits of its public relations effect and there must be some underlying payoff from said engineering besides getting funds to follow banks chasing into periphery debt for a trade. It’s not that rising periphery bond prices, i.e. lower yields, isn’t helpful; it is. But even at current rate levels, it will be mighty hard for many countries to maintain austerity pledges; all attempts to do so will likely accentuate the trend we see in the chart below:



And of course, this chart is the mirror image of the domestic adjustments periphery countries have to make because they do not have a free-floating currency available to help them make these adjustments:



Thus, periphery economies desperately need some growth. Rising unemployment and tighter budgets will not produce revenues needed to pay debt; instead it produces a self-feeing vicious spiral downward. This view seems completely at odds with the Troika program even though the Greek economy provides them with live test case of abject failure stemming directly from the implementation of their own flawed theories.


And here is why it will likely get worse for Greece and other periphery countries whose growth is heading lower—the real economy will be starved.


We have already witnessed this economic/money/manipulation phenomenon in the US, from the WSJ this morning:


“The eight giant European banks that have disclosed their annual results in recent weeks reported holding a total of about $816 billion in cash and deposits at central banks as of Dec. 31. That is up 50% from a year earlier, when the same banks were holding roughly $543 billion.”


Does any of this sound familiar? You can lead a horse to water, in fact you can force-feed said horse with massive amounts of reserves, but you can’t make him lend any of it to the real economy where real people build real businesses and hire other real people who need real jobs.


Just in case you forgot just how tightly US banks have held on to their Fed sponsored reserves via the massively steep yield curve that impoverishes savers to subsidize bank healing, here is a look. This chart shows reserves in the US banking system ... hmmm ... three years and counting so far since Bernanke and Company decided this is the only viable strategy for the economy. Viable for financial assets, but the other side of the economy is still starved...



The point is, despite the new Greek rescue (I am losing count how many we have had so far), it appears the Eurozone, now clearly a two-track world with Germany bathing in credit and low rates and low unemployment (which adds to more angst and animosity toward Germans amongst the PIIGS), appears collectively heading into deeper recession.


One wonders if now, finally, EU leaders have run out of rabbits of financial engineering to pull from their hats. Financial engineering is a lot easier than real growth. If you don’t believe me, go ask Goldman; after all it is their fun and games that caused much of this Greek problem in the first place.