Prices of fuel oil (fuel) subsidies must be lowered immediately return related decrease in world oil prices. "Prices should fall again to the figure of Rp 4,500, or both diesel price premium in accordance with keekonomiannya and the decline will not burden the government budget because it is the cost of production," said members of the House of Representatives Commission V Enggartiasto Lukita as quoted Antara in Cirebon, (21/12).
According to Enggar, if the decline occurred, the public transportation fares should fall significantly at least 15 percent to drive the rill. "I requested the Director General of Land Transportation immediately create a new tariff formula so that when the Government announced the new fuel prices lower, have shown how much the fare decrease," said DPP Chairman of the Golkar field of Energy Management Resources.
He explains, a decrease of six percent due to a decrease in fuel recently considered are still not sufficient. "But I have a public transport fares down after the government announced a decrease in the next fuel, which is not now," he said.
Not only fuel, Enggar also ask for the reduced price of gas Liquefied petroleum gas and coal so that businessmen can do business efficiency.
"The price of gas Liquefied petroleum gas must be down because the price is above the economy. The Government must be consistent with the decision to sell at the price of economy," he said caleg now become number 1 in Dapil VIII sections.
EDJ
Source: Ant
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Indonesia oil prices should be Lowered Again
Ask KADIN 9 Recommendations
Facing the impact of the global economic crisis to the front, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) to the nine recommendations to the government and hope. Said Kadin General Chairman MS Hidayat in the General Assembly V Kadin with the theme 'Building Regional Economic Resurrection for National Economy' at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Senayan, Jakarta, Sunday (21/12).
The contents of these recommendations include:
First, stabilize the economy by stabilitasi maintain stability of the rupiah, restore inter-bank transactions, and the availability of liquidity and adequate funding for the business sector.
Second, according to Hidayat, providing signs regulations to prevent financial problems that have the potential systemic mechanisms with a clear and can be immediately implemented if the drisis banking liquidity.
Third, the stimulus package to accelerate the availability of a significant and include tax incentives for the sector of labor and the SME and the acceleration of the tax restitution.
Fourth, accelerate the implementation of effective fiscal expansion, especially for optimal absorption of infrastructure development, education and health.
Fifth, to accelerate the implementation of the policies of agro sector, food energy through close coordination between ministries and antaar center and the regions.
Sixth, the government also asked to review the tax return with a goal penrurnan or tax exemptions for certain goods to increase domestic demand.
Seventh, encourage the acceleration of the implementation of infrastructure projects that hit many obstacles, and the development of creative industries.
Eighth, to the opportunity cost of logistics dipelabuhan efficiency, cost klistrik peak hours and so forth and rationalization of various fees and charge both decided and the region.
Ninth, continue to promote Thailand as a place to make investment attractive and protection of the domestic market from contraband goods mellaui mechanism that the WTO agreed.
MYS
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Mumbai terror Damage Peace
WASHINGTON - President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari again voiced about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. In his writings published in The New York Times yesterday, Zardari said the attacks in Mumbai aimed disrupt the peace process Pakistan and India that are still running stagnating and want to provoke conflict between the two countries.
"Mumbai attacks aimed directly not only to India, but also a new democratic government of Pakistan and the peace process with India that has been started," Zardari write.
"Supporting otoritarianisme in Pakistan and actors nonnegara with private interests to perpetuate the conflict do not want Pakistan to develop." He asked the business dilipatgandakan peace and the two countries can work together to combat the threat of terrorism.
"To counteract terrorism design, the two big countries of Pakistan and India, together with the birth of the revolution and the same mandate in 1947, should continue to move forward with the peace process."
Zardari said reconciliation and the approach is the best retaliation against black power that tries to provoke a confrontation between Pakistan and India, and the war against civilization. "
Comments Zardari is shown after Pakistan officials yesterday revealed their midst check someone suspected to be key players Mumbai attacks.
Attacks in the capital of the Indian business travel 172 people, including nine actors. India says tenth of the attacker came from Pakistan and they also submit a list of the 20 terrorist suspects with arrest and demand ekstradisinya.
Zardari stressed, catching terror suspects planners Mumbai with the other 15 people last week as evidence country is committed to fight terrorism. "As shown in a raid last Sunday, which resulted arrest militant, Pakistan will take nonnegara actors in our region, treating them as criminal, terrorist and murderer," he said.
Despite the arrest of people suspected of attacks mengotaki Mumbai, Islamabad would not give one any suspects to India. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said even ready to face even the worst conditions because they do not deliver.
40 Million People More Experience Hunger
ROME, first - target of reducing by half the number of inhabitants from the world hunger by 2015 the lines difficult to achieve. Food and Agricultural Organization or FAO, Tuesday (9 / 12), asserts, the target is difficult because this year alone more than 40 million people of the world's future acute hunger.
"In many countries, the target of reducing by half the world's population that hunger to be a difficult to direct," said FAO Director General Jacques Diouf in a press conference in Rome. Target of reducing by half the world's population that hunger is one of the Millennium Development Goals (Millennium Development Goals), which is set in 2000.
"This is the sad reality that can not be accepted in the morning to the 21 century," said Diouf. "Moreover, the target reduction of half of the population that hunger by 2015 can not be morally acceptable," he added.
Global food crisis
Global food crisis has added more than 40 million people in the entrance level of hunger this year. Thus, the total population of the world's hunger to be 963 million people from around 6.5 billion world population at this time.
Diouf, which launched the annual report concerning the world food mentioned, especially the food crisis experienced by poor families, those who have no land, women heads of households. In the report "State of Foods Insecurity in the World 2008," Diouf called rich countries to invest 30 billion U.S. dollars per year in agriculture. Mentioned, this figure is only about 8 percent of agricultural subsidies in developed countries issued.
"Some 30 billion U.S. dollars, there is apanya than subsidies and support from OECD countries, there is no meaning than the billions of U.S. dollars spent all countries that are building to overcome the financial crisis that is happening," he said. OECD (Organization for Development and Economic Cooperation) has developed 24 countries.
Bush dilapidation Open in Obama Ahead
Washington, THURSDAY - Some U.S. general retiree has met with several leading legal advisor to U.S. president elected, Barack Obama, Wednesday (4 / 12), for the urgent removal of the system of detention, interrogation and torture in the campaign quell terrorism.
"U.S. President elected, Obama, explaining, U.S. citizens do not deal with the persecution and the message is we should to the world that the U.S. is a nation that respects the law and against the persecution. Obama believes that the prohibition of torture will save U.S. citizens and help the recovery of the moral status of citizens U.S. in the world, "said an official rejected transition to mention identity. The state officials, meeting with the pensioner was held at the right time.
The pensioner general apply to the U.S. government to stop Obama interrogation methods of U.S. Central Bureau of Intelligence (CIA) which have been beyond the methods used by the U.S. military. In addition to closing strip detainees at the U.S. naval base Guantanamo Bay, the retiree also want diakhirinya transfer of detainees held by the CIA to other countries with known methods of applying the treatment.
In March President George W Bush veto the legislation proposed by several senior officer retiree who want no military interrogation methods used by the CIA. Obama never criticizes the use of torture in the interrogation methods of prisoners and promised close the Guantanamo military detention.
Government transition team explained the decision on a new policy on detainees will be compiled after the government appointed Obama and the legal team following the national security has been served.
Bush Still supporting the U.S. Military Violence
West Point, WEDNESDAY - U.S. President George W Bush to maintain doktrinnya anticipated battle over U.S. security. Bush warned that the U.S. must remain prepared to fight the enemies in the world.
By the time the office about a month to live longer, Bush tried to describe the condition of the U.S. military during this time instead of the first times he served as U.S. president. Bush recognized that the U.S. military is currently more delay, more spry and alert instead of in 2001.
Bush delivered this defense to respond to hujaman himself against criticism that the U.S. military has been involved in the hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. "With all the action that we travel in the last eight years, we have put on a solid foundation for the president and the U.S. military commander in the future," Bush said to thousands of military cadets at West Point.
However, seven years ago following the 11 September terrorist attacks in the U.S., Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and terkemukanya deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has not yet been successful diringkus. Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri is believed hiding in the area of ethnic no sir, which is located in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border.
Without the name of both the main Al-Qaeda, Bush stressed, "Time will come when they successfully snared by the justice responsible for what they do."M
F-18 aircraft in the Fall of the population Settlements
SAN DIEGO, MONDAY - A military jet F-18 owned by the U.S. Marine falls in the densely populated settlement in San Diego, California, USA, on Monday (8 / 12) local time. Pilotnya successful exit from the chair palm, but can not rely on this.
These incidents caused several houses and cars burned. Currently no information whether there are further casualties as a result of this accident.
Ed Costa (54), witnesses who live two blocks from the accident site around, he heard two very loud boom times. When the first crack occurred, he saw a black puff of smoke into the air. some time later, a second explosion resulted kilatan light from the location of the fall of the aircraft.
"Truly egregious, debris, rubble are everywhere," said Costa. His son, Dean (22) Jura feel the vibration strong enough from the house when the plane fell. When he was out to see at least two homes and several cars burned.
He Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Ian Gregor said the plane actually landed in the middle ready Pangkalan Miramar Marine Corps Air that is 2 miles (around 3.2 kilometers) from the accident location. Meanwhile, the U.S. Marine aircraft that have are still investigating the cause of the accident.
Gen. fall of F-18 aircraft have occurred in 2006 in Miramar. When the pilot is successful exit with chairs and palm survivors. Miramar ever used in the movie Top Gun is an operations center that is inhabited 10,000 marine crew. Previously operated the base of the Navy submitted to the U.S. before the 1996 Marine.
EU Send Warship and aircraft to Somalia
Brussels, it - the European Union in their headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday (8 / 12) agreed to launch operations antiperompakan in the sea waters off the coast of Somalia. This operation will involve a number of warships and combat aircraft from several countries. Mission like this is the first held by the EU.
Group of 27 countries is emphasized, the mission will begin with three warships from the Greek, English and French. These ships will be supported by two spotter planes from the French maritime and Spain.
The strength of the sea this will be the fourth ship of war from Germany after mid-December of this. Involvement of the German war ship is still awaiting approval from the German Parliament in Berlin.
Action piracy are in the waters along the coast of Somalia this year. Action on most cruise lines in the world this has resulted in increased insurance costs. The raider also obtain millions of U.S. dollars as ransom.
A number of ships to the war were there to protect ships that trade across the waters. Defense, North Atlantic treaty (NATO) is to send a number of ships to the war there, but no effective action to prevent piracy.
"This EU mission official start Tuesday and this is the first EU operation in the sea area that became a highlight world," said the head of the EU Foreign Policy Javier Solana in a press conference. This mission will start its work with the possibility of using all means, including the power to protect and prevent any action piracy.
An EU official said, warships English and French are in the area. A Greek warship, Tuesday, is also moving to the area. Operational commander in the hands of the AL British force commander and war ships in the sea turns will be held every four months, starting from Greece, Spain, to the Netherlands.
95 piracy action
EU decision this occurs after about 95 action on piracy in Somali waters this year. There are other sources mentioned the 125 piracy action. Around 40 ships have successfully mastered the pirate, including Tanker Dog Star property giant Saudi Arabia. Tanker carrying crude oil are two million barrel with a value of 100 million U.S. dollars.
British Foreign Minister David Miliband told reporters that the mission is very important. "Piracy threatens European trade, but also global trade. The fact there are currently 19 ships that dominated the clear need to be released, "he said. There are a total of 300 crew who disekap.
Developments in Somalia, Ukrainian cargo ship, MV Faina, who disekap pirate since 25 September, failed in efforts to escape from the pirate. This incident took place Monday night. Some of the crew who tried to injure two pirate was killed.
MV Faina bring the 34 tank T-72 Russian-made weaponry and a number of dirompak at the Port Mombasa, Kenya. Pirate ransom ask around 3.5 million U.S. dollars for the release of the ship the goods. The agreement has been reached, but the payment of ransom, has not yet been made. This situation makes the controller of the pirate ship this frustration.
Let Pakistan not want to Mumbai terrorist Available
ISLAMABAD, TUESDAY - The Government of Pakistan, on Tuesday (9 / 12), asserts no one will suspect the perpetrator or the brain terrorist attacks in Mumbai to the Government of India. Pakistan also still trying to keep the peace. However, Pakistan is ready for war if India decided to invite the war.
"We do not want war, but if forced, we certainly will be ready. Then it does not mean we forget the responsibility of maintaining security in the country. However, we do not want no war, "said Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi of Pakistan.
Qureshi asserts, it is only to convey a clear message that Pakistan do not want any conflict with India. Conversely, Pakistan only wants peaceful atmosphere, a stable security, and friendship.
Until now, Pakistan has admitted to holding 16 suspects involved in the Mumbai attack the city. The Government of India has requested that the suspects diekstradisi to India. However, it will not be done. Pakistan says will judge the suspects in Pakistan. "Although the suspects later proven not guilty, they will not be submitted to India," he said.
Pakistan reportedly has been holding gerilyawan founder and leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Maulana Masood Azhar. Chairman gerilyawan groups in Kashmir are known to have become one of the fugitive named in the "black list" fugitive Indian pascaserangan given to Pakistan in Mumbai.
Pakistani Defense Minister Ahmad MUKHTAR add, in addition to Azhar, the arrest Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi (head of operations group Lashkar-e-Taiba). "Lakhvi arrested yesterday (Monday) along with Azhar," said MUKHTAR to the TV station CNN-IBN India.
Azhar was arrested security officials in the Indian Kashmir in 1995. However, he then forced released in 1999 as an exemption benefits 160 passenger aircraft that dibajak. The Government of India estimate, after the free, direct Azhar formed a group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Since it is often the Indian point of this group is involved in various attacks in India, particularly the attack on Indian parliament in 2001. As a result of the attack in 2001, India and Pakistan involved in the war for nearly a fourth time.
More emphatic
Responding to the insistence of the international community, Pakistani security officials to take direct action that is more emphatic. Headquarters-owned headquarters or camps group Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which is believed associated with the group Lashkar-e-Taiba review. Around 15 members of the group leader Hafiz Saeed is currently on hold. In addition, Pakistan is still reported to suspect fillers-16, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who were arrested Saturday.
Indian media as saying Lakhvi planners Mumbai attacks. In the daily The New York Times, the President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari that the arrest of the suspect to prove that Pakistan is maintaining the commitment quell terrorism.
"We will take resolute perpetrators behind the attacks that lurk in our region. They will treat us as criminals, terrorist and murderer, "he said
Monday, December 8, 2008
Sonics Move: A Curse to the NBA
A Sonics Move would be Unfair to Seattle and Detrimental to the NBA
In July of 2006, Howard Schultz announced he was selling the Seattle Supersonics to an Oklahoma City-based investment group led by billionaire Clay Bennett. Like children losing a no-good father only to get a no-good step father, Sonics fans across the Pacific Northwest were struck by the deal.
The deal came just five years after Schultz, the current chairman of Starbucks, bought the basketball team in 2001. He claims that the NBA franchise suffered yearly losses of around $12 million during his tenure. However since Bennett agreed to pay $150 million more than Schultz originally bought the team for, Schultz’ investment seems to have delivered. Although, for a business man, it’s only natural for Schultz to accept Bennett’s offer of $350 million, the deal disappoints Seattle fans. The fans emotionally invested in the team and believed Schultz when he claimed in 2001 that he was purchasing the team in an effort to save basketball in Seattle.
Upon acquisition of the Sonics, Bennett stated that his hopes were to keep the franchise in Seattle, but his true intentions were blatantly apparent to even the average fan: Oklahoma! It’s obvious that Bennett is intent on developing Oklahoma City. He was instrumental in temporarily bringing the New Orleans Hornets to Oklahoma City following Katrina during the 2005-2006 season, and the attendance the Hornets received gave him the sweet taste of financial honey to be reaped by bringing an NBA team to an area that lacks a major sport franchise. It came as no shock when Bennett formally informed the NBA, this November 2nd, just a season after his purchase, that he intends to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City. I was more blown away by the ending of that cheesy romance my girlfriend made me watch last Saturday. Who would have thought love would find a way in the end?
But the real barb is that some believe Bennett bought the Sonics at such an extravagant price in order to increase the financial losses so as to facilitate the move. Bennett claims that during his first ear as owner the franchise lost $17 million. As a result, Bennett proposed to Seattle a plan to construct a new $500 million arena, of which the city would be required to cover $300 million. Without such an arena, Bennett stated that he would be forced to relocate the team. Such an unrealistic proposal was of course just another tool of Bennett’s to move the Sonics. Seattle residents had already suffered a decade’s worth of raised taxes to provide for two other expensive sport facilities (Safeco Field for the MLB franchise Seattle Mariners and Qwest Field for the NFL franchise Seattle Seahawks). Additionally, the current home of the Sonics, the Key Arena, was renovated in 1995 for $100 million. Another burden of $300 million on Seattle residents is really out of the question, and Bennett surely knew this.
NBA owners ultimately have a right to move their team wherever they feel they can acquire the largest profit, as professional sports is a business not a game. But even business should have some code of honor. Bennett should not have even purchased the Sonics if he had no intent of keeping the team in Seattle. The city has supported the franchise for 40 years, which should entitle the city to more than just a year’s worth of discussion to provide $300 million. This is especially true when Bennett has only owned the team for a year, and has yet to attempt to make improvements from within the organization. The team has not been very competitive over the majority of the past decade, thanks in large part to poor roster transactions (i.e. Jim Mcilvaine and his $34 million for three points a game). Couldn’t the franchise’s losses be due to this rather than an ill-equipped stadium? Ultimately, Bennett’s treatment of Seattle residents has been unfair and deceiving. If he is unwilling to make an effort to keep the Sonics in Seattle, he should sell the franchise to somebody who will.
Bennett doesn’t need to apply trial and error to learn his move to Oklahoma City is not a sure-fire success. In 1995, after years of unsuccessful seasons, the Seattle Mariners (Seattle’s baseball franchise) were all but assured to move to Tampa Bay. One amazing season later (in which the Mariners reached the American League Champion Series) fan support grew, revenue increased, and the franchise was saved. Tampa Bay was instead forced to develop an expansion MLB team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, whom have yet to enjoy a winning season. The team’s average attendance has ranked near the bottom in the MLB in each of their 10 years of existence. The financial success of a team depends less on the team’s location as on its competitive success. That being said however, when a team’s competitive edge is dulled, the only thing that will stick with it is the support of long-time fans, fans whose fervor spans generations.
Finally, losing basketball in Seattle would be a detriment to the NBA. Basketball is clearly one of the world’s fastest growing sports, as evident in last week’s game between the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks. The game was viewed by nearly 300 million viewers (an NBA record), largely because Chinese fan’s eagerly watched their country’s two biggest stars, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, compete. Seattle is a gateway to the Pacific with strong trade relations with Asia. The Seattle Mariners are even owned by the Japanese videogame franchise Nintendo - why do you think Mariner fans have the choice of unagi instead of hot dogs at home games? If the NBA wants to maximize its profits internationally, it should not permit the move of the Seattle SuperSonics.
iPhone Under Attack
Apple’s recent product launch of a cell phone has, to the surprise of many, come under serious criticism. Detractors charge the phone is not functional for businessmen, lacks a target audience and is severely overpriced, leading these critics to question what Apple was thinking when it decided to venture into the cell phone market.
I, on the other hand, wonder what the critics are thinking because I have fallen in love with the iPhone and am again amazed at Apple’s brilliance. Here’s my analysis of what the iPhone is, what makes it unique, and why Apple’s business strategy is close to flawless.
First, what exactly is an iPhone? It is a device with which you can, among other things, listen to music, watch videos, view photos, make conference calls, check e-mail, browse the web, and view maps.
If you’ve purchased a cell phone in the last two years, you’ll realize that this list of features is nothing special. Even free cell phones that are given away with service plans have most of these features, and there are several phones costing around two hundred dollars that will allow you to do all of the above.
So what makes the iPhone unique and worth six-hundred dollars? For starters, it has perhaps the largest, most gorgeous screen I’ve ever seen on a phone. With a width of 3.5 inches, the screen is even larger than the one for the iPod video. But perhaps most important is the sheer brilliance of the iPhone’s design.
While other products offer the same features as the iPod or the Macbook at a significantly reduced cost, people willingly pay extra because Apple provides the smoothest-running applications and the most intuitive and easiest to use products.
What the iPhone’s critics don’t understand but what most Apple customers realize is that product design is what sets Apple apart from its competition. While other products offer the same features as the iPod or the Macbook at a significantly reduced cost, people willingly pay extra because Apple provides the smoothest-running applications and the most intuitive and easiest to use products.
For example, before the iPod was released many mp3 players with similar song and memory capacity were already on the market. Four years ago, I begged my father for an iPod, but he insisted I buy the Nomad Zen 2.0, which carried the same number of songs and was a hundred dollars cheaper. What did we get? A mp3 player whose hard drive crashed after I endured a frustrating year of weird play lists, a lagging interface and a difficult to use file transfer software. Now my father uses my iPod more than I do, and I don’t think he could ever switch back.
I expect that customers will come to realize that the iPhone is another iPod. Yes, the iPhone may cost four or even five hundred dollars more than some competing phones, but the iPhone’s design and usability will attract customers. The cell phone has become an essential resource for everyone from eight to eighty. Everyone has a cell phone. But everyone I know has a problem with their cell phone too, from broken antennas, buttons that respond four seconds after they are pressed, impossibly complex interfaces, or other problems that grow to frustrate people over time.
Given Apple’s standard and commitment to design, I am confident this won’t happen with the iPhone, and I am certain there is a large market for people willing to pay a premium for a product that they will actually enjoy using. While the features of the iPhone may not differ from its competitors, the iPhone delivers in a fun way. The new visual voice mail system allows users to see on a very simple screen who has left a voice mail and to pick which messages to listen to—brilliant. Perhaps the most significant feature is the huge, incredibly intuitive touch screen. While most cell phone users pay for many features that they have no idea how to use, iPhone owners pay for features that can access easily.
Yes, compared to its competitors, the iPhone seems expensive, but Apple always prices its products based on what people will pay. Apple sells the black Macbook at a more expensive price than the white Macbook simply because of its color. Why? Because people are willing to pay more for a black Macbook than a white one! The iPhone is so vastly superior to its competitors, people will buy it. There are those who say the iPhone lacks a target audience, but that’s because the iPhone wasn’t made just for college students or just for businessmen but for every cell phone user who wants a quality product.
Last year, one billion cell phones were sold. Cell phones are a trillion dollar industry that dominates the mp3 player industry in terms of size. Apple understands the problems users have with their cell phones - more so than even cell phone users do, and Apple is entering with perhaps the best cell phone anyone’s even seen.
While other companies have turned to open-sourcing, sharing information, and providing products as cheap as possible, Apple marches to its own drummer. Apple will continue to lead not by being the first, but by being the best. Ladies and gentlemen, if I can’t persuade you to buy an iPhone, I hope I can convince you to buy your Apple shares now.
The iPod Video
Recently, there has been a whole lot of clamor about the new iPod video. So, couple of days ago, I decided to test-drive this new fad by borrowing one from a close friend of mine.
One of the first things I realized about the iPod is that I never needed to open the instruction manual to figure out how to use it. I have to admit, after a couple seconds of holding the iPod in my hands, the controls felt very natural and the navigation was surprisingly straightforward and intuitive—just slide the touch-sensitive wheel and you immediately see its effect on the screen. This fifth generation iPod provides an optional new way of interaction though, called the iPod Remote. Simply connect the iPod to your TV via the also optional universal dock, and you can check out a slide show of color pictures with your family and friends.
The revamped 2.5-inch color LCD screen is actually a smidgen wider than the ones on the previous four generations. Viewing a video on the 65000+ color screen was amazingly smooth even during intense graphic sequences. Alright, I admit that it would be better to view them on, say, a 3-inch + display, but I can settle for this one. Despite the excellent video display, there have been many negative things said about the new iPod’s video playing capabilities. Some say the battery life becomes horrendously short or that the load times for videos are sometimes long. Apple advertises its battery life as 14 hours for the 30 GB model and 20 hours for the 60 GB. Realistically though, you definitely won’t be getting this much. A good way to conserve life is to turn off the backlight; the display is quite readable with sufficient indoor light. For the casual movie users though, there is no need to worry about battery life too much. Unless you plan to watch the entire series of “The Godfather” on one charge, you’ll be more than satisfied with what this iPod can put out.
Concerning compatibility issues, the iPod Video is remarkably versatile; it can display most of the conventional media formats out there: MPEG-4, H.264, quicktime mov, just to name a few. Regardless of format, whatever you download from the iTunes store (now one of the largest online media providers in existence) is guaranteed to work. One of the more popular ways of getting media on to your iPod has been through third-party conversion software. There are plenty of converters that will transform anything playable by your computer's QuickTime Player to an iPod-compatible format. Some of these are freeware programs like Videora’s Converter for Windows, while some are purchasable that tend to be of better quality and speed such as QuickTime 7 Pro or Roxio’s Toast 7.
Despite the rather scratch-prone surface, the new iPod Video is a huge jump in value for the iPod line. Whether you’re an iPod aficionado or newbie, you’ll love the added features, capabilities, and accessories. It’s slightly sleeker and more comfortable design adds a touch of grace to this already eye-catching piece. Compared to other competitors, it’s a fantastic deal. Kudos to Apple!
A New Mission for Microsoft
Just a couple months ago, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates unveiled a new corporate mission statement to the public by announcing the refocusing of his company’s resources toward a set of “Live Software.” These digital instruments would facilitate access to Microsoft’s web-based services and MSN for consumers, developers, and businesses. During the conference, many executives from Microsoft, including David Cole, senior VP, and Neil Holloway, President of Microsoft’s Europe and Middle East Operations, expressed their division’s progress on Live initiatives and claimed that soon Microsoft’s search technology would be the most relevant source for consumers in the United States. Unfortunately, one small hurdle stands in their way: Google.
“Windows Live” is the core of Microsoft’s innovative endeavor to reap some of the plentiful and ever-growing benefits of Internet-related sales that Yahoo and Google have dominated in the last few quarters. Cole, also head of MSN, comments “Make no mistake, Windows Live is our strategic bet to change the game and win, while we grow and drive revenue with MSN.com.” Their new site, www.live.com, provides technologically advanced multimedia tools that pave way to new methods of search protocol. Even though it is still in beta version, live.com commands the attention of more than 3 million users worldwide and possesses the second highest Net Promoter score, which is a measure of the number of users that have found the site to be useful enough to recommend to their peers.
One of the most powerful and ingenious tools provided by live.com is the ability to customize searches so that users can sift through their search results over and over again using whatever types of filters they want. The idea of mass customization is a new theme of Microsoft’s Live initiative. Corporate members hope that by the summer of 2006, computer users would be able to create “search macros,” which are features that lets them save specific internet sites to review upon their next search. For instance, business people will be able to create a list of news feeds, be it Reuters, WSJ, or Business Week, and each time they search for, say, Goldman Sachs, they will have the option to find out what these sources have to say about this company. Users will also be given the ability to share their macros with their friends, giving a completely new meaning to the phrase “distributed computing.”
They will also be able to preview pages directly on the Live search engine as well as have a results page that will continuously load itself so that searchers will not have to click on the “next page” link ever again. Image searches will also be revamped as Microsoft plans to implement a magnifying script so that when users hover their mouse over a picture, the image will enlarge outwards for a better and clearer view. Microsoft is also utilizing scripts from Onfolio, a company they purchased earlier, which allow versatile caching of web pages. Think of this as bookmarks (or “favorites”) on steroids. Live is finally topped off with the unveiling of a new tool called Live Local Search which is customized to the user’s chosen town.
To further challenge Yahoo and Google, Microsoft has launched “Windows Live Mail” which is a newfangled version of its popular Hotmail email service, which currently hosts 750,000 subscriptions. Corporate executives are hoping that that number rises to 20 million by June of this year. “Windows Live Mail” will not be just an upgrade from Hotmail but rather a completely new system that has been rewritten from scratch. Some aspects of Live Mail that trump Yahoo’s and Google’s services include its higher performance, tighter security, greater functionality, and more advanced guards against phishing, which is a method of identity theft used in emails through which the sender acts as a legitimate company such as Paypal and attempts to steal the recipient’s personal information.
Of course, no comprehensive internet service would be complete without anti-virus packages. Windows Live also provides a “Safety Center” that combines anti-virus software with free spyware and malware scans. So far, 2 million free scans have been processed. Microsoft's MSN Messenger will also be incorporated in this internet package through the introduction of Live Messenger, which allows users to create a virtual workspace for them and their clients as well as provides conduits for communication via video conference or audio feed.
Microsoft plans to release these new functions through what Cole calls the “rolling thunder” approach—a fancy name for implementing services as soon as the coders finish producing them. Microsoft hopes that through an “onslaught” of Live services and MSN upgrades, the Live program will become a leader in its field.
Unfortunately, these new implementations will not kick Google off its throne anytime soon. Internet statistics show that even though Google is the most popular search engine for recent users, Microsoft’s msn.com stills resides as the home page for which many computer users see when they first launch Internet Explorer or Firefox. For Google, that is a huge risk nonetheless. With the advent of Live just on the horizon, Google’s reign will be challenged once again. Now lets wait and see what Google has to throw back.
Google Acquires YouTube
A gigantic step toward an even more gigantic goal.Today, video streams are as necessary for college students as their e-mail accounts and ID cards. At any hour of the day or night I can walk down my hall to see classmates procrastinating by watching hilarious short clips, ranging from home-made videos to ridiculous foreign commercials to NASCAR crashes filled with flames and twisted metal. Indeed, free video sharing has grown exponentially in recent years, and no one knows this better than the industry’s leader, YouTube.
The small, sixty-seven person company has just been acquired for $1.65 billion in shares by Google. This popular video archive, a particular favorite of American college students from around the country, will make a sizable addition to Google’s economic empire. To put this number into perspective, MySpace was recently acquired for $580 million, and the only internet based acquisition in the past few years which rivals the YouTube deal is eBay’s purchase of Skype for $2.6 billion.
But was YouTube really worth all that money? Can it really be more valuable than a year of Google’s net income? And doesn’t YouTube have some serious copyright infringement lawsuits hanging over its head?
All the numbers lead me to believe that the acquisition will be fruitful for years to come. Despite Google having a product which competes directly with YouTube, Google Video has clearly demonstrated its inferiority over the past two years. Back in November 2005, Google Video actually had 400,000 more visitors today than YouTube, but since that time, YouTube has overwhelmingly pulled ahead in visitors per day (a 15.9 million person lead), frequency of visits, and average stay per session. Users comment on YouTube’s superior interface, its swifter uploads and better selection of videos.
Phillip Schindler, head of Google’s Northern European division, cited numerous new opportunities that YouTube’s acquisition brings to the table. These opportunities include a significantly expanded customer base, untapped internet advertising potential, sponsorship of specific YouTube content, and displaying commercials before the video starts. Schindler also emphasizes Google’s attention to copyright laws, explaining that the company is developing a new program for tracking copyrighted videos.
Curiously, it seems that YouTube has been one of many first-rate companies with which Google has paired itself recently. Dell, MySpace, Intuit, Adobe, and MTV, BlackBerry, AOL, and Apple have all developed strong ties with Google. What exactly is Google trying to obtain?
“Distribution” says Larry Page. He says that these companies can “reach customers in a way we do not.” Which implies revenue for Google’s one true profit-gainer—AdWords. Each of these companies attracts a different user base—the average Dell user is much different than the average Adobe customer, which is very different than the average MySpace customer. Although only a small percentage of each of these customer bases overlap, all of them can use Google’s revolutionary pay-per-click advertising software.
The concept is truly revolutionary. Many jokingly proclaim that Google is “taking over the world,” and even though it is, it isn’t for the reasons you might think. Sure, they have Google Maps, Google Earth, and a million other incredibly useful products which are provided for free, but in many cases, their products (by themselves) are inferior to their competitors and lose money for Google, but because of AdWords, it doesn’t even really matter.
As PayPal, a subdivision of eBay, discovered this summer, AdWords provides an almost unfair advantage for Google. PayPal has been a leader in the e-commerce business, allowing payments and transfers to be made very securely through the internet for a very affordable transaction fee. But when Google entered the market, they may have offered an inferior product, but they did so for free—and they even offered Google Checkout users a discount on their AdWords software. Any other company would lose miserably, but Google can survive and even turn a profit because of AdWords.
But it’s unlikely that Google is satisfied with being a one-product company. Google will continue to expand, just as earlier dominant companies did. Eight years in, Microsoft was also a one-product company. It’s next product? Microsoft Word. So what will Google’s next product be? It’s way too soon to tell, but through its partnerships, Google will swiftly be gaining experience with many different industries, and will have an incredible customer base to tap into when it does find it’s next big thing.
Sure, YouTube’s acquisition may have been a huge step for Google, but compared to the company’s larger goals, the acquisition is one of many huge moves that are sure to come.
China’s Main Share Index Hits Low
On Friday, April 18th, 2008, the Shanghai Composite Index, China’s main stock market index, dropped nearly 4% to hit a 12-month low of 3,095. Despite tremendous gains in the past couple of years, this “Black Friday” was not altogether unexpected; in fact, China’s stock market, currently one of the five largest stock markets in the world, has taken quite a hit in the past year or so, as the government tried to prevent overheating by cooling inflation and growth. What are the implications of this recent decline in the stock market and what is in China’s future?
To fully understand the recent news surrounding China’s stock market crisis, one must first gain an understanding of the way stocks work in China. Equities traded in China can be categorized into three distinct types: A shares, B shares, and H shares. A shares are yuan-denominated and unavailable to most foreign investors, while B and H shares are both dollar-denominated and available to most foreign investors. In addition, A and B shares are traded on the Shanghai Exchange, while H shares are traded on the Hong Kong Exchange. Oftentimes, a company may sell both A shares and H shares; although both stocks may originate from the same company, there may often be large price discrepancies between the two types of shares.
In the two years leading up to 2007, China’s stock market surged nearly sixfold, making it one of the fastest growing stock markets in the world. As its emerging economy continued to grow at a rapid pace, Chinese citizens were eager to invest their money in the stock market, hoping to quickly double or even triple their initial investments. For a while, this strategy proved highly effective, as the stock market continued to shoot up like a rocket. After the Shanghai Composite Index hit its record peak in October of 2007, it seemed like the good times might never end.
However, in recent times, inflation in China has reached near its highest point in the last decade. In order to combat serious concerns of rampant inflation and economic overheating, the Chinese government has tried tightening monetary policy by raising interest rates. Unfortunately, these actions may have had an overall negative impact on the economy, as the government’s efforts to curb inflation have resulted in slowed economic growth and disappointing corporate profits.
As the stocks prices of many of China’s largest companies have dropped, so has the stock market as a whole. For instance, PetroChina, the largest company in China, saw its stock price fall nearly 5% to around 16 yuan, well below the price at which it was initially floated last October. Similarly, the stock prices of some of China’s other largest companies, such as China Life and Sinopec, have also dropped significantly following disappointing earnings reports. Even with the government passing measures aimed at stimulating the economy, such as tripling the amount of money overseas institutions could invest in yuan-denominated stocks and bonds to $30 billion and ending a freeze on the sale of new mutual funds, the stock market continued to drop. Overall, the benchmark CSI 300, which measures shares traded in both Shanghai and Shenzhen, and the Shanghai Composite Index, which includes 862 company listings, have both declined approximately 40% over the course of the past year, making China’s stock market one of the world’s worst performers during this time period. To put things in perspective, the Shanghai Composite Index is currently 50% below its record high in October 2007.
In the days following China’s “Black Friday,” the government has tried to fight the drastic decline in the stock market, which wiped out $1.7 trillion of market value, by cutting the equity trading tax from 0.3% to 0.1%. The following week, the stock market seemed to rebound, as it gained 16% on the week; this included the biggest single-day gain, 9.2%, in its history. Even though the month of April has resulted in an overall gain for China’s stock market, it is still experiencing some major difficulties.
So what can be expected of China’s stock market in the upcoming months? According to some analysts, such as Jerry Lou and Allen Gui of Morgan Stanley, corporate earnings growth may continue to disappoint this year. Furthermore, in the opinion of Credit Suisse analyst Vincent Chan, H shares are considered more attractive than A shares. At the same time, the recession in the United States may also have a negative impact on China, as the country’s exports may decrease. As a result, the current consensus among many analysts is that China’s shares are viewed as a “sell”.
Nevertheless, there are still reasons for hope and optimism in the coming months. The upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing are expected to be a major boom for the economy. As the world’s best athletes descend upon Beijing to compete for Olympic gold, money will also pour into China. Through corporate sponsors, ticket sales, merchandise sales, tourism, and other revenue streams, the Games are expected to bring in billions of dollars to help China’s currently sagging economy. As a result, there are hopes that this boost to the economy will lead to a strong stock market rally once the Games have ended.
Like any country’s stock market, China’s stock market has experienced both highs and lows in the past few years. At present, it is experiencing one of its low points, but moving forward, there may be hope for an improved economy and stock market.
The Role of BlackRock in the Financial Crisis
During the historic year that has been 2008, many of the largest financial institutions in the United States have fallen victim to the financial crisis that has hit the American economy. Other than financial troubles that have resulted in bailouts by the federal government, purchases by other companies, or filings for bankruptcy, what links companies such as AIG, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac? The answer is BlackRock. During the historic year that has been 2008, many of the largest financial institutions in the United States have fallen victim to the financial crisis that has hit the American economy. Other than financial troubles that have resulted in bailouts by the federal government, purchases by other companies, or filings for bankruptcy, what links companies such as AIG, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac? The answer is BlackRock. As the turmoil and upheavals in the financial industry continue, BlackRock sits right in the middle of the whole crisis.
What is BlackRock? BlackRock (BLK) is a major American investment management company that manages more than $1 trillion in assets through mutual funds, pension funds, 401(k) plans, and other investment vehicles. Founded in 1988 as the Financial Management Group within the private equity firm Blackstone Group, it was separated into an independent company in 1992 under the name BlackRock by Larry Fink, the current CEO of the company. BlackRock was purchased by PNC Financial in 1995 and four years later, in 1999, the firm went public. In recent years, BlackRock has undergone significant growth through various mergers and acquisitions. These transactions include the purchase of mutual fund business State Street Research Management from MetLife in 2005, a merger with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in 2006, and the acquisition of fund-of-funds company Quellos Capital Management in 2007. Today, the New York City-headquartered BlackRock employs around 6,000 employees and operates 35 offices in 18 countries.
As credit-ratings agencies such as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s have lost credibility during this credit crunch, BlackRock is well regarded in the industry for its ability to examine a financial institution’s balance sheets and provide an accurate valuation. For instance, BlackRock recently worked with UBS to help the Swiss giant unload a $20 billion portfolio of mortgage-backed securities. In fact, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulsen tabbed BlackRock as a candidate to manage the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), part of the $700 billion bank bailout package. Whether a client survives or not, BlackRock receives payment in the form of a pre-negotiated flat fee. Nevertheless, in these unprecedented times, the survival of one of its clients is regarded as a win for BlackRock.
Ironically, CEO and Chairman Larry Fink’s career is closely intertwined with collateralized mortgage obligations (CMO), which along with other asset-backed securities, have been one of the major impetuses for the current financial crisis. A CMO is a type of mortgage-backed security in which a pool of bonds is divided into different components, or tranches. The tranches each have their own risk characteristics and maturity ranges; thus, repayments from the securities are used to retire bonds in a specified order. For instance, in a CMO with A, B, and C tranches, investors in class A are paid off first, then investors in class B, and finally, investors in class C. Working as a bond trader at First Boston in 1983, Fink sold his first mortgage-backed security to Freddie Mac to help the company unload $1 billion in mortgages. In the ensuing years, Fink became a rising star at First Boston for his expertise in CMOs during their nascent years. As mortgages grew into a multi-trillion dollar industry, dangerous side effects began to arise: the distance between the original borrowers and the investors of the mortgage-backed securities grew wider and wider, so the Wall Street firms trading the securities became less and less aware of whether the loans would actually be paid off by the original borrowers.
Luckily for BlackRock, due to Fink’s expertise in mortgages and his understanding of their hidden dangers, the company was prepared for the mortgage crisis last year. BlackRock Solutions, an in-house team created to help troubled companies analyze their portfolios, was founded in 2000; in 2006, as the current crisis was about to hit, the company began advising credits to unload mortgage-backed securities. The analytical capabilities of BlackRock are enormous; with 2,000 computers lined up row after row and an army of analysts that includes physicists, nuclear engineers, electrical engineers, economists, MBAs, and accountants, BlackRock Solutions runs millions of risk models a day to help answer the million dollar question for many companies these days: How much money is the collapse of the debt markets going to cost our company?
BlackRock itself has not been immune to the current economical crisis, however. When Merrill Lynch, which owned a 49% stake in BlackRock, was bought by Bank of America, Bank of America then became the new largest shareholder in BlackRock. On November 17th, 2008, BlackRock notified its employees that job cuts would soon be made in order to reduce expenses in the current market environment. In a memo to employees, BlackRock stated, “Expense policies and business practices will be tightened. However, it was not possible to reduce costs and achieve re-engineering efficiencies to the extent necessary without considering cuts in staffing. Some positions across the firm will be eliminated.” This follows in the footsteps of other leading money managers, such as Fidelity Investments, Janus Capital Group, Legg Mason Inc., and Putnam Investments, that have also recently announced headcount reductions. At the end of September, BlackRock had $1.26 trillion in assets under management, down from $1.43 trillion at the end of June. At the same time, the stock price of BlackRock is down 40% for the year.
In the end, what separates BlackRock from other firms is not that it can analyze risk; many companies can run risk models. BlackRock distinguishes itself from other firm in that on one hand, it is not an investment bank, so it does not trade for itself and compete with its clients and yet, on the other hand, it offers such a broad range of services that it dwarfs most other independent risk-assessment companies. Thus, in this current whirlwind of economic turmoil, BlackRock sits well-positioned to help analyze and provide solutions to the deepening troubles of the economy. With no clear end in sight, it is a safe bet that going forward, BlackRock will continue to be a key player in helping to bring the U.S. economy out of its current troubles.
Diamond
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| Thursday, 04 December 2008 | |
| On October 10th, Robert Diamond Jr., President of Barclays PLC, spoke to Princeton students about the state of financial markets, government’s response to the crisis, and Barclays’s position as one of the leading financial institutions. On October 10th, Robert Diamond Jr., President of Barclays PLC, spoke to Princeton students about the state of financial markets, government’s response to the crisis, and Barclays’s position as one of the leading financial institutions. Diamond said that over the last four or five weeks, liquidity issues have returned due to the restructuring of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the government’s decision not support a bailout of Lehman Brothers. The preferred stocks of the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) were seen as safe investments and after the government took over the GSEs, the value of those shares went to zero causing investors to panic. When this was followed by the disorderly liquidation of Lehman Brothers, financial markets reached new lows and the spreads of credit default swaps of other financial firms rose drastically. Credit default swaps are derivatives in which the buyer of the instrument pays a premium to the seller and receives a payment in the event that the underlying company defaults on its debt; the cost of buying the swap rises if there is increasing concern that the company will have difficulty fulfilling its debt obligations. The Board of Barclays had been discussing the possibility of acquiring another institution since early in the year after realizing that the distress in the financial markets may offer opportunities to take over other companies at a discount. Executives from several financial institutions, including Barclays, began serious discussions to acquire parts of Lehman Brothers. After failing to reach a deal, Lehman was forced to declare bankruptcy on Monday, September 15th. In the ensuing days, discussions continued and Barclays agreed to take over Lehman’s broker-deal unit and headquarters in Manhattan for $1.75 billion. Barclays’s acquisition of Lehman’s broker-dealer business was the only instance of a non-US bank acquiring a US institution. The deal gave Barclays a top three position in US equity trading, derivatives trading, equity origination, high grade and high yield corporate bond trading, and asset-backed securities trading as well as a top five position in US Mergers and Acquisition Advisory. Analysts have said that the deal was a bargain for Barclays and that the takeover of Lehman Brothers, which was the fourth largest investment bank, gave Barclays substantial market share in many areas that it previously had not been exposed to. Throughout his presentation, Diamond stressed that “the universal banking model is the only model that can succeed” and that “as markets consolidate, it is important to be a leader in Investment Banking, Investment Management, and Wealth Management.” He added that there is a growing overlap between these three divisions and that knowledge of all three fields is needed in order to be successful and properly cater to clients. After J.P. Morgan agreed to acquire Bear Stearns, Bank of America purchased Merrill Lynch (the deal is set to close in early 2009), and Barclays took over parts of Lehman Brothers, the only two investment banks that remained were Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. However, those two institutions filed to become bank-holding companies, effectively ending the era of the free-standing investment banks. Diamond also stated that Barclays continues to concentrate on managing risk and costs as well as staying close to clients during these turbulent times. In one move to reassure its clients, Barclays put its own money into its money-market funds after several money-market funds that broke the buck lost many of their clients. Also, Barclays continues to lend to its corporate clients, while some other banks have halted or cut back loans to many of their customers. Despite predicting that it will continue to be a challenging time for financial markets around the world as the US economy likely enters a recession and commodity prices continue to fluctuate, Diamond sees imminent opportunities for both Barclays and students who are entering the financial sector. While admitting that it will be more difficult to obtain positions in the field of finance, he stated that “industry will be far more entrepreneurial and creative” as the universal banking model becomes the preeminent feature of the finance sector. |
| Delta-Northwest: Will the merger work? | | | |
| Thursday, 12 June 2008 | |
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Rising gas prices have heavily hurt multiple industries, but the airline industry could be the most dramatically damaged by rising fuel costs. Current economic conditions have made it nearly impossible for major airlines to earn a profit. To combat the gloomy economic forecast, Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines announced that they had agreed to merge in a $3.1 billion deal. The proposed merger would create the world’s largest airline, surpassing industry leaders such as American and United. Both Delta and Northwest hope that the merger will allow the two companies to reduce costs through consolidation. After Delta agreed to buy the Eagan, Minnesota based Northwest, the Delta president Ed Bastian said to Minnesota legislators that the US airline industry was reaching the “break point”. Since March 31, Aloha Airgroup Inc., ATA Airlines Inc., Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc., and Skybus Airlines Inc. have all filed for bankruptcy. With crude oil prices reaching over $100 a barrel, Delta and Northwest believed that the only way for the two companies to survive was to combine resources and consolidate. The new Delta-Northwest would also have over $7 billion in capital to withstand problems facing the industry and integrate the operations of the two companies. |
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Shift in bearing may cap Bay storm strength
Vinson Kurian
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 5 Thursday’s depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a deep depression on Friday, just a churn away from being classified as a cyclone, but slight shift in coordinates could weigh in to alter storm strength and direction.
According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre of the US Navy, the storm, numbered 07B, has of late shown a tendency to move along a more northerly track than seen earlier, guiding itself into a region massed by vertical shearing winds.
ALREADY AFFECTED
These shearing winds can lop off the top of a building storm, undermining its strength. A JTWC update cited satellite imageries to assess that 07B may already have been affected in this manner, with the low level circulation centre around which the storm builds getting partially exposed along the western flank.
Convective bands should ideally wrap into a closed core for the system to grow in strength. But incursion of dry winds or close proximity to land could work against consolidation in this manner despite obliging surface waters.
07B is forecast to continue to move to the northwest-to-west-northwestward direction (a net northerly bias to the track) that would bring it face to face with shearing winds.
TN FOR LANDFALL?
This may minimise 07B’s development as it moves in for a landfall which JTWC now figures could take place even along the southeast Indian coast (Tamil Nadu coast) by Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
In this context, the forecast by India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre for Indian Ocean (both the Bay of Bengal and
The IMD update said on Friday that overnight’s depression over the southeast Bay moved west-northwestward and intensified into a deep depression at
The system is likely to intensify further and move in a west-northwesterly direction towards north
RAINS FORECAST
Rain or thundershowers are likely at many places over Andaman and
Mainly dry weather is being forecast for the rest of Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
Squally winds speed reaching 55-65 km/hr in speed and gusting to 75 km/hr are likely along and off the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts from Sunday morning.
`HIGH’ SEAS
Peak winds could gust to even 85 km/hr on Sunday and Monday. Sea condition will be very rough to ‘high’ along these coasts and fishermen have been advised not to venture out. Extended forecasts up to Wednesday spoke of fairly widespread rainfall activity over extreme south peninsula and the Andaman and
Meanwhile, a moderately strong western disturbance is set to enter northwest
Carmakers offer discounts to clear stocks at retail end
Our Bureau
Maruti Suzuki, for example, has almost doubled the concession on Wagon R and M-800.
The company increased discount on its Wagon-R to Rs 25,000 plus insurance for December as compared with Rs 12,000 and insurance the previous month. Even on M-800 it is giving a price cut of Rs 4,500 and insurance as compared with Rs 2,000 last month.
On its compact car, Alto, the concession is up to Rs 7,000. Hyundai too announced selling its flagship model Santro at Rs 2.99 lakh. The slowdown in the economy and reduced financing on vehicles by banks have led companies like Hyundai to provide attractive deals even to customers for its newer and best selling models like i10 by offering free accessories worth Rs 5,000 and insurance.
Dealers say that the discounts offered this month have been tempting as next month the model year will change. “Many of the customers do not want to buy a year end model. Hence to clear the stocks, companies usually offer good deals,” said a dealer.
The strategy of higher cuts is also amid fears that December could be worse. Almost all auto companies posted the sharpest decline in sales in November. Maruti Suzuki saw domestic sales fall by 27 per cent, Hyundai by 23 per cent and Mahindra by 12 per cent on its
“November has been very dull for all manufacturers. And December being the year end is even worse. So all companies want to liquidate their stocks,” said a Honda car dealer.
Markets this week
The Sensex opened on a positive note on Monday but changed direction and closed more than two per cent lower following a spate of bad news from the domestic economy and weak global equity markets. The Sensex ended 252 points down at 8,839 while Nifty closed at 2682, down by 72 points.
LIC takes its stake beyond five per cent in three public sector banks - State Bank of
During October-November, LIC acquired 1.67 crore shares representing 2.64 per cent stake of SBI from the secondary market. It also acquired 9.6 lakh shares of Bank of India on 11th November, hiking its stake to 5.14 per cent. It bought over 1.09 crore shares in Allahabad Bank, taking its stake to 8.84 per cent as on November 12.
The mutual fund industry's assets under management (AUM) fell seven per cent in November. Their AUM now stands at Rs 4,02,029 crore against Rs 4,31,860 crore in October.
For efficient use of margin capital by market participants, SEBI on Tuesday announced extension of cross margining across the cash and derivative segments for all categories of market participants.
Earlier, this facility was available only for institutional trades. However, only the index based stocks and stock futures will be eligible under the new cross-margining scheme.
Shares ended weaker on Tuesday, led by blue-chips and auto companies, over concerns about the global economy, but short-covering towards the end pared early losses.
The Sensex ended down 100.63 points at 8,739 and the Nifty fell 25 points to 2,658.
Indian Shares closed flat on Wednesday after a volatile session. The Sensex ended up 8 points at 8,747. after rising to 8,855 in opening trade, buoyed by positive global cues and expectation of interest rate cut by the RBI. On the NSE, the Nifty index closed flat at 2656.
NSE has revised upwards the market lot for 243 stocks in the derivative segment.
As per data put out by NSE, these changes would take effect on the farther month contracts - March 2009 series. The upward revision ranges between two and 14 times.
The benchmark indices surged on Thursday, sparked by a lower inflation rate, and expectations of a stimulus package from the Government to boost the economy.
The Sensex surged by 482 points to close at 9230 and the Nifty gained by 131 points to end the day at 2788.
The inflation rate for the week ended November 22 was at 8.4 per cent, which created hopes of a substantial cut in interest rates by RBI on Saturday.
Indian stocks tracked the European markets which were up in early trade as the European Central Bank,
Indian companies will now have one year's time to launch their IPOs or rights issues after the clearance of draft prospectus by SEBI.
SEBI at its board meeting on Thursday decided to extend the validity of its approval for IPOs and rights issues from three months as of now to one year, subject to updating of documents by the issuer.
Fund managers welcomed the decision on Thursday making listing mandatory for close ended schemes of mutual funds, and disallowing early exit from these schemes.
The European Central Bank on Thursday slashed its benchmark lending rate by 75 basis points to 2.5 per cent.
The Bank of England has cut the bank rate by 1 percentage point to 2 per cent.
The BSE benchmark Sensex on Friday tanked 265 points to close below 9,000-mark on heavy selling by funds in blue-chips led by the information technology, realty and metal segments owing to profit booking at higher levels. The Sensex closed at 8,965.20, down 264.55 points. On the NSE, the Nifty ended lower by 73 points at 2,714.40 points.
Will Indian auto parts cos break into Japanese clubs?
T. Murrali
Chennai, Dec. 5 The Japanese auto industry has begun exploring possibilities of sourcing components from
A two-day event, organised jointly by the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) and Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), saw the presence of 22 large potential buyers from
Pointing out that this is the first time that JETRO is conducting such an event in
Japanese small car major Suzuki entered
So
This is despite there being 200 Japanese entities in
Yet,
In contrast,
Are things changing?
But now, following its decision to reduce dependence on any one country, Japanese auto industry is looking at
Japanese representatives at the expo said
Twenty-two Japanese companies, including Denso,
PSBs play it safe with nostro accounts in US
C. Shivkumar
Senior banking sources said that nostro account balances or correspondent accounts were maintained with 17 banks, including Wachovia, till about 3 months ago.
A nostro balance is that one bank maintains with a foreign bank in foreign currency.
Bankers said that the Reserve Bank of
Nostro accounts
At least 22 banks have failed in the
Domestic bankers said that the RBI also advised them to hold their nostro balances only with large banks that have clearing operations. Accordingly, bankers said that most of them have now restricted their nostro accounts to such clearing banks in the
The bankers said nostro balances were parked are Citibank, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America.
But even with these banks, nostro balances were restricted only to trade finance requirements. Consequently, the nostro balances of all the banks in the country were only about one per cent of the export receipts or about $1.6 billion.
Bankers said that most of the balances were either repatriated to
Resisting temptation
This was despite the high interest offered on US dollar deposits. Six-month certificates of deposits in the
Yet given the uncertain financial conditions in the
Besides, the bankers said that the failure of some of the
Vostro accounts
Nostro balances are treated as assets though they are not risk weighted. This is because Indian banks also maintain a mirror account as a liability in the form of correspondent account of the foreign bank or as a vostro account. This obviated the need for risk weighting such accounts. Yet, there are fears that despite the mirror accounts, the prospects of nostro balances becoming sticky are high.
Consequently, some Indian banks were also resorting to holding correspondent account balances in overseas branches and subsidiaries of other domestic banks as risk mitigation measures. Large domestic banks, like the State Bank of
Outdoor media, hoardings going vacant on poor market sentiment
Varada Bhat
Mumbai, Dec. 5 A few weeks ago, when your car zoomed across the neon-lit streets in Mumbai, there was a glitzy illuminated sign that promised you the comfort of a luxury apartment at an affordable price or a telecom company that kept buzzing with unlimited free calls.
But now due to slowdown in businesses coupled with downturn in the economy, outdoor media companies can’t find more innovations to illuminate their blank sites.
Big ad spenders such as HDFC, Reliance and ICICI are shying away from fat-budget campaigns outdoors, said Mr Sudhesh Paul, Business Development Manager with Bright Outdoor Media (Pvt) Ltd, which has a 50 per cent market share in the ‘Out of Home’ business in Mumbai.
Mr Paul says last week, one of the top private sector conglomerates terminated a six-year contract with Bright outdoor on several locations in the country by giving one month’s notice.
“Sixty per cent of our sites are vacant now,” Mr Alt aaf Shaikh Director of Mumbai-based Roshan Publicity told Business Line. The company once boasted of a clientele of Airtel, Bajaj, ICICI Prudential and HSBC.
Slashing bookings
According to Mr Shaikh, new campaigns are becoming shorter and softer in length as advertising budget is pruned.
“One of the telecom companies, which launched its operations in Mumbai in August, had an initial booking worth Rs 2 crore, which got slashed to Rs 75 lakh,” Mr Paul added.
Traditionally, during the festive season from October to December, the outdoor companies used to hold bid for prime locations, but now due to the financial turmoil, the billboards are falling vacant.
According to Mr Anant Raj, Account Manager with Primesite (the outdoor arm of Mudra Communications), says that his financial clients have stripped the launches of their new products and schemes due to dampened consumer sentiment in the markets.
According to a media guide of a leading outdoor agency, on an average, hoardings cost Rs 18-20 lakh a month, kiosks cost Rs 3500-15,000 a month and gantries cost Rs 3-6.5 lakh a month.
Media efficiency
Although Mumbai and
Mr Amish Tripathi, IDBI Fortis Life Insurance National Head (Marketing and Product Management), said, “We have started focusing on the efficiency of each media. We are selectively choosing media, through which we are getting lot of yields.”
Mr Sanjay Pareek, President of Percept Out-of-Home, a division of Percept Holdings, feels corporates have also realised that the television is a cost-effective medium, considering the increasing penetration.
“The sheer boost in airtime inventory due to recent launches of new channels has resulted in dropping down of rates. Even we are advising our clients to shift from outdoor to television,” he said.
‘I’ve never seen such a positive environment for renewable energy’
N. Ramakrishnan
Recently in
It has been a long day for Mr Ditlev Engel, President & CEO of leading wind turbine maker Vestas. He has been accompanying financial analysts to Vestas facilities in Aarhus and
In the evening, Mr Engel, 44, sits down with some Indian journalists, on a visit to
What has been the impact of the global economic situation on the wind energy sector?
I would prefer to talk about the impact on Vestas rather than that on the sector, because these might be two different things. In 2007, we did about 5,000 MW at Vestas. We decided to go to 10,000 MW by 2010. Our investment and development have been focussed on getting up to this level of execution capability.
The world changed fast. When we announced our second quarter results in August, the only question analysts asked was whether we could get to 10,000 MW by 2010. I said yes, we can. We have over the last 12 months employed 5,000 people. Even though next year we expect to grow by 25 per cent, we have actually made it clear that we have a cost base now that is 15 per cent too high for a 25 per cent growth.
We have demonstrated that we were on the right track with the kind of ramp-up and investment that we are doing. Our investment next year stands at €1.2 billion. Our confidence in the growth scenario is robust. The energy challenges have become even more daunting and pressing now. We live in a world where people are managing issues from day to day, but energy is about long-term view.
Let me put the financial issue out of the equation and look at the political agenda. I travelled in
In the
On the day we announced our Q2 results, the price of oil was around $140 a barrel and analysts asked me why we can’t double the price of our turbines. Now, when the price of oil is $50 a barrel, the analysts are asking me why we can’t lower the price of our turbines. I said the energy companies have a 20-year view and not the flavour of the day. It is clear that fossil fuels prices will go up. There are customers who are facing difficulties, but, overall, the energy agenda is one of the reasons why we believe that the outlook is robust.
We employed 5,000 people over the last 12 months. There have been no lay-offs, but we have stopped employing people for the moment. We haven’t stopped investing. We believe that these things will start moving again, may be not at the same speed. We are certain that the
What about access to capital?
We believe that we can make the projects more bankable for our customers. If you take the customers or the banks’ customers through a presentation, when the banks start to release cash again, we believe that it is some of the lowest risk you can actually release.
There would be other projects with a higher risk profile, which would be more likely to be hurt than these kinds of projects. We spend a lot of time reviewing our customer portfolio and the bankability. There are many projects when times were good, when people have had some very exciting projects and we have just said no, we are not going to do it. The marginal projects will have more difficulties, whereas those who have a safe business will go on.
Have you had any order cancellations? Do you see a slowdown in order bookings?
No, none at all. We have seen that those customers who have lost a bank, for instance, when Lehman went in the
We have learned from the financial crisis that big is not equivalent to good. Those, who do not have good projects or whose financing situation is more complicated, will have a bigger challenge.
Those having good cash flows, good management and strong operations would go on even if they are not the largest companies.
The wind energy industry has always said that with oil at above $59 a barrel, wind energy is more competitive. Now, with crude prices falling below that mark, how do the economics work out?
In July, crude was at $140 and people said it will go to $200 by Christmas. The same people are now saying it is going to be at this level for the next 9-12 months. Apart from the price of oil, it is true that higher the fossil fuel prices, the easier it is to understand the attractiveness of our energy.
From the utilities point of view, this is also about balancing their risk. Wind is the only type of energy where you can hedge your risk 100 per cent for the next 20 years. From a risk management point of view, you want to make sure that you have a diversified portfolio.
I think we have not had a price on carbon in the
Another issue that people haven’t spent so much time on, but I know that some of our customers are factoring in into their business price model is that they don’t believe the price of water for exploration and so many other things will remain at this cost.
