Archive for June, 2009
Ten major electronics companies in crisis
Hardly any global electronics company has escaped the effects of the recession, but some have been hit worse than others. EE Times magazine has listed ten o’clock companies that it believes are in even worse shape than others.
EE Times list (link) absorbs both semiconductor companies, EDA companies and testing equipment manufacturers. The list is, according to the magazine, the ten companies in its opinion, are most at risk to make big losses, to be bought, search konkursskydd or otherwise see the radically different within a year.
In alphabetical order the names of EE Times following companies:
AMD. Now a processor companies without own production, which remains to evaluate the effects of. Can the company put an end to the losses while maintaining competition with Intel?
The ATE industry. All manufacturers of automatic test equipment (ATE, Automatic Test Equipment) has problems. Companies Advantest, Credence, Teradyne and Verigy yesterday with heavy losses. How long can they hold out?
Cadence. The former EDA market leader, went to 1.8 billion dollars in losses last year, and has replaced the entire management of thunder and crash. First quarter of this year was not as bad out.
Chartered. It is rumored that the eternal Trean on Foundry market, Singapore-based Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, could be bought. Last takeover rumor, which the company denied, said a buyer from the Middle East.
Free Scale. The semiconductor company that was spun off from Motorola has made significant losses in the last quarter and is deeply indebted. Although the debt fell from 10 to 7.5 billion dollars, but only the cost of managing the debts of hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
Infineon. The company has been disposed of its DRAM arm Qimonda, but should, according to EE Times have done it much earlier. Rumors yesterday that the company needs to seek government help to survive.
Magma. The world’s fourth largest EDA company went with a loss of 127 million U.S. dollars last year, on a turnover of 147 million. According to EE Times has rumors of takeover circulated for months.
Renesas / NEC. The two Japanese semiconductor giants are about to merge, but to integrate these companies can be a lengthy and complex history that can cost both money and market share.
SMIC. The Chinese foundryt SMIC, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, doing not much of a profit and need more money to hurricane invest enough to keep up with technology.
Taiwan’s DRAM manufacturers. Inotera, Nanya, Power Chip, Promo and Winbond showed any significant losses during the first quarter. Taiwan’s government has pressed for more cooperation and consolidation, including through the formation of the company Taiwan Memory Co, but so far it has not yielded results.
Sales amounted to SEK 5.4 billion
The banking sector continued Swedbank A to lose and were 4.0 percent down to 43:40 kronor. Thus, the shares had fallen by 23 percent the last two weeks. SEB A fell 2.4 percent to 32:90 SEK Nordea was 1.1 percent down to 60:50 kronor. Royal Bank of Scotland has reduced the target price for SEB to 36 kronor from 39 kronor earlier but increased the target price for Nordea to 58 kronor from 47 kronor earlier.
SSAB A was 2.5 percent down to 107 kronor. SEB Enskilda has reduced the recommendation for SSAB to keep from previous purchases. The target price has, however, increased to 113 crowns from the previous $ 100. According to the European Market Scope lowered the recommendation after the recent strong performance, where shares rose 41.5 percent in one month while the target price increases for signals that steel prices bottomed.
H & M dropped 0.3 percent to 369 kronor. Exane has reduced the recommendation for H & M to neutral from previous Outperform, but repeated target price 407 SEK. Inditex price target was increased while the Exane by 15 percent to 39 euros and reiterated Outperform recommendation.
Several of the property came under pressure. Kungsleden dropped 7.7 percent to 37 kronor and Fabege was 6.8 percent down to 30:10 kronor. According to an article in Dagens Industri on Wednesday threaten a ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court to hit real estate company with a partnership approach used to reduce taxes in connection with real estate transactions.
Husqvarna B rose 1.6 percent to SEK 44:70 with the support of the Goldman Sachs raised the recommendation to neutral from previous sales and drew up target price to 45:85 kronor from the previous 37:27 kronor. Goldman Sachs sees the potential downside risks for the shares has been lost, and notes that the company has taken in 3 billion in March, and reported strong earnings for the first quarter.
Getinge B lost 1.7 percent to 101 kronor, which has Goldman Sachs lowered the recommendation to neutral, from previous purchases. Cheuvreux has raised the target price for Getinge to 90 kronor from 60 kronor earlier but repeated under perform and notes that the construction of hospitals in the U.S. continues to be weak with the modest rise 2.2 percent in April.
Elekta B was 3.0 percent lower to 105:75 kronor. Goldman Sachs has certainly raised the target price to 96 kronor from 50 kronor, but it is still a bit during the last price paid.
UK recession seems to spring
“The excessive stimulus that has been given by the monetary and financial policy makers worldwide should now begin to feel. We must look forward mo t with a recovery beginning in either late this year or early 2010,” he said.
He said further that “it is encouraging that we have the last few months have seen some promising signs that the recession – here in the UK and globally – now can spring.”
“The big shocks to global consumer confidence and business confidence is starting to end,” he said.
Andrew Sentance said that Britain faces “huge” budget deficits and fiscal consolidation will require a suppression of the increase in public expenditure, according to Andrew Sentance.
“Tight fiscal policy will probably need to be in five to ten years,” he said.
He also said that a recovery will require the economy rebalanserar against the manufacturing of the financial sector, where a weaker pound will help in the process.
Hussein Askary, President of the Labor Party made the following statement
It is shown by the European election results and the Nazi-like austerity and cuts policy Obama administration wants to enforce, especially in the health sector, is that we are heading towards a consolidation of the green fascism from the left and fiscal liberalism from the right to protect the financial interests of the worldwide British financial empire. The price will be, if we do everything politically to stop the races, a collapse of living conditions of over 6 billion people that can lead to WWF-founder Prince Philips Satan’s dream of reducing world population to less than one billion people.
Until March of the green, conservative and xenophobic parties in European elections is just a sign of how seriously the intellectual and moral state of Europe. Approximately 60% of the electorate abstained from voting, because of their total disgust of politicians and their desperation facing the worst financial and economic crisis in modern times. But a large number of those who voted fell for the ridiculous propaganda about a dangerous climate change caused by human intervention, a climate policy that will lower living standards in developed countries and to stop economic development in developing countries. What this means is to turn back time out against a dark age of poverty, superstition and ignorance. ..
Bonnier chooses new road in crisis
Bonniers dominant and traditional publishing has changed radically. The first step for the large reorganization was in 2007 and involved a merger of marketing and production departments of the Bonnier Group’s Swedish publisher. The next step was Albert Bonniers förlag, Wahlström & Widstrand, Bokforlaget Forum and Bonnier Carlsen joint managing director, Anna Born Minberger, and was the literary manager of editorial responsibility.
All moved to Sveavägen 56. Where are they now, place at the rooms, and compete.
The changes initiated by the CEO of Bonnier Books, Maria Curman. CEO of the merged, Swedish Bonnier Publishers are Dalborg Jacob, who came from the same post at the Albert Bonniers forlag.
Foremost was the reorganization is adapting to a tougher book, and follows an international trend. Centralized Forlagshus splits literature in trademarks through narrower imprint.
In Sweden, a number of years growing issue became bigger than what the market pallets. Now, publishing lists shortened by 20 percent in two years.
In the new organization coordinated marketing and invested heavily in fewer, commercially viable titles. For trade books sold in genrevis, not förlagsvis. The lion’s share of writers, those who sell moderately or a little, it may therefore tougher. This is not original for Bonniers, and a similar mobilization are also in, for example, Norstedts. Authors League President Mats Söderlund says that a reduction in the issuance and increased commercialization need to be addressed by policy decisions on various forms of literature support, competition, and perhaps fixed prices.
- Consolidation is in all industries, but books are not cars, but a sensitive area.
Svante Weyl, with a background as a journalist and long-standing publisher of Norstedts before he in 2007 formed their own publishing company, emphasizes that the change in Bonniers is the largest in American, modern publishing history:
- Financial, but mainly so-cialt. It is amazing that no one discusses it. Previously, there was a view that the individual publishers’ competition was a good thing, now says that it is poor. It is made in accordance with Anglo-Saxon model, where the loyalty lies with the senior managers, not with their own publisher.
As Svante Weyl sees Lasse Winkler, head of the Svensk Bokhandel, a clear trend in the industry where power is shifted from the publishers to market.
- Now publishers pitch, sell, deliver items to the marketing department, who choose which books are published at different times, he says, and points at the same time how skilfully reorganization implemented.
Jonas Axelsson, literary manager at Albert Bonniers förlag, is aware of the risk that retailers, filtered through the marketing department, for extremely powerful and will have comments on the books.
- Barnes & Noble (the American bookstore chain) have started to dictate how the books should look like, and threatening to make them themselves. We must protect the editorial warranty. Our publishing identities are important, but they WOBBLING because we too must speak English and use the advertising brands. We are dangerously close to talking about books as products, but they are not. They are effective, “he says.
On the question of who makes the final decision on an issue – the marketing department or the literary manager – responsible president Jacob Dalborg that it is “in dialogue” between the literary manager and the publisher’s CEO, in consultation with the marketing department.
In the Bonnier Group, the managers and publishers DN talking with cautiously positive to the reorganization, although they also tell of anxiety and doubt. Everything has not found his form yet, but many say that a market adjustment was necessary.
- From being 40 persons is now 18. Co-workers have disappeared, although they remain in the organization, “says Viveca Peterson, literary manager at the Forum.
But clean imprint publishers have not been, and that different cultures are important stresses both Anna Born Minberger as Jacob Dalborg. However pure profiles: Forum is not longer the one illustrated non-fiction, and fewer titles will fit in more than a publisher.
- Forum has a strong identity and we compete in a friendly way. Publishers can tip each other about the script but do not compare their lists, “says Viveca Peterson.
- We were the only children’s book publisher, so for us it has not meant so much. I feel rather a boosted in that we have come closer to an adult issue, “says Rod Bengtsson at Bonnier Carlsen.
A publishers outside the house says that centralization can harm the important relationship between publishers and authors, and Bonnier Publishers change has created chaos on Sveavägen.
Radville author no longer know who to talk to, some have switched publishers.
- But I can only say thanks. Several authors have come to me instead. It has been a hard year for Bonniers, they have lost huge on the profitable bokklubb the crayfish once.
When the major publishers are on the best sellers will open opportunities for the less to pick at the fine, a little narrower author says Weyl.
- But the attraction to come out on Albert Bonniers förlag is unimaginable, and the author is willing to wait two and a half years. Bonniers is a jewel in the crown. If you do not polish the crown jewel may lose in value.
CNBV authorizes two new entities of popular savings and credit Finance
The Board of Governors of the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) authorized the establishment and operation of two new entities of popular savings and credit, as part of industry consolidation.
At its regular meeting of June 4 last, the body authorized Fesolidaridad, SC of A.P. of R.L. Ltd., under the figure of Cooperative Savings and Loan, with a level of operation I, and established in Mexico, Distrito Federal.
Also, Sociedad Cooperativa San Juan, S.C. of A.P. of R.L. Ltd., under the figure of Cooperative Savings and Loan, with a level of operation I, with registered offices in the state of Oaxaca, CNBV reported in a statement.
The institutions have, among other objectives, to provide its members access to credit, to support the financing of micro, small and medium enterprises and encourage overcoming economic status of its members and the communities in which they operate, in terms of the Act Savings and Loan Associations.
Regional government allocated 27 million boost in one hundred steps to support the development of autonomous
Regional government allocated 27 million euros to boost shares of one hundred self-promotion and promotion of businesses, which will benefit 100,000 of the autonomous region.
So informed the President of the Community, Ramón Luis Valcárcel, accompanied by advisers and Sotoca Constantine Salvador Marín, in presenting the program of Development Support and self-employment of Murcia.
In this event, which took place at the Palacio de San Esteban, the president stressed that this is a measure of the regional government to minimize the effects of the crisis in a group as important to the regional economy and that “once again like the other plans that have already been launched, it has been agreed by all the economic and social actors in the region. ”
The program was born of working together and coordinated “of councils of Universities, Industry and Research, Education, Training and Employment, in collaboration with the Agriculture and Water, Public Works and Land Use, Health and Economy and Finance .
The plan is divided into five areas: funding, which has a budget of 11.9 million, recovery of the autonomous activity (1,436,872 euros), supporting the creation of autonomous activity (2.9 million), building the independent activity to improve its competitive (almost 3.6 million), and the revitalization of utilities (7,238,429 euros).
This provides important funding and reduce administrative procedures to facilitate the activity of self-employed. It also provides liquidity to the business of the self through the three million euros FinanciaPyme-action method with which the self can access loans of between 6,000 and 24,000 euros to zero interest in the first year.
Specifically, the Executive Murcian estimated 10,000 self-employed may receive this year loans at zero cost through Undemur, “which will require a major injection of liquidity for the businesses of their own workers,” said Valcarcel.
It also subsidizes the cost of the guarantee and the cost of fees, as well as the contribution to the Fund for Technical Provisions. In this way, the Institute of Development subsidizes hundred percent interest the first year, 70 second and 50 the third.
Under this plan, these three million euros must be added nearly nine in aid projects for the development of autonomous activity.
Specifically, the program provides a package of aid to encourage the establishment of autonomous, since the beginning of his professional activity, without justifying investments in fixed assets. To this end, the Regional Employment Service and Training (SEF) for 6.4 million euros in a strategic commitment by creating and maintaining employment.
The Plan also provides for measures to reconcile the autonomous can hire the unemployed who replaced during their period of maternity leave, adoption or placement of a child.
Similarly, encourage the incorporation of young self and facilitates the recruitment of workers and families first. The strategy to support the creation of autonomous activity develops training activities and workshops to entrepreneurs for setting up businesses.
COUNCIL WEBSITE CREATION AND SELF
Program Development Support and self-employment of Murcia also the imminent creation of the Labor Council of the Autonomous Region, a consultative body that includes both the Administration and competent and professional associations representing the regional level.
In addition to an independent portal, endowed with 40,000 euros this year for its establishment, with a subsequent annual budget of 12,000 euros for their maintenance, and a record of professional freelancers.
Finally, the chief executive murciano emphasized that the goal is “to improve competitiveness, reduce red tape in order to expedite the creation and consolidation of self, conducting mechanisms employed to advise on their business.”
Also, looking for the viability, stability, and the aim of increasing the representativeness of this group, “why, he said, was necessary” to improve information and advice. ”
And that is the role of the self “is of vital importance to the Region and an example of job creation, wealth and welfare,” he concluded.
Dairy cooperatives and unions in protest actions against the distribution
The three agricultural unions – Agricultural Unions, Farmers’ Union Xóvenes Labrego Galego – dairy cooperatives and made new protest actions next week – Friday 19 – to denounce the “attitude” and “conduct” of distribution, reflecting the practice of a “national commercial” in the defense of products from their countries of origin, as well as causing a “disaster” in Spanish and Galician dairy sector with the “imposition” of their white markings.
So advanced today in a press secretaries Xerais of the three organizations and the manager of the Galician Association of Agricultural Cooperatives (AGAC), who justified the timing of resumption of the demonstrations as a means of pressure distribution, following the announcement by dairy industries of the new lower prices of raw materials to farmers, which this month will receive between 20 and 25 cents per liter of milk.
Its aim is, according to the secretary of Unions Xeral Agrarias, Roberto Garcia, the public opinion to denounce the use of milk as “teaser” – to enhance its purchase fijándole a very low price – the protection of raw materials originating from the countries of the shops that sold in Spain and the hiding place of production of that food.
“We do not want to make our product, but to provide quality milk to the cheaper price,” said Garcia, who defended the right of consumers to choose between buying milk or Polish Galicia.
In this line, the manager of AGAC, Higinio Mougan considered a “cornerstone” that the consumer knows where it came from the milk they consume. By contrast, the distribution of responsibility for developing a “destructive practice of trivializing the value of the product sector and widespread distribution of the brand and white label.”
“To say clearly where to buy the products and where they are” called to say that Alcampo chains like Carrefour or LIDL reported hanged in the catalogs on the web pages of their countries of origin on the source of their articles. “Why not do it in Spain?” He questioned.
STABLE AND DECENT PRICE
The secretary of Xóvenes Xeral Agricultores, Francisco Bello, considered that the new reductions are “misplaced” and noted that world production of milk is falling across the board. Specifically, he noted that France has fallen by 7 per cent, as in the rest of the European Union.
Therefore argued that the problem of low milk prices “should be corrected” and urged to enter into agreements “stable and lasting” between cattlemen and industries. Along these lines framed the protest of 19 days, which is intended, as stated, the “consolidation of a stable and decent price.”
For its part, the secretary of Xeral SLG, Carme Freire insisted that the white marks “impose” a market situation which is a “disaster” for the sector, arguing that the pressure distribution moves to the dairy industries and these to producers through a new discount prices.
Credit and liquidity
Garcia (Unions Agrarias) today reiterated its defiance towards the financial institutions in the community regarding the granting of loans to farmers who are benefiting from the credits Igape called to alleviate the lack of liquidity and the situation of dairy farmers most affected by the crisis in the sector.
Thus, said “be aware” that some entities demanded guarantees to beneficiaries of loans linked to improvement plans agropastoral farms. Therefore, be defended in advance “to the problem” and warned that measures taken should be given these situations.
“This measure is very good if he farms but they are not going to get because banks will not want to give credit to the farm without guarantees,” said Freire (SLG), who lamented that the issue was not anticipated before.
For his part, Bello (Xóvenes Agricultores) considered that the measure is “positive” and, together with the advancement of some of the aids of the CAP is an alternative that did not exist before. Thus, he noted that dairy farms now have liquidity and priority actions to restore prices. “We will not stop until then,” he said, to admit that, in addition to the performance of 19 days, we will have to organize more protests in the same line.
The quiet revolution
To its advocates, this is a silent revolution. This is how different experts qualify for microcredit, the name given to the task of delivering small loans to people who normally do not have access to the institutions established for that purpose. While the topic is not new, since the first efforts in this direction took place for over three decades, there is no doubt that its importance has grown in recent years.
This was a regional summit that concluded yesterday in Cartagena, which stood on the announcement that the institution founded in Bangladesh by Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, Muhammad Yunus, will operate a new entity to be known as Grameen Aval Colombia, with a capital contribution by the foundation of Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo. The institution, which aims to start benefiting more than 10,000 Colombians in the first stage, will participate in a growing market.
And it’s also a lot of foundations that operate in much of the country, commercial banks have entered fully into the business. So check the figures for the Superintendence of Finance, that the total microcredit portfolio totaled 3.37 billion pesos in April, with an annual growth of 63 percent. But this dynamic, the knowledge of the topic say there is huge space to fill, especially in a country where loans’ trickle down ‘and’ daily pay ‘remains the main source of funding for hundreds of thousands of people ranging from street vendor to the food handler in the market places.
The reason is that the norm in such transactions are interests that may exceed 10 percent per day, well above the legal rate which defines usury and is now 33.9 percent. Therefore, it is clear that a mechanism that lowers the cost of financing enables the poor not only have a more profitable activity, but to break the shackles of backwardness and misery.
Although comparisons are odious, the goal in Colombia is to replicate what has been done in other Latin American nations, where the results are encouraging. A recent analysis conducted in 23 countries in the region by technicians from the Interamerican Development Bank, showed that between 2001 and 2005 the number of institutions devoted to the topic went from 184 to 336, the customer increased from 1.8 to 5.9 million and the value of the portfolio grew from 1.189 million to 5.437 million dollars.
The chances of reaching that figure was far from the early 1970s when the first initiatives were launched in countries, Bangladesh and Brazil. Everything was under the belief that the poorest households could and should be subject to credit, despite having no steady sources of income or assets to provide collateral. The tested models evolved over time and included loans to groups of people or communities, many of them run by NGOs. By 1990, however, began to dominate individual loans and the establishment of specialized institutions in the sector, including commercial banks.
In Latin America has clearly been the consolidation of regulated entities and specialized in microfinance as the most amount of customers and higher volume of loans. No less striking is that the activity is profitable and that the indicators are close to those of traditional banks. That is one of the reasons why such activity attracts progressive individuals and institutional investors, who tend to participate through specialized funds that channel money, either through loans or equity investments in the institutions.
While in Colombia the schedule is a bit different, what has been done in recent years ensures that the potential is immense. Ultimately, the challenge is to prove that progress is built when a work is great, but thinking small.
WB gives 3300 million to Argentina for a social plan for three years
The World Bank (WB) announced on Tuesday it approved a plan by Argentina for three years through 3300 which will give millions of dollars to invest in social projects and cope with the aftermath of the global economic crisis.
The first two projects approved under the plan are the improvement of the Matanza-Riachuelo basin, where pollution affects 3.5 million people will receive 840 million dollars, and another to help the unemployed, you get 450 million, said a WB reported.
“We are working with Argentina to help maintain social spending in the context of the global economic crisis and to begin to address challenges of sustainable long term growth,” said Pedro Alba, World Bank Director for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The plan runs until 2012, called ‘New Strategic Partnership’, which seeks to Argentina to develop its development agenda based on three goals: sustained growth with equity, social inclusion and improving the efficiency of government management, said BM.
“These operations allow to bolster counter-policies implemented by our government to mitigate the impact of the international crisis,” said Argentine Economy Minister Carlos Fernandez said in the statement.
The government of Buenos Aires looking for that money from the World Bank financed project to consolidate the progress in reducing poverty through increased household income and the integration of disadvantaged groups to benefit the labor market.
It also will fund, among others, plans to increase agricultural exports, infrastructure, environment and improving governance, to make it more transparent.
WB noted that the loan agreement Tuesday for the Matanza-Riachuelo river basin is the largest awarded by the agency for a redevelopment program in Latin America. “This funding (…) is a turning point for the magnitude and the impact this will have on the watershed”, inhabited by some 1.2 million people below the poverty line, said the secretary of the Environment Argentine Homer Bibiloni. The loan of 840 million dollars for the basin has a maturity of 30 years and a grace period of 5 years.
For its part, the proposed basic protection for the unemployed under the Family Allowance program provides insurance for the unemployed and the skills needed to find a job. It also provides resources to low-income employees, estimated to be 85% of the formal workforce. This appropriation of 450 million has a maturity equal to 30 years and grace period of 5 years.
