plus 4, NEWS OF THE WEEK - Orange County Business Journal |
- NEWS OF THE WEEK - Orange County Business Journal
- Short Harley Davidson And Research In Motion According To Cottingham ... - Yahoo Finance
- Quotes delayed 15+ min. - MSNBC
- BofA May Name Stopgap Chief If Board Needs More Time (Update1) - Bloomberg
- Special report: Scenes from Iowa's recession - Des Moines Register
| NEWS OF THE WEEK - Orange County Business Journal Posted: 23 Nov 2009 07:24 AM PST Compiled by Julie Leupold ECONOMIC INDICATORS TOP STORIES Santa Ana's TTM Technologies Inc., a contract electronics maker, agreed to buy the printed circuit board business of Hong Kong's Meadville Holdings Ltd. for $521 million. The cash and stock deal is expected to close during the first quarter. TTM said the deal would more than double sales and "create one of the largest printed circuit board manufacturers in the world." Lake Forest-based construction and engineering company Primoris Services Corp. late last week acquired James Construction Group LLC, a Baton Rouge, La.-based construction company, for $135 million. Primoris is buying James Construction for $7 million in cash, a five-year $53.5 million promissory note and shares of Primoris preferred stock valued at $64.5 million. Incentives could provide James Construction another $10 million in Primoris stock. James Construction will become a subsidiary of Primoris. TECHNOLOGY HEALTHCARE
REAL ESTATE Maguire Properties Inc. was sued for foreclosure by Bank of America Corp. on 2600 Michelson Drive, a 16-story tower near John Wayne Airport. Los Angeles-based Maguire missed $1.7 million in payments in August, September and October, the bank said in complaint filed earlier this month in Superior Court in Santa Ana. The bank wants the court to appoint a receiver for the property who would conduct a sale and attempt to recoup the remaining $95 million in unpaid principal owed by Maguire. APPAREL Foothill Ranch-based mall retailer Wet FINANCE OTHER NEWS This content has passed through fivefilters.org.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Short Harley Davidson And Research In Motion According To Cottingham ... - Yahoo Finance Posted: 23 Nov 2009 06:19 AM PST 67 WALL STREET, New York - November 23, 2009 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its TWST Investing Strategies Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This 55 page feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with highly experienced Money Managers. The full issue is available via The Wall Street Transcript Online. Topics covered: Investor Demand for Transparency - High-Liquidity Environment - Undervalued High Quality Companies - Inexpensive Valuation - Short Suggestions In Overvalued Growth Stocks - Stretched Balance Sheets - High Returns on Capital - Volume Growth - Multi-Cap Approach - Extreme Value Discipline - Macro Outlook - Value and Momentum - Lower Volatility Growth Companies include: Belo Corp (BLC); 3M (MMM); A.H. Belo (AHC); Affiliated Computer Services (ACS); American Safety (ASI); Ameriprise (AMP); Apache (APA); Apple (AAPL); Atwood Oceanics (ATW); Bank of America (BAC); Boeing (BA); Brown & Brown (BRO); Bunge (BG); CME Group (CME); Capstead Mortgage (CMO); Chevron (CVX); ChinaCast Education (CAST); Citi Trends (CTRN); Coca-Cola (KO); Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH); Conseco (CNO); Consolidated Edison (ED); Costco (COST); Cypress Semiconductor (CY); Danaher (DHR); Duke Energy (DUK); FARO Technologies (FARO); GIII Apparel (GIII); Gannett (GCI); Gilead Sciences (GILD); Goldman Sachs (GS); Goodrich (GR); Google (GOOG); Halliburton (HAL); Harley-Davidson (HOG); IBM (IBM); IDEX Corporation (IEX); IMS Health (RX); JPMorgan (JPM); Johnson & Johnson (JNJ); Kimberly-Clark (KMB); Kinross (KGC); Legg Mason (LM); NIC Inc. (EGOV); Nestle and Alcon (ACL); New York Times (NYT); Newmont Mining (NEM); Owens-Illinois (OI); Penson Worldwide (PNSN); Precision Castparts (PCP); Procter & Gamble, (PG); Rambus (RMBS); Research In Motion (RIMM); Roper Industries (ROP); Schlumberger (SLB); Smucker (SJM); Stein Mart (SMRT); Steven Madden (SHOO); Talisman (TLM); Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO); Transocean (RIG); UnitedHealth (UNH); Universal Health Services (UHS); Wal-Mart (WMT); Washington Post (WPO); WellPoint (WLP); Xcel Energy (XEL); Xerox (XRX); Yamana Gold (AUY). In the following brief excerpt from just one of the in depth interviews in the 55 page Special Report, a top tier Money Manager discusses the outlook for the market for investors. Stephen Bick is the Managing Partner of Cottingham Management Company LLC, a San Diego-based financial services company, where he operates as Portfolio Manager of Cottingham Development Fund LLC, a hybrid fund investing predominantly in stocks, commodities and futures. He holds a BA degree in economics from the University of Cape Town and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Analyst (CIRA). He worked as a turnaround strategist with Kroll Zolfo Cooper, where he performed business valuations, analyzed the risk in energy trading strategies and was involved with developing plans of reorganization for multibillion-dollar companies. He also ran a $500 million bond fund in London for two years for a German insurance company, and worked as an Analyst for six years, dealing in private and public equity business valuations, commercial litigation and bankruptcy. TWST: Tell us about the sell process. Mr. Bick: On the sell side, I'm really looking once again at the macro overlay. My macro outlook currently is based a lot on demographic trends. On the demographic side, we're all getting older. I think I might be the last of the Baby Boom generation, maybe the absolute last person with a foot on the rung of the ladder. But we're all getting older, we're all slowing down, we're all starting to offload our assets rather than accumulate them; people are becoming empty nesters, they are downsizing their properties, etc. Up to now, we have seen significant economic growth as this large demographic has moved through their life cycle, and now we are in a situation where we will have an overhang of an older generation that cannot be supported by a smaller, younger generation. This is a problem for the foreseeable future and should at some point weigh on the markets. In the banking sector, I'm looking at certain banks that are exposed to the commercial side of the market as I also believe that there are numerous problems afoot. Then on the consumer side, companies like Harley-Davidson (HOG), where most of their growth strategy has been to sell motorbikes to the Baby Boomer generation, while you see a lot of gray hairs out there on their Harleys, at some point that's going to start slowing down. They also have a significant level of debt on their books. This debt is being used to finance the sales of the Harleys but now you have an unemployment rate that's over 10% and a consumer that can barely pay their mortgage. I just think that Harley is in for a long slog to try and get back to a level of growth where they need to be, that supports the current stock price valuation, particularly if they start taking significant write-downs on that loan portfolio. So that would be an example of a short play. Another company that I'm short is Research In Motion (RIMM), where I've already made a decent amount of money. That short is really driven by the crowding-out in terms of the smart phone business. In that space you have Apple (AAPL), Research In Motion, Palm (PALM), you've got Nokia (NOK) stepping into that space, you've got Motorola (MOT) coming out with a new phone that's tied to the Google (GOOG) operating system. I just feel that the premium that people pay for Research In Motion stock is just way out of line with the growth opportunities, particularly when you factor in that most of the Research In Motion company sales were from the corporate sector, and particularly bankers and that whole sector has really just taken a beating. They are now forced to try and go into the consumer space, and I think they're just way overvalued. Furthermore the chart is looking terrible. STEPHEN BICK Cottingham Management Company, LLC. More of this interview can be obtained via The Wall Street Transcript Online . The Wall Street Transcript is a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs and research analysts. For Information on subscribing to The Wall Street Transcript, please call 800/246-7673 This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Quotes delayed 15+ min. - MSNBC Posted: 23 Nov 2009 07:31 AM PST NEW YORK - For the first time in a decade, more people paid their credit card bills on time in the third quarter this year than in the second quarter. The delinquency rate on bank-issued cards like those bearing MasterCard and Visa logos fell to 1.1 percent for the June-to-September period, from a rate of 1.17 percent in the prior three months, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion. The 6 percent drop is significant not just for its size but also for its timing, since delinquency rates usually rise in the third quarter from the prior period, said Ezra Becker of TransUnion's financial services group. Taken together with the more than 11 percent decline seen between the first and second quarters, the results indicate that consumers are getting better at handling their debt. The 2009 third-quarter delinquency rate was basically flat with the 2008 third quarter, when 1.09 percent of card payments were 90 days or more past due. TransUnion measures credit card delinquencies at 90 days because three months is considered an indicator that the card holder will default, since it is difficult to make up that many missed payments. Credit card delinquencies were highest in Nevada (1.98 percent), Florida (1.47 percent), Arizona (1.35 percent) and California (1.33 percent), the states hardest hit by the housing crisis. Rates were lowest in North Dakota (0.66 percent) and South Dakota (0.70 percent). TransUnion figures showed the average balance on outstanding bank cards drifted down to $5,612 from the previous quarter's $5,719, and from $5,710 in the 2008 third quarter. One reason for consumers to pay more attention to their credit cards was worry over potential job losses, as the unemployment rate climbed toward double-digits during the third quarter. It reached 10.2 percent last month. Becker said cutbacks in credit availability and higher interest rates also played a role in cutting the delinquency rate. While the fear of having cards shut down and anger over the moves banks have made can't be easily measured, there's anecdotal evidence that those emotions played into the improvement as well. Becker said lower savings rates in the third quarter also contributed to pushing down delinquencies, as people shifted from socking money away in the bank to paying down their debt. The personal savings rate in September was 3.3 percent, compared with 3 percent in August and 4 percent in July, government statistics show. In May, the rate jumped to 6.9 percent, its highest point since December 1993. The decline in credit card delinquency follows TransUnion data last week that showed the pace of growth for mortgage delinquencies also slowed in the third quarter. It's too early to tell how the recession has affected consumer behavior long-term, Becker said, but the holiday shopping season will provide some clues. Last year, consumers cut back sharply during the holidays. The National Retail Federation, a retail trade group, expects total holiday sales will drop 1 percent from last year. Also in play are strict new credit card regulations set to take effect in February. Banks have cut back on the number of cards they have issued and the amount of credit available ahead of that law. Becker said the law will likely lead to the creation of new credit products, and consumers will choose cards based not only on interest rates, but other features. "The landscape of card lending is going to change fundamentally," Becker said. TransUnion's statistics are culled from approximately 27 million anonymous, randomly sampled individual credit files. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| BofA May Name Stopgap Chief If Board Needs More Time (Update1) - Bloomberg Posted: 23 Nov 2009 07:38 AM PST
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Telecommunication Terms for Taiwanese Customers 美商彭博新聞有限公司台北分公司 彭博高速資訊網路業務營業規章 第 一 條 彭博高速資訊網路（英文名稱： Bloomberg High Speed Data Network）業務（以下簡稱「本業務」），係指美商彭博新聞有限公司台北分公司（以下簡稱「本公司」）利用彭博高速資訊網路所提供之各項財經資訊服務。 第 二 條 本業務之營業項目為「存取網路服務(Store and Retrieve Network)」（如電話秘書、線上資訊接取、電子佈告欄(BBS)、電子資料交換、統合信息服務(Unified message service)、電子文件服務、語音訊息、語音信箱服務），及「存轉網路服務（Store & Forward Network）」（如傳真存轉、交易服務、數據網路服務）。 第 三 條 用戶租用本業務，應依本公司規定向本公司申請並簽訂相關用戶合約，載明各項權利義務。第 四 條 自用戶端連結至彭博高速資訊網路之電信機線設備，應由本公司負責向第一類電信事業承租，其租用條件應依該第一類電信事業之規定訂之，且其架設、維修、通信品質等均由該第一類電信事業負責，本公司僅負責代用戶與該第一類電信事業聯繫。第 五 條 本業務系統所需各項硬體及軟體設備之取得、設置以及所有權，均依本公司相關業務規定或用戶合約約定辦理。第 六 條 本公司提供本業務所收取之服務費主要可分為系統建置費、設定費、網路系統維護費、資訊服務費、其他電信事業所收取之通訊費用等。本公司應於用戶合約中載明詳細付費項目以及各項費用之計算標準。第 七 條 本公司若對於服務費有所調整或變更時，除報請主管機關備查外，應於彭博高速資訊網路之網站以及本公司營業場所公告，並事前個別通知用戶。用戶若不同意服務費之調整或變更，得立即終止用戶合約，本公司應退還用戶所預付之服務費。第 八 條 用戶於向本公司申請使用本業務時，應提出正確之用戶資料，並於變更時通知本公司，否則概由用戶自行負責。第 九 條 本公司對於因提供本業務所取得之用戶資料應加以保密，並遵守「電腦處理個人資料保護法」之規定處理用戶資料。惟於下列情形，本公司得提供用戶資料予第三人： 一、經用戶同意。 二、司法機關或犯罪偵查機關，為偵查或調查犯罪依法所為之命令。 三、其他政府機關因執行公權力而依法所為之命令。 四、與公眾生命安全有關之機關為進行緊急救助者。 五、符合「電腦處理個人資料保護法」第二十三條之規定者。第 十 條 本公司預定暫停或終止本業務之一部或全部時，應於預定暫停或終止日一個月前報請主管機關備查，並立即通知用戶。 前項暫停營業之時間最長不得超過一年。 第十一條 若本公司營業許可遭主管機關廢止，或本公司預定暫停或終止本業務之一部或全部時，本公司應退還用戶所預付之費用，並應依法律規定以及用戶合約約定賠償用戶之損失。第十二條 用戶若有拒絕或遲延給付本業務之服務費之情事，本公司應定相當期限催告該用戶給付所積欠之服務費，並告知該用戶若未於所定期限內給付時，本公司有權依用戶合約之規定停止提供本業務，或期前終止用戶合約。第十三條 若本公司發現用戶使用本業務有下列情形之一時，本公司有權立即停止對該用戶提供本業務，且該用戶應自行負擔任何責任： 一、危害國家安全、擾亂治安。 二、妨害公共秩序、善良風俗。 三、竊取、更改、破壞他人資訊。 四、危害本公司或他人網路系統安全。 五、妨礙通訊秘密。第十四條 用戶使用本業務，如因本公司或其他電信業者之系統設備障礙、阻斷，以致發生錯誤、遲滯、中斷或不能傳遞時，本公司依電信法第二十三條之規定不負損害賠償責任，但應依下列規定扣減服務費： 一、若服務中斷達十二小時以上，而本公司仍未能使其恢復者，每中斷十二小時扣減每月服務費之三十分之一。 二、當月因通信不通所扣減之服務費總額應以當月所應繳納之服務費總數為限。 三、服務中斷之起始時間，以本公司察覺服務中斷或接獲用戶服務中斷之通知時為準，但若有紀錄證明服務中斷之實際起始時間者，以中斷實際發生之時為準。第十五條 本公司接獲用戶有關服務中斷之通知後，應立即展開系統之檢查及修復，並儘速排除服務中斷之原因，以維持本業務之服務品質。第十六條 用戶若對於本業務有任何意見或申訴，得利用客服電話：+886-2-7719-1592與本公司聯絡。 第十七條 本公司應遵守電信法之相關規定，確保用戶使用本業務之通訊秘密。 第十八條 若用戶有利用本業務從事非法活動者，本公司有權向相關單位檢舉，並有權將之視為拒絕往來戶。第十九條 本營業規章未盡事宜，悉依相關適用法令以及用戶合約之規定辦理。 第二十條 本營業規章自公告日起施行，於有變更時亦同。
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| Special report: Scenes from Iowa's recession - Des Moines Register Posted: 23 Nov 2009 06:34 AM PST How is the economy affecting Iowans and local businesses? Two journalism professors spent most of a week looking for stories that reflected today's tough times. They arrive at Gray's Lake Park in the morning, basking on borrowed time of a mild mid-November, realizing the winter can arrive any day like layoffs without warning. They are the unemployed, strolling with friends, partners or retirees, or sometimes alone. Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone knows someone else out of work in what some call "The Second Depression." They are neighbors, acquaintances, family members, colleagues, friends. They may be you. They belong to "The New Poverty," people who followed the rules, paid bills and mortgages on time and whose lives were scuttled by Ponzi and subprime schemes happening far away. Now many are unemployed or underemployed, walking around a lake days before Thanksgiving, known for blessings, food and the start of holiday shopping — seemingly beyond the reach of many jobless Iowans. There is a quiet desperation in the air, not only at the lake. To date, 24 Iowans have died of H1N1 virus, but a more desperate killer has taken a greater toll this year — suicide — at record levels in the state. Money is in short supply, so much so that counterfeit bills and gold coins are circulating in the city. Iowans who never entered pawn shops in their lives are hocking gold jewelry to get by. Some just walk around Gray's Lake to give themselves something to do. Gray's Lake is on the road to the Des Moines International Airport, and an air traffic controller on a daily walk chats about the failing state economy. Fewer flights are arriving and departing Iowa's largest city, he says. Indeed, total departures and arrivals of small and large aircraft in Des Moines peaked in 1998 with 137,000, says Anthony Molinaro, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration. That was down to 96,000 in 2008. As of September, total flights were 68,000 this year, compared with 77,000 for the same nine-month period in 2007, and 74,000 in 2008. Some say the decrease is due to higher fuel costs. Molinaro is not so sure. "If you can't afford a ticket, you don't need as many flights." At Gray's Lake Park, the air traffic controller moves on, continuing his walk. Behind him on a bench is a woman lost in thought. At first she gives her name, then later asks that her identity be withheld. Contacted again by telephone, she is firm. "No name." She's a registered nurse, laid off twice this year. It took six months before she found another job, but then last month it happened again. How does it feel to be an Iowan with a strong work ethic but with no work? "You feel flawed because 90 percent of the people are working and you're not," she says. "I look for work all the time. I learned about resumes and other recommendations, but at the end of the day that's not enough because there are not a lot of jobs to go around. "Even hospitals have furloughs and hiring freezes." Cars arrive at noon in the parking lot off Fleur Drive. People emerge from vehicles dressed in business wear, with sneakers or comfortable shoes. These are the employed in a state with a 6.7 percent unemployment rate, enjoying a stroll at the lunch hour. Signs of the times: A few blocks down the road, a McDonald's marquee beckons: "Times are tuff. Let us help. 25 items $1." McDonald's and Burger King are in a $1 double cheeseburger war, trying to lure the newly impoverished on fixed or low incomes. A big burger may not be as delectable as some prefer, but it's affordable. In 1972, that burger cost 55 cents. A dollar then had the buying power now of $5.12. So two beef patties should sell at $2.81. There is another story at the McDonald's on Fleur Drive — workers willing to accept underemployment. Manager James Kennedy says college graduates often apply for jobs at his franchise. "I had an application from a guy with a master's in engineering and another degree in biochemistry," Kennedy says. "He didn't get the position." Out of every 100 applications, Kennedy gets about 10 to 15 from college graduates. Business booms at a nearby pawn shop. Vince Madonia, owner of The Pawn Specialist on Army Post Road, has struck gold — literally. Gold is more than $1,100 an ounce and may keep rising if the dollar continues to decline. In the Great Depression, investors hoarded gold to such an extent that President Franklin Roosevelt issued a gold confiscation order in 1933, "forbidding the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion and gold certificates." (Gerald Ford legalized private gold ownership in 1974.) "People are bringing in gold by the handful," Madonia says. "I had a guy bring in gold teeth this week. Would you like to see them?" He displays them on the counter. "These are caps, but I've had people come here who ripped out the gold from their mouths." Madonia also has seen fake gold. In the past, real gold was stamped 14 karat. But now you find that stamp on brass. That bears out at Christopher's Fine Jewelry and Rare Coins on Merle Hay Road. An elderly man waits for numismatist Ed Armstrong to return from lunch, clutching four yellow "liberty head" coins. He wants to cash them in for return on his investment. Before Armstrong arrives, his assistant Brian Dresback looks at the coins and says each is brass with gold plate and worth "a quarter each." The elderly man is stunned. Did Dresback mean $250 each? "No," Dresback repeats. "Twenty-five cents." Armstrong enters the store, verifying that figure. "Don't buy gold coins from Internet, from television or anywhere else," he warns, "unless you can look the seller in the eyes." Another reminder of the Depression - people who are out of work need food. Carey L. Miller, executive director of the Food Bank of Iowa, worries about whether partner pantries will have enough resources to fill demand. Rising numbers of unemployment claims give cause to her fears. By the end of September, the number of Iowans filing claims in 2009 was 298,285, or 33,602 more than were filed through all of 2008. Add October's 32,613 claims, and totals reach 330,898, an increase of 183 percent over the same 10 months last year. This weighs heavily on Miller. Pantries in her 42-county area serve 12,464 families per month, an increase of 1,495 families per month over last year. "This has to be some kind of record," she says. "I have been associated with the Food Bank for 20 years. I can't imagine the need has been any greater or remember a time when I felt quite so concerned about having enough resources to meet demand." People at pantries using services for the first time are especially under stress. One man at a local pantry apologized for visiting a pantry, Miller says, "but he was laid off and had two kids he needed to feed." Children are the unseen victims of any poverty, but especially now. As families struggle to meet basic needs, children can develop emotional issues. Heather Soener, executive director of the Young Women's Resource Center, serving girls and young women ages 11 to 21, has noticed a theme running through some programs. "One of the things impacting their lives and normal development is unemployment. Families are under great pressure with layoffs now." Emotional trauma especially affects girls. The State Department of Public Health reports that in 2008, 13 percent of 11th grade females tried to kill themselves. In fact, the total number of suicides in Iowa is at record 10-year levels, with 376 such deaths in 2008, compared with 331 last year and 289 deaths in 2000, according to data from the state. "Chronic stress or major losses in a person's life, whether it is unemployment or any other personal crisis, can lead to depression," says Douglas Steenblock Jr., president-elect of the Iowa Psychiatric Society. In particular, he adds, "making the transition from a substantial income to virtually no income is very difficult and represents a significant loss in that person's life." Options exist for Iowans who are battling stress or depression but have lost medical insurance. Most counties are affiliated with community mental health centers that offer psychotherapy and/or medication management, he says. The Iowa Psychiatric Society may organize workshops for non-members to enhance education about available resources. "There is a growing number of citizens who are struggling with the chronic stress of unemployment or underemployment, and this may be an issue that we will need to be more attentive to," Steenblock adds. Got work? Economic difficulties can seem insurmountable, but some are overcoming them. Freelance businesswoman Suzanne Hull, creator of the Web site Unemployed InDesMoines.com, provides advice about getting a job. A 1999 Wartburg College graduate, Hull has been laid off three times. "The first was in 2003, and I was able to find work three weeks later." When she was laid off from a West Des Moines genetics firm in February 2009, she was unable to find work for three months. "I was angry — angry at myself for not being able to find work as quickly as I had before," she says. Hull tried different methods of networking, joined a business book club and followed advice that led to a positive attitude: She moved her laptop from the comfortable couch in the basement to the kitchen table, writing, blogging and designing her Web site and a T-shirt business. Her garments ask, "Got work?" She uses that laptop to help bring together the unemployed not only through social networking, but also face-to-face at Smokey Row Coffee on Cottage Grove Avenue, where people meet every other week for informal networking. In sum, she created her own community out of work ethic, self-reliance and that third very Iowan value, neighborliness, which eliminates the isolation of sudden or prolonged unemployment and inspires new options, opportunities and priorities. Hull may not be the exception but the rule for the future as Iowans rely on old values to overcome new economic woes, reinventing themselves in the process. Michael Bugeja is director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University, and Dennis Chamberlin is an assistant professor of visual communication. The reporting and photography for this article were part of a weeklong professional experience at The Register. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
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