News from Japan dominated the opening hours of the first business day of this week.In M&A news,Toshiba is said to be close to acquiring Swiss smart meter firm Landis+Gyr.Landis+Gyr has outfitted tens of thousands of Danish homes with their energy management technology.
Japan's machinery orders were up 2.9% for the month of April and 6.8% on the year.This may be because Japanese companies are getting set to resume full operations following March 11th's earthquake and tsunami.
The Japanese government is asking banks to forgive Tokyo Electric Power's debt.Tepco,owner of the damaged nuclear plants,is critical to the Tokyo area and the national economy.
Mizuho Financial forecasts an 11% profit increase this year.
Elsewhere in Asia,Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew has resigned from the nation's cabinet after five decades,saying it was time for someone younger to take the reins.
In early Asia trading,Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 82.66,while the Korean Kospi declined 14.26 and the Australian ASX 200 dropped 64.70.
It was 82F in Hong Kong under mostly cloudy skies.The day had begun with fog and rain.
iShares Japan MSCI Index Fund(EWJ)
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Back Home From Open Heart Surgery
I was discharged from the hospital Tuesday,having had the traditional chest-splitting for heart valve repair.I have an artificial annuloplasty ring in my heart now.
The first night at home was strange.I felt as though my bedroom was high off the ground,though it really wasn't.Everything was somehow altered.Then there were the firefly hallucinations.I still have them.
I also arrived home with a metallic taste in my mouth.That seemed to fade today when I ate some pastry,but then resurged.It is possibly caused by ACE inhibitor drugs such as ramipril,which lower blood pressure,as there are anecdotes to that effect on the Internet.The burning sensation from the breathing tube down my throat has receded permanently.
I am working hard to re-establish normalcy.
The first night at home was strange.I felt as though my bedroom was high off the ground,though it really wasn't.Everything was somehow altered.Then there were the firefly hallucinations.I still have them.
I also arrived home with a metallic taste in my mouth.That seemed to fade today when I ate some pastry,but then resurged.It is possibly caused by ACE inhibitor drugs such as ramipril,which lower blood pressure,as there are anecdotes to that effect on the Internet.The burning sensation from the breathing tube down my throat has receded permanently.
I am working hard to re-establish normalcy.
Monday, May 9, 2011
I Survived
I survived open heart surgery.I will be back to work as soon as possible.Indeed,I am using the health care system's wireless network.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Medical Leave
My medical leave is scheduled to begin on Friday,lasting for as much as 4-8 weeks of possibly reduced posting.I have a heart valve condition.In the meantime,the sites will remain open 24/7,staffed by my newsreel colleagues,CNBC and YouTube in the sidebar.
Hope to have you around,
Andrew Taylor
Hope to have you around,
Andrew Taylor
Monday, May 2, 2011
Ford Comes Recommended
Ford Motor Company has reported its Q1 earnings.Ford is without question the auto manufacturer that I want to own,says Gary Bradshaw of Hodges Capital Management.Their numbers are excellent and I think Ford will build on that momentum going forward.
I think we're still early in the cycle.Out a couple of years,we could see earnings at 3+.At that level,I think Ford is an excellent value.
I think there's a lot of pent-up demand for cars;you can't just drive them forever.Ford had great margins as well as revenue.Alan Mulally and his team have done a great job of being profitable.He's doing everything right at the moment.I think he is the best manager there is out there,Mr.Bradshaw concluded.
Ford had its best quarter since 1998.Profits were up 22%.CEO Alan Mulally said they're gonna add 7,000 new jobs over the next two years.When you have the strength of the product line,it shows the power of free cash flow.We have paid back 15 billion in debt the past year,Mr.Mulally pointed out.
Ford cautioned,however,that the cost of production and materials will go up again next year.That could crimp profit margins.
Ford Motor Company(F)
I think we're still early in the cycle.Out a couple of years,we could see earnings at 3+.At that level,I think Ford is an excellent value.
I think there's a lot of pent-up demand for cars;you can't just drive them forever.Ford had great margins as well as revenue.Alan Mulally and his team have done a great job of being profitable.He's doing everything right at the moment.I think he is the best manager there is out there,Mr.Bradshaw concluded.
Ford had its best quarter since 1998.Profits were up 22%.CEO Alan Mulally said they're gonna add 7,000 new jobs over the next two years.When you have the strength of the product line,it shows the power of free cash flow.We have paid back 15 billion in debt the past year,Mr.Mulally pointed out.
Ford cautioned,however,that the cost of production and materials will go up again next year.That could crimp profit margins.
Ford Motor Company(F)
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The Ascent of Gold and Oil
Dominic Schnider,head of commodities research at UBS Wealth Management,explains that gold strength is driven by dollar weakness.I haven't seen any real signal of an attractive real interest rate.Precious metals will look really quite compelling.
UBS has a 12-month forecast for gold of 1650.00 an ounce.Gold is the right choice for investors.Silver will end in a bloodbath.
We're looking at probably 120.00 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate crude.To lower the price,we need to see less growth in demand given the structural supply problems that we have now.Oil at 120.00 is easily in the cards.We need to see deceleration of demand growth,Mr.Schnider emphasized.
Both oil and gold rose in Monday morning trading despite the death of Osama bin Laden.
Australian mining titan BHP Billiton Limited gives broad exposure to natural resource extraction.Kinross Gold,a Canadian miner,is currently considered one of the best values in the industry.
Union Bank of Switzerland(UBS),BHP Billiton Limited(BHP),Kinross Gold(KGC)
UBS has a 12-month forecast for gold of 1650.00 an ounce.Gold is the right choice for investors.Silver will end in a bloodbath.
We're looking at probably 120.00 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate crude.To lower the price,we need to see less growth in demand given the structural supply problems that we have now.Oil at 120.00 is easily in the cards.We need to see deceleration of demand growth,Mr.Schnider emphasized.
Both oil and gold rose in Monday morning trading despite the death of Osama bin Laden.
Australian mining titan BHP Billiton Limited gives broad exposure to natural resource extraction.Kinross Gold,a Canadian miner,is currently considered one of the best values in the industry.
Union Bank of Switzerland(UBS),BHP Billiton Limited(BHP),Kinross Gold(KGC)
Unisys Job Fair
Unisys is holding a technical job fair for its Homeland Security unit.They seek U.S. citizens for Project Manager,Application Developer and Systems Engineer positions at their D.C. and Virginia offices.The global IT Services Company needs skilled developers and engineers such as Security Engineers,Adobe LiveCycle/Portal Developer and Machine Learning Developers/Modelers.The fair will be on Wednesday,May 4 at
Grand Hyatt Hotel
1000 H Street,NW
Washington,DC 20001
from 4pm to 7pm.
If unable to attend,please send resumes to Victoria.Marshall@unisys.com with a subject heading:U.S. Homeland Jobs-May 4,2011.
Grand Hyatt Hotel
1000 H Street,NW
Washington,DC 20001
from 4pm to 7pm.
If unable to attend,please send resumes to Victoria.Marshall@unisys.com with a subject heading:U.S. Homeland Jobs-May 4,2011.
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