tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55736694689892732312024-02-20T11:05:55.754-08:00MONKEY BIZKei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-23002558948664703462011-03-12T12:30:00.001-08:002011-03-12T12:30:44.366-08:00PEPSI STOCK IS GOING TO POP!<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The soft-drinks and snacks giant provides Rob McIver of the Jensen Fund with the steady performance he craves.</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><a href="http://fortunewallstreet.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/pepsi_stock_chart.jpg" rel="external nofollow" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="new"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12062" height="250" src="http://fortunewallstreet.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/pepsi_stock_chart.jpg?w=612&h=250" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="pepsi_stock_chart" width="612" /></a></span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">1. Strong even in a weak economy</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Only the most steadily profitable companies make it into the portfolio of the $3.6 billion Jensen Fund (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=JENSX" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">JENSX</a>). That approach has driven 5.3% annualized returns over the past five years, vs. 2.1% for the S&P 500. Jensen has held PepsiCo (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=PEP" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">PEP</a>) stock since 2003, and last quarter co-manager Rob McIver upped that stake by 45%, to 2.5 million shares. He sees big gains ahead even amid an uncertain economy. "This is a hugely profitable, quality growth company," McIver says. "It is very predictable. From 2007 through our forecast 2010 results, the company's earnings have risen by 22%. There was hardly a dip in 2008 or 2009. We think that's a very, very powerful case for investment."</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">2. U.S. company, foreign growth</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">People think of PepsiCo as distinctly American, says McIver, making it easy to forget that 50% of its revenue comes from overseas, including burgeoning markets such as Vietnam and <a href="http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2010/12/02/pepsi-is-trying-to-corner-the-market-in-russian-frozen-orange-juice/" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Russia, where last year it acquired the leading juicemaker</a>. "Pepsi has reached a plateau in the U.S. carbonated-drink market," he says, "but it's still making a lot of money here, and that helps fund new opportunities overseas." McIver says Pepsi will reign in emerging markets where consumers know its brands and are gaining income. "Today it accounts for about 40% of the global market in salty snacks, which is 10 times larger than the company's next-closest competitor," he notes, "and it can still grow."</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">3. Bigger is better for PepsiCo</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">For a $60 billion company, PepsiCo is surprisingly nimble, says McIver. For example, its practice of distributing its snacks directly to stores, unlike competitors (who deliver to central warehouses), allows PepsiCo to react quickly to changes in consumer preferences and win market share. "It has huge competitive advantages, considering its scale, from negotiating price to relationships with vendors," says McIver. And after acquiring its two largest bottlers in 2008, which is expected to save the company $550 million a year by 2012, Pepsi, McIver thinks, will be even faster to introduce new products in its Naked Juice line, for instance, and coconut water business.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">4. Cash for shareholders</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Pepsi's shareholder-friendly attitude helps drive the stock's outperformance, argues McIver. From 2000 to the third quarter of 2010, he notes, the company returned more than $43 billion to shareholders via dividends and stock buybacks. For long-term investors like McIver, it means "our slice gets a bigger share of the pizza." McIver also thinks Pepsi's record of paying a dividend for the past 40 years is underappreciated. "The current dividend yield is very attractive at 3%," he says. And McIver values the experience of PepsiCo's management. "In this case, the top 11 executives have an average of 20 years each with the company," he says.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">5. PepsiCo stock is still cheap</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">McIver is expecting double-digit earnings growth and strong increases in free cash flow for PepsiCo in the next few years. Yet the stock still looks cheap. Over the past decade shares have traded at a 16% premium to the S&P 500 (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=SPX" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">SPX</a>). Today that premium is just 7%. The stock ended 2007 at $77, McIver points out. "Now," he says, "it's $66, and the company is substantially more profitable today than it was then. It generates more earnings and free cash flow, and it has a broader product portfolio and global footprint," he says. And how about Coca-Cola (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=KO" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">KO</a>) stock? "Oh, we hold Coke too," he says, "but Pepsi's stock is more attractively priced at the moment."</span></div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-65688415064110665242011-03-12T12:29:00.000-08:002011-03-12T12:29:29.982-08:00CRAZY SUBWAY LOCATIONS<h2 style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">It's finally happened: Subway sandwich shops dethroned McDonald's as the largest food chain in the world last year. The secret? Subway's ability to set up a store just about anywhere. On boats, inside churches. . . have a look:</span></h2><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div><div id="galTitleNav" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><div id="galTitle" style="font: normal normal bold 18px/normal Arial; line-height: 32px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Location, Location, Location!</span></div></div><div id="galText" style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 612px;"><div id="imgRelatedsContainerFull" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 612px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img alt="Location, Location, Location!" height="367" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2011/fortune/1103/gallery.the_6_craziest_subway_locations.fortune/images/subway_location.jpg" style="z-index: 90;" width="612" /></span></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div id="cnnslideBlurb_text"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Although Subway eclipsed McDonald's number of restaurants in the U.S. over nine years ago, the sandwich chain has finally grabbed the global crown. Subway had 33,749 restaurants worldwide at the end of 2010 and McDonald's had 32,737. What's the key ingredient to their sandwich success? It's all in their crazy locations.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">"Having stores in non-traditional locations certainly helps," said Les Winograd, a Subway spokesperson. "It allows us to get into areas that some of our big competitors would find difficult to do. Subway is flexible and we have minimal equipment, which allows us to be creative in where we go."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Here are six bizarre Subway locations, from all around the world:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"></span></span><br />
<div id="galTitleNav" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><div id="galTitle" style="font: normal normal bold 18px/normal Arial; line-height: 32px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Detroit Central High School</span></div></div><div id="galText" style="display: block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 612px;"><div id="imgRelatedsContainerFull" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 612px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img alt="Detroit Central High School" height="407" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2011/fortune/1103/gallery.the_6_craziest_subway_locations.fortune/images/high_school_campus.jpg" style="z-index: 90;" width="612" /><div class="imgCaption" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: initial; display: block; position: relative; top: -7px; z-index: 100;"><div class="imgCaptionInner" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">The Northwest Independent School District in Texas also operates a Subway franchise.</div></div></span></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>Location:</b> Detroit</span></div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>Date opened:</b> Feb. 2011</span></div><div id="cnnslideBlurb_text"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Students at Detroit Central High School are not only able to enjoy some of Subway's five-dollar foot longs, they also get to earn some extra bucks and college credits while they're at it.The Subway University program began serving kids business classes last month in an effort to teach them valuable entrepreneurial skills using a hands-on approach. Students can enroll in the program and learn anything from how to prepare sandwiches to supply chain management.<br />
Detroit Central High School was the first in the country to implement the program, but a growing number of schools are opting to own and operate Subway sandwich franchises, right in their buildings.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<div id="galTitleNav" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><div id="galTitle" style="font: normal normal bold 18px/normal Arial; line-height: 32px;">True Bethel Baptist Church</div></div><div id="galText" style="display: block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 612px;"><div id="imgRelatedsContainerFull" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 612px;"><img alt="True Bethel Baptist Church " height="392" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2011/fortune/1103/gallery.the_6_craziest_subway_locations.fortune/images/true_bethel_baptist_church.jpg" style="z-index: 90;" width="612" /></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Location:</b> Buffalo</div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Capacity:</b> 1200 sq. ft.</div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Date opened:</b> Sept. 2004</div><div id="cnnslideBlurb_text">This Buffalo, New York church demonstrates that man shall not live by Hearty Italian bread alone. Reverend Darius Pridgen opened the restaurant at his church in 2003 to provide job training to neighborhood residents and food for the hungry.Having a Subway in the church was headline grabbing enough that True Bethel Baptist Church was featured last year on the CBS show, "Undercover Boss." Subway's chief development officer, Don Fertman, went undercover as a scruffy looking job applicant to rate how well the franchise was doing.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<div id="galTitleNav" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><div id="galTitle" style="font: normal normal bold 18px/normal Arial; line-height: 32px;">Jewish Community Center</div></div><div id="galText" style="display: block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 612px;"><div id="imgRelatedsContainerFull" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 612px;"><img alt="Jewish Community Center" height="391" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2011/fortune/1103/gallery.the_6_craziest_subway_locations.fortune/images/jewish_community_center.jpg" style="z-index: 90;" width="612" /></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Location:</b> Cleveland</div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Capacity:</b> 850 sq. ft.</div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Date opened:</b> May 2006</div><div id="cnnslideBlurb_text">The first ever Kosher Subway in the world opened up inside the Mandel Jewish Community Center of Cleveland.The franchisee, Ghazi Fadoul, had already opened 100 Subway sandwich shops in the area but decided to replace cheese with a soy-based substitute and remove ham and bacon from Subway's menu for his new venture. The Cleveland Kosher organization supervises food preparation, except for Friday afternoons and all day Saturday, when the "Closed" sign comes up, in observance of the Sabbath.<br />
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<div id="galTitleNav" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><div id="galTitle" style="font: normal normal bold 18px/normal Arial; line-height: 32px;">KD Deutsch Riverboat</div></div><div id="galText" style="display: block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 612px;"><div id="imgRelatedsContainerFull" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 612px;"><img alt="KD Deutsch Riverboat " height="300" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2011/fortune/1103/gallery.the_6_craziest_subway_locations.fortune/images/deutsch_riverboat_cruises.jpg" style="z-index: 90;" width="612" /></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Location:</b> Germany</div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Capacity:</b> 524 sq. ft.</div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Date opened:</b> April 2010</div><div id="cnnslideBlurb_text">The German <i>MS Stolzenfels</i> is the world's first and so far only ship with a Subway restaurant. Passengers experience beautiful stretches of the Rhine River in Germany, with the option of eating a foot-long sandwich at the same time.This huge cruise ship operates on a daily basis between Rudesheim and Koblenz and has a capacity of over 100 potential Subway customers per journey.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<div id="galTitleNav" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><div id="galTitle" style="font: normal normal bold 18px/normal Arial; line-height: 32px;">World Trade Center construction site</div></div><div id="galText" style="display: block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 612px;"><div id="imgRelatedsContainerFull" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 612px;"><img alt="World Trade Center construction site" height="398" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2011/fortune/1103/gallery.the_6_craziest_subway_locations.fortune/images/wtc_construction_site.jpg" style="z-index: 90;" width="612" /></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Location:</b> New York</div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Capacity:</b> 600 sq. ft.</div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Date opened:</b> June 2010</div><div id="cnnslideBlurb_text">Towering high above the underground subways New Yorkers use to travel daily, the only way up for this Subway located above One World Trade, or Freedom Tower, is up.The skyscraper being built at Ground Zero will become the city's tallest, standing at 1,776 feet, sometime in 2013. This Subway gets hoisted up to the next construction level as each floor of the tower is built, and will do so until the 105-story building is finished.<br />
Good news for construction workers who would normally have a long way down to get a sandwich for lunch.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<div id="galTitleNav" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><div id="galTitle" style="font: normal normal bold 18px/normal Arial; line-height: 32px;">Lucy's Laundry Mart</div></div><div id="galText" style="display: block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 612px;"><div id="imgRelatedsContainerFull" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 612px;"><img alt="Lucy's Laundry Mart" height="339" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2011/fortune/1103/gallery.the_6_craziest_subway_locations.fortune/images/lucys_laundry_mart.jpg" style="z-index: 90;" width="612" /></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Location:</b> Los Angeles</div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Capacity:</b> 700 sq. ft.</div><div class="dataField" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Date opened:</b> Dec. 2000</div><div id="cnnslideBlurb_text">For generations, apartment dwellers have wondered: Why am I sitting and staring at my clothes spinning in a washing machine when I could be eating a sandwich instead? Subway has deigned to answer their cries for sustenance.Many of the large Lucy's Laundry Marts around the country, but especially in the LA area, sub-lease space to popular brands: Subway is one of them. The laundromat is open 24/7 but customers who want to eat from Subway's menu will need to do their wash between the hours 7am -- 11:00pm, when the restaurant is open.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-78662881792335355812011-03-12T12:19:00.000-08:002011-03-12T12:19:29.888-08:00DATA IS SAFER ON OUR CLOUD THAT YOUR PC<h2 style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Google has an enterprise division? Yes, and here's how they're using every asset the company has, from Apps to Android, to beat the big players.</span></h2><div class="zemanta-img" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><div class="wp-caption alignright" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 250px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/63251347@N00/2415803563" rel="external nofollow" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img alt="Dave Girouard, GM of Google Enterprise" height="160" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2419/2415803563_ddf0cb3e55_m.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="Dave Girouard, GM of Google Enterprise" width="240" /></span></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Dave Girouard of Google. Image by dfarber via Flickr</span></div></div></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Dave Girouard first joined Google seven years ago, back when the search company wasn't even on the radar of corporate customers. Girouard now serves as president of Google's (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=GOOG" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">GOOG</a>) enterprise division, a fast-growing (though still tiny) part of the company's business. Over three million corporate customers subscribe to Google Apps, a suite of web services that includes customized email addresses, shared documents and calendars. And Google is determined to make its successful Android mobile operating system a viable competitor to RIM's (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=RIMM" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">RIMM</a>) BlackBerries and Apple's (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=AAPL" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">AAPL</a>) iPhones in the workplace. I recently caught up with Girouard to find out how his division is tackling reliability and security issues (not to mention competition from Microsoft (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=MSFT" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">MSFT</a>), Android's prospects as a business-ready device and what the upcoming management changes at Google could mean for the company's enterprise business.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><em>Fortune</em>: What's Google doing to address concerns about storing data in the cloud?<span id="more-54008"></span></span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><em>Girouard</em>: Our belief is that your data is safer inside Google than it is inside your own computers. But we are doing all sorts of things to make sure our user data is protected. A simple example is we now have for every Google Apps user what's called two-factor authentication. That means in case someone gets your password you can actually block that by requiring a special code you get off your mobile device to access your account. On the reliability side it's a similar story. There's no system that's prefect and no company that's perfect and we certainly aren't. In 2010 Gmail had 99.984% uptime. What that means is statistically the average user had 7 minutes of downtime per month in Gmail. Some were worse than that; the vast majority never saw any but that's the average. That is an order of magnitude better than what on-premise traditional systems can do. Now, are we perfect? No. Will you ever have glitches? Yes.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Google obviously competes with Microsoft on many different aspects. On the enterprise level how do you go about competing with Microsoft's sales teams?</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Well, Microsoft is a great company and they react very well to competitors so they're never somebody we take lightly and they certainly have more people and presence in the market than we do. Having said that we think we have some very unique capabilities and the nature of the technology change suggests there's an opportunity for somebody new to drive this market. We do think in the realm of cloud computing we have a lot of advantages. On the sales side and the marketing side and operational side we have been building a team of folks that come fromt the industry – places like Oracle (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=ORCL" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">ORCL</a>) or IBM (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=IBM" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">IBM</a>) or Microsoft – that are really steeped in enterprise experience but also fit with the DNA of Google. We've been building that team now for seven years. We also are really focused on building an ecosystem of partners. We'll have a reach that I think can be comparable to Microsoft. It will take us time. And we want to do it in a different way.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">What do you see as the advantages of Google's cloud-based services versus Microsoft's?</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">We have the advantage of being born of the cloud. We are a 100% web company. We're not trying to retrofit anything of the past. Microsoft is a great company but their applications were built in the world of a single PC and a single user. What that amounts to is we can go faster. We are pure web. We only have one email system. We only have one code base and it allows us to be more nimble. We are putting features out to our customers that were only conceived of a few months ago or maybe even a few weeks ago. So we don't have a to wait for the next big bang upgrade. There's no such thing as a big bang upgrade in our world. The applications just continue to get better every week. That model of delivery is really hard for Microsoft and others to replicate.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Android's been growing like crazy on the consumer side but on the business side there doesn't seem to be a lot of uptake yet. What are you doing to make that happen?</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Actually there's been a lot of uptake. We hear it mostly through the companies we talk to about Google Apps. We've done a lot of work to make it [Android] the best experience for our apps and also make it work in a secure manner. We've made great progress. We already are in a situation where you can bring your Android phone to work and they can force you to have a certain policy, use a certain type of password and wipe the device in case it was lost or stolen. Android adoption is actually quite rapid in businesses and as we continue to mature the feature set with respect to device management from a business perspective it will only accelerate.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Do you expect there to be any changes in the enterprise business now that Google is undergoing management shifts with Larry Page coming on board as CEO?</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><strong></strong>Larry has always been a great supporter and advocate of our business. I interviewed with Larry when I joined a long time ago and I remember having a great conversation about enterprise computing so I have nothing but excitement for what Larry's going to do for the company. [Outgoing CEO Eric Schmidt]'s always been a great supporter as well. So I don't see a shift in that way. Larry is probably going to be a big advocate to giving more autonomy to businesses within Google and I think that will be a good thing. As we prove ourselves and grow we'll probably accelerate in terms of the resources we get and the hiring we do. That's one of the things I look forward to.</span></div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-42092391587565929872011-03-12T12:17:00.001-08:002011-03-12T12:17:51.660-08:00APPLE RUNS OUT OF MOST iPADS 2<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The only model left at Apple's Fifth Ave. flagship store Saturday was the $829 Verizon 3G</span></strong></div><div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_54275" style="float: right; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 359px;"><a href="http://fortunebrainstormtech.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/screen-shot-2011-03-12-at-11-24-30-am.png" rel="external nofollow" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-54275" height="290" src="http://fortunebrainstormtech.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/screen-shot-2011-03-12-at-11-24-30-am.png?w=349&h=290" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="Photo: Shot at Fifth Ave. store with demo iPad 2" width="349" /></span></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Photo: Shot at NYC's Fifth Ave. store with a demo iPad 2</span></div></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Second-day iPad 2 stories were dominated by reports of long lines and product shortages, some of them clearly colored by the reporter's personal disappointment.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Mark Gurman's piece about "poor retail launch planning" posted at <a href="http://www.9to5mac.com/55751/apple-facing-ipad-2-shortages-poor-retail-launch-planning/" rel="external nofollow" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="new">9to5 Mac</a>, for example, might not have been as critical of Apple (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=AAPL" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">AAPL</a>) if, after waiting 10 hours in line at the company's Century City store, he hadn't watched a buyer in front of him let friends jump the queue and clean out the last of the model Gurman had set his heart on.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">New York City's Fifth Avenue retail outlet -- which prides itself as the world's best-supplied Apple Store -- ran out of all but the 64 GB Verizon 3G at 11:00 p.m. Friday, 6 hours after it began admitting a crowd that Apple estimated (unofficially) at between 1,200 and 2,000.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">"You should have seen it," one staffer said the next day. "The minute we announced that we only had Verizon iPads left, half the line disappeared."</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span id="more-54273"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">One reason for the lack of interest in the Verizon (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=VZ" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">VZ</a>) model, this staffer speculated, was the high percentage of first-day buyers who were there to supply gray-market iPads for re-sale overseas. Because iPads built for AT&T (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=T" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">T</a>) use the GSM protocol -- the prevailing global standard for cell phones -- and are sold "unlocked," they can work in most foreign countries simply by replacing the SIM card.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">By Saturday morning, there were no lines in front of the big glass cube on Fifth Ave., although there was a steady stream of foreign-language speaking customers who, judging from the haste with which they dashed to the door, hadn't gotten word that all the GSM iPad 2s had been sold.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Rumors that fresh supplies were on the way could not be confirmed. For customers willing to order from Apple's online store, shipping times are currently listed as 2-3 weeks for some models and 3-4 weeks for others.</span></div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-87812820734164488342011-03-12T12:14:00.001-08:002011-03-12T12:14:53.812-08:00HAPPY BIRTHDAY BULL MARKET<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">If you go by the strict definition of the word, yesterday marked the second anniversary of a bull market. You could have fooled me.</span></strong></div><div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_12179" style="float: right; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 310px;"><a href="http://fortunewallstreet.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/chart_ws_index_sp500-galleryhorizontal.png" rel="external nofollow" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="new"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img alt="S&P 500" class="size-medium wp-image-12179" height="229" src="http://fortunewallstreet.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/chart_ws_index_sp500-galleryhorizontal.png?w=300&h=229" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="chart_ws_index_sp500.galleryhorizontal" width="300" /></span></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The total return is even higher. So why don't we feel better?</span></div></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">If you want to find a pessimist's pessimist, look no further than the Tea Party. According to a recent poll, only 3% of Tea Partiers think a recovery has taken hold in the U.S. The rest, of course, think we're all going to economic hell in a socialist hand basket.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">On the one hand, I'm inclined to keep most of that 97% consigned to the place in my mind I reserve for the political fringe. On the other hand, the news that yesterday marked the second anniversary of a bull market got me thinking. If this is what a bull market feels like, maybe the entire system <em>is</em> broken. With a widening wealth gap, persistently high unemployment, and the prospect of another oil-led recession on hand, it seems, well, inappropriate to put on party hats and break out sparklers for the event. Maybe the answer really <em>is</em> Sarah Palin. (Just kidding.)</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">We can argue all day long (and we do) about the qualitative issues, but some things are inarguable. Such as:</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">--The stock market is up 95.6% from its March 9, 2009 low.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">--We have seen six quarters of economic growth in this country.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">--Job growth, while tepid, is also <a href="http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03/04/jobs-cant-save-the-zombie-stock-market/" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">improving</a>. Last month the US netted 192,000 new jobs.<span id="more-12173"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">--Corporate America reported record profits of $1.66 trillion in 2010.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">By those measures, things are on the up-and-up. But consider a few more facts:</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">--The economy has been supported by unprecedented amounts of economic stimulus and an<a href="http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03/09/higher-oil-higher-inflation-the-fed-cant-decide/" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">easy money policy</a> -- so-called QE2 -- from the Fed. A weakened dollar hasn't hurt either. While I'm not sure my mind has grasped all the relevant issues, I'm generally in support of stimulus at crucial junctures. But an optimal bull market is one that is not supported by a tidal wave of government cash.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">--That 95.6% gain is off a low brought about by sheer investor terror. A gain is a gain, of course, and this is no dead cat bounce, but it seems germane to any discussion of the health of the stock market to remember that we'd all but left it for dead two years ago. Sure, it's alive and out of the wheelchair, but it's hardly back in marathon shape.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">--A Bloomberg National poll r<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-10/americans-in-poll-show-little-confidence-with-plurality-perceiving-decline.html" rel="external nofollow" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="new">eleased yesterday</a> showed than only 1 in 7 Americans has faith that a lasting economic recovery has taken hold. A plurality says they're worse off than they were two years ago.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">--Oil prices are currently sitting at <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/10/markets/oil/index.htm" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">over $100 a barrel</a> due all the chaos in the Middle East. Some<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-03-09/oil-price-increases-are-irrelevant-to-the-recovery/" rel="external nofollow" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="new">commentators</a> have argued that we're getting too excited about the possible negative economic effects of the price spike. So discuss it calmly if you'd like. It's still much worse for our economic prospects than would be $40 per barrel prices.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">--Wal-Mart (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=WMT" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">WMT</a>) announced this week that it would begin an aggressive rollout of smaller stores next week. If that's not a sign of the economic apocalypse, I don't know what is.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Don't get me wrong. I believe both Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon when they talk about the crucial assets we have in this country -- our dynamism and entrepreneurialism. But that doesn't mean our overleveraged way of living is just something we can consign to history without paying a far higher price than we have to date.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">I spent the years between 1979 and 1984 living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. My father was an obstetrician, and he worked at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, delivering the children of princesses. (Literally.) Like all doctors, he wasn't much of an investor, and he got sucked into buying gold when it was around $800 an ounce. He got crushed, but luckily for us, he was making tax-free income, we were living in free housing, and the price of gas was so low that it almost felt like they were paying <em>you</em> to fill up your car. When he passed away a few years back, he had righted his retirement accounts enough by that time that my mother is pretty well off.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">To tell you the truth, though, I always felt he'd been played for a sucker when he invested in gold.<em>Gold? Come on, Dad</em>. Well, here we are in 2011, and I own more gold in my retirement accounts than I ever thought I would. Call it a bull market if you want. I'm still pretty much on the sidelines.* If only Dad had hung on, he'd have made a killing.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">*I was criticized at length for suggesting in a recent column that <a href="http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/02/25/hedge-funds-have-run-out-of-good-ideas/" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">hedge funds had run out of good ideas</a> and were all just piling into Apple (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=AAPL" rel="external" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">AAPL</a>). If I was so smart, I was asked, why was I not retiring with a portfolio full of Apple shares? Touché, commenters. I have no criticism of a hedge fund manager who bought Apple stock and rode it all the way up to its current levels. I just wish we didn't have to pay them 2-and-20 for the idea. But that's just one man's opinion.</span></div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-68269386988859665142011-03-12T12:13:00.001-08:002011-03-12T12:13:41.578-08:00NEXT iPAD CHALLENGE COMING FROM AMAZON?<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">(<a href="http://gigaom.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">gigaom.com</a>) -- <a href="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/kindle-with-newspaper-featured.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"></a>Just as the <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/ipad-2-review-roundup-apple-has-another-winner/" style="text-decoration: none;">first early iPad 2 reviews</a> are landing, there’s<a href="http://blogs.forrester.com/sarah_rotman_epps/11-03-10-why_ipad_2_wont_have_much_competition_in_2011_unless_its_from_amazon" style="text-decoration: none;"> talk of a new Apple tablet competitor in the form of Amazon</a>. Why? Because although there are solid hardware contenders available and coming soon from the likes of Motorola (MMI), Samsung and others, all are following flawed strategies, according to research firm Forrester. These devices are comparatively priced too high — a point <a href="http://gigaom.com/mobile/at-799-xoom-shows-why-apples-component-hedging-works/" style="text-decoration: none;">we explained with the Xoom</a> — and all are reliant on external companies for the retail experience. So how and why could Amazon succeed where others are considered to be failing?</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Sara Rotman Epps, an analyst who’s been with Forrester since 2004, lays out three key answers:</span></div><ul style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><strong>Motivation.</strong> Apple’s (AAPL) recent <a href="http://gigaom.com/2011/02/15/apple-gives-media-cos-a-carrot-but-its-tied-to-a-big-stick/" style="text-decoration: none;">in-app subscription rules requiring 30 percent of content revenues</a> — including Kindle (AMZN) books — could feed the fire for Amazon to take on Apple. Think of it as a hedge against relying upon the iPad for some Kindle content sales.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><strong>Price flexibility.</strong> Epps suggests Amazon could design, build and then sell a tablet for less than costs. A similar sales model is rumored to be in the works for Amazon’s Kindle device: the e-book reader could be given away to all Amazon Prime customers.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><strong>Branding and channel.</strong> Amazon is already known as a leader in the online retail business. The same can’t be said of any tablet makers, save Apple. Strong sales of the Kindle show that Amazon can create a consumer electronics device, sell it to the masses — both directly online and in retail parter stores — and then reap benefits by providing content for the device.</span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Epps makes a solid case for Amazon as a potential player in the tablet market. And earlier this year, <a href="http://gigaom.com/2011/01/05/amazo-aims-for-quality-in-its-android-app-store/" style="text-decoration: none;">Amazon announced details for its own app store that will support Android mobile applications</a>, so there’s little doubt that Amazon is looking to get in on the tablet action. But solid reasons to enter the market and an app store won’t guarantee success.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">If Amazon does built a tablet device, it’s going to face the same operating system challenges found by all who are using Google’s Android Honeycomb platform. At the moment, <a href="http://gigaom.com/mobile/4-signs-of-honeycombs-rush-to-compete-with-apples-ipad/" style="text-decoration: none;">Honeycomb feels a little rushed to market</a> with stability issues, missing hardware support and a lack of tablet-optimized applications. That’s taking what could be a stellar experience on Motorola’s Xoom and turning it into one that cries “not ready for prime time.” These issues should diminish over time, but it gives Apple and even bigger head start in this market.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Then there’s the sales challenge involved. It’s one thing to rely primarily on the web to market and show off an e-book device, but tablets are far more complex. Put another way: It’s not difficult to understand what the Kindle does by hitting <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002Y27P3M/ref=sv_kinh_0" style="text-decoration: none;">the Kindle website</a>, because it primarily does one thing. Tablets are complex full-computing devices which will make it more of a challenge to re-use the Kindle marketing strategy. Simply put: tablets are different devices depending which apps are currently in use.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">With such challenges, why should Amazon even attempt to crack the tablet market? The answer can be gleaned from the e-book market, where according to IDC, <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110310005523/en/18-Million-Media-Tablets-Shipped-2010-Apple" style="text-decoration: none;">Amazon ended 2010 with a 48 percent market share</a>. It’s the classic razor and razor-blade model that has propelled Gillette (PG) to success: Get the product in consumers hands at a low cost, then reap rewards on refills. In the case of Kindle, those refills are e-books, while for tablets, the ongoing purchases are in the form of apps.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">IDC estimates e-book device shipments more than doubled from the third to fourth quarter of 2010 with 12.8 million sales in the final quarter compared to 6 million from the prior period. That’s a solid growth rate, and it allows Amazon millions of content purchase opportunities where it makes a cut of e-book sales. But those numbers pale in comparison to the hot tablet market. IDC figures 50 million tablets will move in 2011, up from 18 million in 2010. And none of those tablets currently benefit Amazon’s revenue stream, save for the Kindle book purchases, which can already be made from a number of other devices.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">But with a tablet of its own, Amazon has the potential to <a href="https://developer.amazon.com/help/faq.html" style="text-decoration: none;">earn a 30 percent cut of every single application purchase made through its store</a> instead of ceding those revenues to the likes of Apple, Motorola, Samsung and others. And if smartly leveraged, Amazon could advance media distribution for music and video; two digital services the company provides today. That may be motivation enough for Amazon to succeed in a segment where others are still struggling.</span></div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-30567003179470996712011-03-12T12:07:00.001-08:002011-03-12T12:07:50.818-08:00GO TO ANTARTICA TO TRADE FASTER<div class="col col-xxl" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 620px;"><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The practice of co-location, whereby firms deploying extremely high-speed trading strategies locate their server next to that of the exchange or trading venue, is nothing new. But according to research published last month, high frequency trading firms looking to shave every last micro-second off their trading speed ought to co-locate their servers in the wastes of the Antarctic or the middle of the <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22atlantic%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Atlantic</a> ocean.</span></strong></div></div><div class="col col-xl" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 460px;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="article-image" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f5f6f8; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 300px;"><img alt="The calculation for understanding optimal server locations and a map of where to find them (small circles) " src="http://www.efinancialnews.com/share/media/images/2010/12/4067641680_c300,200,50,50,100.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="The calculation for understanding optimal server locations and a map of where to find them (small circles) " /><div class="meta" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.333em; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0.333em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The calculation for understanding optimal server locations and a map of where to find them (small circles)</span></div></div></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The research paper Relativistic Statistical Arbitrage, which was published in science journal the Physical Review in November, explores how high-frequency trading firms -- which deploy trading strategies that are dependent on routing trading information around the world and across multiple exchanges and trading venues at sub-micro second speeds -- can optimise their trading infrastructure and trade even faster.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">In the paper, the authors provide a general formula firms can use to calculate the optimum global location for servers hosting high-frequency trading type programs to sit in between multiple exchanges - they are identified by the small, blue circles on the graph, while the world's biggest exchanges are identified by the large, red circles.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The authors Alex Wissner-Gross and Cameron Freer, both research affiliates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, used the formula to triangulate the best possible locations in the world for locating servers across some 52 exchanges globally.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">According to the results, high frequency trading firms should think about locating their servers not only in Europe's popular hotspots, such as Basildon and Brick Lane, but in the North Pole, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the middle of the Australian desert, among others (see map).</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The research could give rise to new data centre hot spots, say the authors. If this sounds broadly preposterous, think again: in 2008, Google filed a patent for a floating offshore data centre, while 2007 technology firm Sun Microsystems unveiled plans to build a data centre in an abandoned coal mine.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The topic and the paper are the subject of discussion at the New York High Frequency Trading World conference being held this week.</span></div></div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-50967497319460801482011-03-12T12:04:00.001-08:002011-03-12T12:05:13.290-08:00YOUNGEST BILLIONARES<div class="col col-xxl" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 620px;"><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">At the age of 26, most people will have scraped together enough money to buy a car, maybe put a deposit down on a modest flat and will be climbing the rungs of the career ladder. That is unless you're Dustin Moskovitz, the youngest billionaire in the world.</span></strong></div></div><div class="col col-xl" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 460px;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The 26-year-old from Washington DC has a net worth of $2.7bn, mainly through his co-founding stake in <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22facebook%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>. This makes him the youngest member of the annual<a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22forbes%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Forbes</a> billionaires list, published today.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Eight days the junior of his former <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22harvard%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Harvard</a> peer and chief executive of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, made most of his wealth through his stake in the social networking site, according to Forbes. Moscovitz co-founded Facebook and was the firm's first chief technology officer.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Moskovitz parted ways with Zuckerberg in 2008 to set up his own networking firm, Asana. He did this with Justin Rosenstein, an engineering manager at Facebook who had formerly worked at Google.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Last month Moskovitz and Rosenstein launched Asana, a software application designed to improve the way people collaborate in groups and manage projects.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Most of the1,210 billionaires on Forbes Rich List are in their sixties. Billionaires in the US are the oldest with an average age of 66, followed by the Americas, 65, and the Middle East and Africa, 60. The average age is 59 in the Europe and Asia Pacific regions.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">But billionaires are getting younger. This year there are 20 billionaires under the age of 40, compared with just eight in last year's list.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The second youngest is Moscovitz' former colleague Zuckerberg, who was 2010's biggest percentage gainer. His net worth jumped to $13.5bn, up from $6.9bn, making him worth nearly five times as much as Moskovitz.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The world's oldest billionaire is Swiss tech entrepreneur Walter Haefner, who is 100 and worth $4bn.</span></div></div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-22404357702477633162011-03-12T12:03:00.001-08:002011-03-12T12:03:41.729-08:00FINANCE BILLIONARES<div class="col col-xxl" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 620px;"><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22forbes%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Forbes</a> magazine this week published its annual list of the richest people on the planet, a list that included notable names from the world of finance including 10 hedge fund managers and 10 private equity titans.</span></strong></div></div><div class="col col-xl" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 460px;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The 2011 Forbes named a record 1,210 billionaires with a total worth of $4.5 (€3.3bn) trillion. China doubled its number of billionaires, while Moscow is now home to more than any other city. The full list can be read here [ <a href="http://bit.ly/gaCFUC" style="text-decoration: none;">http://bit.ly/gaCFUC</a> ].</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Super-investor Warren Buffett of <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22berkshire+hathaway%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Berkshire Hathaway</a> was ranked number three on the list as his fortune increased by $3bn last year to reach $50bn. Last year, he and Bill Gates launched the “Giving Pledge”, which asked the world’s richest people to commit publicly to giving away the majority of their wealth.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Other notable finance names on the list include:</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">30. <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22michael+bloomberg%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Michael Bloomberg</a>, Mayor of New York, $18.1bn, USA<br />
Bloomberg decreased his fortune be spending $90m of his own money on his campaign to become elected mayor for a third consecutive term.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">69. <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22abigail+johnson%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Abigail Johnson</a>, president <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22fidelity+investments%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Fidelity Investments</a>, $11.5bn, USA<br />
The Johnson family controls the largest US mutual fund company. Her father, Edward, is in at 133 on the Forbes list with $7.1bn.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">297. Bruno Schroder & family, <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22schroders%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Schroders</a>, $3.7bn, UK<br />
Shares in the family’s financial services company have jumped 60% in the past year, according to Forbes.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">376. <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22andre+esteves%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Andre Esteves</a>, chief executive of <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22btg+pactual%22" style="text-decoration: none;">BTG Pactual</a>, $3bn, Brazil<br />
Last year, BTG Pactual sold an 18.65% stake for $1.8bn to an international consortium and secured a record valuation for an emerging market investment bank.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">833. Emilio Botin, <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22banco+santander%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Banco Santander</a>, $1.5bn, Spain<br />
Banco Santander is now the world’s fourth most profitable bank and the eighth largest by stock market capitalisation, according to Forbes.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
• The 10 richest hedge fund managers on the Forbes list are:</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">39. John Paulson, founder of Paulson & Co, $16bn, USA<br />
He personally netted more than $5bn in profits last year, likely the largest one-year haul in investing history as he overtook the $4bn he made shorting the sub-prime market in 2007, according to the Wall Street Journal.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">46. George Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management, $14bn, USA<br />
Soros’ $28bn Quantum Fund made 2.6% in 2010, according to Forbes.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">61. Carl Icahn, $12.5bn, USA<br />
This week, Icahn said he would return all $1.76bn of outside money in his hedge funds as he does not want to be responsible to investors in another possible market crisis.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">74. James Simons, founder of <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22renaissance+technologies%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Renaissance Technologies</a>, $10.6bn, USA<br />
Simons personally made between $2bn and $3bn last year, according to the Wall Street Journal.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">114. <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22steve+cohen%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Steve Cohen</a>, head of SAC Capital Advisors, $8bn, USA<br />
Cohen told investors they would not suffer losses or incur costs from a government investigation into potential insider trading in the hedge fund industry, which included the arrest of two former SAC mangers. SAC has not been charged with any wrongdoing.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">162. Ray Dalio, $6bn, <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22bridgewater+associates%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Bridgewater Associates</a>, USA<br />
Bridgewater was this month once again named the largest US hedge fund manager, by trade publication AR magazine, with assets increasing by $15.3bn last year.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">208. David Tepper, founder of <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22appaloosa+management%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Appaloosa Management</a>, $5bn, USA<br />
Tepper personally made between $2bn and $3bn last year, according to The Wall Street Journal.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">235. Bruce Kovner, Caxton Associates, $4.5bn, USA<br />
Caxton has reportedly had only one down year since its inception in 1983 and made 6% in 2010, according to Forbes.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">268. Robert, Daniel and Dirk Ziff, $4bn, USA<br />
The brothers provided seed money to fund manager Daniel Och in exchange for a 10% stake in <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22och-ziff+capital%20management%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Och-Ziff Capital Management</a>, which went public two years ago. Och is 336 on the Forbes list with $3.3bn.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">336. Paul Tudor Jones, Tudor Investment, $3.3bn<br />
The legendary trader founded the Robin Hood Foundation, which raised a record $88m at its annual charity gala last year.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
• The 10 richest buyout mangers and venture capitalists on the Forbes list are:</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">169. <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22stephen+schwarzman%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Stephen Schwarzman</a>, chief executive of The <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22blackstone+group%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Blackstone Group</a>, $5.9bn, USA<br />
Blackstone will look to test the tough fundraising environment and start to raise a new real estate fund of around $10bn later this year.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">281. Henry Kravis, co-founder of <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22kohlberg+kravis%20roberts%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Kohlberg Kravis Roberts</a>, $3.9bn, USA<br />
Kravis received $19.5m in carried interest last year, according to a filing with the<a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22securities+and%20exchange%20commission%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Securities and Exchange Commission</a>.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">297. George Roberts, co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts $3.7bn, USA<br />
Roberts received $19.5m in carried interest last year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">310. Leon Black, chairman and chief executive of <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22apollo+global%20management%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Apollo Global Management</a>, $3.5bn, USA<br />
Apollo suffered from weak performance during the financial crisis but its big bets on distressed debt have resulted in profits for the firm and its investors.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">440. David Rubenstein, co-founder of <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22the+carlyle%20group%22" style="text-decoration: none;">The Carlyle Group</a>, $2.6bn, USA<br />
Carlyle is the most active financial sponsor in initial public offerings this year and has backed three of the four largest IPOs to date for a combined $9.4bn, according to Dealogic.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">540. William Conway & Daniel D’Aniello, other Carlyle co-founders, $2.2bn, USA</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">540. John Doerr, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, $2.2bn, USA<br />
The venture capital firm made its name during the dotcom boom and its digital growth fund has invested in <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22groupon%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Groupon</a> and <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22twitter%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>.</span></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">651. James Coulter, co-founder of TPG, $1.9bn, USA<br />
Forbes described him as the quieter co-founder of the Texas buyout firm, which recently re-acquired clothes retailer J Crew.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div class="content-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.417em; margin-bottom: 1.417em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">692. Michael Moritz, <a href="http://www.efinancialnews.com/search?mod=articlehyperlink&q=%22sequoia+capital%22" style="text-decoration: none;">Sequoia Capital</a>, $1.8bn, USA<br />
Welsh-born venture capitalist who was an early investor in Google, Yahoo and PayPal.</span></div></div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-9239578131180707122011-03-05T14:42:00.000-08:002011-03-05T14:42:20.034-08:00THE CLOUD: BATTLE OF TECH TITANSAmazon, Google, and Microsoft are going up against traditional infrastructure makers like IBM and HP as businesses move their most important work to cloud computing, profoundly changing how companies buy computer technology <!--/DECK--><br />
<div id="lede600"><img alt="http://images.businessweek.com/mz/11/11/600/1111_mz_cloud.jpg" height="300" src="http://images.businessweek.com/mz/11/11/600/1111_mz_cloud.jpg" width="600" /></div>Amazon.com's (<a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=AMZN"><span style="color: #007cd5;">AMZN</span></a>) squat Seattle headquarters looks nothing like the country club affairs found in Silicon Valley. There are no free soft drinks or volleyball courts. The light fixtures hanging from the ceiling in the reception area aren't fixtures at all but rather collections of extension cords fitted with bulbs. The receptionists lack computerized systems for registering guests. They simply write down visitors' names on a piece of paper. Such is low-margin life in online retail, where Wal-Mart (<a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=WMT"><span style="color: #007cd5;">WMT</span></a>) stands at the ready, waiting to take away your extension cords. <br />
Most people recognize this Amazon: Jeff Bezos's hyperproficient Borders-killer; one of the few dot-com initial public offerings that didn't end up a punch line; fount of millions of smiling cardboard boxes bearing everything from dildos to diapers. Sitting in a sparsely decorated employee cafeteria, Andy Jassy pitches a newer if equally thrifty side of the e-tailing giant. Although all shoppers are welcome, this Amazon, he explains, is for business customers and isn't well marked on the home page. It's called Amazon Web Services, or AWS. As senior vice-president, Jassy heads up AWS, which rents out computing power for pennies an hour. "This completely levels the playing field," Jassy boasts. <br />
AWS makes it possible for anyone with an Internet connection and a credit card to access the same kind of world-class computing systems that Amazon uses to run its $34 billion-a-year retail operation. "This will be a very high-volume, relatively low-margin business," Jassy says, sipping his third Diet Coke of the morning. He says he'd like to curb his 12-can-a-day habit, but why bother? If ever there were a time to get hopped up at Amazon, it's now. <br />
AWS is growing like crazy. Although he won't cite exact numbers, Jassy claims "hundreds of thousands of customers" already use the service, and analysts at UBS (<a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=UBS"><span style="color: #007cd5;">UBS</span></a>) estimate Amazon will do about $750 million of business on AWS this year. In fact, a whole generation of Internet companies couldn't exist without it. Netflix's (<a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=NFLX"><span style="color: #007cd5;">NFLX</span></a>) movie-streaming empire runs on it; Zynga, the social gaming company, uses it to handle sudden spikes in usage. AWS has become such a fact of life for Silicon Valley startups that venture capitalists actually hand out Amazon gift cards to entrepreneurs. Keeping up with the demand requires frantic expansion: Each day, Jassy's operation adds enough computing muscle to power one whole Amazon.com circa 2000, when it was a $2.8 billion business. <br />
The physical expansion of all that data takes place in Amazon's huge, specially designed buildings—the biggest can reach 700,000 square feet, or the equivalent of roughly 16 football fields. These interconnected facilities, scattered all over the world, are where AWS conducts its business: cloud computing. The "cloud" refers to the amorphous, out-of-sight, out-of-mind mess of computer tasks that happen on someone else's equipment. For the past five years or so the cloud has been hyped by companies to mean anything that happens on the Web, which is how "cloud computing" came to rival "social networking" in overuse. <br />
Right now, the cloud is small: It represented about 5 percent of the $1.5 trillion in corporate information technology spending last year, according to industry data supplied by International Data Corp. and Gartner (<a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=IT"><span style="color: #007cd5;">IT</span></a>). Yet the phenomenon of businesses moving their most important and innovative work into the cloud is real and is profoundly changing how companies buy computer technology. <br />
One other thing about the cloud: It's turbulent. It's getting to be war up there. <br />
<!--/STORY-->Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-36924396021794654512011-03-05T14:37:00.000-08:002011-03-05T14:37:25.009-08:00GOOGLE'S ANDROID OVERTAKES iPHONE, BLACKBERRY<div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">There's a new cell phone king. Smartphones powered by <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ca/mountain_view/google_inc/15435/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Google Inc.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-15435-Google_Inc." jquery1299364508283="23" rel="infoPopup"></a>’s Android operating system passed <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ca/cupertino/apple_inc/17304/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Apple Inc.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-17304-Apple_Inc." jquery1299364508283="24" rel="infoPopup"></a>’s iPhone and previous king Blackberry in U.S. market share in the most recent report from Nielsen.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html?s=image_gallery"><img alt="Google Android top smartphone" border="0" src="http://assets.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/GoogleAndroid*280.jpg?v=1" /></a></div>The numbers come from the November through January time period, before Verizon Wireless began selling Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhones.<br />
Android claimed about 29 percent of the U.S. market in the period, followed by Apple and Blackberry maker <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ontario/waterloo/research_in_motion_ltd/3010418/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Research in Motion Ltd.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-3010418-Research_in_Motion_Ltd." jquery1299364508283="25" rel="infoPopup"></a> (Nasdaq: RIMM), tied at No. 2 with 27 percent each.<br />
Unlike Apple and RIM, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) licenses its Android operating system to other device makers, with HTC and <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/az/tempe/motorola_inc/3262944/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Motorola</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-3262944-Motorola" jquery1299364508283="26" rel="infoPopup"></a> selling the devices that count for most of its share.<br />
Most of the difference appears to be in the larger share of the 18-24 age market that Android devices claim.<br />
<a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/tx/dallas/at&t_inc/3219940/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">AT&T Inc.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-3219940-AT&T_Inc." jquery1299364508283="27" rel="infoPopup"></a> (NYSE: T), which has 1,500 employees in the Dayton region, had exclusivity for the iPhone until <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ny/new_york/verizon_communications_inc/117103/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Verizon Communications Inc.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-117103-Verizon_Communications_Inc." jquery1299364508283="28" rel="infoPopup"></a> (NYSE: VZ) was <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/02/02/best-buy-to-sell-verizons-iphone-4.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">granted rights to sell the iPhone</span></a>. Verizon is selling its iPhones through its stores as well as at <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ar/bentonville/wal-mart_stores/2495082/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Wal-Mart Stores</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-2495082-Wal-Mart_Stores" jquery1299364508283="29" rel="infoPopup"></a> (NYSE: WMT) and <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/mn/richfield/best_buy_co_inc/2584924/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Best Buy Co.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-2584924-Best_Buy_Co." jquery1299364508283="30" rel="infoPopup"></a> (NYSE: BBY) stores.<br />
<a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/01/31/android-gains-on-ipad-in-mobile-market.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">A recent report also said</span></a> Android was gaining fast in the tablet market, but that report was before <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/02/steve-jobs-launches-new-ipad-2.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Apple launched its iPad 2</span></a> this week.<br />
Competition is heating up even more in the mobile tablet category though as <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/tx/round_rock/dell_inc/518649/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Dell Inc.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-518649-Dell_Inc." jquery1299364508283="31" rel="infoPopup"></a> (Nasdaq: DELL) announced that it will produce a tablet with the <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/wa/redmond/microsoft_corporation/1087001/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Microsoft Corp.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-1087001-Microsoft_Corp." jquery1299364508283="32" rel="infoPopup"></a> (Nasdaq: MSFT) operating system, according to the report. And that <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ca/palo_alto/hewlett-packard/15551/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Hewlett-Packard Co</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-15551-Hewlett-Packard_Co" jquery1299364508283="33" rel="infoPopup"></a>. (NYSE: HPQ) is planning a tablet as well.<br />
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Read more: <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/03/googles-android-iphone-blackberry.html#ixzz1Fldiztvm" style="color: #003399;">Google's Android overtakes iPhone, Blackberry | Dayton Business Journal</a> </div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-50724497785316829812011-03-05T14:34:00.000-08:002011-03-05T14:34:14.998-08:00UNLIMITED iTUNES<div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ca/cupertino/apple_inc/17304/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Apple Inc.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/05/apple-may-offer-unlimited-itunes.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-17304-Apple_Inc." jquery1299364430240="23" rel="infoPopup"></a> may soon offer its popular iTunes music service to customers with an unlimited access for downloading songs across different devices.<br />
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is currently in talks with music publishers to offer the unlimited service, according to a Bloomberg report.<br />
<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-04/apple-said-to-negotiate-unlimited-downloads-of-music-purchases.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Bloomberg cites</span></a> unnamed sources that it said have knowledge of the plans who said Apple is negotiating with companies including Vivendi SA's <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ca/santa_monica/universal_music_group/189547/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Universal Music Group</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/05/apple-may-offer-unlimited-itunes.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-189547-Universal_Music_Group" jquery1299364430240="24" rel="infoPopup"></a>, <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/nj/park_ridge/sony_music_entertainment_inc/1446258/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Sony Music Entertainment</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/05/apple-may-offer-unlimited-itunes.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-1446258-Sony_Music_Entertainment" jquery1299364430240="25" rel="infoPopup"></a>, <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ny/new_york/warner_music_group_corp/117122/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Warner Music Group Corp.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/05/apple-may-offer-unlimited-itunes.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-117122-Warner_Music_Group_Corp." jquery1299364430240="26" rel="infoPopup"></a> and EMI Group Ltd.<br />
The aim is reportedly to provide a permanent backup of music purchased through iTunes and allow the backup downloads to iPads, iPods and iPhones that are linked to the same account.<br />
Apple operates a retail store in Kenwood Mall and there are two MacTown authorized Apple retailer stores in Dayton — at The Greene and near the Dayton Mall.<br />
The company's iTunes service competes with many top retailers, including <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ar/bentonville/wal-mart_stores/2495082/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Wal-Mart Stores</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/05/apple-may-offer-unlimited-itunes.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-2495082-Wal-Mart_Stores" jquery1299364430240="27" rel="infoPopup"></a>, <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/mn/minneapolis/target_corp/2584877/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Target Corp.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/05/apple-may-offer-unlimited-itunes.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-2584877-Target_Corp." jquery1299364430240="28" rel="infoPopup"></a> (NYSE: TGT) and <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/mn/richfield/best_buy_co_inc/2584924/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Best Buy Co.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/05/apple-may-offer-unlimited-itunes.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-2584924-Best_Buy_Co." jquery1299364430240="29" rel="infoPopup"></a> (NYSE: BBY). Walmart (NYSE: WMT) had been the largest music retailer in the country until iTunes passed it.<br />
Apple's most popular device is the iPhone, which is sold by Verizon Wireless, a unit of <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ny/new_york/verizon_communications_inc/117103/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">Verizon Communications</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/05/apple-may-offer-unlimited-itunes.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-117103-Verizon_Communications" jquery1299364430240="30" rel="infoPopup"></a> (NYSE: VZ) and <a class="ct saveLink" ct="APT: Company Link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/tx/dallas/at&t_inc/3219940/"><span style="color: #1e79e9;">AT&T Inc.</span></a><a class="inline follow bizWatchPlus executable" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/05/apple-may-offer-unlimited-itunes.html#bizWatch-infoPopup" id="reconid-3219940-AT&T_Inc." jquery1299364430240="31" rel="infoPopup"></a> (NYSE:T), both of which carry Apple’s iPad and iPad 2 that was launched this month.<br />
Apple's stock price has soared in recent years, and is among the largest holdings of many mutual funds that make up 401(k) programs for many companies nationwide, including in Dayton. The technology giant's stock price has grown from $220 per share in March of last year to $360 per share Friday.<br />
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Read more: <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2011/03/05/apple-may-offer-unlimited-itunes.html#ixzz1Fld8iW7N" style="color: #003399;">Apple may offer unlimited iTunes | Dayton Business Journal</a> </div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-51816185898710847402011-03-05T14:31:00.000-08:002011-03-05T14:31:43.270-08:00APPLE LAUNCHES iPAD 2SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Apple® today introduced iPad™ 2, the next generation of its magical device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading ebooks and much more. iPad 2 features an entirely new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the same stunning 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. iPad 2 features Apple’s new dual-core A5 processor for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics and now includes two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime® and Photo Booth®, and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video, bringing the innovative FaceTime feature to iPad users for the first time. Though it is thinner, lighter, faster and packed with new features, iPad 2 still delivers up to 10 hours of battery life* that users have come to expect. iPad 2 is available in black or white, features models that run on AT&T’s and Verizon’s 3G networks, and introduces the innovative iPad 2 Smart Cover in a range of vibrant polyurethane and rich leather colors. <br />
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“With more than 15 million iPads sold, iPad has defined an entirely new category of mobile devices,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “While others have been scrambling to copy the first generation iPad, we’re launching iPad 2, which moves the bar far ahead of the competition and will likely cause them to go back to the drawing boards yet again.” <br />
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With the new front and rear cameras, iPad 2 users can now make FaceTime calls to millions of iPhone® 4, iPod touch® and Mac® users so they can see family and friends anywhere there is Wi-Fi. Photo Booth lets you apply fun visual effects, including eight photo special effects like Squeeze, Twirl and Kaleidoscope, to photos captured by either camera. <br />
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iPad 2 comes with iOS 4.3, the latest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, with new features including faster Safari® mobile browsing performance; iTunes® Home Sharing; enhancements to AirPlay®;** the choice to use the iPad side switch to either lock the screen rotation or mute audio; and Personal Hotspot to share an iPhone 4 cellular data connection over Wi-Fi.*** Additional iPad 2 features include a built-in gyro for advanced gaming; HSUPA support for enhanced 3G upload speeds on iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G on AT&T, and HDMI Video Mirroring that lets users mirror their iPad screen on an HDTV using an optional adaptor. <br />
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The innovative new iPad 2 Smart Cover provides protection for the iPad screen while maintaining its thin and lightweight profile. Designed with a unique self-aligning magnetic hinge that makes it easy to attach and remove, the new iPad 2 Smart Cover automatically wakes iPad 2 when it’s opened and puts it to sleep when it’s closed, and has a soft microfiber lining to help keep the screen clean. The Smart Cover also folds into a stand for typing or viewing videos and is available in vibrant polyurethane for $39 or rich leather for $69 in a range of colors, including a (PRODUCT) RED one which helps support the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. <br />
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Apple also introduced two new apps: iMovie® and GarageBand® for iPad, both available on the App Store℠ for just $4.99 each. With iMovie, iPad 2 users can shoot and edit videos right on their iPad and post their movies to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo and their MobileMe℠ gallery; watch them on their iPod®, iPhone or iPad; as well as view them on their HDTV using AirPlay and Apple TV®. GarageBand turns your iPad into a collection of touch instruments and 8-track recording studio, allowing you to perform with onscreen keyboards, guitars, drums and basses using multi-touch gestures–even if you don’t play a musical instrument. <br />
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iPad 2 runs almost all of the over 350,000 apps available on the App Store and there are more than 65,000 native iPad apps available from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. The iTunes Store gives iPad users access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 14 million songs, over 50,000 TV episodes and over 10,000 films including over 3,500 in stunning high definition video. The iBooks® app for iPad includes Apple’s iBookstore℠, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device. <br />
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Pricing & Availability <br />
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iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available on March 11 for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G will be available for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G compatible with the Verizon network will be available in the US only for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad 2 will be sold in the US through the Apple Store® (<a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=166g2buar/**http%3A//cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT%3Fid=smartlink%26url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.apple.com%252F%26esheet=6632460%26lan=en-US%26anchor=www.apple.com%26index=1%26md5=1600e00fb11bee51fb80352ffc27f2bb"><span style="color: #1a5488;">www.apple.com</span></a>), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iMovie and GarageBand for iPad apps will be available on March 11 for $4.99 each from the App Store on iPad or <a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=16t7qrj0n/**http%3A//cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT%3Fid=smartlink%26url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.itunes.com%252Fappstore%26esheet=6632460%26lan=en-US%26anchor=www.itunes.com%252Fappstore%26index=2%26md5=7a9b7ef43229247140c13da13fcacbc7"><span style="color: #1a5488;">www.itunes.com/appstore</span></a>. <br />
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iPad 2 will be available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK on March 25; and in many more countries around the world in the coming months. Further international availability and pricing will be announced at a later date. <br />
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*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary. <br />
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**AirPlay video requires second generation Apple TV running the latest software. <br />
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***Personal Hotspot requires supporting data plan. Customers should check with their carrier for availability. <br />
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Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. <br />
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NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website (<a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=16k6cj5dh/**http%3A//cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT%3Fid=smartlink%26url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.apple.com%252Fpr%252F%26esheet=6632460%26lan=en-US%26anchor=www.apple.com%252Fpr%26index=3%26md5=14993221a515726eb9917976152a3f06"><span style="color: #1a5488;">www.apple.com/pr</span></a>), or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042. <br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">© 2011 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPad, FaceTime, Photo Booth, iPhone, iPod touch, Safari, iTunes, AirPlay, iMovie, GarageBand, App Store, MobileMe, iPod, Apple TV, iBooks, iBookstore and Apple Store are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. </div>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-48942109140308923312011-03-05T14:28:00.000-08:002011-03-05T14:28:27.424-08:00MARKET UPDATEKei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-83357397106831756932011-03-05T14:26:00.000-08:002011-03-05T14:26:55.027-08:00MOST EXPENSIVE TOWN IN AMERICA<span style="color: #666666;">provided by</span><br />
<a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=10kn7noja/**http%3A//wsj.com/"><img alt="wsjlogo.gif" height="33" src="http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/fi/18/49/60.gif" width="170" /></a><br />
<strong>Defying the national housing slump, Aspen's prices are rising. Why the glitzy ski enclave is outpacing the Hamptons, Beverly Hills and Palm Beach.</strong><br />
The lowest-priced single-family home on the market in Aspen is listed for $559,000. It's located in a trailer park.<br />
While most housing markets in the rest of the country continue to struggle with anemic demand and foreclosures -- and sales at many other luxury ski resorts are still sluggish -- Aspen has forged its own orbit. The average home price in this mountain town has increased over the past four years, to $6 million in 2010 from $5.4 million in 2006, according to multiple-listings data. The median price for single-family homes is now the highest in the country at $4.6 million, says San Francisco-based Altos Research, surpassing the Hamptons, Beverly Hills and Palm Beach.<br />
Sales of luxury Aspen estates -- the sorts of over-the-top places with leather walls and outdoor heated infinity pools -- have remained remarkably healthy, thanks in part to foreign buyers. Of the 25 real-estate transactions recorded by Pitkin County for the week of Jan. 19 to 25, five were buyers from abroad, including three Australians and people from Turkey and Hong Kong.<br />
Last month, a home in the Maroon Creek neighborhood with an indoor heated swimming pool, basketball court and outdoor hot tub overlooking a waterfall sold for $13 million. The buyer was Russian Alexander Zanadvorov, the 40-year-old owner of Sedmoi Kontinent, a chain of supermarkets.<br />
With celebrity regulars like Lance Arstrong and Goldie Hawn, Aspen is an anointed stop on the international jet-set circuit, a place where the wealthy come to play and spend. Increasingly, they're putting down roots there.<br />
<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/rates/query?t=h"><span style="color: #0f55c3;">[Click here to check home equity rates in your area.]</span></a><br />
"Aspen is like a small Manhattan," says Altunc Kumova, a financial services executive from Istabul, Turkey, who bought a fractional condo at The Little Nell in January. "You can find almost all upscale brands for shopping and restaurants are excellent. Apres-ski in Aspen is very glamorous."<br />
Last year, hedge-fund titan John Paulson paid $24.5 million for a 13,000-square-foot estate with a sandy beach, surrounding ponds, a 35-foot-wall of disappearing glass, views of the four ski mountains and a media room with leather seats. Chris Reyes of Chicago-based food and beer distributor Reyes Holdings paid $31.5 million for a 15,000-square-foot stone mansion with a gym, panoramic views, a caretaker's apartment and an eight-stall horse stable. According to public records, Paul Edgerley, a managing director of Bain Capital, bought an estate in the exclusive community of Starwood a couple of weeks ago. The estate sold for $19.8 million after less than three months on the market, says listing agent Brian Hazen.<br />
A 90-acre Aspen estate just went on the market for $48.5 million, listed by Joshua Saslove of Joshua & Co. Known as Jigsaw Ranch, it includes two main houses, a guest house and a log cabin gatehouse. The 21,000-square-foot main house took nearly 15 years to complete and was designed to look like a perched village. The second main house is 11,000 square feet and has an entrance reached from a walking bridge across a creek.<br />
[More from WSJ.com: <a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=134ligj8m/**http%3A//online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704005404576176940867302986.html%3Fmod=yahoo_free"><span style="color: #0f55c3;">Charlie Sheen Set to Buy Home in Beverly Hills</span></a>]<br />
Aspen hasn't missed the housing bust altogether: The number of homes sold last year was about half the level of 2006, and there have been foreclosures and notable fire sales, according to Mason Morse broker Tim Estin, who writes a regular economic analysis called the Estin Report. One house that sold for $16 million on Feb. 15, for example, was originally listed for $32 million.<br />
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Overall, though, recent signs have been promising. After a few rough years of declines, residential sales in Aspen grew 17% in gross dollar volume last year from 2009 and 23% in sales; there have been seven sales over $10 million in the past two months alone, says Andrew Ernemann of real-estate agency BJ Adams & Co. Last March, a 1,122-square-foot "quaint Victorian" two-bedroom shack on Main Street sold for $1 million.<br />
Nationally, home prices in December were down more than 31% from their 2006 peak, according to the latest Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index, including a 4.1% fall in 2010.<br />
Analysts point to numerous reasons why Aspen has held up so well. A small market where only 13% of land is able to be developed because of zoning laws and the mountainous landscape, it never suffered the overdevelopment now plaguing other areas. Aspen's distance from a major city and spotty air service help to keep away day tourists.<br />
[More from WSJ.com: <a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=1301odm4j/**http%3A//blogs.wsj.com/hong-kong/2011/03/04/the-seven-year-pitch-23-million/%3Fmod=yahoo_free"><span style="color: #0f55c3;">The Seven-Year Pitch: $23 Million</span></a>]<br />
It's also emerged as a place where young professionals can find jobs, particularly at small private finance firms and at nonprofit organizations. The Aspen Young Professionals Association, started in 2003 with nine members, now has 257 active members on its event email list. Obermeyer Asset Management, an independent investment advisory started by the son of sporting-goods magnate Klaus Obermeyer, is one of the older local firms; since its start in 1998 it has gone from managing $50 million to $775 million in investments and from two staffers to nine staff members in two offices.<br />
Burberry and Gucci are here, as are eateries like Rustique, with its locally sourced bistro food, and Montagna with its extensive wine selection. There are also music, film and food festivals, and the Aspen Art Museum is planning a new, 30,000-square-foot building designed by architect Shigeru Ban. The Aspen Institute, which brings in world leaders as speakers for its annual Ideas Festival, has also helped put the town on the international map.<br />
In 2008 Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich paid $36 million for a 14,300-square-foot house on 200 acres. A couple living in London snapped up a $10.5 million ranch in July; a $16 million home with 40 acres and a theater, gym with sauna and steam, private guest apartment, elevator and six-car garage, was purchased by a family from New Zealand.<br />
[More from WSJ.com: <a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=13da0r8i5/**http%3A//blogs.wsj.com/hong-kong/2011/03/04/hong-kong-worlds-most-expensive-office-space/%3Fmod=yahoo_free"><span style="color: #0f55c3;">Hong Kong: World's Most Expensive Office Space</span></a>]<br />
Chuck Frias, an Aspen developer and broker who has a newly built $24 million home on the market, says the weak dollar has drawn interest in the home from house-hunters in Canada, Australia and Italy; he sold a $7 million house to a Chilean family in December.<br />
In the past few days Aspen agents have reported showing homes to potential buyers from as wide a range as Russia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Italy and Australia.<br />
Ski Brasil, a Brazilian ski-tour operator with a winter presence in Aspen, runs three ads a week for 16 weeks in Portuguese in the local Aspen paper now. Eduardo Gaz, the company's director of operations, estimates some 20,000 Brazilians ski in Aspen every season, some of whom own homes (many of whom won't talk for tax reasons). Joshua & Co. real estate has taken out ads in Russian offering to show visitors around.<br />
"I have a long list of Australian friends who are coming to visit," says Anna-Lisa Klettenberg, an artist and investor from Sydney who bought a condo at the luxury Gant Hotel. Ms. Klettenberg had been skiing in Aspen for over a decade; she decided in March to look to buy, put an offer on the condo that day, closed in May and was there for the month of July. She still owns her home in Sydney and has a summer place on Australia's Gold Coast in Queensland, but she plans to spend four months a year in Aspen now. She's on the national council of the Aspen Music Festival, a role that gets her invited to lots of parties and events.<br />
Francesca and Sal Amery, a British international banker, have lived for the past 20 years in the Middle East, New Zealand, England, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore and have owned homes in Malaysia, Singapore and England. They considered buying a home at a ski resort in Europe or New Zealand, but nothing measured up to Aspen when it came to meeting their checklist of wants: comfortable year-round living, a good education system, an airport, access to great medical facilities and an educated and diverse population.<br />
"It is Adult Disney," says Ms. Amery.<br />
<b>In Aspen, the Sky's the Limit</b><br />
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<b>Purchase price:</b> $10.5 million<br />
<b>Buyers:</b> John and Elizabeth Burgess<br />
Formerly a non-profit retreat for terminally ill children, this 6.5-acre property has 800 square feet of river frontage, a pool, a pool house and a chapel room.<br />
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<b>Purchase price:</b> $13 million<br />
<b>Buyers:</b> Alexander Zanadvorov, 40-year-old owner of Sedmoi Kontinent, a chain of supermarkets in Russia.<br />
The home in the Maroon Creek neighborhood has an indoor headed swimming pool, basketball court and outdoor hot tub overlooking a waterfall.<br />
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<b>Purchase price:</b> $19.8 million<br />
<b>Buyers:</b> Paul B. Edgerley<br />
This 14,668-square-foot-estate located in the exclusive gated community of Starwood sold a couple of weeks ago.<br />
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<a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=134ot9jgo/**http%3A//online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703300904576178731828109482.html%3Fmod=yahoo_free"><b><span style="color: #0f55c3;">Click here to see more photos of the Most Expensive Town in America</span></b></a>Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573669468989273231.post-8453365617921177382011-03-05T14:24:00.000-08:002011-03-05T14:24:22.700-08:00WORLDS BIGGEST OIL RESERVESBig movements in the price of oil can have significant effects in the general economy, and although the commodity is off its all-time highs, countries with the most oil within their borders are set to benefit as demand for crude continues to rise.<br />
With much of the world's existing reserves found in the Middle East, Gulf of Mexico and a few other locations around the globe, individual countries benefit incredibly from their surprisingly high concentrations of oil.<br />
As of 2010, the US government estimates that the world has proved reserves in the neighborhood of 1.35 trillion barrels; the net amount of oil fields that have been identified as having a reasonable certainty of recovery. Labeling subterranean oil "proved" reserves takes into consideration both the logistic feasibility, political and economic conditions surrounding the oil's physical extraction.<br />
With the most recent data from the Energy Information Administration, here are the countries with the biggest proved oil reserves.<br />
<strong>1. Saudi Arabia</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 259.9 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 19.20%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 9.76 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 2.43 million barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 1.09 million barrels (Dec. 2010)<br />
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<strong>2. Canada</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 175.2 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 12.94%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 3.29 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 2.15 million barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 2.71 million barrels (Dec. 2010)<br />
<strong>3. Iran</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 137.6 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 10.16%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 4.18 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 1.69 million barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 0<br />
<strong>4. Iraq</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 115 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 8.5%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 2.4 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 636,000 barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 336,000 barrels (Dec. 2010)<br />
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<strong>5. Kuwait</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 101.5 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 7.5%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 2.5 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 372,000 barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 125,000 barrels (Dec. 2010)<br />
<strong>6. Venezuela</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 99.4 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 7.34%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 2.47 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 723,000 barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 917,000 barrels (Dec. 2010)<br />
<strong>7. United Arab Emirates</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 97.8 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 7.22%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 2.79 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 492,000 barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 10,000 barrels (Sept. 2010)<br />
<strong>8. Russia</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 60 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 4.43%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 9.93 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 2.74 million barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 514,000 barrels (Dec. 2010)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 3px;"><img alt="cnbcoilres4.jpg" height="147" src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/fi/36/45/85.jpg" width="220" /><br />
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<strong>9. Libya</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 44.3 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 3.27%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 1.79 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 264,000 barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 66,000 barrels (Dec. 2010)<br />
<strong>10. Nigeria</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 37.2 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 2.75%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 2.21 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 272,000 barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 1.07 million barrels (Dec. 2010)<br />
<strong>11. Kazakhstan</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 30 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 2.22%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 1.54 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 241,000 barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 21,000 barrels (Dec. 2010)<br />
<strong>12. Qatar</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 25.4 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 1.88%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 1.21 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 147,000 barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 16,000 barrels (Dec. 2010)<br />
<strong>13. China</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 19.2 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 1.42%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 9.14 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 18.81 million barrels<br />
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<table align="right" style="margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 10px; width: 230px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 3px;"><img alt="cnbcoilres3.jpg" height="147" src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/fi/36/45/84.jpg" width="220" /><br />
<small><span style="font-size: xx-small;">©AP</span></small></td></tr>
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<strong>14. United States</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 19.2 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 1.42%<br />
Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 9.14 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 18.81 million barrels<br />
<strong>15. Brazil</strong><br />
Proved oil reserves: 11.65 billion barrels <br />
Proportion of world total: 0.95%<br />
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</script><noscript></noscript><!--Yahoo! Finance evergreen article module-->Daily Oil Statistics (2009): <br />
Total oil production: 2.57 million barrels <br />
Consumption: 2.52 million barrels <br />
Exports to the US: 295,000 barrels (Dec 2010)Kei Usagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15249697249629403566noreply@blogger.com0