Amancio Ortega: 2016- Second Rich Person In The World

Amancio Ortega Gaona was born 12 March 1936.He is a Spanish business magnate. He is the founder and former chairman of Inditex fashion group, best known for its chain of Zara clothing and accessories retail shops. He is currently the richest person in Europe, and the second richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$74.6 billion as of 7 November 2016. He left school and moved to La Coruña at the age of 14, due to the job of his father, a railway worker. Shortly after, he found a job as a shop hand for a local shirtmaker called Gala, which still sits on the same corner in downtown A Coruña, and learned to make clothes by hand. In 1972, he founded Confecciones Goa (his initials in reverse), selling quilted bathrobes which Ortega produced using thousands of local women organised into sewing cooperatives.


 Amancio Ortega: Lifelong highlights

•  Dissuaded from first choice name for his stores, Zorba (after the film), by the owner of a local bar of the same name 

•  Dispensed with an office at headquarters, preferring to sit at a table among Zara's young designers and buyers Added other brands to Inditex, including Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius and Oysho 

• Owns an equestrian center in Finisterre, Galicia, where he indulges a passion for riding; daughter Marta married Sergio Álvarez Moya, an international show jumper 

•  Invested in gas, banking and tourism; owns Spain's tallest skyscraper, the Torre Picasso, in Madrid, and Epic Residences & Hotel, a luxury development in Miami designed by Luis Revuelta

•  Started Fundación Paideia to promote entrepreneurship in Galicia 

 Source: Wikipedia/CNBC

Jimoh Ibrahim: I’ve enough experience to turn around Virgin Nigeria

Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim

Written by Shola Adeola
Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim is a well known name in business circles as a successful young man who has carved a niche for himself in areas he has ventured into. Recently, he acquired Virgin Nigeria which was established in 2004 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo to replace the defunct national carrier, Nigeria Airways. Virgin Nigeria, which was floated on behalf of the Federal Government by Virgin Atlantic as a core technical partner, was owned 51 per cent  by Nigerian core investors while the remaining 49 per cent went to the Virgin Group. Despite the mixed reactions that have greeted the take over of the airline, Ibrahim, in this interview,  allays such fears even as he spoke with Shola Adekola on his plans to reposition the flag carrier and make it financially viable. Excerpts.

Why did you acquire Virgin Nigeria?
I must thank you very much for your question. Let me say one thing in fairness, the deal for Virgin Nigeria had been on since 2009, but you know it’s not every deal that you put on the pages of newspapers when you are yet to conclude. In that very year 2009, if I had wanted to make NICON to be flying with all the aircraft, we would have done so. We felt that let us quickly look at this deal, and then we can have a merger later and we can then move on. But if I had made up my mind and said  we don’t want Virgin Nigeria, let me use the money for NICON Airways, may be that would have been a different thing, may be also we would not have issues with NICON. The Virgin deal started in 2009, and it went from back and forth till it closed in 2010, some time in April, last Friday.

Two things are very key in the Virgin Nigeria deal. First, we as a nation must continue to show the capacity that we can do it. Agreed that Richard Branson came with this brand to Nigeria and things are going back and Branson walked out with the MD, the CEO, and the CFO and technical officers in a day. Is it that we don’t have the personnel, entrepreneur that can do it? This is why I said we should conclude once and for all this matter. Coming to my major plan; my immediate plan is to stabilise the airline with  seven aircrafts,  and we will achieve this very shortly. What we want to do is actually stabilise it at seven and from there move to 17, and after that we start the international route. Our immediate plan is to get the local market right, get the regional market right and then from there, we move on to the international routes. Our long term plan is to make the good and take it back to Nigerians who are the owners, just like all our companies that we have acquired in the past and then take it to the stock exchange and make Nigerians to be proud owners of a good airline.

Are you  going  to  change  the name  of Virgin Nigeria?
Well, of course, there will be a name change, that can never be ruled out. There will be a name change and the name change will reflect the integrity of our nation.  I am not too far away from the name change, and I am sure its in a matter of days.

Where are we now as regards NICON Airways and the fear that Virgin Nigeria may go the way of NICON?
I don’t think anybody should have any fear, that fear is your own fear, your self-created fear. If anybody has run any company well in this country, I think by the grace of God, I am number one and this is not the first company we have bought. We have never had a company that died in our hands.

First, we took NICON; it survived, its now in Sao Tome and Principe. We picked Nigerian rail, and you didn’t know that Nigerian rail was taken away by the National Assembly Act. Today, it is surviving, we picked Le Meridien hotel, where we had snakes and cobras staying in. They were using snake powder to bring them out; today, we have the American Embassy office inside Le Meridien hotels. That shows you how far we have gone in turning it around. We picked 110 petrol stations that we bought from people. We never built them; all the fuel stations are selling fuel today. We picked up VGC from the former HSC owners, it has been turned around today, and the hotel is there today running very well. The industry there where they produce chairs, today they are made by our factory. We picked this building from NDIC. All the area boys of Marina were living here before, but you can see how it looks now. We have been turning around corporations. One of the areas where we have respect among the youth is the ability to turn around companies. Let me tell you, some interesting companies, I don’t want to mention their names, had even been talking to us to see how we could rescue them in management plan. So, what is in Virgin Nigeria to turn around for us? I don’t see anybody expressing fears. Rather from the report I got yesterday, all flights were fully booked. Infact on Sunday, they were double booked. So, I want to thank Nigerians for the tremendous support that they are giving to us. They believe in our capacity above all. If it was when Virgin Nigeria was being run by Richard Branson, could you have an interview like this with him?

On the issue of Virgin brand and the controversy that trailed the use which reportedly cost the airline N1 billion annually for using the brand. This led to name change to Nigerian Eagle, what airline did you actually buy?
We bought Virgin Nigeria, there was nothing called Nigeria Eagle that we bought. Am I so stupid? I am a lawyer, common, give that to me. I am Harvard and University of Ife trained. Am I going to buy Nigeria Eagle, I bought Virgin Nigeria (brandishing a certified true copy of the certificate) and I got original shares certificate of Virgin Nigeria. So, I don’t know what Virgin is talking about. We are not paying any thing to anybody to have the Virgin brand. Is Virgin Nigeria a brand (general laughter of disapproval)? I don’t have issues with Virgin Nigeria. You know me critically, if I buy any foreign company, forget about brand or no brand, whatever the brand, I will change it to reflect Nigerian name. So that is me. Even if Virgin gives me its brand for free, I will not take it, I will still use my local name.

What plans do you have in place for repositioning this airline and its survival and workers future?
Thanks for your concern and we appreciate it. Don’t worry, we will survive. I don’t think there will be problem at all. I am aware that the airline is much on highly expensive. I know what it is; I have enough of experience to turn around the airline quickly. Normally, turn around takes two years and I implore all of you to join in the turn around, so that you can see things and educate yourself. In the case of Virgin Nigeria; from the diagnosis I have seen, may be in less than one year, we would have been through with the turn around.

Considering the sensitivity of aviation industry, why could you not  achieve your aim with NICON Airways rather than Virgin Nigeria ?
I am used to putting my head in trouble waters. Don’t worry about it. Let me correct one thing, NICON Airways is not the same thing as Virgin Nigeria because Virgin Nigeria has all the structures, has a lot of connectivity and a lot of things to build and they are far from each other. But nevertheless, we used to do unusual things to get an unusual results. When this house was put for sale, it was there for almost three years, nobody applied, but today, if I put it for sale, everybody will be here because it has been turned around. I appreciate your sympathy, you can be sure Virgin Nigeria will survive. Again, it is not about profit again, if you know that at this level, I go for something that is exciting. I have run close to about 16 companies. We have eight hotels, 210 petrol stations etc. What do you think I will be doing? The total debt I owe is just N2.4 billion, that is what is left over. What do you think I should be doing at my age if I don’t put my head in Virgin Nigeria? So, it is an exciting moment.

On workers’ future in the airline
If you are a fraudulent staff, you better start running. If you are not, enjoy yourself and expect your promotion. Let me tell you, its not all turn around that require people to be sacked. Le Meridien was turned around; we never sacked one single staff of Le Meridien. We are increasing the fleet, why are the workers afraid. If you sack them and increase your fleet, who are the people that will come and do the job? An aircraft must have a marginal number of people that will work with it. So, where will you get the people from? What you will do is to restructure them to training. Let me tell you, our turn-around is only limited. Virgin Nigeria is not technically sick, it is financially sick; so the turn around will be directed to finance.

Source: www.tribune.com.ng

Harris Bank Online Banking was down for maintenance at midday on Monday, May 3, 2010.

The web site of Chicago-based Harris Bank was down for maintenance at midday on Monday, causing a spike in Internet search activity pertaining to the institution.


Visitors to the Harris Bank homepage are getting a message saying the main site is down for maintenance but that Harris Online Services are still available. Harris is a subsidiary of Bank of Montreal (BMO).

The outage may be especially disconcerting for former customers of Amcore Bank, which was recently acquired by Harris after it failed on April 24 along with six other banks in the Chicago area.

A Bank of Montreal spokesperson was unable to comment immediately about the status of Harris Bank's online banking operations. A spokesperson from Harris Bank provided this statement: "Yes we are having some issues with the Harris Bank website, but there is no impact to the Amcore websites or to our Amcore customers."

Bank of Montreal shares were up 1.2% to $62.75 in afternoon trades

Source: www.thestreet.com

5 Stocks to buy in 2010 for savvy investors.

Blackstone Group(BX)

Primary industry:  Asset Management

Market capitalization: $4.40Billion

Growth estimate for 2010: 84.10%

Bank of America Corporation

Primary industry:  Money Center Banks

Market capitalization: $178.87Billion

Growth estimate for 2010: 455.20%

Schlumberger Limited (SLB)

Primary industry: Oil $ Gas Equipment & Services

Market capitalization: $85.35Billion

Growth estimate for 2010: 4.70%

Caterpillar (CAT)

Primary industry: Farm & Construction Machinery

Market capitalization: $ 42.65Billion

Growth estimate for 2010: 42.70%

Vale S.A (VALE)

Primary industry: Steel & Iron

Market capitalization: $159.61Billion

Growth estimate for 2010: 187%

Best stocks to buy right now 2010: Top Rated Stocks for 2010

Orion Marine

Primary industry: Construction and engineering

2009 performance (through 12/10): +16.9%

Market capitalization: $535 million

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +18%

Dividend yield: None

Computer Sciences

Primary industry: Data processing and outsourced services

2009 performance (through 12/10): +58.4%

Market capitalization: $8.49 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +7%

Dividend yield: None

Verizon Communications

Primary industry: Integrated telecommunication services

2009 performance (through 12/10): -1.4%

Market capitalization: $95 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +2%

Dividend yield: 5.7%

Hess

Primary industry: Integrated oil and gas

2009 performance (through 12/10): +4.3%

Market capitalization: $18.3 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +121%

Dividend yield: 0.72%

BB&T

Primary industry: Regional banks

2009 performance (through 12/10): -5.6%

Market capitalization: $17.8 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +42%

Dividend yield: 2.3%

Royal Caribbean Cruises

Primary industry: Hotels, resorts and cruise lines

2009 performance (through 12/10): +81.4%

Market capitalization: $5.34 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +107%

Dividend yield: Discontinued in 2008

Varian Medical Systems

Primary industry: Healthcare equipment

2009 performance (through 12/10): +31.7%

Market capitalization: $5.8 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +5%

Dividend yield: None

Discovery Communications

Primary industry: Broadcasting

2009 performance (through 12/10): +123%

Market capitalization: $8.96 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +27%

Dividend yield: None

Waste Management

Primary industry: Environmental and facilities services

2009 performance (through 12/10): +4.5%

Market capitalization: $16.3 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +8%

Dividend yield: 3.5%

FMC

Primary industry: Diversified chemicals

2009 performance (through 12/10): +58%

Market capitalization: $33.8 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +27%

Dividend yield: 0.9%

Blackstone Group

Primary industry: Asset management and custody banks

2009 performance (through 12/10): +111.8%

Market capitalization: $15.4 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +97%

Dividend yield: 8.7%

Teva Pharmaceuticals

Primary industry: Pharmaceuticals

2009 performance (through 12/10): +25%

Market capitalization: $47.3 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +33%

Dividend yield: 1%

Kohl’s

Primary industry: Department stores

2009 performance (through 12/10): +52%

Market capitalization: $16.9 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: 14%

Dividend yield: None

Urban Outfitters

Primary industry: Apparel retail

2009 performance (through 12/10): +119%

Market capitalization: $5.5 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +22%

Dividend yield: None

BorgWarner

Primary industry: Auto parts and equipment

2009 performance (through 12/10): +40.6%

Market capitalization: $3.6 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +18%

Dividend yield: Dividend suspended in March

Priceline.com

Primary industry: Internet retail

2009 performance (through 12/10): +202%

Market capitalization: $9.97 billion

Projected 2010 earnings growth: +24%

Dividend yield: None

Source: www.businessweek.com

Five proven strategies that will build and boost your credit scores

Your credit score is a very important number if you're thinking about buying a house or a car. The interest rate you'll pay for the money you borrow will be determined, in large part, by this three-digit number that's generated from the information in your credit report.

• Five proven strategies that will build and boost your credit scores

1. Don't File Bankruptcy or Foreclosure
Here's the most obvious advice: Don't file for bankruptcy or foreclosure. Bankruptcy or foreclosure is like an indelible link on your credit report which can for 10 year. It would also decrease your credit score. The older the bankruptcy or foreclosure account becomes, coupled with re-built credit history, the less of an impact they play on your credit score.

It is not totally truth that debt defaulters can legally delete their bankruptcy and foreclosure records. It's not easy process, even though it is partially possible. To quickly rebuild your credit history after a bankruptcy or foreclosure, use the Round Robin strategy above and get secured credit cards

 2. Don't Close Accounts
It is a bad idea to close your credit card account even if you pay off revolving debts.

The longer an account is open with no negative reports, the better it reflects in your overall credit score. This is due to the weighted-average in the credit score formula. Many credit experts suggest a balance of 30% of your credit limit. You can go as high as 70% and still maintain a healthy credit score.

3. Always Pay Your Bills on Time
Always make sure you paid your bills timely even if it is the minimum balance due. You credit diminish significantly even if you only 30 days late in your payment. It is therefore necessary you mail out your bills in a timely version. This would help you to keep balances low on credit cards. High outstanding debt can affect your score. Maxing out your credit cards could lower your average score by as much as 70 points.

4. Be a secondary holder of credit card account
This is a fast and great little credit score booster. This arrangement functions properly if the parties involved have an established trusting relationship. This is can achieve by persuading close relative, friends and family member with excellent credit history to add you to their credit card account. For example, when applying for a credit card, you may have seen the section to add a card holder. If your primary card holder adds you as a secondary card holder on his or her credit card account, the primary credit card payment history is now reported on your credit report too. If the primary card holder has perfect credit, you also have a perfect account

5. Stay away from applying for New Credit cards or credit facilities
Don't open a number of new credit cards that you don't need. New accounts will lower your average account age, which could actually lower your score by up to 10 points

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Gold as a Store of Value and its Characteristics

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (Latin: aurum, "shining dawn") and an atomic number of 79. Gold (pronounced /ˈɡoʊld/). It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is dense, soft, shiny and the most malleable and ductile pure metal known. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Gold is one of the coinage metals and has served as a symbol of wealth and a store of value throughout history. Gold standards have provided a basis for monetary policies. It also has been linked to a variety of symbolisms and ideologies.

Gold bars

Characteristics of Gold

Rarity
Gold is one of the rarest substances found on earth, even though is it literally everywhere around us, in the ground and even in our oceans. It is so rare, in fact, that all the gold ever refined, about 125,000 tonnes, would cover a football pitch (soccer field) to a depth of less than 52 inches (1.29m)! In your mind’s eye, that may seem like a lot of gold, but it is less than two thirds of an ounce for every person alive today.


Seawater contains incredible quantities of gold, but its recovery is not yet feasible with current technology. While some gold is found in nugget form, the vast majority of it occurs as minute grains, locked into mineral deposits far beneath the earth’s surface. In a rich mine, several tonnes of ore may need to be extracted and processed to yield one ounce of gold. It is an expensive and risky proposition, and its difficulty makes future recovery unlikely to keep up with demand.


Durability
Gold is one of the most durable substances we know – it has been recovered from ancient tombs and the ocean floor where it lay for millenia, and yet its enduring beauty is untainted. It does not rust, tarnish or corrode; air, water, salt and most acids do not affect it. It can be melted and cooled, drawn into fine wire, pounded into leaf, minted into coins, irradiated, and deposited as plating, and its value does not diminish.


Utility
Pure gold is so malleable, one ounce can be hammered into a foil sheet several atoms thick, but covering 100 square feet! It is so ductile, that same ounce can be drawn into a fine wire 50 miles long!


Although gold is too soft to be of structural use, it is readily combined with other metals into a variety of workable alloys with a broad spectrum of color variations. This makes it ideal for decorative jewelry, as well as many modern industries from dentistry to electronics. Demand for industrial gold continues to increase, and is already outpacing new production.


Gold as Commodity
The unique and useful properties of gold, as well as its rarity and increasing demand, make it an attractive commodity investment.


Investors may choose to invest in gold directly, or in one or more of the diverse cross-section of companies producing the commodity, from mining companies and refiners to fabricators of finished products. However, stock in such a company is no guarantee of a secure investment; companies come and go, but the commodity maintains value. There is also a huge international market in gold futures and options, which the industry uses to hedge their price risk. Increasingly, gold futures and options can be found in investors' portfolios.


Gold is known as the “crisis commodity” because during periods of political, social, or financial upheaval, the price of gold tends to rise in response to the same factors which cause other investments to degrade.


Gold as Currency
Throughout history, gold has been used as an exchange of value for goods and services. Due to its dense valuation, a small coin could be worth a large amount of food, clothing or other essential commodities. It is highly portable, encouraging its widespread use. It is divisible into arbitrary quanties whose values scale linearly with their mass, allowing the minting of uniform standard denominations.


Unfortunately, in most economies, gold was so highly valued that the minimum unit of useful currency was represented by a vanishingly small quantity of gold. Monetary systems therefore often developed token coinage, backed by the value of gold, but whose materials were less valuable – silver, copper, iron, leather, and paper are a few examples.


Using cheap tokens as money works well to a point – and that is the point where governments issue more money than they have gold reserves. A common practice in empires from the Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Chinese, right up though modern times, governments cannot seem to resist the temptation of issuing undervalued currency to stimulate a slowing (or dying) economy. However, it must be noted that even the complete collapse of a token economy only tends to enhance the value of gold, for those who possess it.


Gold as Store of Value
Due to the density of its valuation and its durability, gold is an ideal store of value. At current market prices of more $600 per ounce, several million dollars worth is easily stored on a small (but sturdy) shelf. The main problem with gold storage is security, and only the most secure vaults in the world are up to the task.


The price of gold naturally fluctuates over time when valued against a particular currency. Economic conditions, fiduciary policies, political changes, wars, natural disasters, and even terrorist attacks may affect gold prices on the world markets.


But it is more accurate to observe that it is the world’s paper economies that fluctuate wildly when valued against gold. Paper has no instrinsic value – it is a token, which usually symbolizes value of some quantity of gold held in reserve. But that value is only symbolic – it is actually worth only what it can be exchanged for in good and services. During cycles of hyperinflation, the value of paper currency can practically disappear as prices spiral out of control. Unlike paper currency, gold will never lose its intrinsic value.


Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/
                http://www.goldinvestdirect.com/

Baidu profit increases, with outlook upbeat

By Joan E. Solsman
Baidu Inc.'s (BIDU 711.00, +89.62, +14.42%)  first-quarter earnings more than doubled, beating analysts' views, as revenue jumped more than the Chinese Internet giant expected to a record high.

Baidu's American depositary shares were up 14% at $707.57 after hours, a new high, as the company also projected current-quarter revenue of $268.1 million to $274 million. That compares with the $240 million average of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

The company also announced it planned to change the ratio of 10 American depositary shares for every one Class A ordinary share, rather than the previous 1:1 ratio. The change will have the same effect as a 10-for-1 ADS split.

Active online-marketing customers grew 20% to 221,000, as revenue per customer climbed 34%. The first quarter represents the first full three-month period with its Phoenix Nest advertising system in operation. The system is more complicated, which raised some initial worries it would alienate advertisers, but the keyword-based system better monetizes search terms.

"Phoenix Nest's performance continued to exceed our expectations as customers increasingly appreciate the new platform's advanced tools and superior return on investment," Chairman and Chief Executive Robin Li said Wednesday.

The company benefited from Google Inc.'s (GOOG) disagreements with the Chinese government. After a cyberattack from China early in the quarter, Google last month finally made good on its warnings it would cease operating its self-censored Chinese site. Instead, it began redirecting Chinese users to its Hong Kong site, which the Chinese government itself censors for mainland users and won't garner as much traffic.

Baidu posted a profit of 480.5 million Chinese yuan ($70.4 million), or CNY13.77 ($2.02) per ADS, from CNY181.1 million, or CNY5.22 per ADS, a year earlier. Analysts predicted $1.50.

Revenue increased jumped 60% to CNY1.29 billion ($189.6 million). In February, the company gave an upbeat target of $176 million to $181 million.

Conversion rates are based on values at the end of the quarter.

Source: www.marketwatch.com

Hewlett-Packard (HP) says acquisition Palm Is About Future, Not Phones.

By Quentin Hardy

Hewlett-Packard's $1.2 billion purchase of Palm means several things--but the most important ones are not about phones.

Yes, new life for Palm devices means there will be real competition in smartphones, with HP alone pushing operating systems from Google ( GOOG - news - people ), Microsoft ( MSFT - news - people ) and now Palm (and facing competition from Apple ( AAPL - news - people ) and Nokia ( NOK - news - people )). The companies will aim for different market segments, like business, consumer and specialty purposes. Longer term, however, among the phones the fight will be in consumer devices.

But so-called "connected devices," more than just phones, are the future of hardware, as voice becomes one more asset. Already HP Senior Vice President Todd Bradley is talking about phones, tablets, slates and other kinds of hardware that guarantee Internet connectivity. Voice calls themselves may be disappearing into the Internet, to the consternation of the Verizons, AT&Ts and Sprints, which prefer revenues from separate voice minutes rather than connection charges.

Palm's backer Elevation Partners championed Palm's webOS as something that would start in phones but move into all kinds of Internet devices. The first consumer products were the Pre and the Pixi, which were nicely reviewed but had insufficient consumer uptake to get Palm the cash to build more. HP, with $13.5 billion in cash and distribution channels of all sorts, in 170 countries, is not so constrained. (Disclosure: Elevation Partners, which has a stake in Palm, ( PALM - news - people ) is also a shareholder in Forbes Media.)

"Smartphones are a part of this, but this is really about the Web operating system," Shane Robison, HP's chief strategy and technology officer, told Forbes. "It's a change in our business model to a connected device model." HP, he said, is assuming a world in which almost everything needs at least the potential to connect to the Internet.

Michael Gartenberg, a partner with the Altimer Group, noted that HP's ownership of its own OS, on several devices, should worry HP's competitors. The others "have to rely on other people's platforms to drive their business forward," he said. "It allows HP to leverage webOS and tie it back to its enterprise and consumer

The acquisition is also another great test of HP's ability to make tech dreams come true--in this case, Palm's dream of its operating system inside all kinds of machines.

Doubtless there are plans for all kinds of new nonphone Internet connection devices inside Palm, and HP's technologists and manufacturers will have at them at first chance. In his call to analysts Wednesday, Bradley identified vertical markets like health care and education in which devices might soon appear, sold through HP's partners.

HP will also try to do what Palm could not: excite a global community of software developers for the webOS. While Bradley said Palm has 2,000 applications now, it was unable to get the kind of response from developers that Google has received for its Android OS or that Apple has received for its iPhone and iPad.

Source: www.forbes.com

HP coughs out $1.2 billion for struggling Palm

HP and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system, at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction has been approved by the HP and Palm boards of directors.

The combination of HP’s global scale and financial strength with Palm’s unparalleled webOS platform will enhance HP’s ability to participate more aggressively in the fast-growing, highly profitable smartphone and connected mobile device markets. Palm’s unique webOS will allow HP to take advantage of features such as true multitasking and always up-to-date information sharing across applications.

So where’s this marriage going to go?

My take is that while Palm has, unsuccessfully, tried to reinvent itself over the past few years with handsets such as the Pre and Pixie, the company hasn’t managed to make much of a splash. Partly this is down to Palm being outmaneuvered by competitors such as Apple, HTC, Motorola and Nokia, but the biggest problem that Palm has has been crippled by not having a large enough ad budget or broad enough distribution channel compared to its competitors. This deal with HP should give Palm an enormous leg up.

But what’s in it for HP? Well, I can’t help but feel that the companies mobile devices line is somewhat stale, and bringing Palm onboard could mean a nice refreshed line of devices.

But is this partnership too little, too late? Apple is firmly entrenched at the leader of the pack when it comes to style, desirability and has a well-established platform and network of developers churning out apps. On top of this, we can expect a new iPhone to appear in June. RIM’s Blackberry also has firm roots in the enterprise market. On top of all this, Microsoft is getting ready to launch its Windows Phone 7 Series lineup of handsets, something which users have been hoping to see for a long time. Put all this together and all of a sudden HP/Palm is faced with an enormous mountain to climb.

First Solar (FSLR) Surges In After-Hours Trading

Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) have surged in after-hours trading, following the first-quarter results reported by the company. In its first-quarter, First Solar has reported a profit of $172.3 million, or $2 per share, compared with a profit of $164.6 million, or $1.99 per share it reported for the same period last year.

Revenue surged by 36% to $568 million in the quarter. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were on average expecting First Solar to report a profit of $1.63 per share and revenue of $541 million. Gross margin declined by 660 basis points to 49.7% in the quarter.

Shares of First Solar, Inc. are up by 6.93% to $137.01 in after-hours trading.


www.benzinga.com

First Solar (FSLR) Raises Guidance, Up 7% AH

• Smashes Estimates

By  Tate Dwinnell

First Solar (FSLR) is a company that many like to bash and bet against, but the company continues to deliver and they did so again after the bell today, keeping their long history of quarter over quarter growth alive (just barely).  The company smashed the analyst estimate of $1.65/share by posting $2.00/share which also beats the whisper number of $1.87.  That $2.00 EPS is about what they reported a year ago, so quarter over quarter growth isn’t great, but anytime you smash estimates like that the stock is going to pop.  Revenue growth remains strong with a 36% quarter over quarter bump to $568 million which beat expectations by about $20 million.''

The company is raising guidance as well.  They now expect 2010 EPS in the $6.80 – $7.30 range  vs the Wall St consensus of $6.12.  However, revenue estimates are a bit shy of the Wall St consensus.  They see revenues in the $2.6 – $2.7 billion range vs $2.74 for the Street.

On the capacity side, the company’s Board of Directors has approved an additional four line manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 220MW, but it isn’t expected to begin production at the plant for over a year.

All in all, not a world beating quarter, but much better than expected. For a stock that has been basing for nearly two years now and recently emerging from a down trend, it should be enough to keep the stock moving up the right side of a new base.  That is, unless the overall market completely falls apart.  The stock is up about 7% in after hours trading and surging back above the 200 day moving average.

Source: http://greenstockscentral.com

First Solar, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2010 Financial Results

• Net Sales $568 million
• EPS $2.00 per fully diluted share
• Increased 2010 EPS guidance to $6.80-$7.30 per diluted share
• Board of Directors approves an additional four line factory

First Solar, Inc. (FSLR 136.67, +8.54, +6.67%)  today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 27, 2010. Quarterly net sales were $568.0 million, up 36% from $418.2 million in the first quarter of 2009, mainly due to strong PV module demand and increased production, partially offset by a decline in pricing. First quarter 2010 net sales declined $73.3 million from the fourth quarter of 2009 primarily due to a shift from turnkey system sales to module sales.

The first quarter 2010 net income was $172.3 million or $2.00 per fully diluted share, up from the prior year of $164.6 million or $1.99 per fully diluted share, which included a $0.14 per share one-time tax benefit related to our Malaysian tax holiday. Net income for the first quarter was up from $141.6 million or $1.65 per fully diluted share for the fourth quarter 2009 because of higher volumes, increased module prices and the absence of certain non-recurring expenses.

The First Solar Board of Directors has approved an additional four line manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of over 220 MW at the first quarter 2010 line run-rate. The plant is expected to begin production in the fourth quarter of 2011.

For 2010, First Solar forecasts net sales of $2.6 to $2.7 billion, reflecting reallocation of module capacity from our systems business to meet stronger module demand by our European customers. Earnings per fully diluted share are projected in the range of $6.80 to $7.30, and include $0.09-0.10 per share dilution for the pending acquisition of NextLight Renewable Power, LLC. Total capital spending is projected to be $625 to $650 million. The company expects to generate $725 to $775 million of operating cash flow. First Solar has posted its First Quarter Earnings Call Presentation, which includes guidance for fiscal 2010 and additional details regarding the key assumptions relating to this guidance, in the Investor section of its website at www.firstsolar.com.

First Solar will discuss these results and outlook for fiscal 2010 in a conference call scheduled for today at 1:30 p.m. MST (4:30 p.m. EDT). Investors may access a live audio webcast of this conference call and the earnings call presentation in the investors section of the Company's web site at www.firstsolar.com.

An audio replay of the conference call will also be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call. The audio replay will remain available until Monday, May 3, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. EDT and can be accessed by dialing 888-203-1112 if you are calling from within the United States or 719-457-0820 if you are calling from outside the United States and entering the replay pass code 9534574. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Investor section on the Company's web site approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and remain available for approximately 90 calendar days. If you are a subscriber of FactSet or Thomson One, you can obtain a written transcript within 2 hours.

Source: www.marketwatch.com

Greece takes measures to stop speculators as debt crisis escalates.

The troubled country triggered a sell-off in global markets after its debt was yesterday slashed to junk status, making it harder to pay down its deficit and raise money to fund its budget.
Concerns that the situation could have repercussions across Europe were heightened by a cut in the credit rating of Portuguese government debt.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, warned that unprecedented levels of Government borrowing meant that Britain itself had become exposed.

"The Greek position is much more serious but is a salutary warning that unless the next government gets seriously to grips with the deficit problems, as we're determined to do, we could have a serious problem," Mr Cable told Reuters Insider television.

"It's worth reflecting that Greece and Britain have one thing in common: they have one-party governments that haven't carried the public with them, and that's one danger that I think we need to be mindful of going into this election."

This morning, the Greek regulator banned speculators from shorting the Athens market – trying to make money from betting shares will fall further – after widespread selling which saw London's FTSE 100 tumble 2.6pc, Germany's DAX 2.7pc, and France's CAC 3.7pc.

This spread to New York where the Dow Jones dropped 1.9pc before moving to Asia, where Japan's Nikei index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 2.5pc and 1.2pc respectively.

The sell-off continued in Europe in early trading after an uneasy halt as investor took stock as markets opened. Major markets in London, German and France were down around 1pc.

Southern European markets were hard hit, with Portugal tumbling 6pc and Spain 3pc.
Lorraine Tan, director of equities research at Standard & Poor's in Singapore, said "The fear is that Greece and Portugal are just the appetisers.

"The concern is it is going to spread and have an impact on the financial system and ultimately on the economy."
As a further indication of investor jitters, the premium being demanded to hold Greek government bonds jumped to its highest since late 1996.

ASIAN MARKETS, OIL FALLS
The worsening European debt crisis rattled Asia, as stock markets across the region fell and oil slid to near $82 a barrel.

Tokyo's Nikkei-225 index was down 287 points, or 2.5pc, by lunchtime at 10,924.75 points, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 260 points, or 1.24pc, to 20,998 points.
South Korea's Kospi index fell 1.2pc to 1,728.25 while the losses were more restrained in Shanghai, which dipped 2.32 points to 2906.
Concerns about Europe, which remains the largest market for Asian exports, increased after Standard & Poor's, the rating agency, downgraded Greece's debt to junk status and hit Portugal's rating with a two-notch cut.
The concerns about Europe overshadowed a strong set of earnings from Japanese companies, showing a fragile recovering is under way in Tokyo.

OIL TRADERS EYE EUROPEAN WOES
Meanwhile, US crude oil for June delivery fell 27 cents to USD82.17 a barrel, touching a $2 drop over its last two trading sessions.

Analysts said oil traders were taking note of a possible economic crisis in Europe and that the market had reacted to new inventory figures from the US, which showed that stockpiles were up 5.3m barrels in the week ending April 23.

"Market sentiment remains fragile and there is a possibility that if we have more adverse economic news we could see prices decline further," said David Moore, an analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, adding that US demand for oil was weak.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Standard and Poor's downgraded Spain's debt repayment ratings.

Standard and Poor's downgraded the sovereign debt ratings of Spain to a lower investment grade status Wednesday, citing "risks to budgetary position" for the troubled European nation.

Spain's long-term sovereign debt rating was reduced to "AA" from "AA+." The short-term rating was left unchanged at "A-1+."

The downgrade primarily reflects S&P's revision of the country's economic outlook. The ratings agency reduced Spain's 2010-2016 economic growth forecast to an annualized rate of 0.7% from a previous 1%.

"We now believe that the Spanish economy's shift from a credit-fueled economic growth is likely to result in a more protracted period of sluggish activity than we previously assumed," said Marko Mrsnik, S&P credit analyst, in the report.

The ratings action follows Tuesday's downgrade of both Greece and Portugal, which resulted in a precipitous decline in the U.S. stock market.

"This is an expected reaction, because for sometime now, Spain has been in doldrums," said Andreas Carbacho-Burgos, an economist for Moody's Economy.com. "It was not sharing in the output recovery that was happening in Germany, France and Britain."

Other so-called PIIGS nations -- Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain -- have seen their borrowing costs spike in recent weeks amid growing concerns that Greece's debt problems could spread. Greek bond yields hit an all-time high Wednesday.

S&P said it considered the possibility that Spain's public and private borrowing costs could remain elevated throughout 2011, further slowing the nation's economic recovery.

"Our conclusion is that challenging medium-term economic conditions will further pressure Spain's public finances," said Mrsnik. "Additional measures are likely to be needed to underpin the government's fiscal consolidation strategy."

The ratings agency placed the country on negative outlook, which implies that future downgrades could be in the offing.

Many analysts say that problems in Europe are unlikely to disappear quickly, and drastic measures in Greece may be needed to put troubled nations back on solid footing.

"Greece is going to have to undergo a massive bailout, which Germany's hesitant to give, or some sort of default," said Carbacho-Burgos.

Although the idea of a default spooks investors, who recall the Argentine debt crisis earlier in the decade, Carbacho-Burgos said an orderly default, managed by the European Union and International Monetary Fund, would be more likely.

"I don't think there would be [a unilateral default]," he said. "That typically happens when there's a change in government, but Greece's prime minister is relatively new and has shown commitment to service debt with help from a bailout."


www.money.cnn.com

First Marblehead Enters Into Loan Program Agreement With SunTrust

First Marblehead Enters Into Loan Program Agreement With SunTrust

The First Marblehead Corporation  has announced that it has entered into a loan program agreement (the "Agreement") with SunTrust Bank.

Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company will perform a range of services in support of a school-certified private education loan program to be funded by SunTrust, including loan processing, production support, program support and portfolio management, and program administration services. The Company expects to facilitate approximately $200 million in loans over the term of the program.

This loan program would be the first based on the Company's Monogram product offering, which enables lenders to customize a loan program to meet defined risk control and return objectives. The Agreement is expected to become effective during the quarter ending September 30, 2010, following execution of certain ancillary documents and satisfaction of other specified conditions.

Daniel Meyers, the Company's Chief Executive Officer and President, said, "Partnering with SunTrust provides First Marblehead a meaningful opportunity to structure, process and originate private student loans in this new market paradigm of credit, risk management, and revenue sharing. This loan program will put our Monogram structure into the marketplace and demonstrate that our revenue model does not require a capital markets takeout."

Mark Smith, SunTrust's Executive Vice President for Specialty Lending, said, "We are pleased that this partnership with First Marblehead will enhance the options we offer for families and students seeking assistance to fund the rising costs of college."

The Company has filed a current report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission providing additional information relating to the terms and conditions of the Agreement, including the conditions to its effectiveness. We refer you to the filing, which can be accessed through the EDGAR or IDEA systems on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.

About The First Marblehead Corporation -- First Marblehead helps meet the growing demand for private education loans by offering national and regional financial institutions and educational institutions an integrated suite of design, implementation and capital market services for student loan programs. First Marblehead supports responsible lending and is a strong proponent of the smart borrowing principle, which encourages students to access scholarships, grants and federally-guaranteed loans before considering private education loans; please see www.SmartBorrowing.org. For more information, go to www.firstmarblehead.com.

About SunTrust Banks, Inc. SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, is one of the nation's largest banking organizations, serving a broad range of consumer, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. As of March 31, 2010, SunTrust had total assets of $171.8 billion and total deposits of $118.7 billion. The Company operates an extensive branch and ATM network throughout the high-growth Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states and a full array of technology-based, 24-hour delivery channels. The Company also serves clients in selected markets nationally. Its primary businesses include deposit, credit, trust and investment services. Through various subsidiaries the Company provides mortgage banking, insurance, brokerage, investment management, equipment leasing and capital markets services. SunTrust's Internet address is SunTrust.com.

Statements in this press release regarding the loan program (the "Loan Program") contemplated by the loan program agreement (the "Agreement") among The First Marblehead Corporation, First Marblehead Education Resources, Inc. and SunTrust Bank, including statements regarding the expected effectiveness of the Agreement, the provision of services by us pursuant to the Agreement and the volume of loans to be facilitated pursuant to the Loan Program, as well as any other statements that are not purely historical, constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based upon our historical performance and on our plans, estimates and expectations as of April 26, 2010. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the future results, plans, estimates or expectations contemplated by us will be achieved. You are cautioned that matters subject to forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including economic, legislative, regulatory, competitive and other factors, which may cause our actual financial or operational results, including the effectiveness of the Agreement and facilitated loan volumes, loan portfolio performance or revenues related to the Loan Program, or the timing of events, to be materially different than those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include: market acceptance of, and demand for, loans pursuant to the Loan Program; demand for private education financing generally; competition for providing private education financing; our success in delivering our services to SunTrust Bank; our ability to negotiate and execute the additional agreements contemplated by the Agreement; the satisfaction of additional conditions specified in the Agreement; and the other factors set forth under the caption "Part II - Item 1A. Risk Factors" in First Marblehead's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 9, 2010. We disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.

Copyright 2010 The First Marblehead Corporation


Contact:

Lee Jacobson
Investor Relations
First Marblehead
800 Boylston Street, 34th FL
Boston, MA 02199
617.638.2065

SOURCE: The First Marblehead Corporation

Bed Bath & Beyond fourth quarter profit jumps 56%

Bed Bath & Beyond reported a robust fourth quarter and fiscal year, and in a somewhat cheery note for this perpetually cautious company, executives said they are “cautiously optimistic.”

“While the economy appears to be showing some signs of improvement we believe the consumer continues to face economic challenges and the pressures of the macroeconomic environment still remains,” said Warren Eisenberg, co-chairman. “As such we remain cautiously optimistic as we begin fiscal 2010.”

For the quarter ended Feb. 27, net income rocketed up 56% to $226.0 million, or 86 cents per share. Gross profit rose to 180 basis points 42.6% of net sales due to less couponing, fewer markdowns and lower inventory acquisition costs despite the fact that sales shifted to lower margin categories.

Sales rose 16.7% to $2.24 billion, with comps up 11.5%.

“Our balance sheet and overall financial health are extremely strong and we remain focused on building a business that spans the test of time,” said Steve Temares, ceo.

For the full year, earnings increased 40% to $600 million, or $2.30 per share.

Sales were up 8.6% to $7.8 billion, with comps rising 4.4%.

At the end of the quarter, Bed Bath & Beyond operated 1,100 stores, including 965 eponymous units, 61 Christmas Tree shops, 29 buybuby Baby stores, and 45 Harmon stores.

This year, the company plans to open 30 Bed Bath and Beyond stores in the U.S. and Canada, 10 Christmas Tree shops and 20 buybuy Baby stores. It will also enter Hawaii this summer, a move that will put the company in all 50 states.

The company said it expects first quarter earnings per share of 44 cents to 48 cents. For the full year, it forecast EPS growth of 10% to 15%.

Mr. Olusegun Aganga emerges World Bank chairman

Nigeria's Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, emerged as the new Chairman of the Board of World Bank and International Monetary Fund, BWIs

Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, in Washington D.C. has emerged as the new Chairman of the

Board of World Bank and International Monetary Fund, BWIs, after a keenly contested election.

This was just as the World Bank indicated interest to carry out a comprehensive audit of the power sector in the country with a view to finding lasting solution to the power crisis.

The move was a follow-up to the recent parley between Acting President Goodluck Jonathan and top management of the world financial body during his last visit to the United States, US.

Aganga told journalists at the meeting in Washington DC that the new appointment had further demonstrated the important role Nigeria plays in the global economic front.

He said: “As you are aware, Nigeria was elected as the chairman, board of the BWIs for the 2010 during the 2009 annual meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey. I am delighted to inform you that I have since assumed the responsibility of that office.”

The minister said the appointment was “a unique opportunity to serve” noting that such opportunities come once in every 20 to 30 years.

Describing the new role as a huge challenge, Aganga said he will not disappoint Nigeria and the international community that offered him the role under the current global economic recovery stage.

World Bank experts visit Nigeria for power audit

Meantime, a team of World Bank experts would be visiting Nigeria on May 10, 2010 for the exercise that would proffer solution to the power crisis in the country.

Addressing journalists at the World Bank/International Monetary Fund, IMF, 2010 Spring Meeting, in Washington DC, Aganga, who was joined by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, said because the issue of power had become central to the nation’s economy, the Federal Government was determined to engage power experts in all the fronts to tackle the problem.

Aganga noted: “The meeting was very fruitful, as the bank stands ready to assist the country. The meeting resolved to have a comprehensive audit of the power sector. A World Bank mission to this effect is envisaged for May 10, 2010.”

He told reporters that the Federal Government power committee had done its audit of the power sector, noting that what the World Bank promised to do with Nigeria was to share their own understanding of the power problem.

“They also have information to share with us and that is what the May 10, 2010 meeting is going to focus on,” the minister said.

Source: www.vanguardngr.com

Minister Mr. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah: Ghana to pump first oil from the Jubilee Field in the last Quarter Of 2010

A Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, on Friday announced that the country was on course to pump its first oil from the Jubilee Field come the last quarter of this year.

Production in the last quarter, he said, marked the beginning of the first phase of the Jubilee Field Project. A total of 120,000 barrels of oil a day and 120,000 mmscfd of gas a day are expected to be produced.
Mr Buah said Phase two would start in 2013 indicating that from that time 240,000 barrels of oil and 240,000mmscfd of gas would be expected to be produced on daily basis.

Mr Buah made this known in a speech read for him by Mr Joseph Ben Okai, the Director of Policy Planning at the Ministry of Energy, at the Central Regional forum on “local participation in petroleum activities” in Cape Coast recently.

The forum, which formed part of a series of “road show on petroleum and gas”, would be replicated in all regions of the country. It was organised by the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the Central Regional Coordinating Council to solicit views from the public on the oil and gas sector.
Mr Buah said pipelines were under construction to convey gas to a proposed gas processing plant at Bonyere in the Western Region for the production of products such as ethanol, propane and fertilizer.
He said with the availability of gas as a cheap energy source, opportunities abounded for all kinds of industrial activities, adding that gas would be piped to the existing power plant at Aboadze in the Western Region to enhance electricity generation for the country.

Mr Buah said government was committed to and would ensure the active involvement of Ghanaians in the oil and gas exploration to help eradicate poverty among the populace.
He said other areas that would attract business opportunities include real estate development, telecommunications, banking, insurance, weather forecasting, search and rescue services as well as transport and catering.

He announced government’s intention to use the revenues to be accrued from the sale of the oil and gas to diversify the economy to enable every Ghanaian to benefit.

Mr Buah said the oil and gas would not overshadow other productive sectors of the economy such as agriculture, tourism and mining noting that Non Traditional Exports would be promoted alongside.

He said social amenities such as schools, hospitals and sanitation facilities would be provided with the oil and gas proceeds.

Mr Buah added that it would also enable government to support the development of the political, economic and social governance systems.

Mr Kojo Efonam, an oil and gas specialist from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said systems were being put in place to minimize the effect of possible discharges and spillages of oil and gas at the field.
He said his outfit would ensure that residents of the oil producing areas were not unnecessarily exposed to the serious security risks as have been the case in other oil producing countries.

Mr. Kwaku Boateng, acting Director in charge of Petroleum at the Ministry of Energy, advised job seekers to also explore other areas such as the hospitality industry since direct job creation from the oil and gas exploration would be limited.

He said the oil and gas revenues would not change the lives of Ghanaians overnight but that its impact would be realized over a period of time.

Participants at the forum suggested among others that roads, hospitals and other requisite facilities should be constructed in the area.

The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, who chaired the forum called on participants to share information on the industry to people to enable people to make informed decisions.

Source: GNA