Shares of JDS Uniphase Corp. climbed Thursday after the communications equipment maker posted a smaller-than-expected loss for its fiscal fourth quarter.
The company posted a wider loss than the year-ago period, and its revenue fell slightly below expectations. But it said it has "successfully navigated through the global economic turbulence that took place in fiscal 2009" and it's in a good position to grow when the economy rebounds.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue said JDS Uniphase is "is the latest company to point to stabilizing trends, as evidenced by its improved order rates."
Improving trends in North America, offset by challenges in Europe led to the company's revenue guidance $283 million to $300 million for the current quarter, Sue added. This compares with analysts expectations of $287.7 million, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.
"Notably, through the first seven weeks of (the fiscal first quarter), JDSU saw a sequential increase in demand across all businesses," the analyst wrote. Sue rates the company "sector perform."
Shares of the Milpitas, Calif.-based company rose 45 cents, or 8 percent, to $6.24 in late trading. The stock has traded in the 52-week range of $2.01 and $11.98.
Las Vegas Sands shares in the US rose on Thursday after the cash-strapped company announced it had applied for a possible listing in Hong Kong that is estimated would raise as much as $2bn this year.
The casino operator, controlled by tycoon Sheldon Adelson, said it had filed an application with the Hong Kong stock exchange but no decisions had been made regarding the timing or terms of any such offering, according to a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Las Vegas Sands has been considering a Hong Kong public offering of its Macao assets for some months as the company aims to raise funds to complete its partially built projects in the world’s biggest casino market.
The spin-off had been made possible after its bankers agreed to amend a $3.3bn credit facility last week, which allowed the company to sell a minority interest of its Asian businesses, while $500m of the proceeds must be used to repay debts.
Las Vegas Sands, which has been struggling to service its debts, also said its lenders had agreed to give it six quarters of relief from its covenants and the option of issuing up to $1.5bn in bonds.
While the company did not say how much it planned to raise in Hong Kong, JPMorgan analysts said the size of the listing, which could take place in late November or early December, was likely to be from $1bn to $2bn.
“We believe this moves LVS one step closer to a clearer path of much-needed improving liquidity and balance sheet de-levering,” said the analysts, who estimated that the company could sell 25 per cent to 30 per cent of the operations.
The share sale would be an important boost to the company’s balance sheet. Las Vegas Sands, which has opened two of the world’s largest casinos in Macao, has been forced to halt construction on some projects and slash thousands of jobs because of its financial problems.
Macao casino companies are experiencing a tough operating environment as the global financial crisis and Beijing’s visa policies dissuaded people from gambling. First-half gaming revenues dropped 12.4 per cent year on year to $6.4bn.
Las Vegas Sands shares rose 3.5 per cent to $13.19 on Thursday after earlier reaching a high of $13.47. The stock has jumped about 40 per cent this month.
Long-suffering Sirius XM investors who’ve held onto the stock despite its troubles are being rewarded for their perseverance. Sirius (SIRI) shares are up over 13 percent today at 68 cents. And they’re up about 26 percent for the week.
Why? A few reasons. First, there’s the government’s “cash for clunkers” program, which will likely stimulate new car sales and new Sirius subscriptions thanks to the satellite radio trials often packaged with new cars.
Then there are rumors of new iPod-related hardware that may or may not debut at the company’s holiday gift-guide event next week. Scheduled for Wednesday, that gathering promises “a new line-up of accessories…for the home, office, vehicle and beyond.” This has led some folks to speculate that we’ll soon see a Sirius dock for the iPod/iPhone.
As the U.S. economy continues to writhe in the clutches of recession, sustainable growth — both in corporate profits and economic output — seems distant.
In China, however, near-term recovery is a reality.
Real estate, automobile, and industrial sales have all rebounded, driving stocks on the Shanghai exchange up as much as 85% for the year.
In fact, the acceleration of China's comeback has been so strong the World Bank recently increased its estimate for the country's GDP growth this year from 6.5% to 7.2%.
All of this makes China an alluring prospect for investors again. Especially when you consider. . .
China's Gold Investment Potential
In the mid-1990s, the Chinese government revolutionized the country's gold industry.
Lawmakers began reforms that encouraged small gold producers to consolidate and, more importantly, allowed foreign companies to form joint ventures with Chinese companies.
It was a brilliant move.
Foreign companies — mainly from the United States and Canada — brought modern mineral exploration techniques, management practices, financial controls, and industrial, environmental and safety standards.
The single most important asset foreign companies brought the Chinese gold industry, however, was money.
As foreign investment capital gushed into China, the number of projects skyrocketed, leading to new gold discoveries.
As a result, China's total gold production has steadily increased 7.4% annually and 66.9% since 1999. And in 2007, China became the world's largest gold producer, overtaking South Africa, which held the title as top gold producer for over 100 years.
* December gold GCZ9 slipped $14.20, or 1.50 percent, to $934.50 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
* Range extended down to $931.30, lowest since July 30, from $950.40.
* Investors sold gold along with other metals and commodities as investors returned to a more risk-averse posture - traders.
* The dollar was sought as a less risky currency, undermining dollar-denominated gold's value in overseas markets - traders.
* Dollar hit a two-week high against the euro as doubts about the strength of the U.S. recovery caused heavy selling in crude oil and global stock markets. [USD/]
* Oil's steep decline also hit gold as investors unwound their yellow metal holdings as a guard against inflation - traders.
* Crude oil prices slid below $66 a barrel, their lowest level this month, as investors became more cautious about the pace of global economic recovery. [O/R]
* Monday's selling follows heavy selling in Friday's session after a gloomy consumer confidence reading cast doubt on an economic pickup - traders.
Silver investors care about two things: the value of the metal today, and its prospects for tomorrow.
And with the U.S. dollar losing more might every day, the value of raw silver has never been in greater demand.
For investors like us, it has never been more important to understand how to avoid costly premiums that add nothing to the value of the commodity you're trying to acquire when you buy silver coins.
Take a look at the following premium rates for these popular bullion coins, which have "legal tender" status.
The percentages listed below represent the average premium you'd pay right now above the value of the raw metal alone:
American Silver Eagle — 21%
Canadian Silver Maple Leaf — 15%
Austrian Silver Vienna Philharmonic — 16%
For investors seeking only to benefit from owning the metal, paying this 'cost to play' is counterproductive, to say the least.
The cheapest silver bullion coins are privately minted.
Lacking the status of legal tender, and with little to no collector's value to speak of, these bullion coins maximize the purchasing power of your dollars.
Here are a few to consider and their average premiums right now:
Pan-American Silver — 8%
NWT Mint Silver Bullion — 8%
Sunshine Silver Rounds — 6%
Whether you decide to go with these or with another brand of privately-minted bullion coin, remember to shop around for the lowest premium. Armed with this information, you'll guarantee yourself the most silver for your buck.
During precious metal bull markets, gold usually gets all the media attention. . . but the biggest gains go to silver.
In fact, silver prices have consistently outperformed gold during bull markets — doubling, tripling, even quadrupling the price of the precious yellow metal. So it should go without saying that a well-diversified precious metal portfolio includes silver.
One of the most popular ways to invest in silver are bullion coins, the cheapest and most direct way to own silver.
The retail market offers a variety of silver coins that will maximize profit. But investors are urged to exercise caution when considering some bullion coins. Here's why. . .
All bullion coins — gold and silver — have a premium included in their price. This premium is an additional cost over spot prices that covers manufacturing, distribution, and administration costs incurred by the mint or refiner in making the coin.
The result is paying over silver's spot price.
For those coins classified as "legal tender," or those with collectible or numismatic value, the premium is higher still.
A 1-ounce American Silver Eagle, which has a face value of $1, has a much higher premium than a 1-ounce privately-minted, non-legal tender silver bullion coin in part because of its legal tender status.
As a silver investors, however, we aren't concerned with a coin's legal tender status because— let's face it, what kind of investor would care if their 1-ounce, 99.9% pure silver coin, whose silver value stands at around $14 today, will be accepted at the local store in exchange for a dollar soda?
The same goes for numismatic coins, whose value is not solely dependent on the metal from which they're minted, but rather from their rarity and collectability.
Gold and silver prices rose to 2-month highs today after a US jobless report boosted sentiment in precious-metals trading.
The US Labor Department reported that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits declined by 38,000 to 550,000 last week. The news helped push gold for October delivery to a high of $972.70 an ounce, its highest level in 8 weeks. Silver also gained on the news pushing over $15 an ounce since mid-June.
While we remain bullish in the mid- to long-term, gold prices may experience a pullback as investors take profits in the short-term.
In other precious metals, both platinum was last seen down about $15 to $1,278 an ounce, meeting strong resistance at the $1,300 level. Palladium was also down almost $6 after hitting a 10-month high of $278.80.
Meanwhile, the US dollar slightly recovered after hitting its lowest level since September 2008. The US Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar's value against a basket of six foreign currencies, was down to a low of 77.428.
Sirius XM Radio Inc (SIRI.O) posted higher quarterly revenue on Thursday, despite a reduction in subscribers, and raised its income outlook, citing cost cuts and a potential rebound in automobile sales.
The company, which earlier this year secured financing from John Malone's Liberty Media Corp (LINTA.O) (LCAPA.O) (LMDIA.O) to stave off looming debt problems, said subscribers to the pay-radio service declined by some 186,000 from the first quarter, better than many analyst expectations.
Shares of Sirius XM, which had risen sharply in the days ahead of the report, slipped 9 percent after it reported that it ended the period at 18.4 million. It attributed the quarterly decline to weakness in auto industry sales.
Proforma revenue rose 1 percent to $607.8 million, on par with analysts' views. The proforma figures reflect the fact that Sirius completed its purchase of rival XM Satellite Radio last July and compare the results as if they were a single company a year ago, also making some accounting adjustments for the transaction.
Net loss attributable to common shareholders for Sirius XM, home to programs by Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey as well as Major League Baseball, was $157.3 million or 4 cents a share.
Excluding special items the loss was was 1 cent a share, matching analysts estimates, according to Reuters Estimates.
In the quarter, Sirius also trimmed subscriber acquisition costs to $57 per gross subscriber addition from $71 in the year ago quarter.
It raised its 2009 outlook for adjusted income from operations to more than $400 million, fueled by accelerated cost cutting. It was the second time it lifted the forecast, after raising it in May to $350 million from $300 million.
"We think the stronger subs performance, as well as better-than-expected profitability, in the quarter, suggests this number should be attainable," J.P. Morgan analyst Lev Polinsky said in a note to clients.
The outlook improvement comes as more subscribers to Sirius, which gains most of its new users from radios built into cars, sign up for premium programming packages and on higher prices for users with multiple subscriptions.
Over the past two months, gold prices have settled into the $910 to $950 range as investment demand for the precious metal continues to balloon. Gold stocks, on the other hand, remain in the doldrums.
The gold stock market is now dependent on a new breakout for precious metals prices. And in order for precious metal stocks to disconnect from the global financial turmoil, gold and silver prices will need to make some pretty big moves.
In the case of gold, I believe the yellow metal would need to move over $1,100 an ounce to force this disconnect from general market activity. In the case of silver, I am looking for a breakout in excess of $23 an ounce.
So, the question is: when will this next wave hit?
Gold was up pretty big this week. But I don't see the big breakout occurring until sometime in the fall when a confluence of factors appears. In the meantime, I expect to see a sideways trading pattern for the next six weeks or so before things start to heat up again.
I continue to believe with all that is happening in the United States and worldwide, higher gold and silver prices are going to rule the day. This would dictate for us to stay on course with gold stocks and not fret too much about what happens over the summer.
American International Group's (NYSE:AIG - News) newly named CEO, Robert H. Benmosche, has lots of experience making deals and overseeing complex organizations. He's going to need it. Benmosche's selection lands him in one of the hottest seats in business, as AIG struggles to gain its footing after its near-bankruptcy and government rescue last fall.
Industry observers give Benmosche (pronounced ben-mo-SHAY) high marks for his tenure as CEO at MetLife (NYSE:MET - News) from 1998 to 2006. "There are very few financial-services executives with insurance background that have his experience and track record," says M. Evan Lindsay, vice-chairman of recruiter Heidrick & Struggles (NasdaqGS:HSII - News). He did "an extremely good job at Metropolitan" and "changed it into a performance-based culture," Lindsay says. (Heidrick was not involved in the AIG search.)
Benmosche, 65, will succeed Edward Liddy, the former head of Allstate (NYSE:ALL - News) who came out of retirement to run AIG in September for a salary of $1 a year. In a statement, AIG said Benmosche will take over from Liddy on Aug. 10. Despite this act of public service, Liddy became a lightning rod for congressional critics and others over AIG's pay practices. The federal government has a nearly 80% stake in AIG. Benmosche won't come so cheap. According to The Wall Street Journal, his compensation package will total $7 million to $10 million -- a salary that must be approved by Kenneth Feinberg, the government's new pay czar, and could trigger more political fireworks. AIG consulted with government officials about Benmosche's selection, the Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the situation. It's not clear if federal officials have agreed to the compensation. But, Lindsay notes, "that is market (rate) for anyone in this position."
Financial Discipline
While at MetLife, Benmosche oversaw the insurer's conversion from a mutual company to a public corporation. He also orchestrated several major deals, including the $11.5 billion acquisition of Travelers Life & Annuity from Citigroup (NYSE:C - News) in 2005. He "instilled a lot of financial discipline" at MetLife and led a "seamless integration" of acquired businesses, says Andrew Edelsberg, an insurance industry analyst at A.M. Best. Before MetLife, Benmosche was an executive at Paine Webber -- now part of UBS (NYSE:UBS - News) -- and when that firm acquired Kidder Peabody in 1994, Benmosche oversaw the combining of the brokerage firms' operations. This experience makes him "a good choice" to lead AIG, Edelsberg says.
Whether Benmosche will be building AIG's business or dismantling it remains to be seen. The onetime industry goliath remains deeply wounded. On Aug. 3, Moody's Investors Service (NYSE:MCO - News) downgraded two AIG lending units to near junk status. Saddled by its massive IOU to U.S. taxpayers and battered in its operations by competitors taking advantage of its weakness, AIG had appeared headed for effective liquidation. But, says Marc Steinberg, another A.M. Best analyst, that's not a foregone conclusion. "There are a lot of different strategies they could take," he says. In the statement issued by AIG, Benmosche says: "With my AIG colleagues, we will focus on this mission: maximizing the value of the company's assets and meeting all of our stakeholder obligations."
Casino mogul Stanley Ho, the father of Macau's fabled gambling industry, has been hospitalized and had surgery in Hong Kong, his office said Tuesday.
The brief statement did not say what surgical procedure the 87-year-old billionaire underwent.
"He is in satisfactory condition and is progressing well in recovery," the statement said.
The confirmation of Ho's hospitalization came after Hong Kong media reported Tuesday different medical reasons for his stay at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital.
Pictures from Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper showed a stream of Ho's family members, including daughter Pansy and son Lawrence, visiting the hospital Monday. None of them commented on Ho's health.
Ming Pao Daily cited Angela Leong, one of the four women Ho calls his "wives," as saying last week that he needed treatment because of a rectal injury that he suffered two years ago following a procedure to relieve constipation.
Apple Daily newspaper, meanwhile, cited an unidentified source as saying that Ho had fallen and hit his head last week at Leong's home and that he required brain surgery. The report said he is in stable condition in Adventist Hospital's intensive care unit.
Leong did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment. The hospital also declined comment.
Uncertainty over Ho's health sent shares of his company Sociedade de Jogos de Macau Holdings, or SJM, 4.5 percent lower at HK$3.15 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Ho, worth more than $9 billion according to Forbes, presided over Macau's casinos for four decades until his monopoly was broken up in 2002.
Since then, he has faced fierce competition from American operators such as Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands Corp., but SJM still leads with nearly 30 percent of the local gambling market.
Macau is the only place in China where casinos are legal.
SINGAPORE, Aug 4 - Computer hard disk maker Seagate Technology said it will lay off 2,000 workers in Singapore, or more than 4 percent of its global workforce, as it closes manufacturing facilities in the city-state in a bid to cut costs by $40 million a year.
The move, which Seagate said would result in restructuring charges of $80 million, follows a slide in electronics exports from Singapore this year due to weaker consumer demand in the economic downturn.
"We are moving our hard disk operation at Ang Mo Kio (in Singapore) to other Seagate sites in other countries," company spokeswoman Lotus Tan told Reuters but did not provide further details.
She said Seagate employed a total of 8,000 workers in Singapore and would keep Seagate's Asia headquarters, media operation as well as a product development and design center there. According to Seagate's website it has about 45,000 employees around the world.
Seagate said the Ang Mo Kio hard drive factory would be closed by the end of 2010 but would not meaningfully change its production capacity as it will move manufacturing to other locations, which include Thailand, China and Malaysia.
Seagate said in a filing with U.S. regulators that total restructuring charges of approximately $80 million would include about $60 million for severance payments and about $10 million for the relocation of manufacturing equipment.
It plans to record the severance charges of up to $60 million in the current quarter, with the remainder of the charges to be incurred throughout the calendar year of 2010. Seagate's fiscal year 2009 ended on July 3.
The company expects the move to generate annual savings of $40 million when the closure is completed.
Singapore's overall unemployment rate stood at 3.3 percent in the second quarter but the number of people employed in Singapore fell by 12,400 in April-June, twice as much as in the first quarter
Physically owning the metal is the most direct and traditional method of investing in gold. In some countries, gold bullion can be bought and sold at major banks. In most regions, however, bullion dealers provide the services necessary to purchase physical gold.
Gold bullion is generally sold in two main forms, bars and coins.
Gold bars are available in various weights, generally ranging from one ounce to one kilogram. There are approximately 100 active gold refiners around the world whose bars have earned “good delivery” status from one or more of the associations and exchanges. Johnson Matthey, Pamp Suisse, and Credit Suisse are among the most popular.
Gold coins are another way to invest in physical gold. Priced according to their weight and purity, coins often carry a slightly higher premium than gold bars. Among the most popular are the American Gold Eagle, American Gold Buffalo, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, Australian Gold Nugget, South African Krugerrand, Chinese Gold Panda, and Austrian Gold Philharmonic. All of these coins contain one troy ounce of gold— except the American Gold Eagle, which is only 91.67% pure gold.
Both gold bars and gold coins are priced according to their weight and purity, but they always carry a premium above spot gold prices. We recommend investing in gold bars because the premiums are always lower than coins.
Investment #2: Gold ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds)
If you're not comfortable owning and storing the physical metal, gold Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are your next-best bet.
Gold ETFs are special types of exchange-traded funds that track the spot price of gold and are traded on major stock exchanges such as New York, Paris, Zurich, Tokyo, and London.
The main drawback is the management fee charged by the issuing company. On average, a commission of 0.4% is charged for trading in gold ETFs, in addition to an annual storage fee.
U.S.-based transactions are a notable exception, where most brokers charge only a small fraction of this commission rate. Annual expenses such as storage, insurance, and management fees are charged by selling a small amount of the gold represented by each certificate— a process that gradually diminishes the value in each certificate. In some countries, gold ETFs represent a way to avoid the sales tax or VAT which would apply to physical gold coins and bars.
In the United States, revenue from the sale of a gold ETF is treated as a sale of the underlying commodity. Thus, it's taxed at the 28% capital gains rate rather than the 15% long-term capital gains rate for non-collectibles.
Investment #3: Gold Production Stocks
These do not represent gold at all, but rather are shares in gold mining companies.
If the gold price rises, the profits of the gold mining company could be expected to rise. As a result, the share price may rise. However, there are many factors to take into account, and a rise in the price of gold will not always lead to a rise in the price of a share.
Unlike gold bullion, which is regarded as a safe haven asset, unhedged gold shares and funds are considered to be higher risk, more volatile investments. This instability is a result of the inherent leverage in the mining sector.
For example, if you own a share in a gold mine where the costs of production are $250 per ounce, and the price of gold is $750, the mine's profit margin will be $500. A 10% increase in spot gold prices to $825 per ounce will push that margin up to $575, which actually represents a 15% increase in the mine's profitability and a potential 15% increase in the share price. Conversely, a 10% fall in spot gold prices to $675 will decrease that margin to $425, which actually represents a 15% drop in the mine's profitability and a potential 15% decrease in the share price. The amplification of gold mining profits during periods of rising prices can cause a gold rush in mining exploration.
In order to reduce this volatility, many gold mining companies hedge the gold price up to 18 months in advance. This provides the mining company and investor with less exposure to short-term gold price fluctuations, but reduces potential returns when the gold price is rising.
I'm a Self employed been investing for almost about 8 yrs. Here is the chance for me to post my Blog to share experience and investment information with everyone.
