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Good morning Stock Lobster. You are writing about the loss of manufacturing jobs to Asia, and that's the same thing we are experiencing here in Europe too. Textile industry has been gone now for a decade. Waertsilae Inc. - a big manufacturer of diesel engines - just gave a profit warning and complained that euro has became too strong to compete with the Asian manufacturers.
Shipbuilding industry has been strong in Europe in past years, and only not very complicated vessels (oil tankers) were made cheaply in South Korea. Now the situation is completely changed. South Korean (and Chinese too) shipyards make excellent quality of manufacturing, and even the planning, designing and engineering work has been moved over to them. No more 50 head European planning and controlling teams are needed in South Korean or Chinese shipyards. Their technical education has advanced fabulously in last ten years.
But Europeans have responded to the "Asian threat" by increasing state subsidies for shipyards - for "innovative" shipbuilding. That means for amply subsidies for shipyards building complicated vessels - LNG carriers, cold stuff freezer ships, heavy lift vessels. I think this kind of protectionism will increase in industrialized countries - what other choice do they have? The countries must have something concrete to sell and people must have work to do to live.
I think we have in Europe suffered longer than USA of the effects of this "outsourcing to cheaper countries", and have already been compelled to find some solutions. The economic cycles here in various countries - and becoming an European Union has not changed that - have always been shorter than in USA, and when the economies slow down in a country, the governements accelerate the renovation of the infrastructure - building roads, motorways, bridges, electric and gas grids, building schools and hospitals etc. We pay higher taxes in high seasons to the state cofferts to finance these low season activities, but we have no other choice.
But the differences between various social classes have been sharpening, and that does not bode well for the societies and for the whole European Union. The same European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate height (4%) for countries in various economic cycles (Finland - overheating, Italy - almost in recession) does not work in the long run, but easily causes trouble in the cooperation between various countries in the EU governement bodies.
Here's another interesting article - or is this news for you too, at least it is for me, a very interesting one: Don't pay anything for your fixed line phone calls! I'd like that very much, because most of the calls I have to make with all kinds of officials here, cost much here via cellphone. Look what the Silicon Valley produces:
Free Phone Calls With Startup's $399 Box
By RACHEL KONRAD, AP Technology Writer
(AP) -- A Silicon Valley startup will begin selling $399 gadgets Wednesday that consumers with broadband Internet service can use to make unlimited free domestic phone calls.
Backed by $27 million in venture capital, ooma Inc. has distributed for free 1,500 beta units, which have handled 325,000 calls. The system works like to peer-to-peer and distributed computing through both cable and DSL lines.
While traditional phone switches connect a local toll call or a long-distance call through the public switched telephone network, ooma uses the Internet to connect calls for free. That architecture allows ooma to bypass the fees that most telephone providers pay to connect calls to landlines and cell phones.
Users plug a white machine smaller than a macaroni-and-cheese box between their home's broadband connection and a primary telephone. They can connect a secondary phone using an ooma "Scout," to cost $39 each. The system relies on a patent-pending software code, but executives won't provide what they consider proprietary details.
When ooma users pick up the phone, they hear a special dial tone. But they dial normally, and they retrieve voice mail by pushing a button on the ooma Hub. Users pay for international calls online with a credit card.
"Everyone is aware you can use broadband for phone service, and I think when they saw ooma it was what consumers were waiting for," CEO Andrew Frame said.
On Wednesday, ooma will launch an 80-second YouTube advertisement produced by ooma creative director Ashton Kutcher, the Iowa-born model who starred in the sitcom "That 70's Show." Kutcher wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press that ooma "opened my eyes" to technology's power.
"Ooma is the future. I would be blind not to see that," he wrote. "We can remove the space between people and become closer to one another. That's the ultimate opportunity."
Consumers remain skittish about alternative phone providers following the July shutdown of SunRocket Inc., the No. 2 standalone Internet phone company after leader Vonage Holdings Corp. Ooma also competes against eBay Inc.'s Skype division, which has more than 220 million registered users.
Unlike Skype, which requires both caller and recipient to be using it and works best when they talk through their computers, ooma uses standard home phones. Domestic calls are free even if the recipient does not have the ooma box.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
GM Stock Lobster. Look what is being developed. I don't think this is a far away utopia:
NANOTECH COULD MAKE SOLAR ENERGY AS EASY AND CHEAP AS GROWING GRASS
Scientists are working to produce cheap, sustainable solar energy by imitating nature. Nanotechnology researchers like California Institute of Technology professor Nate Lewis are exploring nanoscale materials that mimic the architecture of grass and photosynthesis to capture and store the sun’s energy.
A new podcast looks at how Dr. Lewis and his CalTech research team are trying to imbed tiny nanoparticles into simple, inexpensive everyday products like house paint and roof tiles to revolutionize the way solar energy is produced.
“More energy from the sun hits the earth in an hour than all the energy consumed by human beings on our planet in an entire year. So, if we are going to find an efficient, environmentally-friendly substitute for fossil fuels, it makes sense to exploit the sun,” says Dr. Lewis. “Nanotechnology offers us a way, in principle, to make very cheap materials—like the paint you buy at Home Depot—act as solar cells and batteries.”
Ordinary-looking, nano-enabled house paint, roofs or shingles could replace today’s black, glasslike photovoltaic cells which are usually composed of crystalline silicon and are unwieldy, unsightly and very expensive to manufacture. In addition to homes, this innovative technology someday could power cell phones, laptops and even automobiles.
Listen to Dr. Lewis talk about his research in the latest episode of an exciting new series of podcasts, Trips to the NanoFrontier. Produced by the Wilson Center’s Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, these podcasts are available online at http://www.penmedia.org/podcast , or directly from Apple’s iTunes music store.
Source: Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies
» Next Article in Nanotechnology - Materials: Method Safely Deposits Novel Metal Oxide Thin Films on Substrates
Tanker/bulker fans. BDI +337 at 8956 = ATH.
Capesize getting $130.000/day for 1 year t/c (long term time charter, not spot prices). Wow!
Ships still queuing in ports.
DRYS $79.75
GDOCF $6.05
VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) rates are still lagging (under $20.000/day). Suezmax western routes are rising, but slowly.
FRO $48.96
VLCCF $26.65
Hello Stock Lobster. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has critisized very sharply the European Central Bank bailing out "speculators" and not helping the entrepreneurs by lowering rates. Our Bank of Finland has sent a note to banks to give a clearance of their financial situation = do they have anything to do with the subprime derivatives. I appreciate that.
In Britain people have been queing to get out their money from the Northern Rock Bank. The situation looks really bad for that bank.
GM Stuffit. I looked at Yahoo news, and there were more PR's for this poor Pspj, which evidently caused the big drop. But if you look at the chart there has been a similar drop a few weeks back, but it has climbed steadily back up. Looks odd, but you never can tell in the stock market.
GM you supersavvy traders. Look at the chart of PSPJ.OB: from $ 0.65 to $0.19 in one day and not a big volume. What might have happened? I saw news that they'll distribute a stock dividend, how can that be aa reason of such drop???
.."we have a smarter government in place" !!?! Dream on...
Anyway, have a nice trading day. In that you don't need governement at all.. lol
It was a British commentator on BBC. He told that price of wheat, which Europe exports to China in addition to Guccis, Pradas etc, will perhaps double, because almost the whole crop has been badly damaged due the wet summer in West Europe and extremely dry summer in East Europe.
Plans for ethanol distilleries have been put on shelf here. The governements will not support farmers to change their wheat or barley or rye fields into ethanol producing fields.
That's what is happening in China. Who knows how accurate are their CPIs and PPIs, but food prices have risen dramatically said a TV commentator.
GM Max2205. China down 5% because their August CPI rose 6.5% because of rise of food prices, especially of PORK!
(Be happy! I noticed that you support AVWI)
Xanadu
GM Stuffit. BQI sure is fast money. I get seasick when watching the daily chart. But it is my favourite, and I'm looking forward to the official confirmation of their reserves.
I think too. Three of Seadrill's five drillingships - all under construction - have already been reserved with long term contracts and similar dayrates. That tells me that oil guys want/need to find oil.
Drillships are mostly used for exploration drilling, but they can also be used to pump small oilfields, where there is no use to drag a vast semisubmersible rig.
SDRLF.PK $ 19.60. Five year contract at $530.000/day made now for a drillship starting to work in 2009 shows IMO strong belief in deepsea oil exploration. Somebody wants to find oil.
Published: 08:55 10.09.2007 GMT+2 /HUGIN /Source: Seadrill Limited /OSE: SDRL /ISIN: BMG7945E1057
SDRL - Seadrill confirms contract for West Capella
Reference is made to the Letter of Intent disclosed to the Oslo Stock Exchange April 30, 2007 regarding the assignment awarded to one of the newbuild deepwater units. Seadrill today confirms that a consortium of international operators has signed the award for the long-term contract to utilize the ultra deepwater drillship West Capella on a world wide assignment.
The contract has a firm duration of five years, and estimated contract value is approximately US$970 million, including mobilization fee.
West Capella is currently under construction at the Samsung Shipyard in South Korea and is scheduled for commencement of operations in the first quarter 2009.
Contact:
Jim Dåtland
Vice President Investor Relations
Seadrill Management AS
+47 51 30 99 19
$43.000/day!! Wow! That is a super high dayrate for a Handymax, there must be an emergency in bulker market indeed. That shows what to expect this autumn.
Keep an eye also on DRYS DSX EGLE ESEA EXM GNK GDOCF NM OCNF QMAR TBSI and TOPT
Good Morning Stuffit. Thanks for the article. Must admit that oil sands oil producing is not a beautiful sight, but I have not seen an environmentally beautiful oil producing field nowhere. The Floridans won't let oil drilling jack-ups come so near the coast on the Gulf of Mexico side of the peninsula, that the rigs could be seen from the coastal houses!
BQI (Oilsands Quest) has informed that the oilsands companies must restore the landscape after they have used the available oil. Good, but of course that will take generations before the landscape resembles the same wilderness where they started.
Areva is building a nuclear plant in Finland just now. It will be our sixth nuclear plant. We do not have enough water-power for our forest industry, so we had to bite the bullet. But anyway the big coal mountains in our coal harbor near Helsinki have so beautifully diminished!
GM. Lol. Me a propel-head? Why not. Did you read the guidance I sent to Wildbill? Many times I realise I'm about acting just like that old lady, and I would definetly call that lady a propel-head.
Latest news from the warming/cooling houses -business are the air thermal pumps, or how do you call them. Anyway the pumps take their energy from air and are better for smaller houses (up to 100 m2). The machinery is smaller and cheaper than the machinery needed for geothermal pumps. Geothermal warming/cooling is better for bigger buildings (over 200 m2).
These pump systems are so much cheaper to use here than oil or electricity that they have become very popular. I guess you use much natural gas to warm/cool your houses, am I right? Is it cheap enough so the Americans are not so interested in warm pumps or in solar heating?
I'll look if ENCS has these air pump systems too. Big manufacturers are in Japan: Fujitsu, Sharp, Toshiba, Sanyo, Panasonic. Much of their equipments can be seen here in Scandinavia.
I think too the propel-heads have become entangled in their derivatives net, and they do not control it any more. Derivatives - and I do not mean puts and calls - have been schemed so complicated, that nobody really knows any more what affects what, when and where.
But hey, no trouble for the big propel-heads, only for some customers at the far end of the chain. The governements and central banks will come to help and bail the propel-heads out, because they have no other choice. Everybody knows that the domino-effect of not bailing out them would destroy too much in the finance market, even if nobody really knows what would happen.
So no risk in this business if the company is big enough and has time enough to spread innovative derivatives wide enough. Right?
I hope I am telling here fairy-tales, that I am a propel-head.
Excellent optimism, Wildbill! That's what we need in Pinkyland. Right way of thinking:
"If I get this and one more, only three is lacking from FIVE rabbit roasts! said an old woman, when she saw rabbit's track on the snow!
Always keep in mind this guidance.
Thanks SL, this was the PR I saw. ENCS.PK might be one to keep eye on. I wouldn't be surprised if they really have something in sales pipelines. Geothermal heating/cooling system has become very popular, especially in Sweden, because of its environment friendliness and cheap heating/cooling costs.
This cannot be the only one in this industry publicly traded in USA, or can it? Could be worth looking for other companies too. I tried to Google but found no listed companies. Maybe there is an association of the industry or a member magazin or something where to look at. I'll look tomorrow. Now I must say Good Night to all of you.
Mariner. The ticker of the geothermal company is ENCS.PK. Closed 0.027 on Friday, volume 997K.
Thanks Mariner. I think it was this Encore Energy Systems, but the ticker was not PKEH. I'll find it and do some DD. Caribbean.. hmmmm... at least heating isn't needed there, I guess.
Wait, now I remember they had a very bold claims of backlog orders. It must have been another PR. I'll find it. Thanks.
Anybody remember a post about a geothermal company here a couple of days ago? It was a penny company. Geothermal heating/cooling is now hot hot hot in Scandinavia, and no wonder: once you install the machine you pay nothing for heating/cooling your house.
I don't like socialism because it does not work for long term. But I don't like capitalism either, if it leads to centralization and monopolism, it's quite like in socialism.
I remember reading somewhere that in USA there were at least 100 auto manufacturers in the beginning of 1900. Is that true?
Now there are 3: General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, or what?
Death of small and middlesize industries is a turmoil for the working society. Here our beloved leaders could do a good thing by restricting the monopolizierung.
But, alas, I'm afraid that they are too afraid to do so.
GM Stock Lobster. All you are saying is true in almost all so called developed countries: rich get richer and poor get poorer, and the middle class, who is supposed to be the backbone of the standard of living in a country, is shrinking. Soup kitchens are everyday life in European countries too, even in Scandinavia, which should be the example of good social wellfare. That's an imago, which is quickly deteriorating. We have had a progressive taxing - those who have more, pay more to the common coffin - but now the governement has lowered the higher tax rates (not the lower ones, middleclass taxes at all), removed totally the wealth tax and also lowered the taxes on inherited wealth - all benefitting the rich.
The government argument: If we do not do this, the (rich, well educated) people will move to another country, and nobody (top educated) will come to our country. Ditto! No incentives to poor or middle class people: if they work more, they will get taxed harder.
I should say why not let the rich people (perhaps 100 persons) go and leave more possibilities to other to get rich. The same message to the companies leaving Finland.
The bigger the gap is between social classes in a country, the more trouble ahead. Read the history.
As to the Chinese and Indians - they do not buy much more from Europe than Guccis, RollsRoyces and Burberries. Better that than nothing. Eastern European countries are buying building materials and food stuffs from Europe.
Why are the things like this? We live in free countries and are free to vote and choose our leaders, right? In last parliament election we had 7 parties to choose our representatives from. The problem was we could not see much difference between the political programs of the 7 parties. The results: the voting percent plummeted as it has done year by year.
The indifference of the people scares me.
GM Stock Lobster. You seem very concerned of the USA's situation in the new globalized world, and right you are: troubles ahead. But sounds familiar. Europe suffered all '90s and beginning of the new century of the losses of jobs to China and India. Textile and technology industries "outsourced" or moved their whole industries to the East, and caused a real recession here ("Europe - the sick old man").
But who bought the products India and China started to produce: mainly USA, who helped especially China to start their economic rise. To back up their recovery China invested in USA tresuries - USA hardly needed to push China to buy them, they bought those treasuries because they trusted in them. US tresuries have given them a solid ground to encourage also other foreign investments in their country, and to dare to grow. I don't think they want to do any sudden drastic movements, because they would shoot their own foot, too. They will perhaps start carefully selling the treasuries and to rise the value of renmimbi when the time is right, but I think that will still take a long time. China is not at all so stable yet, danger of internal conflicts is not to ignore. Communist regiment and a capitalistic people can have troubles.
No doubt you Americans have to tighten your belts in the near future, and it can be hard, but you certainly will find out ways to benefit from the weakening dollar (against our strengthening euro!) and the globalization. Give some time the dust to settle. It feels here on the other side of the pond that after the upset and hard polemics time, the USA will certainly find out its way and land on its feet. The real, and it will be huge, global growth is just starting.
I hope that the world markets will clear up and stop the creation and growth of "artificial" money, and bring some sense in the financial instruments of the industry. People responsible for that are now in a very key position.
Now Europe has recovered a lot, when we are able to sell the prospering Chinese and Indians Guccis, Pradas, Givenchys, Nokias, BMWs, L'Oreals, engines and motors for their shipping industry. If we can do it, you can sell your university educations, scientific achievements, Nobel laureats' ideas and your Catepillars, Apples, Boeings, Googles, KFCs etc. too.
"Grass looks always greener on the neighbour's side" isn't it so? :)
I think so too. And many more members of this board.
"Long Term Divy Luver". Then there are two of us utmost sensible people! With the difference that you are a good trader too, and I am not :(
Well, at least I have learned here when NOT to trade my pennies.
Good that you know of them. Dividend paying stocks tolerate better market turmoils.
You too, Stuffit. And take a look at those Canadian Royalty Trusts (CANROY), who pay a monthly dividend. Examples: ERF ($43.22) paying monthly dividend USD 0.40. PWE ($29.51) paying USD 0.32, HTE ($26.93) paying USD 0.36 etc.
If you fear a turn of the market or a recession, those stocks are good investments.
Indeed you are right. Energy resources has made Russia an unpredictable power. Finland has imported lumber from Carelia (from our former districts, ##%#%%/), starting first to help the people there, create jobs and bring some activity to that noman's land it now is. Now the central governement in Moscau rose the customs duties of lumber TEN fold, without any negotiations, just an announcement, which means that all transports, all those created activities in part of Carelia will stop.
Don't understand who will benefit from that: the governement will get no duties, the people will get no jobs, no money. Oh well.
Have a nice trading day all of you!
GM Stock Lobster & al. Thanks for this article "SCO - New ‘NATO of the East’ Takes Shape". The big lines have been known for years, but Mr. Bhadrakumar explains some details and shows the situation very clearly. Not a frightening one, but the winner is who owns the energy. For us Europeans not a nice picture. Not nice to have only one gas supplier via pipelines (Russia), which can be turned off on base of every ridiculous minor dispute. France, Holland and Belgium will invest more in LNG: in ports and in vessels. Italy is building just now a LNG port. (Wink: See LNG tankers!).
Why on earth is Iran insisting to have a nuclear weapon, and is destroying their possibilities (intl.restrictions) to sell their oil and gas and become the richest country in the world? They must understand that they can never use it. A mere preparation of launching a nuclear missile would destroy the whole country in a blink of eye, leave a big hole left.
Was it Voltaire who said "My son. You have no idea with how little of sense this world is ruled" (my translation - try to understand :)
Edit: Please, what is the right translation in English of that phrase? How do you say it?
Xanadu
Good Day Stock Lobster. Do you know about the Canadian Royalty Trusts (CANROYs), who pay a monthly dividend? There are several trusts traded also in NYSE (ERF HTE PWE PGH), and they get their income from oil and gas. They pay their dividends monthly, which has a significant compounding effect (if re-invested).
Thanks Gwikley. I do not know Rand Logistics, but they surely see market for them when they are growing their fleet now. They have great benefit from the U.S. Jones Act, when they operate between domestic ports. Interesting to follow their further development.
I read they had troubles with their time charter crew in the first half of the year and lost quite a lot of income. Hence the low stock price now, I think. Next quarter can be considerably better.
Good evening. All offshore drilling (and shipping) stocks green today. Seadrill (SDRLF.PK $ 18.20) released Q2 results on Monday August 27. Seadrill is a Norwegian deep sea drilling company, which is growing FAST. See the fleet status:
http://www.newsweb.no/index.jsp?messageId=158482
27/08-2007 16:35:00: (SDRL) SDRL- Seadrill reports second quarter 2007 results
Highlights
Seadrill reports net income of US$42.0 million and earnings per share
of US$0.11 for the second quarter of 2007.
Seadrill secures new harsh environment contracts for the
semi-submersible West Alpha and the deepwater drillship West
Navigator.
Seadrill secures new contracts for the semi-submersible West Aquarius
and five-year contract for the ultra-deepwater drillship West
Capella, both under construction.
Seadrill orders three new drilling units, including one new ultra
deepwater semi-submersible rig and a deepwater semi-tender in
Singapore and one new ultra deepwater drillship in Korea.
Seadrill secures new assignments for the jack-ups West Larissa and
West Titania.
Seadrill is on track for delivery of the newbuild program.
Seadrill divests the 1981-built jack-up West Titania for US$146.5
million, with delivery in the fourth quarter.
READ THIS: an extract from the Q2 report (and remember what FRO has done!)
"The Board is of the opinion that in order to create shareholder value it is important to focus on
growth in all business lines. As a consequence, the Company is evaluating to set up a separate
entity for its well services activity with the ambition to create a large integrated well services
company. Seadrill is a strong believer in the outlook for well services activity fundamentally
driven by the desire to get a higher recovery rate from the reservoirs and intend to remain the
company’s main shareholder. The current intention is to establish the new company before
year-end and immediately establish liquidity through a proper listing of the new company’s
shares. Seadrill intends to keep a 60 to 70 percent ownership interest in the new company.
The Board sees many interesting opportunities for growing the company through organic
growth as well as merger and acquisition activities."
The whole report:
http://hugin.info/135817/R/1149208/219833.pdf
To the heck with economies, let's concentrate to important questions: What is the little thing on our financial advisor's forehead? Does he get messages of his stockpicks through a wireless receiver? From ET perhaps?? (sometimes it feels so :)
I saw a picture of Harvey sitting in his office at the computer and noted that gadget. What is it?
Globalization puts its grip around China already. I have heard that some Chinese companies had to move their manufacturing to Vietnam and Indonesia, where the production costs are lower. And the next step is to Africa. Market economy rules!
Nokia complains that the workers in their China factories are restless - they move quickly to next employer, who pays a bit better salary, and the company must continuously train new workers and pay better wages! Here we go!
China's - and India's - evolution from a developing country to an industrialized country and a modern society is much much quicker than we really thought.
Thanks again for all interesting articles. This one: "NYT: As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes" tells something we may not quite understand yet at all. Environmental questions may rise to a problem, which will dictate the political behaviour in East and West. I know that European environmentalists have much to say if that "fine dust" air pollution begins to spread to Europe, and they will have much support from all parties.
I looked at the quarterly reports of several dry bulk shipping companies, and what amazed me, was the size and growth of coal freighting to China in every company's numbers. One company nailed the reason: "As long as coal is the cheapest energy resource, we have work to do".
The problem of environmental pollution will not be a little one at all.
Solar roofing is hot hot hot in Europe now, even in Scandinavia (not much use in November-January lol), and I must say I like those solar tile roofs, they look like "normal" roofs - what solar panel roofs don't - and I believe it is and will be a VERY popular sector. You can even easily renew your old roof with solar tiles.
Another a very popular green/alternative energy sector here in Scandinavia is geothermal heating/cooling of houses. Once you install the system (quite small machinery), you pay nothing for your house warming/cooling. People, who have it, say that the system pays it back in five years, and the maintenance costs are minuscule. They have a 20 year guarantee for the system.
Do you have these geothermal house-heating/cooling systems in use in USA or Canada?
I think so too. Maybe good for some companies to get some financing if they are really interested to create a business, but a disaster for shareholders for many years.
I was looking for information for OEGY.OB, when I found that link on their board. OEGY makes solar roof tiles, an interesting industry, and they got a notable order of their tiles lately, but must say my interest chilled, when I saw that name.
What do you think, is OEGY doomed for years with that Cornell-friend?