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Whine festival:
Come here us whine and sip alongside:
http://www.youtube.com/v/ga0k8ghkDnU
Whine festival:
Come here us whine and sip alongside:
www.youtube.com/v/ga0k8ghkDnU
Seagate broke thru its 200 day moving average last week.
Its 2 year high is just above 28, and it hit that a number of times in March-April 2006 and March-April 2007.
I believe it will move rapidly, within 30-60 days, from here to at least the 28 level due to FDE sales. Dec in the money options look real good here.
From the Economist 8/18/07
Perhaps someone can forward this to Dr. Hu
IT SEEMS odd. In the world's most populous region the biggest problem facing employers is a shortage of people. Asia has more than half the planet's inhabitants and is home to many of the world's fastest-growing economies. But some businesses are being forced to reconsider just how quickly they will be able to grow, because they cannot find enough people with the skills they need.
In a recent survey, 600 chief executives of multinational companies with businesses across Asia said a shortage of qualified staff ranked as their biggest concern in China (see chart 1) and South-East Asia. It was their second-biggest headache in Japan (after cultural differences) and the fourth-biggest in India (after problems with infrastructure, bureaucracy and wage inflation). Across almost every industry and sector it was the same.
Old Asia-hands may find it easy to understand why there is such concern. The region's rapid economic growth has fished out the pool of available talent, they would say. But there is also a failure of education. Recent growth in many parts of Asia has been so great that it has rapidly transformed the type of skills needed by businesses. Schools and universities have been unable to keep up.
Taking wing
This is especially true for professional staff. Airlines are one example. With increasing deregulation, many new carriers are setting up and airlines are offering more services to meet demand. But there is a dreadful shortage of pilots. According to Alteon Training, the commercial-pilot training arm of Boeing, India has fewer than 3,000 pilots today but will need more than 12,000 by 2025. China will need to find an average of 2,200 new pilots a year just to keep up with the growth in air travel, which means it will need more than 40,000 pilots by 2025. In the meantime, with big international airlines training only a few hundred pilots a year, Asian airlines have taken to poaching them, often from each other. Philippine Airlines, for instance, lost 75 pilots to overseas airlines during the past three years. China has been trying to lure pilots from Brazil, among other places.
Similar problems are bedevilling the legal profession, which is suffering from a grave shortage of lawyers and judges. This can cause a long backlog of cases and other complications in what are sometimes rudimentary legal systems. It can damage the way business is done, for instance in dealing with intellectual property or settling contract disputes. According to the All-China Lawyers Association, the country has only 122,000 lawyers. That is 70,000 fewer than California where the population is only 37m (against China's 1.3 billion). Many business people might argue that California is overlawyered, but there are parts of China without any lawyers at all.
A report presented at the Chinese Party Congress in March by the Jiu San Society, a group of progressive Chinese intellectuals, stressed the shortage of doctors. There are only 4,000 general practitioners in China. But if the government is to achieve its ambition of establishing community hospitals for the country's 500m urban residents, it will need 160,000 doctors to staff them. There is a huge shortage of nursing staff as well.
The scarcity of accountants is already having a regional impact. In order to list their shares in Hong Kong or Shanghai, many Chinese companies are busy preparing internationally acceptable accounts and statutory reports. With the country's own bean-counters trained in Communist-era systems—which never paid heed to capitalist ideas like profits or assets—accountants are being lured to the mainland from Hong Kong and the rest of the region. A senior manager at one of the big audit firms recently arrived in Hong Kong after a long stint in Russia, took one look at his firm's ambitious growth plans and asked: “How are we going to do this without enough staff?”
Technical skills, particularly in information technology, are lacking in many parts of the region, even India. One of the main concerns is that there are not enough skilled graduates to fill all the jobs being created in a vibrant sector. Nasscom, which represents India's software companies, has estimated that there could be a shortfall of 500,000 IT professionals by 2010. This means companies recruiting at job fairs in India are having to make lucrative offers to capture the most promising students. Even a junior software-engineer can expect to take home $45,000 a year.
There is also a severe shortage of good managers. A study by the McKinsey Global Institute predicts that 75,000 business leaders will be needed in China in the next ten years. It estimates the current stock at just 3,000 to 5,000. And that assessment could prove optimistic. The study, which covered a broad spectrum of businesses and surveyed more than 80 human-resources managers, found that less than “10% of Chinese job candidates, on average, were suitable for work in a foreign company.” In engineering, for example, graduates were criticised for being too immersed in theory and not enough in practice. It concluded that the available pool of engineering talent in China was no larger than that in Britain, which now has a mostly service economy.
China is even suffering from something of a brain drain. In recent years the Chinese have been able to travel abroad more freely to study and acquire skills. But many do not return. A recent report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences found that between 1978 and 2006, just over 1m Chinese went to study overseas and some 70% of them did not go back. The brightest are often tempted to stay abroad by local employers, because the competition for jobs has become global.
The skills shortage comes in two forms: higher staff turnover and rising wage costs. Pay rates for senior staff in many parts of Asia already exceed those for similar staff in much of Europe. The going rate for a human-resources director working for a medium-to-large multinational in Shanghai is now $250,000 a year, and that is for “someone who has probably never even left China,” says Vanessa Moriel, the managing partner of Human Capital Partners, a Shanghai-based consulting firm. The chief executive of an international business based in India can expect to earn $400,000-500,000, with many earning well over $750,000, according to Korn/Ferry, a consultancy. For a chief finance officer the average pay is now $194,000 in China, $159,000 in Thailand, $157,000 in Malaysia and $73,000 in India. Wages for lower-level staff are also rising quickly, increasing by 14% in Indonesia last year, 11% in India and 8% in China—well above the rates of inflation in each country.
Another year, another job
A high staff-turnover rate helps to force up wage costs, and turnover-rates can exceed 30% a year in some places in Asia. Fiducia, a Hong Kong-based consultancy, reckons that the additional hiring and training costs of operating in Asia add a further 15% to the basic costs of employing someone. Factories in southern China now plan for a 4% loss of staff just in the week immediately after Chinese New Year, because people seem to like to start the new year with a new job. In middle management, the average retention period of an employee in Shanghai is just 1.8 years, with human-resources managers among the most difficult to keep. Some job applicants are known as “jumpers” because of their tendency to switch jobs every two years.
Struggling with high staff-turnover is harder still when many firms are also trying to expand. Last year Flextronics, a big electronics manufacturer, wanted to increase staff numbers in Shenzhen from 27,000 to 43,000. But to get a net increase of 16,000 people, it had to hire more than 20,000 because over the same period it had 4,000 employees leave.
As well as excessive wage inflation there is also “title inflation” and “responsibility inflation”. Relatively inexperienced local managers are sometimes given ever-grander titles—much to the chagrin of their counterparts from Europe and America, who can find themselves sitting beside much less able and more junior colleagues described as “Senior Executive Vice President” or “Regional Chairman”. But these honours are handed out for a reason: many employers in Asia have found that awarding new titles to employees every 18 months or so can be a good way to keep them.
Giving greater responsibility to staff is more troublesome. Yet many inexperienced managers in China are being given powerful regional roles or are promoted to positions where they lack sufficient knowledge or ability. Even though they may not seem ready for the job, it is often seen as the only way to keep them on the payroll.
A problem for years to come
As if all this were not bad enough, the Asian talent shortage is set to get worse. The predicted inflow of investment, together with the growth of local companies and the rising expectations of foreign investors—especially as other markets are slowing—mean that the pressure to find and keep staff is mounting.
Demography will also play a big role, especially as labour forces in both China and Japan shrink over the next two decades. This means, for instance, that the already difficult job of finding creative software-engineers will become ever harder in northern Asia, which in turn will increase demand for staff in India and other markets where demographic problems do not exist.
But that only points to an even bigger threat which may take a generation to fix: education. In much of South-East Asia most people are educated only to the age of 12. More than half of the women in India are illiterate. Nearly two-thirds of the children in government primary schools in India cannot read a simple story. Half cannot solve simple numerical problems.
China's educational difficulties are different—and often linked to the country's history. Universities were closed during the Cultural Revolution and few well-educated people entered the workforce for over a decade. This has resulted in a lost generation of business people between the ages of 50 and 60, exactly the age group from where many of China's corporate leaders should be drawn today.
Those who were children (and typically without siblings because of China's one-child policy) after the Cultural Revolution have other things to deal with. Their parents had often been sent for re-education in the fields and many were brought up far away from home by strangers. Perhaps in response to this harshness, they have brought up their own children rather indulgently. What is known as the “little emperor syndrome” is a particular weakness in boys. Many older Chinese believe this younger generation, doted on by grandparents and parents, lacks a work ethic. It has even become a bit of a slur to say of someone that “they were born in the 1980s”.
Girls born after the Cultural Revolution are much less likely to have been spoilt, which means some employers see them as good hires. Liam Casey, the boss of PCH China Solutions, a contract-manufacturer in southern China, says he once noticed in a shopping mall that there were typically groups of seven people or groups of three. The groups of seven consisted of two sets of grandparents, parents and a boy. Those of three comprised parents and a daughter. He says he realised then that girls were valued less by society and that if he hired them and showed them loyalty, they would be more loyal in return. This is one reason, he says, that his business has much lower rates of staff turnover than his rivals' businesses do.
But even hiring women is getting harder. In Zhuhai another foreign manufacturer which hires staff from all over China says it prefers to recruit women too. The managers believe that women are generally harder-working and tend to stay longer. But schools and universities have cottoned on to this now and set quotas on the number of women that firms can recruit. The company says that for every group of women it selects, it now has to hire a share of men too.
Team building
In the face of so many problems, what can employers do? Building a skilled workforce is as much about a company's general attitude as its tactics, says Michael Bekins, the managing director of Korn/Ferry in Hong Kong. The first part of that mindset is realising that retention is more important than recruitment, he says. He thinks all managers in Asia should be explicitly measured on their ability to keep a team together.
Some ways of doing that are more obvious than others. Paying higher wages to employees, say most managers and recruitment specialists, is certainly not enough. Pay should be seen as only part of any package. Delaying bonus payments with a reward at the end of say, three years, can work well, but increases costs. Offering career planning, training, “personal-development road maps”, mentoring and the rest of the modern HR kitbag seems to go down well (see chart 2), though managing expectations is critical. One company in South-East Asia has a “welcome the boomerangers” policy, making it easy for anyone who has left to come back. The big accounting firms have programmes to keep in touch with people who leave.
Some employers argue that you should focus on the family not just the employee. Offering support for children's education and helping the families of staff resettle can build loyalty. With expatriates, this is crucial. According to one consultant, 85% of expatriates in China leave because their families do not like living there. Life can be especially hard in smaller cities, where there are few other foreigners, international schools or decent restaurants and little to do in your time off. Many spouses complain of feeling like prisoners in their gated communities while their partners are away, heady with the thrill of running the firm's fastest-growing division.
There are less obvious ways to keep people too. A prestigious brand can be valuable in more ways than one; Asians seem attracted to the idea of working for well-known firms. Having a fashionable office can be a big help. And providing courses in stress management or etiquette can be attractive. So is giving staff club memberships. Even providing staff with the latest PDAs and mobile phones can work wonders (see chart 2). And, if a company has a canteen, it should make sure it hires a good chef.
One of the more creative options for employers is to offer flexible working hours and sabbaticals. Although these are unusual in Asia, they can help staff who have young children or elderly parents to care for. But there are some dangers. It is common, especially in China, for employees to run private businesses on the side. Giving them more time for outside activities may not be in a company's best interests. It could also be counterproductive in some parts of Asia, were workers want a job in order to make as much money as fast as they can.
Hiring Asians who have been educated overseas and bringing them back does not always work. They often expect to be paid a lot. Some demand expatriate packages with paid flights back to America or Europe. They may also be out of touch with local developments. But the biggest difficulty is that their colleagues frequently resent them. This is especially so in China, where one of the politer names for returning people is hai gui or sea turtles. A similar attitude sometimes turns up in India too. Companies find that the turtles tend to fit in best in the finance industry or in privately owned businesses.
With such a mismatch between supply and demand in Asia's labour markets, companies will have to become better at hiring good staff and keeping them. But as some companies will always be better at this than others, the job-hopping and poaching are set to continue for many years, until education and training catch up. The consequences of that are stark. “It will limit the growth. It has to,” says Korn/Ferry's Mr Bekins. Which means that without talented recruiting policies, some firms may end up scaling back their bold Asian growth-plans.
To continue your poor analogy:
Its more like the bottom of the first inning. The game, marked by initial revenues, has just begun. WAVX does not need to spend precious funds at this juncture on advertising. Its well-heeled partners will do so very shortly and WAVX will quickly benefit. Witness the upcoming EU rollout with Seagate.
Recap Smartire timeline:
SmarTire website: http://www.smartire.com/company/index.html
1987 TTC/Truck Tech Corp. (now SmarTire Systems Inc.), began pioneering the research and development of tire monitoring technology. With offices in North America and Europe, the Company is well positioned to be a global supplier of tire monitoring solutions for the light vehi-cle (passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, minivans and light trucks), motorcycle, and the commercial, industrial and recreational vehicle markets.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
1989 By this year TTC/Truck Tech Corp. had applied for wireless data communications tech-nology patents and initial products were designed for off-road use in the mining industry. The company also gained public status by listing its shares for trading on the Vancouver Stock Ex-change.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
1994 The TTC/Truck Tech Corp. name was changed to UniComm Signal Inc. (now SmarTire Systems Inc.).
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
1996 UniComm Signal Inc. acquired the low tire pressure warning division of EPIC Technolo-gies, Inc. This included assets such as specialized testing equipment, patents and all contractual rights, and a production program with Ford Motor Company.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
1997 UniComm Signal Inc. became SmarTire Systems Inc.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
2001 SmarTire launched its 2nd generation tire monitoring solutions for passenger vehicles.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
2002 SmarTire unveiled its Motorcycle Tire Monitoring System. This technically advanced product is being marketed in Europe and North America in both aftermarket and original equip-ment applications.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
2003 SmarTire launched the Road Voice System for towed vehicles, trailers and light mo-torhomes.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
2005 Apr 8, SMTR closed at .037.
(IHub 4/8/05)
2005 Apr 11, SmarTire Systems Inc. reported today that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued its final rule requiring all new passenger cars and light vehicles being manufactured for sale in the USA to be equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) by September 2007. The more stringent requirements of NHTSA's final rule can currently only be fulfilled by direct measurement systems such as the kind developed by SmarTire.
(IHub #18, 4/5/05)
2005 May 2, SmarTire Systems Inc. today announced that ICA Security Systems is distribut-ing its SmarTire for Motorcycles product in France. ICA Systems is the largest manufacturer and distributor of motorcycle alarms and anti-theft systems in the French market with over 1000 dealers across the country.
(IHub #153, 5/2/05)
2005 May 31, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that Robert Rudman, SmarTire's President and CEO, will present at the 16th Annual Wall Street Analyst Forum at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City on June 2. The presentation will focus on SmarTire's current market op-portunities in tire monitoring and the Company's future in wireless sensing and control systems for the transportation industry.
(IHub #195, 5/31/05)
2005 Jun 14, SmarTire recorded a quarterly net loss of $5.31 million or loss per share of $0.03 compared to a net loss of $2.95 million or loss per share of $0.04 for the same quarter last year. The net loss for the nine months ended April 30, 2005 was $11.79 million or a loss per share of $0.07 compared to a net loss of $8.12 million or loss per share of $0.10 for the same period last year.
(IHub #203, 6/15/05)
2005 Jul 6, SmarTire Systems Inc. today announced the Company has completed a major fi-nancing with Cornell Capital Partners LP that has resulted in net proceeds of $11 million plus a $160 million Standby Equity Distribution Agreement. The Company issued convertible deben-tures totaling $30 million that bear interest at a rate of 10.0% per annum, have a term of three years, and are convertible into common stock at $0.1125 per share. Also included in this financ-ing are 62.5 million warrants with an exercise price of $0.16 per share.
(IHub #221, 7/6/05)
2005 Jul 18, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that Detlev Louis Motorradvertriebs GmbH in Hamburg, Germany, the largest mail order company for motorcycle garments and technical parts in Europe, will be distributing SmarTire for Motorcycles.
(IHub #236, 7/18/05)
2005 Sep 8, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that Chairman Robert Rudman will pre-sent at the Arch Investment Conference in New York City, Tuesday, Sept. 13. The conference will be webcast live. SmarTire is one of six companies presenting at the conference. Rudman is scheduled to present in the morning session from 9 to 10 a.m. The audience will include fund managers, analysts and investment bankers, media and other members of the investment community. The conference will be webcast live at:
http://www.informedinvestors.com/VC/ClientPage.asp?ID=45356.
2005 Sep 22, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has achieved registration to ISO/TS 16949:2002, the quality management standard for the automotive and commercial ve-hicle industries.
(IHub #242, 9/28/05)
2005 Oct 17, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has signed a contract with Dana's Commercial Vehicle Systems group to market and sell SmarTire's tire pressure and temperature monitoring systems to the commercial truck, bus and RV markets.
(IHub #246, 10/17/05)
2005 Nov 9, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today gross revenue of approximately $594,000 for the quarter ended October 31, 2005, an increase of approximately $292,000 or 97% from the same quarter of 2004. Total sales to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) market for the quarter ended October 31, 2005 were approximately $437,000, an increase of approximately $264,000 or 153% from the same quarter of 2004. SmarTire will file its Form 10-QSB for the first quarter ended October 31, 2005 by December 15, 2005.
(IHub #250, 11/9/05)
2005 Nov 21, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has entered into a manufactur-ing agreement with Vansco Electronics LP. Under the agreement, Vansco will manufacture key subsystems for SmarTire's wireless gateway family of products. SmarTire also announced the termination of its contract manufacturing agreement with Hyundai Autonet Company, Ltd. ("HACO") in Korea, which was terminated as a result of HACO's acquisition by Hyundai.
(IHub #252, 11/21/05)
2006 Feb 27, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that Camping World, a major U.S. supplier of aftermarket RV products has placed a substantial purchase order for SmarTire's rec-reational vehicle (RV) tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS). Camping World is the world's largest supplier of RV accessories and camping equipment and currently has 46 retail outlets in key regional locations throughout the US.
(IHub #276, 2/27/06)
2006 Dec 15, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that revenue for the first quarter of fis-cal year 2007 increased 44% to $851,779 from $592,866 in the first quarter of fiscal year 2006. Net loss for the quarter decreased to $5.3 million, or $0.02 per share, from $17.8 million, or $0.06 per share, in Q1 '06. Excluding non-cash charges of $3.3 million during fiscal Q1 '07 and $15.4 million during the first quarter of fiscal year 2006, net loss decreased to $2 million for fis-cal Q1 '07, from $2.4 million fiscal Q1 '06. Cash used to fund operating activities during fiscal Q1 '07 decreased to $1.8 million, from $3.1 million during Q1 '06. Less cash was used in the first quarter of fiscal 2007 than the comparable quarter a year ago mainly as a result of a $900,000 interest payment on SmarTire's convertible debentures in Q1 '06.
(IHub #312, 12/15/06)
2007 Jan 16, DaimlerChrysler Commercial Buses North America announced today its planned partnership with SmarTire Systems Inc. to supply tire pressure and temperature monitoring sys-tems (TPMS) as a product upgrade.
(IHub #314, 1/16/07)
2007 Jan 26, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement dated January 23, 2007 providing for the sale of convertible debentures in the amount of up to $1,800,000. On January 23, 2007, SmarTire sold one convertible debenture for gross proceeds of $684,000. The Agreement provides that SmarTire may sell convertible debentures for the balance of up to $1,116,000 at any time over the next six months. Terms of the financing are disclosed in the company's 8-K filed today.
(IHub #330, 1/26/07)
2007 Jan 30, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has completed its restructuring of operations as it reduced its work force by approximately 25%.
(IHub #335, 1/30/07)
2007 Mar 8, SmarTire Systems Inc. a provider of active tire pressure and temperature moni-toring systems for the global commercial transportation, recreational vehicle, bus and off highway vehicle markets, announced today that it has completed the sale of the third and last convertible debenture to be sold pursuant to the terms of the securities purchase agreement dated January 23, 2007. The terms of this convertible debenture are disclosed in the Com-pany's Form 8-K, filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(IHub #338, 3/8/07)
2007 May 1, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement dated April 27, 2007, providing for the sale of up to $1.5 million in convertible debentures to a subsidiary of Cornell Capital Partners, LP. On April 27, 2007, SmarTire sold one convertible debenture under this agreement for gross proceeds of $1.15 million. The agreement provides that SmarTire may sell convertible debentures for the balance of up to $350,000 at any time un-til Oct. 1, 2007. Terms of the financing are disclosed in the company's 8-K filed today.
(IHub #345, 5/1/07)
2007 Jun 12, SmarTire Systems Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SMTR) announces its third-quarter earnings call for shareholders. What: SmarTire Third-Quarter Earnings Call When: Friday, June 15, 2007, 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time How: Participants will dial: 1-888-865-1051
(IHub #355, 6/12/07)
2007 Jun 14, 10Q: Gross revenue for the three months ended April 30, 2007 decreased to $933,113 from $1,195,136 for the three months ended April 30, 2006.
(IHub #395, 6/14/07)
2007 Jul 10, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that Dana Corporation, its marketing partner for the commercial vehicle market in North America, Australia and New Zealand, will be offering the company's SmartWave(R) TPMS tire pressure monitoring system retrofit kits to In-ternational Truck and Engine Corporation. Effective immediately, a version of the SmartWave TPMS system specifically designed for aftermarket installation on commercial transportation vehicles will be available through the nearly 1,000 International Truck dealer outlets in North America.
(IHub #460, 7/11/07)
2007 Aug 14, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has signed a 3 year agreement with GE Sensing for the continued supply of a key component of SmarTire's tire monitoring sys-tem. SmarTire's current tire monitoring sensors already include the GE Sensing NPX component, which monitors pressure and temperature information within the tire. The tire moni-toring sensors have been optimized by combining GE Sensing's NPX component with other RF and power management components in SmarTire's tire monitoring systems to provide optimum performance and durability.
(IHub #477, 8/14/07)
Your turn tomorrow!!
They is me. Could not get a fill for hours at .054 so I took it to .055. Nothing sinister here. Just bargain prices.
Better yet, how about a poll on revenues for this Q.
Hi Tin...
Do you have an idea of when the next quarterly report is due?
I will try to bring it up to date over the next week.
LONDON (Reuters) - Internet companies, retailers and the government must do far more to protect people from the dangers of the "lawless Wild West" of cyberspace, an influential group of British Members of Parliament said on Friday.
In a critical report, the MPs said the government and industry have a "laissez-faire" approach to online crime that could lead to an "economically disastrous" loss of public confidence in the Internet.
With computer fraud growing more sophisticated, people have little hope of protecting themselves alone, the House of Lords' Science and Technology Committee said.
"You can't just rely on individuals to take responsibility for their own security," said committee Chairman Lord Broers. "They will always be outfoxed by the bad guys."
Cybercrime is one of the fastest growing criminal activities, not just in Britain, and includes a huge range of illegal activity including financial scams, computer hacking, downloading pornographic images, virus attacks, stalking by e-mail and creating websites that promote racial hatred.
The lawmakers said that industry -- from software makers and Internet service providers to banks and shops -- must do far more to protect customers.
And they criticised the government for insisting that responsibility for security rests with Internet users, who are often faced with a "bewildering" set of options.
"This is no longer realistic, and compounds the perception that the Internet is a lawless 'Wild West'," the report said.
The government must work with the European Union to see if more responsibility for security could be legally handed to computer and software makers, the report said.
A network of police computer laboratories should be set up to fight the "flourishing" online crime industry.
Senior police must get the extra funds needed to launch a central e-crime unit and a Web site where people could report online offences.
The report also highlighted the lack of clear figures on e-crime. The government should also make sure the courts are aware of the seriousness of the problem.
"The choice is either to intervene now...to keep the threat to the Internet under control, or to let it grow unchecked, and risk an economically disastrous, long-term loss of public confidence in the Internet," the report concluded.
OT:
One morning a blind bunny was hopping down the bunny trail and tripped over a large snake and fell, kerplop right on his twitchy little nose.
"Oh please excuse me," said the bunny. "I didn't mean to trip over you, but I'm blind and can't see."
"That's perfectly all right," replied the snake.??"To be sure, it was my fault. I didn't mean to trip you, but I'm blind too, and I didn't see you coming.??By the way, what kind of animal are you?"
Well, I really don't know," said the bunny.??"I'm blind, and I've never
seen myself.??Maybe you could examine me and find out."
So the snake felt the bunny all over, and he said, "Well, you're soft, and cuddly, and you have long silky ears, and a little fluffy tail and a dear twitchy little nose. You must be a bunny rabbit!"
The bunny said, "I can't thank you
enough.??But by the way, what kind of
animal are you?"??The snake replied that he didn't know, and the bunny agreed to examine him, and when the bunny was finished, the snake asked, "Well, what kind of an animal am I?"
The bunny had felt the snake all over, and he replied, "You're soft, you're cold, you're slippery, and you haven't got any balls..You must be a Democrat."
Nanogen, Inc. (Nasdaq:NGEN), developer of advanced diagnostic products, today reported its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2007.
Total revenues for the second quarter of 2007 grew to $10.3 million, an increase of more than 60% from the $6.3 million reported for the second quarter of 2006 and an increase of 6% from the $9.7 million recorded in the first quarter of 2007.
Total costs and expenses for the second quarter of 2007 were $24.1 million as compared to $20.2 million in the second quarter of 2006 and $21.0 million in the first quarter of 2007. Costs and expenses for the second quarter include lease termination expenses of $1.9 million associated with consolidating the company's Toronto operations into one facility. In addition, second quarter expenses include $2.0 million of expenses related to the company's investment in Jurilab, the Finnish genetic marker company, as compared to their expenses of $0.9 million in the prior quarter.
For the quarter ended June 30, 2007, Nanogen's net loss was $14.5 million or $0.20 per share, compared to a net loss of $11.8 million or $0.17 per share for the first quarter of 2007 and $14.1 million or $0.23 per share for the second quarter in 2006. Again, the second quarter loss was negatively impacted by the Toronto facility shutdown charge and the increased spending at Jurilab.
Modified EBITDA for the quarter ended June 30, 2007, which excludes the lease termination expenses, stock compensation expense, and Jurilab expenses, improved by approximately $800,000 as compared to the previous quarter and by $2.3 million as compared to the second quarter one year ago.
"Total revenue performance remains good and we remain on track to meet our revenue goal for the year," said Howard C. Birndorf, Nanogen's chairman of the board and CEO. "As evidenced by our facilities consolidation in Toronto, we are continuing to aggressively manage expenses as an important ingredient in meeting our goal of improving modified EBITDA continuously through the year."
Nanogen's consolidated cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments balance at the end of the second quarter of 2007 was approximately $13.4 million.
Financial Guidance for 2007:
Nanogen expects annual revenue growth to exceed fifty percent during 2007 as compared to 2006 and to continue improving modified EBITDA.
Modified EBITDA, our internal performance measure, represents what we believe is the best indicator of core business performance as it reflects revenue growth, gross margin contribution and expense management, while excluding non-operational expenses. Management remains committed to continuing to improve this measure of performance in future quarters. A reconciliation of net loss to our modified EBITDA measure is as follows:
Three Three
months months
ended ended
June 30, March 31,
2007 2007
-----------------------
(Unaudited) (Unaudited)
Net loss $ (14,531) $ (11,849)
Net interest 737 524
Provision for income taxes -- --
Add depreciation and amortization 2,358 1,803
----------- -----------
EBITDA (11,436) (9,522)
Add stock-based compensation 1,216 1,132
Add Jurilab net loss 1,749 720
Add lease termination charges 1,571 --
Add warrant valuation adjustment -- (10)
----------- -----------
Modified EBITDA $ (6,900) $ (7,680)
=========== ===========
Management uses the non-GAAP modified EBITDA for financial guidance because management does not consider non-cash stock based compensation expense, minority- owned Jurilab's results of operations, lease termination expenses, or the non-cash warrant valuation adjustments in evaluating the performance of continuing operations of the company. Management focuses on cash management and the company's majority-owned rather than minority-owned subsidiaries as they are indicative of the success or failure of on-going business operations. Therefore, management calculates the modified EBITDA provided in this earnings release and the related financial guidance for 2007 to enable investors to analyze further and more consistently the period-to-period financial performance of our business operations. Management believes that by providing investors with these non-GAAP measures it gives the investor additional important information to enable them to assess, in a way management assesses, the company's current and future continuing operations. These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative for, GAAP, and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies.
Webcast of Conference Call
Nanogen management will host a conference call to discuss the first quarter 2007 results today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern (1:30 p.m. Pacific). Interested investors and others may participate in the conference call by dialing 888-679-3084 for US/Canada participants and 617-213-4847 for international participants. The conference ID will be 55639855.
Audio of management's presentation will be available via live webcast on the investor relations section of Nanogen's corporate website at www.nanogen.com, and will be archived for one year. A digital recording of the call will also be available for 48 hours, beginning two hours after the completion of the conference call on August 8, 2007, and can be accessed via telephone at 888-286-8010 for US/Canada participants and 617-801-6888 for international participants. The conference ID, 89667194, will be required to listen to the playback.
I agree. 2.4 mil is very doable for Q3 and that should lay the road to breakeven. Maybe Snackman will post a new poll soon.
Meanwhile there's still opportunity to pick up shares on the cheap.
There was no cause in the CC for selling. At the same time there was no big cause for immediate buying. That said the picture forward was painted rosey. Since most wavoids on the board are holding tight, the near term bias should be up, especially moving forward over the next three months. It is interesting to note that 7 people of some 100 were right on target in the results of the last earnings poll. 49 were too high and 42 were too low.
Let's now poll those 7 gurus for their insights moving forward.
Believe me, I was totally impressed. This was later confirmed when you let me know that there was actually a wine being marketed as "Cat's Pee." This was like a slam dunk.
For a time I felt that I was out of my league. I even switched to chardonnay for a week, but it just couldn't cut for me. Cat's pee or not, it's still SB for me.
Here's how I remember that:
When I said I liked Sauvignon Blanc, you said it tastes like Cat's Pee. Statements like that I believed were only made by true winos. So, from that point on I just assumed you were a true connoisseur. I now see the error in my logic.
Alas, another bubble burst...
But I think I can get over it... LOL
I just found out about him today. He is pretty entertaining.
I always thought you were a major connoisseur. Isn't your last name de Rothschild?
Just in case you're not up on the latest:
2007 Jul 31, A new study reported that drinking wine or beer every day increases the risk of bowel cancer. The British Daily Telegraph reported 35,000 people are diagnosed each year with bowel cancer and that it kills 16,100 a year.
(AP, 7/31/07)
In light of this study I have switched from drinking a bottle of wine every day to 2 bottles wine every other day. This should cut my chances of bowel cancer by at least 50%.
This Internet thing is sure great. It allows one to make immediate life style adjustments to current medical research.
Cheers
Here's the direct link:
http://tv.winelibrary.com/
Wine on u-tube
http://www.slate.com/id/2171517/
Bring a suitcase full. Might be able to sell 'em to other passengers.
Nanogen, Inc. (Nasdaq:NGEN), developer of advanced diagnostic products, will host a conference call on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern (1:30 p.m. Pacific) to discuss 2007 second quarter financial results. The financial results press release will be issued at close of market on August 8. Interested investors and others may participate in the conference call by dialing 888.679.8034 for US/Canada participants and 617.213.4847 for international participants. The conference ID will be 55639855.
Perfect. Very cute. Sometimes our band goes off key. Do you have an extra pair for me?
East coast facionistas would say no way, but hey, this is California: nobody really cares what you wear, in fact, people are most interested in what you do not wear!!
IMHO Best to bring your IPod or ear muffs just in case the music clashes with the ambient noise.
Virtue is a grace.
Here's another taste:
Mama's in the kitchen and Papa's on the rooftop:
If we're lucky, there may be a jug band event to coincide with the ride.
I like this line:
As we say in the Dusted Valley, "Open that bottle. The first 2 glasses are for your health the second two for ours!"
Too bad their prices are so high.
Beep beep...
Over the clif with you.... eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeow.... crash LOL
By the way, no accordionist has a beeper these days, we all carry cell phones... and we get at least one call a week, usually from our wives.
Re: Seagate
Seagate Technology will report fiscal fourth quarter and year-end 2007 financial results on Thursday, July 19, 2007, after the close of the market. A subsequent conference call for the investment community will take place at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
The conference call can be accessed online at http://www.seagate.com or by telephone as follows:
USA: (877) 223-6202
International: (706) 679-3742
Conference ID: 4752922
Jul 17, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE)
NGEN developer of advanced diagnostic products, announced today that it has begun shipment of its congestive heart failure (CHF) product, the StatusFirst(TM) CHF NT-proBNP rapid test. The product is CE-marked and has been cleared by the FDA for diagnostic use with EDTA plasma samples.
I just received a copy of the June 2007 “Information Security” magazine, under the herald 10-Year Anniversary www.infosecuritymag.com. This $15 copy was likely complementary in response to my attending the last RSA conference in SF. A quick perusal showed a 4-page Symantec ad on Network Access Control (NAC). Also included is a 5-page article on Security Information Management (SIM). The only reference to Seagate’s FDE drive was under a list of encryption tool vendors. I saw no reference to TPMs or Wave Systems. I will submit a query to: feedback@infosecuritymag.com regarding their take on TPMs and supporting software, but before doing so I will take suggestions as to specifics. A search on their site for Wave Systems returned Rogue Wave, PV-Wave, and Optical Wave. Due to copyright issues I will not cut and paste any of the articles. For the July issue see:
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/magazineCurrent/0,296884,sid14,00.html
Much more to go!
Hartcourt will never make you rich. It can only provide you with the opportunity to become rich.
2007 Jul 12, Nanogen, Inc., developer of advanced diagnostic products, announced today that it has entered into an agreement whereby the company acquired rights to genetic markers related to schizophrenia and responses to antipsychotic therapies. The agreement is between Nanogen and the Co-operative Research Centre for Diagnostics and Queensland University of Technology in Australia.
(BusinessWire, 7/12/07)
2005 Oct 17, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has signed a contract with Dana's Commercial Vehicle Systems group to market and sell SmarTire's tire pressure and temperature monitoring systems to the commercial truck, bus and RV markets.
(IHub #246, 10/17/05)