Global
Business |Update|
(A weekly update on Global Business )
Skyline Business School
Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi 110 016
Tel: 2686 4848, 2686 6968
Issue 8
Global
business update
5th April 06 – 12th April 06
Contents:
Global
Corporate
1 De Beers to sell 26% of SA
unit
2 GM to unwind Isuzu stake
3 Apple unveils new management software
4 Bausch & Lomb halts shipments of ReNu, stock drops in
after-hours trading
5 DaimlerChrysler eyes more profit gains
6 Harley-Davidson revs up 1Q earnings
7 Google launches Chinese service
Global
outsourcing
8 Most US States offshoring
work'
9 Quotas to hamper India as BPO hub
10Outsourcing Leaders Fuse IT and Business Skills
11 Destination Pakistan for Indian BPO brains
12 Telcos should reevaluate outsourcing strategies
Global
Economy
13 UK sales freeze amid late
Easter
14 China makes US trade concessions
15 Stocks could slip on oil again
16. Iran urged to stop nuclear work
Global Corporate
1 De Beers to sell 26% of SA unit
Diamond giant De Beers has finalised a deal to sell 26% of its South African
unit to a new black-owned company. The sale, which meets new rules from the
South African government on increasing black economic empowerment, totals 3.7bn
rand ($611m; £349m). This is 100m rand less than when the deal was first
announced last autumn. The 26% stake is being bought by new firm Ponahalo
Holdings, which is 50% owned by De Beers staff and pensioners, and 50% by a
black investment firm. "The transaction has received the necessary
regulatory approvals from the South African Reserve Bank and the South African
Competition Tribunal," said De Beers. It added that the entire purchase
price was being financed over seven years by Standard Bank, of which 800m rand
would be guaranteed by De Beers.
5 April 2006 , www.bbc.com
2 GM to unwind Isuzu stake.
General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it would sell its 7.9 percent stake in
Japanese truck maker Isuzu Motors Ltd., unraveling a 35-year equity alliance to
raise much-needed cash to revive its ailing business.
In a widely expected move, Japanese trading houses Mitsubishi Corp. and
Itochu Corp. would each take a 3.5 percent stake from the U.S. auto giant, while
Mizuho Corporate Bank, a unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc., will buy the
remaining 0.9 percent, the companies said.The world's biggest auto maker had
been discussing the sale of its stake in its long-time Japanese partner after
similar steps with Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and Suzuki Motor
Corp. since late last year.
April 11, 2006 , www.cnn.com
3.
Apple unveils new management software
Apple Computer introduced new desktop management software Tuesday optimized for
users of its new Intel-based Macs. The Apple Remote Desktop 3 offers
improvements in software distribution, asset management and remote assistance,
the company said in a statement.
April 11, 2006, www.cnn.com
4. Bausch & Lomb halts
shipments of ReNu, stock drops in after-hours trading.
Bausch & Lomb has stopped shipping its ReNu brand contact lens solution
after a number of people using the product reported getting a serious eye
infection, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday. The FDA said that 109
cases of the rare but serious infection that may cause loss of vision had been
reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 17 U.S.
states. But the agency said during a conference call that it was not aware of a
link between the infection and specific productsThe FDA said it had completed
cases on 30 reports. Of those, 28 people wore soft contact lenses and 26 of them
reported using Bausch & Lomb's ReNu brand in the month before the infection.
April 10, 2006, www.cnn.com
5.DaimlerChrysler eyes more
profit gains
DaimlerChrysler expects to see improved profits this year and forecasts
continued bottom-line gains in upcoming years, according to its chairman.
Speaking at the company's shareholders' meeting in Berlin on Wednesday,
DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche did not give specific earnings targets.
The company said it will give more a more detailed outlook when it releases
first-quarter results April 27. But he said that the company is on the right
path to improved profits. The company earned $3.41 a share in 2005, excluding
special items, up from $3.33 in 2004 and $2.27 in 2003. Analysts surveyed by
earnings tracker First Call forecast that the company's full-year earnings per
share will rise 23 percent to $4.30 this year, and further to $4.78 in 2007.The
company also announced it is leaving its dividend unchanged at
1.50 a share this year. But the outlook and dividend news sent shares of
DaimlerChrysler down 0.8 percent in Frankfurt trading early Wednesday.
April 12, 2006, www.cnn.com.
6.Harley-Davidson revs up 1Q
earnings
Motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson Inc. said Wednesday that its earnings
increased 3.3 percent in the latest quarter, a performance its chief executive
called "an excellent start" to the year. The Milwaukee-based company
reported a first-quarter net profit of $234.6 million, or 86 cents a share,
compared with $227.2 million, or 77 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 4 percent
to $1.29 billion. Investors and analysts have been watching Harley-Davidson
closely in recent months, concerned it might announce new production or
shipments cuts. Harley-Davidson has acknowledged that it continues to face
inventory issues in the United States, which accounts for 80 percent of its
sales, because of the highly seasonal purchase patterns among consumers in many
parts of the country.
April 12, 2006, www.cnn.com
7. Google launches Chinese
service
Chief executive Eric Schmidt said that sales growth "will obviously be
large" and Google expects to have thousands of software engineers working
in China. He also said that Google had no choice but to accept restrictions if
it wanted access to China's internet market. The number of internet users in
China is set to top 187 million in two years.
Wednesday, 12 April 2006, www.bbc.com
Global Outsourcing
8. Most US States offshoring
work'
The numerous proposals to restrict offshoring in US Government agency projects
notwithstanding, a latest report of the US Government Accountability Office
(GAO) reveals that offshoring occurred in human services programs in a majority
of US States for functions such as software development and call centre. It also
found that India was the most prevalent offshore location. "Offshoring
occurred in one or more programs in 43 of 50 States and the District of
Columbia, most frequently in the Food Stamp and Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) programs. However, expenditures for services performed offshore
in the four State-administered programs appear to be relatively small... India
was the most prevalent offshore location, followed by Mexico," the recent
report by GAO said.
April 10 2006, www.offfshorexperts.com
9. Quotas to hamper India as BPO
hub
India's aim to become a manufacturing services outsourcing hub could be quashed
if admission to prestigious institutions like the IIMs and IITs are based on a
caste quota rather than students' merit, Assocham said on Monday. In the wake of
the recent controversy surrounding the increase in reservation of seats in
professional colleges and universities, the Chamber said it was but natural,
that if half the students were given admissions without merit, the quality of
students passing out of these institutions would not match the global standard
April 10, 2006, www.offshorexperts.com
10. Outsourcing Leaders Fuse IT
and Business Skills
Ron Jensen began his IT career as a self-professed "propeller head."
But now he is the purchasing manager for IT professional services at
construction equipment manufacturing giant Caterpillar Inc. "I did the bits
and bytes," Jensen said at Gartner's outsourcing conference here last week.
He wrote assembly code, programmed in other languages and managed technical
units at Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar. Then, in his mid-40s, Jensen decided he
wanted to take advantage of other opportunities available at the company and
earned an MBA.
April 10 2006, www.offshorexperts.com
11. Destination Pakistan for
Indian BPO brains
Indians working in Pakistani call centres? That is exactly what is happening.
Pakistanis are wooing top BPO brains from India to train their call centre
staff. Already 18-20 Indian BPO trainers are working in two newly-established
call centres in Pakistan. People have been hired from call centres in Delhi,
Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore to help in training, migration and integration, says
Rakesh Gupta of Astra Netcom India, a customer relationship management company.
The Pakistan Government is going all out to attract investment in the ITeS
sector. At present there are 123 international and domestic call centres, with
30 more in the pipeline. The Government has announced a 15-year tax holiday for
setting up call centres besides other incentives for the IT/ITES industry,
according to Pakistan Software Exports Board (PSEB)
April 10.2006, www.offshorexperts.com
12. Telcos should reevaluate
outsourcing strategies
To become more competitive, telecom operators worldwide should reevaluate their
outsourcing strategies and consider handing over to third parties the management
of activities that are traditionally considered as core. Analysts says that
while there have been a lot of outsourcing failures in the past, some telcos
have improved time to market for new services, enhanced organizational
flexibility, and/or generated cost savings as a result of outsourcing. Before
deciding to outsource, however, operators should consider their market
positioning, strategy, internal expertise and current efficiency as these
factors influence the risks and benefits of outsourcing.
Apr 10, 2006, www.offhshorexperts.com
Global Economy
13. UK sales freeze amid late Easter
UK retail sales in March fell at their fastest rate since last July as the cold
weather and late Easter hit trade. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said
March's like-for-like sales were down 1.4% compared with a year ago. It added
that even if the effect of the late Easter was excluded the underlying trend
would be flat. In the three-month period from January sales grew 0.3% The BRC
said that March's "unseasonably cold weather" had discouraged people
from buying spring and summer outfits. UK retailers have been suffering recently
as consumers keep a tighter grip on their purse strings amid rising household
debt, rising taxes and higher energy bills. Last month fashion retailer Next
said sales in the first seven weeks of this year sank 8.9%. Meanwhile B&Q
owner Kingfisher blamed a downturn in UK spending for its profits being slashed
by almost half. However analysts warned against giving too much weight to the
BRC figures, as they had been distorted by the later timing of Easter.
11 April 2006,www.bbc.com
14.China makes US trade
concessions
China has made a number of trade concessions to the US ahead of President Hu
Jintao's visit next week. Eager to smooth the way before Mr Hu's trip, Beijing
has agreed to remove its ban on US beef and make it easier for US firms to bid
for public contracts.Also promising to clamp down on pirated goods, China's
Vice-Premier Wu Yi made the pledges at talks in Washington. It was separately
announced that China is buying 80 additional 737 planes from US giant Boeing
worth $4.6bn (£2.6bn). US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez welcomed the
successes of the latest Sino-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meeting,
but cautioned that proof would be in the implementation.
12 April 2006, www.bbc.com
15.Stocks could slip on oil
again
Stocks could face pressure from rising oil prices and inflation concerns in the
face of growing crisis in Iran. U.S. stock futures were down in early trading,
indicating a lower open for U.S. markets, as oil prices remained high in early
trading ahead of the U.S. fuel inventory report due at 10:30 a.m ET.The May
light crude futures contract for NYMEX slipped 5 cents to $68.93 a barrel in
electronic trading, while the May contract for Brent crude edged 6 cents lower
to $69.31.Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirmed Iran had
produced low-grade enriched uranium, a move that brought condemnation from the
United States and some of its allies. Iran is the world's No. 4 oil exporter.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency is due to travel to Tehran on
Wednesday
April 12, 2006, www.cnnmoney.com
16.Iran urged to stop nuclear
work
Iran is facing growing calls from the international community to halt its
nuclear activities after announcing it has successfully enriched uranium.
The US secretary of state said it was time for "strong steps" by the
UN, and her Russian counterpart said Iran was going "in the wrong
direction". Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stressed that his
country's nuclear intentions are peaceful. The UN's nuclear watchdog chief is
flying to Tehran to discuss the crisis. Iran is on course to produce enough
fissile nuclear material to make a nuclear bomb within 3 years, according to the
London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies.
12 April 2006, www.bbc.com
Compiled by Himanshu Gupta - BBA (MAHE) L1,S2 - 1st Year
Skyline Business School
Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi 110 016
Tel: 2686 4848, 2686 6968
www.SkylineCollege.com