Southern Copper says 2nd-qtr profit rose to $313 mln

July 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 28 (Reuters) – Southern Copper (SPC.LM)(SCCO.N) posted a second-quarter consolidated net profit of $313 million late Wednesday, a rise of 79 percent from the same period a year ago as metals prices improved.

The company, which operates mines in Mexico and Peru, said second-quarter sales were $1.17 billion, up 42 percent from the year-ago quarter.

The company’s owner, Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX), said last week it planned to merge its Arizona-based miner Asarco with Southern Copper to cut costs. It pulled the U.S. miner out of bankruptcy last year. [ID:nN23101823]

Combining Asarco with Southern Copper would increase savings between the two units and give Southern Copper shareholders exposure to Asarco’s growth potential, Grupo Mexico said in a regulatory filing last week. Grupo Mexico owns all of Asarco and 80 percent of Southern Copper.

The plan assigned a $6 billion value to Asarco, which went into bankruptcy under the heavy burden of environmental complaints around its mining operations in the United States.

INVESTMENTS

Grupo Mexico recently won back control of the largest copper mine in Mexico, Cananea, which was paralyzed by a nearly three-year-long strike. The company retook Cananea with the help of federal police earlier this year after a long fight with the union in Mexican courts and is aiming to achieve some copper production by the end of this year.

As reported previously, with a $3.8 billion investment over the next five years, Grupo Mexico hopes to increase Cananea’s annual production by 150 percent to 450,000 tonnes.

The uptick in production will come from expansion at the mine to raise copper capacity by 270,000 tonnes. Cananea also will boost its molybdenum output, the company said. (Reporting by Patricia Velez and Terry Wade; Editing by Valerie Lee)

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Energy Department Has a New Commitment to Solar (and a New Blog)

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Department of Energy launched a new blog last week, the aptly named (yet uninspiring) Energy Blog. Among other announcements and musings (OK, really more statements than deep thoughts) is a call to develop three Energy Innovation Hubs, one of which will drive research to turn sunlight into fuels.

This is not the first time the Obama Administration has shelled out for sunlight fuels. Last October, ARPA-E, the advanced projects research group at the Department of Energy, gave out $23.7 million in grants to startups and universities experimenting in the relatively new field of direct solar fuels. The current award will give out up to $122 million over the next five years to one Hub for developing this one technology.

The Energy Innovation Hubs will be modeled after the Manhattan Project, the AT&T Bell Laboratories and on the three $25 million-per-year DOE Bioenergy Research Centers. The other two Hubs will research energy efficiency in buildings systems and modeling and simulation for nuclear reactors.

For the sunlight fuels, there are already various universities that are working on direct solar fuels, including the University of Minnesota, MIT, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Penn State. BioCee and the University of Minnesota wants to take sunlight, carbon dioxide and two organisms (cyanobacteria for sunlight capture and shewanella for metabolic transformation) to produce a liquid hydrocarbon, while MIT-spinoff Sun Catayltix uses sunlight to spilt water to produce hydrogen.

The DOE is hoping that these Hubs will be able to lay the groundwork with critical research to the point where the technology can be handed off to the private sector.

Among the other chatter from Scott Blake Harris, DOE blogger and General Counsel for the Department of Energy, is a call for public written comments on how to meet smart grid goals. The blog has a link to check out what’s already been gathered and also to submit additional feedback via email by August 9, 2010 to help shape a report due out this fall about modernizing the grid.

The Energy Blog feels a lot like the DOE News page, although you don’t find a lot of calls to tweet the DOE on the news page. The information, like updates on the Global Energy Efficiency Challenge (super-efficient appliances, energy efficiency for large commercial buildings, smart grid action, getting 20 million EVs on the road by 2020 — all lofty ideals with vague roadmaps and funding), is presented in the nearly same format as it would be in other sections of the DOE website.

Also, as this is not Twitter, and certainly not Gawker, there is not likely to be any real additional breaking information, insider views or gaffes that come across this blog. Not unless you count the fact that their RSS feed tab was broken today.

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Clinton offers aid, seeks stronger Pakistan ties

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ISLAMABAD, July 19 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced more than $500 million in new aid projects for Pakistan on Monday, which Washington hopes will help win over a sceptical public in an ally vital to winning the war in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Clinton was in Islamabad for two days as part of the U.S.-Pakistan strategic dialogue, a series of talks aimed at strengthening the relationship between the wary allies in the struggle against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

“The United States does not only want a dialogue between governments, we also want a dialogue between peoples,” she said ahead of the second “strategic dialogue” meeting between the countries in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Clinton will later fly on to Kabul for an international conference as the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan runs into mounting doubt in the U.S. Congress. [ID:nKABCON]

She announced a string of new projects — including dams, power generation, agricultural development and hospital construction — funded under U.S. legislation passed last year that tripled civilian aid to Pakistan to $7.5 billion over the next five years.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For more Pakistan stories click [ID:nAFPAK]

For Reuters Afghanistan and Pakistan coverage:

link.reuters.com/syx62d

Pakistan blog: blogs.reuters.com/Pakistan/

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

The projects, the first to be launched under a new aid plan, are seen as crucial to shoring up support for the U.S.-led struggle against militant extremists in a country where opinion polls show under one in five view the United States favourably.

“These aren’t one-time expenditures; they are long-term investments in Pakistan’s future,” she said.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi echoed Clinton’s optimism.

“This is a transformational phase in our bilateral relations,” he said.

Pakistan also wants enhanced market access, strengthening of its resources to take up the anti-terror fight and “non-discriminatory access” to energy and other technology.

The latter two requests are long-standing Pakistani desires for more military equipment and a civilian nuclear deal such as the one between India and the United States.

Clinton’s two-day visit includes talks with top military and civilian leaders.

The Pakistan and Afghan commerce ministers signed a trade deal during her visit that the United States also hopes will help boost cooperation between the countries. [ID:nN18171993]

HISTORY OF MISTRUST

The Obama administration sees nuclear-armed Pakistan as a pivotal player in the struggle against militant Islamist groups in both countries. But the two sides are divided by a history of mistrust and sometimes diverging goals over a war that is increasingly unpopular.

Opinion polls have shown many Pakistanis doubtful about long-term U.S. intentions, citing examples of abandonment, particularly after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan.

U.S. officials, meanwhile, are wary of the role Pakistan is playing in Afghanistan and believe it needs to do more to fight its own homegrown Taliban militants, which Washington blames for the attempted bombing in New York’s Times Square on May 1.

Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said there was a “dramatic acceleration” in cooperation between Washington and Islamabad, but conceded Pakistani public opinion was lagging. (Editing by Chris Allbritton)

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Boeing defense sees moderate revenue growth rates in 2011

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

England (Reuters) – Boeing Co’s defense business expects a return to moderate growth rates in revenues next year after relatively flat revenues in 2010, Dennis Muilenburg, president of Boeing Co’s defense business, told reporters on Sunday.

Muilenburg, speaking on the eve of the Farnborough air show, said the company was focused on growth in core areas through international sales, as well as expansion in adjacent markets like unmanned vehicles, communications and cybersecurity to help offset declines linked to cancellation of several big Boeing programs by the Pentagon last year.

He said Boeing’s goal was to expand international sales to comprise about 25 percent of defense revenues, up from 16 percent. He said the company still expected to maintain a 50-50 split of commercial and military revenues overall.

Mark Kronenberg, vice president of international business development, said Boeing expected to sell about 30 more C-17 cargo planes overseas in the next five years, including 10 to India that were already announced and 20 to other customers.

Boeing officials said they supported the Pentagon’s drive to lower overhead costs in weapons programs, but Chris Raymond, vice president for business development, said Boeing was concerned about declining Pentagon investment in research and development programs, the seed money for future weapons programs.

For now, Boeing and other companies were funding research on their own, but at some point that would no longer be sustainable, Raymond said.

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Millicom says to consolidate Honduras ops

July 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 1 (Reuters) – Emerging markets telecoms firm Millicom (MICC.O) (MICsdb.ST) will take full control of its Honduras subsidiary, leading to a pro forma boost in revenues, core profit and free cash flow, it said on Thursday. Under a revised shareholders’ agreement, Millicom’s local partner has given Millicom an unconditional call option for its 33 percent stake in Celtel for the next five years.

Millicom has granted a put option to its partner for the same period in the event of a change of control of Millicom.

The deal, which will see the Honduras operations consolidated from the third quarter, will have no impact on reported net profit for Millicom.

The pro forma impact on reported figures for the year to December 2009 increases revenues by 6 percent, EBITDA by 7 percent and operating free cash flow by 9 percent.

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GE to Invest $10B More in Ecomagination R&D by 2015

June 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

General Electric is committing $10 billion to ecomagination research and development in the next five years after reaching a $5 billion investment milestone for its portfolio of environmentally sensitive products, services and technology.

GE, the world’s largest industrial company, announced the new goal today with the release of its annual ecomagination report. The 50-page report details the firm’s progress in 2009 toward a series of ambitious environmental goals that were set in 2005 — when the company launched ecomagination — and include increasingly higher benchmarks for performance.

The report highlights the company’s accomplishment of surpassing its goal for ecomagination R&D investment by hitting the $5 billion target in 2009, a year early. The commitment to double the investment in the next five years means that GE plans to put a total of $15 billion toward ecomagination by 2015 when the initiative marks its 10th anniversary.

GE also reported:

* A 6 percent increase in revenue, bringing it to $18 billion in 2009 for more than 90 products. There were just 17 products when ecomagination launched and about 80 were in place by the end of 2008. GE hailed the 2009 sales figure, pointing out that revenue rose despite persisting challenges in the economy. The growth was modest, however, compared to the 21 percent jump recorded in 2008.

For coming years, the company is reframing its stretch goal for revenue, which in 2005 was set at $20 billion in ecomagination sales by 2010 and then was bumped up in last year’s report to $25 billion by 2010. GE says it is well on its way to the $20 billion mark in sales and is now committing that “ecomagination revenue will grow at twice the rate of total company revenue in the next five years, making ecomagination an even larger proportion of total company sales [as illustrated in the chart below].”

* Reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improved energy efficiency of operations. GE reduced its GHG emissions by 22 percent last year compared to 2004. GE improved its energy intensity by 34 percent compared to 2004; its goal was a 30 percent reduction by 2010. GHG intensity also improved by logging a 39 percent reduction compared to 2004. Goals for 2015 include improving energy intensity of operations by 50 percent and reducing absolute GHG emissions by 25 percent when compared against a 2004 baseline.

* Reduced water use. The company cut water consumption 30 percent compared to a 2006 baseline. Its original goal was 20 percent by 2012.

The company also pledged to maintain its engagement with the public and said it will update ecomagination.com to foster the dialogue.

GE summarized its progress and ongoing goals in this chart:

Ecomagination offerings range from energy efficient smart appliances for the home to high-performance engines for industry, and GE investments in projects and technology to generate and save energy span everything from solar power systems to using cow manure to produce biofuel.

The firm’s commitment to boost its ecomagination R&D investment reinforces its strategy to bet big on cleantech as Kevin Skillern, managing director of Venture Capital for GE Energy Financial Services, outlined in a podcast interview with GreenBiz Senior Writer Marc Gunther last fall.

In the report today, the company noted:

“Global energy use continues to grow, while interest in renewable energy is at an all-time high. World demand for electricity is expected to double by 2030, driven in part by the increased needs of developing nations.”

“Ecomagination is one of our most successful cross-company business initiatives. If counted separately, 2009 ecomagination revenues would equal that of a Fortune 130 company and ecomagination revenue growth equals almost two times the company average,” GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said in a statement. “We have made bold investments in ecomagination research and development and it has resulted in strong returns for shareholders.”

The 2009 and previous ecomagination annual reports are available at www.ge.ecomagination.com/report/.

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EU sees solar power imported from Sahara in 5 years

June 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Europe will import its first solar-generated electricity from North Africa within the next five years, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in an interview on Sunday.

Gulf Oil Spill

The European Union is backing projects to turn the plentiful sunlight in the Sahara desert into electricity for power-hungry Europe, a scheme it hopes will help meet its target of deriving 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources in 2020.

“I think some models starting in the next 5 years will bring some hundreds of megawatts to the European market,” Oettinger told Reuters after a meeting with energy ministers from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

He said those initial volumes would come from small pilot projects, but the amount of electricity would go up into the thousands of megawatts as projects including the 400 billion euro ($495 billion) Desertec solar scheme come on stream.

“Desertec as a whole is a vision for the next 20 to 40 years with investment of hundreds of billions of euros,” said Oettinger. “To integrate a bigger percentage of renewables, solar and wind, needs time.”

The EU is backing the construction of new electricity cables, known as inter-connectors, under the Mediterranean Sea to carry this renewable energy from North Africa to Europe.

Some environmental groups have warned these cables could be used instead to import non-renewable electricity from coal- and gas-fired power stations in north Africa.

“This is a good question but not a question to destroy our project,” Oettinger said. “This question must be answered by a good answer and so we need ways to ensure that our import of electricity is from renewables.”

He said he believed it was technologically possible to monitor electricity imports to the EU and establish if they come from renewable sources or fossil fuels. “This question must be solved in the next years,” he said.

SOLAR SUBISIDIES

The Desertec consortium includes major firms such as Siemens, RWE and Deutsche Bank. They are expected to seek public money for the project.

Oettinger said the EU’s assistance was likely to include help coordinating stakeholders, updating regulations to allow the imported electricity to move across European borders, and financing feasibility studies.

On the prospect of EU subsidies, or the European Commission permitting state aid to firms involved in the project, he said that would become clear once the consortium has presented a detailed business plan.

Oettinger said all three energy ministers at the meeting in the Algerian capital sent a signal they were willing to build the infrastructure and common market rules needed to allow a trade in renewable electricity with Europe.

He countered concerns expressed in the past by some officials in Algeria that the project could involve Europeans exploiting north Africa’s natural resources.

“Renewables are a two-way partnership because electricity produced here is for the home market of north African countries,” he said.

“Maybe a bigger percentage of the electricity will be exported to Europe but at the same time we have to export the technology, tools, machines, experts, and so it’s a real partnership, not only a partnership by selling and by buying.”

(Additional reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)

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Cisco, M&C Corporation Plan to Transform Properties in Vietnam Into Smart+Connected Communities

June 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM and SHANGHAI, CHINA, Jun 16
(MARKET WIRE) —
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced a collaboration with M&C
Corporation, one of the leading property developers in Vietnam, to
explore how their combined technologies and innovations can help
transform properties in Vietnam into sustainable and connected
communities.

This collaboration, validated through the announcement of a memorandum of
understanding between Cisco and M&C Corporation at the Shanghai World
Expo 2010, will see the two companies discuss the planned implementation
of Cisco’s Smart+Connected Communities solutions for M&C’s strategic
developments as a precursor to integrating these technologies into other
developments across the country. The first implementation of Cisco’s
Smart+Connected Communities solutions is expected to be at M&C’s flagship
project, Saigon M&C Tower. A luxurious, 41-storey development with
150,000 square meters of ground floor area in the center of Ho Chi Minh
City, the Saigon M&C Tower, once completed, will be the most
technologically advanced building in Vietnam.

“Over the next five years, around 700 million people will be added to the
world’s cities, and by 2050, at least 100 new cities will be inhabited by
more than a million residents. This urbanization presents a number of
great prospects. The cities of the 21st century will be defined by
Internet access and broadband, with the ability to connect virtually
anything to the network: cars, hospitals, buildings, energy, home
appliances and schools. We are excited by the opportunities this presents
for our community, and we are committed to working with M&C Corporation
to develop the infrastructure for Vietnam’s cities of the future,” said
Mr. Lee Chiang Toh, general director of Cisco in Vietnam.

Cisco and M&C Corporation will explore how Cisco technologies and
solutions can transform key developments by M&C Corporation in Ho Chi
Minh City into economically, socially and environmentally sustainable
communities using the network as a platform for collaboration — which
will explore how M&C Corporation can upgrade its core network and
information technology platforms for a connected community.

“We are excited that the memorandum of understanding with Cisco reaffirms
our commitment to work with the leader in networking technologies and
solutions, as we work together to transform our business, communities and
country. Our collaboration will showcase both M&C Corporation and
Vietnam’s forward thinking initiatives on the importance of the network
as a platform for modern day living,” said Mr. Huy Hoang, senior vice
president of Operation, M&C Corporation.

Cisco will also share best practices of its global Smart+Connected
Communities developments with M&C Corporation as the two companies
investigate the feasibility of these solutions as a catalyst to changing
the way the community lives, works, plays and learns. As the first step,
Cisco will showcase the concept of a Connected Life using Cisco
Smart+Connected Communities solutions in the strategic M&C development
selected for this transformative model. As part of this collaboration,
Cisco intends to share its expertise in cloud computing and its data
center strategy as they work with M&C Corporation to build on their
organization’s success.

Cisco’s strategy of a connected community uses the network as platform
for sustainability and while addressing the opportunities present in
Vietnam as a result of rapid urbanization. Through this model, Cisco is
helping various cities, towns and villages in the world change the way
they are designed, built and managed.

About M&C Corporation

M&C Corporation is one of the leading real estate developers in Vietnam.
The Company focuses on high end mixed used and resort developments in
strategic locations throughout Vietnam. The Company’s flagship is the
Saigon M&C Tower, a two towers, 41 stories river view ultra luxurious
mixed used development in CDB in HCM City. The development is being built
by the world’s leading General Contractor, Bouygues Construction and will
be completed in Q4 2011. The property will become one of the highest
priced real estate in Vietnam.

In addition, M&C Corporation is also developing several luxury mixed used
properties in downtown locations in both HCMC and Hanoi City as well as
over total 450 ha of high end beach resorts in Ba Ria, Nha Trang and Phu
Quoc.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking that transforms
how people connect, communicate and collaborate, this year celebrates 25
years of technology innovation, operational excellence and corporate
social responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at
http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to
http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco products are supplied in Vietnam by
Cisco Systems International, BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco
Systems, Inc.

Cisco, the Cisco logo and Cisco Systems are registered trademarks or
trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United
States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in
this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the
word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and
any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.

For direct RSS Feeds of all Cisco news, please visit “News@Cisco” at the
following link:

http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/rss.html

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Media relations:
Supriya Addanki
Cisco
(65) 6317-7145
suaddank@cisco.com

Analyst relations:
Huey Miin Leong
Cisco
(65) 6317-5650
hmleong@cisco.com

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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China’s Fosun acquires 7.1 percent of Club Med

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Fosun, China’s largest non-government controlled group, has acquired 7.1 percent of holiday resort operator Club Med, the first time a quoted Chinese group has taken a direct holding in a listed French company.

Deals | China

Club Med hopes to make the China its No.2 market in the next five years while Fosun is keen to invest in Club Med, whose all-in one, integrated resorts appeal to well-heeled Chinese.

Fosun’s board is chaired by the tycoon Guo Guangchang, one of China’s richest men. Using Friday’s closing stock market price, Fosun’s Club Med stake is worth 23.38 million euros ($28.14 million).

The Chinese tourism market is estimated to have grown by about 10 percent a year and Club Med is hoping to attract 200,000 Chinese customers by 2015.

Club Med said it aimed to open five villages in China by then and would inaugurate its first village this winter in Yabuli, the largest ski resort in north-east China.

As part of the deal, Fosun pledged not to lift its stake beyond 10 percent if it reached that level, at least during the following 24 months, subject to no other shareholder having or wishing to acquire more than 10 percent.

Fosun said a representative would join Club Med’s board and if its Club Med holding went beyond 9 percent, Fosun would appoint a second representative.

Shares in Club Med rose earlier this month after the French company said it was in talks with a Chinese partner, without providing details, as investors welcomed the arrival of a Chinese investor.

The stock, which has lost around 10 percent since January 1, is expected to rise on Monday when trading resumes.

“Fosun will not only support Club Med’s global strategy of upscale positioning and sharing China’s growth opportunities,” Guangchang said in a joint-statement with Club Med.

“But also use this opportunity to benchmark itself with international brands and standards in order to improve its ability to consolidate resources and manage its investment.”

In additional to financial support, Club Med said it planned to rely on Fosun’s local input regarding human resources, conference management, media and communications.

Fosun International, a company founded in 1992, operates in several markets, including real estate, steel, pharmaceuticals, mining and retail.

It has directly or indirectly invested in more than 100 companies, including Sinopharm Group, China’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products, outdoor advertiser Focus Media Holding and Nanjing Iron & Steel.

(Additional reporting by Alan Wheatley in Beijing)

(Editing by Louise Heavens)

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UPDATE 2-China’s Fosun acquires 7.1 pct of Club Med

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

PARIS June 13 (Reuters) – Fosun, China’s largest non-government controlled group, has acquired 7.1 percent of holiday resort operator Club Med (CMIP.PA), the first time a quoted Chinese group has taken a direct holding in a listed French company.

Club Med hopes to make the China its No.2 market in the next five years while Fosun (0656.HK) is keen to invest in Club Med, whose all-in one, integrated resorts appeal to well-heeled Chinese.

Fosun’s board is chaired by the tycoon Guo Guangchang, one of China’s richest men. Using Friday’s closing stock market price, Fosun’s Club Med stake is worth 23.38 million euros ($28.14 million).

The Chinese tourism market is estimated to have grown by about 10 percent a year and Club Med is hoping to attract 200,000 Chinese customers by 2015.

Club Med said it aimed to open five villages in China by then and would inaugurate its first village this winter in Yabuli, the largest ski resort in north-east China.

As part of the deal, Fosun pledged not to lift its stake beyond 10 percent if it reached that level, at least during the following 24 months, subject to no other shareholder having or wishing to acquire more than 10 percent.

Fosun said a representative would join Club Med’s board and if its Club Med holding went beyond 9 percent, Fosun would appoint a second representative.

Shares in Club Med rose earlier this month after the French company said it was in talks with a Chinese partner, without providing details, as investors welcomed the arrival of a Chinese investor.

The stock, which has lost around 10 percent since Jan. 1, is expected to rise on Monday when trading resumes.

“Fosun will not only support Club Med’s global strategy of upscale positioning and sharing China’s growth opportunities,” Guangchang said in a joint-statement with Club Med.

“But also use this opportunity to benchmark itself with international brands and standards in order to improve its ability to consolidate resources and manage its investment.”

In additional to financial support, Club Med said it planned to rely on Fosun’s local input regarding human resources, conference management, media and communications.

Fosun International, a company founded in 1992, operates in several markets, including real estate, steel, pharmaceuticals, mining and retail.

It has directly or indirectly invested in more than 100 companies, including Sinopharm Group (1099.HK), China’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products, outdoor advertiser Focus Media Holding (FMCN.O) and Nanjing Iron & Steel (600282.SS). (Additional reporting by Alan Wheatley in Beijing) (Editing by Louise Heavens)

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In-Stat Forecasts over 2 Billion Mobile Devices to Be Integrated with Baseband Modem by 2014

June 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–(Business Wire)–
The road to advance 4G wireless technologies is challenged by multiple wireless
standards, limited availability of spectrum, constricting business models, as
well as a host of other market and industry issues. In-Stat(www.in-stat.com)
reports that the new generation of data-centric mobile devices, such as
smartphones, netbooks, and tablets, is already straining existing 3G networks,
and despite these market and technical hurdles baseband modem integration into
mobile devices will reach 2 billion by 2014. In-Stat also projects the
following:

* The transition to 4G communication standards has begun, albeit slowly, with
3.6% of mobile devices with baseband connectivity expected to be using 4G
standards in 2014.
* Despite the early lead of WiMAX, LTE is expected to account for over 60% of
4G-enabled mobile devices in 2014.
* E-Reader.
* Integration of baseband solutions is expected to increase, resulting in an
11.0% CAGR of broadband-enabled mobile devices.
* Smartphones and computing devices are the only devices expected to transition
to 4G technologies over the next five years.

Recent In-Stat Research, New Baseband Solutions Fuel Mobile Broadband Devices,
examines technical and market dynamics surrounding the integration of baseband
modems in mobile devices and provides an overview of some of the key merchant
market semiconductor vendors. The report also includes:

* A summary of In-Stat’s forecast for all mobile devices.
* A forecast of baseband integration and enablement for each mobile device
category.
* A forecast by major 2G/3G and 4G wireless standards by device.
* A breakout of external modules by form factor for each wireless technology.
* A rollup of all mobile baseband modem shipments by 2G/3G and 4G wireless
standards.

For a free sample of the report and more information contact Elaine Potter:
epotter@reedbusiness.com or (480) 483-4441.

About In-Stat

In-Stat`s market intelligence combines technical, market and end-user research
and database models to analyze the Mobile Internet and Digital Entertainment
ecosystems. Our insights are derived from a deep understanding of technology
impacts, nearly 30 years of history in research and consulting, and direct
relationships with leading players in each of our core markets. In-Stat provides
its research through reports, annual subscriptions, consulting and advisory
services to inform critical decisions.

In-Stat
Rick Vogelei, Marketing Manager
480-483-4476
rvogelei@in-stat.com
or
Jim McGregor, Chief Technology Strategist
480-609-4554
jmcgregor@in-stat.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010

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U.S. citizen Berenson freed from prison in Peru

May 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

U.S. citizen Lori Berenson was freed from prison in Peru on Thursday after serving 15 years of a 20-year sentence for collaborating with a Marxist guerrilla group during the country’s civil war.

A native New Yorker who studied at the elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she had been in jail since being arrested on a bus in Peru in 1995 on charges of belonging to the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, or MRTA.

Her release provoked controversy in a country still traumatized by a conflict that killed some 70,000 people. The MRTA was active in the 1980s and ’90s when a larger insurgency, the Maoist Shining Path, also tried to topple the government.

Berenson, 40, was rushed into a waiting car outside a Lima prison and did not speak to a throng of reporters.

Her father, Mark Berenson, carried his infant grandson Salvador, who had been living in prison with Lori.

“I’m just happy that Lori and Salvador will be free and that justice has been served in Peru,” he said.

A military tribunal convicted Berenson in 1996 of belonging to a terrorist organization and sentenced her to life in prison, a verdict that was later overturned amid pressure from the United States and human rights groups.

At a second trial in civilian court, she was convicted of collaborating with the MRTA and given the 20-year sentence. Her family maintained she was a social activist who was wrongfully convicted and who never took up arms during a period of intense social unrest.

On Tuesday, court officials granted her parole, nearly one year after she gave birth to her son.

Her husband, Anibal Apari Sanchez, a former MRTA member who is a lawyer, represented her at the hearing. They married in 2003. Inmates in Peru are allowed conjugal visits, though the couple is no longer romantically involved.

NEIGHBOURS COMPLAIN

Under the terms of her parole, Berenson will be required to check in with authorities once a month over the next five years and refrain from drinking alcohol.

Berenson will work in Lima as a translator while pursuing a dream of opening a bakery, unless officials decide to commute the rest of her sentence and deport her.

Neighbors in the wealthy Miraflores district where Berenson has rented an apartment complained loudly. “Terrorist get out!” neighbors yelled in front of the building where she plans to live. Two people who live there shouted insults at Berenson’s parents.

Although Peru’s President, Alan Garcia, said on Wednesday he respected the judge’s decision, the country’s vice president, Luis Giampietri, later called it “unfortunate.”

Berenson was arrested by the government of former President Alberto Fujimori, who led a tough counterinsurgency and is now in jail on human rights crimes stemming from two massacres he ordered a death squad to carry out.

At the time of her arrest, Berenson was with the wife of Nestor Cerpa, who in 1996 led a group of MRTA rebels that took hundreds of diplomats and government officials hostage at the Japanese ambassador’s house in Lima.

The crisis dragged on for months until then-president Fujimori sent in commandos who dug tunnels underneath the house. They killed a dozen insurgents in a surprise raid.

Fujimori’s daughter, Keiko Fujimori, a popular conservative lawmaker who is a front-runner in next year’s presidential race, called Berenson’s parole worrisome.

Ollanta Humala, a left-wing ultranationalist who plans to run for president in 2011 after nearly winning the 2006 vote, also criticized Berenson’s release, though about 500 people convicted of terrorism have been freed from jail in recent years.

(Reporting by Enrique Castro-Mendivil and Pilar Olivares; writing by Terry Wade and Eduardo Garcia; Editing by Paul Simao and Philip Barbara)

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Baby boomers ‘at risk of heart attack’

May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, May 19 (ANI): A new report has warned that over 2.5 million baby boomers are at risk of having a potentially fatal heart attack or stroke in the next five years because of high weight, lack of exercise or refusal to take blood pressure medication.

The report by Access Economics has revealed that 75 per cent people aged above 55 were inactive and overweight, more than 50 per cent had hypertension and high cholesterol and 25 per cent had diabetes – all risk factors for heart attack and stroke.

“We are seeing an unprecedented level of heart attack and stroke risk within the ageing community, a group we are now calling Generation Risk,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Dr Greg Conner, a cardiologist and vascular physician at Liverpool Hospital, as saying.

””These are people who have always enjoyed good health, but they are living longer now and the older we get, the more risk factors we have.””

Earlier considering risk factors in isolation, doctors are now saying that patients had a greater chance of suffering cardiovascular problems if more than one risk factor was present.

The root of the problem lies in the fact that none of these people seem to be aware of the direction in which they are headed, according to Dr Conner.

””It”s an asymptomatic disease so people are just not convinced of the problem, but this is fixable. It seems like such a lost opportunity,”’ he said.

The report predicted that about 70,000 people will have a heart attack or stroke this year, with 17,000 being fatal.

“Over-55s now represent one quarter of the Australian population and, with population ageing, this will only increase, bringing with it a dramatic rise in the level of cardiovascular risk,”” the director of Access Economics, Lynne Pezzullo, said. (ANI)

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Centre approves unique identity card project”s approach for data collection

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 18 (ANI): The Central Government has approved the approach adopted by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for collecting demographic and biometric data in order to issue unique identity cards to citizens.

“There are two sets of information, we collect on an individual resident of India. First is the demographic information like his name, his or her date of birth, sex, age, address, father”s, mother”s or guardian”s name,” said Nandan Nilekani, the Chairman of the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI).

“It is very simple information we collect. This is what we call as the demographic information. We also collect biometric information for the purpose of uniqueness, and that is all the ten finger prints, the face and the iris of both the eyes,” he added.

Nilekani said the first set of identity cards would be issued between August 2010 and February 2011.

“The first set of Unique Identification numbers will be issued between August 2010 and February 2011. This was actually the commitment made by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget speech last July,” said Nilekani.

“Pranab Mukherjee said that within 12 to 18 months, the first UID numbers would be issued. The proposal was to stick to the date given then,” he added.

Around 600 million unique identity cards would be released within a span of four to five years.

Nilekani further said the authorities are drafting a law governing the functioning of the project to ensure that the data collected remains confidential.

The UID cards would be given to every individual above 15 years, including NRIs and foreigners.

The UIDAI has set a target to provide 600 million UIDs in the next five years and the first UID is expected to be given out in early 2011. (ANI)

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Centre approves unique identity card project”s approach for data collection

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 18 (ANI): The Central Government has approved the approach adopted by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for collecting demographic and biometric data in order to issue unique identity cards to citizens.

“There are two sets of information, we collect on an individual resident of India. First is the demographic information like his name, his or her date of birth, sex, age, address, father”s, mother”s or guardian”s name,” said Nandan Nilekani, the Chairman of the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI).

“It is very simple information we collect. This is what we call as the demographic information. We also collect biometric information for the purpose of uniqueness, and that is all the ten finger prints, the face and the iris of both the eyes,” he added.

Nilekani said the first set of identity cards would be issued between August 2010 and February 2011.

“The first set of Unique Identification numbers will be issued between August 2010 and February 2011. This was actually the commitment made by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget speech last July,” said Nilekani.

“Pranab Mukherjee said that within 12 to 18 months, the first UID numbers would be issued. The proposal was to stick to the date given then,” he added.

Around 600 million unique identity cards would be released within a span of four to five years.

Nilekani further said the authorities are drafting a law governing the functioning of the project to ensure that the data collected remains confidential.

The UID cards would be given to every individual above 15 years, including NRIs and foreigners.

The UIDAI has set a target to provide 600 million UIDs in the next five years and the first UID is expected to be given out in early 2011. (ANI)

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US ready to help China cut its greenhouse gas emissions: Locke

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The US would offer technological help to world’s biggest polluter China to enable it achieve its target of emission reduction, a top official said today, acknowledging that China, India and Brazil have made significant commitments at Copenhagen.

Ahead of his visit to China and Indonesia, US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has said not only the western world, but developing countries including India, China and Brazil made strong commitments to far-reaching climate agreements.

“When we go to China next week, we will inform the leaders of China that American companies have both the technology and the resources to help China, and indeed India — Indonesia — solve the unprecedented energy and environmental challenges that their two countries face,” Locke told reporters at the Washington Foreign Press Center.

He said while commitments have been made, the question now revolves around how to implement them collectively.

“Of course, the Chinese have set very aggressive targets. Indonesia has set a very aggressive target as well.

We in the United States, of course, are prepared to move forward,” said Locke, who next week is leading a clean-energy trade mission to China and Indonesia.

This will be the first Cabinet-level trade mission under President Barack Obama.

“It comes on the heels of President Obama’s national export initiative, which seeks to double American exports over the next five years and supporting some two million new jobs in the process,” he said.

“Here at home, every American should know that when a US clean-energy company finds success abroad, it creates more jobs here at home in the United States.

“In fact, some of the companies on this trip produce over 90 per cent of the components for the products that they sell overseas right here in the US,” Locke said.

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Bhutan SAARC declaration for working together to tackle climate change

April 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Thimphu (Bhutan) April 30 (ANI): With South Asia prone to the ill-effects of climate change, leaders attending the 16th SAARC Summit, which ended here on Thursday, have decided to tackle the issue of climate change.

With climate change being the main theme of the Summit, held in Bhutan, member nations have also decided to establish an Inter-governmental Expert Group on Climate Change to develop a clear policy direction for regional cooperation as envisaged in the SAARC Plan of Action on Climate Change.

They also resolved to commission a study, for presentation at the 17th summit, on ”Climate Risks in the Region: ways to comprehensively address the related social, economic and environmental challenges”.

Seeking a fresh approach to global climate talks, the SAARC leaders sought observer status for the regional grouping at the Cancun conference in Mexico on global warming to be held later this year.

All SAARC countries will undertake advocacy and awareness programs on climate change promote the use of green technology and best practices to promote low-carbon sustainable and inclusive development of the region.

It has also been decided to plant 10 million trees over the next five years to build a “green and happy South Asia” and enhance trade cooperation.

The statement also stressed on evolving national plans, and where appropriate regional projects, on protecting and safeguarding the archeological and historical infrastructure of South Asia from the adverse effects of Climate Change.

A SAARC Inter-Governmental Marine Initiative will be commissioned to strengthen the understanding of shared oceans and water bodies in the region and the critical roles they play in sustainable living to be supported by the SAARC Coastal Zone Management Center.

The member-states also resolved to commission a study, for presentation to the 17th summit, on ”Climate Risks in the Region: ways to comprehensively address the related social, economic and environmental challenges”.

They further decided that the Inter-governmental expert group on Climate Change shall meet at least twice a year to periodically monitor and review the implementation of this statement and make recommendations to facilitate its implementation and submit its report through the senior officials of SAARC to the SAARC Environment Ministers. (ANI)

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Following attacks on Indians, Victoria Premier promises to boost police numbers

April 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Apr.28 (ANI): In the wake of reports of attacks on members of the Indian community here and in other parts of Victoria, Premier John Brumby has promised to boost police numbers by almost 2000 officers during the next five years.

According to The Age, Brumby today promised an extra 1966 police, trumping the opposition”s election pledge of 1600.

The 561 million dollar boost will fund the recruitment of 1700 new frontline police.

Brumby also said that his government will also recruit 200 white collar workers to replace trained police currently performing office duties who will be redeployed.

“This is a historic investment in police numbers. This is designed to keep our streets safe, this is designed to drive down crime,” The Age quoted Brumby, as saying.

He also revealed that an additional 66 police will be redeployed from telephone answering dispatch services to frontline roles.

The extra police boost is a pre-election budget announcement.

Brumby said 604 of the new police would be delivered in the first year of the five-year program.

In February this year, Brumby had said that no violence would be tolerated against any community in the state, including the Indian community.

“As a father, having had a child living and studying overseas, I know what it is like to worry about your child. Are they safe? Are they happy? I also understand those parents place their trust in the jurisdiction their child has chosen to live in to do all it can to look after the welfare of their child. I take the trust placed in us by Indian parents seriously and I am determined to do everything possible to repay it,” Brumby had said then.

He said that people from around the world have shaped the state of Victoria.

“We come from more than 200 countries, speak more than 230 languages and dialects and follow more than 120 faiths. Today, Victoria””s 150,000- strong Indian community is a vital part of multicultural Victoria,” he said.

Brumby said assaults on Indian students in Melbourne were a cause of great concern to him.

“There have been some disturbing incidents, and some of these incidents have had racist elements. Such racism begins and ends with a small number of bigoted, narrow-minded idiots. It is not part of our state, as evidenced by the thousands of Victorians who marched through city streets at the Harmony Walk last year. We have worked hard to bring down the crime rate, and Victoria is Australia””s safest state,” Brumby had said then.

He said that the Victorian Police force was being provided with additional powers to search for weapons, move people on from trouble spots and fine people on the spot for disorderly conduct.

He revealed that the state’s sentencing laws have been amended so that judges can take into account hatred for, or prejudice against, a particular group when sentencing offenders.

The Police Indian Western Reference Group has been established to identify, implement and monitor strategies to engage police and Indian communities to reduce the risk of crime,” he said.

“Any attack in our community is an attack upon us all. An attack motivated by race or prejudice is particularly disgraceful,” he said then. (ANI)

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Diamonds are no longer forever, says De Beers

April 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Apr 26 (ANI): The diamond supply in the world is coming to an end, according to De Beers, the world’s biggest miner of the gem.

Beers has said that it will reduce its production to extend the life of its mines.

Des Kilalea, a diamond analyst at RBC Capital Markets, has said that owing to the moderated output, diamond prices could rise by at least 5 per cent a year for the next five years.

In 2008 De Beers produced 48m carats and the company will cut production to 40m in 2011.

In the last two decades the industry has found no new diamond deposit to match the two biggest mines in Africa, owned by De Beers, or the best Russian mines of Alrosa, the other big diamond producer.

“Do we want to ramp production back up to 48m carats, given the lack of availability in the future?” the Telegraph quoted Gareth Penny, managing director of De Beers, as telling the Financial Times.

De Beers accounts for 40 per cent of global rough diamond sales. (ANI)

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Diamonds are no longer forever, says De Beers

April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Apr 26 (ANI): The diamond supply in the world is coming to an end, according to De Beers, the world””””s biggest miner of the gem.

De Beers has said that it will reduce its production to extend the life of its mines.

Des Kilalea, a diamond analyst at RBC Capital Markets, has said that owing to the moderated output, diamond prices could rise by at least 5 per cent a year for the next five years.

In 2008 De Beers produced 48m carats and the company will cut production to 40m in 2011.

In the last two decades the industry has found no new diamond deposit to match the two biggest mines in Africa, owned by De Beers, or the best Russian mines of Alrosa, the other big diamond producer.

“Do we want to ramp production back up to 48m carats, given the lack of availability in the future?” the Telegraph quoted Gareth Penny, managing director of De Beers, as telling the Financial Times.

De Beers accounts for 40 per cent of global rough diamond sales. (ANI)

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