Showing posts with label forbes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label forbes. Show all posts

Saturday, December 03, 2011

Forbes America’s Most Promising Companies: Technology Firms Leads

From Forbes.com

The companies on our AMPC list hail from 22 industries, with software-and-services taking the biggest slice (35%). Some fast facts: 90 have raised outside capital; 70 have a CEO who is also one of the founders; 12 have one younger than 35 years old; 7 have yet to generate revenue; and one sells a burger topped with pastrami. None of these outfits may blossom into the next Google or Apple, but all, it appears, have bright futures.

Read the rest and see the list here

Technology companies taking the lead represents as more signs of the evolving transition to the information age.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Forbes: World’s 2000 Biggest Publicly Listed Companies

Forbes just published a list of the world’s 2000 biggest publicly listed companies.

Here is the top 10:

clip_image002

By region, the Asia-Pacific had the most entries in the roster with China as the leader.

Forbes Scott DeCarlo quotes Gady Epstein (bold emphasis mine)

The Asia-Pacific region led The Global 2000 again this year with 701 companies, including the most additions to the list of the four regions (11) and by far the biggest increase in profits (they doubled). The biggest profit center was China, no surprise, as 121 companies, including PetroChina, ICBC and Sinopec, returned an aggregate profit of $168 billion. But Japan’s and South Korea’s conglomerate-led rosters provided surprisingly impressive returns: Japan turned from deficit to the region’s second-most-profitable nation and added assets and employees despite losing ten companies (Sumikin Bussan and Makita among them); South Korea added ten companies, more than China, and saw profits surge 178%. New additions: Samsung Life Insurance, Honam Petrochemical.

clip_image004

Meanwhile a large segment of the strong performance of US companies has been imputed to overseas sales.

clip_image006

Notes Mr. DeCarlo, (bold emphasis mine)

The U.S. companies on our list earn an average 26% of revenue outside the country, and world GDP grew at a rate of 5% in 2010. Almost one-quarter of the U.S. firms, names such as Aflac, Colgate-Palmolive and Intel, generate a majority of their sales from overseas operations. Still, the U.S. grip on The Global 2000 has been slipping since 2004, when the number of U.S. constituents was 751. It’s now 536. The U.S. still accounts for the most firms among the top 100 with 28

Incidentally, 4 companies from the Philippines had been included in this elite group.

clip_image008

Three of them, in my view, represents political enterprises.

The Forbes also listed the Global High Performers

clip_image010

These companies, according go to Scott DeCarlo, has been expanding their earnings at 23% annually and returned an average 16% to shareholders over the past five years.

Furthermore, the list has shown growth of 17% which topped the S&P 500 (up 14%) over the same time period with priceline.com, McDermott International and Genting as best performers.

In addition. Mr. DeCarlo notes, 69 of the 130 companies have headquarters outside the U.S. and includes global brand names, such as Spain’s Telefónica, Nestlé (Switzerland) and Christian Dior (France); as well as foreign companies with lower profiles, such as Denmark drug company, Novozymes. Among notable U.S. Global High Performers are Walt Disney, Google, McDonald’s, and Nike.

Read the rest about Global 2000 here.

All these add up to show how globalization has distributed corporate winners across nations.

Friday, September 10, 2010

3 Philippine Firms Among Forbes Asia’s Top 200 Smallest and Midsize Companies

Forbes magazine issued its index of the 200 top small scale and midsized companies of Asia (with $1 billion revenues and below)

Some highlights presented by Forbes:

-China maintains the most with 71 but is down from 78 last year

-Indian companies shot up to 39 from 20 last year

-Vietnam made a debut with Vinamilk

-only 2 Japanese companies made cut down from 24 last year

-151 names are new compared to 2009 list

-technology companies (hardware and software) seem to be making the growth inroads as well health care issues

Additional comment:

Among the ASEAN 4: Thailand has 11, Malaysia has 7, Philippines has 3 while Indonesia has one

See the complete list here

For the Philippines: They include Lopez Holdings (classified as media), Pacific Online system (household products) and Philweb (software services)

See charts below: (note: this does NOT in anyway represent a stock TIP)

Lopez Holdings (LPZ)

clip_image002

Pacific Online (LOTO)

clip_image004

Philweb (WEB)

clip_image006

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Forbes.com: 30 Jobs In Asia

Here is an interesting slide show from Forbes. It suggests that there is a plethora of jobs in Asia from which foreigners can take advantage of.

Forbes.com makes a pithy explanation...

``The rationale? Asia is where wealth is growing the fastest. As a result, banks need to take on more money managers to look after all that newly invested cash, as well as more equity derivatives traders, commodities buyers and math-whiz portfolio managers.

``It's not just financial jobs that are in demand. As banks expand, there is a trickle-down effect on hiring practices. That's good news for all job-seekers in the region. Positions up for grabs include traditional ones, like those for lawyers, accountants and information-technology mavens.

``But places like the Philippines are also adding posts for mortgage processors and insurance underwriters, as those services are beginning to be outsourced to emerging markets. And competent HR heads will be needed to oversee all the new employees."

More...

``Call centers in India and the Philippines employ thousands of people who answer the phones and provide customer service or back-office support for major multinational companies. Such a big group requires a talented executive to guide them. "For every one expat manager, he's going to on average manage a group size of between 200 people for an IT operation and 600 for a call center operation," says Richard Mills, chairman of Manila-based Chalre Associates.

``For top-tier positions, experts say many companies are looking either for Asian-born workers who may been educated abroad or have risen through the ranks of a major multinational company. However, expatriates who have spent much of their career in Asia are equally sought-after, and there's even a need for recent graduates with specialized skills.

``But back in the world of finance, certain traders are particularly coveted, according to Doron Vermaat, managing consultant at English-language job Web site New China Careers. Algorithm/quant traders juggle high-frequency trades and must have facility in math, computer science or engineering. For these posts, language skills and nationality are secondary to technical expertise, Vermaat says.

``Burgeoning fields, like that of corporate social responsibility, are also boosting employment opportunities. Advisors ensure a company is seen as having a social mission, to better the community and the world, in addition to its stated business goals. From reducing carbon emissions to sponsoring charity events to promoting transparency and diversity, CSR is now a mainstay in most Western companies. "It's just Asia catching up with the Western world when it comes to implementing this into their businesses," Vermaat says. "It was always a relatively new concept in many Asian countries."

click on the image below to redirect link to the slideshow
If this serves as an opportunity for foreigners, this should be similarly an opportunity for the locals (me too?).

Thursday, January 01, 2009

2008 Trivia: Lobby, Bailouts and Losses

2008 ushered in a season for lobbying, bailouts and record losses…

First, amidst the present financial crisis, the lobbying business is now booming as Washington decides the winners and losers…

This from thehill.com, ``At the top of the economic agenda, however, is an economic stimulus package that could reach $850 billion, ranking among the biggest federal expenditures in history. Democratic leaders are drafting the package now in hopes of passing it before Obama takes the oath of office.

``With so much money on the table, lobbyists are working late into the holiday season to pitch their clients’ needs to the bill’s authors…

``Tony Podesta, a high-profile Democratic lobbyist, said it’s too risky for companies to cut their lobbying budgets when Congress is poised to pass landmark legislation. If anything, he said, it’s time to increase spending.

“Lobbyists and discounters may be the only people who grow,” he said"

Two, the lobbying interests has been expanding to cover almost every industry.

Some projects or programs floated or proposed by state and local officials include (Washington Post):

· $4.8 million for a polar bear exhibit in Rhode Island.

· $100 million to redevelop land for a casino in Philadelphia.

· $13 million in improvements in Las Vegas, much of it for a pedestrian bridge at the Tropicana hotel-casino.

· A yet-to-be-determined amount for a proposed $50 million museum in Las Vegas devoted to organized crime.

· $6 million for snow-making and maintenance facilities at Spirit Mountain, Minn.

So former President of Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, William Poole is absolutely right when he said, “Everyone knows that a policy of bailouts will increase their number.

Next, across the pond, the bailout response has likewise been a contagion; the floundering “native” cheese making industry of Italy is getting rescued too! Italy’s government will be buying nearly 200,000 wheels cheese to be distributed to charity.



Courtesy of the Independent.co.uk

According to the Independent, ``Parmigiano Reggiano, Italy's King of Cheese, is in trouble. Robust in flavour and crumbly, it is a classic of Italy's artisan food traditions, made by hand by 430 craft producers around the city of Parma. But with Italian consumption falling as costs soar, almost a third of producers now face bankruptcy. Now Italy's Minister of Agriculture, Luca Zaia, has come to the rescue, promising to buy 100,000 Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses, and also 100,000 of its less costly competitor, Grana Padano.

``This is Italy's big cheese bailout. Essentially, the government will be gobbling up 3 per cent of Parmesan production at an estimated cost of €50m (£44.7m) and distributing it to the needy. Each 35kg wheel of Parmigiano costs between €8 and €8.50 to make, but the wholesale price has declined for the past four years even as the cost of milk and energy has soared.”

Of course, not everyone will be pleased since others belonging to the same industry won’t be as privileged. From the Telegraph, ``Producers of Italy's other celebrated cheese - buffalo mozzarella - are looking on enviously after suffering an 18 per cent drop in sales in the last year. "We've asked for help too," said Vincenzo Oliviero, the head of Italy's mozzarella producers association, which has yet to receive an injection of state aid."

See what we mean by government deciding the winners and losers?

Going back to the US, the government spending binge has also been creating some sets of new problems in terms of project efficacies, transparency and accountability.

This from Yahoo.news, ``Government officials overseeing a $700 billion bailout have acknowledged difficulties tracking the money and assessing the program's effectiveness.

``More broadly, the officials discussed "the difficulty of isolating the effects" of the bailout program "given the variety of policy actions taken by the U.S. government to support financial stability and promote economic growth."

``The officials also noted the "difficulties associated with monitoring the use of specific funds" provided to individual financial institutions, according to the document…

``The government has pledged to provide $250 billion to banks in return for partial ownership. The goal is for banks to use the money to boost lending. However, a recent review by The Associated Press found that after receiving billions in aid from U.S. taxpayers, the nation's largest banks can't say exactly how they're spending the money. Some wouldn't even talk about it.

``The idea behind the capital injection program is for banks to use the money to rebuild reserves and lend more freely to customers. However, banks do have leeway to use the money for other things, such as buying other banks, paying dividends to investors or bonuses to executives. That's touched a nerve with some lawmakers and other critics."

Talk about first few signs of unintended consequences.

The year won’t be complete without the tabulation of government money earmarked for rescue and stimulus programs and of estimates for market and economic losses from the financial crisis.

Some excerpts from the tally sheet of Bloomberg’s Alexis Leondis,

``$30: Approximate amount, in trillions, erased from the value of stocks worldwide.


Bloomberg: World Market Cap index

``$8.6: Amount, in trillions, of taxpayer money the U.S. government has pledged to prop up cash-strapped financial companies as of Nov. 25, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

``$61,871: Maximum amount the bailout could cost each taxpayer, based on 139 million tax returns filed last year.

``$882: Amount, in billions, of U.S. currency in circulation, according to Bloomberg data.

``$613: Amount, in billions, listed as liabilities when Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

``$150: Amount, in billions, of taxpayer money pledged to help American International Group Inc.

```11.7: Number, in millions, of households that owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, according to Zillow.com

Read the rest here.


From New York Times

Additional losses from hedge funds and stock mutual funds, as noted by Bloomberg, ``It has been a year of record misery: the largest bankruptcy, bank failure and Ponzi scheme in U.S. history; $720 billion in writedowns and losses by financial institutions; $30.1 trillion in market valuation wiped out.

``Hedge funds lost 18 percent of their value for the year through November, the worst year since record-keeping began in 1990, according to Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc. Morgan Stanley estimated that, by year end, at least 620 hedge funds will have closed.

``At bottom, the debacle amounted to a loss of faith, especially for individual investors. They pulled $215.7 billion from stock mutual funds in the first 11 months of the year, according to Investment Company Institute, a Washington-based association. That compares with a $91 billion inflow of funds for the same period of 2007.

``As a result of those withdrawals and market losses, the total net assets in all types of mutual funds fell by $2.67 trillion in the first 11 months of 2008, the institute reported.”

Yet to complete the year’s amazing finish, Forbes presents a list of Billionaires shedding some of their networth with isolated accounts of billionaires going to a net worth of ZERO. (no intentional schadenfreude here but to depict that today's crisis hurt even those at the highest strata)

From Forbes “Billionaire Blow ups”,

``More than 300 of the 1,125 billionaires we tallied on our annual list last March have since lost at least $1 billion; several dozen lost more than $5 billion. The 10 richest from our 2008 rankings dropped some $150 billion of wealth, dragged down by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, estranged brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani and property baron K.P. Singh, who together dropped $100 billion. America's 25 biggest billionaire losers of 2008 lost a combined $167 billion.”

Click here for

In Pictures “Billionaire Blow Ups”

In Pictures “America's 25 biggest billionaire losers”