Category: News

Kian Abouhossein at J.P. Morgan delivers some excellent insight into the Dubai crisis. The wealthy UAE will be able to easily bail out Dubai if need be, this time. It just might not be so optimistic to do so in the future.

We are less concerned for global banks about Dubai World’s direct $59bn outstanding debt exposure with $4.3bn due to mature in Dec-09 and a further $4.9bn in 1Q10, considering “only” $13bn of syndicated loans across global banking sector based on Dealogic data. Assuming a 10% “hold” strategy, the most exposed banks would be RBS with $0.23bn, DB and CS with $0.17bn each.

…

The view from our MENA team is that this event reflects cash flow challenges rather than refinancing ability. They believe that obligations on Dubai World and its property unit Nakheel PJSC are likely to be fulfilled at the new May 2010 earliest repayment date, and that Dubai should be eventually be able to fulfill its debt obligations maturing in the short-term ($4bn in Dec-09, relating to Dubai World, and $9 to $10 in 2010) with continued Abu Dhabi support. Abu Dhabi is strong financially with fiscal and current account surpluses, ~$150bn in FX reserves and a ~$300bn sovereign wealth fund. However it seems that Abu Dhabi will no longer be happy to underwrite all debt, and rather will differentiate more strongly between supporting Dubai’s strategically important assets (such as DEWA, and Dubai Ports), and the non strategic assets – hence the concurrent timing of the Dubai World debt restructure and the Abu Dhabi underwritten government of Dubai debt raising.

Here’s one rough measure of relative bank exposure to Dubai, based on Dubai World syndicated loans since 2007. Overall, JP Morgan believes the exposures are relatively small compared with the major banks involved.

Here’s probably a better estimate of relative exposure, by loans made to the UAE as a whole. The amount of direct loan exposure to Dubai specifically, within this UAE-wide figure, are apparently very difficult to know.

Conclusions for some of the major banks exposed:

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Overall we would argue the UAE direct loan exposure risk is to some extent over-discounted within global banks except for some selective banks. In terms of spillover effect there is a larger concern for IBs considering mark-to-market risk exposure as well as IB revenue exposure to EM, in our view. Current events considered support of our preference for quality credit exposed banks over IBs as discussed in our report “Switching preference from IBs to Credit banks on regulatory changes” 9 Sept 09. Our top picks remain: SocGen, Unicredit, BBVA, DnBNor, NBG and HSBC.

(Via JP Morgan, Kian Abouhossein, “UAE – Exposure at Risk analysis”, 27 November 2009)

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See Also:

• Black Friday: Asian Markets Walloped After Dubai World
• Just How Scroomed Are HSBC And Standard Chartered On Dubai’s Default?
• US Futures Plunge 2% On Dubai Default News

This podcast was recorded at the Refugee Studies Centre’s Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture which was on Wednesday 18th November 2009 at the Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford. The Harrell-Bond Lecture is held annually in honour of Dr Barbara Harrell-Bond, founding former director of the Centre and of the academic field of refugee studies or forced migration studies. Jan Egeland, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and currently director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs gave the 2009 lecture on the subject of political deals and durable solutions for the displaced.

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Google is hardly a typical media company despite making the vast majority of its revenue from advertising. In the past, it’s had a rather tense relationship with old media companies and traditional advertising outlets. The strategy seems to have paid off, judging by its success so far, but in recent years Google is using a softer tone and trying to work more with the establishment. In its latest peace offering, the company has pledged an unspecified amount to an initiative by the Advertising Association in the UK to rebuild public trust in advertising and advertisers, not exactly an easy task.

Advertisers are right to be worried, a recent study commissioned by the association found that under 15 percent of adults in the UK trust advertising. Some might say that this is generally a good thing and a healthy amount of skepticism is more than welcomed in a world where everyone is trying to sell you something.

Now, apart from the effect this has on the efficiency of the campaigns themselves, advertisers are even more worried that this would lead to harsher government regulation, the last thing they want. To be fair, more often than not, strict rules create more problems than they solve and the public should be trusted to be able to make its own decisions and judgments, despite countless evidence t… (read more)

Nanjing, December 16th, 2008 – The IGE+XAO Group announces that CSR PuZhen has selected IGE+XAO’s SEE Electrical Harness software package for designing and maintaining electrical wire harnesses. CSR PuZhen (CSRPZ), a subsidiairy of China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation Limited, is a large-scale state-owned company, designing, manufacturing and maintaining passenger car used in railways, vehicles for city traffic, as well as main parts for multiple unit cars and fittings such as car axletree.
SEE Electrical Harness is a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) package dedicated to the electrical harnesses design. It includes a complete management of signal, wires, cables and shielding. It also generates automatically various lists such as equipment list, wires list, cable list and list.
SEE Electrical Harness allows CSRPZ to draw easily electrical schematics and wiring diagrams. With this software package, CSRPZ has been able to reduce the time spent on designing electrical wire harnesses.
A key feature for CSR PuZhen was SEE Electrical Harness’s capacity to exchange data with the design software CATIA V5 – 3D through XML. This data exchange allows to determine harnesses section sizes and cable lengths. This ensures time saving and reduces the number of errors.
“SEE Electrical Harness makes electrical design much more convenient and easier. It saves designers’ time from a lot of repetitive work. We believe that we have made a big step in working with modern electrical design methods. We are also now much more compliant with the electrical design field best practices and standards” declared Mr. Liang Shisong, Engineering Manager at CSR Puzhen.

Ethernet Direct Corporation, a professional and primary provider of Industrial Networking solutions and also one of the very few Industrial equipment vendors to offer DGM-410 Series mini-size machine to machine programmable controllers.

The Doberman DGM-410 and DGM-410LCD are M2M (machine to machine) mini programmable controllers equipped with a cellular transceiver intended to monitor industrial equipments. Its purpose is to send real time data to the monitoring system in order to provide real time status and can handle a large amount of data. The optional GPS model can serve as a tracking system used in vehicle management or maritime system. DGM series is designed with GPRS/GSM module, an Ethernet interface, optional GPS module, 3 digital inputs and 3 digital outputs, 8 analog inputs, 2 RS-232 and 1 RS-485 port. DGM series are ideal for industrial rated environments due to its robust housing design.

M2M is becoming a trend in today’s industries. It refers to Machine-to-Machine which can be applied to assign the flow of information or data between machines. M2M is consists in setting up a central management point for remote equipments and communication is set up between a central control system or server through and any type of equipment over one or multiple communication networks. With DGM series, instant monitoring, immediate message sharing, quick responding and other methods of data sharing can effectively transmitted in real time and can reduce additional operation costs by using the M2M tracking system.

DGM-410 series can be applied in remote control & monitoring system, car monitoring system, GIS system and redundant communication system.

Features
• Supports a variety of TCP/IP features, including TCP, UDP, IP, ICMP, ARP
• 10/100 BASE-T NE2000 compatible Ethernet Controller and supports SD storage card
• COM port: COM1 (5-wire RS232), COM2 (RS-485), COM3 (3-wire RS232)
• Built-in self-tuner ASIC controller on RS-485 port
• I/O: 3 channel DI, 3 channel DO, 8 channel AI
• GPRS/GSM: Tri-Band 900/1800/1900 MHz, Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900(option)
• Support TCP server, TCP client, UDP client connection from GPRS
• GPS : 16 channels with All-In-View tracking
• 128*64 dots LCM display (only for DGM-410LCD)
• Support for Virtual COM technology
• Support Modbus Protocol
• High reliability in harsh environment

Taipei, Taiwan, 22 June, 2009 – Ethernet Direct Corporation, a professional and primary provider of industrial networking and communication solutions, announces Falcon FWI-705 which is the first Industrial 2.4GHz wireless ceiling access point in the industry. This product comes with the state-of-the art design in the Industrial Wireless arena as well as highlighting Ethernet Direct’s technology in product innovation by combining the wireless technology with artistic product design.
The FWI-705 is a compact size and light-weighted ceiling Access Point especially for factory floors and industrial office complex requiring aesthetic design. FWI-705 operates in 2.4GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g compliant Wireless Indoor Access Point available for industrial Ethernet applications. With innovative technology and aesthetic design, FWI-705 links two or more separate networks to create a single expanded LAN network cost effectively and efficiently. A built-in 4dBi directional antenna is included for flexibility in installation. FWI-705 supports three different operation modes namely Access Point, Repeater and AP + WDS. To secure information, it comes with WEP encryption and WAP function. With these advanced features, FWI-705 is a powerful indoor solution produced for industrial applications.

Yale’s new electric forklift trucks – everything’s in the right place

The new generation of Yale electric counterbalance lift trucks, the VT and VF Series, combines ergonomic excellence, class leading manoeuvrability and “e-balance”, the symmetry of energy efficiency and high productivity.

With over 100 years of experience in the design and manufacture of electric forklift trucks, few lift truck companies understand materials handling quite as well as Yale.

The launch of the next generation of 1.5 – 2.0 tonne 3 wheel (VT) and 4 wheel (VF) trucks marks a new chapter in the long tradition of Yale manufacturing electric counterbalance trucks for world markets.

Announcing the introduction of the new forklift trucks, Yale Product Manager Gaurav Anand said: “The Yale VT and VF Series delivers outstanding ergonomics and performance, resulting in the best overall energy efficiency, productivity and lowest lifetime cost of ownership, for applications where electric forklift trucks are demanded”.

Gaurav Anand explained: “The introduction of the VT and VF Series marks an unprecedented step forward in ergonomic design and operating performance for three and four wheel electric counterbalance trucks”.

“The Yale VT and VF Series offer a number of ‘firsts’ for the industry, including a four wheel truck with the smallest turning circle in each capacity, the best combination of lift and travel speeds for high productivity and the most efficient energy consumption over the VDI test cycle” commented Gaurav Anand.

Yale has an unrivalled heritage in the design and manufacture of electric counterbalance trucks and is credited with introducing the first electric powered lift truck to the European market in 1919.

Yale’s approach to the introduction of the new models has been founded on this heritage and combines this with the latest ergonomic design, efficient AC power systems and proven solid state electronic controls.

The first consignment of Yale forklift trucks has been delivered to TOTAL Petrochemicals UK Ltd in Stalybridge, as part of a new contract to supply a range of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered Yale Veracitor VX counterbalance forklift trucks to assist the handling and loading of polystyrene or granules used in the manufacture of a variety of products for the Teletronics and Food Packaging industries.

Yale has been at the forefront of the development of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to power forklift trucks since the first factory manufactured truck was produced in the mid 1990s.

CNG is well established as a cleaner and safer alternative to LP gas or diesel forklift trucks. The subsequent recognition of the wider environmental issues as well as occupational health concerns and safety in the workplace, has placed greater emphasis on CNG as a viable alternative to other energy sources to power forklift trucks. TOTAL Petrochemicals has considerable experience of using Compressed Natural Gas to power Yale forklift trucks and CNG was the natural choice for the new forklift truck contract.

Ethernet Direct Corporation, a professional and primary provider of Industrial Networking and communication solutions, is pleased to reveal the company¡¦s successful applications deploying Industrial Gigabit switches and the facts on how to choose the right Gigabit solution depending on the existing network structure.

The following is one of the many applications deploying Ethernet Direct Industrial Gigabit switches

Intelligent Transportation. In a newly built U.S. Mid-West airport, Gigabit and ring redundancy were used throughout the project. Parking lanes used HMG-628G (10 port Full Gigabit switch) in a redundant ring to connect to existing edge devices (card readers, VoIP, gate control, etc.) All the 19 lane rings were dual homed to a main ring of HMG-448G (4 port Full Gigabit + 4 SFP) and HMG-1628 switches. The various servers were then connected to the main HMG-448G ring with dual connections. The system had redundancy at every level, insuring the reliability of the system. Extensive configuration with simple user friendly products ensures maximum network security. Ethernet Direct provides a solution that provides fast communication with the use of rail switches which are industrially hardened and specifically designed to operate reliably in electrically harsh, demanding environments and in hazardous locations.

All Ethernet Direct switches are designed for industrial environments with considerations in:
l Mechanical Protection
l Power Protection
l Downtime Elimination
l Transient Suppression
l Extended Temperature Range
l Industrial EMC design
l Network Redundancy
l Safety Approvals

Taipei, Taiwan, 8 January, 2009 – Ethernet Direct Corporationoffers our new ZigBee product category especially designed for applications in remote monitoring & control and sensory network applications.

The Zebra ZUZ-110 and ZUZ-111 is a pair of converter that works as host and slave. ZigBee is a specification based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard for wireless personal area networks. It operates in the ISM radio bands and focuses on inexpensive, self-organizing, mesh network that can be used for industrial control, embedded sensing, medical data collection, smoke and intruder warning, building automation, home automation etc. ZUZ-110 and ZUZ-111 supports RS-232, RS-485 and Ethernet. With ZUZ converters, transmission frequency ranges between 2.405GHz and 2.480GHz and provides 16 channels for users.

Ethernet Direct offers the World’s first ZigBee Network converters ZUZ-110 and ZUZ-111 supporting Power saving technology, Reverse Polarity Protection, over current protection and surge (EFT) protection. ZigBee is designed specifically for point-to-point or a point-to- multipoint configuration and are ideal for low-data rate, low-power applications. ZUZ-110 and ZUZ-111 offer a cost-effective wireless networking solution that supports low data-rates, low-power consumption, security, and reliability. Target markets Building Automation, Industrial Automation, Home Automation, Utilities and Energy Management.

Features
Supports ISM 2.4 GHz operating frequency
Fully compliant with ZigBee specification 2.4G IEEE 802.15.4
Wireless transmission range up to 100 meters
Provides GUI configuration software
DIN Rail mountable

Complete service automation platform
SolidPOS 715 is an integrated touch POS terminal, supports Intel® Pentium® IV CPU to present the high reliable performance. With the 7-wire resistive touch screen and 15” TFT LCD panel, SolidPOS 70 deliveries an excellent interactive interface to help cashier work smarter. The SolidPOS 70 also supports 12” or 15” second independent display with 2 x 2W speakers to provide a friend commercial information to encourage next purchasing. With the 0°-90° tilt angle and -20°~20° swivel angle, it is easier to change the monitor followed the cashier position and avoids the harsh light reflection. SolidPOS 70 series satisfied with all kinds of accessories as MSR , Wireless antenna or other peripherals such as barcode scanner, cash drawer, keyboard…..SolidPOS 70 is ready available for any further integration. By releasing only two screws, customer can operate the terminal and open the panel easily to do upgrade and maintenance work. SolidPOS 715 supports WEPOS (Windows Embedded for Point of Service) / Win XP / Win 2000 operation system.

Good reputation in Taiwan
In the space limited retail shops, it is always the key to increase the value on every selling floor. Thanks for the compact footprint SolidPOS 70 can be implemented in the service table or help to do the smarter space management. With the fast and warm service expectation, queue time is a key point to determinate customers experience and the reputation of this retail shop. Around Taiwan, there are approximate 100 terminals severing for all happy families.

SolidPOS 70 Features
• Easy access to motherboard and HDD reduces total cost of ownership as terminals can be repaired and retuned to service quickly
• Intel Pentium IV processor delivers high and stable performance for daily operation
• Powered USB and receipt printer ports eliminate the need for external power supplies for POS peripherals
• Dual Independent displays enhance customer experience through full video display for rich commercial advertising
• Tilt and swivel angle adjustment allows the terminal to easily fit into any sized space and compact size with small footprint for flexible space management
• Support various optional peripherals, including MSR, Wireless antenna, Smart Card Reader (chip & pin) or other peripherals such as barcode scanner, cash drawer, keyboard….

CODIPRO has developed, in partnership with its Italian distributor COMAT, a software which allows the users of swivel lifting hoist rings to determine themselves which ring suits to their specific needs.
Available on the website, www.codipro.net, this software is suitable to select the most appropriate ring depending on the load, on how many lifting points and on the lifting type.
Thanks to this software available in 3 languages (French, English and Italian), the visitor can also send directly a request for the ring chosen by the software.
The sales team commits itself to send a clear and detailed quotation in a really short time.

In the present days’competitive market, many tubes are being labeled to get very good graphics on the tubes. Our machine Lacquer & Label Machine : LL-60 has been specially designed to meet this requirement.

LL-60 is unique in its application as it is the first time that a machine with UV lacquering, drying and labeling application on tubes is offered.

This compact machine is developed for high speed label applications upto 60 tubes / minute and can apply paper, PVC, opaque & transparent labels.

The various operations that are possible on this unqiue machine are flame / corona treatment, UV lacquering, UV curing and label application.

The indexer and label head are servo motor operated and the machine functions are controlled by a state-of-the-art controller with a touch screen.

The machine is distinguished by its high performance, simple operation, quick change-over and low maintenance.

Combining the LL-60 with our Capping Machine ECP-60 could help you to set up a dedicated production line for labeled tubes.
Some of features of the machine are as follows :

1. Rigid construction and simple operation.
2. Few change parts for different tube sizes.
3. Cool UV from GEW
4. Quick & easy change-over for different tube sizes.
5. State of the art controller system
6. Sorting & rejection of non UV treated tubes
7. ‘TUBE TEST MODE’ to make the machine settings with minimum wastage
8. Recipe feature for fast recall of different tube settings
9. Exhaustive diagnostic features and alarm system
10. Multiple language option
11. Modem for tele-service (optional)

Optimised for crane applications, the new Demag EKDR rope hoist meets all the requirements for state-of-the-art hoists for tomorrow’s needs.

Besides the space-saving design and particularly long service life, it also offers you a higher lifting speed for faster handling rates – comprehensive standard features with outstanding value for money.

Benefits
Higher hoist speed for faster handling
Greater efficiency thanks to higher availability
Compact design for optimum utilization of space

Safety and efficiency down to the last detail

Low-vibration, quiet-running motor
Fast acting brake
Gearbox lubricated for life
Protective rope guide
Frequency inverter for stepless travel motions
Electrics featuring CAN bus technology
Precision geared limit switch
Overload protection
User-friendly bottom block
Ergonomically optimised controls
Double-rail crab and foot hoist
Extended applications

P manufactures tape stretching lines from 150 kgs/hr to 500 kgs/hr out put. These lines includes Extruder with 32:1 L/D ratio barrier screw for processing of HDPE/ PP faciliting homogeneous mixing, continuous screen changer with time controlled screen feed for online melt filtration without stoppage of the line minimizes the wastage, downtime & number of stoppages, giving consistent denier and increased productivity.

The excellent feature of the tape lines manufactured is their lower power consumption. JPs production programme also includes the Bimetallic configured Screw; Barrel and Feed Groove systems for longer life. The special configuration of the dies for tape lines with higher cross sections gives increased heat inertia and power saving and melt flow channels inside the die give optimum melt distribution. The surface of the final product can be varied by the use of smooth or profiled die lip.

Improved Water tank flow management for uniform quenching of the film offers minimum turbulence for the film, which is being cooled and the water level can be adjusted relative to the die. Take off unit equipped with specially designed water removal system from the film, ensures drying of the film at high operating speeds to avoid water carrying.

Online six station rotary slitter helps in changing slitter blades unit without stoppage of the line giving increased productivity and reduced wastages. Holding unit and Combined stretching and annealing unit are of rugged movack design for longer life and vibration free operation.

The combined stretching and annealing unit is designed for maximum operating speeds of 325MPM .

The super energy efficient Hot Air Oven with upper and lower level air circulation is characterized by extremely uniform temperature profiles of ± 1°C and standard length of 4 meters.

JP has also successfully supplied hot air orientation ovens with five and six meters length for better conditioning of the tapes at higher line speeds and at higher outputs for special application Tape. JP holds the credit of supplying maximum number of lines with TOTAL PLANT OPERATED BY AC VARIABLE SENSORLESS VECTOR CONTROLLED DRIVES WITH SOFT PWM TECHONOLOGY.

These drives are designed for excellent speed holding accuracy of 0.5% , power saving features and maintenance free running. The drives are operated by PLC for easy operation , receipe storage and programme retrivals for better batch production.

The latest concept of combined vacuum suction box for first and discharge side of second godet is accomplished for power saving.

Fibrillator unit is optional and if required is located between hot air oven and combined stretching and annealing unit and is used for fibrillating tapes for stitching threads, rope making and FIBC tapes.

The F-Tool WEDM tooling line features through the simple concept for the professional at the everyday life.
– The F-Tool WEDM tooling assortment is developed by well-known engineers and made of corrosion-resistant, high-quality steel. The system fulfils highest quality claims.
– The basic ruler provide a stable stopper and a clamping beam for large parts and many practical F-Tool clamping elements.
– The system is stable, can be cleaned well and is assembled directly on the basis zero tables of the machines.
– The F-Tool clamping elements can be pushed free in position under the clamping groove after the insertion, before they are clamped on the stopper with the clamping screws.
– The F-Tool clamping elements can be charged with the work piece outside the machine and later be assembled in the machine, system oriented in reference position.

Our many years of experience in spark erosion, and notably in clamping systems also, have prompted us to develop new products and to pursue new paths. Our aim has been to provide the user with the best possible benefits. And our strategy for this can be summarised as: shorten the distribution channels, rationalise the products, and at the same time adapt to the new requirements, all to save costs and to adapt to the global changes. Whether you enjoy the benefits of our products and services as a user, or whether you are a sales partner who is linked to this strategy at the customer’s site, we are always pleased to work through new objectives with you. F-Tool is a member of the EROWA-Group.

Our extensive stock facilities guarantee rapid delivery.
Our personnel are highly trained. This means that we are very well equipped to do our best for you.

More and more people are quick to seal the fate of Wikipedia and a couple of studies in the past year are being used as clear evidence that the site is headed for disaster if not in the short term future. Recently, a study by Spanish researcher Felipe Ortega, which found that 49,000 volunteer editors left the site in just three months, has spread after a story in the WSJ. Now Wikimedia, the organization behind the popular website, has responded to set the record straight and put some perspective on the numbers.

Erik Moeller, deputy director and Erik Zachte, data analyst at the Wikimedia Foundation, start off by pointing out that the organization’s definition of an editor differs from that of the researcher. In the study, anyone who has made an edit is considered an editor, leading to a total number of over three million editors across all language versions of the site. Wikimedia, however, counts only those who have made at least five edits leading to a smaller number of just one million editors. This way, the number of volunteers who are leaving or the overall trend is unlikely to be the same. There are some other issues with the numbers and the blog post details several of them.

The two go on and share their own data regarding monthly active users, in line with data from a previous study, which they admit ha… (read more)

Here is another great Samsung Omnia 2 ad.  I love how it is reminiscent of the iPhone ads while unashamedly claims to be a smarter, more manly phone.

The T-Omnia 2 is very similar to the international version, but in addition also features integrated mobile TV.