Valparaíso, para muchos, es la ciudad con más personalidad de Chile. Un lugar lleno de rincones mágicos, de un rico legado arquitectónico y cultural, donde la bohemia se toma sus calles y la magia de este viejo puerto encanta a propios y extraños.
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January 11, 2010, 12:18 AM EST
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By Andrew Frye
Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) — Warren Buffett, who scolded Kraft Foods Inc. over its plan to issue stock for an acquisition, is using shares of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to pay for his biggest buyout. The apparent inconsistency may signal that Berkshire’s shares are more fully valued than Kraft’s.
Buffett wants to issue about $10 billion of Berkshire stock to help finance the $26 billion acquisition of railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. As the largest investor in Kraft, Buffett registered Berkshire’s 138 million votes against the foodmaker’s plan to fund its bid for Cadbury Plc, saying that Kraft’s shares are worth more than their current price suggests. Neither takeover target, he has said, is coming cheap.
“It does seem to raise a contradiction,” said David Kass, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “He may be thinking that Berkshire shares are less undervalued than Kraft.”
“It does seem to raise a contradiction,” said David Kass, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “He may be thinking that Berkshire shares are less undervalued than Kraft.”
Kraft stock is “very expensive currency,” Buffett said in a statement last week. Still, the billionaire takeover expert is planning to fund the Burlington Northern deal with Berkshire stock that’s fallen by a third from its 2007 high to $100,300 on Jan. 8. That’s led analysts and Charles Ortel of Newport Value Partners to ask why Buffett is willing to issue so many Berkshire shares.
“You don’t sell stock if you think it’s at a low, you sell stock if you think it’s fully valued,” said Ortel, managing director of New York-based Newport, who has advised clients to bet against Berkshire. “He could certainly raise the money without equity if he wanted to.”
No Bargain
Berkshire isn’t getting “a bargain” in the Burlington Northern deal, Buffett told Charlie Rose in an interview on PBS in November. Still, the railroad’s stock may be cheap enough to justify using Berkshire shares that trade for less than their true value, said Tom Russo, partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner, which has an investment in Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire.
“I think it says he believes he’s getting one heck of a deal at the price agreed upon for Burlington,” Russo said in an interview. The Burlington Northern offer “is sufficiently undervalued to justify issuing shares of stock, which is something he’s long avoided.” The railroad fell about 15 percent to $76.07 in the 12 months before Buffett agreed to pay $100 a share.
‘True Business Value’
Buffett said in the statement last week that when evaluating acquisitions, “the true business value of what is given is as important as the true business value of what is received.”
Berkshire reserved the right to reverse its decision on the Kraft vote when the foodmaker announces its final Cadbury offer, which is expected by Jan. 19. A vote by Berkshire shareholders on a 50-for-1 split of the company’s Class B stock and an increase in the authorized number of shares is scheduled for Jan. 20.
Buffett declined to comment through his assistant, Debbie Bosanek. Buffett, who is chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire, has refused in the past to answer shareholders’ questions about the value of Berkshire shares.
“You can ask me almost anything, but that’s one I never answer,” Buffett, 79, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television last year. “I never tell people to buy or sell Berkshire. I’ve never sold a share myself, I would tell you that.”
Two analysts tracked by Bloomberg have price forecasts on the stock averaging $125,000. A third, Meyer Shields of Stifel Nicolaus & Co., said in an interview he expects the stock to reach $113,000 in 12 months.
Worst Year in Decade
Buffett’s acquisitions and stock picks propelled Berkshire’s shares to an increase of more than 30 fold in 20 years. He’s finding it harder to maintain that pace as his company expands from insurance to energy and manufacturing. Berkshire advanced 2.7 percent on the New York Stock Exchange last year, compared with the 23 percent rise in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the company’s worst performance against the index in 10 years.
Investors last week paid $1.23 for every $1 of net assets Buffett and Vice Chairman Charles Munger, 86, have assembled at Berkshire over four decades. That’s about 7 percent more than the figure for the financial companies in the S&P 500. Berkshire’s multiple to book value, or assets minus liabilities, has averaged 1.76 over that past 15 years, compared with 2.17 for the S&P 500 financial firms.
“The market doesn’t seem to appreciate Berkshire’s growth and value as much as it used to,” said Morningstar Inc.’s Bill Bergman, a Chicago-based analyst, who estimates Berkshire shares to be worth $131,000 each. The company “has been built up by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger to be something that will live beyond their years, and that’s something I think the market hasn’t appreciated.”
Compounding an Error
Buffett has warned investors about the dangers of stock- fueled takeovers. He typically shuns debt financing too, preferring to shop with cash from stock dividends and bond coupons from Berkshire’s investment portfolio, and earnings from businesses he’s already acquired. Revenue from Geico car insurance and Dairy Queen ice cream helped Buffett pay $4 billion for Israeli toolmaker Iscar Metalworking Cos. in 2006.
He’s called his all-stock purchase of shoemaker Dexter in 1993 a waste of shareholder funds, saying that the advantages he thought the company had over rivals quickly vanished. Using $433 million of Berkshire shares, Buffett wrote in his 2007 annual report, “compounded this error hugely.”
‘Worthless Business’
“That move made the cost to Berkshire shareholders not $400 million, but rather $3.5 billion,” he wrote. “In essence, I gave away 1.6% of a wonderful business – one now valued at $220 billion – to buy a worthless business.” Berkshire’s market capitalization has since fallen to about $155 billion.
Buffett again used stock in the 1998 takeover of insurer General Re for about $18 billion. Berkshire shares closed at a then-record high of $80,900 less than an hour before the two companies announced the agreement. The stock fell 27 percent in three months and didn’t recover to its record for five years.
While on the board of Coca-Cola Co., Buffett helped scuttle the soft-drink company’s proposed $15.3 billion stock swap for Quaker Oats, the maker of Gatorade, in 2000. Buffett, whose company still owns Coca-Cola shares, argued the price was too high because it meant giving up more than 10 percent of the soft-drink maker, board member James Williams said in an interview about three years later.
“From time to time he issues his own stock,” said Guy Spier, principal at hedge fund Aquamarine Funds LLC, which owns Berkshire shares. “But he really doesn’t like it when other companies issue their own stock.”
‘Blank Check’
Kraft offered a mixture of cash and stock for Cadbury, the Uxbridge, England-based maker of Creme Eggs and Trident gum, in a deal it values at about 10.6 billion pounds ($17 billion). Last week, Buffett said the equity financing plan amounted to a “blank check,” enabling Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld to increase the offer without further shareholder approval. Cadbury has called the bid insufficient.
Kraft stock has fallen about 17 percent in the two years ended Dec. 31, and Buffett chided Rosenfeld for seeking to issue equity below the $33 price at which the firm repurchased shares in 2007. Berkshire owns about 9.4 percent of Kraft’s stock.
Kraft rose 5.5 percent in the four trading days since Buffett’s announcement, while Cadbury has slipped 3.4 percent on speculation that a higher bid is less likely to emerge.
Buffett has called the Burlington Northern deal an “all-in wager” on the U.S. economy that brings about 37,000 workers and a share of a regulated industry. Berkshire expects to own the railroad for the next century and get “a decent return,” Buffett told Charlie Rose.
–With assistance from Betty Liu and Zachary R. Mider in New York. Editors: Erik Holm, Dan Kraut
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Get Out!: 150 Easy Ways for Kids & Grown-Ups to Get Into Nature and Build a Greener Future is a budget-friendly, easy to pick up book about ways to engage your child in nature and combat Nature Deficit Disorder.
Today’s children spend an average of 6.5 hours per say staring at computer and TV screens, and very little time out-of-doors. This book aims to change that with 150 ideas for enjoying nature and being eco-friendly. Ranging from window gardens to birdhouses, from family bike rides to hikes, these suggestions are sure to spark the interest of all! For kids, families, schoolgroups.
One of my favorite ideas is to have a daily “green hour“, no matter the weather.
As e.e. Cummings wrote, the world is “mud-luscious” and “puddle-wonderful”.
Other ideas go beyond the outdoors to how your family can become green consumers and get involved.
Disclosure: I was sent a sample of this product to review. No
prior assurances were given as to whether the review be positive or
negative.
While technically it isn’t incest, it’s still all sorts of icky! In 2008, the Interwebs went wild with whispers that decorated screen star Morgan Freeman, now 73, has been getting it on with his wife’s 27-year-old granddaughter since the young woman was in her teens. The Oscar winner never denied the claims, and his wife of more than two decades, Myrna, promptly filed for divorce.
Say it ain’t so, Morgan…..
If you thought that was a bombshell, just wait until you hear the plan E’Dena has allegedly hitched in hopes of getting Step-Grandpappy to meet her at the altar.
“E’Dena wants Morgan’s baby,” a Freeman camp informant spills in Jan. 18 issue of The National Enquirer. “She believes that will give her a final hold on Morgan and, after his divorce with Myrna is over, she will end up marrying him.”
Sources say Morgan has agreed to try for a baby because he’s terrified if he doesn’t give E’Dena what she wants, she’ll go public with the scandalous details of their romance.
“She uses her youth to her advantage,” the spy adds. “She knows it really feeds Morgan’s ego to have a young woman hanging all over him. E’Dena believes that getting pregnant would make sure she becomes the next Mrs. Morgan Freeman.”
For most of the first decade of the new century, we all talked about the emergence of location-based services. These services, leveraging GPS chips, were going to revolutionize the world. I remember hearing numerous pitches that envisioned Starbucks offering coupons when you walked by the store. But the future, it seemed, was taking its own sweet time, with the LBS dream constantly being deferred. Fast-forward to today — thanks to new services such as Geodelic, Where and FourSquare, we’re beginning to see that mythical future become an actuality. (Related: our posts on Geodelic, Where)
If 2009 was the year when “geo” became a buzzword and gathered momentum, then 2010 is going to be the year when location-based functionality is going to become commonplace — from mobile apps to consumer devices, even to web services are all going to be geo-enabled. Like me, one man who has been patiently waiting for the future to arrive is Ted Morgan, chief executive of Skyhook Wireless, a Boston-based company that provides location-based service as an infrastructure. His company keeps close tabs on the location ecosystem. (Related: “The Dawning Age of Social Navigation“)
Last week when we were chatting about the industry, Morgan pointed out that he was “surprised how many people were talking about location.” That’s a polite way to say that location finally got buzzy. Or maybe that’s how it seems to me, given that I have been writing about location for nearly a decade. Morgan pointed out that slowly and surely, location has “become part of the mobile nervous system.” (Related: “State of Location Apps“)
Agreed! I think that’s why I’m confounded by some of the offerings of startups that have cropped up. Ask any of the mobile industry insiders and they all say that enhanced location and location-related APIs will become core offerings of major platforms — be it iPhone, Android, BlackBerry or the web. Twitter’s decision to buy Mixer Labs, parent company of GeoAPI, is one such example. (Related: “Who Will Foster the Great Location API?)
Today we “check in” to places, but soon it will become part of the platform, and when that happens we’ll shift focus to applications and services that build upon the concept of checking in. Imagine using the Flixster app in a movie theater, which automatically checks you in when you watch “Avatar” at the IMAX Theater in San Francisco and then offers a 140-character review. Or an UrbanSpoon app that automatically checks you in at the greasy spoon of your choice.
As Morgan explained — we’re going through a phase in the mobile ecosystem where folks are getting excited about location-specific applications. Eventually, all apps will have location-based functionality built in. For now, it seems all the industry is abuzz about apps such as RedLaser, Foursquare and SCVNGR. Investors are happily investing millions of dollars into location-based services such as Gowalla, Outside.in and Hot Potato. (Related: “Why I Love Foursquare” and “Hot Potato Turns Events Into Social Streams“)
Morgan, who in the past has been pretty prescient about location-based services, believes 2010 will see the emergence of two major trends that are going to gain traction in years to come:
These two topics were hotly discussed at our Mobilize 09 conference in September. We’ll be keeping you posted about location-related developments as the year unfolds. Both Liz and I are ramping up our coverage of location and mobile apps. If you want to chat with us, drop either one of us an email: om + tips at gigaom dot com or liz + tips at gigaom dot com.
Paris Aerial View: Photo Courtesy of Naserversiontwo via Flickr.
Related from GigaOM Pro:
Free company profiles/analysis: Apple, Google, HTC, Nokia
For GigaOM Pro subscribers: “Surveying the Mobile App Landscape” (Subscribe to GigaOM Pro for $79 a year.)
Cracked-out songstress Amy Winehouse will say “I Do” and ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil in an intimate wedding ceremony on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, sources tell The Mirror.
The couple will head to the Caribbean for a second wedding as soon as Blake — an admitted heroin addict –completes drug rehabilitation next month, the new report claims.
“Everything feels right with Blake now. As soon as he’s cleared to leave the country and his drug rehab is done it will happen,” Amy, 26, told pals last week.
Amy and Blake, 31, first wed in Miami in May 2007. After a troubled union that included prison for Blake and infidelity from Amy, the couple officially divorced in the summer of 2009. They reunited later that year.
After the posts I made regarding the article, A Whole Diet Approach to Building Better Bones, in the Vegetarian Voice, two people contacted me to say that the World Health Organization recommends more than the 400 to 500 mg of calcium per day as stated in the article. According to Table 4.2 on p. 71 in their document, Vitamin and Mineral Requirements in Human Nutrition, Second Edition (2004), the WHO recommends:
1,300 mg for ages 10 to 18
1,000 mg for women 19 to menopause
1,300 mg for women past menopause
1,000 mg for men 19 to 65
1,300 mg for men ages 65+
And if you missed them, there have been many comments in response to these two posts (link, link).
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Budget, Sedan, Hatchback, Ford
As we begin 2010, it looks like the compact C-segment is shaping up to be one of the most highly competitve segments in the auto industry. The Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, VW Golf and Jetta, along with the new Chevrolet Cruze are fighting for the hearts, minds and dollars of the masses. And then there’s the Ford Focus.
This week in Detroit, Ford is unwrapping an all-new Focus for the 2012 model year. When the original Focus debuted internationally in 1998 and then in the U.S. a year later, it was more or less a common design. The U.S. version, however, suffered from a series of manufacturing issues and recalls within its first year of sales. Meanwhile, the overseas model got a full redesign in 2004, but Americans kept the MK1 Focus until three years ago when it got an unfortunately awkward re-skin. This time around the new Focus is truly global and adopts the latest evolution of Ford’s European “Kinetic” design language. Judging by our first exposure to the 2012 Focus, every other contender in the segment may have a real problem to deal with next year. Learn more about the new Focus after the jump.
Gallery: 2011 Ford Focus
Continue reading Next-Gen Ford Focus unveiled! U.S. and Euro models finally united
Next-Gen Ford Focus unveiled! U.S. and Euro models finally united originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Crossover, GMC
As one of the four remaining brands at the new General Motors, the folks in charge of GMC are trying to come up with a reason for the brand to exist. Until now, GMC’s wares have been to Chevrolet trucks what Mercury has been Ford – same stuff different badges. Over the last decade the marketing boffins have tried to position GMC as “Industrial Grade,” but it’s never been entirely clear exactly what that means.
As a general rule, GMC doesn’t produce concept vehicles, but at this year’s Detroit Auto Show that’s set to change. The GMC Granite is being badged as an “urban utility vehicle,” a compact crossover that could slot in below the Terrain and give the brand something relatively unique. GM hasn’t divulged what platform underpins the Granite, but it’s likely to share many parts with GM’s global compact (Delta II) architecture. That means this Granite will have a lot in common with the upcoming Chevy Orlando, but with a five-inch shorter wheelbase and a few other unique attributes you can read about after the jump.
Gallery: GMC Granite Concept
Continue reading GMC Granite concept offers professional grade bix box styling
GMC Granite concept offers professional grade bix box styling originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Michael Buble has found his crazy love. Michael has announced his engagement to Argentine singer, actress and model Luisana Lopilato, a spokesman for the Vancouver-based crooner’s record label confirmed to The Canadian Press on Sunday.
“Michael proposed to his girlfriend, Luisana, in November, in front of her family in Argentina,” said the star’s rep Liz Rosenberg. “They’re ecstatic. They’re adorable, in love and laugh all day long.”
Buble, 34, began dating the 22-year-old beauty shortly after their pair met at a concert in late 2008. Buble was previously romantically-linked to British actress Emily Blunt. They split shortly before Michael met Luisana. This is Lopilato’s third engagement – she was previously set to wed actor Mariano Martínez and tennis star Juan Monaco.
The wedding news caps off an exciting few months for Buble, whose platinum-selling fourth album, Crazy Love, is up for a prize at the 2010 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles later this month.
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Mflow extrusion plastometer: all weights securely contained in the instrument
Zwick’s Mflow extrusion plastometer allows melt index values MFR and MVR to be determined quickly and conveniently. The system features modular design and functions such as travel measurement can be retrofitted as and when required, while an innovative weight selection unit provides enhanced operator safety and convenience.
Different weights are used in extrusion tests (MFR, MVR determination) depending on the polymer being tested. The individual weights must then be positioned manually by the operator. This is a laborious and potentially hazardous procedure, as a weight may fall and injure the operator.
A new development from Zwick has solved this problem. Now available for the modular Mflow extrusion plastometer is an auxiliary unit which provides program-controlled positioning and removal of the test weight in use. Manual selection is also possible by simply removing the selector and re-inserting it in the desired position.
The instrument contains test weights specified in ISO 1133 up to 21.6 kg, arranged so as to eliminate the possibility of error. Cleaning the instrument is no problem thanks to an easy action swiveling unit.
The instrument can be controlled via integrated computer electronics or a PC as required. The innovative automatic parameter control (APC) ensures reliable measured values, even with untrained operators.
December 1, 2009
HAYWARD, California USA—Davis Instruments announced today that its new Vantage Vue consumer wireless weather station has received a 2010 CES Innovations Design and Engineering Honoree Award in the highly-competitive personal electronics category. As a winner, Vantage Vue will be featured in the Innovations Design and Engineering Awards Showcase in the Grand Lobby, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, in Las Vegas, from January 7th through January 10th. Vantage Vue may also be seen at the Davis Instruments booths, South Hall #35301 and North Hall #800.
Our newest wireless weather station provides accurate, reliable weather monitoring in a self-contained, easy-to-install system. Vantage Vue gives you all the weather data you need for home use, education, boating and more. Sleek but tough—your outdoor sensor suite sets up in minutes and starts sending data wirelessly to your console anywhere in your home, school, or business. You’ll see current weather conditions, including indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, dew point and rainfall. You’ll also get weather forecast icons, moon phase, sunrise/sunset times, graphing of weather trends, alarms and more. Vantage Vue also boasts the innovative Weather Center button that displays additional data on weather variables for today and over the last 25 days.
About Davis Instruments
Who We Are
Davis Instruments, a privately held manufacturing company and developer of exceptional instruments for weather, marine, and automotive use, prides itself on innovative, high-quality products at reasonable prices. We are located in Hayward, California and have consistently continued growing for 30 years.
What We Do
We develop and manufacture three lines of products that offer practical solutions to real-life problems. Our products are backed by solid engineering and outstanding customer service. They include the premier weather station, Vantage Pro2™, the first personal automotive diagnostic product, CarChip®, and innovative fleet management tools with DriveRight®.
In our Weather line, you’ll find an assortment of weather monitoring stations for use in homes, schools, industry, and agriculture.
Our Automotive vehicle monitoring systems — used by individuals and corporations around the world — are designed to improve driver awareness and increase safety.
And in our Marine line, you’ll find over a hundred unique products for boaters, fishermen, and outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds.
Davis is an ISO 9001 certified company. For more information, call +1 (800) 678-3669 or +1 (510) 732-9229.
To learn more about Vantage Vue and Davis Instruments, visit davisnet.com.
The ChaseFeed Plus is another innovation that provides a high level of productivity. The unique insert design is capable of high feed rates up to 4.0mm/tooth under a maximum depth of cut 2.0mm and its powerful geometry endures high cutting forces when facing and deep cavity machining with high table feeds.
Features
– ChaseFeed Plus is a double-sided insert with six cutting edges designed with a strong clamping action through its inclined dovetail pocket.
– Range
-End mill: Dia. 32-40mm
-Face mill: Dia. 50-80mm
With the expansion of the GRINDOR product range by the GRINDOR® allround, JUNKER, as strong partner behind the GRINDOR brand, is now providing a further cylindrical grinding machine in its machine portfolio with an outstanding price/performance ratio.
The special feature of the new machine is the successful combination of technically mature technology, quality and maximum precision for a low investment and thus maximum cost-effectiveness in operation. Another plus point is the easy operation.
Plunge-cut grinding, multiple plunge-cut grinding, oscillation grinding (also with swivelled-in B-axis) – the GRINDOR® allround provides practically all possibilities for external and internal cylindrical grinding. With a centre distance and grinding length of 800 mm, the GRINDOR® allround covers a wide part range. It must be emphasised here that as well as corundum, CBN and diamond grinding wheels can also be used for their machining.
The GRINDOR® allround is designed both for the manufacture of single parts and small series as well as for the production of larger series for which there is a comprehensive range of options and accessories available. The control is performed using the Fanuc 21i. Even simpler programming and operation of the machine is made possible using pictograms, dialogue programming and a clear, easily understandable design of the software.
