Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, 65, was found sitting at his desk at about 8 a.m. with both wrists slashed, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. A box cutter was found on the floor along with a bottle of sleeping pills on his desk. No suicide note was found.
Laird cuts 5000 as handset sales slow
EE Times Europe
(12/16/2008 4:20 AM EST)
LONDON — Laird plc., a manufacturer of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding devices and antennae, is in the process of cutting its staff by around 5000 or 54 percent.
Laird (London), a developer of components and systems for wireless and other advanced electronic applications, is closing its manufacturing facility in Hungary which employs 500 and three of its facilities in the U.S. will be closed or downsized significantly, with production from these sites transferred to Mexico and China.
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212500536
Analysts warn of worsening handset outlook in 2009
A Reuters poll of analysts has further fuelled concerns that mobile handset sales will shrink significantly next year, and could see vendors stacking-up a backlog of unsold phones. The poll of 36 analysts forecast an average 6.6 percent slowdown in the market in 2009 coupled with a 5.7 percent decline in the current quarter, traditionally the strongest due to Christmas sales. A similar poll in November had forecast that the market would rise 2.6 percent in 2009. But a series of warnings from vendors since then - including a second device sales warning from the world's largest handset vendor, Nokia, earlier this month - appears to have made analysts more pessimistic. Only two analysts polled by Reuters this week now expect growth in the sector next year. "Fear and uncertainty are causing many suppliers and consumers to delay purchasing their next handsets," said Strategy Analytics' Neil Mawston.
Analysts warned that the slowdown could see handset vendors build-up large inventory backlogs, just as they did during the similar downturn in the mobile devices market in 2001. "A number of vendors look set to try and reach targets set at the start of the year in a very different climate," said CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber. "That could result in a significant oversupply moving into the first quarter." LG Electronics and Samsung are considered most at risk of building up inventories, having set annual sales targets of 100 million and 200 million phones, respectively, analysts said. The gloom in the handset sector was exacerbated this week with the news that UK electronics group Laird - a component supplier for Nokia and others - is to reportedly shed 5,000 jobs, nearly half its staff, as it sees global handset volumes declining 10 percent next year.
By Tarmo Virki
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Mobile phone sales will shrink next year at their fastest pace ever as consumers cut spending, a Reuters poll showed, with analysts increasingly concerned about unsold phones piling up in stores.
On average, the poll of 36 analysts shows global market volumes shrinking 6.6 percent next year and 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter -- traditionally the strongest period for the industry due to holiday sales.
In a similar poll in early November analysts on average forecast the market to rise 2.6 percent in 2009.
But since then Nokia, the world's top mobile phone maker, has warned twice on market growth, saying on December 4 its best guess was for sales to fall 5 percent or more next year.
"Fear and uncertainty are causing many suppliers and consumers to delay purchasing their next handsets," said Strategy Analytics' Neil Mawston.
Consumer electronics demand has slumped in the run-up to the key Christmas sales season, triggering the loss of 16,000 jobs at Sony Corp and profit warnings from Samsung Electronics Co and Texas Instruments Inc.
British electronics group Laird Plc, a component supplier for Nokia and others, on Tuesday announced the loss of 5,000 jobs, or nearly half its staff, and said it sees global handset volumes declining 10 percent next year.
Analyst estimates varied significantly due to the uncertainties over economic growth, with 2009 forecasts ranging from a market contraction of 13 percent to growth of 3 percent. Only two analysts polled expect growth next year.
"A 5-10 percent decline is the best guess at the moment," said Nordea analyst Martti Larjo. "This can move either way: if the economy continues to go downward the numbers could be worse. But while growth is not impossible, it's unlikely."
INVENTORIES WORRY
The $190 billion handset market, which was born in the 1980s and became a major growth industry after a surge in the late 1990s, had a brief shock in 2001 when the market fell 6 percent, its only contraction thus far.
Analysts said mobile phone makers may feel more pain this time around. When the market crashed in 2001, replacement sales tumbled but sales to first subscribers continued to grow due to the low penetration of mobile phones.
The European market -- where almost everybody has a phone and margins are fatter thanks to higher sales of technologically advanced phones -- is set to fall sharply this year and analysts say the trend will continue next year.
Sales volumes in emerging markets surpassed developed markets in 2005, and this year around two-thirds of sales are in emerging markets.
Mobile phone makers have had time to prepare for the market slowdown, but analysts said they were increasingly worried over the possible build-up of large inventories, just like in 2001.
"We fear that inventories could really exacerbate problems in the first quarter," said CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber.
"A number of vendors look set to try and reach targets set at the start of the year in a very different climate. That could result in a significant oversupply moving into the first quarter," Blaber said.
Analysts pointed to LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics as the most likely candidates to build-up inventories as they try to reach respective annual sales targets of 100 million and 200 million phones.
"We will reach 100 million units at all costs," the head of LG's telecom division said earlier this month.
LG is expected to sell fewer phones next year, but grab the No 3 spot in the market from Sony Ericsson.
The two largest vendors, Nokia and Samsung Electronics, are set to exit 2009 stronger than before, increasing their market shares to 39.6 percent and 17.3 percent respectively.
Motorola is seen losing the most market share, with the wide range of estimates, from 55 million to 100.7 million phones, reflecting the uncertainties over the company's future. (Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Additional reporting by Marie-France Han in Seoul; Editing by Sharon Lindores)
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE4BF3DY20081216?sp=true
Office Depot cutting 112 stores, 2,200 jobs
Wednesday December 10, 6:49 pm ET
CHICAGO (AP) -- Office Depot Inc. will close about 9 percent of its North American stores and cut 2,200 jobs over the next three months while planning to open fewer locations next year in an effort to cut costs.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081210/office_depot_strategic_review.html
Seven corporate bosses and a veteran GE executive paint a dire picture of what lies ahead
The CEOs of some of the nation's largest corporations didn't need the National Bureau of Economic Research's Dec. 1 pronouncement to realize the country has been in a severe downturn for months. That was clear on Nov. 14, when more than a dozen top executives sat down to discuss the economy at BusinessWeek's CEO Summit in Palm Beach, Fla., hosted by John K. Castle, chairman and CEO of private equity firm Castle Harlan. Moderated by BusinessWeek.com Editor-in-Chief John A. Byrne, the roundtable exchange included FedEx (FDX) Chief Fred Smith, Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli, and former GE (GE) Vice-Chairman Dennis Dammerman, a recent appointee to AIG's (AIG) board. Excerpts follow.
John Byrne
So how bad is the economy now?
Fred Smith, FedEx
It is by far the worst I've seen in the 35 years I've been in business. It's just gone right off the cliff. For retailers, I don't think there's going to be any Christmas to speak of. Some of our high-end retailers reported sales down 25%. Wal-Mart's (WMT) doing well, but they're about the only one. Traffic across the Pacific has been down for some time. Suppliers' provisioning for Christmas starts in June and July on the water. The only good thing is that if anything turns this around, it'll be pretty quick, since inventories are at such incredibly low levels. But I'd be very surprised if anything started to turn around before the middle of next year. There's just no juice out there.
How would you judge the government's handling of the crisis?
Robert Nardelli, Chrysler
There's a lot of second-guessing on what [Treasury Secretary] Hank [Paulson] is doing. We could certainly ask if Lehman really had to go down. It's a tragedy to have let that company go. Saving it would have provided a little more confidence in the system. Its loss seemed to add to the anxiety on Wall Street—and moved it to Main Street. I think it contributed to our 6.5% unemployment rate, which could go to 10%-plus. As for consumer confidence, there's an unprecedented drop, certainly in our industry. Even with aggressive resizing, we can't keep up with it because we haven't seen the bottom. I think we're going to face historic challenges of epic proportion. I hope we're able to hold it at a recession.
Ralph de la Torre, Caritas Christi Health Care
Health care has been holding its breath. We live and die on the tax-free bond market, and right now we're dying. Projects are being postponed. All the commodities that health care buys and the companies and people it touches—from imaging to pharma to physicians—are about to dive off the cliff. The bond markets are closed tight. Until they reopen, we're going to have a big problem. I think there's going to be a pretty substantial consolidation in health care. As many as 20% of hospitals could close. There's going to be no capital spending for at least the next year or two.
Miles White, Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
[For pharma], it depends. If you're on a drug that's reasonably discretionary, you might cut back as a patient. But if you're on a drug for a chronic problem, you're not cutting back. If you're a cancer patient, you're not cutting back. If you're a rheumatoid arthritis patient, you're not cutting back. I wouldn't call [our situation] severe.
What about the utility business?
Lewis Hay, FPL Group (FPL)
A lot of people think demand for electricity is inelastic. It's not. Our customers are cutting back, and they're not paying their bills, either. Probably 25% of our customers are past due. Normally, it's more like 15%. Another issue is access to capital. We had plans to invest more than $7 billion this year, and we've already cut back to about $5 billion. With such a shortage of access to capital, how are we going to get all these alternative energy projects going?
What will it take to get the economy going again?
Dennis Dammerman, former GE vice-chairman
We've got to get consumers and business spending again. I think we've proved over the years that investment tax credits and faster depreciation increase equipment spending. For consumers, confidence is key. And while I don't agree with much of what Barack Obama wants to do, I think that for a great chunk of our consuming public, he has improved that confidence. I hope this enthusiasm doesn't die.
How long or severe do you think the recession will be?
Dammerman
Even if we start growing again, it's not going to be a full-employment kind of growth. We'll still see the misery index climb. It'll take at least until 2010 to flush it out of the system.
Timothy Manganello, BorgWarner (BWA)
We're preparing for nothing good until mid-2010. If things get uglier, it's possible it won't improve by then. For us, a global player, the cost structure in the U.S. has to improve. Health-care costs are too high. Tort reform is too difficult. And business taxes are too high.
Fred Hassan, Schering-Plough (SGP)
The key is inflation. If inflation stays under control and confidence returns, we'll come back early. If inflation starts to roar in mid-2009 and thereafter, we have a problem. It might start to look like the mid-1970s.
ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss bank Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) said on Thursday it made a net loss of about 3 billion Swiss francs ($2.5 billion) in the two months to the end of November, and announced it would shed another 5,300 jobs.
4-Dec-08
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Private employers cut 250,000 jobs in November, an unexpectedly large number and the biggest in seven years, while the service sector, which powers most of the economy, posted its worst slump on record.
Wednesday's reports were the latest signs that the slide in the U.S. job market is nowhere near bottom and suggested Friday's government payrolls report could exceed current expectations for 320,000 job losses in November.
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of non-manufacturing businesses dropped to the lowest in the survey's 11-year history, while a record low in its employment gauge raised worries about the payrolls report.
"This is consistent with payrolls falling by about 500,000; let's hope it is very wrong," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York.
In a subsequent interview with CNNMoney.com, Buffett said he wasn't interested in placing blame for the crisis.
"I don't worry too much about pointing fingers at the past," he said. "I operate on the theory that every saint has a past, every sinner has a future."
He said the problem boils down to widely-held assumption during the housing boom that prices could only go up. And while the theory's flaws are all too apparent now, the misconception is understandable, said Buffett, pointing to previous asset bubbles going back centuries.
"There are not bad guys in that situation," said Buffett. "It's a condition of human nature."
