Richard Fisher on Boiler room management – with the current state of the economy, it is extremely important that you are fully aware of the ways in which you can make savings around your home, along with the steps you can take to ensure that you do not waste more money that you need to.
There are small steps that can be taken, such as turning off lights when leaving a room, or not leaving electrical devices on standby when they are not in use. Regarding heat loss, you can install draft excluders on your windows and doors, as well as making sure your house is properly insulated; insulation in cavity walls, as well as in ceilings can save many hundreds of pounds in heating costs over a long period of time.
Regarding heat loss, while it is important to guard against heat being lost through insulation, it is incredibly important to consider how the heat is produced in the first place; is your current method efficient both economically and environmentally.
Richard Fisher on Boiler room management – Boiler replacement. If you have an old, inefficient electric boiler, it may be a good idea to arrange boiler installation for a new gas boiler. Gas boiler installation could save you hundreds of pounds each year, reducing your bills significantly.
All boiler installation jobs are complicated and can involve a large amount of work. If however you make sure you use a trained professional, the job can be stress free and quickly finished, with minimum fuss. If you do decide to carry out the installation yourself, you must be sure to read up on the subject in great depth, taking all recommended precautions before commencing work. It is also advisable that you have an assistant, to help with removal and installation, so you can concentrate on the technical aspects of the work fully.
Richard Fisher on Boiler room management – Required certification. There are levels of certification and permits required to legally undertake such work, such as building codes and planning permission laws.
You can often check these aspects with your local council and planning authority, as well as with your local gas company and supplier.
Once you are sure that you are ready to undertake the work, it is a good idea to prepare the area in which the boiler will be installed. In this area, there should be a gas supply, a water supply, and an electrical supply all within a close proximity of the boiler; the greater the distance between these supplies and the boiler, the greater the difficulty in installation. It is important to note that boiler installation should not take place near to any combustible substances; such is the danger of an explosion.
Once your boiler is delivered, you should make sure that all parts are present and correctly formed, prior to attempting an installation. Once you are sure everything is fine, you can begin your boiler installation along the guidelines that you have learned in your studies.
For More Information Visit : http://www.npower-online.co.uk Read more: http://business.ezinemark.com/boiler-installation-3183cd92936.html#ixzz18JwINJZW
Monday, April 25, 2011
GOLD Business Advertising Associate Unilux State-of-the-art Production: The Boiler Room
Unilux is the country’s first 5 pass forced draft bent tube boiler with absolutely no room for inaccuracy. With more than thirty many years of producing and functional expertise in almost every business requiring boilers, Unilux holds solely as being the most excellent, remarkably designed, best high quality boiler in it’s course. While the product speaks volumes, our success is our people; many with over 25 years at Unilux, we take substantial pride in every unit we manufacture. From immediate response to inquiries, performance data, drawings, product description and assistance with proper selection, everyone at Unilux has one important goal in mind…customer satisfaction. Unilux QA/QC boasts a stringent, internal program that emphasizes employee responsibility to safety, product and quality performance.
Richard Fisher from the Boiler Room: Unilux Innovative Development – Building for all Unilux boilers starts with the vessel. All vessel material is controlled, ASME compliant material. Generous upper and lower drums are joined with large, external downcomer(s) allowing for maximum internal circulation. Tubes are a minimum 1.5” diameter, SA 178 Grade “A” material. Tube sizes up to 2.5” diameter are used for larger boilers. The Unilux housing is the most rigid available. Individual steel panels are manufactured with 11 gauge steel and reinforced by bending and welded stiffeners throughout. Refractory design is exclusive to Unilux. We utilize a three tier pour of different tolerance refractory for ultimate performance. All Unilux refractory is warranted for 5 years as standard. Finished insulated jacket panels are scratch resistant, polyester impregnated powder coat. Thermal losses from housing and jacket are 0.5 percent. The completed enclosure allows for up to +5” water column gas side pressure. All Unilux boilers are available with fuel burning equipment and control systems as desired.
Safety is extremely important at Unilux. Every Unilux boiler continues to be engineered to become the most secure, most effective merchandise obtainable in its class.
At Unilux Boiler Corp., we engineer and manufacture bent water tube boilers of only the finest quality, built by experienced craftsmen and backed by a service history that is second to none. When others decline custom engineered projects, Unilux embraces the challenge with experienced, thought provoking ideas and the ability to assist engineers, contractors and end users with the most efficient, long lasting solutions to effectively meet their needs.
Richard Fisher from the Boiler Room: Unilux Innovative Development – Building for all Unilux boilers starts with the vessel. All vessel material is controlled, ASME compliant material. Generous upper and lower drums are joined with large, external downcomer(s) allowing for maximum internal circulation. Tubes are a minimum 1.5” diameter, SA 178 Grade “A” material. Tube sizes up to 2.5” diameter are used for larger boilers. The Unilux housing is the most rigid available. Individual steel panels are manufactured with 11 gauge steel and reinforced by bending and welded stiffeners throughout. Refractory design is exclusive to Unilux. We utilize a three tier pour of different tolerance refractory for ultimate performance. All Unilux refractory is warranted for 5 years as standard. Finished insulated jacket panels are scratch resistant, polyester impregnated powder coat. Thermal losses from housing and jacket are 0.5 percent. The completed enclosure allows for up to +5” water column gas side pressure. All Unilux boilers are available with fuel burning equipment and control systems as desired.
Safety is extremely important at Unilux. Every Unilux boiler continues to be engineered to become the most secure, most effective merchandise obtainable in its class.
At Unilux Boiler Corp., we engineer and manufacture bent water tube boilers of only the finest quality, built by experienced craftsmen and backed by a service history that is second to none. When others decline custom engineered projects, Unilux embraces the challenge with experienced, thought provoking ideas and the ability to assist engineers, contractors and end users with the most efficient, long lasting solutions to effectively meet their needs.
HeatSponge SIDEKICK, Finally Revealed: Boiler Room Equipment, Inc
Fisher Capital onBoiler Room Equipment, Inc, is very proud to finally unveil the SIDEKICK line of condensing boiler economizers for commercial and industrial hot water boilers. The Sidekick has been in development for nearly two years and represents an evolutionary development of high-efficiency installations in the boiler industry. The SIDEKICK is a game changer the likes of which have not been experienced since the introduction of the first condensing boilers. The SIDEKICK offers the ability to integrate condensing boiler efficiencies to conventional boilers on a new or retrofit basis. The SIDEKICK allows a customer with a conventional boiler system the ability to realize condensing efficiency gains that otherwise would require the existing boiler to be demolished and replaced with a new condensing boiler. Conventional, non-condensing boilers can now realize the efficiency benefits of outdoor air temperature reset controls and lower circulating hot water loop temperatures. Sidekicks also allow for duel fuel condensing applications utilizing conventional boilers. The SIDEKICK features all stainless internal construction, stainless tubes and fins, and an insulated outer casing. Inspection and clean out ports make periodic maintenance and cleaning easy.
The efficiency of the SIDEKICK goes far beyond simply energy recovery to the ultra-productive process in which it is selected and designed. Heat recovery for condensing applications introduces a significant number of variables that makes a catalog-approach to equipment selection nearly impossible. Boilerroom Equipment has developed a new method of quantifying heat recovery, the Recovery Rate, and integrated this into the design. The incorporation of the Recovery Rate variable allows a customer to custom tailor the level of heat recovery and cost directly to the requirements of each specific application. We define this new concept in heat recovery design as 3D Modularity, for modular construction in three dimensions. Based on a "Mass-Customization" approach to product development, Bruce will consider all of the application design constraints and will design a SIDEKICK optimized to meet the exact performance requirements at the most competitive price. Bruce has been given the ability to consider all aspects of the heat exchanger design relative to the price of the equipment and generate a fully priced proposal all in real-time; a software and engineering accomplishment that added over one thousand hours of coding and heat transfer modification to Bruce's core program. This means Bruce can handle all inquiries and generate proposals in real time by himself. The near elimination of sales and support overhead and significantly reduced project execution overhead requirements the Bruce software provides allows us to offer a product superior to any before it at pricing and responsiveness levels no conventional competitor could hope to match.
Bruce will go on-line live on Monday December 21st with full public access to the Sidekick software. BEI will display the SIDEKICK in public at the upcoming AHR Exposition in Orlando, booth 3126. We will also have other HeatSponge models on display and based on the popularity in Chicago last year will bring the HeatSponge NASCAR Late Model stock car back for another display appearance.
The efficiency of the SIDEKICK goes far beyond simply energy recovery to the ultra-productive process in which it is selected and designed. Heat recovery for condensing applications introduces a significant number of variables that makes a catalog-approach to equipment selection nearly impossible. Boilerroom Equipment has developed a new method of quantifying heat recovery, the Recovery Rate, and integrated this into the design. The incorporation of the Recovery Rate variable allows a customer to custom tailor the level of heat recovery and cost directly to the requirements of each specific application. We define this new concept in heat recovery design as 3D Modularity, for modular construction in three dimensions. Based on a "Mass-Customization" approach to product development, Bruce will consider all of the application design constraints and will design a SIDEKICK optimized to meet the exact performance requirements at the most competitive price. Bruce has been given the ability to consider all aspects of the heat exchanger design relative to the price of the equipment and generate a fully priced proposal all in real-time; a software and engineering accomplishment that added over one thousand hours of coding and heat transfer modification to Bruce's core program. This means Bruce can handle all inquiries and generate proposals in real time by himself. The near elimination of sales and support overhead and significantly reduced project execution overhead requirements the Bruce software provides allows us to offer a product superior to any before it at pricing and responsiveness levels no conventional competitor could hope to match.
Bruce will go on-line live on Monday December 21st with full public access to the Sidekick software. BEI will display the SIDEKICK in public at the upcoming AHR Exposition in Orlando, booth 3126. We will also have other HeatSponge models on display and based on the popularity in Chicago last year will bring the HeatSponge NASCAR Late Model stock car back for another display appearance.
Triad Boiler Room Systems Launched New Commercial Boilers
Triad Boiler Room Systems Launched New Commercial Boilers
We believe in quality - it is the overriding characteristic driving our company. This is why we manufacture extremely rugged, well-designed hot water and steam boilers that can provide decades of dependable service. We welcome your inquiries.
Benefits of Modularity
• Boilers are activated sequentially, drawing water from the main loop into the next hot water boiler until the heating need is meet.
• firing boilers remaining isolated, so no heated water circulates through cold boilers.
• During most of the year the unfired boilers provide additional backup.
• Outdoor temperatures and loop water temperatures are constantly monitored.
Upon a call for heat, the boiler pump begins pushing the return water into the boiler and out through the secondary loop, supplying this hot water up into the primary loop (the main header), where it mixes with the cooler return water from the main loop of the building.
• Supply and return water are blended, avoiding the need for expensive and unreliable mixing valves commonly used in two pipe systems.
• The secondary loop isolates each hot water boiler, resulting in a very efficient system that minimizes thermal shock.
TRIAD Boilers can be sequenced by the use of our control panel that provides many attractive features:
• Temperature set-back when less heat is required, such as nights and weekends.
• Adjustments for latent heat, to take advantage of hot boiler water that retains heat after the burner shuts down.
• Outdoor reset based on atmospheric temperatures.
• Monitoring of return water temperatures to maintain accurate heating output.
Fisher Capital on Boiler Room Equipment, Inc: All TRIAD hot water boilers and steam boilers are fully assembled, packaged products, which offer several advantages over boilers that must be assembled at the jobsite
• Onsite labor costs are minimized.
• Quality control is higher at the factory than at the jobsite
• The ease of installation of a packaged boiler allows for quicker start up.
Easy to Clean
TRIAD also makes it easy to maintain clean water surfaces. The cleaning of the interior of a cast iron boiler is a major undertaking, and even then only the vertical surfaces can be cleaned. The inability to clean the horizontal surfaces can have a significant impact on operating efficiency.
Fisher Capital on Boiler Room Equipment, Inc: Triad Boiler Systems manufactures uniquely rugged small-footprint hot water boilers, steam boilers, and radiant heating systems. All our boilers use 12 gauge firetubes in compact vessels that fit through very small doorways! Inputs range up to 2,000,000 BTU's. Create a highly efficient system with millions of BTU's by sequencing a string of these modular vessels.
TRIAD's commercial boilers and industrial grade Hot Water Heating, Domestic Hot Water, and Steam boilers are used in a wide variety of applications. Our commercial boilers are used at schools, universities, apartments, hospitals, office buildings, retirement communities, and churches. Industrial uses have included bakeries, smelting operations, food processing, quenching systems, and various heating applications for manufacturing. Triads’ modular boilers and radiant heating systems can be natural gas fired, oil fired, or dual fuel fired. For simplicity of operation and maintenance, all controls on our boilers are well known, off-the-shelf products. There area no proprietary parts on these boilers! This simplicity of operation is part of our philosophy, and an important reason why our customers return to us again and again.
TRIAD has been manufacturing high-quality boilers since 1926, and developed the modular boiler concept with primary/secondary piping, receiving a patent for it in 1967. We put this experience, knowledge, and expertise into every boiler.
We believe in quality - it is the overriding characteristic driving our company. This is why we manufacture extremely rugged, well-designed hot water and steam boilers that can provide decades of dependable service. We welcome your inquiries.
Benefits of Modularity
TRIAD's elegantly simple design maintains consistent water volume where heat is required.
• Boilers are activated sequentially, drawing water from the main loop into the next hot water boiler until the heating need is meet.
• firing boilers remaining isolated, so no heated water circulates through cold boilers.
• During most of the year the unfired boilers provide additional backup.
• Outdoor temperatures and loop water temperatures are constantly monitored.
Fisher Capital on Boiler Room Equipment, Inc: The efficiency of this design is most apparent during warmer months, when a conventional hydronic heating or steam boiler could still be operating at full capacity.
Primary-Secondary Piping
TRIAD integrates modularity with a single pipe primary-secondary system. TRIAD was the first company to employ a Primary-Secondary concept. It operates with two loops, (i) the primary loop, or building main loop, and (ii) smaller secondary loops off of each hot water boiler, which supply heated water to the primary loop.
Upon a call for heat, the boiler pump begins pushing the return water into the boiler and out through the secondary loop, supplying this hot water up into the primary loop (the main header), where it mixes with the cooler return water from the main loop of the building.
• Supply and return water are blended, avoiding the need for expensive and unreliable mixing valves commonly used in two pipe systems.
• The secondary loop isolates each hot water boiler, resulting in a very efficient system that minimizes thermal shock.
Control Panel
TRIAD Boilers can be sequenced by the use of our control panel that provides many attractive features:
• Temperature set-back when less heat is required, such as nights and weekends.
• Adjustments for latent heat, to take advantage of hot boiler water that retains heat after the burner shuts down.
• Outdoor reset based on atmospheric temperatures.
• Monitoring of return water temperatures to maintain accurate heating output.
It is also very easy to sequence our boilers using the panel of any other major manufacturer.
Packaged Product
Fisher Capital on Boiler Room Equipment, Inc: All TRIAD hot water boilers and steam boilers are fully assembled, packaged products, which offer several advantages over boilers that must be assembled at the jobsite
• Onsite labor costs are minimized.
• Quality control is higher at the factory than at the jobsite
• The ease of installation of a packaged boiler allows for quicker start up.
Benefits of Steel Boilers
Easy to Clean
To maintain boiler efficiency, heating surfaces must be kept clean and free of combustion by-products. All TRIAD heating surfaces, especially the firetubes, are easy to access. It is impossible to clean all the heating surfaces of a cast iron boiler, and what can be reached is difficult to clean.
TRIAD also makes it easy to maintain clean water surfaces. The cleaning of the interior of a cast iron boiler is a major undertaking, and even then only the vertical surfaces can be cleaned. The inability to clean the horizontal surfaces can have a significant impact on operating efficiency.
South Korea: Market Overview 2010 Fisher Capital Management Seoul
South Korea: Fisher Capital Management Seoul - The South Korean economy is expected to grow by 4–5% in 2010. The government’s efforts were seriously questioned when it clipped the independence of the central bank when the government sent its observers to the central bank’s policy meetings.
However, the central bank will start raising interest rates in the third quarter to prevent inflation and asset bubbles. For the time being inflation is stable. It fell from 3.1% in January to 2.7% in February, but inflation will accelerate in the second half due to higher oil prices and rising imports. This should see policy interest rates to go up by 25 basis points in the third quarter and another 25 basis points in December.
South Korea: Market Overview 2010 Fisher Capital Management Seoul - The government appointed Mr. Kim, who has served as a presidential economic secretary and is currently South Korea’s ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Under the new leadership, the central bank may cooperate even more closely with the government than it has under Governor Lee. The central bank under Mr. Kim may be more willing to risk inflation in order to ensure that the economic recovery remains on track. The Korean policy
interest rate has been at an all-time low of 2.0% for more than a year now and the bank expects inflation to stay around 2.5% in the near future.
South Korea: Market Overview 2010 Fisher Capital Management Seoul - Fisher Capital is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world.
As a full service company Fisher Capital provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none. The Fisher Capital Difference While many financial institutions talk about wealth management, few actually provide the resources to deliver an integrated solution.
Access to industry leading Investment Advisors- Investment Advisors who are invited to join Fisher Capital are recognized leaders in financial services who share our values of trust and integrity. They have built successful practices and are respected by clients for delivering results and superior service.
Exclusive and industry leading products and services - Our Investment Advisory teams constantly review the marketplace searching for trends and opportunities to enhance wealth. Core investment solutions are complemented by our ability to deliver institutional power allowing you to invest alongside Fisher Capital through exclusive offerings such as private equity as well as hedging strategies and other alternative investment strategies.
Personal Investment Management - Fisher Capital is home to many leading Portfolio Managers who assist private clients and institutional investors preferring the convenience of delegating the day-to-day decision making in their portfolio.
Experience our difference - Learn how your Investment Advisor, with the support of the team of professionals at Fisher Capital, can help address the issues you face while preserving, enhancing and transferring your wealth.
Contact your Investment Advisor today.
Let us keep you informed of all the latest news and developments with our free monthly newsletter of analysis and recommendations.
Join our mailing list to recieved our free monthly Fisher Capital newsletter, with analysis of the latest financial and investment news and developmetns, plus of course our current research findings and recommendations.
However, the central bank will start raising interest rates in the third quarter to prevent inflation and asset bubbles. For the time being inflation is stable. It fell from 3.1% in January to 2.7% in February, but inflation will accelerate in the second half due to higher oil prices and rising imports. This should see policy interest rates to go up by 25 basis points in the third quarter and another 25 basis points in December.
South Korea: Market Overview 2010 Fisher Capital Management Seoul - The government appointed Mr. Kim, who has served as a presidential economic secretary and is currently South Korea’s ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Under the new leadership, the central bank may cooperate even more closely with the government than it has under Governor Lee. The central bank under Mr. Kim may be more willing to risk inflation in order to ensure that the economic recovery remains on track. The Korean policy
interest rate has been at an all-time low of 2.0% for more than a year now and the bank expects inflation to stay around 2.5% in the near future.
South Korea: Market Overview 2010 Fisher Capital Management Seoul - Fisher Capital is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world.
As a full service company Fisher Capital provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none. The Fisher Capital Difference While many financial institutions talk about wealth management, few actually provide the resources to deliver an integrated solution.
Access to industry leading Investment Advisors- Investment Advisors who are invited to join Fisher Capital are recognized leaders in financial services who share our values of trust and integrity. They have built successful practices and are respected by clients for delivering results and superior service.
Exclusive and industry leading products and services - Our Investment Advisory teams constantly review the marketplace searching for trends and opportunities to enhance wealth. Core investment solutions are complemented by our ability to deliver institutional power allowing you to invest alongside Fisher Capital through exclusive offerings such as private equity as well as hedging strategies and other alternative investment strategies.
Personal Investment Management - Fisher Capital is home to many leading Portfolio Managers who assist private clients and institutional investors preferring the convenience of delegating the day-to-day decision making in their portfolio.
Experience our difference - Learn how your Investment Advisor, with the support of the team of professionals at Fisher Capital, can help address the issues you face while preserving, enhancing and transferring your wealth.
Contact your Investment Advisor today.
Let us keep you informed of all the latest news and developments with our free monthly newsletter of analysis and recommendations.
Join our mailing list to recieved our free monthly Fisher Capital newsletter, with analysis of the latest financial and investment news and developmetns, plus of course our current research findings and recommendations.
Fisher Capital Management: Lehman, Tribune, Fisher Island, Quigley, AAI: Bankruptcy
March 23, 2011, 8:11 AM EDT
To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Rochelle in New York at wrochelle@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.net
Story Tools
By Bill Rochelle
(This report contains items about companies both in bankruptcy and not in bankruptcy. Adds Fisher Island and Quigley in Updates, Aryx in Filing Possible and Shearer’s in Downgrade.) March 23 (Bloomberg) -- The business of trading claims against bankrupt companies will virtually vanish if Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. confirms a Chapter 11 plan this year.
Lehman and its brokerage unit were responsible for almost $38.7 billion in traded claims during the past year, according to data compiled from court records by SecondMarket Inc. The companies in second and third places each had traded claims amounting to 2 percent of Lehman’s total.
Those companies, old General Motors Corp. and Mesa Air Group Inc., had claim trades of less than $800 million apiece in the period, according to New York-based SecondMarket, which describes itself as the largest secondary market for illiquid assets.
In the past few months, the trend has been toward larger dollar amounts and fewer trades, not surprising given the declining numbers of major Chapter 11 filings.
In February, $3.47 billion of claims changed hands in 524 transfers, compared with $2.55 billion in face amount on 636 trades in January. Lehman’s $2.72 billion in deals accounted for 78 percent of February’s total. Mesa followed with $551 million in face amount.
The number of reported trades in February was the fewest since June 2009, SecondMarket said. The 45 companies with traded claims were the fewest in two years.
Updates
Aurelius May File LBO Suits to Beat Statute of Limitations Aurelius Capital Management LP plugged what it saw as a loophole in the ability to file lawsuits if the bankruptcy judge doesn’t sign a confirmation order approving the reorganization plan proposed by Tribune Co. by June.
Aurelius, one of the proponents of a competing plan, contends it automatically had the right this year to file lawsuits against shareholders who sold their stock in the 2007 leveraged buyout. Tribune lost the right to recover $8.2 billion in stock-redemption payments by failing to file suits in December as the two-year window for the bankrupt company closed, Aurelius said.
Aurelius took the position that Tribune’s failure to sue abandoned the claims, allowing creditors to sue in their own right.
At a hearing yesterday, the bankruptcy judge said he would allow the creditors to file suit to ensure their claims aren’t lost when the four-year statute of limitations runs out in June. The lawsuits still can’t go ahead until completion of the confirmation trial over Tribune’s plan, the judge said.
Other protective lawsuits, filed late last year by the creditors’ committee, are similarly on hold pending the outcome of the confirmation fight.
At yesterday’s hearing, the bankruptcy judge authorized insurance companies to pay defense costs in various lawsuits arising from the LBO. Tribune said it has $200 million in so- called directors’ and officers’ liability insurance coverage.
The bankruptcy judge held two weeks of trial to decide whether to confirm the Tribune plan or the competing Aurelius proposal. The trial will resume April 11. The judge warned the warring parties that he may confirm neither plan and appoint a Chapter 11 trustee instead.
Aurelius is the largest holder of debt predating the 2007 leveraged buyout. Three indenture trustees are also proponents of the competing plan, under which lawsuits would continue after plan confirmation to recover damages from alleged fraudulent transfers that occurred along with the LBO.
The company’s plan is co-sponsored by the official creditors’ committee and senior lenders Oaktree Capital Management LP, Angelo Gordon & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Tribune’s plan would largely impose settlements over claims arising from the LBO.
Tribune is the second-largest newspaper publisher in the U.S. It listed $13 billion in debt for borrowed money and assets of $7.6 billion in the Chapter 11 reorganization begun in December 2008. It owns the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, six other newspapers and 23 television stations.
The case is In re Tribune Co., 08-13141, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).
Control of Fisher Island Disputed in Court Filing The involuntary Chapter 11 petition filed March 17 against a developer on Fisher Island, Florida, was a “last ditch effort to maintain” claims to ownership, according to a bankruptcy court filing yesterday by lawyers who said they represent the actual owners.
A different law firm, saying it represents the company, filed papers on March 21 consenting to being in Chapter 11. The firm claiming to represent the true owners contends that the six creditors who filed the involuntary petition aren’t “actual creditors.”
A lawsuit is already pending in Florida state court to decide who properly is in control of the company. The state- court judge was scheduled to hold a March 29 hearing on a motion for summary judgment to decide the issue. Should the motion fail, a trial is set for June, according to yesterday’s bankruptcy court filing.
The pleading yesterday asks the bankruptcy judge in Miami to invalidate the consent to being in Chapter 11 and allow the state court action to proceed and decide who controls the company.
There are $100 million in legitimate claims for borrowed money and AIG Annuity Insurance Co. is one of the lenders, according to the filing.
The creditors who filed the involuntary petition said they are collectively owed $32.4 million. They also seek the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee.
The first-filed case is In re Fisher Island Investments Inc., 11-17047, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida (Miami).
Pfizer, Asbestos Claimants Have New Plan for Quigley Quigley Co., a non-operating subsidiary of Pfizer Inc., announced this week that a final settlement was reached between Pfizer and an ad hoc committee representing 40,000 asbestos claimants who claim they were injured by Quigley products.
The bankruptcy court in Manhattan scheduled a hearing on April 5 to consider approval of the so-called plan support agreement between Pfizer and the committee.
The settlement avoids holding a hearing in April on the committee’s motion to dismiss the Quigley reorganization that began in September 2004. The motion came in response to a ruling by the bankruptcy judge in September refusing to confirm Quigley’s reorganization plan.
The judge determined that the plan was filed in bad faith and wasn’t feasible. Objectors argued that Quigley’s bankruptcy was being used improperly to shield Pfizer from liability.
Even though Quigley’s plan was accepted by the required majorities of creditors, the bankruptcy judge found that improper incentives were given to some creditors to obtain their “yes” votes. Through the plan, including contributions from Pfizer, $757 million would have been distributed, the disclosure statement said.
Pfizer and the ad hoc committee agreed on a revised Chapter 11 plan. The new disclosure statement is yet to be filed. The new plan cures the defects the judge identified in September, according to court papers.
Before the plan can be implemented, creditors and asbestos claimants must vote after the judge approves a new disclosure statement. To read Bloomberg coverage, click here.
Quigley filed under Chapter 11 to deal with 500,000 asbestos claims.
The case is In re Quigley Co., 04-15739, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Paulson Fixes Loopholes in Lehman-Bankhaus Agreement Paulson & Co. was among the group of creditors that found a loophole in a proposed agreement under which Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. would pay $957 million to the German insolvency administrator for Lehman Brothers Bankhaus AG for notes in the face amount of $1.54 billion.
Paulson objected privately to Lehman, saying the German administrator could earn almost $100 million if certain unanticipated events were to occur. The loophole was fixed, Paulson said in a court filing.
The hearing for approval of the note-purchase agreement is tomorrow. For Bloomberg coverage, click here. For details on the agreement with the administrator, click here for the March 3 Bloomberg bankruptcy report.
A June 28 hearing is scheduled for approval of disclosure statements explaining the competing Chapter 11 plans. Paulson has a plan on file proposing substantive consolidation to compete with Lehman’s plan. Lehman is seeking a confirmation hearing on Nov. 17 for approval of one of two plans.
The Lehman holding company filed under Chapter 11 in New York on Sept. 15, 2008, and sold office buildings and the North American investment-banking business to Barclays Plc one week later. The Lehman brokerage operations went into liquidation on Sept. 19, 2008.
The Lehman holding company Chapter 11 case is In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., 08-13555, while the liquidation proceeding under the Securities Investor Protection Act for the brokerage operation is Securities Investor Protection Corp. v. Lehman Brothers Inc., 08-01420, both in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Boeing Says Alabama Aircraft Owes $8 Million Secured If Boeing Co. is correct and has $8 million in claims against Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc., the Alabama-based aircraft-repair facility may not be able to reorganize.
Boeing, based in Chicago, said in court papers last week that it subcontracted heavy maintenance on U.S. Air Force tankers to AAI. Boeing says AAI was late in completing work in “many instances” and was half a year behind in some.
Boeing wants the bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware, to give it protection for the progress payments it is required to make to AAI for the four tankers still being repaired. Contending its rights of setoff and recoupment give it the status of a secured creditor, Boeing wants a first lien on payments it made after bankruptcy and a subordinate lien on AAI’s other assets.
The dispute with Boeing is scheduled for an accelerated hearing tomorrow in bankruptcy court.
AAI has a motion pending to terminate the existing collective-bargaining agreement with the United Auto Workers union. Without contract and pension relief, AAI says the business isn’t feasible.
Previously known as Pemco Aeroplex Inc., AAI provides scheduled maintenance for U.S. military aircraft. The company operates under a long-term lease at the Birmingham International Airport in Alabama, chiefly maintaining and repairing transport, tanker and patrol aircraft.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. was listed as having the largest unsecured claim at $68.5 million. A fund affiliated with Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC is owed $2.5 million on a note. Assets were on the books for more than $32 million in September, according to a court paper.
The case is In re Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc., 11- 10452, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).
Former Fuddruckers Owner Set for June 9 Confirmation The former owner of the Fuddruckers restaurant chain received approval on March 21 for the disclosure statement explaining the liquidating Chapter 11 plan. The confirmation hearing for approval of the plan is scheduled for June 9.
The bankruptcy judge authorized the creditors’ committee to file two lawsuits seeking to recharacterize claims as equity or to subordinate them to the claims to other creditors.
The committee is attacking three claims for $28.9 million filed by Brosna International LLC. Michael Cannon is the other target on account of two claims seeking more than $5 million.
Restaurant operator Luby’s Inc. bought the Fuddruckers restaurant chain in July for $63 million. The Fuddruckers chain then changed its name from Magic Brands LLC to Deel LLC and filed a liquidating Chapter 11 plan in January. For details of the plan, click here for the Jan. 20 Bloomberg bankruptcy report.
After closing stores, Austin, Texas-based Magic Brands had 62 company-owned Fuddruckers locations operating in 11 states. It also owned the Koo Koo Roo restaurant brand, with three sites in California. Assets were less than $10 million while debt was less than $50 million, according to the petition.
The Koo Koo Roo stores were in bankruptcy a second time.
There were 135 Fuddruckers restaurants in 32 states owned by franchisees that weren’t in the bankruptcy.
The case is In re Deel LLC, 10-11310, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).
Nancy Rapoport to Be Station Casinos Fee Examiner Nancy B. Rapoport, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was named this week to serve as the fee examiner in the reorganization of Station Casinos Inc.
The company’s Chapter 11 plan was approved by a confirmation order in August in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Reno, Nevada. The hearing for final approval of professional fees won’t be held for several months, Rapoport said in an e-mail.
Rapoport previously served as the court’s expert in evaluating the fees in the reorganizations of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. and Mirant Corp. Rapoport is an expert on ethical issues in bankruptcy cases.
For details of the Station Casinos plan, click here for the July 29 Bloomberg bankruptcy report.
Station Casinos filed under Chapter 11 in July 2009, with 13 properties in Las Vegas plus five joint ventures. It also operated casinos for American Indian tribes. Station’s debt resulted from a leveraged buyout in November 2007 by Feritta Colony Partners LLC.
The case is In Re Station Casinos Inc., 09-52477, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada (Reno).
Constar Reports Losses in Second Reorganization Constar International Inc., a manufacturer of blow-molded plastic beverage containers, filed operating reports for the first two months of the second Chapter 11 reorganization in two years.
For the last 20 days in January following the Chapter 11 filing, the net loss was $35.8 million, largely because of $30.6 million in “reorganization items.” Sales for Jan. 11 through Jan. 31 were $20.1 million.
In February, the net loss was $2.6 million on sales of $27.2 million. Operating losses were $1.5 million in February and $1.6 million in January.
Constar’s disclosure statement was approved in February. The confirmation hearing for approval of the plan is set for April 25.
The prepackaged plan calls for holders of 75 percent of the $220 million in senior secured floating-rate notes that survived the prior bankruptcy to convert their debt into a new $70 million term loan and $30 million of convertible preferred stock.
In the first reorganization, $175 million of 11 percent subordinated notes were exchanged for all of the new stock. The stock given out last time is being extinguished this time. For details of the new plan, click here for the Jan. 12 Bloomberg bankruptcy report.
The Sept. 30 balance sheet for Philadelphia-based Constar listed assets of $325 million and liabilities of $321 million. The new petition said assets are $418 million with debt of $414 million.
The new case is In re Constar International Inc., 11-10109, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington). The prior reorganization was In re Constar International Inc., 08- 13432, in the same court.
Filing Possible
Aryx Therapeutics Gives Up for Lack of FDA Approval Aryx Therapeutics Inc. said it will make an “orderly disposition of assets” or possibly file for Chapter 7 liquidation following the delay in regulatory approval for Stage 3 testing of a drug for gastrointestinal disorders.
Aryx, based in Fremont, California, said earlier this month that new funding fell through after the announcement of the testing delay. The company decided at the time to wind down operations for lack of funding.
Lighthouse Capital Partners V LP, the secured lender, declared a default and is demanding to take possession of the assets.
Aryx’s balance sheet showed assets of $6 million and liabilities of $13.7 million on Sept. 30. The company is yet to generate revenue.
New Filing
Puerto Rico Hospital Files Chapter 11 to Keep Lights On San Juan Bautista Medical Center Corp., the owner of a 375- bed teaching hospital in Caguas, Puerto Rico, filed for Chapter 11 protection on March 18 in Old San Juan to stop the power company from shutting off electric service.
Disputes with Puerto Rico Energy & Power Authority date back to 2002, according to court papers. On average, 85 beds are occupied each day.
The hospital operates in conjunction with the medical school named Escuela de Medecina San Juan Bautista. The medical school isn’t in bankruptcy.
Debt exceeds $10 million, according to the petition.
The case is In re San Juan Bautista Medical Center Corp., 11-02270, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Puerto Rico (Old San Juan).
Bankruptcy Podcast
New York Times-Madoff, Blockbuster, Tribune: Bankruptcy Audio The Bloomberg bankruptcy podcast opens with a discussion of why The New York Times may turn the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities Inc. into a test case on whether court pleadings can be kept secret. Disputes between the Madoff trustee and New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon are also analyzed. We ask whether suppliers of Blockbuster Inc. will pursue an investigation to learn when the company realized it could no longer pay for goods supplied after bankruptcy. Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia and Bloomberg News bankruptcy columnist Bill Rochelle conclude by wondering whether Tribune Co. will become a case where the bankruptcy judge refuses to approve a so-called cramdown settlement. To listen, click here.
Downgrade
Mistral’s Snack-Food Maker Shearer Lowered to B- by S&P Snack-food producer Shearer’s Foods Inc. sustained a one- notch downgrade when Standard & Poor’s lowered the corporate and senior secured ratings to B- yesterday.
S&P said headroom under loan covenants will be “very tight” for the quarter ending this month. S&P predicts that bank lenders won’t recover more than 70 percent in the event of payment default.
Following the Snack Alliance acquisition one year ago, S&P said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are 21 percent below budget. The acquisition increased revenue by more than 75 percent, S&P said.
Shearer’s, based in Brewster, Ohio, is the largest kettle chip producer in the U.S. It was acquired in January 2008 by Mistral Equity Partners.
Advance Sheets
Refusing to Settle Not Contempt of Mediation Order Although a bankruptcy court can force someone to mediate, it can’t hold a party in contempt for failing to settle, U.S. District Judge William Pauley III held on March 18 in reversing a ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Cecelia Morris.
Wells Fargo Bank NA was ordered to mediate. There was an impasse soon after mediation began. Following a report by the mediator to the court, the bankruptcy judge conducted a hearing and eventually held the bank and its lawyer in contempt for failing to mediate in good faith.
In reversing, Pauley began his analysis by saying that “mediation is typically a voluntary process.” He then said the trial court can neither “force a party to settle” nor “coerce a party into making an offer to settle.”
The bank was “within its rights to enter the mediation with the position it would not make a settlement offer,” Pauley said. He said the bank also had the right to decide in advance that it wasn’t liable. Practically speaking, Pauley said an order to mediate “will not change the mind of a party who believes that settlement is not in their best interest.”
Although the trial court can investigate whether a party didn’t mediate in good faith, Pauley ruled that the confidentiality requirement surrounding mediation precludes the court “from inquiring into the level of a party’s participation.”
The case is In re A.T. Reynolds & Sons Inc., 10-2917, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
--With assistance from Linda Sandler and Tiffany Kary in New York and Dawn McCarty and Michael Bathon in Wilmington, Delaware. Editors: Stephen Farr, Peter BlumbergTo contact the reporter on this story: Bill Rochelle in New York at wrochelle@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.net
Fisher Capital Management Reports: International Equities
The third quarter saw double-digit returns for the world¹s equity markets. U.S. large-cap stocks, as measured by the Russell 1000 Index, rose 16.07%, bringing that index’s year-to-date return to 21.08%. Mid-cap stocks were the best performers overall, with the Russell Mid-Cap Index gaining 20.62% for the third quarter and 32.63% for the year. Value stocks bounced back during the quarter, outperforming growth stocks across the full range of market capitalizations. Small-cap value stocks were the best performers for the quarter but still lagged their small growth counterparts by almost 13 percentage points for the year.
International Equities: Fisher Capital management, Korea reports: International equities posted double-digit gains for the third quarter as well. The MSCI EAFE IMI Index gained 19.82% in the third quarter, with local-currency average market returns of 15.10% boosted by the weak performance of the U.S. dollar.
Emerging markets produced another strong quarter, but one that was more in line with developed market returns than was the case during the second quarter of 2009, as the MSCI Emerging Market IMI Index rose 21.30% for the third quarter. Both developed and emerging markets were driven higher by the strong performance of European equity markets, while Asian markets, particularly in Japan, lagged.
Fisher Capital Management Outlook: At the end of the quarter, markets reacted negatively to mixed economic news, signaling a potential correction off the recent highs. The strong rally since the market’s low of March 9, 2009 has left observers wondering whether rapidly-rising stock valuations have become prematurely rich and earnings expectations somewhat stretched.
While we are cautious about the performance of the market in the short term, we continue to expect a slower, but more robust and sustained, “smile-shaped” economic recovery in the long run.
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Fisher Capital Management Korea is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world. As a full service company Fisher Capital Management Korea provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service secon
Friday, April 15, 2011
Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: The American way?
By Jessica Toonkel
April 11, 2011
In a recent interview, American Funds Distributor’s president Kevin Clifford reportedly blamed the recent fund outflows at American on pollyanna-ish sales pitches at the retail level. Not surprisingly, those working at the retail level — namely, advisers — did not take kindly to the suggestion.
Did American Funds’ exec diss advisers?
Clifford reportedly pinned fund firm’s recent outflows on pollyanna-ish sales pitches
April 11, 2011 2:59 pm ET
American Funds appears to have bitten the hand that feeds it.
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In a rare interview with Barron’s published last weekend, Kevin Clifford, president of American Funds Distributors Inc., is quoted as blaming advisers for the huge outflows the firm has seen since the most recent market meltdown.
In the article, Mr. Clifford is quoted as saying that advisers were characterizing American’s funds as “able to defy gravity,” based on their strong returns after the dot-com crash. He described the hawking as “foolish.”
American Funds suffered $50 billion in outflows in 2010 and so far this year has seen another $14.79 billion go out the door, according to Morningstar Inc. (See a recent list of the ‘The 5 fund families with the largest outflows’.)
Industry observers advisers said they were surprised to see American Funds point the finger at them for the outflows at the giant fund firm.
“The comments were just jaw dropping,” said Don Phillips, director of research at Morningstar Inc. “To lay blame on the people who sell their funds is astonishing, and you have to think, rather foolish.”
Advisers were equally unimpressed by the comments.
“Advisers were overselling the funds because they were over-marketing them,” said Steve Johnson, an adviser with Raymond James Financial Services Inc., who uses American Funds selectively. “Their wholesalers were out there beating you up on how cheap their funds were and how consistent the track records were.”
American Funds needs to take some responsibility for setting expectations, said Kevin McDevitt, an analyst at Morningstar. “You have to wonder what the wholesalers were telling advisers,” he said.
Some advisers were shocked to see an American Funds executive point the finger at advisers so directly, even if what he was saying was accurate. “I think it’s hysterical that he is questioning advisers,” said Rich Zito, an adviser with Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC. “It’s like, ‘Let me beat up on my customers.’”
American Funds contends that Mr. Clifford’s comments were taken out of context. “Kevin Clifford absolutely did not blame advisers,” said Chuck Freadhoff, a spokesman. “I am not saying that the reporter misquoted him, but there was a miscommunication.”
Mr. Freadhoff said that the number of advisers selling American Funds doubled from 100,000 to 200,000 between 1999 and 2006. Many of American Funds’ offerings did well during the dot-com bust, he said, and thus many new advisers invested with the firm, believing that the funds would be able to maintain that level of outperformance.
“Many advisers believed we would hold up much better in a downturn, but in 2008, many of our funds didn’t do that,” he said.
American Funds has reached out to its wholesalers and adviser-facing employees about the miscommunication so that they can address any questions or concerns from advisers stemming from the Barron’s article.
“We have provided them with the full context of what Kevin said and prepared them to answer any questions,” Mr. Freadhoff said. “Our entire business model is built around the value of advice.”
But Mr. Phillips believes the remarks are emblematic of Capital Research & Management’s culture. “They are not experienced with talking to the press and they need to be,” he said. “They are a massive manager of money.”
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Fisher Capital Management Corporate News: Why shouldn’t Murdoch get what he wants? Others do
Peter Wilby
The Guardian, Tuesday 12 April 2011
Article history
The phone-hacking affair is just one example of how politicians have lost the will and moral compass to control corporate interests
Imagine reports that, during the 2010 election, members of Labour’s campaign team hired private detectives to hack the mobile phones of Tory leaders and aides, accessing in particular voicemail messages left by the editors of the Sun and News of the World. Imagine that a sleuth was convicted, along with the minor apparatchik at Labour headquarters who hired him.
Imagine that Labour leaders insisted that the apparatchik was a rogue operator, that nobody else in the party could possibly be involved, and that Gordon Brown, along with his henchmen Eds Miliband and Balls, were entirely in ignorance of what their underlings had been up to.We can be certain the press would not let the matter rest there. Any shortcomings in the police investigation would be closely scrutinised.
Rupert Murdoch’s papers, including the Sun and News of the World, would show no mercy. They might be willing to draw the line at Brown – almost a forgotten man and one for whom Rupert Murdoch always had a soft spot – but they would not rest until Miliband and Balls were hounded out of the Labour leadership. They would demand more criminal prosecutions and handsome compensation for the violated editors.The rest of the press, too, would be keen to pursue the story.
Public life, we would be told, had been polluted, and those responsible should be stripped of office. At some stage the affair would acquire a title: Ballsgate, Miligate or Edgate, perhaps.So why, when it comes to phone-hacking at Murdoch’s News of the World, is everyone so quiet? Why has it been left almost entirely to this paper, with help from a few other media organisations such as the New York Times, to reveal the extent of the criminality? Why has the -gate suffix been given a rare holiday? This is not a grey area.
Phone-hacking is always illegal except, in certain instances, for the security services. There is no public interest defence. That was why Clive Goodman, the News of the World royal reporter, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator, went to jail more than four years ago for intercepting the communications of aides to Princes William and Harry.Yet politicians, police and press have been extraordinarily insouciant. The police do not appear to have challenged the assurance of News International, News of the World’s parent company, that no other reporters were involved; though they knew Mulcaire possessed dozens of mobile phone PIN codes, they also failed to inform the owners of those phones in a timely manner that the security of their messages could be at risk. That is like failing to warn householders that burglars hold copies of their door keys.
Several politicians, including John Prescott, suspected more than a year ago that their phones had probably been hacked.Rebekah Brooks, currently the chief executive of News International, declined to give oral evidence to a 2009 MPs’ select committee hearing into the News of the World allegations, although she did submit written evidence.And the government still appears willing to wave through Murdoch’s attempt to take full control of BSkyB without any consideration of whether he and his leading executives have sufficient corporate controls to be entrusted with a virtual monopoly of non-terrestrial television. As for the press, the Mail, Express, Mirror and Telegraph newspapers (as well as, predictably, Murdoch’s papers) have almost entirely ignored the story
.One can offer several possible explanations: the symbiotic relationship between tabloid papers and senior police officers; newspapers’ traditional fear of starting “dog-eat-dog” wars and of provoking revelations of occasions when they too broke the law; the politicians’ fear that Murdoch will turn his papers against them and their parties.Another fear is that Murdoch’s journalists will use their formidable resources against anybody who displeases them.
Chris Bryant, one of the few MPs who dared to highlight what he calls “a many-layered scandal”, told the Commons last month that “a senior figure allied to Rupert Murdoch” had sent him a warning “that it would not be forgotten”.But there is something here that is deeper and more worrying for our public life than the politicians’ traditional fear of upsetting a big proprietor – a fear which, you may reasonably think, ought to have diminished now that fewer people read newspapers and the proprietor concerned has put most of his behind an internet paywall.This affair is just one example of how politicians have lost the authority, the will and the moral compass to control corporate interests. They consider only the most modest proposals to bring banks to heel. They make it laughably easy for multinationals to avoid tax. They stand by as supermarkets drive out small retailers. They introduce “reforms” toeducation and health that allow corporations to take over the provision, if not the ownership, of our biggest public services.
The corporate sector gets what it wants. Why shouldn’t Murdoch? It’s business as usual.The Labour party was once the political arm of the organised working-class. All three main parties are now the political arm of the organised corporate class. This is not a peculiarly British phenomenon. Almost every advanced democracy, and particularly the US, struggles to control the corporate sector. It is not just that politicians depend on its donations to finance election campaigns but also that they lack the staying power to withstand corporate pressure.
Most anti-corporate legislation fails to strike a chord with the electorate; the banks are a partial exception, but the arguments over how to deal with them are too esoteric to engage public attention for long. Voters may vaguely agree that the News of the World’s phone-hacking was wrong but, if they were truly outraged, they wouldn’t buy the paper. They may sympathise with the aggrieved celebrity victims but it is not a subject that affects them personally.
Designing and enforcing rules to restrain any conglomerate is a slow and laborious process. Politicians, like newspapers, prefer to champion causes they can expect to win. When they look at News International and its alleged misdemeanours, they see an arduous battle against overwhelming odds. With no medals for the winners, they have no appetite for it. Do not be surprised if, even now, Murdoch manages to wriggle free of this scandal with his influence and reputation intact.
Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: For investment banks in Q1, underwriting was it
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/us-investmentbank-idUSTRE73B3EB20110412
By Lauren Tara LaCapra
NEW YORK | Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:59am EDT
(Reuters) – U.S. stock underwriting was the sole strong business in an otherwise bleak first quarter for U.S. investment banks.
Both Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) are expected to report lower first-quarter earnings next week compared with the same quarter a year ago.
Revenue from trading, merger advisory and bond underwriting is expected to be weak as markets were choppy, relatively few mergers closed, and debt issuance declined relative to exceptionally strong levels a year ago.
Unfortunately for investment banks, stock underwriting is too small a business to make up for weakness in all these other areas.
Longer term, banks face other pressures, too. Trading profit could be crimped in the future as more markets move to exchanges and clearinghouses. And new rules will limit banks’ ability to make bets with their own funds.
“The greatest strategic challenge facing Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley,” says Bernstein analyst Brad Hintz, “is the uncertainty of new regulations.”
But in the first quarter, banks did well with stock underwriting, thanks in part to massive initial public offerings from private equity firms looking to cash out of companies they bought before the financial crisis.
In the first three months of the year, companies issued $196.3 billion of stock globally, the best first quarter for equity issuance on record, according to Thomson Reuters data. Issuance volume rose 15 percent from a year earlier, and fees for underwriting increased 12 percent to $6.1 billion.
That helps banks, but only so much — the stock underwriting business delivered just 7 percent of overall revenue for Goldman Sachs last year, and Goldman was the biggest underwriter. The business was even less substantial for Morgan Stanley, whose equity underwriting revenue comprised just 4.6 percent of its total revenue for 2010.
OTHER BUSINESSES SUFFERING
Stock underwriting could end up being a material part of earnings in the first quarter just because so many other businesses were relatively weak. Goldman raked in an estimated $491 million of fees from stock underwriting, Thomson Reuters data show, up 41 percent from a year earlier.
Analysts on average expect Goldman to report first-quarter net income of $459.5 million, or 81 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Even without a charge of $2.80 per share to buy back Goldman preferred stock from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, that’s well below earnings of $5.59 per share in the year-ago period. Goldman is slated to report results on Tuesday, April 19.
Morgan Stanley, scheduled to post results on Thursday, April 21, will see a boost from its role as lead underwriter for the conversion of $59 billion worth of American International Group Inc (AIG.N) preferred stock into common shares.
Results for both investment banks could be even worse than analysts expect. Sell-side researchers with the best track records are forecasting results for Morgan Stanley that are 22 percent below analysts’ average estimate, and 0.2 percent below for Goldman Sachs, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine Smart Estimates.
A key factor for Morgan Stanley will be how well its Morgan Stanley Smith Barney joint venture with Citigroup Inc (C.N) performed during the quarter. Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman has staked the future of the bank on that wealth management business in a way that none of his rivals have.
Morgan Stanley’s global wealth management division delivered $1.2 billion in pre-tax income last year, more than double the amount in 2009, and some investors are hopeful the business will continue to be a stable source of revenue.
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) garnered the most fees of any investment bank in the first quarter thanks to its advisory role in several key deals and its dominance in the high-yield debt market.
JPMorgan collected $1.4 billion in investment banking fees, or 6.2 percent of the industry total. It reported impressive results as other banks struggled to dodge unexpected interest rate moves.
JPMorgan is scheduled to report quarterly results on Wednesday, April 13.
(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra; editing by John Wallace)
Fisher Capital Management Corporate News: First-ever Corporate Travel Expert program in Shanghai kicks off
Apr 12, 2011
SHANGHAI, China – Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and TTG Asia Media’s effort to bring the internationally-recognized Corporate Travel Expert (CTE) Certification Course to China has paid off with an encouraging 23 participants from across China.
Designed as a 1.5 days starter program on the basics of business travel management, this program is ideal for professionals with decision-making roles in travel planning and purchasing. The full-day learning session starts today, with the certification exam taking place tomorrow. Successful graduates will earn the CTE designation. To date, more than 900 professionals worldwide have been certified through GBTA’s CTE program.
Today’s participants include professionals from McKinsey & Company, Accenture Beijing and Shanghai, Bosch (China) Investment, IKEA IMS Wholesale (Shanghai), and China International Travel Service Shenzhen. The cohort also features travel managers, travel counselors, account managers, executive assistants, buyers, purchasers, general managers, and CEOs.
Said CTE-certified facilitator Dean Fowles: “China’s growing travel demands has made the industry more savvy on the benefits of being smart about corporate travel spending. This makes the CTE program extremely relevant today.” Dean Fowles who is also Principal, Global Sourcing–Services, Travel & Expense Management of Rio Tinto, Singapore, will co-facilitate today’s session with Frances Wang, Travel Management Specialist of Harman International, China.
“Through the CTE program, I hope to be able to gain a comprehensive understanding of the key criteria needed to become proficient in managing corporate travel accounts. This will help enormously because it covers the critical steps in the decision-making process,” explained CTE participant Shalom Paul, CEO of For a CURE Foundation, Australia.
This first-ever CTE program in Shanghai is organized in conjunction with IT&CM China 2011 and as a partner event of the inaugural Shanghai Business Events Week launched by Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration (SMTA).
Today’s CTE session takes place from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Tomorrow’s exam is scheduled from 9:00 am to 10:30 am. Both sessions are held at the Sheraton Shanghai Hongqiao Hotel. More information is available here.
GBTA also offers the CTE program with sister event, Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings Asia (IT&CMA), and Corporate Travel World (CTW) in Bangkok. This 2011 will be the 4th consecutive year that the program will be held during IT&CMA and CTW.
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