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2012年11月30日 星期五

掏空太洋電線電纜公司 胡洪九孫道存判賠140億

掏空太電 胡洪九孫道存判賠140億

〔記者張文川/台北報導〕前太平洋電線電纜公司財務長胡洪九與董事長孫道 存被控掏空自家公司,一審分別被判十八年、四年,太電公司向兩人求償損失,台北地院昨天宣判,胡洪九須賠償三億○二七一萬美元(約新台幣九十一億元),胡 洪九與孫道存另應連帶賠償一億八四九○萬港幣(約新台幣七億元);若加計訴訟七年來的利息,本金及利息至少達一四○億元,全案仍可上訴。
史上最高金額 仍可上訴
由於太電公司屬於法人,當法人為被害人時,可由其代表人提出告訴,也因此,此案是由太電公司董事長苑竣唐以太電法定代理人名義提出民事求償告訴。
此案是國內司法史上判賠金額最高的判決,被害的投資人高達兩萬五千人,太電也因此案而宣告下市。
北 院判決指出,胡洪九於民國八十二至八十八年,以美化的財報隱瞞董事會且違反政府禁令,在香港成立子公司,違法在海外投資中國;太電指控,胡洪九將太電資金 一億八千多萬港幣匯給香港子公司BLINCO,再以暫借款名義轉匯英屬維京群島子公司,使香港子公司收不回這筆應收帳款,成為呆帳。
胡又挪用清算另一家子公司「中俊」後的資金兩億四千一百多萬美元,並購買香港「港麗酒店」,再將酒店賣掉,得款六一五○萬美元則匯到自己成立的紙上銀行,造成太電資產損失,孫道存則是放任胡洪九惡搞。太電提告追回三筆原應屬太電的錢。
胡洪九答辯,海外分公司股份都已移轉太電名下,認為太電已獲得實質補償,沒有損失;孫道存則答辯,當年法令並未規定上市公司對於海外轉投資公司須一律揭露於財報,且自己未參與、也不負責海外投資,全由胡洪九一人掌控,他全然不知情,也無從得知財報有假。
法官認為,胡洪九、孫道存每年領取香港分公司兩百萬港幣年薪,孫道存還出席子公司向海外銀行貸款簽約的儀式,不可能不知道太電的海外投資狀況,不採信兩人辯詞,判決兩人應賠償。

2012年11月29日 星期四

Micro stars, macro effects


The Economist
Micro stars, macro effects
Economics

ON THE face of it, economics has had a dreadful decade: it offered no prediction of the subprime or euro crises, and only bitter arguments over how to solve them. But alongside these failures, a small group of the world’s top microeconomists are quietly revolutionising the discipline. Working for big technology firms such as Google, Microsoft and eBay, they are changing the way business decisions are made and markets work.

Take, for example, the challenge of keeping costs down. An important input for a company like Yahoo! is internet bandwidth, which is bought at group level and distributed via an internal market. Demand for bandwidth is quite lumpy, with peaks and troughs at different times of the day. This creates a problem: because spikes in demand must be met, firms run with costly spare capacity much of the time.

This was one of the first questions that Preston McAfee, a former California Institute of Technology professor, looked at when he arrived at Yahoo! in 2007. Mr McAfee, who now works for Google, found that uses of bandwidth fall into two categories: urgent (displaying a web page) and delayable (backups and archiving). He showed how a two-part tariff (high prices when demand peaks, low ones otherwise) could shift less time-sensitive tasks to night-time, allowing Yahoo! to use costly bandwidth more efficiently.

The solution—two types of task, two prices—has intuitive appeal. But economists’ ideas on how to design markets can seem puzzling at first. One example is the question of how much detail an online car auctioneer should reveal about the condition of the vehicles on offer. Common sense would suggest some information—a car’s age and mileage—is essential, but that total transparency about other things (precise details on subpar paintwork) might deter buyers, lowering the auctioneer’s commissions. Academic theory suggests otherwise: in some types of auction more information always raises revenues.

To test the idea, Steve Tadelis of the University of California at Berkeley (now also working for eBay) and Florian Zettelmeyer of Northwestern University set up a trial, randomly splitting 8,000 cars into two groups. The first group were auctioned with standard information, including age and mileage. The second had a detailed report on the car’s paintwork. The results were striking: cars in the second group had better chances of a sale and sold for higher prices. This effect was most pronounced for cars in poorer condition: the probability of a sale rose by 23%, with prices up by 5%. The extra information meant that buyers were able to spot the type of car they wanted. Competition for cars rose, even the scruffier ones.
But more information is not always better. Studies show that shoppers overwhelmed by choice may simply walk away. Mr Tadelis tested whether it would be better to tailor eBay’s auctions to users’ experience level. The options for new users were narrowed, by removing sellers who are more difficult to assess (for example those who had less-than-perfect feedback on things like shipping times). When new users had a simpler list of sellers to choose from, the number of successful auctions rose and buyers were more likely to use eBay again. Tailoring the market meant gains for buyers, sellers and eBay.

The desire to use theory to challenge conventional thinking is one reason economists are valuable to firms, says Susan Athey, of Stanford University and Microsoft. When Ms Athey arrived at the software giant in 2007 it faced what was seen as an unavoidable trade-off: online advertising was good for revenues, but too much would deter users. If advertisers gained, users would lose. But economic theory challenges this, showing that if firms are dealing with two groups (advertisers and users, say), making one better off often benefits the other too.

Ms Athey and Microsoft’s computer scientists put that theory to work. One idea was to toughen the algorithm that determines whether an ad is shown. This means ads are displayed fewer times, so advertisers lose out in the short-term. But in the longer run, other forces come into play. More relevant ads improve the user experience, so user numbers rise. And better-targeted ads mean more users click on the advert, even if it is shown less often. Empirical evidence showed that although advertisers would respond only after some time, the eventual gain was worth the wait. Microsoft made the change.

Microeconomists have their sights on problems outside their home turf too. At the moment the policies picked by central banks and finance ministries are based on old news, since things like GDP, inflation and unemployment are measured with long lags. A team at Google headed by its chief economist, Hal Varian, is using search-engine data to provide more timely measures. Search terms like “job”, “benefits” and “solitaire” are closely correlated with unemployment claims (see chart). These types of relationship help construct new indexes that offer a real-time picture of the economy. If policymakers start to use these in a systematic way, their decisions could be based on how the economy looked yesterday, rather than months ago.

from the print edition | Finance and economics
©The Economist Newspaper Limited 2012

經濟學新理論:網路關鍵字反映經濟狀況!


2012-11-29 Web only 作者:經濟學人
 個體經濟學家的眼光還放上了國外;目前央行和財政部都是以舊聞來決定政策,因為GDP、通膨、失業率等數據都有相當長的時間落差。由Google首席經濟 學家Hal Varian帶領的團隊,利用搜尋引擎數據來提供更即時的資訊,「工作」、「福利」和「獨居」等詞都與失業率緊緊相關,而這種關係有助建立足以即時反映經 濟狀況的指數。(黃維德譯)
 

表面上來看,經濟學過去十年的情況實在不好,它沒能預測次貸或歐元風暴,也只能提出相當痛苦的解決方法。但在此同時,一小群頂尖個體經濟學家靜靜地為此學科帶來了革命。他們為Google、eBay等大型科技公司工作,也改變了企業決策和市場運作的方式。
前加州理工學院教授Preston McAfee於07年來到Yahoo!後,發現頻寬使用可分為兩種,一種是急用(顯示網頁),另一種則屬可延後(備份和歸檔),也證明尖離峰區別訂價,可以讓不趕時間的任務移至夜晚,讓Yahoo!更有效率地使用頻寬。
有時,經濟學的想法初看之下會讓人有些不解,例如一般認為在賣車的時候,完全公開其資訊可能會讓買家卻步。而學術理論認為,在部分拍賣活動中,提供更多資訊就能拉高營收。
柏克萊的Steve Tadelis(目前也在eBay工作)和西北大學的Florian Zettelmeyer設計了一次試驗,隨機將8000輛汽車分為2組,第一組提供車齡和里程等標準資訊,第二組則多提供了汽車烤漆的詳細資訊。
結果十分驚人,第二組汽車的出售機會較高,價格也更高,而且這樣的效果在車況較差的汽車上最為明顯;額外資訊讓買家得以找出他們想要的汽車,買主之間競爭也隨之增加。

2012年11月28日 星期三

The new maker rules / Expecting a manufacturing renaissance?


美國要革中國製造業的命?

2012/11/28
      日經中文網特稿:8比0──比較中日兩國今年(截至11月中旬)登上英國《經濟學家》週刊封面的次數,中國以壓倒性優勢獲勝。

      類似的情況在三年前日本舉行眾議院選舉後就出現過。統計中日兩國的國名在2009年1~8月《經濟學家》週刊的標題中出現的次數,中國以25比19領先日 本。從那時起,歐美對中國的關注度就已經超過了日本。而此次在全球影響力方面,中國領導層換屆同樣是以壓倒性優勢超過了日本眾議院解散。

  圖為3D印表機的嘗試製造的產品
      中國共產黨總書記習近平表示:“中國需要更多地了解世界,世界也需要更多地了解中國”。話語裏既有謹慎,也有自信。在習近平的領導下,今後10年中國將繼 續從世界各地吸走人、物、錢。“世界工廠”究竟會膨脹到怎樣的程度?蘋果公司進行開發,中國以每年數千萬台的規模進行生產,這種“超級量產”的獨贏模式會 永遠持續下去嗎?

中國的獨贏模式在10年後還能否行得通?

       這種模式或許在5年內還不會崩潰,但10年後的話,又會如何呢?

       以蘋果公司為例。波士頓諮詢集團的高級合夥人太田直樹預測:“蘋果公司遲早會採用3D(三維)列印方式,就像普通列印一樣來製造符合顧客喜好的手機等產 品”。智慧手機“iPhone”已經不使用模具,而是通過切削機一部一部地自動成型。這一設計思想很接近3D列印的構想。3D印表機不是傳統意義的印表 機,是一種立體物體的加工製造。“也許終於有一天,生產基地會從中國轉移到蘋果手機連鎖店,或者是接通網際網路的消費者家裏。”也就是說,未來的產品生 產,將會像用印表機列印一樣方便。

       目前,蘋果公司的產品幾乎全是在富士康中國工廠裏的所有生產線上製造,員工達到100萬人。但如果3D印表機技術進一步發展,不用將生產集中在人工成本相對便宜的中國,也能將產品送到全世界的顧客手中,“世界工廠”就會面臨生存危機。

       實際上針對不斷崛起的中國,美國正試圖以舉國之力來製造這樣的局面。

     美國謀劃的數字時代製造業革命

       美國總統奧巴馬已經贏得連任。“綠色新政”可以說是過去四年裏最具代表性的產業政策,但實際上還有其他動作。這就包括數字時代的製造業革命。

      美國政府在最近兩三年裏鼓勵全國的小學將3D印表機納入到手工課的教授內容。希望從初等教育起就告訴孩子們今後的生產是這樣的。

       另外美國今年還通過了一項鼓勵在網上募集社會資金作為創業基金的法律。似乎是為了從側面扶持那些利用網路與CAD立體繪圖軟體、3D印表機來開創新事業的人。


iPad mini 的發佈會
       其真正目的是工廠佈局革命。儘管3D印表機技術還在進一步研究之中,仍有許多不確定因素,但將來技術成熟,就可以在家庭、醫院、研究機構裏製造出電子設備 和人的器官等。這樣一來,大型工廠就沒有存在的必要了。製造業無需在全球建立大型生產基地,只在本國建立開發基地就可以了。

       對於企業和國家來說,供應鏈及貿易形態可能發生巨大變化。全球化在最近10年裏催生了蘋果公司和中國這兩個大贏家,但中國今後能否繼續做“世界工廠”?這或許會引起人們的熱議。

       這次的製造業革命會發展到什麼程度?線索依然在美國。

      “新聯合汽車製造公司(NUMMI)”是以前通用汽車(GM)與豐田合資運營的汽車工廠。不過,現在的所有者是新興電動汽車廠商特斯拉汽車公司。該公司設 置於矽谷,是當地距離從中西部向南部延伸的汽車產業區最遠的汽車工廠。NUMMI在通用時代曾被批評為“成本全美最高”,不過,據稱借助新創意,大部分不 利條件已經被慢慢克服。

       首先是構建了零部件交易的“生態系統”。利用網路、CAD及最尖端機床,通過一個程式,便可製造任何零部件及模具。據說,同一條生產線上也能製造出一輛輛截然不同的汽車。

      “汽車工業終於從必須量產的制約中解放出來。小型企業也有機會參與,成功的可能性日益提高”,特斯拉公司首席執行官埃隆·馬斯克在接受美國雜誌採訪時這樣表示。

       據馬斯克稱,用於製造產品的資訊將全部實現數字化,共用、變更及改良都將變得比較簡單。如果使用網路,還可在全球範圍內收集設計及創意,並反映到汽車製造中。

       不過,如果產品資訊數字化,而生產設備流入中國的話,就業崗位有可能被中國全部奪走。對此,馬斯克表示:“汽車早晚也會變成可以利用3D印表機‘列印’出來,並像iPhone一樣,通過下載軟體來提高性能的商品”,他認為“工廠不會僅僅集中在中國”。

       不過,隨著3D列印技術的進步,汽車製造業的生產基地及就業崗位即便不集中在中國,也會分散到全球範圍。包括零部件製造業在內,將會發生很大的變化。美國針對中國掀起的產品製造革命,實際上很有可能從汽車領域開始……

    作者為日本經濟新聞(中文版:日經中文網)產業部副部長中山淳史


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Manufacturing

The new maker rules

Big forces are reshaping the world of manufacturing


“YOU can carry your own head in your hand,” enthuses Bre Pettis, inviting customers to try out a three-dimensional photo booth that will scan their head and then print a miniature plastic version of it as a solid object. This is useful, no doubt, for those about to audition for the role of Zaphod Beeblebrox in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”.

Mr Pettis, the founder of MakerBot, a maker of low-cost 3D printers, spoke at the opening of his firm’s first retail store on November 20th in New York. It will sell desktop MakerBots, which make things out of plastic, for just $2,200. It is still early days, but MakerBots and machines like them are “empowering people to make the things they want, rather than buy them from factories,” says Mr Pettis.
Certainly 3D printing is hot. Some firms are already using the technology, which is also known as additive manufacturing because it involves building up material layer by layer. It can be used to make such things as prototype cars, hearing aids, customised dolls and medical implants. On the same day that Mr Pettis opened his store, GE announced it had bought for an undisclosed sum Morris Technologies, a Cincinnati firm that uses industrial 3D printers (which cost $500,000 or more) to print objects for engineers. Morris will be printing metal parts for a new GE jet engine.

Yet 3D printing is just one of many production technologies and trends which are transforming the way companies will be able to make things in the future. The old rules of manufacturing, such as “you must seek economies of scale” and “you must reduce unit-labour costs”, are being cast aside. New machines can print every item differently. More flexible robots are getting cheaper and better at doing all the boring and dirty stuff.

Add to that another 1.8 billion consumers who will join the global marketplace in the next 15 years and “Manufacturing the Future”, a new report by the McKinsey Global Institute, has good cause to be optimistic. Demand will grow not only for basic goods (which are typically made in developing countries) but also for the costly, innovative gadgets and high-tech products that rich countries make. McKinsey reckons that rich countries will keep making such products better than anyone else.

Developing countries will continue to increase their share of global production. Measured by nominal value added, by 2010 China had surpassed Japan to become the second-largest manufacturing nation, after America. A decade earlier it was in fourth place. In the same period, Brazil jumped from 12th to 6th and India from 14th to 10th. Britain slipped from 5th to 9th.

As countries get richer, manufacturing tends to account for a smaller share of their GDP. The point at which this decline starts varies (the share usually peaks at 20-35%), as does the rate of decline. In the 15 largest manufacturing economies, manufacturing’s share of GDP ranges from 33% in China to 10% in Britain (see chart).

Rich countries’ relative position may be slipping, but their absolute manufacturing output is rising quite fast. What has fallen is the number of workers needed on the factory floor. Even though some manufacturing is returning to America and Europe from places where it had been offshored, such as China, this trend will not recreate all the factory jobs that once existed.
The term “manufacturing” nowadays describes a whole range of activities. McKinsey divides it into five categories. The biggest, accounting for 34% of the $10.5 trillion total worldwide manufacturing value-added in 2010, it calls “global innovation for local markets”. This includes industries such as chemicals, machinery and carmaking, where constant innovation is essential and high transport costs for heavy goods make it sensible to produce these things close to customers.

The next-biggest, at 28%, is “regional processing”, which includes industries such as fabricated metals, food and publishing. For obvious reasons, cakes are baked locally: not just because they go stale quickly but also because local tastes vary. “Energy and resource-intensive commodities”, such as wood, paper and petrol, account for 22%; “Innovative global technologies” (chips, computers and medical products) are 9%; and “labour-intensive tradeables” (textiles, clothes and toys) 7%. These last two categories have typically been offshored by rich countries and probably will be for some time.

In the other areas where rich countries compete, there is a dark cloud building. McKinsey sees a fast-growing shortage of people with the skills manufacturers require, particularly as ageing baby-boomers retire. That is why American firms such as Dow and DuPont keep clamouring for better education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Yet the rich world still leads in high-tech industries. In 2010 it ran a $726 billion surplus in goods such as cars, chemicals, drugs and machinery, but it had a $342 billion trade deficit in labour-intensive tradeables.

It’s all a blur, really
McKinsey sheds new light on another old saw: is manufacturing superior to services? It is becoming ever harder to tell the two apart, as many manufacturing jobs blur with service jobs. At American “manufacturers”, 34% of jobs are service-like, rising to 55% in the global-innovative-technology sector. If one counts the workers in supporting services and those who provide raw materials, total American manufacturing employment was 17.2m in 2010, rather than the official 11.5m. Remove all service-like jobs and it drops to 7.3m.

In the future, McKinsey predicts there will be more jobs for robots. Since 1990 the cost of automation has fallen relative to labour by 40-50% in the rich world, it says. The rise of the machines will continue in rich countries, and they will make inroads into developing ones. Wages in emerging markets are soaring. One Chinese manufacturer is talking of hiring 1m robots. Still, robots need people to build, program and maintain them. Humans have no cause to hold their heads in their hands.

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7月1日,陸客自由行,帶動觀光服務業大躍進,彷彿許了台灣一個夢:高污染工業、低階工作外移,只要致力服務業與創意產業,就能享受經濟繁榮、又躋身高階工作的贏者圈。
事實卻不是如此。光有服務,沒有製造,不是美好的國家之路。過去10年,以金融業服務業為發展主調的經濟合作開發組織(OECD)先進國,從美國到歐洲都飽嘗製造業外移之苦。
風險1:製造業下探 GDP組成不夠多元
當 一個國家製造業不斷外移,也就失去讓新興產業發芽的機會。台灣的製造實力,曾讓創新大師克里斯汀生讚嘆不已。但是,這榮景水波下,逐漸浮出警訊。跟美國一 樣,台灣製造業對GDP貢獻也逐年下降,從1990年代的40%,一路下滑到09年不到30%的新低,去年才又回升到31%。台灣製造業未來如果一直往下 探,降到美國、英國、日本的水準,GDP組成將落入不夠多元的風險。

風險2:就業與低薪

製造業就業人口佔比,從90年代的42%降至36%,專家指出,這也是造成台灣長期低薪的原因之一。台灣經濟研究院二所所長張建一分 析,台灣服務業佔GDP約7成,雇用近6成人口,但對經濟成長率貢獻卻不高,服務業也很難為員工加薪。台灣去年經濟成長率超過10%,有7成還是來自製造 業的貢獻。

先進製造  創造好工作
從行政院主計處的資料分析,台灣製造業前10名行業的平均薪資約6萬1千元,遠高於服務業前10名行業的平均薪資4萬7千元。服務業當中薪資水準較高的行業,也是屬於支援製造業的服務業,而不是受雇最多的批發零售業。
製造業對於工作機會的多重效益,是任何產業都比不上的。根據美國經濟分析局精算,製造業相較於其他產業,有最大的多重效益。製造業生產每1美元產品,將帶動其他部門1.4美元的產出。
放眼經濟發展和搶救就業,全球各國都不得不加入這波搶製造的熱潮。不只美國,已經是世界工廠的中國,更不願意放棄。

台灣到底要什麼製造業?
今年,台灣勇敢拒絕國光石化在彰化設廠,如果這是台灣人民的共識,不要高耗能產業,那麼,台灣到底要留下什麼製造業?


「如果不努力轉型,一定會發生產業空洞化,」經濟部工業局局長杜紫軍憂心說。
杜紫軍接著說,拋棄單純靠投入資源與產量來提高產能的思惟。經濟部已經研擬具體的2020年產業發展策略,包括提高附加價值率、無形資產佔固定資本比重提高到15%、綠能佔製造業產值提高到30%。
以「產值」衡量產業存在價值的觀念,已經過時。新的衡量標準又是什麼?這不只關係到產業發展,更關係到台灣民眾明日的工作。...(全文未完,閱讀更多精彩內容,請購買天下雜誌最新出刊476期>>)

 美國

Time to declare a manufacturing renaissance?

May 01, 2012|By Alana Semuels
  • A worker at an American Apparel factory in Los Angeles
A worker at an American Apparel factory in Los Angeles (Gary Friedman/Los Angeles…)
Is it time to finally declare a manufacturing renaissance? An index by the Institute for Supply Management has grown for 33 straight months, and Rust Belt states such as Ohio and Michigan have registered big drops in unemployment over the year. Ohio dropped to 7.5% unemployment in March from 8.8% the previous year, and Michigan dropped to 8.5% from 10.5% in March of last year.

The folks at Manning & Napier, the $40-billion asset management firm, say there are some reasons to be very optimistic about manufacturing in the U.S. Wages overseas are rising – China alone has experienced double-digit wage growth in each of the last two years. Supply chain disruptions in the wake of the Japanese tsunami are making companies rethink depending solely on emerging markets for products. And the U.S. energy boom makes it cheaper to pay the utility bills if you manufacture here.
“We are in the very early innings of this trend,” said Chris Petrosino, managing director of the quantitative strategies group at Manning & Napier.
This is the first time in more than two decades that manufacturing employment as a percentage of total nonfarm employment has stopped falling, according to a Manning & Napier report entitled “The U.S. Manufacturing Renaissance: Silver Lining, Not Silver Bullet.” The nation has added nearly half a million manufacturing jobs from January 2010 to February 2012. While employment won’t return to 1970s levels, the multiplier effect that manufacturing has on the economy is good news – every factory job added creates three additional jobs.
The areas benefiting from this trend are specific, said Michael Knolla, a research analyst at the firm. They’re areas with access to low-cost transportation, rail centers and low-cost energy.
“It used to be you wanted access to a hydroelectric dam, now you want access to the pipelines,” he said.
And it’s not every type of product being manufactured in the U.S as a part of this trend. Those that are heavy to ship but cheaper to sell are more likely to be made here. For example, a washing machine is a good candidate to be made in the U.S.A. since it is heavy to ship and not that expensive to sell. A car, on the other hand,  may be heavy to ship, but is still pricey on the market, so worth making overseas. Products that are customized are more likely to be made here, as well as those that companies need quickly.
The one obstacle to this renaissance: skills. As manufacturing is automated, companies need more skilled workers to run machines, Knolla said. During the recession, training programs have been scrapped and it's nearly impossible for low-skilled workers to move up the chain. Until that problem is solved, the renaissance has a real chance of going kaput.


2012年11月27日 星期二

Intel Views Indonesia as Lifeline Paul Otellini is stepping down from the top job at Intel

 Intel Views Indonesia as Lifeline
Millions of first-time computer buyers in Indonesia are expected to bolster revenue at Intel, which has been struggling in more-developed markets.





在爭奪市場龍頭之際尋找新領袖實在不理想,但這正是Intel的處境。11月19日,Intel的執行長Paul Otellini讓整個產業和投資人都十分驚訝,他宣佈將於明年五月退休,比一般預期早了幾年。Intel董事會於聲明中表示,會從公司內部和外部尋找接 任人選。
不管是誰接下執行長,接下Ostellini的棒子都不是件容易事。Intel在Ostellini的8年帶領之下,年營收從390 億美元升至540億美元,每股盈餘從1.40美元升至2.39美元。不過,處理器產業的情況正在快速改變,改變的方向也威脅著Intel的龍頭地位。 Intel靠著與微軟的聯盟獲得極大成功,至今也仍舊是多數個人電腦的心臟,但隨著民眾轉而使用智慧型手機、平板電腦等行動運算裝置,個人電腦銷售也面臨 壓力。
微軟和Intel都對「後個人電腦時代」嗤之以鼻,但處理器的重心正在移往行動裝置,應該已經沒有太多疑問;許多行動裝置都是使用 ARM設計的處理器,ARM將處理器設計授權給Qualcomm、Nvidia等企業,獲得授權的企業再將處理器交由GlobalFoundries、台 積電等公司生產。
Intel仍舊擁有許多強項,例如強大的製造能力和優秀的研發紀錄等。但Intel一是無法讓行動裝置製造商使用自己的晶片,想靠Intel核心的超薄筆電來推動個人電腦銷售,結果也令人相當失望。這些問題或許就是Otellini決定離職的原因。

The Pressure’s on for Intel

Intel missed out on the shift to mobile computing. Now it finds itself in a precarious position.











Since 2000, Intel has done just about everything right in its core business, maintaining its dominance of the market for PC microprocessors and putting substantial distance between itself and competitors in the market for server chips. And yet the company finds itself in a very tough position: computers are going mobile, and Intel’s share of the microprocessor market is falling off a cliff.
As shown in the chart above, 61 percent of all computing devices shipped in 2011 were of the mobile variety—up from less than 1 percent in 2000. Because most of those devices rely on technologies other than Intel’s, the company’s share of the total market for processors in computing devices has fallen from 80 percent to around 30 percent.
The company is finally entering the mobile game, but barely. The Linley Group forecasts that Intel will grab 0.7 percent of mobile processor shipments in 2012. So far it has gotten away with this meager showing because the mobile chip market as a whole remains relatively small—it is forecast to be around $5 billion in 2012, compared to $31 billion for PCs and nearly $10 billion for servers. But as the PC market slows and the popularity of smartphones and tablets continues to balloon globally, Intel will have to adapt or be left behind.
 
 
 
 2012年11月20日 07:24 AM

英特尔掌门人意外辞职
Otellini in surprise departure from Intel




Paul Otellini is stepping down from the top job at Intel, leaving no clear successor for the first time at the world’s biggest chipmaker as it struggles to find its way in the fast-growing markets for smartphones and tablets.英特尔(Intel)首席执行官欧德宁(Paul Otellini)将卸任。这家世界第一大芯片制造商在快速增长的智能手机和平板电脑市场竭力开辟新业务之际,首次陷入没有明确首席执行官继任者的局面。
The unexpected news was announced yesterday by a company previously known for careful planning of its leadership transitions. Mr Otellini, 62, is only the fifth chief executive in its 44-year history and could have stayed on until he was 65.英特尔向来以仔细安排领导人交接出名,因此昨天宣布的这个消息令人意外。在英特尔44年历史上,现年62岁的欧德宁仅是其第5任首席执行官,他本来可以任职至65岁。
His decision to step down was a personal one after nearly 40 years at the company, according to people close to Intel. “The board accepted his decision with regret,” Intel said.知情人士表示,欧德宁在该公司工作近40年后决定离开,是他个人的决定。英特尔表示:“董事会带着遗憾接受了他的决定。”
While he has maintained Intel’s domination of the PC world over his eight years in charge and the company’s processors feature in four out of every five machines made, the PC market is expected to shrink this year and the company has failed to make significant inroads in new mobile markets. Its stock market capitalisation was overtaken this month for the first time by leading wireless chipmaker Qualcomm, although it has around three times the revenues of its San Diego-based rival.尽管欧德宁在其担任首席执行官的8年中保持了英特尔在个人计算机(PC)世界的主导地位(全世 界生产的每5台电脑中,有4台采用英特尔的处理器),但个人计算机市场预计今年会萎缩,而英特尔在新的移动设备市场上未能取得显著突破。英特尔股票市值本 月首次被无线芯片制造商高通公司(Qualcomm,总部位于美国圣地亚哥)超过,尽管前者的营收是后者的约三倍。
Intel shares are down 16 per cent this year, but were virtually unchanged in New York yesterday.英特尔股票价格今年累计下跌16%,但昨日在纽约股市上几乎未变。
“Otellini is from the generation when the PC was dominant,” said Ken Dulaney, an analyst at Gartner. “What they need now is a technology visionary, someone who sees the new markets and is from a younger generation.”“欧德宁来自个人电脑占主导地位时的那一代人。”Gartner分析师肯•杜兰利(Ken Dulaney)说,“英特尔现在需要的是一个能够预见技术发展走向的人,一个能够注意到新的市场、来自更年轻一代的人。”

译者/阑天
 
 

2012年11月24日 星期六

Japan's Sharp

 傳夏普讓步 鴻海持股可逾10%

〔編譯楊芙宜、記者蔡乙萱/綜合報導〕鴻夏戀出現最新進展,華爾街日報引述夏普資深主管週四表示,夏普體認到與鴻海資本結盟協商的最大障礙就是夏普收益不穩,因此願意讓步,包括接受讓鴻海持股比例超過十%,以完成注資入股協議。不過,此消息並未獲得鴻海方面的證實。
要 求不具名的夏普主管向記者透露,現在已「不可能」要求去履行三月達成的最初協議。雙方三月達成協議,由鴻海以每股五五○日圓取得夏普九.九%股權、總投資 金額六六九億日圓(約八.一九億美元),但隨後夏普股價重挫,鴻海八月時決定重新與夏普協商合作事宜。夏普股價週四收一七一日圓。
該夏普高 層表示,「如果不能照原先條款完成協議,我們基本上就將做出讓步,這也是顯而易見的。」他說,夏普願意讓步,包括允許鴻海持股超過十%,以便能完成雙方合 作的協議。夏普原先希望鴻海持股比例不超過十%。根據日本法律,持股超過十%的股東具有額外權限,包括有權向法院聲請解散公司,夏普不願經營權因此受限 制。
對此,鴻海發言人表示,兩家公司仍在協商,並維持合作關係,但婉拒具體說明細節。
八月以來「鴻夏戀」協商陷僵局,夏普說,協商無法取得進展的重要障礙就是夏普收益盈虧難以預料。夏普今年兩度大砍營收預測,十一月最新財報顯示,全年淨損從四月、八月分別預估的三○○億日圓、二五○○億日圓,再擴大至四五○○億日圓。
夏普高層說,公司營收獲利展望急遽惡化,讓鴻海很難說服股東投資夏普是值得的;夏普雖希望藉由達成下半年業績目標來證明公司情況已經穩定,但恐怕在與鴻海的入股協商的截止期限之前不會出現。
夏普與鴻海最初協議交易完成期限為明年三月底,夏普必須在此之前同意新合作條件、延長協商期限,或取消注資合作計畫。

2011.9.5  Japan's Sharp to stop sales of Galapagos tablets
TOKYO — Japan's Sharp Corp. said Thursday it will stop production and sales of the original editions of its "Galapagos" tablet computer, just nine months after it was launched.
The Osaka-based electronics maker said it will no longer produce its 5.5-inch and 10.8-inch screens, as Apple's iPhone and iPad continue to dominate the Japanese market.
It will, however, continue to make the 7-inch model that was launched last month for Internet and mobile phone firm eAccess, a Sharp spokeswoman said.
"This is a new and expanding market. Many new products and services have been launched. We believe (the older editions) have fulfilled the purposes that they were designed for," she said.
The company declined to discuss sales figures or performance of the products, only saying the Galapagos business will continue with the eAccess model.
"We believe the market for electronic books will continue to expand. We are continuing our business in the segment" with the 7-inch model, the Sharp spokeswoman said.
Local media said Sharp was effectively pulling out of the market, with Galapagos' sales suffering as consumers opted instead for iPhones and iPads.
Sharp launched the original editions of "Galapagos" in December in a shift, the company said, from conventional one-off sales of stand-alone products to devices that will continue to "evolve" through software updates.
The 5.5-inch screen model with a trackball allowed one-handed operation and was intended for commuters on crowded trains, while the 10.8-inch screen version accommodated a two-page magazine spread for home users.
Sharp sold the products only via mail or Internet-based orders.
But Apple's iPhone with a 3.5-inch screen and iPad with a 9.7-inch screen have dominated the Japanese market, despite aggressive efforts by Japanese and foreign manufacturers to expand their influence.

Sharp said it will no longer produce the 5.5-inch and 10.8-inch Galapagos tablet computers (AFP/File, Yoshikazu Tsuno)

Sharp to build solar power stations in Japan

BY AKI SATO STAFF WRITER
2011/06/25

photoSharp Corp. is building a solar power station in Italy. (Sharp Corp.)
OSAKA --Sharp Corp. plans to design, build and operate solar power stations in Japan that it expects to become a major money spinner in the aftermath of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
"It is high time that we build many solar power stations in Japan," President Mikio Katayama told a shareholders meeting in Osaka on June 23. "We will expand the solar power business as a growth engine, along with liquid crystal display (LCD) panels."
The company is already working with Italy's largest power company to build solar power stations in Italy and elsewhere, and has acquired a major U.S. developer of solar power stations.
Sharp's officials expect demand for renewable energy to rise globally following the Fukushima accident, but the current high price of solar energy will be a major obstacle for their strategy.
Some estimates put the cost required to generate one kilowatt-hour of electricity with solar power at as high as 35-39 yen, compared with 7 yen for nuclear power.
The average household electricity charge in Japan is about 22 yen per kilowatt-hour. Katayama said Sharp will try to enhance the efficiency of solar power generation equipment and lower its cost.
Another challenge will be finding construction sites in Japan if the company's strategy requires the efficiencies of scale of large solar power stations.
However, prices of solar panels dropped 30 percent this year as Chinese manufacturers increased shipments and demand fell in Europe, according to Sharp.
The company says solar power generation costs have fallen to the same level as household electricity charges in sunny regions such as California and southern Europe.
"A temporary gap in supply and demand could lead to an explosive growth of the market," Toshishige Hamano, Sharp's executive vice president, said.
Building and operating solar power stations would give Sharp a strategic position in the solar power sector, offering the prospect of stable earnings, as solar panel prices fall and competition heats up.
Sharp has been refocusing on solar power generation and other businesses to lessen its dependence on LCD panels, which face intensifying price competition globally.
Last year, the company introduced Galapagos, a mobile information terminal, and started an electronic book distribution service.
It is also concentrating on development and sales of light-emitting diode lights.
"By focusing on consumer needs, we aim to accumulate hits rather than going for a home run," Katayama said.








Sharp's New Plant Reinvents Japan Manufacturing Model

By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
OSAKA—Sharp Corp.'s new production complex in western Japan is massive by any measure: It cost $11 billion to build and covers enough land to occupy 32 baseball stadiums. But it carries a meaning as large as its physical size. It's a litmus test for the future of Japanese high-tech manufacturing.
The facility, considered the most expensive manufacturing site ever built in Japan, started churning out liquid-crystal display panels last month, and Sharp's new flagship televisions featuring the energy-efficient LCD panels go on sale in the U.S. next month. Sharp moved forward the factory's planned opening by six months, saying the new plant would help it be more competitive.
Sharp
Sharp's new facility in Sakai city is considered the most expensive manufacturing site ever built in Japan.
"When you look to the next 10 or 20 years, the existing industrial model doesn't have a future," Toshihige Hamano, Sharp's executive vice president in charge of the Sakai facility, said in an interview. "We had to change the very concept of how to run a factory."
Located in Sakai city along Osaka prefecture's waterfront, the complex represents Japanese industry's biggest gamble in LCD panels to remain competitive with rivals from South Korea, Taiwan, and China.
The factory's size accommodates two main factors. One is the size of the glass used to make the LCDs. Sharp is using the industry's biggest, or "10th generation," sheets, which allow the company to produce 18 40-inch LCD panels from a single substrate—more than double the eight 40-inch panels per sheet it uses at its other LCD television panel-making factory.
The other factor: Sharp has decided to try and cut costs by moving suppliers on site, a kind of hyper-"just-in-time" delivery system.

The plant currently employs 2,000 people—roughly half from Sharp and half from its suppliers—although the work force will ultimately reach 5,000 as it adds production of solar panels as well.
It remains to be seen whether it makes sense for Sharp to keep seeking ever more-sophisticated production in Japan, or, as competitors have, to simply use less advanced production techniques at lower costs in places like China.
CLSA research analyst Atul Goyal warned in a report last month that the company is making a mistake by "chasing technology" with the new factory.
In the past, such efforts by Japanese electronics makers have resulted in costly capital investments, only to be confronted with limited appetite for cutting-edge technology and then eventually outflanked by a cheaper alternative.
[SHARP]
Even Sharp's Mr. Hamano acknowledged that the company only gave the green light to proceed during a boom period for LCD-panel demand, and that a similar choice might not be made in today's market.
Rival Samsung Electronics Co. has said it is looking into building a new LCD-panel factory using even bigger glass sheets than Sharp, while LG Display Co. has said it plans to build a new factory in China using current glass size.
Sharp announced the Sakai project two years ago when LCD demand was surging and the company had produced five straight years of record profit. When consumer spending ground to a halt in late 2008, Sharp didn't cut costs and curb production quickly enough. Saddled with excess inventory, Sharp posted the first annual loss in nearly 60 years in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009.
The experience taught Sharp a painful lesson that its supply chain needed to be leaner and its production more efficient, especially if the factory was going to be in Japan, where the strong yen and expensive labor force put the company at a disadvantage to its Asian competitors.
Sharp aims to streamline the costly LCD-panel production process by moving 17 outside suppliers and service providers inside its factory walls to work as "one virtual company."
In the past, Sharp kept suppliers within driving distance. Now they are all within the same facility. Supplies are sent not by truck from a nearby factory but by automated trolleys snaking from one building to another.
The suppliers, which include Asahi Glass Co. and Dai Nippon Printing Co., built and paid for their own facilities and are renting the land from Sharp.
Despite their location inside the plant, Sharp says its suppliers are permitted to sell their products to other companies.
At Sakai, Sharp has also linked its computer systems with suppliers so an order to the factory alerts suppliers right away. In the past, Sharp would email or call suppliers and place orders, creating a longer lag time.
Sharp wouldn't disclose how much, if any, cost savings will result from manufacturing LCD panels at Sakai, but analysts estimate a 5% to 10% savings.
Corning Inc. the world's largest maker of LCD glass substrates, built a factory next to Sharp's Sakai plant. Corning says the arrangement reduced total order cycle time from an average of one to two weeks to a matter of hours. Corning also says the proximity reduced the damage risk in transporting massive glass sheets on trucks.
While Sharp is a long-standing customer, Corning said it was concerned initially that building a factory on site would mean that it was "hitching its wagon" to Sharp since it's the only customer for such large glass substrates. Ultimately, Corning decided to proceed based on its faith in Sharp's Sakai plans.
"There's nothing like it anywhere," said James Clappin, president of Corning Display Technologies.
Write to Daisuke Wakabayashi at Daisuke.Wakabayashi@wsj.com

H.P.’s Misstep Shows the Risk in Big Ideas

惠普收購Autonomy的失敗教訓

當惠普(Hewlett-Packard)花費大約100億美元(約合620億元人民 幣)買下軟件公司Autonomy時,惠普以為自己是在為未來投資——在成為熱點趨勢的大數據領域投資。但這筆交易,結果卻是一場災難。惠普對這筆收購的 估值減記了50億美元,這還不是唯一的原因。
對惠普及其他老牌科技巨頭來說,這場不幸的交易是個教訓。他們投入數十億資金,收購以為可以帶來變革的技術,試圖在未來的競爭中佔領一席之地。
在那個未來,與雲計算數據中心相連接的智能手機、平板電腦是工作和娛樂的核心工具。公司會通過雲服務租用軟件,而不是簽署費用高昂的維修合同來購買軟件。
公司可以通過不斷分析大量數據來發現新規律,預測消費者行為,並依此進行產品設計。例如,Autonomy開發的軟件可以分析營銷模式,並為公司提供建議,比如應該增加哪一部分的營銷資源。
這些技術對更老一些的商業模式構成威脅,比如惠普傳統的個人電腦和數據儲存產品。甲骨文(Oracle)、微軟(Microsoft)及思科(Cisco)等其他公司也面臨壓力。他們也在努力為未來投資,而且他們有資金這麼做。
7月,微軟決定斥資12億美元購買Yammer公司,這家公司為辦公室提供類似Facebook的社交網絡產品。近期,甲骨文花費超過34億美元購 買兩家為人力資源和銷售管理部門提供軟件的小型雲計算公司。上周日,計算機網絡巨頭思科同意以12億美元現金收購Meraki,該公司為星巴克 (Starbucks)和其他公司提供無線網絡管理服務。
這些公司還有更多此類交易,IBM、SAP和其他公司也是如此。
變化的速度非常快,就在前幾年還被視為業界新銳的谷歌在2011年就出資125億美元購買摩托羅拉移動公司(Motorola Mobility),加強其安卓(Android)智能手機業務,以此與蘋果公司(Apple)相競爭。今年早些時候,Facebook花費7.5億美元 收購了Instagram ,以免錯過社交網絡下一輪變革。
但耶魯大學(Yale University)管理學教授傑佛里·松內費爾德(Jeffrey Sonnenfeld)表示,要定義未來的下一個主流可能會很難。他說,像收購Autonomy這樣的交易多半“可能會有40%的成功率,60%的失敗概率”。
他補充說,“雖然勝算不大,但仍然值得嘗試。”
他表示,真正的危險在於,公司稱這些收購是“自然、必然的勝利”。他說,此類收購應該被視為“一種投資,就像研發方面的投資”。
當前的併購速度遠不能與20世紀90年代末互聯網泡沫時期相提並論。當時,思科花96萬美元買下了三家互聯網公司,這些公司的前任官員都稱,公司幾 乎沒有盈利。2002年,因為兼并而陷入困境的美國在線時代華納(AOL Time Warner)為了公司的利益而減記540億美元。幾家通訊設備製造公司和服務提供商也減記了數十億美元。
但是也有些著名的成功案例。
數據儲存設備製造公司EMC於2003年花費6.25億美元收購了開發重要雲計算技術的VMWare公司。自從將公司的一部分上市之後,今天EMC 的市值達到了300億美元左右。VMWare自己近期也開始了一場賭博,花費12.6億美元買下了沒有任何收益的下一代網絡公司Nicira。
2011年,微軟曾花費85億美元買下Skype,它還表示將把Yammer與成功的微軟合作軟件SharePoint相融合,並將在零成本的情況 下,把Yammer應用於微軟辦公室交流及生產效率軟件的高級版。然而,它並沒有表示Yammer本身是否可以盈利以及將如何盈利。
弗雷斯特研究公司(Forrester Research)研究數據分析軟件的萊斯莉·歐文斯(Leslie Owens)說,Autonomy真正的問題在於它的核心技術,而不在於它存在問題的銷售。
她說,“惠普認為它是一個全新的平台,但Autonomy的客戶卻表示,它並不如谷歌的企業級搜索產品。”
成立於16年前的Autonomy,“建立在使用強大計算程序的基礎之上,”她說,但是該公司的軟件無法適應“新的搜索信號,比如你的朋友們都在做什麼,像你這樣的人都在做什麼,你還可能會瀏覽哪些數據等”。隨着時間的推移,這些新方法吸引了大量客戶。
上個月在展示Autonomy產品的時候,惠普似乎已經處理了其中的一些問題,但其他問題仍然存在。一個用於弄清網絡廣告費應該花在哪兒的應用程序一開始就沒起作用,之後得出的結果,似乎也與其他幾個搜索產品相差無幾。
“我們仍然百分之百支持Autonomy和它在行業內的領先技術,”惠普在一項聲明中表示。“公司的產品非常先進,為很多客戶提供了獨特的解決方案。”
惠普的首席執行官梅格‧惠特曼(Meg Whitman)在周二的採訪中表示,公司還對它的安全軟件抱有很大希望,這些軟件中的大部分都是從其他併購案中獲得的。
惠普指責Autonomy去年被收購之前,在大部分的銷售業績上進行了不正當的審計。考慮到收購價格,其非現金減記達到了50億美元。
惠特曼對Autonomy的態度有些冷淡。
“非常令人失望,”她在提到減記時說,“我們已經把技術整合在了好幾個地方;我們還將把它應用於更多地方。”
翻譯:許欣、陳柳


H.P.’s Misstep Shows the Risk in Big Ideas

惠普收购Autonomy的失败教训

When Hewlett-Packard spent roughly $10 billion on the software company Autonomy, it thought it was buying a slice of the future — investing in the hot trend of big data. But the deal turned out to be a debacle, and not only because H.P. wrote down $5 billion of the purchase.
当惠普(Hewlett-Packard)花费大约100亿美元(约合 620亿元人民币)买下软件公司Autonomy时,惠普以为自己是在为未来投资——在成为热点趋势的大数据领域投资。但这笔交易,结果却是一场灾难。惠 普对这笔收购的估值减记了50亿美元,这还不是唯一的原因。
The ill-fated marriage of the companies is a lesson for H.P. and other older technology giants as they throw billions at supposedly game-changing acquisitions, trying to gain a foothold in the future.
对惠普及其他老牌科技巨头来说,这场不幸的交易是个教训。他们投入数十亿资金,收购以为可以带来变革的技术,试图在未来的竞争中占领一席之地。
In that future, smartphones and tablets, connected to cloud-computing data centers, are the essential tools of work and play. Companies rent software over the air, rather than buying it with expensive maintenance contracts.
在那个未来,与云计算数据中心相连接的智能手机、平板电脑是工作和娱乐的核心工具。公司会通过云服务租用软件,而不是签署费用高昂的维修合同来购买软件。
And vast streams of data are continually analyzed to find new patterns and make predictions about consumer behavior and product design. Autonomy, for instance, makes software that can analyze marketing patterns and advise a company on matters like where it should increase marketing resources.
公司可以通过不断分析大量数据来发现新规律,预测消费者行为,并依此进行产品设计。例如,Autonomy开发的软件可以分析营销模式,并为公司提供建议,比如应该增加哪一部分的营销资源。
These forces threaten older businesses, like H.P.’s traditional personal computer and data storage products. Other companies, like Oracle, Microsoft and Cisco, also face pressure. They are all trying to buy the future — and have the cash to do it.
这些技术对更老一些的商业模式构成威胁,比如惠普传统的个人电脑和数据储存产品。甲骨文(Oracle)、微软(Microsoft)及思科(Cisco)等其他公司也面临压力。他们也在努力为未来投资,而且他们有资金这么做。
In July, Microsoft decided to pay $1.2 billion for Yammer, which makes a Facebook-like social media product for the office. Oracle recently paid over $3.4 billion for two small cloud computing companies that provide software for human resources and sales management. Last Sunday, the computer networking giant Cisco agreed to pay $1.2 billion in cash for Meraki, a company that manages the free wireless service at Starbucks and other businesses.
7月,微软决定斥资12亿美元购买Yammer公司,这家公司为办公室 提供类似Facebook的社交网络产品。近期,甲骨文花费超过34亿美元购买两家为人力资源和销售管理部门提供软件的小型云计算公司。上周日,计算机网 络巨头思科同意以12亿美元现金收购Meraki,该公司为星巴克(Starbucks)和其他公司提供无线网络管理服务。
There are lots more such deals, from these companies as well as I.B.M., SAP and others.
这些公司还有更多此类交易,IBM、SAP和其他公司也是如此。
The pace of change is so fast that Google, so recently seen as an upstart and a giant killer, in 2011 paid $12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility to supercharge its Android smartphone business, which competes with Apple. Earlier this year, Facebook spent $750 million on Instagram so it wouldn’t miss the next thing in social media.
变化的速度非常快,就在前几年还被视为业界新锐的谷歌在2011年就出 资125亿美元购买摩托罗拉移动公司(Motorola Mobility),加强其安卓(Android)智能手机业务,以此与苹果公司(Apple)相竞争。今年早些时候,Facebook花费7.5亿美元 收购了Instagram ,以免错过社交网络下一轮变革。
But identifying the next big thing can be difficult, said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor of management at Yale University. Likely as not, he said, deals like the one for Autonomy have “maybe a 40 percent success, 60 percent failure rate.”
但耶鲁大学(Yale University)管理学教授杰佛里·松内费尔德(Jeffrey Sonnenfeld)表示,要定义未来的下一个主流可能会很难。他说,像收购Autonomy这样的交易多半“可能会有40%的成功率,60%的失败概率”。
He added, “The odds are against you succeeding, but the odds are also worth taking.”
他补充说,“虽然胜算不大,但仍然值得尝试。”
The real hazard, he said, is in the way companies describe these acquisitions as “natural, inevitable victories.” They should be seen, he said, as “an investment, like in research and development.”
他表示,真正的危险在于,公司称这些收购是“自然、必然的胜利”。他说,此类收购应该被视为“一种投资,就像研发方面的投资”。
The pace of acquisitions hardly matches the level seen during the late ’90s Internet bubble, when Cisco paid $9.6 billion for three networking companies that former officials said yielded almost no benefit. In 2002, AOL Time Warner wrote down $54 billion in good will related to its troubled merger. Several telecommunications equipment makers and service providers also had multibillion-dollar write-downs.
当前的并购速度远不能与20世纪90年代末互联网泡沫时期相提并论。当 时,思科花96万美元买下了三家互联网公司,这些公司的前任官员都称,公司几乎没有盈利。2002年,因为兼并而陷入困境的美国在线时代华纳(AOL Time Warner)为了公司的利益而减记540亿美元。几家通讯设备制造公司和服务提供商也减记了数十亿美元。
But there are also notable successes.
但是也有些著名的成功案例。
EMC, a maker of data storage equipment, paid $625 million in 2003 for VMWare, which makes some of the critical technology in cloud computing. Today, after taking some of the company public, EMC’s stake is worth about $30 billion. VMWare recently took a gamble of its own, buying a next-generation networking company, Nicira, that had virtually no revenue, for $1.26 billion.
数据储存设备制造公司EMC于2003年花费6.25亿美元收购了开发 重要云计算技术的VMWare公司。自从将公司的一部分上市之后,今天EMC的市值达到了300亿美元左右。VMWare自己近期也开始了一场赌博,花费 12.6亿美元买下了没有任何收益的下一代网络公司Nicira。
Microsoft, which also paid $8.5 billion for Skype in 2011, said Yammer was being integrated into SharePoint, Microsoft’s successful collaboration software, and will be included in its premium version of Office communications and productivity software at no cost. It did not say whether, or how, Yammer would be profitable on its own, however.
2011年,微软曾花费85亿美元买下Skype,它还表示将把 Yammer与成功的微软合作软件SharePoint相融合,并将在零成本的情况下,把Yammer应用于微软办公室交流及生产效率软件的高级版。然 而,它并没有表示Yammer本身是否可以盈利以及将如何盈利。
The real issue with Autonomy may be less its questionable sales than its core technology, said Leslie Owens, who follows data analysis software at Forrester Research.
弗雷斯特研究公司(Forrester Research)研究数据分析软件的莱斯莉·欧文斯(Leslie Owens)说,Autonomy真正的问题在于它的核心技术,而不在于它存在问题的销售。
“H.P. thought it was an entirely new platform, but Autonomy’s clients said it wasn’t as good as Google’s corporate search product,” she said.
她说,“惠普认为它是一个全新的平台,但Autonomy的客户却表示,它并不如谷歌的企业级搜索产品。”
Autonomy, which was founded 16 years ago, “was based on using powerful algorithms,” she said, but the software was not attuned “to new kinds of search signals, like what your friends are doing, what people like you are doing, what other data you might draw off on.” Over time those new methods attracted customers.
成立于16年前的Autonomy,“建立在使用强大计算程序的基础之上,”她说,但是该公司的软件无法适应“新的搜索信号,比如你的朋友们都在做什么,像你这样的人都在做什么,你还可能会浏览哪些数据等”。随着时间的推移,这些新方法吸引了大量客户。
In a demonstration of the Autonomy product last month, H.P. appeared to have addressed some of those issues, but others remained. An application to help figure out what to pay for Web ads initially failed to work, then delivered results that appeared similar to those of several other search products.
上个月在展示Autonomy产品的时候,惠普似乎已经处理了其中的一些问题,但其他问题仍然存在。一个用于弄清网络广告费应该花在哪儿的应用程序一开始就没起作用,之后得出的结果,似乎也与其他几个搜索产品相差无几。
“We remain 100 percent committed to Autonomy and its industry-leading technology,” H.P. said in a statement. “The company’s products are cutting-edge and provide many customers with unique solutions.”
“我们仍然百分之百支持Autonomy和它在行业内的领先技术,”惠普在一项声明中表示。“公司的产品非常先进,为很多客户提供了独特的解决方案。”
In an interview Tuesday, Meg Whitman, the chief executive of H.P., indicated that the company also had strong hopes for its security software, most of which it got from other acquisitions.
惠普的首席执行官梅格‧惠特曼(Meg Whitman)在周二的采访中表示,公司还对它的安全软件抱有很大希望,这些软件中的大部分都是从其他并购案中获得的。
H.P. has accused Autonomy of improperly accounting for much of its sales in the years before H.P. bought the company last year. It took a $5 billion noncash charge related to the purchase price.
惠普指责Autonomy去年被收购之前,在大部分的销售业绩上进行了不正当的审计。考虑到收购价格,其非现金减记达到了50亿美元。
Ms. Whitman gave Autonomy tepid support.
惠特曼对Autonomy的态度有些冷淡。
“It’s very disappointing,” she said of the write-down. “We’ve integrated the technology into a couple of places; we will integrate it into more.”
“非常令人失望,”她在提到减记时说,“我们已经把技术整合在了好几个地方;我们还将把它应用于更多地方。”

2012年11月23日 星期五

Monitor Group, founded by Harvard’s Michael Porter, files for bankruptcy and plans merger

曾誇ECFA將創新經濟奇蹟 管理大師波特聲請公司破產

點評:有句老話,同一個問題問十個經濟學家,會得到十一種答案...。

▲享譽國際的競爭力大師,也難抵大環境不好的厄運,7日所經營的公司聲請破產。(圖/取自哈佛策略暨競爭學院)
國際中心/綜合報導
2010年曾來台演講,大力支持兩岸簽訂ECFA,向馬總統與時任行政院長的吳敦義提出建言的國際競爭力策略大師、哈佛商學院終身教授麥可波特(Michael Porter),他所創辦的管理顧問公司於11月7日向法院聲請破產保護,結束近30年的營業。
麥可波特於26歲那年,即是哈佛商學院教授,並獲頒該校最高榮譽的「大學教授」資格。1980年,他在著作《競爭策略》中提出「五力分析」,旋即讓他晉升大師殿堂,成為世界各國政府與企業爭相諮詢的管理學顧問。
應中華民國三三會邀請,麥可波特這位「競爭力大師」兩年前曾造訪台灣,參加「領袖論壇」並發表演說,統一集團總裁林蒼生、遠東集團董事長徐旭東、時任海基會董事長江丙坤和行政院長吳敦義等政商名流,皆到場聆聽大師開示;對比今天破產的消息,真是令人不勝唏噓。
除了簽訂ECFA,台灣沒有其他替代方案。」麥可波特表示,自己曾在台灣住過兩年,故特別關心台灣,在會後的座談會上,他也特別闡述了對當時熱門議題ECFA的看法。他認為,ECFA是台灣未來20年內最大的發展機會,將創造下一個經濟奇蹟。
麥可波特和一群與哈佛大學有關的企業家於1983年創立的摩立特集團,一度是管理顧問業的佼佼者。但受金融風暴拖累,2008年起業務萎縮後,摩立特便不斷出現財務危機,在投資人注資450萬美元和私募5千萬美元後,經營狀況仍不見改善,最後只好聲請破產保護。
據摩立特的破產保護聲請書,該公司的負債應在1億至5億美元之間。


原文網址: 曾誇ECFA將創新經濟奇蹟 管理大師波特聲請公司破產 | ETtoday國際新聞 | ETtoday 新聞雲 http://www.ettoday.net/news/20121122/130554.htm#ixzz2D3Bo6TYM
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曾誇ECFA將創新經濟奇蹟 管理大師波特聲請公司破產

點評:有句老話,同一個問題問十個經濟學家,會得到十一種答案...。

▲享譽國際的競爭力大師,也難抵大環境不好的厄運,7日所經營的公司聲請破產。(圖/取自哈佛策略暨競爭學院)
國際中心/綜合報導
2010年曾來台演講,大力支持兩岸簽訂ECFA,向馬總統與時任行政院長的吳敦義提出建言的國際競爭力策略大師、哈佛商學院終身教授麥可波特(Michael Porter),他所創辦的管理顧問公司於11月7日向法院聲請破產保護,結束近30年的營業。
麥可波特於26歲那年,即是哈佛商學院教授,並獲頒該校最高榮譽的「大學教授」資格。1980年,他在著作《競爭策略》中提出「五力分析」,旋即讓他晉升大師殿堂,成為世界各國政府與企業爭相諮詢的管理學顧問。
應中華民國三三會邀請,麥可波特這位「競爭力大師」兩年前曾造訪台灣,參加「領袖論壇」並發表演說,統一集團總裁林蒼生、遠東集團董事長徐旭東、時任海基會董事長江丙坤和行政院長吳敦義等政商名流,皆到場聆聽大師開示;對比今天破產的消息,真是令人不勝唏噓。
除了簽訂ECFA,台灣沒有其他替代方案。」麥可波特表示,自己曾在台灣住過兩年,故特別關心台灣,在會後的座談會上,他也特別闡述了對當時熱門議題ECFA的看法。他認為,ECFA是台灣未來20年內最大的發展機會,將創造下一個經濟奇蹟。
麥可波特和一群與哈佛大學有關的企業家於1983年創立的摩立特集團,一度是管理顧問業的佼佼者。但受金融風暴拖累,2008年起業務萎縮後,摩立特便不斷出現財務危機,在投資人注資450萬美元和私募5千萬美元後,經營狀況仍不見改善,最後只好聲請破產保護。
據摩立特的破產保護聲請書,該公司的負債應在1億至5億美元之間。


原文網址: 曾誇ECFA將創新經濟奇蹟 管理大師波特聲請公司破產 | ETtoday國際新聞 | ETtoday 新聞雲 http://www.ettoday.net/news/20121122/130554.htm#ixzz2D3Bo6TYM
Follow us: @ETtodaynet on Twitter | ETtoday on Facebook

曾誇ECFA將創新經濟奇蹟 管理大師波特聲請公司破產

點評:有句老話,同一個問題問十個經濟學家,會得到十一種答案...。

▲享譽國際的競爭力大師,也難抵大環境不好的厄運,7日所經營的公司聲請破產。(圖/取自哈佛策略暨競爭學院)
國際中心/綜合報導
2010年曾來台演講,大力支持兩岸簽訂ECFA,向馬總統與時任行政院長的吳敦義提出建言的國際競爭力策略大師、哈佛商學院終身教授麥可波特(Michael Porter),他所創辦的管理顧問公司於11月7日向法院聲請破產保護,結束近30年的營業。
麥可波特於26歲那年,即是哈佛商學院教授,並獲頒該校最高榮譽的「大學教授」資格。1980年,他在著作《競爭策略》中提出「五力分析」,旋即讓他晉升大師殿堂,成為世界各國政府與企業爭相諮詢的管理學顧問。
應中華民國三三會邀請,麥可波特這位「競爭力大師」兩年前曾造訪台灣,參加「領袖論壇」並發表演說,統一集團總裁林蒼生、遠東集團董事長徐旭東、時任海基會董事長江丙坤和行政院長吳敦義等政商名流,皆到場聆聽大師開示;對比今天破產的消息,真是令人不勝唏噓。
除了簽訂ECFA,台灣沒有其他替代方案。」麥可波特表示,自己曾在台灣住過兩年,故特別關心台灣,在會後的座談會上,他也特別闡述了對當時熱門議題ECFA的看法。他認為,ECFA是台灣未來20年內最大的發展機會,將創造下一個經濟奇蹟。
麥可波特和一群與哈佛大學有關的企業家於1983年創立的摩立特集團,一度是管理顧問業的佼佼者。但受金融風暴拖累,2008年起業務萎縮後,摩立特便不斷出現財務危機,在投資人注資450萬美元和私募5千萬美元後,經營狀況仍不見改善,最後只好聲請破產保護。
據摩立特的破產保護聲請書,該公司的負債應在1億至5億美元之間。


原文網址: 曾誇ECFA將創新經濟奇蹟 管理大師波特聲請公司破產 | ETtoday國際新聞 | ETtoday 新聞雲 http://www.ettoday.net/news/20121122/130554.htm#ixzz2D3Bo6TYM
Follow us: @ETtodaynet on Twitter | ETtoday on Facebook



Monitor Group, founded by Harvard’s Michael Porter, files for bankruptcy and plans merger


Monitor Group, a Cambridge consulting firm founded by Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter that rose to prominence in the 1980s, filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday as part of a deal to be acquired by Deloitte Consulting.
Monitor was involved in a controversy last year over the revelation it was paid $3 million a year from 2006 to 2008 to help improve the image of now-deceased Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy. The firm apologized for the arrangement in 2011, calling it a “major mistake.”
In its Chapter 11 filing, in federal Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Monitor listed assets and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million. It reported having between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors, including RBS Citizens Bank, Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ, and various real estate, consulting, and audit firms.
Under the asset purchase agreement, New York-based Deloitte, a major US professional services firm, will take over Monitor’s US practice. Foreign arms of Deloitte will pick up Monitor’s overseas operations, which include offices from Brazil to Saudi Arabia.
Monitor said it has 1,200 employees in 26 offices. Eamonn Kelly, a spokesman for the company, said it expects “most employees” to be offered jobs with Deloitte, and for the Monitor brand to continue. Deloitte did not return calls seeking comment.
Kelly said the Khadafy ordeal was unrelated to the firm’s troubles. “We were facing increasing financial pressure as a stand-alone business,” he said. “The recent economic downturn drove us to evaluate our strategic options.”
Founded in 1983 by Porter and a group of Harvard-linked entrepreneurs, Monitor has specialized in strategy consulting to senior officials of businesses and governments. Porter, who still has a stake in the firm, was unavailable for comment. He has been less involved with the firm in recent years, though just last month he spoke on health care reform for Monitor at a New York event.
In a statement, Michael Canning, a national managing director of Deloitte, said, “We have long admired Monitor for its excellence in strategy consulting and we are excited about the fit and compatibility of our practices.”
Bansi Nagji, president of Monitor, attempted to downplay the dramatic reversal of fortunes for a company that once competed with the likes of big-name consultants such as Bain & Co. and Boston Consulting Group. He called the acquisition by Deloitte “hugely motivating.”



競爭力大師麥可波特 傳公司聲請破產

呂烱昌

2012年11月22日 10:29
 
國際中心/綜合報導

國際聞名的競爭力策略大師麥可‧波特(Michael Porter)創辦的管理顧問公司摩立特集團(Monitor Group),日前驚傳破產。

波特32歲便獲得哈佛大學商學院終身教授頭銜,是全球公認的競爭力策略權威。1983年,波特和一群與哈佛大學有關的企業人士創立摩立特集團,專門為企業主管和各國政府提供策略性的顧問諮詢服務,曾與貝恩資本、波士頓顧問集團並稱全球三大諮詢公司。

波特的演說收費相當高昂,過去一次演講門票高達8000元新台幣,儘管收費高昂,慕名而來的聽眾仍是絡繹不絕。

不過波特的高知名度仍敵不過大環境不景氣。根據《富比世》雜誌報導,由於全球經濟不景氣,使得企業諮詢業務大幅減少,導致摩立特集團在2008年便出現財 務危機,2009年公司的合夥人還需對公司再注資450萬美元,並停領2000萬美元的股利;摩立特之後還向私募基金Caltius資本管理公司借款 5100萬美元。

儘管如此,摩立特集團還是因為付不起利息與房租,於今年11月7日向法院宣告破產,公司將由紐約德勤管理顧問公司收購。

摩立特集團2006至2008年還曾因收受利比亞獨裁領導人格達費300萬美元,以協助提升其國際形象,去(2011)年格達費垮台後,該公司也因為這項業務而遭到質疑,公司還為此事道歉。


people employed by church organizations allowed to strike? Yes!

Demonstrators with poster Foto: Andreas Gebert dpa/lby

Religion

Landmark ruling on right to strike

Are people employed by church organizations allowed to strike? Trade unions said 'yes;' the churches said 'no.' The German Federal Labor Court has now ruled they are allowed to strike under certain conditions. 

Extremely low wages and a trend toward hiring temp workers in hospitals and retirement homes run by Christian charitable organizations sparked the current debate. Major trade unions, among them Verdi and Marburger Bund, called for church staff to join in strike action in response to the poor working conditions at Germany's main denominational charities, the Protestant Church's Diakonie and the Catholic Caritas.

The employers - the Protestant and Catholic churches respectively - took the case to the Federal Labor Court in the eastern city of Erfurt. To no avail, however. The judges ruled - just as lower courts had ruled before them - that a general ban on strike action for the 1.2 million people employed by the churches and their welfare organizations was not acceptable.

Exemption
Church labor legislation differs significantly from laws that apply to other employees in several crucial points and has been a topic of debate in Germany for many years. According to Germany's constitution, religious communities have the right to manage their own affairs, Georg Bier, a professor of ecclesiastical law at Freiburg University, points out. "That allows them to formulate their own labor laws," Bier told Deutsche Welle, adding that that also included negotiating work contracts.
German church leaders Foto: Arno Burgi dpa/lsn/lby/lmv/lni/lno +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++ Churches are Germany's largest employers after the government
Traditionally, Germany has two types of work contracts. Civil servants work for the state and cannot be fired. The employer determines salaries. Civil servants do not have the right to strike. Then, there are employees: Trade agreements between employer and employee determine work conditions and wages. Here, strike action is an option in case of disagreement. Germany's church organizations have chosen another approach: work contracts are negotiated in commissions staffed with equal representation by employers and employees.

Strikes and lockouts are not part of this scenario, Georg Bier says, based on the assumption of church service "where everyone has the same goal, where employers and employees do not stand opposed, but form a community." The church regards itself as an "ambassador of the gospel" and a "community of believers" - both have different functions, but act as one in the end.

Caught between economics and Christian ideals
Dr. Tobias Jakobi
Bildrechte: Tobias Jakobi
The battle lines are drawn, so the court had to decide, Jakobi says 
 
For many years, both the Protestant and the Catholic Church aligned their wage policies for the most part with those negotiated in the public service sector. In the 1990s, however, the BAT pay scale was abolished and the churches began to work out their own system - above all for economic reasons, says Tobias Jacobi, a political scientist at Göttingen University. "At that time, there was increased pressure on church organizations to economize in the health sector, because new rules in the sector shifted costs and risks to hospital and retirement home providers," he told Deutsche Welle.

In the mid-1990s, a trend toward outsourcing simple tasks, such as cleaning, developed within the church organizations, Jacobi says. Meanwhile, there is a countermovement, he adds; for one, because it turned out that outside companies were not necessarily less expensive and also, because outsourcing does not correspond to the churches' concept of communal service.

Dispute smolders
A Caritas sign Foto: Uwe Zucchi
Caritas runs hosptials and senior residents' homes

But working conditions for church staff have changed for the worse, Georg Bier argues. "There are organizations within the church that employ temporary staff and pay low wages," he says. Employees are increasingly interested in being able to more successfully defend themselves against what are regarded as unjust policies, he says.

That includes, at a push, going on strike for better wages. Letting a court decide the issue is the only way to reach a binding solution, Tobias Jacobi says. It's a long-drawn out conflict, the battle lines are drawn between the unions and the churches, even between employers and staff, so "the only option is a court ruling."

Possibly, the labor court's decision on strike action for church employees is not the last word in the matter. The conflicting parties - trade unions and the churches - have announced they will take the issue higher in case of defeat - to the Federal Constitutional Court.

Even that might not be the last stage in the dispute. Currently, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is taking a close look at a very similar matter. Romanian priests filed a lawsuit with the court because they want to establish a union, which the Romanian government has prohibited. A ruling in the Romanian case is expected in a few months. It could also resolve the situation in Germany once and for all.

2012年11月22日 星期四

台灣一六○萬家庭財政陷懸崖



 http://www.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=5044782&page=2
美國的減稅優惠即將到期、債務瀕臨上限。一旦協商失敗,美國將掉落財政支出如直線下降的「財政懸崖」危機,進而導致全球經濟情勢惡化。
這樣的危機,一則來自美國不斷擴大舉債救經濟,另則來自討好企業與富人的減稅措施。兩者都讓國庫空虛。
然而在台灣,同樣的收入減少、支出增加,所造成的財務惡化,已經讓國內一六○萬戶家庭、約五二三萬人陷入「家計懸崖」。
一旦經濟復甦的腳步持續放緩,這些家庭,不但可能用盡早年的儲蓄,更可能得靠借錢,來維持家計。
主計處最新的八月薪資統計,工業及服務業員工的平均薪資為四一八三八元。較七月下降一.五八%,是二○○二年以來的最低水準。製造業員工平均薪資為四○三四○元,是○九年金融海嘯後的新低。
當前政府力推餐飲、觀光等服務業,創造就業機會。希望透過內需產業,反轉受薪階級的薪資結構。
但從薪資統計結果來看,代表內需市場的批發與零售業員工平均薪資,僅有三萬八千多。住宿及餐飲業更僅有二萬七千多,遠低於服務業與製造業員工的平均薪資。
薪資不漲 舉債度日
因此,除了提振內需產業,還需要有高附加價值的工作機會,才可能讓這些深陷家計懸崖的家庭,擺脫危機。
尤其,金融危機與經濟下滑時,最難抵禦不景氣的,就是受薪階級。因為,收入減少,已成為受薪階級最大的危機。

伴隨著收入減少的趨勢,所得最低二○%的家庭,已經連續五年沒有儲蓄。過去五年,平均每戶家庭是「負儲蓄」八萬七千多元。
也就是說,過去五年,一六○萬戶所得最低的家庭,必須從過往的儲蓄中,拿出某一家庭成員兩個月的薪水,或是舉債,來支應生活所需。
當一個家庭入不敷出,必須動用儲蓄或舉債來支應的時候,便不太可能累積財富,擺脫貧窮,只會向家計懸崖更靠近。
正如美國朝野兩黨,如臨大敵地看待財政懸崖。我們的官員與民眾,也須正視家計懸崖的威脅。盡速調整產業結構,讓企業有能力為員工加薪。否則一旦掉落懸崖,台灣的處境將會更為艱難。

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