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IGM Financial Inc may not post significant earnings growth in the first quarter, Barclays Capital said, and downgraded the No. 2 mutual fund company in Canada to "underweight" from "equal weight."
"We believe that moderating net investment income and a more normalized operating margin will offset the assets under management (AUM) growth's impact on the bottom line," analysts, including John Aiken, wrote in a note to clients.
With IGM shares up 13% year-to-date, the market is pricing in a recurrence of the 12% sequential earnings growth reported last quarter, and this is unlikely to occur, the analysts said.
"IGM's valuation has simply run ahead of itself and slower earnings growth in the first quarter could weigh on its relative valuation," they added.
Barclays analysts have a price target of C$47 on the Winnipeg, Manitoba-based asset manager's shares, which closed at C$49.11 on Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday.
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By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY
That comes as advertisers are installing new sensor-equipped ads that will target customers in the bathrooms of the nation's second-busiest airport.
In a move that The Daily Mail of London says crosses "perhaps the last frontier in advertising," digital commercials are being added to about 150 bathroom mirrors at the airport.
The 40-inch digital-display screens will be placed in mirrors above lavatory sinks, outfitted with the capability to show both video advertising as well as still images.
But the ads are unusually dynamic.
They remain full size when customers stand at a distance, but -- as the customer approaches the sink -- the ad will gradually shrink in size until it appears only in a corner of the mirror. (See images at Tnooz.com and The Daily Mail of London.)
That, of course, allows customers to continue to view the ad -- even as they (hopefully) wash their hands.
Travel technology website Tnooz.com says the ads -- developed by advertiser Clear Channel Airports in partnership with technology firm Mirrus -- will allow companies to create ads tailored to specific niches.
Mirrus tells Tnooz some of the installations will be so sophisticated that they'll "include a computer running a content management system to enable content scheduling."
Aside from the obvious ability to tailor gender-specific ads, that also allows advertisers to craft ads to run on certain days or around specific events.
"These displays create unique opportunities for marketers to deliver targeted messages that are highly impactful and relevant to consumers," Clear Channel Airports spokesman Toby Sturek tells the Daily Mail.
There's more. The Daily Mail adds that some "mirrors also include a robust sensor" that will allow advertisers to track not only the number of bathroom-visitors that look at an ad, but also for how long they view it."
So, be sure to wash your hands ... you never know who's keeping tabs.
Posted Mar 9 2011 9:06AM
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For those in their 50s and early 60s the doubts start after opening the quarterly 401(k) statement. The numbers look small following a decade of measly stock market returns and bear market devastations, including a fresh jolt on Aug. 4, when the S&P 500 index swooned, extending the tumble from its peak in late April to 12 percent. Two-year Treasury note yields hit a record low, while the yield on one-month T-bills slipped into negative territory. Taken together, the economic data are sending an aging, insecure workforce a clear message: Don?t retire yet.
"Things are too uncertain," says Richard V. Burkhauser, economist and professor of policy analysis at Cornell University. "There?s no way to protect yourself from all unexpected risks except not to retire."
In the first half of 2011, the U.S. economy grew at a meager 0.8 percent annualized rate; investors appear increasingly nervous that a so-called double-dip recession is becoming more likely. Those worries were exacerbated this week by the debt-ceiling accord reached in Congress, which will seek $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts by year?s end?a particularly rocky period for the recovery.
The long-term trend toward a declining average age of retirement has reversed itself. The decline started in the 1880s and accelerated in the post World War II era, falling for men from an average age of 70 in 1950 to 62 in 1985. Yet since the mid-1980s increasing numbers of older men and women have kept working. The labor force participation rate for men age 65 has risen 43 percent over the past quarter century. For women 65 and older, the participation rate has nearly doubled over the same period, to 13.4 percent in June 2011.
Working into the traditional retirement years allows savings to compound longer. Workers are healthier and better educated than earlier generations, and it?s easier to toil away in an economy dominated by high-tech gear rather than the assembly line. The financial payoff from staying on the job also comes from higher Social Security benefits. Waiting to file until the full retirement age of 66 increases the benefit by at least a third, compared with taking Social Security at age 62. Wait until age 70 to claim your first benefit check, and it?s at least 75 percent larger. "The era of earlier and earlier retirement is over, and it isn?t coming back," says Joseph Quinn, an economist at Boston College.
Sounds good. The flaw in the new job-tirement message is that America?s Great Job Machine is sputtering. The U.S. economy hasn?t done well at creating jobs for young and old workers alike, let alone jobs with decent pay and benefits. Even before the labor market trauma of the Great Recession, private sector job growth was the weakest in half a century during the business cycle expansion of the 2000s. It increased at an annual 0.6 percent rate, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a shadow of the 1.8 percent annual rate of the ?90s and the 2 percent yearly pace of the ?80s. Jobs remain scarce 26 months after the recession was declared officially over; the U.S. unemployment rate is at 9.2 percent. Much of the work that?s available doesn?t pay well, and unlike their younger workmates, older workers have little time left to climb the corporate ladder of success (or at least get a pay raise).
It?s striking how many older workers are staying on the job. The labor force participation rate?the percentage of the working age population in the labor force?for most middle-aged and younger workers is down since the recession started in December 2007. The same isn?t true for older workers. For instance, among men 55 and older, the labor force participation rate was 46.2 percent in June 2011, up from 45.4 percent in December 2007. The comparable figures for women were 34.6 percent and 33.7 percent, respectively. "Older workers feel the need to stick around," says Brad Chambers, assistant vice-president in Aon Hewitt?s talent and rewards practice. "Organizations want to retain institutional knowledge and experience."
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After complaints from travelers the TSA earlier this year began testing at four airports software for the full-body scanners that instead uses a generic body outline and highlights the area where any anomaly is detected, eliminating the actual image of the passenger.
TSA has increasingly relied on the full-body scanners after a Nigerian man allegedly tried to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear aboard a transatlantic flight in December 2009. The bomb failed to fully explode but set off a rush to upgrade security to detect explosives underneath clothing.
Software upgrades to the 241 millimeter wave body-scanning machines, made by L-3 Communications, will be deployed over the next several months in the 40 airports where they are used, the TSA said.
"This software upgrade enables us to continue providing a high level of security through advanced imaging technology screening, while improving the passenger experience at checkpoints," said TSA Administrator John Pistole.
The agency said it also plans to test similar software later this year for the 247 backscatter scanners that are in 38 airports and made by OSI Systems Inc's Rapiscan Systems unit.
The agency has been scrambling to address complaints about the scanners and physical patdowns of young children and elderly travelers while still meeting the security needs for aviation, a prime target of al Qaeda militants.
Later this year, TSA plans to roll out a pilot program that will allow some frequent fliers at four hub U.S. airports to go through expedited screening, an attempt to shift more toward assessing the risk of the individual flier rather than a one-size fits all security model.
(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by Cynthia Osterman)
(This story has been corrected in paragraph 4 to clarify reference to millimeter wave machines)
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The warning came as data from Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency, showed Europe's powerhouse economies grew faster than expected at the start of this year.
Germany grew at an impressive 1.5pc quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of 2011, while France grew by 1pc, the most since early 2006.
By contrast, the UK grew 0.5pc in the same period. Greece, which is struggling under the terms of a ?110bn (�97bn) bail-out, shocked analysts by posting growth of 0.8pc, its first economic expansion for about three years.
However, that came after a massive drop in the previous quarter. Spain - striving to differentiate itself from nations which have needed rescues - reported 0.3pc growth, while Italy grew just 0.1pc.
Nonetheless, the stronger performers meant that the total economy of the nations sharing the currency grew 0.8pc on the previous quarter, above expectations after the region saw 0.3pc growth in the final quarter of last year.
The euro climbed almost half a pence against the pound to 87.64p, as markets bet that the stronger-than-expected growth - and upgraded expectations for prices - meant the European Central Bank will soon raise interest rates again to rein in inflation, despite the debt crisis still afflicting the eurozone's weaker nations.
There was debate as to whether the UK is on the right course. "It has to be said that [the] eurozone's first-quarter GDP growth rate of 0.8pc quarter-on-quarter makes the UK's 0.5pc expansion look even more paltry - especially as the UK had contracted by 0.5pc quarter-on-quarter in the [previous] quarter," said Howard Archer, UK economist at IHS Global Insight.
Labour argued that the UK's "zero growth" - in the words of the Commission - over the six months from September to March meant that the UK was stuck in Europe's economic "slow lane".
"Countries like France, Belgium, the Netherlands and even Spain have overtaken us while Germany is powering ahead," said Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor.
A Treasury spokesman countered that was much further in the "danger zone" a year ago. "The Government is having to deal with a deficit four times bigger than Germany's. Our banking bust was matched only by Ireland. Our housing bust [was] second only to Spain's," he said.
UBS analysts meanwhile cautioned that despite the good news for Europe most nations' public finances are "still far from sustainability".
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If you're intrigued by the Iditarod (which starts Saturday), but aren't ready for more than 1,150 grueling miles of frozen tundra, ease into the dog-powered sport with a lesson or two. Whether you are a newbie or a mushing master, there are plenty of places to play in the powder and perfect your dog-driving skills.
By Lynn Donaldson
Not only do you commandeer a cadre of Huskies from a handcrafted wooden sled, you may also spot buffalo and wolves along the trails just 20 miles north of Yellowstone National Park in Pray, Montana.
By Lynn Donaldson
Not only do you commandeer a cadre of Huskies from a handcrafted wooden sled, you may also spot buffalo and wolves along the trails just 20 miles north of Yellowstone National Park in Pray, Montana.
Outside magazine editor Chris Keyes�recommends places to caravan with canines and shares them with Sarah Sekula�for USA TODAY.
Maine Dogsledding Adventures�
Millinocket, Maine
Revel in the thrill of dog-powered transportation as Alaskan sled dogs take you over rugged trails near Mount Katahdin. "You'll mush 25 miles through the forest and lake wilderness south of Baxter State Park to the company's own wilderness cabin on Nahmakanta Lake, where you spend the night," Keyes says. "The next day, head back another 25-plus miles by a different trail, stopping midday to build a big open fire and warm up with hot tea and lunch." (Through March 20.) 207-731-8888; mainedogsledding.com
Dog Power Adventures�
Prince George, B.C.
"Guests stay in the comfortable Musher's Den and are served a hearty Canadian breakfast each morning before hitching the teams and heading down the trail," Keyes says. "After a cold day's work in the mountains, relax over dinner in front of the fireplace. Guests are encouraged to involve themselves as much as desired, and help with the kennel chores is always appreciated." 250-967-4479; dogpower.ca
Absaroka Dogsled Treks�
Pray, Mont.
Nature lovers flock to these dog-sledding trails, just 20 miles north of Yellowstone National Park, where it's not uncommon to spot buffalo, bighorn sheep or the occasional wolf. "Students also learn about sledding equipment, canine physiology and training techniques," Keyes says. "The full-day tour includes a lunch of grilled buffalo steak and trout, with plenty of hot drinks, French onion soup and homemade bread and cheese. And in good Montana fashion, it's all served on a tanned deerskin." 800-468-9232; extrememontana.com
Wilderness Adventures Dog Sled Tours�
Lake Tahoe, Calif.
You can get a taste of the life of a musher while gliding through the Sierra Nevadas. "Cover up to 20 miles on a two-and-a-half-hour mush amidst beautiful terrain and breathtaking views," Keyes says. 530-550-8133; tahoedogsledtours.com
Credit: Laura Marin
Paws for Adventure�
Fairbanks, Alaska
This spectacular mushing site is located on a 280-acre homestead, just a 20-minute drive from downtown Fairbanks. "Two to three guides will take you deep into the wilderness after a training session, traveling up to 30 miles a day for six days and five nights." You'll mush toward the base of a glacier, camp at Tangle Lake, and spend two nights at comfortable Maclaren Lodge, Keyes says. 907-378-3630; pawsforadventure.com
Wolfsong Adventures in Mushing�
Bayfield, Wis.
Wolfsong offers day and weekend trips. A three-day outing includes two days of driving a team on four-hour trips with breaks for lunch, Keyes says. "Day three: Take time to ski, snowshoe or explore nearby ice caves, then strap on a headlamp for a nighttime mush run by moonlight." 800-681-9746; wolfsongadventures.com
Eden Dog Sledding�
Eden Mills, Vt.
"To escape the urban slush fest, you don't have to travel far: Eden Dog Sledding is only a four-hour drive from Boston," Keyes says. "Eden's Alaskan Huskies are never chained and free to roam the 75-acre property. The well-maintained, dog-dedicated trail system runs through quintessential New England scenery and, because of its micro-climate, continues to receive snow when the rest of the region thaws out." If you're feeling ambitious, owner Jim Blair can instruct you in skijoring, a sport that combines cross-country skiing with sled-dog mushing. You can trust his tutelage: He's a national skijor champion. 802-635-9070; edendogsledding.com
Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge�
Ely, Minn.
Wintergreen offers day trips, lodge-to-lodge dog-sledding vacations and dogsled camping adventures. However, it's best known for its Arctic trek to Qaanaaq, Greenland. "Along with getting the latest information on Arctic climate change, you'll snow camp in single-digit temperatures for 10 days and dogsled the snowy alien landscape for 300 miles over sea ice on coastal fjords and Arctic tundra," Keyes says. 877-753-3386; dogsledding.com
Voyageur Outward Bound's dog-sledding course�
Ely, Minn.
The course enables participants to explore backcountry terrain and hone survival skills. "You'll learn the importance of using your own body heat, exercise, food and properly layered clothing to stay warm in frigid temperatures," Keyes says. In the end, "students are encouraged to try a night or two of solo camping with the hounds." 866-467-7651; outward-bound.org
Nordik Adventures�
Bonsecours, Quebec
A rowdy pack of 45 huskies give guests an over-the-top welcome at this charming ranch. Soon after, the athletic canines are sprinting through a swath of maple trees by way of your French commands. Post-trail run, relax at the Halte Sucr�e bed and breakfast with a hot drink and a home-cooked meal. Fashionable mittens and hats made of llama and goat fur are for sale. nordikaventures.com
By Andrew Frye
(Updates with Buffett?s comments on attracting long-term investors in penultimate paragraph.)
Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett?s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. can?t get a buy recommendation from equity analysts, even as it trades in New York at the cheapest price relative to book value since March 2009.
Berkshire fell this week to its lowest since June 2010 and has underperformed the Standard & Poor?s 500 Index over the last 12 months. The company faces a sluggish U.S. economy, declining world equity markets and reinsurance claims tied to Japan?s biggest earthquake. In March, the resignation of David Sokol raised questions about succession for Buffett, the 80-year-old chief executive officer, and Vice Chairman Charles Munger, 87.
?Hopefully we?ll pull out of this, but it looks like it?ll be slow,? said Meyer Shields of Stifel Nicolaus & Co., one of four equity analysts who rates Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire at ?hold? or an equivalent level. ?And every day of slowness, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger get another day older.? Shields raised his rating to ?hold? from ?sell? in February.
Berkshire investors have trusted Buffett, who?s held the top job since 1970, to boost the share price by picking stocks and making takeovers. The firm hasn?t named a successor or set a timetable for CEO transition. Jay Gelb, who has a ?neutral? rating on Berkshire at Barclays Plc, said in May that Sokol?s exit means ?succession risk is elevated.? Sokol, former chairman of Berkshire?s MidAmerican Energy Holdings, was seen as a possible successor to Buffett before he resigned.
Japan Quake
Berkshire, which may report second-quarter results tomorrow, fell 7.3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange in the last year through yesterday, compared with a 12 percent gain in the S&P 500. The Class A shares dropped 13 percent since the March 11 quake in Japan. The S&P 500?s slide in the same period was 3.4 percent.
?It?s the cheapest that I?ve seen it in a while,? said Tom Lewandowski, an analyst with Edward Jones & Co., who has a ?hold? rating on Berkshire shares. ?It?s hard for me to get really positive on that.?
Berkshire trades at about 1.14 times book value, a measure of assets minus liabilities. That compares with a ratio of 1.04 on March 9, 2009, a day when the S&P 500 fell to its lowest level since September 1996.
Berkshire, which has a market value of about $180 billion, has attracted less attention from brokerages and research firms because its trading volume tends to lag behind that of companies of similar size. Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. bank, has ?buy? recommendations from 20 analysts and ?hold? calls from 18. No analyst tracked by Bloomberg advised selling Berkshire or Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America.
Succession Planning
?This is a business that should have a succession plan,? Charles Ortel, managing director of Newport Value Partners, said of Berkshire. ?The market deserves to see what that plan may be.? Ortel doesn?t advise buying the shares. Berkshire said in a February filing that it had identified four candidates to succeed Buffett, without naming them.
The last analyst tracked by Bloomberg to recommend buying Berkshire was Christopher Neczypor of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., who suspended his coverage in October. Berkshire owns warrants to buy $5 billion of shares of New York-based Goldman Sachs. Clifford Gallant, an analyst with KBW Inc., downgraded Berkshire to ?market perform? from ?outperform? in March 2010.
Munger?s View
?Berkshire stock went to a price we never thought,? Munger said at a forum in Pasadena, California, on July 1. The earthquake which struck North of Tokyo cost Berkshire $1.1 billion in the first quarter and was cited by Munger as a cause for the stock decline.
Buffett didn?t respond to a request for an interview e- mailed to his assistant, Carrie Kizer.
Berkshire?s slide has coincided with disappointing data on the U.S. economic recovery and stagnation in major stock indexes from Tokyo to the London. In the last decade, Buffett has used acquisitions and derivatives to bet on the health of the U.S. economy and long-term growth in stocks on three continents.
The U.S. gross domestic product expanded less than expected in the second quarter, while consumer spending fell in June and manufacturing declined last month. Berkshire?s equity-index derivatives, tied to the S&P 500, Japan?s Nikkei 225 Stock Average, the Eurostoxx 50 Index, the U.K.?s FTSE 100, were recorded as a $6.5 billion liability as of March 31. The liability was $7.1 billion a year earlier.
Berkshire doesn?t hold the quarterly earnings conference calls scheduled by most of the largest publicly traded firms to update Wall Street analysts. Buffett has said his goal is to attract long-term investors and not to maximize the price at which Berkshire?s shares trade.
Church, School
?We don?t understand the CEO who wants lots of stock activity,? Buffett said in the letter accompanying Berkshire?s 1988 annual report. ?For that can be achieved only if many of his owners are constantly exiting. At what other organization - school, club, church, etc. - do leaders cheer when members leave??
Buffett said on Jan. 20, 2010, that Berkshire was ?undervalued? in the market. That day, Class A shares traded between $100,000 and $105,001. The stock closed yesterday at $110,957.
--Editors: Dan Reichl, Dan Kraut
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Frye in New York at afrye@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Kraut at dkraut2@bloomberg.net.
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New theme parks, resorts and casinos are scheduled to open from Singapore to Seoul over the next several years as property developers and entertainment companies aim to draw Asia's rapidly growing middle classes. They're betting there will be a big market for family amusement rides, live shows and the chance to pose for a picture with Snow White.
The projects represent the next big growth area for skilled and experienced designers and creators as the North American market has become saturated and opportunities to design big new resorts have dried up."America has slowed down and Asia has kicked into higher gear. Especially China and Macau are really busy," said Gary Goddard, a veteran architectural designer who drew up the masterplan for the Galaxy Macau, a $1.9 billion casino resort that opened in the southern Chinese city in May.
Goddard and many of his competitors are based in Southern California but they've been doing a lot more traveling to Asia lately to work on projects and meet potential clients. Many aren't strangers to the region, having worked in Japan on an earlier generation of parks and developments. Now the focus is shifting to China.
Theme parks in the U.S. struggled last year with modest attendance gains as the economy eked out a muted recovery from recession. Six Flags Entertainment Corp., which runs 19 parks in North America, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009 because of heavy debt.
The situation is similar in Europe, where operators are mostly renovating or buying smaller rivals. One of the few new parks planned in coming years is being built on Spain's Mediterranean coast, where officials are teaming with U.S. film company Paramount.
The recession has also scuppered grand plans for amusement parks in the Middle East, where the vast Dubailand complex has been put on hold.
Not so in Asia.
Disney's long-awaited $3.7 billion park is scheduled to open in Shanghai in 2016. The Pasadena-based Hettema Group is designing a Hello Kitty park set to open southwest of Shanghai in 2014. Burbank-based Thinkwell Group is working on a Monkey Kingdom park near Beijing based on the classical Chinese epic novel also scheduled for 2014.
Outside China, Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios theme park opened last year in Singapore, part of a $4.4 billion resort that also includes the city-state's first casino. Another Universal Studios is slated to open in 2014 in Seoul, South Korea that will be bigger than the company's four existing parks. Asia's first Legoland is scheduled to open in southern Malaysia in 2013.
A $2 billion, five-star hotel and amusement park slated to open in southern Vietnam in 2014 has lured Joe Jackson, father of the late king of pop Michael Jackson, as one of its investors.
"The growth of the middle class in Asia is phenomenal and will drive huge investments in theme parks in the coming decade," said consultancy Aecom in its annual report on theme park development.
Phil Hettema, president of The Hettema Group, said he's in talks "probably every week about additional projects upcoming in China."
"There's a growing market there. There's a huge class of people looking for family entertainment," he said.
Asian theme park attendance is forecast to grow to 290 million in 2012 from 249 million in 2007, while spending in that period will rise from $6.4 billion to $8.4 billion, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
It's not just theme parks that need skilled designers.
In Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal, the Galaxy is the first of what is expected to be several new hybrid casino-resorts aimed at turning the city into a tourist and cultural destination and reducing its reliance on gambling revenues.
Goddard said he was tapped by a rival casino company for its expansion project three days after Galaxy opened. His design featured multiple rooftop finials reminiscent of Thai palaces as part of a theme evoking a mystical Asian kingdom.
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By Victoria Taylor
Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- LinkedIn Corp. has suffered an unusual loss of support from the securities firms that led the professional-networking website?s initial public offering less than three months ago.
Morgan Stanley cut its investment rating on LinkedIn?s shares today, less than three weeks after JPMorgan Chase & Co. took similar action. The firms were the lead managers of the IPO along with Bank of America Corp.
The latest reduction made LinkedIn, based in Mountain View, California, the second U.S. company since 2000 to be downgraded by two lead IPO managers within 90 days after going public, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. TeleNav Inc., a maker of global-positioning software for mobile phones, was the first.
?It?s a high-pressure call.? Philippe Lanier, a former Bank of America analyst who reduced his rating on Western Refining Inc. less than three months after the bank helped lead the company?s 2006 IPO, said in a telephone interview today. ?It?s very difficult to give a message to your sales force and have them come out with confidence.?
An investigation almost a decade ago by then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission resulted in Wall Street agreeing to strengthen barriers between investment banking and analyst research. Since then, firms have been more worried about the legal repercussions of failing to separate the groups, Paul Meeks, an analyst who covers LinkedIn at Capstone Investments Inc. in Charleston, South Carolina, wrote in a July 26 e-mail.
Approaching Netflix
LinkedIn was reduced to ?equal-weight? from ?overweight? by Morgan Stanley?s Scott Devitt, based on valuation. He wrote in a report that the stock was trading at about 30 times his estimate of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a cash-flow gauge, for 2014.
?We?re not as focused on the valuation,? Jeff Weiner, chief executive officer of LinkedIn, said today in an interview on Bloomberg Television?s ?In the Loop? with Betty Liu and Jon Erlichman. ?We?re going to leave that to the market.?
Devitt followed the example of JPMorgan?s Douglas Anmuth, who cut his rating to ?neutral? from ?overweight? on July 18. Anmuth wrote that LinkedIn?s market capitalization was approaching that of Netflix Inc., a video-rental company with seven times more revenue and Ebitda.
Pen Pendleton, a spokesman for Morgan Stanley, declined to comment on the downgrade. At JPMorgan, spokeswoman Sarah Stipicevic said Anmuth wasn?t available for an interview. Both firms are based in New York.
BofA Stays Bullish
Bank of America is sticking with a ?buy? rating on LinkedIn, which was reiterated after the company?s earnings report yesterday. LinkedIn reported a profit, rather than the loss that most analysts in a Bloomberg survey were anticipating, and beat the average revenue estimate.
While JPMorgan declined to comment on Anmuth?s downgrade, the company said its ratings policy follows SEC regulations. They include a ?quiet period? in which no underwriter can begin coverage for 40 days after an IPO.
Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan?s cuts made LinkedIn a standout among about 2,500 U.S. IPOs since 2000, according to Bloomberg?s data. TeleNav, based in Sunnyvale, California, was downgraded by both of its chief underwriters in July 2010.
Deutsche Bank?s Jonathan Goldberg reduced TeleNav to ?hold? from ?buy? and JPMorgan?s Paul Coster cut the stock to ?neutral? from ?overweight.? They acted after the company said it would probably receive less money from Sprint Nextel Corp., its biggest customer, in an amended contract.
Staying Bullish
Analysts at investment banks are more likely to be bullish on stocks than those at independent research firms, Meeks said.
?The former will almost always have higher price targets and will stay at the party too long,? keeping buy ratings as a company?s business worsens, said Meeks, who has a ?sell? rating on LinkedIn.
Just 5.1 percent of analyst ratings are ?sells,? according to Bloomberg data compiled in May. Out of 1,890 analysts, fewer than 1 percent advised investors to unload a Standard & Poor?s 500 stock that later fell or to buy a stock that rose after their upgrade, the data show. The study tracked S&P 500 companies between January 2009 and April 6, 2011.
Morgan Stanley?s Devitt raised his revenue and Ebitda estimates for LinkedIn through next year even as he cut the stock?s rating.
LinkedIn was the hottest IPO in the U.S. since at least 2006, reflecting surging demand for social-media stocks and a comeback in venture capital-backed companies.
Supply, Demand
The stock rose as high as $122.70 on May 19, its first day of trading, from an initial price of $45. More than 30 million shares changed hands, or 3.8 times the number of shares sold to the public -- the biggest difference between supply and demand in at least five years for an IPO of a U.S.-based company, according to Bloomberg?s data.
LinkedIn?s surge was reminiscent of the rallies in newly public companies during the 1990s Internet-stock bubble. In 2002, Spitzer and the SEC began investigating the research industry in the midst of conflict of interest scandals that erupted after the bubble burst.
Star analysts such as Jack Grubman, a telecommunications specialist at Citigroup Inc., and Henry Blodget at Merrill Lynch & Co. had recommended stocks to win investment-banking business, according to lawsuits filed by the SEC.
Blodget called InfoSpace Inc. a ?piece of junk? in an e- mail in 2000 even as he recommended investors buy the maker of Internet-search software, according to an SEC complaint.
Grubman, Blodget
In 2003, the SEC prohibited Grubman and Blodget for life from associating with a broker-dealer or investment adviser. They didn?t admit or deny wrongdoing in their settlements.
Spitzer and the SEC also settled with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Merrill and eight other major banks. They were permanently barred them from using investment banking revenue to compensate research staffs and fund their work.
The SEC has since prohibited actions such as the linking of analyst compensation to specific deals and providing favorable research to encourage investment-banking business. In July 2006, Wachovia Corp. agreed to pay $25 million in fines to settle allegations by regulators that analysts participated in presentations with potential investment clients.
The role of the analyst is to provide a well-structured opinion and to have strong and convincing evidence for every argument, said Lanier, who now works for EastBanc Inc., a Washington-based real estate firm.
?If you?re consistent with what you saw and you have fundamental research behind it, you should be able to articulate that to the client,? he said.
--With assistance from Michael Beauchemin and Jennifer Berger in Princeton and Daniel Wytock, Carol Chuang, Inyoung Hwang and Jeff Sutherland in New York. Editors: David Wilson, Nick Baker
To contact the reporter on this story: Victoria Taylor in New York at vtaylor6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net
New theme parks, resorts and casinos are scheduled to open from Singapore to Seoul over the next several years as property developers and entertainment companies aim to draw Asia's rapidly growing middle classes. They're betting there will be a big market for family amusement rides, live shows and the chance to pose for a picture with Snow White.
The projects represent the next big growth area for skilled and experienced designers and creators as the North American market has become saturated and opportunities to design big new resorts have dried up."America has slowed down and Asia has kicked into higher gear. Especially China and Macau are really busy," said Gary Goddard, a veteran architectural designer who drew up the masterplan for the Galaxy Macau, a $1.9 billion casino resort that opened in the southern Chinese city in May.
Goddard and many of his competitors are based in Southern California but they've been doing a lot more traveling to Asia lately to work on projects and meet potential clients. Many aren't strangers to the region, having worked in Japan on an earlier generation of parks and developments. Now the focus is shifting to China.
Theme parks in the U.S. struggled last year with modest attendance gains as the economy eked out a muted recovery from recession. Six Flags Entertainment Corp., which runs 19 parks in North America, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009 because of heavy debt.
The situation is similar in Europe, where operators are mostly renovating or buying smaller rivals. One of the few new parks planned in coming years is being built on Spain's Mediterranean coast, where officials are teaming with U.S. film company Paramount.
The recession has also scuppered grand plans for amusement parks in the Middle East, where the vast Dubailand complex has been put on hold.
Not so in Asia.
Disney's long-awaited $3.7 billion park is scheduled to open in Shanghai in 2016. The Pasadena-based Hettema Group is designing a Hello Kitty park set to open southwest of Shanghai in 2014. Burbank-based Thinkwell Group is working on a Monkey Kingdom park near Beijing based on the classical Chinese epic novel also scheduled for 2014.
Outside China, Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios theme park opened last year in Singapore, part of a $4.4 billion resort that also includes the city-state's first casino. Another Universal Studios is slated to open in 2014 in Seoul, South Korea that will be bigger than the company's four existing parks. Asia's first Legoland is scheduled to open in southern Malaysia in 2013.
A $2 billion, five-star hotel and amusement park slated to open in southern Vietnam in 2014 has lured Joe Jackson, father of the late king of pop Michael Jackson, as one of its investors.
"The growth of the middle class in Asia is phenomenal and will drive huge investments in theme parks in the coming decade," said consultancy Aecom in its annual report on theme park development.
Phil Hettema, president of The Hettema Group, said he's in talks "probably every week about additional projects upcoming in China."
"There's a growing market there. There's a huge class of people looking for family entertainment," he said.
Asian theme park attendance is forecast to grow to 290 million in 2012 from 249 million in 2007, while spending in that period will rise from $6.4 billion to $8.4 billion, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
It's not just theme parks that need skilled designers.
In Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal, the Galaxy is the first of what is expected to be several new hybrid casino-resorts aimed at turning the city into a tourist and cultural destination and reducing its reliance on gambling revenues.
Goddard said he was tapped by a rival casino company for its expansion project three days after Galaxy opened. His design featured multiple rooftop finials reminiscent of Thai palaces as part of a theme evoking a mystical Asian kingdom.
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The warning came as data from Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency, showed Europe's powerhouse economies grew faster than expected at the start of this year.
Germany grew at an impressive 1.5pc quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of 2011, while France grew by 1pc, the most since early 2006.
By contrast, the UK grew 0.5pc in the same period. Greece, which is struggling under the terms of a ?110bn (�97bn) bail-out, shocked analysts by posting growth of 0.8pc, its first economic expansion for about three years.
However, that came after a massive drop in the previous quarter. Spain - striving to differentiate itself from nations which have needed rescues - reported 0.3pc growth, while Italy grew just 0.1pc.
Nonetheless, the stronger performers meant that the total economy of the nations sharing the currency grew 0.8pc on the previous quarter, above expectations after the region saw 0.3pc growth in the final quarter of last year.
The euro climbed almost half a pence against the pound to 87.64p, as markets bet that the stronger-than-expected growth - and upgraded expectations for prices - meant the European Central Bank will soon raise interest rates again to rein in inflation, despite the debt crisis still afflicting the eurozone's weaker nations.
There was debate as to whether the UK is on the right course. "It has to be said that [the] eurozone's first-quarter GDP growth rate of 0.8pc quarter-on-quarter makes the UK's 0.5pc expansion look even more paltry - especially as the UK had contracted by 0.5pc quarter-on-quarter in the [previous] quarter," said Howard Archer, UK economist at IHS Global Insight.
Labour argued that the UK's "zero growth" - in the words of the Commission - over the six months from September to March meant that the UK was stuck in Europe's economic "slow lane".
"Countries like France, Belgium, the Netherlands and even Spain have overtaken us while Germany is powering ahead," said Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor.
A Treasury spokesman countered that was much further in the "danger zone" a year ago. "The Government is having to deal with a deficit four times bigger than Germany's. Our banking bust was matched only by Ireland. Our housing bust [was] second only to Spain's," he said.
UBS analysts meanwhile cautioned that despite the good news for Europe most nations' public finances are "still far from sustainability".
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GMA's search, which began in June, called for their viewers to nominate the most beautiful places online. Also in the running were Cape Cod; Aspen; Lanikai Beach, Hawaii; Newport, R.I.; Point Reyes, Calif.; Sedona, Ariz.; Destin, Fla.; Asheville, N.C.; and Grand Teton National Park, Wyo. Tens of thousands of GMA viewers were seduced by photos and stories of Sleeping Bear's beauty and took to the polls, voting it the clear winner.
Grand Rapids, Mich., resident Jim Madole nominated Sleeping Bear. In his GMA submission, he wrote: "It is peaceful and serene, a place for gazing out into the world, night or day, and realizing that the universe is truly a magical, majestic mystery, and humans are just a very small part of it all. Here at Sleeping Bear, I sit in awe and wonder at the perfection of Mother Nature."
Even celebrity chef Mario Batali is a fan, spending his summers there to escape the New York hustle.
"I spend my entire summer here on Lake Michigan because it's beautiful, because it has farmers, because it has great food artisans," Batali tells ABC News. "It has great products. It has magnificent fresh water."
All of that fresh water provides a plethora of activities for Lakeshore visitors to choose from, including paddle-boarding, fishing, or simply taking a swim at one of the many beaches. Those who opt to stay dry can climb the colossal sand dunes or hike through the forest.
It looks like Midwesterners finally have something on East Coast and West Coast dwellers.
WATCH GMA's big reveal below:
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"During the financial crisis a lot of companies suspended or cut their dividend payments. During 2008 the top 10 dividend payers in the UK were responsible for more than 65pc of the total income paid of the FTSE 100 index. The concentration reached a peak when BP suspended its dividend after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill," she said.
"Although global income funds faced similar issues they still had a much larger universe to choose from. Asia in particular saw far fewer dividend cuts than Europe, Britain and the US."
Asia not only suffered least during the credit crisis, but has seen healthy levels of dividend growth in the past two years. Mr Dennehy said that dividend growth is dictated by earnings, and one region that has experienced the greatest earnings growth ? and is expected to continue to lead global growth ? is Asia.
He picks Newton Asian Income managed by Jason Pidcock as the best way to gain exposure to the region. Invested in equites from across the Asia Pacific, the fund is a third exposed to financials, with industrials, telecoms, oil and gas and technology stocks making up the bulk of the rest.
Closer to home, Europe is presenting income seekers with a growing number of options. The cyclical sectors offer the greatest dividend growth opportunities. Ms Schemmann likes banks, insurance companies, industrials and telecoms. She picks Deutsche Telekom, SKF, Atlas Copco and Zurich Finance.
Though it has historically proved difficult for US fund managers to beat their index, income seekers should not write the region off. "In another example of the UK's limitations: the US boasts 92 companies that increased dividends every year for the past 25 years ? there are just five in the UK," said Mr Dennehy. He picks M&G Global Dividend fund as the best way to exploit this potential.
He added that the global story was not just for pure income seekers either. " 'Go where the dividends grow' is a very important mantra for UK-based investors, even those focused on growth," he said. "Seventy per cent of long-term returns for the stock market are derived from reinvested dividends. Therefore if 'growth' investors sidestep equity income funds, they immediately start with a disadvantage."
As with any overseas investing, currency risk is a concern. Gains made on a US stock could be eaten up by currency conversion. But Ms Schemmann said a good fund manager can play this to their advantage. "Currency obviously plays a role when buying overseas stocks, but it can be a benefit as well as a risk. There are some fully hedged funds which counter any currency losses."
Even if you invest in a fund with a currency hedge, going global is about exposure to international markets, not swapping out of domestic stocks entirely. Peter Lawery, co-manager of the Jupiter Merlin suite of funds, said UK investors should diversify thematically rather than be hung up on geography. "You have to get to the 16th largest stock in the FTSE 100 before you get to a domestically focused company ? and that is Tesco, which is a huge overseas growth story," he said. "It is more important to ensure you have thematic diversity than to insist on overseas stocks and introduce currency risk."
For those wishing to keep their exposure to the UK stock market, Mr Dennehy likes Psigma Income and Rathbone Income. "There are some great pockets of value in the UK, which can be exploited, but there are multiples more overseas," he said.
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Liberty Island will remain open and the statue largely unobstructed from view as renovations take place.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
New York (CNN) -- The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will undergo renovations totaling more than $27 million beginning in late October, according to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
Liberty Island, where the iconic statue is located, will remain open during the yearlong project and views of Lady Liberty will remain largely unobstructed.
"Two years ago, when we reopened Lady Liberty's crown to visitors for the first time since the September 11 attacks, I promised that we would continue to upgrade the interior to make it safer and more accessible for all," Salazar said Wednesday. "With today's announcement, we are taking a major step in bringing a 19th century icon into the 21st century."
The National Park Service will keep the monument open to the public through the October 28 celebration of the 125th anniversary of the statue's dedication. It will be closed the following day as work commences.
The National Park Service awarded the work to Joseph A. Natoli Construction Corporation of Pine Brook, New Jersey, to install code-compliant stairways within the monument, refurbish mechanical, electrical and fire suppression systems, replace the elevators, and improve restrooms. The upgrades will also allow for increased visitor access to the monument, including the pedestal and the museum.
Similar work will take place at facilities on Ellis Island, the entry point to the United States for millions of immigrants.
The project will be funded through a combination of National Park Service appropriations and the park Concession Franchise Fee program.
National Park Rangers will remain on site to provide tours of the grounds and history of the statue to visitors, said Jane Ahern, spokeswoman of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Approximately 3.5 million people visit Liberty Island every year.
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