Korean visitors to New Zealand down 80% in the past year! Others down too, but nowhere near as much. Koreans have had a very big ding in their wealth effect spending and are staying home to build and buy cdmaOne networks and handsets.
The same thing will apply everywhere, so for all the continuing fear of the Little Chickens, telecommunications in general and cdmaOne in particular should continue to do very well. Alan Green$pan and the Japanese money printers are doing a masterful job of robbing cash holders, using the convenient fact that the New Paradigm effect of declining prices means they can do it while boasting no inflation.
Meanwhile, oil hasn't been cheaper since the crash in 1986. Inflation adjusted it has never been cheaper. Now just over US$10 per barrel is almost as cheap as it has ever been in 1997$. Since oil is still one of the primary economic determinants, and there is HEAPS of it around, and even more if Iraq gets to sell their oil, we can look forwards to the New Paradigm continuing. Steel is just oil in a different form, so is plastic, so too aluminium and food. That is because the cost of those products is a function of the cost of oil. There is unlimited iron ore. The cost of steel is the cost of production it, which directly related to the cost of producing oil and its scarcity value. Since there is no oil scarcity value anymore, oil is worth the cost of production, which is cheap. Ignoring the greenhouse effect which is a separate discussion.
The cost of fuel is the cost of machinery to plant, harvest and handle it. Machinery is made of steel and fuelled by oil. The cost of plastic is directly related to the cost of gas, which is a direct function of the price of oil. All intertwined. Aluminium is the cost of electricity to smelt it, which depends on the price of power station fuel, which is directly related to heavy fuel oil prices, which is directly related to crude oil production cost.
You can see the oil price graph here:
bp.com
and other energy information here:
bp.com
This is about the most reputable source you will find for all this stuff.
Political disasters in the nature of global strife seem happily distant. Europe is caving on VW-40. Even Globalstar is winding up for a launch sometime this year.
Dow 16,000 Feb 2002. Print, Alan, print! Go Obuchi, Go!
Mqurice.
Joe,
Just to explain VW-40.
As you know, L M Ericsson and pals are trying to hijack QUALCOMM's CDMA inventions. L M Ericsson called their 3G [= third generation] idea W-CDMA, but realistically it is 3G-W-CDMA-VW-SETI. SETI = Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence, which the ETSI gang are indulging by searching in San Diego for some intelligence. The USA refers to foreigners as 'Aliens', so ETSI are seeking this intelligence. Apologies to the real SETI organisation, who should be looking for CDMA signals in Gaussian noise in space, not regular analog radio signals. They should look in the microwave background, which is really the intergalactic communications channel. Heavily encrypted unfortunately.
The VW = vapour-wear, as in "Look! The King isn't wearing any clothes", because QUALCOMM holds all the relevant patents.
2G is supposed to be GSM, TDMA and cdmaOne.
1G is supposed to be analog.
John Scurci suggested a briefer "DW-40" to represent snake oil. I agree with the poster who said this was a harsh treatment of a good brand. But how about VW-40. VW being vapour-wear, the 40 representing the viscosity of the snake oil L M Ericsson were trying to sell and the VW also being reminiscent of the car Adolf and his lying, propagandizing, property stealing, politically bullying gang introduced to the world. Which brought us back to the GSM Nazis, which was a counterpoint to the CDMA Mafia which Bill Frezza coined in his accusations of fraud etc against Irwin and Co. The 'z' seemed a good letter to link Frezza who was at the time in the employ, at least part time, to L M Ericsson, so he was obviously linked with propaganda, lies, distortions, anti-competitive behaviour and character assassination.
So, obviously, "VW-40 by L M Ericsson!"
I bet you are glad to know.
So it really all started with Bill Frezza, L M Ericsson's paid consultant and ex-employee, calling Irwin Jacobs a fraud, crook or some such and the CDMA people, the CDMA Mafia.
I guess it is time to drag Bill Frezza out for another round of necro-equine flagellation. [Flogging a dead horse]. |
