Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: abstract who wrote (40613)	8/27/2001 12:29:15 PM
From: Jim Willie CB	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 65232

July existing home sales were below last month in June but ahead of last year, i.e. July 2000 and below expectations for the yearly pace doesnt seem too complicated to follow this isnt an abstract painting, now, is it? / jw

To: abstract who wrote (40613)	8/28/2001 10:14:25 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

U.S. Tech Firms Bank on Solid China, India Demand Tuesday August 28 4:21 AM ET By Jennifer Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - For many U.S. tech giants, China and India could be the few bright spots in a darkening economic climate. ``China and India are very new markets so there is still going to be IT (information technology) demand in these markets even with the global economic slowdown,'' said Mike Scott, research manager at consultancy International Data Corp Asia-Pacific. ``The U.S. and Europe don't have the advantage of such large, fresh markets -- unlike Asia.'' While recession stalks their neighbors, China and India have huge infrastructure gaps and a thirst for the latest know-how -- music to the ears of tech firms trapped by mature markets at home and in Europe. For Sun Microsystems Inc, China and India are the U.S. network computer maker's two biggest bets in the next few years. ``What we are driving toward is a billion-dollar business in China and a billion-dollar business in India,'' Asia-Pacific sales director James Whitemore told Reuters. ``That's the goal that's set for us -- 200-300 percent growth over the next two to three years.'' Sun's customers in China and India come mainly from the finance, telecommunications, energy and life sciences sectors. The Asia-Pacific region now accounts for 23 percent of Sun's global revenues and is set to grow, Whitemore said. The more demanding attitude of customers in these markets also offers huge potential. ``Customers in China and India...don't adopt previous methods of problem-solving and adapt them -- they leap-frog them,'' said Whitemore. ``With that kind of appetite for technology, with that kind of attitude, you can see the opportunities in these countries to build them into billion-dollar-plus revenue sources.'' SINGING CHINA'S PRAISES Paul Waide, analyst at consultancy Strategic Intelligence, said be believes India is more of a ``potential'' at this stage. ``India will be a booming market, but in two to three years' time,'' he said. ``Right now, they are just at the beginning of the growth curve.'' But China is in a sweet spot, he said. ``China is the hot market for IT and telecommunications infrastructure. But the rest of Asia, like the ex-Tiger economies of Taiwan and South Korea (news - web sites), have been affected by the global economic slowdown,'' he said. Cisco Systems Inc is singing a similar tune about China, one of its top five performing markets. Chinese corporations and enterprises have shown a voracious appetite for the world's largest data networking equipment maker's routers and switches, Cisco vice president Jia Bin Duh told Reuters. ``We're doing pretty well in China and business is on a healthy track,'' he said. ``China's economy is still very strong, with the government initiating many infrastructure construction projects. We cover almost all the industries including telecommunications, enterprise, banking and education.'' China's gross domestic product expanded 7.95 percent in the first six months of 2001 and the world's most populous country is expected to maintain an average growth rate of seven percent over the next three to five years. Duh said China, where revenues hit US$1 billion in the year to end-July, accounted for half of Cisco's Asia-Pacific revenues and nearly five percent of its global revenues of US$22.29 billion. Cisco's customers in China include the country's second-largest mobile carrier China Unicom, China Telecom and Bank of China. BRIGHT SPOTS TO FADE? But the regional bright spots may fade, some analysts warned. According to IDC estimates, the U.S. market accounted for about 42 percent of global hardware spending in 2000, with Western Europe at about 25 percent. This includes demand for network servers, personal computers, and data communications equipment. While the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan has been a buffer for U.S. multinationals due to the region's comparatively slower rate of economic contraction, this may only be temporary, said the IDC's Scott. ``The worst is yet to come and if the U.S. economy doesn't turn around in the next three to four months, Asia ex-Japan will not be able to provide a buffer anymore,'' he said. ``The size of the Asian market is just not big enough to counter a long-term downturn in the U.S. and Europe.''

To: abstract who wrote (40613)	8/30/2001 1:06:05 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

China sees GDP growth of 7.9% in first half (08/30/2001) (China Daily) China has achieved a gross domestic product (GDP) of 4.29 trillion yuan (US$519 billion) in the first half of this year, an increase of 7.9 per cent over the same period of last year. The statistic was revealed by Zeng Peiyan, minister of the State Development Planning Commission, who reported to national lawmakers on Wednesday on the implementation of a blueprint for national economic and social development this year. The national economy has sustained relatively rapid growth at a time when the global economy is deteriorating, Zeng said. He put down the growth to the efforts in expanding domestic demand and pushing for greater economic structure adjustment. The ongoing 23rd Session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee also heard a report on work to enhance the fundamental status of agriculture and to increase incomes of farmers. It was delivered by Vice-Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu. Han predicted that overall grain production for this year will roughly equal that of last year. The development of agriculture and the rural economy has been proceeding smoothly so far this year thanks to the strategic readjustment in rural economic structure and the promotion of agricultural technology, he said. In other developments, an inspection team from the NPC Standing Committee delivered a report on the implementation of the nation's Organic Law on the Villagers' Committee to the lawmakers. The good implementation of the law means that villagers' self-governing is well on track, according to Hou Zongbin, member of the NPC Internal and Judicial Committee, who made the report to legislators.