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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: elmatador who wrote (5)	9/19/2001 6:33:33 AM
From: smolejv@gmx.net	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 218004

WORLD FDI FLOWS TO DROP THIS YEAR by unctad 18.09.01 unctad.org QUOTE .... It should be noted that the estimate of a drop in FDI flows in 2001 was made before last week’s tragic events in the US. It is in no way related to these events. The following estimate is based on information for 51 host countries as of 3 September 2001 and on data that cover the first two quarters or first several months of this year. It should also be emphasized that estimated FDI flows in 2001 are expected to be higher than in 1998. The decline is to a large extent a correction in light of particularly active cross-border M&A activities during 1999 and 2000. Cross-border M&As account for a substantial share of FDI flows, especially among developed countries. World FDI flows are likely to decline 40% this year, to $760 billion,1 according to projections released today by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Should this happen, it would represent the first drop since 1991 and the largest over the past three decades.2 However, the level of flows in 2001 is still expected to be higher than that in 1998 (see table 1) and also higher than the 1996-2000 average. This year’s projected dip is the result of a recent decline in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As), which account for the bulk of FDI. The significant increases in FDI flows in 1999 and 2000 – by about 50% and 18%, respectively – were in fact caused by megadeals (deals worth over $1 billion) of M&As, as represented, for example, by the $200 billion acquisition of Mannesmann (Germany) by VodafoneAirTouch (United Kingdom) in 2000. The decline in M&As – both cross-border and domestic – is related to the slowdown in the world economy. The prices of shares, for example, which in 2000 were used to finance some 56% of cross-border M&As, fell significantly, when measured in terms of the exchange of stocks. A lull in the consolidation processes in certain industries through M&As (e.g. telecommunications, automobiles) also plays a role.... UNQUOTE

To: elmatador who wrote (5)	9/19/2001 10:01:26 AM
From: carranza2	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 218004

The absolute root of the problem. If you have been to the US lately, you surely noticed monster-sized SUVs with one person aboard. The cost of air-conditioning is enormous, and don't forget the amount of electricity required to power all the latest electronic devices. Reducing energy consumption is the key to solving many political problems, but it seems to have taken a back seat in the last decade or so as cheap oil became abundant again. More efficient vehicles need to be designed, that is not a big problem. The problem is political because the gas-guzzling SUVs don't count in the calculation of corporate fuel efficiency. They are deemed trucks to which the regulatory standards do not apply. A loophole. Big SUVs have been very profitable for the auto makers, so they have done everything possible to have them exempted from minimum mileage requirements. And they have succeeded so far. But an unfortunate parallel has happened, too. I don't know about Europeans, but Americans are becoming increasingly obese. It is hard for a large person to be comfortable in a small vehicle. Airlines are a different thing as seats have gotten smaller as people have gotten larger.