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To: smolejv@gmx.net who wrote (45023)	1/20/2004 10:04:50 PM
From: LLCF	Respond to of 74559

<In the "long enough" run, thou, the survivors would probably have moved their production capacities> Yes, I should have stated "an investment time frame"... ie. a lot longer than a couple years. The point is, investors should barely be noting the hedges. They just aren't THAT relevent to the value of the enterprise. DAK

To: smolejv@gmx.net who wrote (45023)	1/20/2004 10:19:49 PM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Zadruga DJ, Euroland throws tha towel: no match for the US. Perhaps a few immigrants may raise the Eruoland stakes!!! Look to Bush accepting as a 'fai accompli' 8 million of them. Brussels to set out why EU is trailing US By George Parker in Brussels Published: January 20 2004 21:51 \| Last Updated: January 20 2004 21:51 Europe's apparently doomed attempt to overtake the US as the world's leading economy by 2010 will on Wednesday be laid bare in a strongly worded critique by the European Commission. The Commission's spring report, the focal point of the March European Union economic summit, sets out in stark terms the reasons for the widening economic gap between Europe and the US. It cites Europe's low investment, low productivity, weak public finances and low employment rates as among the many reasons for its sluggish performance. The draft report, to be published by the Commission today, warns that without substantial improvements "the Union cannot catch up on the United States, as our per capita GDP is 72 per cent of our American partner's". It was four years ago in Lisbon that EU leaders, enthralled by the technology boom, proclaimed their intention to overhaul the US as the world's "most competitive, knowledge-based economy" by 2010. The Commission's report suggests that such a goal now looks hopelessly ambitious, and will make sobering reading for EU leaders as they prepare for their annual update on progress in meeting the targets set at Lisbon. In many cases the promises made at Lisbon have not been put into national law by member states, with France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg - the biggest enthusiasts for deeper European integration - the worst offenders. The EU's productivity growth rate has been going down since the mid-1990s and is now fluctuating between 0.5 and 1 per cent, compared with 2 per cent in the US. The report blames low overall European productivity on a lack of investment and poor use of information technology, and warns that China and India are becoming key competitors. Europe's low employment rate, especially among workers aged over 55, is described as "worrying indeed", while it is deemed unlikely that the EU will meet its employment rate target of 67 per cent by 2005. "At the same time, several strategic measures to increase our competitiveness have not got off the ground because of a lack of political will," the report says. It cites failure to agree basic reforms, such as the introduction of a single community patent or the recognition of professional qualifications across the EU. Ireland, the holder of the rotating EU presidency, wants to use the spring summit to revive the Lisbon process - an annual ritual which usually fails to deliver the promised results. The Commission argues that 2004 must see a sharp improvement in EU investment, productivity and competitiveness and reforms to social security systems to bring older people back into the workplace. "It is not too late, but unless we act decisively now we will not meet our targets," said one official. The report identifies Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK as the best overall performers in terms of meeting the Lisbon targets. France and Germany come in a middle band, while Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal are rated as the worst overall performers.

To: smolejv@gmx.net who wrote (45023)	1/21/2004 5:53:20 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

Asia-Europe railway "by 2007" excites exporters Wed January 21, 2004 02:34 AM ET (Page 1 of 2) By Dominic Whiting BANGKOK, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Trains could be zipping goods to Europe from far-flung Asian cities such as Singapore, Hanoi and China's Tianjin by 2007, saving exporters time and money, according to the United Nations. Twenty-five countries agreed at a UN meeting in 1992 to try to link some 80,000 km (49,710 miles) of railways into a Asian network and establish rail corridors to Europe. "By 2007, the network will be operational," Barry Cable, director for transport at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), told Reuters. "The political will is so strong now, I would have to imagine it will be completed." Building the rail network, which would more than halve the time it takes to ship between the two continents now, mostly involves fusing existing national lines. But many countries are buying new rolling stock and upgrading and extending lines, arousing the interest of rail specialists such as Germany's Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) , Canada's Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and France's Alstom (ALSO.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Cogivfer TF. A 1,700 km (1,056 mile) trial container run from Tianjin to Ulan Bator in Mongolia in November showed it is technically possible to send goods by train from China's industrial heartland, via Mongolia and Russia, to Finland in 10 days. Cable said Korean firms and Japanese manufacturers with factories in China were very keen on this "northern corridor". He said the route would be operational by mid-2004, saving many firms the cost of a 10-day shipment to the trans-Siberian railway at Vladivostok in Russia. NICHE MARKET "Movement of goods now is much more than the railways can handle, but the network can provide for a niche market for rapid delivery," Cable told Reuters in a recent interview at the U.N.'s Asia headquarters in Bangkok. "Cutting the water link saves in the region of 10 days. I would assume costs would be substantially lower as well." UNESCAP did studies on Asia-Europe links in the 1990s as part of its work with Asian rail authorities to build a trans-Asian railway network. reuters.com