We need to find a fairer way of providing Goods and Services to the rest of the people on Earth.Cryptocurrencies and/or Gold Standard of money....maybe the answer to fight hyperinflation caused by too much printing of paper/fiat currencies by Governments and Central Banks all over the World. (https://nomorefiatmoneyplease.blogspot.com)
Netflix to double production of original series next year
Internet streaming giant Netflix has plans to double production of original series next year, its head of content said on Monday.
PHOTO: AFP
[SAN FRANCISCO] Internet streaming giant Netflix has plans to double production of original series next year, its head of content said on Monday.
"We will have about 16 original scripted series this year growing to 31 next year," chief content officer Ted Sarandos said during a conference call with analysts.
Original productions are one of the biggest expenditures for Netflix, which counts on unique content to differentiate it from competitors and attract new subscribers.
The company, Mr Sarandos said, was increasing the scale of its productions while also working to "maintain the quality and excitement" of some of its best-known hits such as "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black." In addition to its series, Netflix also has 10 feature films in various stages of production, from preproduction to just released, he said.
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Netflix is available in more than 50 countries and has announced it aims to be present in every country by the end of 2016.
"It's not been an easy road because all of the studios and networks have situated themselves to be regional sellers," Mr Sarandos said.
Netflix, the world's largest video streaming on-demand service, has some 69 million users.
Singapore builders overleveraged, underachieving as debt matures
Singapore's builders are entering 2016 with another wall of debt coming due, falling confidence and declining earnings.
ST PHOTO: JAMIE KOH
[SINGPORE] Singapore's builders are entering 2016 with another wall of debt coming due, falling confidence and declining earnings.
After a record S$9.6 billion of bonds were repaid this year, the industry faces S$6.4 billion of maturities next year, S$2.3 billion in 2017 and S$7.4 billion in 2018, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
Contractors Ley Choon Group Holdings and Swee Hong are restructuring their debt with lenders, while Tat Hong Holdings is asking bondholders to ease financial covenants in its July 2018 notes, according to stock exchange filings. Five Singapore home builders classified by Bloomberg have an average debt-to-equity ratio of 48 times.
Construction emerged as one of the least optimistic industries in a quarterly survey of local firms by Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau, a credit assessment venture between Dun & Bradstreet and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises. Five of six industry indicators - net profit, inventory, employment, selling price and new orders - are seen shrinking in the first three months of next year.
"Some of the issuers we have looked at in the industry are quite leveraged," said Neel Gopalakrishnan, an emerging markets fixed income analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG's private banking and wealth management unit in Singapore. "Hence, we have not recommended their bonds." The yield on Tat Hong's 2018 local-currency debt has risen to 6.09 per cent as of 9:30 am in Singapore on Tuesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, versus 4.5 per cent when it was sold in July 2013. Dollar-denominated securities issued by Singapore entities returned 0.72 per cent in the past three months in a JPMorgan Chase & Co index, the second-worst performance in the Asean region.
The city-state was flagged by Standard & Poor's in August as having the highest corporate leverage in South-east Asia, with this year's debt levels predicted to rise to more than four times companies' operating earnings. While the economy averted a recession last quarter, the slowest growth in almost two years is weighing on contractors amid falling property values, rents and occupancy rates.
Building and construction awards are set to fall for the first time since 2012 after shrinking every quarter this year, according to government statistics. They fell by one-third to S$19.6 billion in the first nine months of 2015, versus the same period last year.
The construction sector, which accounts for about 5 per cent of gross domestic product, grew at an annual pace of 1.6 per cent last quarter, slowing from 3 per cent in 2014 and 6.3 per cent in 2013, according to data published by Monetary Authority of Singapore.
It hasn't helped that some of the city's biggest developers, including City Developments and Ho Bee Land, have been busy building overseas land banks in recent months. Asian investors accounted for nearly 20 per cent of global cross-border investment in the first six months this year, with Singapore coming in third at US$4.4 billion of outbound spending, according real-estate consultants CBRE.
"Building activities have been fairly muted since the second half of 2015," said Audrey Chia, chief executive at the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau. "With the completion of several major public building projects and decline in construction demand in terms of contracts and tenders awarded, sentiment within the construction sector has been relatively downbeat."
Temasek Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), is likely to have agreed to sell to France's CMA CGM at a slight discount in hopes that the deal would bring greater economic benefit to Singapore, a broker report said on Tuesday.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
TEMASEK Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), is likely to have agreed to sell to France's CMA CGM at a slight discount in hopes that the deal would bring greater economic benefit to Singapore, a broker report said on Tuesday.
The shipping firm announced a S$3.4 billion takeover offer from CMA CGM that implied a valuation of 0.96 times price-to-book. NOL was trading at about 0.7 times of its book value before July 16, the day news broke that Temasek planned to sell its stake to the French suitor.
OCBC Investment Research analyst Eugene Chua said investors should accept the offer, calling it a fair offer price given the muted outlook.
"We believe one of the key reasons why Temasek is willing to accept the offer at a slight discount of 0.96 times book value is because of CMA CGM's commitment to grow its presence in Singapore," he noted.
"While Temasek may sell at a discount, the resulting economic benefit that Singapore may enjoy could be higher given CMA CGM's intention to contribute to reinforce Singapore as a centre of excellence in the field of maritime activities as CMA CGM plans to use Singapore as a key hub in Asia and to establish its regional head office here."
At 10am, shares of NOL were down half a cent to S$1.22. It was the second most actively traded stock, after Blumont. Some 36 million shares changed hand s
EU lawmakers, countries agree on bloc's first cyber-security law
EU lawmakers and member states struck a deal on the bloc's first cyber-security law on Monday that will require Internet firms such as Google and Amazon to report serious breaches or face sanctions.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
[BRUSSELS] EU lawmakers and member states struck a deal on the bloc's first cyber-security law on Monday that will require Internet firms such as Google and Amazon to report serious breaches or face sanctions.
The deal, following five hours of negotiations between the European Parliament and EU governments, was reached in response to increasing worries about cyber attacks resulting in security and privacy breaches.
The European Commission's digital chief, Andrus Ansip, said the new law would build up consumers' trust in Internet services, especially cross-border services. "The Internet knows no border - a problem in one country can have a knock-on effect in the rest of Europe. This is why we need EU-wide cyber-security solutions. This agreement is an important step in this direction," he said.
The new law, known as the Network and Information Security Directive, sets out security and reporting obligations for companies in critical sectors such as transport, energy, health and finance. Web firms will be subject to less stringent obligations, than, say, airports or oil pipeline operators.
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Under the measure, Internet companies such as Google, Amazon, eBay and Cisco - but not social networks like Facebook - will be required to report serious incidents to national authorities, which in turn will be able to impose sanctions on companies that fail to do so.
Global PC sales are still falling, and will likely remain on the decline through 2016, a market tracker said Monday.
PHOTO: AFP
[SAN FRANCISCO] Global PC sales are still falling, and will likely remain on the decline through 2016, a market tracker said Monday.
The research firm IDC said it expects worldwide personal computer sales to slide 10.1 per cent in 2015 and predicted a 3.1 percent drop for 2016, which would be a fifth consecutive down year.
The market is "expected to stabilise by the end of 2016 and grow slightly" in the following three years, helped by replacement of older machines, IDC said.
The market suffered a 2.1 per cent drop in 2014 after a 9.8 per cent slump the prior year and a four per cent dip in 2012.
PC sales have been hit by a variety of factors including a shift to mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. Over the past year, a strong dollar and economic and political turmoil in parts of the world.
But over time, consumers and enterprises will eventually need to upgrade their PCs and adopt the new Windows 10 operating system.
"Despite the substantial shift in spending and usage models from PCs toward tablets and phones in recent years, very few people are giving up on their PC - they are just making it last longer," said Loren Loverde, an IDC analyst.
Microsoft recently dropped technical support for Windows XP and will likely do so in the near future for Windows 7, which will force many users to upgrade.
"The free upgrade to Windows 10 enables some users to postpone an upgrade a little, but not indefinitely," Mr Loverde said.
"Some consumers will use a free OS upgrade to delay a new PC purchase and test the transition to Windows 10. However, the experience of those customers may serve to highlight what they are missing by stretching the life of an older PC, and we expect they will ultimately purchase a new device."
Caesars' debt restructuring row heads to Washington
[NEW YORK] A fight between creditors and Caesars Entertainment Corp over some US$18 billion of unpaid debt has moved to Washington as the casino firm and its private equity owners lobby to change a law that protects bondholders.
Caesars, owned by Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital, saw its unit, Caesars Entertainment Operating Co, file for bankruptcy in January, partly after its US$30.7 billion leveraged buyout in 2008 ran into trouble during a slump in gambling.
The bankruptcy has drawn a number of lawsuits from creditors, including complaints that Caesars did not guarantee the debt of its unit before filing for Chapter 11. They said the move violated the Trust Indenture Act, a law that protects bondholders from out-of-court deals.
In defence, two sources with knowledge of the matter said Caesars and Apollo were lobbying elected officials to revise the act to limit lawsuits from creditors in bankruptcies. The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.
The law has been around since the 1930s and guides debt restructuring, but recent interpretations cast uncertainty on its reach.
A revised act could affect other pending cases, including one between alternative investor Marblegate Asset Management LLC and for-profit educator Education Management Corp, which is partly owned by buyout firm KKR.
Caesars and Apollo declined to comment.
Much of Caesars' US$18 billion debt stems from its leveraged buyout, and the private equity firms involved have been accused of stripping the bankrupt unit of its best casinos and resorts.
Caesars' creditors include affiliates of private equity firm Centerbridge Partners, alternative investment manager group Oaktree Capital Management, and hedge fund Appaloosa Management.
The casino firm has argued that the lawsuits against its parent could push it into insolvency, and jeopardise a US$1.5 billion contribution to the reorganization of its bankrupt unit.
