Work stuff : Microsoft-yahoo Deal to create a stronger rival to Google.

Dear blogger ;

An important event on IT business worldwide happened yesterday. A deal ( although is not a big business deal ) between Yahoo and Microsoft may lead to a new era of IT business, specially at Internet and Search Engine field.

Full report from the New York Times here :









In the spring of 2008, Microsoft made a $47.5 billion hostile offer to buy Yahoo after on-and-off talks about a merger had led nowhere. After a bruising, four-month battle, Microsoft abandoned the offer. Anger among Yahoo shareholders led to a management change and the replacement of its co-founder Jerry Yang by Carol Bartz, an outsider who is now Yahoo's chief executive. On July 29, 2009, the two companies announced a more limited deal, a partnership in Internet search and advertising intended to create a stronger rival to the industry powerhouse Google.

The new Microsoft-Yahoo pact is a measured step that represents a pragmatic division of duties between the two companies. Under the pact, Microsoft will provide the underlying search technology on Yahoo's popular Web sites. The deal provides a lift for Microsoft's recent overhaul of its search engine, renamed Bing, which has won praise and favorable reviews, after years of falling farther and farther behind Google. For Yahoo, the move furthers the strategy under Ms. Bartz to focus the company on its strengths as a producer of Web media sites, from finance to sports, as a marketer and a leader in on-line display advertising that accompanies published Web sites.

While Microsoft receives access to Yahoo's search technology, Yahoo receives a big bump in annual revenues, 88% of the search-generated ad revenues from its own sites for the first 5 years of the 10-year deal, much higher than is standard in the industry.

After the takeover bid failed, the companies renewed talks about a partnership in the summer of 2008. The talks included a discussion of a large up-front payment from Microsoft. But when Ms. Bartz became Yahoo's CEO at the beginning of 2009, the company's emphasis shifted. She was more interested in steady revenue to ensure the longer-term financial health of Yahoo instead of a big one-time payment. Yahoo estimates that after the partnership is fully in place, the company's operating income will increase by $500 million a year, based on higher search traffic and ad revenue, and a substantial drop in its investment in search technology.

Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, said that Ms. Bartz had driven a hard bargain. "Look," he said, "she got 88 percent of the revenue and none of the cost."

Mr. Ballmer also said that he got something he badly wanted as well: "I got an opportunity to swing for the fences in search."

When it made its initial takeover offer in February 2008, Microsoft said it wanted to buy Yahoo to compete more effectively with Google in online search and advertising, two related markets where Google is the runaway leader. Both Microsoft and Yahoo have spent billions trying to best Google in search and advertising, and both have failed so far.

Work stuff : A slap on the face for Westpac Bank

Dear blogger ;

This is come from Stuff New Zealand :

Defiant Mapua artist Roger Griffiths today made a stand against Westpac by withdrawing his $190,000 savings in $20 notes.

The bank provided a red-and-black carry bag to take away the cash after meticulously counting it in front of Mr Griffiths at its Nelson branch.

Mr Griffiths, a loyal Westpac customer for 25 years, decided to withdraw his money after the bank rejected his application for an $80,000 mortgage. "It's about time normal people took a stand."

He said the bank turned down his application because he did not have a regular income as an artist. However, he was a successful artist, exhibiting his paintings at the World of Wearable Art complex, in Christchurch and New York, he said.

He wanted to buy a $385,000 property in Mapua, had $200,000 in cash and was going to sell his $110,000 campervan.

That more than met the bank's criteria for a 20 per cent deposit, and the property which included a home and commercial premises would have returned $500 a week, he said.

He was disappointed when his loan application was rejected, but it was Westpac losing $111 million to Lane Walker Rudkin Industries that tipped his decision to withdraw his money.

"They can lose $110 million with LWR but turn down a normal customer who has never missed a loan payment," he said. "If they don't have the trust in me after 25 years, there's a problem for Westpac."

Having decided to withdraw his money, he then decided to make it hard for the bank by requesting payment in $20 bills.

He said the Nelson branch told him it did not have that amount and he would have to also go to other branches at Stoke, Richmond and Motueka. However, he insisted the bank have the money ready to collect at 9am today. He then took it to the Nelson Building Society, saying he would rather deal with NBS because it was part of the community.

His message to Westpac: "If you don't support the community, the community won't support you."

Mr Griffiths' protest comes after a series of embarrassments for Westpac. On Tuesday its former Alexandra bank manager admitted defrauding the bank of more than $400,000, and it has been left red-faced over the slip-up that allowed $10 million to be wrongly credited to a Rotorua service station co-owner who had since fled to China.

Westpac media relations manager Craig Dowling said today that when the bank lent money it required certain information to be provided to enable that lending to be done prudently.

"It's about providing evidence of an ability to meet regular repayments."

In Mr Griffiths' case that information was not provided for it to be assessed, he said. Mr Griffiths' withdrawal was disappointing.

"We would like to welcome Mr Griffiths back. We just need the confidence regular repayments can be met."

Ad Feedback "It's about providing evidence of an ability to meet regular repayments."

In Mr Griffiths' case that information was not provided for it to be assessed, he said. Mr Griffiths' withdrawal was disappointing.

"We would like to welcome Mr Griffiths back. We just need the confidence regular repayments can be me

Work stuff : TAX HAVEN ?? What it is ?

Dear blogger ;

One of the results from the G-20 meeting in London just a few days ago, is to give a heavy sanction for a Tax Haven Country or Territory. What is Tax Haven Country ?

From the OECD forum, the definition of Tax Haven Country/Territory is :

1. A Territory with very low tax system or even no tax at all. And a place that foreign runaway from their country tax system can settled down.

2. A Territory with very strict law about bank/other financial institution costumers information. Nobody can retrieved information about any bank costumers here.

3. A Territory with no transparency about it's tax systems.

Why a country / territory want to be a Tax Haven ? Some said that they don't need to apply higher tax system to achieved their income target. Some do that to invite foreign taipan/ businessmen to come and share technology. And share money too. Some country even have nearly a half of their income from foreign businessmen.

One sign of a tax haven country is a lot of worldwide company have an address in this country. But no real building of this company is exist. Is only an address. Or a paper company. Only a stack of documents in the corner of some warehouse.

International community claimed that nearly all of the Tax Haven Countries are also the centre of Money Laundering. So a lot of money flew from normal country to tax haven country. Boston Consulting Group estimated nearly 7,3 trillion US Dollar a year go to tax haven country.

Philippines, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Malay's Labuan is among the worst of this Tax Haven Countries.

What is your opinion ?

Work stuff : Tobacco industries in Indonesia - a few figures

Dear blogger ;

Talking about tobacco industries in Indonesia become more interesting in this end of fiscal calendar. The production and the selling out figures has to be calculated carefully regarding to the new custom tax policy in the following year. Some company even has to slowdown they sales to match with the total custom tax labels they already bought for this fiscal calendar.

Another common strategy that many tobacco companies applied is to use different company name for different product/ product category. For example if one company produce 10 brands in 3 product categories, this company probably create 2 sister company under the different name for each of their product categories. With this strategy, they can reduce " tax by company " that applied to the company with large production capacity.

With growing numbers of smokers and advanced technology of this industry machinery, the tobacco company enjoy a lot of profit in Indonesia this year. Specially the BIG FIVE player that dominated nearly 81 % of total tobacco product distributed here. This big five is also members of GAPRI ( Tobacco Company Association ) that hold more than 50 company. This is the association for " legal " company. Not for " illegal " or " home industry " that probably reach the number of 300 company this year.

This is the sweet sector of this industry. But for the the tobacco farmer, is still a long and windy road. This is because the growth in the tobacco industry, did not enjoyed by them.

For example from 1971 to 2004, the tobacco product consumption growth nearly 6 times from 35 billion sticks to 202 billion sticks. But the growth of domestic tobacco leaves production is only 2,8 times from 57 thousand tons to 165 thousand tons. Tobacco Company is tends to import they tobacco leaves from foreign country. The price and the quality is always be an issues.

Some research to the tobacco farmer also came out with a sad numbers. Nearly 69 % of tobacco workers at the farm had only elementary or lower education grade. And 58 % live in a non hygienic house with low sanitary facility. For the owner of the farm is no better, 64 % had a low education level ( elementary or below ) and 42 % living in a bad housing estate.

Their income is also very low. The worker only paid 1,5 US dollar each day ( with exchange rate 1 US dollar to 10.000 rupiah ). With this low income, they barely can get adequate basic living needs. For the owner of the farm is also no better. With the risk of climate, damaged product, pest attack, and price fluctuation ; they only earn 100 US dollar each month for 4 month in a year. At the rest of the month, they had to find another source of income while they are keeping they tobacco plant at the good condition.

Is always like that, farmer in this country had to struggle for they live even when they product is sold out in the market.

Regards ;

Tobacco Industries in Indonesia : Figures (part one)

Dear blogger ;

Tobacco have a long history like wine which came from early civilization.

Indonesia is well known worldwide for it's good quality of tobbaco leaves and cloves.

As our tobacco's and cloves are imported to foreign country, domestic markets is also very large for the tobacco industries.

In the year 2006 , approx 18,5 billion sticks of all kind tobacco products are sold in Indonesia every month. Next year at 2007 the figure raise to 19,9 billion sticks each month.

Government expected in this 2008 the figure will raise again to approx 21 billion sticks.

With this huge figures, Indonesia still remain the only country in asia-pasific that not be a part of WHO FCTC ( Framework Convention on Tobacco Control).

The health concern community in Indonesia still fighting to push our government to be a part of FCTC. The fact that death toll from tobacco-related illness is raise from nearly 500.000 at 2004 to approx 700.000 at 2007.

Let's say each month an average 20 billion sticks of tobacco products is sold in Indonesia.

75 % of it come from top 30 brand.

36 % from 20 billion is a SKT product ( full clove cigarette product ) which is more harmful to our health condition.

56 % from 20 billion is a SKM product ( Machinery product which contain more than12 mg tar and 1 mg nicotine ).

So only 8 % is a SPM product ( Machinery Product with specific filter ) that contain less nicotine and tar from two others category product.

What about figures in Indonesian Rupiah ?

At 2006 the total value customs tariff paid by tobacco industries to the government is approx 38,000 billion rupiah for one year.

At 2007 the value raise to approx 44,000 billion rupiah and this year is expected to hit more than 46,000 billion rupiah.

If we assumed that Consumer Buying Price for tobacco-related products is in average 80 % of it customs tariff, citizen of Indonesia spend more than 35,000 billion rupiah each year for smoking.

Quite a big numbers. And more surprisingly is what kind of Indonesian citizen which spend their money on smoking ?

Find out in the next episode...

Regards