| Toyota Posts First Profit in Months, Lifts Sales Projections TheCarConnection.com submits: Detroit's Big Three may have grabbed most of this week's headlines, but that doesn't mean that the rest of the world's automakers have been sitting on their hands. One story that isn't getting much play is the fact that Toyota Motor Company (TM) -- which posted its first-ever loss last fiscal year -- returned to profitability last quarter.Although the company's financials weren't quite as impressive as those Ford (F) released on Monday, the ¥21.8 billion ($242 million) profit Toyota realized in July, August, and September 2009 marks a welcome break from the losses Toyota posted in the three previous quarters. Of course, that ¥21.8 billion figure pales in comparison to the ¥139.8 billion profit Toyota racked up during the same quarter of 2008, but it does imply that the company is on the mend.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Rail Transport Report: 'Good Riddance to 2009' Ravi Nagarajan submits:For those who follow macroeconomic trends carefully, few publications are more useful than the monthly Rail Time Indicators report published by the Association of American Railroads. We have discussed this report on a few occasions in recent months and noted that Warren Buffett is known to follow railroad trends carefully due to the “derived demand” nature of rail traffic. Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) pending acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI) was characterized by Mr. Buffett as a major bet on the United States economy. The January 2010 issue of Rail Time Indicators was published Wednesday and a video summary of the report appears below. As the report notes, 2009 was a year that hopefully will not repeat in the future. For the full year, U.S. railroads originated the lowest number of carloads since before 1988 when the AAR data series began. Good Riddance indeed.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Commerce, Volcanic Ash and the International Air Cargo Business Bruce Krasting submits:I went to my Korean grocer today. The bin where the endives usually sit was empty. All I got was this wrapper with some nice recipes. My endives come from Brussels. The ones I wanted are probably sitting in an Antwerp warehouse rotting.We can go a long time without endives. But there are other things that we will need that are not going to get here if the volcano continues to block air traffic from Europe. It's impossible to predict how an act of god will turn out. Still, I’ll try.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
BDI Decline Doesn’t Mean Much Tom Malthus submits:The Baltic Dry Index [BDI] has fallen 28% from its recent high on May 26th, indicating to some weakness in the global economy. The BDI tracks the prices of bulk carriers which are the life-blood of global trade, carrying everything from iron ore to grain. While the 28% decline may seem ominous, the BDI is being influenced by two outside factors that have very little to do with global economic health. The first factor is that during shipping’s boom period, prior to the recession, a record amount of new ships were ordered that are only now being delivered creating a supply glut in the sector, while demand remains tepid at best. Secondly, China’s unprecedented stimulus package, stoking the country’s demand for raw materials through new lending and infrastructure projects, gave the country enormous sway over the index as they were receiving the vast majority of dry bulk goods. Further tightening in China without substantial offsetting demand increments from the remainder of the world—which are returning, but at a gradual pace—along with an armada of vessels coming online over the next several months, will likely place continued pressure on the BDI, but not necessarily indicate a slowdown in the global economy. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Cubic Corporation: Time to Get on the Bus? Steve Alexander submits:Cubic Corporation (CUB) is well positioned to benefit from several general trends. The firm has two distinct lines of business. The first is providing military products and services, particularly in the areas of training and communications. The second is developing, installing, and in many cases operating the fare collection systems of local, municipal, and regional mass transit systems for 40 major markets on 5 continents. While defense offerings account for about 70% of revenue, operating profits are split almost 50/50 between defense and mass transit.The firm's offerings fit well with some established general trends across the world. The US military has been undergoing a transformation from a Cold War-style, large scale fighting force to a more nimble, efficient force capable of effectively operating in a number of environments. Cubic offers both training services as well as virtual training simulators, both of which directly address important needs of this transformation. Additionally, communications and information systems has become ever more necessary for internal coordination and surveillance of enemy forces. In the most recent quarter, Cubic's training systems and communications division posted year-over-year revenue gains of 51% and 45%, respectively.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |