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Sneijder Hoki Real, Atletico Mulai Panas

Jakarta - Bernd Schuster mungkin harus pikir-pikir lagi jika ingin mengistirahatkan Wesley Sneijder karena sejauh ini ia membawa hoki bagus. Sementara itu Atletico Madrid mulai panas.

Tiga kemenangan beruntun pertama Los Blancos terjadi ketika Sneijder dimainkan. Bahkan di tiga partai tersebut ia selalu mencetak gol. Bersama Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla) tengah memimpin daftar topskor dengan empat gol.

Tapi di pertandingan keempat akhir pekan lalu Schuster mengistirahatkan bintang Belanda itu. Hasilnya, Raul cs ditahan 1-1 oleh tim promosi Valladolid.

Dalam lanjutan La Liga pertengahan pekan ini Schuster tampaknya akan kembali menurunkan Sneijder, saat berhadapan dengan Real Betis hari Kamis (27/9/2007) malam atau Jumat dinihari WIB.

Kesempatan menang tetap dimiliki El Merengues, apalagi Betis pun dalam kondisi belum baik karena belum pernah menang dari empat penampilan pertamanya. Modal lain, Real tampil di depan publik Santiago Bernabeu.

Sementara klub tetangga Real, Atletico Madrid, besok malam akan menjajal Athletic Bilbao. Pasukan Javier Aguirre mengunjungi San Mames dengan kepercayaan diri tinggi setelah memetik kemenangan pertamanya akhir pekan lalu.

Menjamu Racing Santander di Vicente Calderon, Atletico menang telak 4-0. Bintang anyar mereka, Diego Forlan dan Simao Sabrosa, akhirnya mempersembahkan gol-gol pertamanya buat Atletico.

Sampai sebelum menekuk Santander, Aguirre tentu dalam tekanan karena timnya, yang telah kedatangan cukup banyak pemain top, kesulitan mencapai hasil optimal tiga angka. Tapi mungkin setelah kemenangan pertama diraih, kemenangan selanjutnya lebih muda dipungut.

Jadwal pertandingan
Selasa (25/9) malam
Sevilla vs Espanyol

Rabu (26/9)
Deportivo La Coruna vs Recreativo Huelva
Mallorca vs Valladolid
Osasuna vs Levante
Racing Santander vs Villarreal
Real Murcia vs Almeria
Valencia vs Getafe
Athletic Bilbao vs Atletico Madrid
Barcelona vs Zaragoza

Kamis (27/9)
Real Madrid vs Real Betis

USABC Awards $6.5M Li-Ion Technology Development Contract To EnerDel
18 September 2007
Enerdel5ah
EnerDel 5Ah cell battery pack. Click to enlarge.

The United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), an organization whose members are Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation, has awarded a $6.5 million lithium-ion battery technology development contract to Ener1’s EnerDel subsidiary.

USABC awarded the contract in collaboration with the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop lithium battery technology for hybrid-electric vehicle applications. The 18-month contract, valued at $6.5 million, is the second of a three-phase USABC program and requires a 50% cost share. EnerDel successfully completed Phase I in June. (Earlier post.)

Under the full, three-phase program, EnerDel is working to develop a fully integrated battery system for use in hybrid vehicle applications. The USABC program aims to produce a cost-competitive, lithium-ion battery that is lighter, smaller and higher in power than existing battery technologies for hybrid electric vehicles.

EnerDel’s Phase II contract involves development focused on scaling up to a production caliber cell, lifetime testing and evaluation, and demonstrating the technology in battery modules.

EnerDel has developed its own lithium titanate (titanium oxide, “LTO”) anode material in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for HEV applications. The company has also developed a hard carbon (HC) anode lithium-ion high capacity battery that it will target at plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV) applications. For the cathode, EnerDel uses manganese spinel (LiMn2O4, “LMO”). EnerDel uses a flat prismatic cell design.

The 5Ah LTO-type cell carries a nominal voltage of 2.5V; the 5Ah HC-type cell carries a nominal voltage of 3.6V.

USABC has also awarded development contracts to three other companies: Johnson Controls/Saft (JCS); A123Systems; and Compact Power (CPI).

USABC is a consortium of the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR). Supported by a cooperative agreement with the DOE that provides up to 50% of the USABC budget, USABC’s mission is to develop electrochemical energy storage technologies that support commercialization of fuel cell, hybrid and electric vehicles.

Founded in 1992, the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) is the umbrella organization for collaborative research among Chrysler, Ford and GM.

Midwest Fastest Growing Region for Hybrid Registrations; West Still the Volume Leader
17 September 2007
Polkhyb
Regional growth in hybrids. Click to enlarge.

New hybrid vehicle registrations have grown more than 49% nationwide in the first seven months of 2007 when compared to the same timeframe in 2006, according to data from R. L. Polk & Co. The Midwest region posted the highest increase of 56.9% when compared to the South, Northeast and the West regions.

The West region leads in total volume, anchored by the number one hybrid vehicle registration state, California. Oklahoma led all states with growth of more than 143% compared to the first seven months of 2006 while Hawaii was the only state showing a decline in new hybrid vehicle registrations, dropping 5.3%.

Hybrids are being adopted by vehicle buyers in all regions at an increasing rate for many factors which include fuel prices, differentiating themselves from other consumers and environmental activism. The data indicates that hybrids have not hit plateau and that there is room for continued growth within the marketplace in all regions.
—Lonnie Miller, Polk director of industry analysis

Large gains were made in the Midwest due in part to the Toyota Prius, which boasted an 88.3% increase, and the Toyota Camry with a 214.9% increase from the first seven months of 2006, which marked the entry of the Camry hybrid in the US.

While the majority of sedan hybrid registrations increased, both the Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX400h declined sharply in every region. Highlander registrations were down 24.6% while the RX400h was down 16.3%.

Following the Toyota Prius at just over 50% share of the hybrid segment, the Toyota Camry was the second highest registered hybrid model, taking 15% of the category, followed by the Honda Civic, with 9.1% of all new hybrid registrations. Continuing leadership in this segment, Toyota and Lexus own more than 78% of the hybrid market, compared to 74% in the first seven months of 2006.

While the overall US vehicle market is down, hybrids are a bright spot in the automotive industry with this category projected to easily exceed 300,000 vehicles this year. At this point, hybrids account for more than two percent of the total US vehicle market, which is supported by the regional growth we’ve seen.
—Lonnie Miller

WASHINGTON - Drivers waste nearly an entire work week each year sitting in traffic on the way to and from their jobs, according to a national study released Tuesday.
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The nation's drivers languished in traffic delays for a total of 4.2 billion hours in 2005, up from 4 billion the year before, according to the Texas Traffic Institute's urban mobility report. That's about 38 hours per driver.

"Things are bad and they're getting worse," said Alan Pisarski, a transportation expert and the author of "Commuting in America."

"We've used up the capacity that had been bequeathed to us by a previous generation, and we haven't replaced it," Pisarski said.

The study summed it up this way: "Too many people, too many trips over too short of a time period on a system that is too small."

The study estimates that drivers wasted 2.9 billion gallons of fuel while sitting in traffic. Together with the lost time, traffic delays cost the nation $78.2 billion, the study estimates.

High gasoline prices appear to have cut into optional driving but not commuting to work, said David Schrank, an associate research scientist at the Texas Transportation Institute, which is part of Texas A&M University.

"We're really not seeing drops in the peak travel times," said Schrank, a co-author of the study.

About three-quarters of all commuters drive alone to work, according to census data.

The study provided detailed information on traffic congestion in the nation's 85 largest metropolitan areas.

The Los Angeles metro area had the worst congestion, delaying drivers an average of 72 hours a year. It was followed by Atlanta, San Francisco, Washington and Dallas.

The least congested metro areas were Spokane, Wash., and Brownsville, Texas, where drivers were delayed an average of eight hours a year.

The study offers a menu of options for addressing congestion, including adding roads or lanes where needed, improving public transportation and changing driving patterns through flexible work schedules, telecommuting and carpooling.

"The problem has grown too rapidly and is too complex for only one technology or service to be 'the solution' in most regions," the report said.

Atlanta has the second worst congestion in the country, though there has been some improvement, according to the study. In 2005, Atlanta drivers wasted an average of 60 hours a year in traffic delays — down from 70 hours a decade earlier.

A 2005 task force appointed by Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue called for directing more resources toward mitigating traffic congestion in the Atlanta area.

But the region's population is growing so fast that planners are having a tough time dealing with the increase in automobiles, said Jane Hayse, chief of transportation planning for the Atlanta Regional Commission.

"With the pace of growth that we have here, it's pretty difficult to reduce congestion," Hayse said. "Trying to keep it at today's level is really our goal."

The Atlanta metropolitan area added 890,000 people from 2000 to 2006, more than any other metro area in the country, according to census estimates. There were 5.1 million people in the Atlanta area in 2006.
'
Venezuela Chavez Prods His Government Again To Shun Dollars

CARACAS -(Dow Jones)- Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has once again resumed his campaign to shun the U.S. dollar, this time by prodding state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, PdVSA, to convert its dollar holdings into other currencies.

"I told PdVSA this morning, (Oil Minister) Rafael (Ramirez), go look at the PdVSA funds, the dollar accounts we manage. I've been on this fight for years, let's move from the dollar to the euro, to Asian currencies that are stronger," Chavez said Sunday during his televised show "Hello President," according to a transcript of the program.

The dollar has nowhere to go but down, Chavez said, citing a conversation he held with Cuban President Fidel Castro.

Chavez' latest comments are not the first time he urged the administration to take a defensive stance against the U.S currency. Chavez has also pushed the central bank to convert its foreign reserves invested in U.S. Treasurys into some other kind of investment and from dollars into euros. Central bank board members said they've made some changes but U.S. Treasurys are still part of the bank's portfolio.

Venezuela derives large amounts of dollar revenues from oil sales to the U.S., by far the largest client for Venezuelan crude. The U.S. is also the country's main trading partner in a host of other goods. Converting all dollar holdings into other currencies, analysts say, would be impractical and very unlikely.

Chavez has imposed capital controls on the Venezuelan economy and strictly regulates the amount of foreign exchange that Venezuelans and businesses can buy.

The official exchange rate sits at 2,150 per dollar, but goes as high as VEB4, 900 in the parallel market. The price for a dollar in the unofficial market has surged of late, further weakening the bolivar.

-By Raul Gallegos; Dow Jones Newswires; +58-212-564-1339; raul.gallegos@ dowjones.com

Iowa Governor Culver Speaks at Europe's Largest Wind Power Show

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Gov. Chet Culver said Tuesday that Iowa stands to gain hundreds and perhaps thousands of new jobs in the next couple of years from manufacturers of wind turbine parts.

Culver, on a trip to Germany, Denmark and Spain, was speaking at Europe's largest wind energy show, trying to lure European companies to Iowa.

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Iowa has attracted three major wind turbine manufacturers in the past two years and the next phase of wind energy development is to attract manufacturers of parts such as gearboxes and bearings.

Culver said he expects to make a major announcement or two in the near future related to his trip to Europe.

"That will include an announcement related to a significant number of new jobs," Culver said Tuesday in a telephone conference call from Husum, Germany. "The first challenge was to get the turbine and blade manufacturers to our state,"

Acciona Energy North America is building a wind turbine factory in West Branch, which will employ 110 people; Siemens Power Generation is preparing to open a wind turbine factory in Fort Madison and will hire 200 people; and California-based Clipper Windpower Inc. operates a wind turbine assembly plant in Cedar Rapids with about 140 employees.

"It is very important that those manufacturers that have selected Iowa have the parts they need and the supply chain they need to meet the demands and to honor the contracts they are signing," he said.

Wind turbines have as many as 800 different parts, he said.

Culver's hope is to make Iowa a central manufacturing and distribution point for wind turbines for North America.

He said one of the expected announcements could be Warren, R.I.-based TPI Composites Inc., which has expressed an interest in building a wind turbine factory in Newton and employing more than 700 workers. In addition, Culver said at least one other announcement is expected to come out of the European trip.

Culver said the Iowa delegation, which includes Iowa Department of Economic Development staff, is meeting with 18 companies over three days.

"It is fair to say we are talking about hundreds, if not thousands of new jobs in the next couple of years just related to wind energy, whether its tower manufacturing, blade manufacturing or the components like the gearboxes," he said.

In his speech to the Husum Wind Show Conference in Germany, Culver sounded like the state's marketer-in-chief as he spoke to industry representatives from 42 nations.

Culver's office said he was the only elected official from the United States to address the conference, which has 640 exhibitors and will see 18,000 visitors over three days.

Culver spoke of Iowa's focus on renewable energy production, asserting that the state now produces 30 percent of the nation's ethanol and 20 percent of its biodiesel.

"These new industries have added $8 billion dollars to Iowa's economy, generated $2 billion dollars in new household income, and have created more than 50,000 new jobs. But biofuels is just the beginning of this exciting 21st century expedition," he said in the prepared text of his speech.

Then came the sales pitch.

"I am here today to personally invite all of you to give Iowa a try. Be a part of our exciting 21st century wind expedition," he said.

He said 31 European companies have expanded or located new facilities in Iowa since 2003, resulting in 2,400 jobs and more than $750 million dollars in capital investment.

Iowa ranks third in the nation in output of wind energy behind Texas and California. Iowa has 1,000 wind turbines in operation statewide, producing more than 1,000 megawatts of power.

Culver said the state will be producing more than 2,000 megawatts by 2010, enough to power more than 500,000 homes and reduce carbon emissions by nearly 7 billion tons per year.

Zambrotta: Ronaldinho Boleh Pergi Sesukanya

Barcelona - Rasa peduli ditunjukkan sesama pemain Barcelona kepada Ronaldinho. Bek Gianluca Zambrotta membela Ronaldinho atas sorotan media soal tuduhan sering keluar malam.

Kehidupan pribadi Ronaldinho memang sedang menjadi santapan media lokal Spanyol. Bintang Brasil ini disoroti karena performanya sedang menurun dan itu dikait-kaitkan dengan kehidupan pribadinya.

Pembelaan datang dari Zambrotta. Pemain internasional Italia menegaskan bahwa dia melihat Ronaldinho adalah pemain yang bertanggung jawab. Ia juga menilai Dinho--sapaan Ronaldinho--, tidak melakukan hal yang buruk.

"Saya tidak melihat hal yang buruk dengan pergi keluar 48 jam sebelum pertandingan. Kami semua telah dewasa dan setiap orang dari kami semua memiliki tanggung jawab," ungkap Zambrotta seperti dilansir Yahoo Sport.

"Dia dapat pergi sesukanya jika dia suka, tapi itu tergantung mengapa dia pergi. Jika dia pergi untuk minum hingga dirinya mabuk itu tidak baik. Namun jika dia pergi keluar untuk (sekadar) minum, itu tidak masalah," ujarnya.

"Yang terpenting yang perlu dipikirkan adalah memberikan seratus persen saat di lapangan," tegas Zambrotta yang juga yakin Dinho takkan meninggalkan Nou Camp meskipun ada kabar ia sedang didekati Chelsea. (key/a2s)

Tiga Poin Buat La Vecchia Signora

Jakarta - Juventus akan menjamu Reggina di Stadion Olimpico Torino dalam lanjutan Serie A pertengahan pekan ini. Tiga poin diprediksi bakal diraih dengan mudah oleh pasukan Claudio Ranieri.

Sebagai sebuah tim promosi, Juve jelas bukanlah tim promosi biasa. Melihat tradisi dan materi yang menghuni skuadnya, Bianconeri tetap layak dimasukkan sebagai salah satu kandidat peraih scudetto musim ini.

Buktinya akhir pekan lalu, David Trezeguet dkk sukses menahan tim unggulan lainnya, AS Roma, dengan skor 2-2. Tampil di kandang lawan, Juve berhasil memecahkan rekor kemenangan 100% Giallorossi. Mereka bahkan bisa menang seandainya penalti Alessandro Del Piero sukses jadi gol.

Pada Kamis (27/9/2007) dinihari WIB, giliran Reggina yang akan menjajal "Si Nyonya Tua". Dari banyak segi, Juve jelas lebih unggul dibanding tim besutan pelatih Massimo Ficcadenti itu. Dalam 12 pertemuan terakhir mreka sembilan kali menang, dua partai dimenangi Gli Amaranto dan satu pertemuan sisanya berakhir seri.

Dari segi peringkat sementara, kedua tim juga terpaut jauh. Juve berdiri kokoh di peringkat lima, sementara Reggina terjerembab di rangking 17.

Juve sendiri takkan diperkuat bek Jorge Andrade yang cedera lutut. Jonathan Zebina juga masih dikenai skorsing.

Motorola Walking The Razr's Edge
September 19, 2007 | By Hans Wagner

When you hear the word Motorola (NYSE:MOT) you probably think cell phones. The company has other products, but it became a household name with its slim, Razr cell phone.

The problem is the Razr is more than two years old now. Its sales are dropping off and Motorola has failed to find a replacement with the same sort of mass appeal. It seems that, as the Razr goes, so too, goes Motorola.

In the third quarter of 2006 Motorola's cell phone segment, Mobile Devices, comprised more than 66% of the company's revenue. In the second quarter of 2007, revenue from this segment was down to 49% of the company's total. Perhaps, it's no coincidence that the company's star performer, the Razr handset had also begun to fade at this time. The other high-end replacements Motorola has offered, the Krzr, Pebl and Slvr, have all failed to excite consumers.

So far, there is little for investors to count on from the company as it tries to turnaround its most important business.

New Phone Products Still Lacking
The company gained significant success with the very popular Razr phone a couple of years ago. Since then, it has rolled out a number of new products, but none have found the same success. Europe continues to be a challenge, as the company lacks sufficient 3G phones.

The Mobile Devices segment has a new leader in Stuart Reed. Reed was executive vice president of Motorola's Integrated Supply Chain organization and prior to joining Motorola in April 2005, he spent more than 20 years at IBM Corporation (NYSE:IBM), where he held executive roles over manufacturing; strategy, process and information technology; and systems and software products.

The mobile phone devices industry is experiencing a transition from feature phones to a multimedia rich set of capabilities. This requires a continuous set of new products to meet customer expectations. Mobile Devices is focusing on this as a key part of its strategy; however, success is not assured.

Motorola's silicon-and-software technology platform allows it to roll out new products with the right capabilities at the right price. This platform is designed to give the company the flexibility to leverage key components to deliver what the customer wants. It also is designed to lower costs.

Selection is not Motorola's problem. It has plenty of phones and plenty of them are not selling well. Motorola is encountering significant competition from Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Sony Erickson (NYSE:SNE, Nasdaq:ERIC), Samsung and Apple (NYSE:AAPL). As part of its strategy, Motorola expects to eliminate the existing legacy phones with new product sets. The plan is to produce wave after wave of new products that meet customer expectations. New products will replace existing precuts on a continuous basis. The idea is not to count on one or a couple of devices and then live on those phones. The strategy sounds fine, but we need to see its execution. (For related reading, check out Buying Into R&D.)

Recent new phone announcements include the Razr2, a Z8 movie phone, and a new version of the Q smart phone. There is also a new world class phone rumored for October.

Whether this works depends on Motorola's ability to execute and the acceptance of the phones by the market. A year ago Motorola announced a number of new products, many of which failed to gain any market traction. When this division looks like it is turning around it will be a good time to establish a position.

Management Expects 2007 Loss
Net revenues for the quarter ending June 30, 2007 were $8.73 billion, 19.3% lower than $10.82 billion in the comparative quarter in 2006. Operating income was $482 million, down 68.3% from $1.5 billion in the second quarter 2006. This resulted in a net loss of $28 million for the second quarter.

Motorola reported a loss of 2 cents per share versus 54 cents in the same quarter one year ago. Shrinking market share and lower selling prices in the mobile device market plagued the company. The primary problem is the lack of new and exciting products that stimulate the interest of customers.

Mobile Devices, Motorola's largest business unit, is also its largest problem. Mobile Devices, revenue fell 40.2% when compared to the same quarter a year ago, due to at 31.6% drop in units sold and a 14% lower Average Selling Price (ASP). Furthermore, Europe continues to be a challenge for Mobile Devices as Motorola lacks sufficient 3G phones for the European market. There are challenges at the low end of the price spectrum too, as Motorola doesn't have products that can be sold at competitive price points and still be profitable. Finally, the company has a limited portfolio of multimedia devices that are in demand.

Starting with the second half of 2007 the company is rolling out new products. The hope is that these products will solve some of the problems mentioned above. The company is also working with suppliers to reduce costs throughout the range of its products. However, Mobile Devices is still not expected to be profitable in 2007, incurring an operating loss for the year.

Other Segments Can't Carry the Load
The Home and Networks Mobility segment continues to grow revenues at high single digit rate, though its operating income declined for the quarter and six months. These results were driven by a 74% increase in shipments of digital entertainment devices, which reflects increased demand for digital set-tops, including high-definition digital video recorder set-tops and internet television devices. Unit shipments of digital entertainment devices increased 74% to 4.2 million units. It had a 7% decrease in net sales of wireless networks, primarily driven by lower demand for its iDEN infrastructure equipment in North America. After the end of the second quarter, Home and Networks acquired Leapstone Systems and Terayon Communication Systems.

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Sales for its Enterprise Mobility Solutions segment increased 42% to $1.9 billion compared to the second quarter 2006. These results were primarily due to its acquisition of Symbol Technologies. Although, higher net sales in the government and public safety markets contributed as well. This segment is expected to continue to grow at double-digit rates over the foreseeable future.

The performance of these segments is important to the success of Motorola. However, due to the large size of Mobile Devices, they cannot make up for the performance problems of the cell phone business. They do help provide cash flow and profit for the company overall.

The Bottom Line
Motorola is facing significant challenges as it turns around its Mobile Devices segment. Developing one or two competitive products isn't going to be enough, it must also create a business culture that is able to continuously create new products that are able to beat the competition.

Motorola's focus on mobility across all three segments is an interesting strategy that may leverage its engineering talents and market position. However, it has yet to prove itself. Investors should monitor current activities and results in the next quarter before committing any capital to a position in Motorola. While the company represents a significant turnaround opportunity, it also may take awhile to take hold.

Smith & Wesson Aims High For 2008 (SWHC)
September 19, 2007 | By Glenn Curtis

Firearm manufacturer Smith & Wesson (Nasdaq:SWHC) has been doing a bang up job. The company is coming off a solid first quarter and recently raised its full-year fiscal 2008 earnings forecast.

This seems a bit surprising given all of the public uproar about gun violence and all of the anti-gun legislation proposed lately. Logic seems to dictate that gun makers should be hurting, but Smith &Wesson is thriving.

Let's delve a bit deeper into its recent numbers.

First-Quarter Results
In its first period, the Smith & Wesson's net income rose about 39% to $4.7 million, or 11 cents per share. That easily beat the 9 cents per share that analysts had been expecting. Smith & Wesson also managed to grow its revenue at a roughly 56% pace to $74.4 million in the quarter. That too was north of analyst's estimates, which had called for the company to generate roughly $71.9 million on its top line. Also, its gross margin improved 170 basis points to 36.4% of sales in the period as well.

Why is the company growing so fast? Strong sales to what it calls its M&P (Military and Police) customers, and a strong push by its direct sales force in the retail channel on the handgun front. Handgun sales into the retail channel were up 41% in the quarter.

A large amount of the growth also came from its long guns (rifles and long barrel guns) business as well. Smith & Wesson recently acquired the well-known Thompson firearms business and that segment posted its second consecutive quarter of 22% revenue growth. Overall, the long guns category now encompasses about 25% of sales. That's solid diversification of revenue if you ask me, because rifles don't seem to be receiving as much scrutiny by the press and Congress and appear to be less likely to being restricted by new firearm legislation.

Going forward, the company will introduce new products such as i-Bolt bolt-action rifles, and Smith & Wesson shotguns. As a result of its performance, it raised its earnings outlook for the year one penny to 63 cents per share.

In short, I like this story, and if the company is able to earn 63 cents per share this year, and 85 cents per share next, as analysts are predicting, I think the stock could trade to the $27 to $30 range within the next 24 months.

IT's All About The Outsourcing (EDS,INFY)
September 18, 2007 | By Dean Lundell

Information technology outsourcing is very big business. A simple fact in this line of work is that outsourcing companies are vulnerable to the fortunes of their clients. When things are going well, companies can afford to outsource their record keeping and other menial tasks. When times get lean, this sort of work is usually one of the first cost-cutting casualties.

Some firms lead, while others play catch up. There are a large number of firms in this business but we're going to take a look at two exemplars to see what we can learn.

A Global Presence
Information Technology outsourcing company Electronic Data Systems (NYSE:EDS) was formed by Ross Perot in 1962. With a market capitalization of $11.9 billion, it generates $21.6 billion in sales from 21 different countries. Although EDS has $3 billion in cash and equivalents it also has $3.1 billion of debt and below investment grade credit rating. Whether it is "junk" or "junque" is a matter of opinion.

Management got the message and has invested $3 billion over the last three years on infrastructure and other capital investments to bring new services to market. Electronic Data Systems has also formed alliances with Cisco (Nasdaq:CSCO), Dell (NasdaqELL) and Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT). Execution of this new strategy is key, as EDS has several competitors hoping it will stumble.

Although EDS's revenue growth has averaged a -0.3% for the prior three years, last year it improved to 7.7%. Earnings growth was flat for the three priors years and a 74.1% last year. The firm has to work on its 13.6% gross margin, 3.0% net margin and 7.8% return on equity.

The India Advantage
Infosys Technologies (Nasdaq:INFY) is based in India and was formed in 1981 by seven software engineers with the equivalent of $250. Today, it can boast of a market cap of $27.8 billion, and it generates just over $3 billion in sales. Infosys was also the first Indian firm to be added to the Nasdaq 100 Index. The firm enjoys a reputation for delivering high quality results, on time and has inherent cost advantages being located in India.

From a market share perspective, Infosys has plenty of room to grow as it has penetrated only about 1.5% of the market. Of that market share, 95% of its clients are repeat customers. Although its market share looks small at 1.5%, the firm's financial results speak volumes. Revenue growth hovers around 43% for both a three average and last year, while earnings growth has averaged 43.6% for the last three years and 50.8% last year. This firm derives a 27.5% net margin from a gross margin of 42.5% and returns an impressive 37.3% to equity.

Black & Decker: Mediocre And Proud Of It (BDK)
September 17, 2007 | By Glenn Curtis

Despite the recent weakness in the housing market, Black & Decker (NYSE:BDK) has fared pretty well. The tool maker recently confirmed its third-quarter and full-year earnings outlook at an analyst conference.

But I don't think management's affirmation of its previous guidance is necessarily something to be proud of. Those numbers were pretty weak to begin with, and there are several things about the company and the stock that worry me right now.

Black & Decker Risks
During its second quarter, the company stated that it expects third-quarter diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.40 to $1.45, and for the full year it expects earnings in the range of $6.35 to $6.50 per share.

Management has now confirmed its full year guidance, but so what? That guidance was already scaled back in late July. And over the last 90 days, the consensus estimate for 2008 has come down from $7.18 per share to $6.88 per share. This tells me that the analysts who closely follow this stock are still filled with uncertainty. How can investors know that these estimates have indeed bottomed? (To learn more, check out Can Earnings Guidance Accurately Predict The Future?)

Insiders sure don't seem too excited about the stock, either. In fact, they have sold more than 600,000 shares over the last six months. If insiders are selling, why should investors be buying?

As mentioned, the company has fared pretty well despite the weak housing market. But if the downturn continues for a prolonged period of time I doubt Black & Decker can remain resilient. Some of the big sellers of tools such as Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) and Sears (Nasdaq:SHLD) are struggling.

Now, let's be optimistic and imagine for a minute that the sell side is accurate, and that the company will meet estimates from here forward. Even in that case, the stock seems pricey. It's presently trading at about 13-times the current year forecast and 12-times next year's consensus number. That's a sharp premium to its anticipated growth rate of 7.5% per year over the next five years.