資料來源：BBC
- 11月 10 週二 200910:15
Worm attack bites at Apple iPhone
資料來源：BBC
- 8月 10 週一 200911:41
China evacuation as typhoon hits
Nearly one-million people have been evacuated from the coastal regions of China which are being battered by Typhoon Morakot.
Winds of up 119km/h (74mph) destroyed houses and flooded farmland.
Flights were cancelled and fishing boats recalled to shore. A small boy died when a building collapsed.
Meanwhile,
in Japan nine people are reported dead in floods and landslides after
Typhoon Etau brought heavy rain to the west of the country.
Winds of up 119km/h (74mph) destroyed houses and flooded farmland.
Flights were cancelled and fishing boats recalled to shore. A small boy died when a building collapsed.
Meanwhile,
in Japan nine people are reported dead in floods and landslides after
Typhoon Etau brought heavy rain to the west of the country.
- 7月 15 週三 200910:59
Steelmarkers Regain Pricing Clout
by Alex MacDonald
Producers in the U.S. and Europe have increased prices for
flat steel by as much as $50 a ton or more and in some cases re-
started idle production as customers replenish inventories and
auto makers benefit from government-sponsored car-scrapping
subsidies.
In China, the world's largest steel-producing nation, steel-
makers are operation near capacity in order to satisfy demand
stemming from the government's four trillion yuan($585.44 bil-
lion) economic-stimulus package.
But despite a couple of bright spots in emerging economies
such as China, steelmakers warn that global demand won't
recover to last year's peak level until 2011 at the earliest. As a re-
sult, many mills will have to operate below optimal production
rates in the interim.
"Unless real demand shows further momentum beyond in-
ventory restocking, we're at risk of negative price pressures"
again, said John Lichtenstein, managing director of Accenture's
metal-industry group. The "risk is that you have multiple play-
ers who decide to ramp up production at the same time because
they see more need for steel."
"Overcapacity is very hard to manage," said Andre Gerdau
Johannpeter, chief executive of Brazil-based Gerdau SA. "Clos-
ing idle capacity is something we have already done... We are
in survival mode because we don't know how long" it will take
for demand to recover.
Integerated steel mills, which make up about two-thirds of
the world's total production, need to operate on average at
75% of their full production capacity to break even, according
to steel executives, analysts and consultants. Electric arc fur-
naces, which account for the remaining third of global produc-
tion, need to operate at about 60% depending on the above factors.
At the moment the global steel industry is operating at
about 73% of its full production capacity and 62% if China is
excluded, according to Macquarie Research Commodities. In
the U.S. and Europe, the utilization rates are even lower at 48%
and 52%, respectively. Steelmakers such as Russia's OAO Sev-
erstal, Gerdau and U.S.-based Nucor Corp. and Steel Dynamics
Inc. all agreed the industry needs to remove excess capacity in
order to return to profitability.
Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of the world's largest steelmaker, Arce-
lorMittal, said, "We are starting to see some green shoots in our
industry," but "the situation of overcapacity is likely to continue
this year and beyond, particularly in the developed world."
ArcelorMittal Has already shut down two plants producing
finished steel in the U.S. and may consider shutting more if the
automotive industry doesn't fully recover. Meanwhile, Gerdau is
closing one idled steel plant in the U.S., suspending production
at another and entering talks with union leaders to shut a third.
The global steel industry is facing about 300 million to 400
million tons of excess capacity, said Alexei Mordashov, chief
executive of OAO Severstal, Russia's largest steelmaker.
"Without restructuring [this excess capacity], we believe it is
impossible for a recovery in our industry or a recovery in our
margins in the short term or the medium term."
Producers in the U.S. and Europe have increased prices for
flat steel by as much as $50 a ton or more and in some cases re-
started idle production as customers replenish inventories and
auto makers benefit from government-sponsored car-scrapping
subsidies.
In China, the world's largest steel-producing nation, steel-
makers are operation near capacity in order to satisfy demand
stemming from the government's four trillion yuan($585.44 bil-
lion) economic-stimulus package.
But despite a couple of bright spots in emerging economies
such as China, steelmakers warn that global demand won't
recover to last year's peak level until 2011 at the earliest. As a re-
sult, many mills will have to operate below optimal production
rates in the interim.
"Unless real demand shows further momentum beyond in-
ventory restocking, we're at risk of negative price pressures"
again, said John Lichtenstein, managing director of Accenture's
metal-industry group. The "risk is that you have multiple play-
ers who decide to ramp up production at the same time because
they see more need for steel."
"Overcapacity is very hard to manage," said Andre Gerdau
Johannpeter, chief executive of Brazil-based Gerdau SA. "Clos-
ing idle capacity is something we have already done... We are
in survival mode because we don't know how long" it will take
for demand to recover.
Integerated steel mills, which make up about two-thirds of
the world's total production, need to operate on average at
75% of their full production capacity to break even, according
to steel executives, analysts and consultants. Electric arc fur-
naces, which account for the remaining third of global produc-
tion, need to operate at about 60% depending on the above factors.
At the moment the global steel industry is operating at
about 73% of its full production capacity and 62% if China is
excluded, according to Macquarie Research Commodities. In
the U.S. and Europe, the utilization rates are even lower at 48%
and 52%, respectively. Steelmakers such as Russia's OAO Sev-
erstal, Gerdau and U.S.-based Nucor Corp. and Steel Dynamics
Inc. all agreed the industry needs to remove excess capacity in
order to return to profitability.
Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of the world's largest steelmaker, Arce-
lorMittal, said, "We are starting to see some green shoots in our
industry," but "the situation of overcapacity is likely to continue
this year and beyond, particularly in the developed world."
ArcelorMittal Has already shut down two plants producing
finished steel in the U.S. and may consider shutting more if the
automotive industry doesn't fully recover. Meanwhile, Gerdau is
closing one idled steel plant in the U.S., suspending production
at another and entering talks with union leaders to shut a third.
The global steel industry is facing about 300 million to 400
million tons of excess capacity, said Alexei Mordashov, chief
executive of OAO Severstal, Russia's largest steelmaker.
"Without restructuring [this excess capacity], we believe it is
impossible for a recovery in our industry or a recovery in our
margins in the short term or the medium term."
- 6月 30 週二 200916:57
Microsoft's Ballmer Unlocks Keys To Success
by Marisa Taylor
When multitudes of decisions need to
be make, delegate. Seek passionate people
to work for you. Budget your time careful-
ly, and keep a culture of innovation alive
within your company.
These are the secrets to Microsoft CEO
Steve Ballmer's success, as revealed in
a series of short video interviews for the
Wall Street Journal's Lessons in Leader-
ship guide, where he discusses his views
on time management, making decisions,
driving innovation, and more.
While Mr. Ballmer, who has been at the
helm of Microsoft since 2000, is known for
his eccentric personality and episodes of
excitable public behavior, he gives sound
and structured advice to business leaders
about how he approaches his work at Mi-
crosoft.
He says that there's a stereotype that
innovation happens at a rapid fire pace,
but he doesn't agree - he thinks that com-
panies should invest in innovation over a
long period of time. "Hardly anything in
the tech industry went from rags to riches
overnight," he explains. And while talk-
ing about and emphasizing a culture of
innovation is crucial for a company's suc-
cess, he says, there must be a limit when a
company reaches a larger size: "Cultures
of innovation doesn't mean that everybody
gest to reinvent the wheel six times. The
need for a certain level of persistence and
tenacity is I think a surprisingly important
part of innovation."
And when it comes to making decisions,
he'd rather not have to do it very often, but
instead thinks a leader should delegate as
much as possible, rather than running a
company that has to come to him for every
single one. While he does make the big
choices, such as whether or not Microsoft
will invest with a certain company, and
will sign off on decisions that other people
have made, "the number of decisions that
I actually have to make myself is relatively
low," he says.
In the same vein, Mr. Ballmer is not a
big believer in micromanagement. While
he admits that he does have what he re-
fers to as an "Anglo-Saxon personality" in
which he likes to see evidence and detail in
order to feel comfortable with certain prin-
ciples, he would rather as questions that
require discussions of detail, as opposed to
blatant micromanagement.
With respect to running meetings, Mr.
Ballmer admits that his "brain jumps
around too much." He prefers that the
long, presentation style of meetings that
are rife with "theater" are cut to a mini-
mum and instead favors a system of re-
ceiving materials in advance, which should
lead with a summary of the meeting's
main points and allow him some time to
ask questions. "If I was a kid, they'd say
I have a little bit of-what do they call it?-
ADD," explains.
And he also runs a tight ship when it
comes to management of his time-he
keeps a detailed spreadsheet in which he
budgets his time for the year. His meetings
with customers and partners, formal meet-
ings, free time, and time spent away from
Seattle are all mapped out and allocated
strategically so that he can accomplish his
goals and still manage to spend as much
time as he can with his three children.
And sometimes, Mr. Ballmer says, a
company should look to outside hires to
spice things up and bring in new view-
points. To be "dynamic," a company
should hire internally 70 to 80% of the
time, but should bring in outsiders 20 to
30% of the time, but checking references
is key. And when he interviews people, he
is looking for two things: first, passion ("
It doesn't have to be bubbly, but you need
to see the passion. But you always can-
you can see it in the eyes," he says.), and
second, a person with whom he can relate.
He'd like an interviewee to talk with him
about something he or she is proud of, and
to explain it in detail.
When multitudes of decisions need to
be make, delegate. Seek passionate people
to work for you. Budget your time careful-
ly, and keep a culture of innovation alive
within your company.
These are the secrets to Microsoft CEO
Steve Ballmer's success, as revealed in
a series of short video interviews for the
Wall Street Journal's Lessons in Leader-
ship guide, where he discusses his views
on time management, making decisions,
driving innovation, and more.
While Mr. Ballmer, who has been at the
helm of Microsoft since 2000, is known for
his eccentric personality and episodes of
excitable public behavior, he gives sound
and structured advice to business leaders
about how he approaches his work at Mi-
crosoft.
He says that there's a stereotype that
innovation happens at a rapid fire pace,
but he doesn't agree - he thinks that com-
panies should invest in innovation over a
long period of time. "Hardly anything in
the tech industry went from rags to riches
overnight," he explains. And while talk-
ing about and emphasizing a culture of
innovation is crucial for a company's suc-
cess, he says, there must be a limit when a
company reaches a larger size: "Cultures
of innovation doesn't mean that everybody
gest to reinvent the wheel six times. The
need for a certain level of persistence and
tenacity is I think a surprisingly important
part of innovation."
And when it comes to making decisions,
he'd rather not have to do it very often, but
instead thinks a leader should delegate as
much as possible, rather than running a
company that has to come to him for every
single one. While he does make the big
choices, such as whether or not Microsoft
will invest with a certain company, and
will sign off on decisions that other people
have made, "the number of decisions that
I actually have to make myself is relatively
low," he says.
In the same vein, Mr. Ballmer is not a
big believer in micromanagement. While
he admits that he does have what he re-
fers to as an "Anglo-Saxon personality" in
which he likes to see evidence and detail in
order to feel comfortable with certain prin-
ciples, he would rather as questions that
require discussions of detail, as opposed to
blatant micromanagement.
With respect to running meetings, Mr.
Ballmer admits that his "brain jumps
around too much." He prefers that the
long, presentation style of meetings that
are rife with "theater" are cut to a mini-
mum and instead favors a system of re-
ceiving materials in advance, which should
lead with a summary of the meeting's
main points and allow him some time to
ask questions. "If I was a kid, they'd say
I have a little bit of-what do they call it?-
ADD," explains.
And he also runs a tight ship when it
comes to management of his time-he
keeps a detailed spreadsheet in which he
budgets his time for the year. His meetings
with customers and partners, formal meet-
ings, free time, and time spent away from
Seattle are all mapped out and allocated
strategically so that he can accomplish his
goals and still manage to spend as much
time as he can with his three children.
And sometimes, Mr. Ballmer says, a
company should look to outside hires to
spice things up and bring in new view-
points. To be "dynamic," a company
should hire internally 70 to 80% of the
time, but should bring in outsiders 20 to
30% of the time, but checking references
is key. And when he interviews people, he
is looking for two things: first, passion ("
It doesn't have to be bubbly, but you need
to see the passion. But you always can-
you can see it in the eyes," he says.), and
second, a person with whom he can relate.
He'd like an interviewee to talk with him
about something he or she is proud of, and
to explain it in detail.
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