- Oct 20 Tue 2009 09:14
-
時人時語
- Aug 10 Mon 2009 11:41
-
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.
- Jul 15 Wed 2009 10:59
-
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."
- Jun 30 Tue 2009 16:57
-
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.
- Jun 29 Mon 2009 13:32
-
Michael Jackson tops album chart
- Jun 22 Mon 2009 14:41
-
Google Searches For Ways To Keep Big Ideas At Home
by Jessica E. Vascellaro
Google Inc. is revamping how it develops and
prioritizes new products, giving employees a
pipeline to the company's top brass amid worries
about losing its best people and promising ideas
to start-ups.
The Mountain Vies, Calif., company famously
lets its engineers spend one day a week on proj-
ects that aren't part of their jobs. But Google has
lacked a formal process for senior executives to
review those efforts, and some ideas have lan-
guished. Others have slipped away when employ-
ees left the company.
"We were concerned that some of the biggest
ideas were getting squashed," said Google Chief
Executive Eric Schmidt in an interview.
Google can no longer afford to let promising
ideas fall by the wayside. The Internet search gi-
ant's once-torrid growth has slowed. At the same
time, it faces fresh competition from Microsoft
Corp.'s new search engine, Bing, and start-ups
such as Twitter Inc., which was founded by for-
mer Google employees.
In response, Google has recently started inter-
nal "innovation reviews," formal meetings where
executives present product ideas bubbling up
through their divisions to Mr. Schmidt, Google
founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and other
top executives.
The meetings are designed to "force manage-
ment to focus" on promising ideas at an early
stage, Mr. Schmidt said.
The efforts have been behind several ser-
vices that Google has recently unveiled, including
software that allows companies to use Micro-
soft's Outlook email and calendar software while
storing their data with Google. Microsoft said
Wednesday the Google software interferes with
an Outlook search function; Google disputed the
severity of the problem, but said it is working to
improve its software.
Another project, an imaging product that is
based on facial-recognition software developed
inside Google, is expected to be released this sum-
mer.
Google has also begun to give a few engineers
broad leeway to start big projects of their choos-
ing, Mr. Schmidt said. One result of this ef-
fort: Google Wave, a collaboration tool that the
company previewed last month.
The moves are a shift for Google. Previously,
its early-stage projects weren't systematically vet-
ted by top executives. Employees with a new idea
would lobby their bosses for resources and time.
Once approved, a project could linger or die without
getting much attention from senior management.
Google needs new products to jumpstart its
growth. While it remains a juggernaut with one-
third of all U.S. advertising dollars spend online, its
year-over-year revenue growth has slowed from
56% in 2007 to 315 in 2008 and was just 6% in the
first quarter of this year.
What's more, employees continue to leave Google
as it evolves into a mature company with 20,000
workers. "Most products managers evaluate [wheth-
er to stay] every six months," said Chris Vander
Mey, a senior Google product manager who worked
on the Microsoft Office integration.
While praising how Google has supported small
projects like his own, he said he still expects to leave
the company over time to explore other interests.
Google has taken cracks in the past at the reten-
tion problem. In March, it repriced million of em-
ployee stock options whose value had been wiped
out as Google's share price has fallen over the past
two years. The company has also begun testing a
mathematical formula to try to predict which em-
ployees are most likely to leave, based on factors like
employee reviews.
David Yoffie, a Harvard Business School profes-
sor who studies technology and e-commerce com-
panies, said prioritizing is important for Google.
While Google has launched hordes of new experi-
ments, "in the absence of focus and promotion" few
have turned into blockbusters, he said.
In the case of Google Wave, the company singled
out Lars Rasmussen and Jens Rasmussen to test its
approach to developing ideas.
The brothers, who are based in Australia, had
been working on Google Maps. On the side, they
were also thinking about creating a new communi-
cation system to replace email.
Messrs. Schmidt, Page and Brin where intrigued
and gave the engineers a long leash. "We said go
do something really interesting and take as many
resources as you need," Mr. Schmidt said. Then
gave the Rasmussens dozens of employees, he add-
ed, substantially more people than most early-stage
projects.
To allow the due to stick to their vision for the
product, the top executives kept Wave secret from
the rest of the company. Wave wasn't opened up to
broader employee feedback until later in the devel-
opment cycle.
Lars Rasmussen said the conditions freed his
team from concerns such as fighting for engineers
and removed pressure to integrate with other
Google producsts. "We knew we had to do something
different," he said.
Google Inc. is revamping how it develops and
prioritizes new products, giving employees a
pipeline to the company's top brass amid worries
about losing its best people and promising ideas
to start-ups.
The Mountain Vies, Calif., company famously
lets its engineers spend one day a week on proj-
ects that aren't part of their jobs. But Google has
lacked a formal process for senior executives to
review those efforts, and some ideas have lan-
guished. Others have slipped away when employ-
ees left the company.
"We were concerned that some of the biggest
ideas were getting squashed," said Google Chief
Executive Eric Schmidt in an interview.
Google can no longer afford to let promising
ideas fall by the wayside. The Internet search gi-
ant's once-torrid growth has slowed. At the same
time, it faces fresh competition from Microsoft
Corp.'s new search engine, Bing, and start-ups
such as Twitter Inc., which was founded by for-
mer Google employees.
In response, Google has recently started inter-
nal "innovation reviews," formal meetings where
executives present product ideas bubbling up
through their divisions to Mr. Schmidt, Google
founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and other
top executives.
The meetings are designed to "force manage-
ment to focus" on promising ideas at an early
stage, Mr. Schmidt said.
The efforts have been behind several ser-
vices that Google has recently unveiled, including
software that allows companies to use Micro-
soft's Outlook email and calendar software while
storing their data with Google. Microsoft said
Wednesday the Google software interferes with
an Outlook search function; Google disputed the
severity of the problem, but said it is working to
improve its software.
Another project, an imaging product that is
based on facial-recognition software developed
inside Google, is expected to be released this sum-
mer.
Google has also begun to give a few engineers
broad leeway to start big projects of their choos-
ing, Mr. Schmidt said. One result of this ef-
fort: Google Wave, a collaboration tool that the
company previewed last month.
The moves are a shift for Google. Previously,
its early-stage projects weren't systematically vet-
ted by top executives. Employees with a new idea
would lobby their bosses for resources and time.
Once approved, a project could linger or die without
getting much attention from senior management.
Google needs new products to jumpstart its
growth. While it remains a juggernaut with one-
third of all U.S. advertising dollars spend online, its
year-over-year revenue growth has slowed from
56% in 2007 to 315 in 2008 and was just 6% in the
first quarter of this year.
What's more, employees continue to leave Google
as it evolves into a mature company with 20,000
workers. "Most products managers evaluate [wheth-
er to stay] every six months," said Chris Vander
Mey, a senior Google product manager who worked
on the Microsoft Office integration.
While praising how Google has supported small
projects like his own, he said he still expects to leave
the company over time to explore other interests.
Google has taken cracks in the past at the reten-
tion problem. In March, it repriced million of em-
ployee stock options whose value had been wiped
out as Google's share price has fallen over the past
two years. The company has also begun testing a
mathematical formula to try to predict which em-
ployees are most likely to leave, based on factors like
employee reviews.
David Yoffie, a Harvard Business School profes-
sor who studies technology and e-commerce com-
panies, said prioritizing is important for Google.
While Google has launched hordes of new experi-
ments, "in the absence of focus and promotion" few
have turned into blockbusters, he said.
In the case of Google Wave, the company singled
out Lars Rasmussen and Jens Rasmussen to test its
approach to developing ideas.
The brothers, who are based in Australia, had
been working on Google Maps. On the side, they
were also thinking about creating a new communi-
cation system to replace email.
Messrs. Schmidt, Page and Brin where intrigued
and gave the engineers a long leash. "We said go
do something really interesting and take as many
resources as you need," Mr. Schmidt said. Then
gave the Rasmussens dozens of employees, he add-
ed, substantially more people than most early-stage
projects.
To allow the due to stick to their vision for the
product, the top executives kept Wave secret from
the rest of the company. Wave wasn't opened up to
broader employee feedback until later in the devel-
opment cycle.
Lars Rasmussen said the conditions freed his
team from concerns such as fighting for engineers
and removed pressure to integrate with other
Google producsts. "We knew we had to do something
different," he said.
- Jun 22 Mon 2009 13:45
-
Caesar salad
