Monday, April 18, 2011
Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Alliance Trust defends investment strategy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-13057133
12 April 2011 Last updated at 16:33 ET
Money
The group’s profits before tax, including capital, were down from £473m to £456m
A Dundee-based investment trust has issued a defence of its strategy with its annual results.
Alliance Trust reported its return to shareholders stood at 19% for the year to January 31,compared with more than 20% in the previous year.
It also highlighted the share price reached a three-year high in January, with net asset value increasing by 11.9% in the second half of last year.
The company is striving to see off a challenge from an activist investor.
Chairwoman Lesley Knox said the asset management business saw a sharp increase in third party funds under its management, up from £12m to £83m by the end of the year, and up to £100m since then.
The group’s profits before tax, including capital, were down from £473m to £456m.
These are some of the figures being used in the battle with hedge fund Laxey Partners, which owns an eighth of Alliance Trust equity, and which wants to force a buy-back of shares as a means of raising the share price.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
We are focused on managing the trust in the best interests of these long-term shareholders – not those who are motivated purely to make a short-term gain”
Lesley KnoxChairwoman, Alliance Trust
It is pressing other shareholders to back its campaign to overturn the management strategy at the company’s annual general meeting on 20 May.
It argues the share price has been trading at nearly 20% below net asset value of Alliance Trust funds, and it wants that brought below a 10% discount.
Alliance Trust’s chairwoman said the company’s performance was in the median range for its corporate peer group.
“Through regular engagement with our shareholders, we believe that we have a good understanding of their long-term investment priorities,” she said.
“We are focused on managing the trust in the best interests of these long-term shareholders – not those who are motivated purely to make a short-term gain.”
Chief executive Katherine Garrett-Cox said there was already a share buyback under way, with nearly £9.6m put into supporting the Tayside company’s share price.
Near-term prospects for stock markets remain “clouded” by uncertainties, including rising commodity prices and consumers’ debt burden, she added.
Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Novices, take Trio Capital Funds as a warning
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/novices-take-trio-capital-funds-as-a-warning/story-e6frg8zx-1226039900616
# Glenda Korporaal
# From:The Australian
# April 16, 2011 12:00AM
THIS week’s $55 million bailout of the Trio Capital funds — which did not apply to investors in self-managed superannuation funds — is not an argument against having a self-managed superannuation fund.
But it is an argument that those who do not have the interest or the skills to take an active interest in the management of their money would be better off opting for their employer’s default fund, an industry superannuation fund or a major reputable fund.
Those considering taking their money out of an established super fund and putting it in a self-managed superannuation fund — who are being convinced to do so by a “friendly” financial adviser offering to take on the hassle of handling paperwork and annual tax returns — should think again.
Having a self-managed superannuation fund can offer a considerable degree of flexibility and control for those who know what they are doing.
Related Coverage
* Super is not as safe as you think Herald Sun, 1 day ago
* Claims loom on Trio fundThe Australian, 1 day ago
* DIY funds to put case for compo The Australian, 2 days ago
* DIY super funds entitled to Trio compo The Australian, 2 days ago
* Warning for self-managed super funds The Australian, 2 days ago
But those who don’t know what they are doing, and take the self-managed super option, are highly vulnerable to the skills and integrity and the judgment of their financial adviser in a way which would not occur if they opted for a no-fuss conventional option.
This week’s bailout was a timely reminder that the levy system that benefits investors in APRA-regulated funds does not apply to self-managed super funds. “Trustees of self-managed superannuation funds have to be aware that there isn’t any form of compensation for which things go wrong, except for remedial action through the courts,” Sharyn Long, the chairwoman of the Self Managed Super Fund Professionals Association (SPAA), said yesterday.
“If a financial adviser is involved they can take action, but there is limited remedy for them in cases where fraud occurs.”
The bailout is based on the fact that APRA-regulated funds will be levied to cover the cost of the fraud involved. The system does not apply to self-managed super funds. The logic is that why should the trustees of some 400,000 small funds, often operated for only two or three beneficiaries, have to pay up for the investment mistakes of a handful of other small funds (in this case 285 SMSFs) who would have quite happily reaped the upside if the funds had delivered the superior performance?
There may be some change to that situation but this is what is prevailing at the moment.
The collapse of Trio does reinforce the need for all investors to do their homework on the type of funds they invest their money in, particularly funds offering higher than normal returns or which may have unknown international links. “The basic principle is that the higher the return, the higher the risk,” says Long. “One of the main tools to mitigate that risk is diversification.”
No investor should put all, or the bulk, of their investments into one fund or one associated group of funds. And the more exposed one is to a fund, the more need for detailed homework.
It is also a general warning that anyone who uses a financial adviser should not regard this as a reason to suspend all judgment — no matter how competent they appear or how much they offer to take over the burden of financial life.
There is no excuse for not asking questions about where and how the money is being invested.
In the case of Trio, the situation was made worse by the fact that there was a wrap situation where fund managers handed over their clients’ funds, with those funds invested in Trio-related funds such as Astarra.
In the case of wraps, it is vital that the investor has complete confidence in the operator of the wraps — and only after doing some basic homework.
If the fund itself or the wrap provider is not well known, the investor should ask what is it and who are its principals.
The Trio funds were based out of Albury, which is not exactly the funds management capital of the world. Warren Buffett, of course, is based in Omaha, which is not the fund management capital of the world either. But he and his Berkshire Hathaway organisation are well known and have a track record of integrity.
With the ready availability of search engines such as Google, investors can easily do simple online searches from the comfort of home.
The searches should be done on the funds and the principals of those involved to see if there is any “form”, or any questionable activities.
The fact that the fund is offering investment in exotic products using offshore tax havens should also be a red flag for investors to do some extra homework.
In the end there will always be fraud — which is the reason that the default option for anyone with little financial knowledge should be to go with the plain, vanilla-type of investments with plain, vanilla-type managers.
John Hempton of Bronte Capital, who raised the alarm on the Trio funds, also raises other issues of concern about the lack of regulation of broker-dealers and how they are still allowed unrestricted pledging of client assets.
This is another area which needs some government attention. But in the meantime the Trio collapse should be a wake-up call for investors that there is no excuse not to be aware of exactly how their funds are invested and who is handling their money. When it comes to handing over your money to anyone, all questions are good questions.
There are no dumb questions.
Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Trusteer: User education can’t protect against social engineering
http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/201115/7066/Trusteer-User-education-can-t-protect-against-social-engineering
by Steve Ragan – Apr 15 2011, 03:40
An experiment by security firm Trusteer has shown that even the most educated user can be fooled by a Phishing attack. By using 100 well-informed participants on social/business portal LinkedIn, Trusteer sent out messages similar to the ones site users would see on a regular basis. Interestingly, almost 70 percent of the test group fell for the con.
Phishing attacks and other scams are constantly explained and cautioned against, and most security professionals can explain what to look for and how to avoid falling victim to these cons. Yet, there is always a victim. No matter how good the education, you can’t reach everyone… and, more worringly, some will simply ignore the advice.
Trusteer, in wanting to test the notion that education isn’t the total solution for avoiding Phishing and other scams (as well as looking to show how easy it is to fall victim) asked 100 people to take part in its experiment. All of them agreed. However, while they knew they would be part of a security test, none of them knew when the test would take place.
Trusteer created a new identity on the LinkedIn site and then used some basic data-mining techniques on the supposedly educated participants, its goal being to collect information on their connections along with any other personal information presented via the site.
Mickey Boodaei, Trusteer’s CEO explains: “We picked a population of 100 users – these are people we know – friends and family and estimated to be fairly educated about security…”
“Since LinkedIn sends an alert when one of your connections has a new job, we decided to use this update method to create a fraudulent email. For each one of our targets we crafted a fictitious new job alert,” he added. “We chose one of their LinkedIn connections, and announced that this person was now working for a company that directly competes with our victim’s company.”
The message came with a large linked button with which to view the friend’s new title, just as LinkedIn does on its regular communications. Included in the email was a photo of the friend alongside their name, again much as it appears on the proper site. By choosing to click the button, users were taken, not to LinkedIn, but to a dummy attack site.
“The website we used was innocuous, but it was a place holder for a potentially malicious website that places malware on the victim’s computer. We released this email to all 100 subjects on the same day – a Tuesday morning – and monitored who clicked the link and reached our landing page,” Boodaei said.
Within the first 24 hours, 41 participants had fallen for the scam. Within seven days, 68 people had clicked the button. If this had been a real attack, those numbers would have marked a high return on a criminal’s investment. In all, Trusteer spent about 17 hours on the study.
As for the other 32 people, Boodaei explained that, when approached: “Sixteen said they haven’t seen this email (it probably went into their spam folder). Seven said they usually don’t read LinkedIn updates. Nine said that the update was not interesting enough for them to click the link.”
The one thing we disagree with is the company’s statement issued at the end of the test, which says that the “solution to this problem must be based on technology and probably using more than one method.”
Technology, while helpful, will not prevent the problem of people falling prey to Phishing scams. Perhaps a better recommendation would have been to blend technology with basic education and awareness. Phishing scams work because they are able to bypass technology and take advantage of human nature.
As mentioned in the Trusteer write-up, the tools that organizations use to train their customers on Phishing scams are “not effective enough” to reach all of them, or convey the message in a way the majority will understand. Mixing education and technology might help, but technology alone will do no better than that which exists today.
The test performed by Trusteer is an interesting one. It would be nice to see a similar test where the participants are told it is a Phishing attack beforehand. Likewise, it would be interesting to see the test done to scale, where several hundred if not thousands of participants are targeted.
It’s frustrating to see people fall for basic Phishing scams, and it’s painful when major companies like RSA are victimized by them. However, there is no single answer when it comes to protecting against or preventing tricks against the human mind. The person who finally solves that riddle will be able to demand any ransom they want for the answer.
Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Number of victims hacked by News of the World may be ‘substantially higher’
Sienna Miller, who has been named as a hacking victim. Photo: PA
By Mark Hughes, Crime Correspondent 9:15PM BST 15 Apr 2011Follow Mark Hughes on Twitter
Previously Scotland Yard had said that information found in records kept by Mulcaire who was employed by the newspaper, showed that he had 91 voicemail PINs – suggesting 91 potential victims.
But the High Court has heard that the new police investigation expects to find many more victims. And that could open the door for more celebrities to take legal action against the News of the World.
The disclosure came as it emerged that the actress Sienna Miller may have had her emails hacked into. Ms Miller has been offered £100,000 to halt her case against the News of the World. She is yet to accept or reject the offer.
But while the News of the World waits to hear whether Ms Miller will settle, they could now have to defend themselves against scores of other claims.
The High Court heard that 40 detectives working on the new investigation – codenamed Operation Weeting – are currently trawling through 9,200 pages of records seized from Mr Mulcaire.
RELATED ARTICLES
* Phone-hacking: four test cases given go-ahead
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* ’100 victims’ of phone hacking
09 Apr 2011
* Senior News of the World reporter arrested
14 Apr 2011
* George Galloway: ‘Phone hacking cancer must be removed’
15 Apr 2011
Specifically they are looking for direct dial numbers (DDN) – the number dialed by a mobile phone user to access voicemails.
Jason Beer QC, acting for the Metropolitan Police, told the High court: “There are, within the Mulcaire archive, records of DDNs where, on the face of it, there is no good reason for these to appear. That is strongly indicative of interception.”
Asked about whether the number of numbers is larger than the 91 PINs, Mr Beer added: “The number of DDNs is substantially higher than that.”
The New of the World issued a public apology over phone hacking last Friday, offering to pay damages to anyone who could prove that their phone was hacked by one of its journalists.
Mr Beer said that since then a host of people have been in touch with the Metropolitan Police attempting to discover whether they were a victim of phone hacking.
“Since the admissions last Friday, the Metropolitan Police has been flooded with enquiries. The number of people beating a path to the Met’s door has increased very substantially.”
The court hearing also heard that the News of the World had offered to settle the case with Sienna Miller, one of the celebrities who is suing the newspaper over fears that her voicemails were intercepted.
The court heard that the actress has been offered £100,000 plus her legal costs to settle the case. She has neither accepted nor rejected the offer.
There was also a suggestion that Ms Miller may also have had her emails hacked into as recent as 2008.
The documents seized from Mr Mulcaire had Ms Miller’s email password and her legal team claim that a journalist could have known this in 2008, despite the fact that by then the Mulcaire documents were in the hands of the police.
Hugh Tomlinson QC, her barrister, explained: “The hacking in 2008 is separate from the phone records. We have linked that to the Mulcaire archive because she used the same password on her mobile phone and on her email and that was recorded on Mr Mulcaire’s notes. We infer that that password was used to hack her email.”
The civil cases against the News of the World are being brought by 20 people, including Jude Law, Paul Gascoigne, George Galloway, Tessa Jowell and the jockey Kieren[CORR] Fallon.
But yesterday the judge Mr Justice Vos ruled that there should be four test cases which will determine how much damages should be paid to future claimants. The tests cases, the court heard, are likely to be those of the football pundit Andy Gray, football agent Sky Andrew, Sienna Miller and Kelly Hoppen, the interior designer.
Glenn Mulcaire and the News of the World’s royal correspondent Clive Goodman were jailed in 2007 after they admitted hacking into voicemails. But the Metropolitan Police was criticised for ending their investigation when, it was alleged, the practice of hacking at the paper went further.
In January this year a new investigation was launched. So far three News of the World employees have been arrested. Chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, former news editor Ian Edmondson and assistant James Weatherup have all been bailed to return in September.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Fisher Capital Equipment Update - Market slams Fisher and Paykel on profit Warning
The share market has come down hard on Fisher & Paykel Appliances - with its shares falling 40 per cent after the company issued a profit warning today.
The whiteware manufacturer's shares, which were worth $2.94 this time last year and worth $1 on Friday, went into free fall and are currently trading at just 60 cents, a 40 cent fall.
Earlier today the company said it expected a net profit of $25 million to $30m, down up to 54 per cent on last year.
Due to the deterioration in the New Zealand dollar, Fisher & Paykel Appliances' total bank debt grew $122 from March last year to $512m at the end of January. It was predicted to be $570m by the end of March.
It is now looking at reviewing its capital structure and alternative sources of capital.
Fisher Capital Equipment Update - Market slams Fisher and Paykel on profit Warning - The market was very concerned the company had to come back with a capital raising, which was unexpected, said Hamilton, Hindin, Greene director Grant Williamson.
The home appliance market had dropped off in all areas Fisher & Paykel exported to and there did not appear to be too many signs of a turnaround in world housing at the moment, he said.
"I think investors are starting to say; how long is it going to be before conditions change for the company? I think that's the biggest concern."
Williamson said Fisher & Paykel Appliances' wares were sold into most new homes but when very few new homes being built it would have a serious effect on their sales.
A 40 per cent drop in share value was a big hit for the share price to take but that was the general state of the market.
"If any company disappoints the market then the market is very harsh on their share price and we have certainly seen that this morning with Fisher & Paykel Appliances."
The company announced it would not proceed with a capital note issue and was looking an alternative source of capital.
The directors were considering the merits of issuing equity, including to a cornerstone investor.
Williamson said he did not believe a capital notes raising would have been particularly well received.
He did not see any short term bounce in the price until there was clarification around the structure of equity raising. That was expected to be announced in early March.
"At the moment there's still a fair degree of selling in the market place, around the 60c level."- NZPA
The whiteware manufacturer's shares, which were worth $2.94 this time last year and worth $1 on Friday, went into free fall and are currently trading at just 60 cents, a 40 cent fall.
Earlier today the company said it expected a net profit of $25 million to $30m, down up to 54 per cent on last year.
Due to the deterioration in the New Zealand dollar, Fisher & Paykel Appliances' total bank debt grew $122 from March last year to $512m at the end of January. It was predicted to be $570m by the end of March.
It is now looking at reviewing its capital structure and alternative sources of capital.
Fisher Capital Equipment Update - Market slams Fisher and Paykel on profit Warning - The market was very concerned the company had to come back with a capital raising, which was unexpected, said Hamilton, Hindin, Greene director Grant Williamson.
The home appliance market had dropped off in all areas Fisher & Paykel exported to and there did not appear to be too many signs of a turnaround in world housing at the moment, he said.
"I think investors are starting to say; how long is it going to be before conditions change for the company? I think that's the biggest concern."
Williamson said Fisher & Paykel Appliances' wares were sold into most new homes but when very few new homes being built it would have a serious effect on their sales.
A 40 per cent drop in share value was a big hit for the share price to take but that was the general state of the market.
"If any company disappoints the market then the market is very harsh on their share price and we have certainly seen that this morning with Fisher & Paykel Appliances."
The company announced it would not proceed with a capital note issue and was looking an alternative source of capital.
The directors were considering the merits of issuing equity, including to a cornerstone investor.
Williamson said he did not believe a capital notes raising would have been particularly well received.
He did not see any short term bounce in the price until there was clarification around the structure of equity raising. That was expected to be announced in early March.
"At the moment there's still a fair degree of selling in the market place, around the 60c level."- NZPA
New Commercial Boilers Presented - Triad Boiler Room Systems by Fisher Capital
Fisher Capital on Boiler Room Equipment, Inc: Triad Boiler Systems creates distinctively tough small-footprint hot water boilers, steam boilers, and radiant heating systems.
All of our boilers use 12 gauge firetubes in compact vessels that suit through very small doorways! Inputs range up to 2,000,000 BTU's. Create a highly efficient system with millions of BTU's by sequencing a string of these modular vessels.
TRIAD's commercial boilers and industrial grade Hot Water Heating, Domestic Hot Water, and Steam boilers are used in a wide variety of applications. Our commercial boilers are used at schools, universities, apartments, hospitals, office buildings, retirement communities, and churches. Industrial uses have included bakeries, smelting operations, food processing, quenching systems, and various heating applications for manufacturing. Triads’ modular boilers and radiant heating systems can be natural gas fired, oil fired, or dual fuel fired. For simplicity of operation and maintenance, all controls on our boilers are well known, off-the-shelf products. There area no proprietary parts on these boilers! This simplicity of operation is part of our philosophy, and an important reason why our customers return to us again and again.
TRIAD has been manufacturing high-quality boilers since 1926, and developed the modular boiler concept with primary/secondary piping, receiving a patent for it in 1967. We put this experience, knowledge, and expertise into every boiler.
We believe in quality - it is the overriding characteristic driving our company. This is why we manufacture extremely rugged, well-designed hot water and steam boilers that can provide decades of dependable service. We welcome your inquiries.
Benefits of Modularity
TRIAD's elegantly simple design maintains consistent water volume where heat is required.
• Boilers are activated sequentially, drawing water from the main loop into the next hot water boiler until the heating need is meet.
• firing boilers remaining isolated, so no heated water circulates through cold boilers.
• During most of the year the unfired boilers provide additional backup.
• Outdoor temperatures and loop water temperatures are constantly monitored.
Fisher Capital on Boiler Room Equipment, Inc: The efficiency of this design is most apparent during warmer months, when a conventional hydronic heating or steam boiler could still be operating at full capacity.
Primary-Secondary Piping - TRIAD integrates modularity with a single pipe primary-secondary system. TRIAD was the first company to employ a Primary-Secondary concept. It operates with two loops, (i) the primary loop, or building main loop, and (ii) smaller secondary loops off of each hot water boiler, which supply heated water to the primary loop.
Upon a call for heat, the boiler pump begins pushing the return water into the boiler and out through the secondary loop, supplying this hot water up into the primary loop (the main header), where it mixes with the cooler return water from the main loop of the building.
• Supply and return water are blended, avoiding the need for expensive and unreliable mixing valves commonly used in two pipe systems.
• The secondary loop isolates each hot water boiler, resulting in a very efficient system that minimizes thermal shock.
Control Panel
TRIAD Boilers can be sequenced by the use of our control panel that provides many attractive features:
• Temperature set-back when less heat is required, such as nights and weekends.
• Adjustments for latent heat, to take advantage of hot boiler water that retains heat after the burner shuts down.
• Outdoor reset based on atmospheric temperatures.
• Monitoring of return water temperatures to maintain accurate heating output.
It is also very easy to sequence our boilers using the panel of any other major manufacturer.
Packaged Product - Fisher Capital on Boiler Room Equipment, Inc: All TRIAD hot water boilers and steam boilers are fully assembled, packaged products, which offer several advantages over boilers that must be assembled at the jobsite
• Onsite labor costs are minimized.
• Quality control is higher at the factory than at the jobsite
• The ease of installation of a packaged boiler allows for quicker start up.
Benefits of Steel Boilers
Easy to Clean - To maintain boiler efficiency, heating surfaces must be kept clean and free of combustion by-products. All TRIAD heating surfaces, especially the firetubes, are easy to access. It is impossible to clean all the heating surfaces of a cast iron boiler, and what can be reached is difficult to clean.
TRIAD also makes it easy to maintain clean water surfaces. The cleaning of the interior of a cast iron boiler is a major undertaking, and even then only the vertical surfaces can be cleaned. The inability to clean the horizontal surfaces can have a significant impact on operating efficiency.
Easy to Repair - Because of their steel construction, TRIAD hot water and steam boilers can be repaired in the field with minimal disruption. A leak can be permanently welded or the tubes re-rolled with little difficulty. It is impossible to permanently weld a cracked cast iron boiler section or a leaking copper fin-tube boiler. The firetubes are easily accessed through the top and through the firedoor.
Fast Water Circulation - Poor circulation of water within the typical cast iron boiler is very common due to their design limits, while TRIAD's steel hot water boilers provide for faster circulation.
All of our boilers use 12 gauge firetubes in compact vessels that suit through very small doorways! Inputs range up to 2,000,000 BTU's. Create a highly efficient system with millions of BTU's by sequencing a string of these modular vessels.
TRIAD's commercial boilers and industrial grade Hot Water Heating, Domestic Hot Water, and Steam boilers are used in a wide variety of applications. Our commercial boilers are used at schools, universities, apartments, hospitals, office buildings, retirement communities, and churches. Industrial uses have included bakeries, smelting operations, food processing, quenching systems, and various heating applications for manufacturing. Triads’ modular boilers and radiant heating systems can be natural gas fired, oil fired, or dual fuel fired. For simplicity of operation and maintenance, all controls on our boilers are well known, off-the-shelf products. There area no proprietary parts on these boilers! This simplicity of operation is part of our philosophy, and an important reason why our customers return to us again and again.
TRIAD has been manufacturing high-quality boilers since 1926, and developed the modular boiler concept with primary/secondary piping, receiving a patent for it in 1967. We put this experience, knowledge, and expertise into every boiler.
We believe in quality - it is the overriding characteristic driving our company. This is why we manufacture extremely rugged, well-designed hot water and steam boilers that can provide decades of dependable service. We welcome your inquiries.
Benefits of Modularity
TRIAD's elegantly simple design maintains consistent water volume where heat is required.
• Boilers are activated sequentially, drawing water from the main loop into the next hot water boiler until the heating need is meet.
• firing boilers remaining isolated, so no heated water circulates through cold boilers.
• During most of the year the unfired boilers provide additional backup.
• Outdoor temperatures and loop water temperatures are constantly monitored.
Fisher Capital on Boiler Room Equipment, Inc: The efficiency of this design is most apparent during warmer months, when a conventional hydronic heating or steam boiler could still be operating at full capacity.
Primary-Secondary Piping - TRIAD integrates modularity with a single pipe primary-secondary system. TRIAD was the first company to employ a Primary-Secondary concept. It operates with two loops, (i) the primary loop, or building main loop, and (ii) smaller secondary loops off of each hot water boiler, which supply heated water to the primary loop.
Upon a call for heat, the boiler pump begins pushing the return water into the boiler and out through the secondary loop, supplying this hot water up into the primary loop (the main header), where it mixes with the cooler return water from the main loop of the building.
• Supply and return water are blended, avoiding the need for expensive and unreliable mixing valves commonly used in two pipe systems.
• The secondary loop isolates each hot water boiler, resulting in a very efficient system that minimizes thermal shock.
Control Panel
TRIAD Boilers can be sequenced by the use of our control panel that provides many attractive features:
• Temperature set-back when less heat is required, such as nights and weekends.
• Adjustments for latent heat, to take advantage of hot boiler water that retains heat after the burner shuts down.
• Outdoor reset based on atmospheric temperatures.
• Monitoring of return water temperatures to maintain accurate heating output.
It is also very easy to sequence our boilers using the panel of any other major manufacturer.
Packaged Product - Fisher Capital on Boiler Room Equipment, Inc: All TRIAD hot water boilers and steam boilers are fully assembled, packaged products, which offer several advantages over boilers that must be assembled at the jobsite
• Onsite labor costs are minimized.
• Quality control is higher at the factory than at the jobsite
• The ease of installation of a packaged boiler allows for quicker start up.
Benefits of Steel Boilers
Easy to Clean - To maintain boiler efficiency, heating surfaces must be kept clean and free of combustion by-products. All TRIAD heating surfaces, especially the firetubes, are easy to access. It is impossible to clean all the heating surfaces of a cast iron boiler, and what can be reached is difficult to clean.
TRIAD also makes it easy to maintain clean water surfaces. The cleaning of the interior of a cast iron boiler is a major undertaking, and even then only the vertical surfaces can be cleaned. The inability to clean the horizontal surfaces can have a significant impact on operating efficiency.
Easy to Repair - Because of their steel construction, TRIAD hot water and steam boilers can be repaired in the field with minimal disruption. A leak can be permanently welded or the tubes re-rolled with little difficulty. It is impossible to permanently weld a cracked cast iron boiler section or a leaking copper fin-tube boiler. The firetubes are easily accessed through the top and through the firedoor.
Fast Water Circulation - Poor circulation of water within the typical cast iron boiler is very common due to their design limits, while TRIAD's steel hot water boilers provide for faster circulation.
Fisher Capital Management News: Commodity Markets 2010
The performance of the commodity markets remains very impressive. Speculative activity is a major factor, and supply shortages, often the result of adverse weather conditions, are also providing considerable support; but there is clearly a view amongst both traders and investors that the general level of prices is too low, and that they will move higher. Over the longer-term that view is likely to prove to be justified. Commodity markets have been extremely volatile over the past month, rising strongly in the early part of the period, but falling back sharply towards month-end concerns about the effects of the austerity measures being introduced in Europe, and indications of a continuing slowdown in China, have combined to increase fears but for most of the past month traders and investors apparently decided that the gloom was overdone; and commodity prices also benefited from some “safe haven” buying by investment funds.
Base metal prices are still ending the month higher overall, but below recent levels, with the further sharp rise in the tin price as the outstanding feature; and food prices have also moved higher, with the continuing surge in wheat prices as the outstanding feature of these markets, to provide further support for the view that the era of cheap food is coming to an end. The gold price has also improved, as investors have sought “safe havens in the present storm”; but oil prices have fallen back.
Base metal prices are closing higher again over the past month. Zinc and tin prices still ended sharply higher, but overall improvements elsewhere were fairly modest.
Chinese demand remains a critical factor in these markets. It is this demand that has been the main driving force over recent months, and that has pushed iron ore prices to record levels and enabled other metal prices to recover from the lows of the recent recession.
Soft commodity markets have provided a mixed performance over the past month, but prices are generally higher. The exceptions have been the cocoa price, which has continued to fall as weather conditions in the Ivory Coast have improved, crop estimates have been pushed higher, and the effects of the technical squeeze created by the decision by Armajaro, the London-based hedge fund, to take delivery of around 7% of the world’s annual cocoa bean production last month, have eased; and soya-bean prices are also basically unchanged over the month. But elsewhere there has been a sharp rise in Arabica coffee prices, and a further improvement in the sugar price.
However the main interest over the month has been in the wheat market, after the massive price gains, and also in other grain markets. The most significant events during the month were the decision by the Russian authorities to ban the export of wheat and other grains until year-end because of the drought that has devastated crops and caused widespread fires across the country; and to ask other neighbouring countries to take similar action.
It is not yet clear how they will respond; but the action has already created widespread concern.
Russia was the world’s third largest wheat exporter last year, sending 18.3 million tons abroad, and so the decision to ban exports for the rest of the year has had a dramatic effect on prices. Attempts have been made to limit the price gains, with the US Department of Agriculture in particular indicating that US stockpiles of wheat are close to 30 million tons and at a 23 year high, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation insisting that global stocks are more than adequate to cope with the shortfall, even if other neighbouring countries join the Russian ban.
But these countries were expected to supply around one quarter of total global wheat exports this year, and so the panic conditions in the markets have not been significantly eased. Evidence of significant purchases of US grain by China for the first time in a decade have also added to the concerns about the availability of global supplies, and made it even more difficult to assess the full consequences of the Russian decision; but it seems unlikely that the surge in the prices of wheat and other grains in over.
After rising sharply in late-July and early-August, oil prices have subsequently fallen back towards the $70 per barrel level. There have been warnings from the International Energy Agency that “the short- term global economic outlook is highly uncertain, presenting significant downside risks to future oil demand growth”; there has been a cautious view of future oil demand from OPEC; and also a report from the US Department of Energy that US stockpiles of crude oil and refined products have risen to their highest levels since weekly records began in 1990. Much will depend on future demand in the US and in China; but the fundamentals do not seem to point to an early and sustained improvement in prices unless there is a serious deterioration in political conditions in the Middle East.
The swing in sentiment towards a more cautious view of global economic prospects, and the renewed concerns about sovereign debt defaults in Europe, have provided further encouragement for investors to seek “safe havens” in the present uncertain situation, and this has led to a significant rally in the gold price over the past month.
The dollar has recovered well from weakness earlier in the month, and so the fear of dollar weakness has not been a factor pushing the gold price higher this month. The evidence that the sovereign debt crisis is far from being resolved, and the indications of increased Chinese buying of gold, have all helped to push the price higher. The latest strength may well lead to a further period of profit-taking; but given the present international situation, it would be unwise to assume that the improving trend in precious metal prices is over.
Fisher Capital Management Korea is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world. As a full service company Fisher Capital Management Korea provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none.
Base metal prices are still ending the month higher overall, but below recent levels, with the further sharp rise in the tin price as the outstanding feature; and food prices have also moved higher, with the continuing surge in wheat prices as the outstanding feature of these markets, to provide further support for the view that the era of cheap food is coming to an end. The gold price has also improved, as investors have sought “safe havens in the present storm”; but oil prices have fallen back.
Base metal prices are closing higher again over the past month. Zinc and tin prices still ended sharply higher, but overall improvements elsewhere were fairly modest.
Chinese demand remains a critical factor in these markets. It is this demand that has been the main driving force over recent months, and that has pushed iron ore prices to record levels and enabled other metal prices to recover from the lows of the recent recession.
Soft commodity markets have provided a mixed performance over the past month, but prices are generally higher. The exceptions have been the cocoa price, which has continued to fall as weather conditions in the Ivory Coast have improved, crop estimates have been pushed higher, and the effects of the technical squeeze created by the decision by Armajaro, the London-based hedge fund, to take delivery of around 7% of the world’s annual cocoa bean production last month, have eased; and soya-bean prices are also basically unchanged over the month. But elsewhere there has been a sharp rise in Arabica coffee prices, and a further improvement in the sugar price.
However the main interest over the month has been in the wheat market, after the massive price gains, and also in other grain markets. The most significant events during the month were the decision by the Russian authorities to ban the export of wheat and other grains until year-end because of the drought that has devastated crops and caused widespread fires across the country; and to ask other neighbouring countries to take similar action.
It is not yet clear how they will respond; but the action has already created widespread concern.
Russia was the world’s third largest wheat exporter last year, sending 18.3 million tons abroad, and so the decision to ban exports for the rest of the year has had a dramatic effect on prices. Attempts have been made to limit the price gains, with the US Department of Agriculture in particular indicating that US stockpiles of wheat are close to 30 million tons and at a 23 year high, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation insisting that global stocks are more than adequate to cope with the shortfall, even if other neighbouring countries join the Russian ban.
But these countries were expected to supply around one quarter of total global wheat exports this year, and so the panic conditions in the markets have not been significantly eased. Evidence of significant purchases of US grain by China for the first time in a decade have also added to the concerns about the availability of global supplies, and made it even more difficult to assess the full consequences of the Russian decision; but it seems unlikely that the surge in the prices of wheat and other grains in over.
After rising sharply in late-July and early-August, oil prices have subsequently fallen back towards the $70 per barrel level. There have been warnings from the International Energy Agency that “the short- term global economic outlook is highly uncertain, presenting significant downside risks to future oil demand growth”; there has been a cautious view of future oil demand from OPEC; and also a report from the US Department of Energy that US stockpiles of crude oil and refined products have risen to their highest levels since weekly records began in 1990. Much will depend on future demand in the US and in China; but the fundamentals do not seem to point to an early and sustained improvement in prices unless there is a serious deterioration in political conditions in the Middle East.
The swing in sentiment towards a more cautious view of global economic prospects, and the renewed concerns about sovereign debt defaults in Europe, have provided further encouragement for investors to seek “safe havens” in the present uncertain situation, and this has led to a significant rally in the gold price over the past month.
The dollar has recovered well from weakness earlier in the month, and so the fear of dollar weakness has not been a factor pushing the gold price higher this month. The evidence that the sovereign debt crisis is far from being resolved, and the indications of increased Chinese buying of gold, have all helped to push the price higher. The latest strength may well lead to a further period of profit-taking; but given the present international situation, it would be unwise to assume that the improving trend in precious metal prices is over.
Fisher Capital Management Korea is a leading global financial institution holding extensive relationships with financial institutions, institutional investors and corporations across the world. As a full service company Fisher Capital Management Korea provides a full range of investment banking services including advanced risk management, corporate strategy and structure, plus raising capital through debt and equity markets. With this as our backbone we continue to provide a client service second to none.
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