Author: Archive

Indian Post Offices May Sell Over-the-Counter Drugs

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs may soon be available in post offices across the country if an initiative by the drug makers and the government fructify. In a bid increase the access of essential drugs to consumers, pharma companies are in talks with the government to use post offices to sell OTC drugs.

The industry is also considering using the extensive marketing reach of global beverages giant PepsiCo in India for a similar initiative. “The government has around 1.5 lakh post offices across the country. We have been in talks with the government to use the network to sell OTC drugs and hope to start a pilot test within six months,” Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) president Ranjit Shahani told mediapersons on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit.

The initiative is taking time as drugs and post offices are with different ministries, and the proposal needs separate approval from both the departments. However, the pharma industry is planning to start a pilot test in some cities in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh soon. OTC drugs are medicines like contraceptives, essential cold and cough medicines, among others which consumers can buy without a doctor’s prescription.

Apart from being educated, postmen have good relationships with consumers and drugs manufactures can leverage this network which is now under-utilised, Mr Shahani added. Pharma companies are also exploring a arrangement with the PepsiCo to use the latter’s network to sell OTC drugs. “One can find Pepsi across the nook and corner of the country. We have put up a proposal to Pepsi Co to use their network in India. We have received a positive response.”

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Western Union Supports Disaster Relief Initiatives in Bangladesh

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

As a humanitarian gesture toward cyclone relief efforts in Bangladesh, Western Union is launching a “No Transfer Fee”(1) Pricing Action for any amount sent to Bangladesh from Italy, the United Kingdom, the U.S.A., Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.(2) The initiative will run from Nov. 27, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2007 in the U.S. and from Dec. 1, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2007 in the United Kingdom, Italy, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Remittances will be vital in offering emergency support on top of relief efforts by the Government of Bangladesh, UN agencies and various NGOs to the victims of Cyclone Sidr.

Moreover, The Western Union Foundation, a philanthropic organization to facilitate charitable giving programs worldwide, is donating USD 100,000 to UNICEF in its relief response in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, education, child protection and the provision of non-food items.

The Western Union Foundation also is encouraging employee donations through the Western Union Employee Gift Matching Program. The Western Union Foundation will match registered employee donations to UNICEF on a one-for-one basis, up to USD 25,000.

The Western Union Foundation grant is part of the Western Union Our World, Our Family program, a company initiative to empower migrant families through education and global economic opportunity programs that help them stay connected, overcome barriers, and realize their dreams.

(1) Although there is no transfer fee, Western Union will make money when it converts remittances to a foreign currency.

(2) The fee waiver will also be available for money transfers on westernunion.com originating in the USA and the UK.

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Junk mail spurs growth for top printer makers

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

Junk mail may at best sound like something to toss, but to companies like Xerox Corp., Ocè NV, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Eastman Kodak Co., the stuff smells like money.

Makers of high-production printers and systems have the direct-mail marketing industry in their sights, promoting the use of high-end digital printers with software tools to help advertisers personalize marketing content. Personalized marketing is advertising directed to an individual that’s sometimes based on past activity and elicits a response that can often be tracked.

Mailboxes across the country are filling up with personal messages from advertisers that can have intimate knowledge of a person’s insurance rates, car payments, favorite vacation spots or hobbies. Some even send coupons for favorite stores and products on a person’s birthday. Such personalized advertising typically generates significantly greater response than an advertisement meant for a general audience.

As such, it’s also the fastest-growing form of advertising off the Internet, and is projected to drive sales growth by 5.3 pct a year from between now and 2012, according to data provided by Direct Marketing Association, a trade group offering direct-marketing tools. By comparison, television ads are seen driving sales growth by 5pct , newspapers by 0.9pct , magazines by 3pct and radio by 3pct over the same period of time.

Altogether, the U.S. direct-mail printing business is a USD 62.2 billion market that’s expected to grow around 6pct, or 7 billion pages a year, data from marketing consultants Winterberry Group and Universal McCann show.

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Inside Freight: Takeaways from STB Hearings on Cost of Capital

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

STB HEARINGS. Yesterday, the STB held public hearings on the Board’s previously announced proposal to revise its calculation of the rail industry’s cost of capital (CoC). The hearings lasted 4 hours and included testimony from the U.S. Class I rails, the DOT and FRA, industry lawyers, lobbyists, and private investors.

BACKGROUND: In August, the STB proposed switching to a CAPM calculation for the cost of equity vs. the existing DCF methodology. For ’05, this would imply a 7.5% CoC vs. 12.2% using a DCF. This is important because a lower CoC implies a lower revenue adequacy threshold for the rails in STB rate cases. Using the current DCF method allows the railroads a higher CoC and thus higher rail rates. Switching to a CAPM and a lower CoC implies relatively lower future rail rates.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1) The hearings focused on the merits of CAPM vs. DCF or a combination of the two; (2) Speakers also debated the proposed inputs (specifically the market risk premium) and many argued for a higher cost of equity and implied CoC; (3) BNI and UNP noted a CoC in the low double-digits, while KSU argued for a higher company-specific CoC rather than being subject to the industry avg. of the Big 4 U.S. rails; and (4) The Board seems likely to review the merits of historic vs. replacement costs.

FINAL DECISION LIKELY SEVERAL MONTHS AWAY. Based on comments from the Board members yesterday, it seems like the STB may now favor a CoC based on a combination of the CAPM and DCF calculations. At the end of the day, we expect the STB to arrive at a CoC somewhere between the current DCF and the proposed CAPM numbers. We do not expect a final decision for several months.

REGULATORY NOISE LIKELY TO CONTINUE. While there were positive developments for the rails yesterday, we expect continued noise from the STB and Congress in ’08. Combined with ongoing macro concerns, our sense is the rail stocks could face continued pressure, and we would recommend buying the group on pullbacks.

INVESTMENT CONCLUSION: All things considered, yesterday’s STB hearings were likely more positive for the railroads than we anticipated. Based on the hearings we now expect some form of upward revisions to the final cost of capital adopted by the STB (likely somewhere between the current DCF and the proposed CAPM calculations highlighted in Exhibit 1). However, with likely changes to the original proposals, we believe a final STB decision is now likely several months away. As a point of reference, the STB issued its final decision on simplified rate case procedures this September, nearly nine months after holding public hearings on its proposals. Also coming out of yesterday, we now strongly believe the STB will examine historic versus replacement costs which would be a clear positive for the rails. However, the timing or potential ruling on this issue remains very uncertain given the difficulty in calculating a fair “replacement” value for a railroad.

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Central Telegraph plans retail network with post offices

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

Central Telegraph deploys Axerra products for PBX backhaul

Russian regional fixed-line services provider Central Telegraph is deploying Axerra’s Pseudo-Wire systems for PBX backhaul and point-to-point connections over a packet switched network. Axerra’s AXN Pseudo-Wire gateways and Access Devices enable Central Telegraph to provide backhaul of E1 services and use its infrastructure to support commercial services to small and medium-sized businesses. Axerra’s official distributor in Russia, RGRCom, accomplished the equipment supply.

Central Telegraph to raise RUB 390 mln this year

Russian regional fixed-line services provider Central Telegraph plans to raise RUB 390 million this year, Interfax reports citing a company statement. The funds will be used to refinance existing debt. The company further announced it will seek RUB 540 million in 2008.

Central Telegraph plans retail network with post offices

Russian regional operator Central Telegraph plans to set-up a major retail network in Moscow to promote its broadband internet access services, newspaper Kommersant reports. In early 2008, Central Telegraph plans to open retail outlets in 523 post offices in Moscow to sell broadband services of the company’s ISP Qwerty. With the move, the company hopes to double the number of sign-ups to 10,000 per month. Currently, Central Telegraph only has one sales office for its Qwerty services in Moscow while rival Stream has twelve sales outlets and Corbina Telecom has five sales points in the city.

Central Telegraph expects profits to drop this year

Russian regional operator Central Telegraph expects its net profit this year to drop 11.6 percent to RUB 160 million, AK&M reports. Last year the company posted profits of RUB 180.95 million. Revenues will go up by 30.6 percent to RUB 3.31 billion compared with RUB 2.54 billion while EBITDA is forecasted to come in at RUB 553 million.

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Postal Service reach agreement with Rural Letter Carriers Union (U.S.)

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

A three-member arbitration panel led by neutral Chairman Herbert Fishgold issued its award today, establishing the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement between the Postal Service and the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA). The award establishes a four-year contract (from Nov. 20, 2006 to Nov. 20, 2010), affecting approximately 68,000 career employees and 55,000 non-career employees who deliver mail to residences and businesses on rural delivery routes.

“We are pleased to have contracts in place with all four of our major unions, bringing the 2006 labor negotiation process to an end,” said Doug Tulino, Postal Service vice president, Labor Relations.

The Postal Service and the NRLCA reached a tentative four-year contract agreement in Dec. 2006, in collective bargaining negotiations, but the two parties entered the arbitration process after the union membership failed to ratify the agreement.

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Royal Mail online docket system (ePro) will be switched off

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

Please be aware that shortly the current Royal Mail online docket system (ePro) will be switched off. If you have an ePro account and have not done so already you should contact Royal Mail and ask them to set up your company on the new OBA system, then add MCM Direct Ltd as an approved user (our posting location number is 9000216307). Royal Mail’s telephone number is 08457 950 950.

For those of you who currently hold docket books I would suggest that you set up an OBA account as above as I believe that the docket book system will be phased out in the future. There is also a benefit in that you no longer need to keep and manage the books.

Kind Regards

Martin Collier

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La Redoute Remains an Austrian Post Customer for Another Three Years

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

La Redoute and Austrian Post have signed an exclusive cooperation agreement for the next three years, in the period between 2008 and 2010. Consequently, La Redoute will continue to rely on the strengths and quality of Austrian Post in the future, entrusting Austrian Post with the delivery of about 1.5 million parcels annually.

“One thing is important for La Redoute and its customers, namely quick and reliable delivery. That is a service Austrian Post provides us with”, says Christine Halbrainer, CFO Finance & Deputy Manager of La Redoute Austria.

“In the upcoming years, our services and new innovations will once again provide convincing proof to La Redoute. A successful, long-term partnership is being continued”, says Anton Wais, Chairman of the Management Board of Austrian Post.

La Redoute Austria
La Redoute Austria based in Salzburg is the domestic subsidiary of the French mail order company REDCATS. With 100 employees, La Redoute provides its more than 300,000 customers with the latest fashion trends originating in Paris.

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