Monday, August 27, 2012
Canada stays with Triple AAA rating
BUSINESS
Sovereign Credit Rating: Canada To Be Among Tiny Elite To Keep AAA Status, Citibank Says
The Huffington Post Canada
As debt crises and an aging population put pressure on government spending around the world, Canada will be part of a small, elite group of countries to retain a top-notch credit rating, says a new report from Citibank.
“Canada and the Scandinavian countries are the only countries covered in our Sovereign Ratings Outlook that we believe rating agencies will maintain a ‘AAA Stable’ status both in the near- and longer-term,” a group of Citibank economists wrote last week in a client note obtained by The Huffington Post Canada.
Of the 19 developed economies the survey looked at, only Canada, Sweden, Denmark and Norway and Switzerland -- not a Scandinavian country -- are projected to have a stable AAA rating three years from now, the survey predicted. ("AAA" is the highest credit rating possible, and denotes the lowest possible risk.
Even Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, is projected to be downgraded to an Aa1 rating.
“Over the longer-term, given Citi’s global economic projections and fundamentally weak backdrop, we continue to expect downwards rating pressure,” the report stated.
The U.S. famously lost its AAA credit rating last summer, amidst an impasse in Congress over raising the federal government’s debt ceiling. Ultimately, Congressional leaders reached a deal, but not before damaging confidence in the U.S.’s ability to address its debt problems.
The U.S.’s national debt as of earlier this year stood at 80 per cent of GDP; Canada’s public debt stood at 69 per cent. That compares to 165 per cent for debt-ridden Greece, and 111 per cent for Italy, which is also facing a debt crisis. Greece's debt has been downgraded to CCC -- the fifth-lowest rating possible.
After running surpluses for about a decade, Canada slipped back into deficit spending with the economic crisis that began in 2008, running a deficit of $55.6 billion in 2009-2010. The size of the deficit has been shrinking since then, and has been projected to come in as low as $20 billion for 2012. The federal government projects a return to surpluses by mid-decade.
The Citibank report projects Canada’s economy will grow by about two per cent this year and in 2013, with a slight pick-up in 2014. But it warns that “externally focused downside risks and lingering uncertainties” will keep the Bank of Canada from raising interest rates any time soon.
“However, underlying domestic strength, a fully functioning financial system, balanced risks, and ongoing concern about household debt accumulation amid low interest rates should prompt the bank to retain its slightly hawkish policy tack."
Bob Mansfield stays on at Apple, with mysterious new title
Apple promotes 2 executives, convinces retiring SVP Bob Mansfield to stay on
By Erica Ogg
Aug. 27, 2012, 1:49pm PT
So, about that press release Apple sent in June that SVP of Hardware Engineering Bob Mansfield would be retiring from the company this year? Uh, scratch that. He’s staying on at the company, Apple announced Monday afternoon.
In addition, Apple CEO Tim Cook has promoted two new executives to the top tier of Apple’s leadership team: Craig Federighi, who will be SVP of Mac Software Engineering and Dan Riccio, who will be SVP of Hardware Engineering.
Mansfield’s new title wasn’t given, but the company said in a press release that he will stay on at Apple to “work on future products” and he will still report to Cook.
More to come.
By Erica Ogg
Aug. 27, 2012, 1:49pm PT
So, about that press release Apple sent in June that SVP of Hardware Engineering Bob Mansfield would be retiring from the company this year? Uh, scratch that. He’s staying on at the company, Apple announced Monday afternoon.
In addition, Apple CEO Tim Cook has promoted two new executives to the top tier of Apple’s leadership team: Craig Federighi, who will be SVP of Mac Software Engineering and Dan Riccio, who will be SVP of Hardware Engineering.
Mansfield’s new title wasn’t given, but the company said in a press release that he will stay on at Apple to “work on future products” and he will still report to Cook.
More to come.
The eight Samsung phones Apple wants banned
These are the 8 Samsung devices Apple wants to ban in the US
Published on August 27th, 2012
Written by: Cody Lee
Last week, a jury found several of Samsung’s devices to be guilty of infringement on Apple’s patents. The damages awarded thus far total around $1 billion dollars, but Apple is seeking much more than that.
The Cupertino company has filed a notice with the court today identifying which of Samsung’s infringing products that it would like banned from US sales, including several Galaxy S and SII models…
The Verge reports:
“Despite having received a finding of infringement from the jury on most of the products in play in case, it looks like Apple is only going after eight. This isn’t terribly surprising given the fact that many of the products in the case are no longer available in the US. The eight Samsung products are:
Galaxy S 4G
Galaxy S2 (AT&T)
Galaxy S2 (Skyrocket)
Galaxy S2 (T-Mobile)
Galaxy S2 Epic 4G
Galaxy S Showcase
Droid Charge
Galaxy Prevail
Apple’s filing specifically lays out the devices and the patents each was found to infringe according to the jury.”
Even these devices are getting hard to find in the US these days. For instance, the Droid Charge is available at Verizon for free with-contract, but many locations don’t even have them on hand.
That being said, some of these handsets are just now reaching MVNO and prepaid networks. So Samsung would still see some kind of impact in sales if Apple were to win sales bans on the devices above.
But despite its recent victory, Apple is still going to have to prove to the court that it will be “irreparably harmed” if these products continue to remain on sale in the US. While this will likely be easier with last week’s ruling, it’s by no means a slam dunk.
The Apple-Samsung injunction hearing is set for September 20th. Stay tuned.
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