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BIIA HEADLINE NEWS
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BIIA IS AN ASSOCIATION FOR INFORMATION COMPANIES AND PROFESSIONALS IN ASIA PACIFIC - MIDDLE EAST
BIIA ALSO SERVES INFORMATION COMPANIES AND PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE LOCATED ELSEWHERE AND WHO HAVE A KEEN INTEREST IN ASIA.
ADDITIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS ITEMS ARE AVAILABLE ON: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
THE FEBRUARY 2010 ISSUE OF THE BIIA NEWSLETTER IS POSTED ON: http://www.biia.com/memberNewsPW.php
BIIA is a leading Network of information companies and information professionals. An annual subscription to the BIIA newsletter is available for US$ 950.00 per annum. To subscribe contact biiainfo@biia.com
To participate in important industry advocacy matters, industry professionals and their companies should join BIIA as a full member:
http://www.biia.com/library.php#199
SAP CHIEF GETS 'SAPPED'
SAP, the leading German software firm announced that Leo Apotheker, chief executive, resigned in a management shake-up on Sunday evening February 7th.
The company said Mr Apotheker would be replaced with Bill McDermott, head of field organization, and Jim Hagemann Snabe, head of product development, in a joint-CEO structure. However such a joint management structure was abondoned by SAP not too long ago.
Source: Financial Times and BusinessWeek
GERMANY REWARDS DATA THIEF
THERE IS HONOR AMONGST THIEVES, BUT NONE IN GOVERNMENT. Germany usually tries to be the paragon of virtue when it comes to protecting privacy, however it practices double standards when it comes to rewarding thieves for stealing sensitive bank data.
According to a story published by the FT, the German government took a decisive step towards catching hundreds of potential tax-dodgers by purchasing private records stolen from a bank in Switzerland. It is being said that the UK, Austria, Dutch and Belgian Governments want also in on the deal.
This no doubt will open a renewed spat with Switzerland. Comments from Switzerland are already heating up with calls for suspending negotiation on a double taxation agreement. Based on what is being said Germany's cooperation with thieves is not going down well in Switzerland. Neither will it be received well in Asia.
Some time a ago the German Finance Ministry paid a thief Euro six million for stolen bank data from the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Source: Press Coverage
D&B TO INVEST IN TECHNOLOGY
D&B announced a two-year strategic technology investment program aimed at strengthening its leading position in commercial data and improving its current technology platform to meet the emerging needs of customers. D&B plans to invest US$110 to US$ 130 million to reengineer its data supply chain, improve data quality and enhance product innovation.
The company also announced its full year results for 2009. Full Year Core Revenue was up 1% before the effect of FX; (Down 1% After FX). Continued economic weakness negatively impacted performance of North American Services, while international markets (mainly Asia) grew at 23 percent from the prior year period before the effect of FX (up 13 percent after FX).
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
R.H. DONNELLEY EMERGES FROM CHAPTER 11 - CHANGES NAME TO DEX ONE CORPORATION
R.H. Donnelley announced it has successfully emerged from its Chapter 11 restructuring as Dex One Corporation and will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under the ticker "DEXO," with 50 million shares outstanding.
The company eliminated more than $6 billion in debt and approximately $500 million in annual interest expense.
Source: DEX ONE Corporation
EQUIFAX FULL YEAR 2009 REVENUES DOWN BY 6%
Fourth quarter revenue was $464.3 million, up 3 percent from the third quarter of 2009 and 4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008; three business units delivered double-digit revenue growth from fourth quarter of 2008.
Full year 2009 revenue was $1.82 billion compared to $1.94 billion in 2008, down 6%. Equifax expects consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2010 to be up in the low single digit range from the year-ago quarter.
Source: Equifax Press Release
CHINA AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY CLIMATE SHOWS SIGNS OF HEATING UP
The China Economic Monitoring Center of the China National Bureau of Statistics and Sinotrust jointly release the "2009 Q4 China Automotive Industry Climate Index."
Accordingly the Comprehensive China Automotive Industry Climate Index registers 102.0 points. The Pre-warning Index of China Automotive Industry records 116.7 points. The Entrepreneur Expectation Index of China Automotive Industry registers 127.0 points and the Dealer Manager Index of China Automotive Industry registers 114.4 points
To read the full release click on the link: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
FICO'S BOOKINGS FOR FIRST QUARTER ARE UP 14%
FICO announced financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2009. Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 totaled $17.7 million, or $0.37 per share. This compares with prior-year period net income of $12.1 million, or $0.25 per share, a figure that was reduced by $0.12 per share due to restructuring costs. First quarter fiscal 2010 revenue was $151.5 million in fiscal 2010 versus $163.5 million reported in the prior year period. The company stated that bookings for first quarter of $60 million were up 14 percent from prior year
Source: FICO Press Release
S&P RETURNS TO GROWTH IN FOURTH QUARTER OF 2009
Continued recovery in the corporate new issue market here and overseas at Standard & Poor's (S&P) Credit Market Services and an upswing in higher education, professional and international markets enabled us to finish 2009 positively and set the stage for more growth in 2010," said Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and chief executive officer of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
Revenues for S&P climbed by 10.6% to $689.2 million in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year. Including a $26.2 million increase in incentive compensation, operating profit in the fourth quarter grew by 14.6% to $250.0 million compared to $218.1 million last year, which reflected a pre-tax restructuring charge of $6.6 million. Foreign exchange rates benefited revenue by $16.5 million, but negatively impacted operating profit by $8.1 million.
For full year 2009, revenue for S&P declined by 1.7% to $2.6 billion. Including a $46.6 million increase in incentive compensation, a $13.8 million loss on the divestiture of Vista Research and a net benefit of $0.4 million from restructuring actions, operating profit declined by 5.3% to $1.0 billion versus $1.1 billion in 2008, which reflected $25.9 million in restructuring charges. Foreign exchange rates negatively impacted revenue by $43.4 million and reduced operating profit by $15.4 million.
Source: McGraw-Hill Companies Press Release
INFORMATION IMPERIALISM
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton cited China as among a number of countries where there has been "a spike in threats to the free flow of information" over the past year. She also named Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.
China rejected immediately the call of U.S. Secretary of State Clinton for the lifting of restrictions on the Internet in the China, denouncing her criticism as false and damaging to bilateral ties. A state-run newspaper labeled the appeal from Washington as "information imperialism."
Internet control is considered a crucial matter of state security in China, and China is not expected to offer any concessions to the U.S. Beijing promotes Internet use for commerce, but heavily censors content it deems pornographic, anti-social or politically subversive.
Source: Associated Press
GOOGLE INTENDS TO STAY IN CHINA
Google's signaled on Thursday Jan 21st that it would want to stay in China even facing the consequences of shutting down its local search service. Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt stated in an interview with the FT that Google had lots of other business opportunities in China.
Source: Financial Times
WHITE HOUSE'S GOOGLE
What was described last week as a commercial affair has all the hallmarks of becoming a political spat.
To deal with the Google threat to withdraw from China, the Chinese government appeared to be treating the issue strictly as a commercial affair. Perhaps someone may have concluded that this strategy is not working. In describing the affair as "White House's Google" China has signaled a change in approach with the state media suggesting that this was a conspiracy by the US government to prop up world opinion against China. This is a regrettable development and only one can hope that cooler heads will prevail.
Unfortunately it was Google that started the spat by making a political statement by threatening to leave the country. It would have been better to stick it out, abide by local laws, use local partners and listen to Chinese users. In the long run market forces usually determine the outcome.
Source: China Youth Daily / Global Times; for further commentary click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
CHINA SOCIAL CREDIT SYSTEM 1999 - 2009
A 10 YEAR ACHIEVEMENT IN SOCIAL CREDIT SYSTEM CONSTRUCTION IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
The social credit system, serving as a framework on which the government, enterprise and consumer credit systems are built, is a fundamental tool of putting in order the chronic chaos in the economic operation as well as a safety guarantee for the introduction of credit transaction and credit instruments in the market.
Since it first put forward the concept of social credit system and its design framework in 1999, in the past ten years China has carved out a new path of constructing an effective credit reporting system through which China obtained lots of applicable experience and avoided certain unsuccessful steps experienced by some developing countries and has made a significant progress.
To read the full 'White Paper' of the author Lin Junyue, click on the link: http://www.biia.com/library.php#306
AUSTRALIAN RISK CLIMATE: PAYMENT DELAYS ON THE RISE
Australian firms face the prospect of renewed cash flow pressures in the months ahead, according to the latest business-to-business trade payments figures released today by credit reporting agency Dun & Bradstreet Australia.
To read the full story go to the link: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
GOOGLE'S CHINA PROBLEMS BOOST BAIDU'S MARKET VALUE
The big winner in a Google withdrawal from China will be BAIDU who is expected to absorb Google's market share. Shares in BAIDU rose 5.6% to US$464.23. The stock closed up 12% on January 13th.
It is said that Baidu became successful by responding to local tastes and willingly co-operating with government censorship efforts to clean up the Internet. It has built a commanding lead in market share of the search engine market after government filters slowed access to Google's US-based site. It has held on to that advantage by representing itself as the canny local service outsmarting foreigners.
Google's threat to quit the Chinese search engine market is a typical reaction of US companies if they cannot make it in a foreign market. Instead Google should hold out, stick to its principals, use more local partners and listen to Chinese users. In the long run it will prevail, because market forces will determine the outcome.
Source: Press commentaries
BAIDU SETS UP COMPANY TO PROVIDE LICENSED ONLINE VIDEO
Baidu, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU), the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, today announced its plan to establish a new independent company to provide licensed online video to Chinese Internet users.
Source: BAIDU – click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
GARTNER ACQUIRES BURTON GROUP
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT), the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry, announced that, on December 30, 2009, it acquired Burton Group, Inc. for approximately $56 million in cash.
Burton Group is a leading research and advisory services firm that focuses on providing practical, technically in-depth advice to front-line IT professionals.
Source: Gartner Press Release and BIIA: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
EXPERIAN ACQUIRES A-CARE SYSTEMS, INC IN JAPAN
6 January, 2010 Tokyo, Japan – Experian announces that it has purchased an 88.5% stake in A-are Systems, Inc., a leading email marketing company in Japan. A-Care Systems, Inc. will form part of Experian CheetahMail, the company's permission-based email marketing and customer intelligence services.
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
AUSTRALIAN RISK CLIMATE: CONFIDENCE IN ECONOMIC OUTLOOK GROWS, BUT CREDIT MARKET CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO DECLINE
While businesses starting to restock, the impact of credit market conditions on Australian businesses is continuing to decline. Thirty one percent of firms indicated that credit market conditions are detrimentally impacting operations (a decrease of six percent in a month) while seven percent report a positive impact (down four percent since last month).
Source: Dun & Bradstreet Australia. To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
BIIA INFORMS USERS OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE CREDIT CLIMATE IN MAJOR MARKETS
For details go to: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
BIIA ISSUES WHITE PAPER ON COMMERCIAL CREDIT REPORTING STANDARDS
The White Paper accentuates the differences between commercial credit reporting and consumer credit reporting and why these services deserve different legal frameworks.
Commercial credit reporting standards have been developed over decades in response to technological developments and market requirements to assess commercial trade credit, bank loans and trade finance. Continuous improvements in information quality as well as the development of new and better products manifest the vitality of the companies that compete in the commercial credit reporting industry.
The document was prepared by the regulatory committee of BIIA in response to the desire of regulators to strengthen legal frameworks on credit information due to the global credit crisis.
To access the White Paper click on the link: http://www.biia.com/library.php#304
INFORMATION INDUSTRY TAKES A HIT IN 2009 - NO SEGMENT IMMUNE TO RECESSION SAYS OUTSELL INC.
The 2009 unprecedented economic recession will leave a great scar on the information industry.
At year end, Outsell is predicting that the information industry will have shed 8.0% of its total revenue, dropping from $399 billion to $367 billion at the end of 2009. In this market climate, many rules, metrics, and gauges for determining success have to be altered from our earlier perceptions.
Source: Outsell Inc. a member of BIIA: http://www.biia.com/press.php
AUSTRALIAN RISK CLIMATE: CREDIT CONDITIONS STILL NEGATIVE
According to the latest D&B Australia National Business Expectations Survey Forty one percent of executives are being negatively impacted by lagging business to business payment terms, a three percent fall since last month
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
Source: D&B Australia - http://bww.dnb.com.au/ -
D&B Australia is a BIIA Member
GOOGLE TO TARGET SMEs IN HONG KONG
GOOGLE launches a HK$100 million investment plan targeting SMEs The service is designed to help SMEs to upgrade their websites, select search keywords, track web traffic and analyse consumer behaviour.
To read more click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
ASIA HAS FASTEST GROWING ONLINE POPULATION
ASIA'S INTERNET USERS ARE 484 MILLION ACCOUNTING FOR 41% OF 1.2 BILLION INTERNET USERS WORLDWIDE.
Source: Marketing-Interactive
http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
EQUIFAX LAUNCHES BUSINESS CREDIT MONITORING(TM)
Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX)announced the launch of a new solution that gives companies increased control over the risk management of business customers as well as suppliers. Business Credit Monitoring(TM) provides companies with early warning alerts when business customers or vendors may be facing financial challenges. With this solution, businesses can improve their risk assessment processes and reduce losses by identifying customers and suppliers before they become delinquent on financial obligations and impact profitability.
Business Credit Monitoring is the latest addition to Equifax's comprehensive suite of portfolio management solutions. From account monitoring to benchmarking, Equifax solutions help businesses track industry and portfolio trends, identify areas of risk and market opportunity and modify strategies based on a deeper understanding of commercial accounts and their financial status. For further details click on the link: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
Source: Equifax – A Member of BIIA
GARTNER ACQUIRES AMR RESEARCH
Gartner announced it is acquiring AMR Research for approximately $64 million in cash, an approximate 1.6 times revenue. AMR has been best known for its
supply chain research and has been in the Outsell IT Research top 10 at an approximate $40 million in 2009 revenue.
Source: Outsell Inc.
MURDOCH THREATENS GOOGLE AND GOOGLE BACKS OFF
Rupert Murdoch threatened to delist News Corp's content from Google and move it to Microsoft's rival search engine BING.
Google appears to have blinked first and backed down. Effective immediately Google's internet users will no longer get unlimited access to news websites that require a subscription if accessed directly. Publishers, which have already implemented paid subscription models, have the option to limit free access to a few stories per day and redirect the user to a subscription page. Google's accommodation to publishers is a step in the right direction.
Source: Press Reports
EXPERIAN TAKES MARKET SHARE FROM COMPETITORS; STOCK OUTPERFORMS FTSE100
For the first half of 2009 Experian reports organic growth with revenues up 1% on constant exchange rates (-6% after effect of foreign exchange).
Management stated that based on the performances of its publicly traded competitors in the USA, such as Equifax, Fair Isaac, Acxiom and D&B, one can see that the performance between Experian and its competitors has diverged. Much of the market share gain was in credit information services and analytics. In Brazil, Experian's subsidiary Serasa has taken share from two local competitors.
Experian has made strides in reducing its dependency on the financial services sector from 60% down to 41%. It is banking on organic growth by taking its expertise into new market verticals and into geographic markets.
Source: Experian Earnings Release
CREDIT SHOCK DUBAI: DUBAI WORLD DEFAULTS
Dubai World, is asking creditors for a standstill on its US$ 60 bn debt, which is technically a default. The entire portfolio of Dubai World is affected: Dubai Port World, the investment vehicle Istithmar and the property developer Nakheel.
Source: Financial Times and Breakingviews
INFOGROUP'S BUSINESS DATA NOW POWERS PLANET DISCOVER DIRECTORY AND EVENT SOFTWARE FOR MEDIA COMPANIES
infoGROUP: (NASDAQ: IUSA), a provider of proprietary business databases to the local search, navigation and directory service industries today announced that Planet Discover has licensed the entire U.S. Business Database of 14 million records for its search-based directory and event system software deployed on media company websites.
For further news go to: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
2009 Q3 CHINA AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY CLIMATE INDEX RELEASED
Beijing, October 28, 2009 - The China Economic Monitoring Center of the China National Bureau of Statistics and Sinotrust International Information & Consulting (Beijing) Co., Ltd. jointly release the "2009 Q3 China Automotive Industry Climate Index".
To read the full release click on the link: http://www.biia.com/press.php
CREDIT INFORMATION REVENUES STILL ON THE SLIDE
In late 2007 BIIA wrote: "The growth party is over!"
As the credit crunch entered its third year, analysts and shareholders were waiting with baited breath whether the downward slide would continue.
According to the latest Q3 results it has!
To read more click on the link:http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
D&B ANNOUNCES SUCCESSION PLAN
SHORT HILLS, N.J., Nov 12, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- D&B (NYSE: DNB), announced that chairman and chief executive officer Steven W. Alesio will retire from the company, effective June 30, 2010. Alesio will be succeeded by Sara Mathew. Mathew has been with D&B since 2001, and has been its president & chief operating officer since 2007.
This planned succession will take place with Mathew assuming CEO responsibilities and maintaining her president title, effective January 1, 2010. Alesio will continue as chairman of the board until June 30, 2010, at which point Mathew will then become chair of the board, effective July 1, 2010.
The company said it has no immediate plans to fill the chief operating officer position, however announced additional top level appointments. Byron C. Vielehr is appointed President, Global Risk & Analytics (RMS). James H. Delaney is appointed President, Global Sales & Marketing Solutions (S&MS). Charles E. Gottdiener is appointed, President, Corporate Development & Chief Strategy Officer
Source: D&B Press Release
CREDIT & FINANCIAL INFORMATION MARKET TO GROW TO US$44.9BN BY 2012
OUTSELL, INC., a BIIA Founder Member, has just issued its report on the global Credit & Financial Information (C&F) market. The C&F market size in 2008 was $42.1 billion and is forecasted to grow to $44.9 billion by 2012, a four-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.6%. The first two years of the forecast period, 2009 and 2010, will be particularly difficult for the segment, with revenues declining in 2009 and only making a very modest recovery in 2010.
To read more click on the link: http://www.biia.com/press.php
AUSTRALIAN RISK CLIMATE: CAPITAL INVESTMENT EXPECTATIONS ARE UP - CREDIT MARKET CONDITIONS STILL CAUSE OF CONCERN
Australian firms are expecting a positive start to the New Year with improved expectations for sales, profits, capital investment and inventory levels as broader signs of a strengthening economic recovery take hold. However, employment expectations have deteriorated slightly as firms deal with rising wages costs and interest rate rises. Credit market conditions are still of concrn.
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
IMS TO BE ACQUIRED BY TPG AND CPP INVESTMENT BOARD FOR US$ 5.2 bn
IMS Health Inc., which is the world’s leading provider of market intelligence and market research to the pharmaceutical and health-care industries, has agreed to be acquired for $5.2 billion, including the assumption of debt.
The agreement calls for IMS shareholders to receive about $4 billion - $22 cash for each share of IMS common stock - a 31 percent premium over Wednesday's close. Yesterday, shares closed up $3.92, or 23.32 percent, to $20.73. The acquirers are private-equity firm TPG Capital and the investment board of the Canada Pension Plan.
Source: To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
PROPOSED REGULATION OF CREDIT INFORMATION IN CHINA RAISES EYEBROWS IN THE TRADE CREDIT COMMUNITY
EXPERTS ANTICIPATE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON TRADE CREDIT DEVELOPMENT; LACK OF AVAILABILITY OF CREDIT INFORMATION WITH A COMMENSURATE INCREASE IN CREDIT RISK.
Surprisingly the users of credit information appear to close ranks with suppliers of credit information concerning the potential negative effect of the proposed legislation on China's social credit system. Not only did the information industry submit their comments, but members of the trade credit community did so on their own.
Regulating commercial credit information would be unprecedented, because it is not regulated across the globe. Since trade credit and credit information in essence are intertwined, the proposed regulations would be a de facto regulation of trade credit in China.
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
To see a summary of the regulatory framework in key countries click on the link: http://www.biia.com/library.php#273
EQUIFAX ACQUIRES RAPID REPORTING
COMBINATION WILL INCREASE CREDIT TRANSPARENCY, IMPROVE FRAUD MANAGEMENT
Equifax Inc., (NYSE: EFX) , announced it has acquired Rapid Reporting Verification Company, a privately-held national provider of IRS tax transcript information and social security number authentication services. The addition of Rapid Reporting will enhance Equifax's ability to provide lenders with improved products, quality and services to help them better control fraud. Equifax will pay $72.5 million in cash for the company.
On October 21st Equifax announced the acquisition of IXI Corporation. Equifax stated: "The wealth and asset data, which IXI owns, significantly broadens and deepens the insight about consumers' capacity, ability and propensity to spend or to pay on their obligations. This unique consumer wealth data substantially enhances Equifax's strategy of providing differentiated data, best-in-class analytics, and technology for its customers' decisioning needs."
Both acquisitions signal Equifax's determination to aggressively pursue opportunities of adding unique capabilities to its diverse product and services portfolio.
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
EQUIFAX IS A MEMBER OF BIIA
BAIDU: Q3 REVENUES INCREASE NEARLY 40%
The leading Chinese language Internet search provider, BAIDU, has announced its results for the quarter ended 30th September. Revenues grew to US$187.3 million, an increase of 39% compared with the same quarter in 2008. The company's operating profit was US$76.4 million, a 42% increase over the same period last year.
Source: Baidu Press Release or click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
WAND DataFocus JOINS ORACLE PartnerNetwork
WAND, Inc., today announced the immediate availability of its DataFocus solution for Oracle Secure Enterprise Search. Now also a member of the Oracle PartnerNetwork, WAND will provide a turnkey taxonomy management, authoring and rules creation application that integrates with Oracle Secure Enterprise Search.
WAND will also provide foundation taxonomies covering enterprise and industry specific domains that address virtually every major product and service industry.
The industry leading taxonomies are translated to 13 languages enabling indexing of documents in multiple languages to a common concept. Installation and integration of the solution can be accomplished in as little as five days.
To read the full story go to: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
D&B LAUNCHES DNBI PREMIUM, AN UPGRADE FOR DNBI CUSTOMERS
To assist customers to better manage risk in the current challenging economic climate D&B announced the launch of DNBi Premium. This version of DNBi is a significant enhancement over the existing application and will be available to the majority of its existing DNBi customers as an upgrade starting in November.
The enhancements will include: Detailed Trade Risk Insight(TM) - provides a direct view into a company's recent payment behavior at a new level of detail to help quickly identify risks and opportunities within a customer portfolio.
DNBi Live Reports - offers a new and improved credit report that serves as a central source for financial information, relevant third party information and company news for a more comprehensive view of accounts.
Credit Network(TM) - allows credit professionals to obtain help from the largest footprint of credit professionals online, all connected through DNBi. They can also request and share trade experiences for greater insights.
DNBi Premium also includes the enhanced Financial Stress Score 7.1, which provides a predictive boost over the previous scoring capability and features an updated risk class scale to make the scoring tool more intuitive to use.
DNBi is the premier platform for commercial risk management solutions leveraging D&B's leading-edge analytical tools from its global database of more than 150 million businesses. DNBi Premium is part of D&B's ongoing commitment to meet evolving customer demand for better information and insights in these challenging economic times.
Source: D&B News Release
McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES FORECAST FURTHER DECLINE IN REVENUES FOR 2009
For the nine months ending September 30th, 2009, total revenues declined by 9.1%. Operating income was down by 14.8%.
Revenues in Education services declined by 12.4%; S&P's revenues declined 5.4% and Information and Media services declined by 9.7%.
Due to continuing weak market conditions in education and advertising, management expects total revenues for 2009 to decline by 7% versus a previously forecasted 5.5%.
Source: Company Press Release
KROLL INTENDS TO ENTER CREDIT RATING
Jules Kroll, who sold his investigative information business to Marsh & McLennan for US 1.9 billion several years ago, is back at the helm of an initiative to enter the credit rating industry. He is also on to a second initiative 'K2 Global Partners', which will perform intelligence work for corporations and other clients.
Mr. Kroll is not the only one who feels that the current general disenchantment with the ratings industry presents itself as a new opportunity. Jerome Cazes, Director General of Coface has also thrown his hat in the ring announcing the creation of a global credit rating agency earlier this year.
Perhaps the efforts of Mr. Kroll and Mr. Cazes will accelerate the undergoing change in the current rating culture.
Source: Financial Times and New York Times
EXPERIAN SETTLEMENT WITH LIFELOCK PROVIDES EXPERIAN WHAT IT SOUGHT IN LITIGATION
Experian has agreed to a settlement of its litigation with LifeLock. In 2008, Experian filed suit based on allegations that LifeLock's activities in placing fraud alerts for consumers violated certain provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Though some of the terms of the settlement are confidential, Experian is pleased with the result of the settlement, including a permanent injunction to be entered by the court under which LifeLock will be "permanently restrained and enjoined from directly or indirectly causing any request that a fraud alert be included in the file of a consumer to be submitted to any consumer reporting agency."
Source: http://press.experian.com/documents/showdoc.cfm?doc=3657
EXPERIAN SCOOPS RAFT OF AWARDS AND WINS TOP ACCOLADE AT 2009 DATA STRATEGY AWARDS
Experian has collected four awards, including the coveted Grand Prix Award, at the industry leading Data Strategy Awards 2009 on Thursday 22 October.
The awards were granted to: Experian's public sector division and its client, The British Lung Foundation, collected Data Strategy Magazine's highly prized Grand Prix Award for the Best use of Data in all Categories. Experian Integrated Marketing (EIM) scooped the Data Provider of the Year award for its continued innovation with data. EIM also won the Best Practice in Data Management award for its work with long-term client BSkyB and the Sky Touchpoint Walklist Application.
Congratulations from BIIA
Source: http://press.experian.com/documents/showdoc.cfm?doc=3660
EQUIFAX ACQUIRES IXI CORPORATION
Equifax announced an agreement on an important strategic acquisition, IXI Corporation. The wealth and asset data, which IXI owns, significantly broadens and deepens the insight about consumers' capacity, ability and propensity to spend or to pay on their obligations. This unique consumer wealth data substantially enhances Equifax's strategy of providing differentiated data, best-in-class analytics, and technology for its customers’ decisioning needs.
Equifax Inc. also announced its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. The company reported revenue of $451.9 million in the third quarter of 2009, a 7 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2008, of which 3 percent was due to the unfavorable effect of foreign exchange rates.
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/memberNewsPW.php
POTENTIAL IMPACT OF CHINA CREDIT INFORMATION REGULATION ON TRADE CREDIT
EXPERTS ANTICIPATE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON TRADE CREDIT DEVELOPMENT; LACK OF AVAILABILITY OF CREDIT INFORMATION WITH A COMMENSURATE INCREASE IN CREDIT RISK
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
AUSTRALIA OPTS FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY
The Australian government has announced it will soon be introducing new bills permitting positive payment and other data to be included in consumer credit reports. Currently, credit files are more of a black list, with only late payments, defaults, and other negatives reported.
Australia will be joining the ranks of many countries which permit the use of positive and negative data in consumer risk assessment. The Australian credit information industry, supported by PERC (http://www.perc.net), has worked hard in convincing the regulators that in the end the consumer will be benefiting from improved credit information services.
Source: Industry press releases & PERC
To read the full story go to: http://www.biia.com/press.php
CHINA INTENDS TO REGULATE CREDIT INFORMATION
The Chinese Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council has issued a consultation paper on October 12th outlining the basis of proposed legislation on credit agencies.
The consultation paper has set out regulations on credit agencies, defined as consumer and commercial credit information plus rating agencies, which need to be licensed prior to becoming operational. To obtain a license a company, its management and directors need to have the necessary qualifications to operate a credit agency. Setting up a credit agency will require a paid up capital of RM5 million minimum, credit agencies that operate a credit report business will require RMB50 million minimum.
With the exception of China Credit Reference Center (LY: PBC), credit agencies are required to get consent from subject individual in collecting and using the information on individual, and to get consent from the subject company when the information is supplied to third party.
Source: http://www.chinalaw.gov.cn
BIIA members can access the text of the proposed legislation at: http://www.biia.com/memberNewsPW.php or contact: biiainfo@biia.com
BIIA INVITES COMMENTS FROM ITS MEMBERS, THE INFORMATION INDUSTRY AND THE CREDIT MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY
THOMSON REUTERS MAKES OFFER TO ACQUIRE BREAKINGVIEWS
NEW YORK (October 14, 2009) - Thomson Reuters today confirms that it is has made a formal offer to acquire a leading global financial insight commentary business, Breakingviews. This offer, for an undisclosed sum, has been accepted by Breakingviews' directors, who are unanimously recommending the offer to their shareholders. The transaction is expected to complete within eight weeks.
To read the full press release click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
Breakingviews is a member of BIIA
MCGRAW-HILL TO SELL BUSINESSWEEK TO BLOOMBERG
NEW YORK, Oct. 13 The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) today announced it has agreed to sell BusinessWeek to Bloomberg L.P.
The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2009. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Source: Investor Relations: http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/investor_relations
BUSINESS INFORMATION: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
JOACHIM C BARTELS SPOKE AT THE RECENT EADP CONFERENCE(European Association of Directory and Database Publishers) ABOUT THE STATE OF BUSINESS INFORMATION.
Within the business information segment "credit information", suppliers of such services will be put under greater scrutiny in terms of transparency of decision models, credit scores and the underlying quality (breadth and depth) of information.
In developed markets there will less demand for transaction based services and the industry will have to survive on liquidity management tools until credit markets have improved. For the consumer credit information industry the focus will be on diversification: Away from an over-reliance on the financial services sector. Other industry verticals such as health care information, payroll processing and employee screening are being tapped.
The need to grow will spur acquisitions and geographic expansion. Commercial credit information will be on the top of the consumer credit information industry's list for expansion and the next battle ground in terms of investment and revenue growth will be in the SME sector.
However what the industry needs to be aware of is the fact that the information customer today has a multitude of choices in terms of information sources. Customers today have the tools to integrate internal data with external information, and customize the information for a multitude of business functions and decisions.
To obtain the presentation contact: http://www.biia.com/contactUs.php
BIIA members can access the presentation at member news: http://www.biia.com/memberNewsPW.php
MURDOCH URGES CHINA TO OPEN MEDIA MARKET
News Corp chief executive Rupert Murdoch on Friday urged the Chinese government to further open up the media market to competition from foreign companies. He seemed to suggest that China could learn from India's experience in opening up the media market.
Source: Financial Times and Times of India
D&B LAUNCHES ONLINE TRUST AND MOBILE SOLUTIONS
D&B released a web based solution branded D&B D-U-N-S® Registered specifically focused on building trust on the web. The new service enables companies to utilize D&B data to decide with confidence wherever and whenever.
The program has been launched in markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, the United States of America, Mexico, Brazil & Argentina.
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
ALIBABA.COM ACQUIRES HICHINA
Alibaba made good on its hint a couple of weeks ago that an acquisition was in the works. It has agreed to acquire HiChina Web Solutions for a total of US$79 million.
According to Alibaba.com, HiChina is a provider of Internet infrastructure services including domain name services, web and hosting services as well as email hosting and website design services.
Source: Alibaba Press Release
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
BIIA congratulates our Chinese Members and Friends as the China we know today was founded in 1949, and "opened" to the world in 1979.
Now, celebrating its 60th anniversary, China stands before the world as a new partner, and power.
CONGRATULATIONS
S&P'S DEVEN SHARMA SAYS: NRSROs SHOULD NOT BE TREATED MORE HARSHLY THAN ANY OTHER DEFENDANT IN SECURITIES FRAUD LAWSUITS
Deven Sharma pointed out in his recent testimony that some of the recent proposals to increase oversight of NRSROs are problematic and, in S&P's view, would bring unintended harm to the markets. These proposals include amendments to the federal securities laws that would treat NRSROs far more harshly than any other defendant in securities fraud lawsuits, and other measures that would interfere with NRSROs' analytical independence.
To read the full testimony click on the link: http://www.biia.com/library.php#267
AUSTRALIAN RISK CLIMATE
Close to 38,000 Australian firms are a high risk of distress this financial year, despite signs the Australian economy is on the mend.
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
MOODY'S ANALYST TURNS WHISTLE BLOWER - STOCK RETREATS
A former analyst at Moody's is accusing it of knowingly giving inappropriately high ratings and has taken his concerns to Congress. The analyst, Eric Kolchinsky, is scheduled to testify before Congress on Thursday. Moody's shares fell 8.4% on more than twice their average volume.
Source: Wall Street Journal
IFC (WORLD BANK GROUP) STATES CREDIT BUREAUS COVER 390 MILLION PEOPLE SUPPORTING US$800 BILLION IN CREDIT
A new report from IFC and the World Bank shows by focusing on building and reforming credit reporting, collateral registries, and payment and securities systems, more than half the population in emerging markets could have access to financial services within 10 years and enjoy financial transaction cost reductions of nearly 80 percent.
These underlying credit reporting systems of financial infrastructure touch at least every fifth person in emerging markets. Today, credit bureaus cover 390 million people, remittances over 700 million, and payment systems one billion people. In financial terms, bureaus support nearly $800 billion worth of credit and the value of remittances reached $328 billion in 2008.
"Properly functioning financial infrastructure is critical for efficient and increased access to financial services," said Peer Stein, IFC Manager for Access to Finance Advisory Services. "And this report shows not only where we could be in terms of access to finance, but it provides a roadmap for achieving these gains at a global, country, and institutional level."
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
YAHOO SELLS ENTIRE STAKE IN ALIBABA.COM
Yahoo has sold its entire 1.14% stake in Hong Kong-listed Alibaba.com. The company sold 57.48 million shares of Alibaba.com for between HK$19.80 and HK$20.30 per share. The sale will net Yahoo approximately US$150 million.
The company also bought a US$1 billion stake in 2005 in the parent company, the Alibaba Group. Yahoo still holds an approximately 40% stake in the Alibaba Group.
Separately, last week, the founder of the Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, sold 13 million of his shares in Alibaba.com which represents less than 5% of his total direct and indirect holdings in the Hong Kong-listed company (see separate note below).
Mr. Ma is considered as a kind of ORACLE in the industry, hence the question: What prompted both sales: Do these people know something we don't know!
Source: Reuters article
FICO RANKED #1 IN WORLDWIDE MARKET SHARE FOR SERVICES OPERATIONS ANALYTICS APPLICATIONS
FICO (NYSE:FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, announced today that it once again ranked number one in worldwide market share for a critical category of analytics applications, according to a newly published report from technology analyst firm IDC.1 FICO dominated the category for the fourth year in a row with a 24.4% market share, more than three times as much as the nearest competitor.
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/industry_news.php
TRANSUNION CONSUMER CREDIT RISK INDEX CONTINUES TO RISE, THOUGH 13 STATES SEE DECLINE
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
LIQUIDITY MANAGEMENT TAKES PRIORITY
The gloves are off in treating delinquency. Trade credit grantors, banks and credit card issuers are taking a tough stance these days in dealing with past due accounts. As a result of the credit crunch liquidity management has priority over new business risk assessment.
FICO (http://www.FICO.com) stated in a recent white paper that rising delinquency rates in many markets around the globe have lenders considering whether they ought to be taking action sooner to reduce write-offs and collections expense. In its white paper FICO presents a more precisely timed and targeted approach.
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/library.php#266
ALIBABA.COM FOUNDER MA SELLS 13 MILLION SHARES
The chairman and founder of Alibaba.com, Jack Ma, has sold 13 million of his shares in the Hong Kong-listed company for HK$270 million (US$35 million) at an average price of HK$20.78 per share.
This reportedly represents less than 5% of his total direct and indirect holdings in the company. Reuters noted that the company has approximately 5 billion shares outstanding. This was reportedly Ma's first share sale since he founded the company more than 10 years ago in Hangzhou. Mr. Ma is often regarded as an e-commerce oracle. Perhaps he knows something the rest of the industry does not know.
Sources: Reuters; NASDAQ announcement
AUSTRALIAN RISK CLIMATE: DRAG ON AUSTRALIA'S GROWTH COMING TO AN END
D&B Australia published its latest business expectations which indicate a significant increase in sales and profits expectations: 46 percent of respondents expect an increase in sales and 31 percent expect an increase in profits.
To read the full story click on the link: http://www.biia.com/cci_industry_news.php
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY REDUCES STAKE IN MOODY'S
Berkshire Hathaway, the largest stockholder of Moody's, sold shares on September 1st and 2nd. Berkshire still holds 39.2 million shares, but Mr. Buffett is said to be unhappy with Moody's because it had damaged its brand as ratings proved to be inaccurate. Moody's management is still holding on, but Mr. Buffet may not in the long run.
Source: Bloomberg / The Business Times Weekend
RATING AGENCIES: JUDGE ALLOWS LAWSUIT TO PROCEED
A judge dismissed claims against rating agencies, but allowed one of 11 to proceed. The ratings agencies argue that ratings are opinions and are protected by the constitutional amendment of free speech. The ruling is based on the assertion that the ratings of structured investments vehicles in question were disseminated only to a select group and therefore not a factor of concern to the public.
Financial markets reacted promptly by dumping shares of Moody's and McGraw-Hill (parent of S&P). They fear the finger is now out of the dyke and a flood of other suits will harass rating agencies for years to come.
Source: Press comments and Breakingviews.com
SMALL-BUSINESS BANKRUPTCY FILINGS UP 81% IN JUNE, EQUIFAX DATA SHOWS
Commercial bankruptcies among the nation's more than 25 million small businesses increased by nearly 81% in June 2009 from June 2008, according to Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX), which analyzed its comprehensive small business database for the study.
There were 10,339 bankruptcy filings in June 2009 throughout the U.S., up from 5,712 a year ago, according to the data. The Western USA are the hardest hit area.
Source: Equifax Press Release
ALIBABA SETS UP EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS
Going global! Alibaba sets up European headquarters in London to attract more users outside China. Alibaba, which connects mainly small businesses with suppliers and trading partners over an Ebay-like internet platform, has 40m registered users, around 9.5m of which are from outside China. The company had 400,000 registered users in the UK, and is signing around 2,000 new ones each week.
Source: Financial Times
BUSINESS INFORMATION SERVICES GROWTH STILL IN DECLINE
Major business information industry players are still reporting declining revenues for the quarter ending June 30th 2009. There are some notable exceptions: Alibaba (China) and Bisnode (Europe), which still report double digit growth.
Most information companies report distressed markets, credit conditions have not improved and customers are reducing their information consumption. Major players expect little improvement for the remainder of 2009.
To read more about information industry Q2 results read the September 2009 Issue of the BIIA Newsletter: http://www.biia.com/memberNewsPW.php
XINHUA FINANCE (XFL) REVENUES PLUNGE
First half 2009 revenues plummeted to US$18 million, compared with the US$142 million recorded in the first half of 2008. That is a drop of 87%. Management attributed this huge drop to XFL's much reduced size in 2009. In the past year, the company has sold most of the subsidiaries which were previously key sources of revenues.
XFL posted a net loss of US$19 million compared with a US$38 million loss recorded in the first half of 2008. On a proforma basis (which excludes non-cash and one-time charges), the company's net loss was US$5.0 million compared with a net profit of US$1.9 million in the first half of 2008.
XFL also released its full year forecast. Management expects revenues to be US$33 million with a net loss of US$29 million for the fiscal year 2009. For the fiscal year 2008, revenues were US$279 million with a net loss of US$268 million.
Source: Xinhua Finance
REED BUSINESS INFORMATION (RBI) ON THE BLOCK
Reed Elsevier (RE) has announced it will divest a substantial portion of the U.S.-based businesses of Reed Business Information (RBI). Well-known RBI US brands to be divested include, but are not limited to, Interior Design, EDN, Building Design & Construction, Broadcasting & Cable, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Restaurants & Institutions, TWICE and Multichannel News, as well as their related titles and services in Asia.
Source: Outsell Inc.
ALIBABA REVAMPS CHINA YAHOO
Alibaba Group restructures its China Yahoo business and will strip out a classified listing operation and adding it to its rapidly expanding retail Web site, Taobao.com.
Alibaba controls China Yahoo as part of a deal made in 2005 which gave Yahoo a 39% stake in the Alibaba Group (for which Yahoo paid US$ 1 bn). Earlier this year Yahoo management expressed unhappiness with the China Yahoo results, because it is losing share in the Chinese online search market in which is has a 6% share versus 26% for Google and 62% for Baidu.
Source: The Wall Street Journal Asia
CHINA COURT HANDS DOWN LANDMARK SOFTWARE PIRACY VERDICT
The global software industry is elated about a landmark victory against software piracy after a district court sent four men to prison and handed them heavy fines for distributing counterfeit versions of Microsoft's Windows ZP and other computer programs over the internet.
Sun Xiansheng and Hong Lei, the founders and main executives of Tomato Garden, a website that generated advertising revenues by offering pirated software for free, were sentenced to 3.5 years in prison and a fine of Rmb1m ($146,000) each.
Experts in intellectual property rights said increasing numbers of counterfeiters had been prosecuted for criminal offences in the past couple of years. But they said the verdict handed out against Tomato Garden marked a landmark, both in the size of business shut down and the harshness of the sentencing.
Source: Financial Times
BOL THAILAND Q2 REVENUES UP 20.63%; NET PROFIT UP 63%
BOL issued its Q2 results on August 13, 2009. Total revenues in Q2/2009 amounted to Baht 74.24 million, an increase of Baht 12.70 million or 20.63% increase from Q2/2008. The Company and its subsidiary's net profit after tax rose substantially, to Baht 28.24 million for Q2/2009, compared with Baht 17.25 million in Q2/2008 or an increase of Baht 10.98 million, 63.67 % increase. The significant growth in revenues and income in Q2 was due to completion of several project.
Total revenue in the first half year of 2009 slightly decreased by Baht 1.21 million or 0.97% decrease compared to the same period in 2008. The Company and its subsidiary's net profit after tax was Baht 35.47 million or 1.57% increase compared with the same period last year.
Source: BOL Earnings release - BOL is a member of BIIA
ALIBABA.COM ACQUIRES ALISOFT
Alibaba.com has announced that it will acquire the Business Management Software (BMS) division of Alisoft from its parent company, the Alibaba Group. Alibaba.com is majority-owned by the Alibaba Group and Alisoft is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Alibaba Group. Alibaba.com will pay US$30.5 million in cash and equity incentives.
Alisoft offers small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) software to manage their inventory, customers and cash flow. The software is available to users via the Internet as part of a business model known as "software as a service" (SaaS).
Source: Alibaba Press Release
USA CREDIT CLIMATE: BANKRUPTCY FILINGS FLOOD COURTS
The destruction caused by the nation's economic woes is still readily apparent in the U.S. business sector. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has released that business bankruptcy filings hit 55,021 in June, up 63% from the 12-month period ending June 2008.
Another sour note is that total business and non-business third quarter filings were 381,073, which is the highest total of any quarter so far this year. It also represents the largest amount of filings for a quarter since December 2005, before the implementation of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA).
For the 12-month period ending June 30, 2009, total bankruptcy cases have increased 35% over last year.
Source: NACM
ALIBABA EYES CHINA ACQUISITION
Alibaba is said to be close to an acquisition in China according to chief executive David Wei. Speculations are now abound is respect to the target or target services.
Although Alibaba is going global it still has its focus on the China domestic market with its millions of SMEs. It has also set its sights previously on verification, content and research services. Another possibility is to expand its reach into sourcing verticals.
Alibaba is also said to be in partnership talks with a number of companies in the USA. The deals are part of an aggressive expansion drive.
Sources: Financial Times / BIIA
ALIBABA.COM LAUNCHES MARKETING PUSH IN US
Alibaba.com launched its first, major marketing campaign in the U.S. This effort is part of the company's strategy to further diversify its user base outside of China. A scaled-down version of the campaign, using the slogan "Find it. Make it. Sell it." will also be used in Europe and the Middle East.
The US$30 million marketing campaign features TV, print and online advertisements as well as training videos, contests and eventsdesigned to raise the company's profile in the U.S.
Source: Business Strategies Group Hong Kong Tracker Service
COFACE FORECASTS GROWTH CONTRACTION OF 6.6 POINTS BETWEEN 2007 AND 2009
Coface's new growth forecasts published July 13, 2009 take into account a growth contraction of 6.6 points between 2007 and 2009.
Coface projects the 2009 recession at -2.5% and sees growth recovering in 2010, settling at 1.7%. After having downgraded 22 countries in January and then 47 in April, Coface is now down
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EXPORTA 3RD ANNUAL RUSSIA & EURASIA TRADE & EXPORT FINANCE FORUM
FEBRUARY 8-9, 2010; MOSCOW; HOTEL BALTSCHUG KEMPINSKI
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CRIF RISK MANAGEMENT AND COLLECTION WORKSHOP
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GARTNER BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SUMMIT 2010
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