1. ULOM successfully organized a two-day workshop on “7e Way of Leaders” for the Economic and Trade Faculty Training Centre of Zhejiang University of Technology in November 2008. The participants were satisfied with the workshop.
After the workshop, Mr. Mao from a manufacturing company in Zhejiang Xiaoshan showed his appreciation: “Thank you for bringing us such an exciting high-level workshop! The ‘Management Tools’ introduced were very practical!” Mr. Jiang from a foreign trade company said: “‘7e Way of Leaders’ inspires senior managers of an organization.”
2. ULOM organized short lectures on “7e Way of Leaders” for Michelin China, Shibang Machinery, Shanghai JoinBuy Group, Hangzhou East Software Park respectively. The lectures received favourable feedbacks from the participants.
Currently, ULOM is preparing for several open classes on “7e Way of Leaders” after Lunar New Year 2009. Interest parties are encouraged to contact us via email info@ulomconsultancy.com or telephone (86) 21 50793962.
3. ULOM was invited to attend “The Second Jiaxing IT Talents Forum” in November 2008. ULOM representative communicated with participants from various IT and HR companies.
4. ULOM is currently providing investment analysis and company registration for a foreign investor to set up a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise (WFOE) in China.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Merry Christmas
Dear friends,
It is another Christmas season and we would like to wish you a very happy holiday. In addition, we would like to thank you for all the support that you have given to ULOM over the past year and we hope that going forward in 2009 we will be able to work together again.
Kind regards,
ULOM Management Team
It is another Christmas season and we would like to wish you a very happy holiday. In addition, we would like to thank you for all the support that you have given to ULOM over the past year and we hope that going forward in 2009 we will be able to work together again.
Kind regards,
ULOM Management Team
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Goldman Sachs posts first loss since going public
Tue, Dec 16 2008
NEW YORK – Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on Tuesday reported its first quarterly loss since it went public in 1999, losing $2.29 billion during its fiscal fourth quarter, but investors seemed unfazed and sent its shares higher.
The loss proves the turmoil in the financial markets has tripped up even the best-run financial institutions. The New York-based bank has long been considered the premier investment bank on Wall Street, and in recent quarters, the sturdiest amid the turmoil.
The Wall Street firm lost $4.97 per share in the quarter ended Nov. 30, compared with earnings of $3.17 billion, or $7.01 per share, last year.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast a loss of $3.73 per share for the latest quarter. Over the past several weeks, analysts sharply slashed their estimates amid ongoing concern about investment losses. Just a month ago, analysts predicted Goldman would lose just 28 cents per share, with some analysts still predicting a quarterly profit.
Goldman's shares jumped $9.91, or 15 percent, to $76.37 in late trading amid a broad rally on Wall Street. As of Monday's close, the shares were down 69 percent in 2008.
Analysts attributed the strong stock performance Tuesday to investors finding the few bright spots among the gloomy results, noting that while fourth-quarter losses were big, they were not well beyond expectations.
Morningstar Inc. equity analyst Michael Wong said Goldman was able to shrink its total assets by 18 percent to $885 billion during the quarter, and that has helped reduce leverage.
"They've been able to delever faster than anyone could have dreamed of, without taking extreme mark-to-market losses," Wong said. "The confidence in the balance sheet is probably higher than in the past year."
Banks have been trying to reduce leverage — the amount of money borrowed compared to a company's capital — to help avoid cash shortages as losses have increased.
Denise Valentine, a senior analyst at Aite Group LLC, cited some bright spots, including full-year results in the asset management and securities services unit. Full-year revenue in the division grew 11 percent to $7.97 billion.
"Reading between the lines, (investors) saw things were not as bad as they were expected to be," Valentine said.
The investment banking sector was turned on its head in September when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Goldman and Morgan Stanley became bank holding companies. Like most banks, Goldman was hurt by the plunging value of its investments, especially at its principal trading desk.
Goldman reported negative revenue of $4.36 billion in its trading and principal investments unit. Negative revenue occurs when a company must reverse some previously recognized revenue because its value has declined. Overall, Goldman reported negative revenue of $1.58 billion, compared with revenue of $10.74 billion during the year-ago quarter.
The principal investment division lost $2 billion on corporate investments, $961 million from real estate investments and $631 million tied to the firm's investment in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Goldman purchased a minority stake in the Chinese bank in 2006. The loss tied to that investment was due to a decline in ICBC's share price.
Negative revenue from fixed income totaled $3.4 billion, as losses were widespread across the division, Goldman's chief financial officer, David Viniar, said during a conference call.
"This was really across the portfolio of equity assets and credit assets," Viniar said.
Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said the losses were in line with expectations, but showed the bank is vulnerable to the current market downturn. Moody's cut Goldman's long-term senior debt rating to "A1" — still investment-grade — from "Aa3."
Goldman's quarterly loss came during a three-month period that brought sweeping changes to the investment banking sector — a sector essentially being rebuilt after the September collapse of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch & Co. to Bank of America Corp.
With investors lacking confidence in the stand-alone banking model, both Goldman and Morgan Stanley quickly gained federal regulatory approval to become bank holding companies.
Morgan Stanley is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter results Wednesday. Analysts predict the bank will post a loss, though not as severe as Goldman.
The banking structure change allows the pair to build large deposit bases to help fund operations — considered vital as credit markets have essentially shut down.
Viniar said Goldman will continue to build that deposit base through third-party distribution channels and its private wealth management business. He did add that Goldman would look at Internet banking and a possible acquisition in an effort to boost deposits. The bank is aiming to increase deposits to between $50 billion and $100 billion, from about $20 billion.
Also with the regulatory change, the banks now have wider and permanent access to a slew of funding options from the federal government, foremost the government's $700 billion bank investment program launched in October.
Goldman was among the first banks to receive funds — a total of $10 billion — as part of the program. The goal of the program is to spur the credit markets and get banks lending to each other and customers.
Goldman also received a boost when billionaire investor Warren Buffett invested $5 billion in capital and it raised an additional $5.75 billion through a public stock offering.
The security that comes with becoming a bank holding company — the structure that traditional commercial banks take — also could hinder future growth for Goldman as it looks to return to profitability. Goldman will come under closer regulatory scrutiny from the Federal Reserve and will have to ratchet down its leverage, which it parleyed into billions of dollars in quarterly profits amid the market boom.
David Easthope, a senior analyst with consultancy Celent, said Goldman will look markedly different next year because of the change in its structure and as it builds its deposit base. Gone will be the outsized profits based on proprietary trading and prime brokerage business seen earlier in the decade, he said.
The firm will be "relying on the traditional businesses that make Goldman Sachs the brand that it is," Easthope said. That means more focus on divisions like mergers and acquisitions and wealth management, he added.
For the full year, Goldman earned $2.04 billion, or $4.47 per share. Goldman had remained profitable through the beginning of the year, while other financial firms posted huge losses tied to the troubled housing and credit markets.
Amid the tumult, Goldman moved to cut costs like many other banks. Even those moves, though, were unable to keep it from the fourth-quarter loss. During the period, Goldman said it would be cutting about 10 percent of its work force as it looks to save on expenses. Goldman began notifying in early November roughly 3,200 employees they were being laid off.
Seven top executives at the firm, including Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, also agreed to forgo their annual cash and stock bonuses.
NEW YORK – Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on Tuesday reported its first quarterly loss since it went public in 1999, losing $2.29 billion during its fiscal fourth quarter, but investors seemed unfazed and sent its shares higher.
The loss proves the turmoil in the financial markets has tripped up even the best-run financial institutions. The New York-based bank has long been considered the premier investment bank on Wall Street, and in recent quarters, the sturdiest amid the turmoil.
The Wall Street firm lost $4.97 per share in the quarter ended Nov. 30, compared with earnings of $3.17 billion, or $7.01 per share, last year.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast a loss of $3.73 per share for the latest quarter. Over the past several weeks, analysts sharply slashed their estimates amid ongoing concern about investment losses. Just a month ago, analysts predicted Goldman would lose just 28 cents per share, with some analysts still predicting a quarterly profit.
Goldman's shares jumped $9.91, or 15 percent, to $76.37 in late trading amid a broad rally on Wall Street. As of Monday's close, the shares were down 69 percent in 2008.
Analysts attributed the strong stock performance Tuesday to investors finding the few bright spots among the gloomy results, noting that while fourth-quarter losses were big, they were not well beyond expectations.
Morningstar Inc. equity analyst Michael Wong said Goldman was able to shrink its total assets by 18 percent to $885 billion during the quarter, and that has helped reduce leverage.
"They've been able to delever faster than anyone could have dreamed of, without taking extreme mark-to-market losses," Wong said. "The confidence in the balance sheet is probably higher than in the past year."
Banks have been trying to reduce leverage — the amount of money borrowed compared to a company's capital — to help avoid cash shortages as losses have increased.
Denise Valentine, a senior analyst at Aite Group LLC, cited some bright spots, including full-year results in the asset management and securities services unit. Full-year revenue in the division grew 11 percent to $7.97 billion.
"Reading between the lines, (investors) saw things were not as bad as they were expected to be," Valentine said.
The investment banking sector was turned on its head in September when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Goldman and Morgan Stanley became bank holding companies. Like most banks, Goldman was hurt by the plunging value of its investments, especially at its principal trading desk.
Goldman reported negative revenue of $4.36 billion in its trading and principal investments unit. Negative revenue occurs when a company must reverse some previously recognized revenue because its value has declined. Overall, Goldman reported negative revenue of $1.58 billion, compared with revenue of $10.74 billion during the year-ago quarter.
The principal investment division lost $2 billion on corporate investments, $961 million from real estate investments and $631 million tied to the firm's investment in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Goldman purchased a minority stake in the Chinese bank in 2006. The loss tied to that investment was due to a decline in ICBC's share price.
Negative revenue from fixed income totaled $3.4 billion, as losses were widespread across the division, Goldman's chief financial officer, David Viniar, said during a conference call.
"This was really across the portfolio of equity assets and credit assets," Viniar said.
Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said the losses were in line with expectations, but showed the bank is vulnerable to the current market downturn. Moody's cut Goldman's long-term senior debt rating to "A1" — still investment-grade — from "Aa3."
Goldman's quarterly loss came during a three-month period that brought sweeping changes to the investment banking sector — a sector essentially being rebuilt after the September collapse of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch & Co. to Bank of America Corp.
With investors lacking confidence in the stand-alone banking model, both Goldman and Morgan Stanley quickly gained federal regulatory approval to become bank holding companies.
Morgan Stanley is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter results Wednesday. Analysts predict the bank will post a loss, though not as severe as Goldman.
The banking structure change allows the pair to build large deposit bases to help fund operations — considered vital as credit markets have essentially shut down.
Viniar said Goldman will continue to build that deposit base through third-party distribution channels and its private wealth management business. He did add that Goldman would look at Internet banking and a possible acquisition in an effort to boost deposits. The bank is aiming to increase deposits to between $50 billion and $100 billion, from about $20 billion.
Also with the regulatory change, the banks now have wider and permanent access to a slew of funding options from the federal government, foremost the government's $700 billion bank investment program launched in October.
Goldman was among the first banks to receive funds — a total of $10 billion — as part of the program. The goal of the program is to spur the credit markets and get banks lending to each other and customers.
Goldman also received a boost when billionaire investor Warren Buffett invested $5 billion in capital and it raised an additional $5.75 billion through a public stock offering.
The security that comes with becoming a bank holding company — the structure that traditional commercial banks take — also could hinder future growth for Goldman as it looks to return to profitability. Goldman will come under closer regulatory scrutiny from the Federal Reserve and will have to ratchet down its leverage, which it parleyed into billions of dollars in quarterly profits amid the market boom.
David Easthope, a senior analyst with consultancy Celent, said Goldman will look markedly different next year because of the change in its structure and as it builds its deposit base. Gone will be the outsized profits based on proprietary trading and prime brokerage business seen earlier in the decade, he said.
The firm will be "relying on the traditional businesses that make Goldman Sachs the brand that it is," Easthope said. That means more focus on divisions like mergers and acquisitions and wealth management, he added.
For the full year, Goldman earned $2.04 billion, or $4.47 per share. Goldman had remained profitable through the beginning of the year, while other financial firms posted huge losses tied to the troubled housing and credit markets.
Amid the tumult, Goldman moved to cut costs like many other banks. Even those moves, though, were unable to keep it from the fourth-quarter loss. During the period, Goldman said it would be cutting about 10 percent of its work force as it looks to save on expenses. Goldman began notifying in early November roughly 3,200 employees they were being laid off.
Seven top executives at the firm, including Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, also agreed to forgo their annual cash and stock bonuses.
Investment Powerhouse Goldman Sachs Buying Up Poultry Farms in China
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 by Barbara Minton, Natural Health Editor
(NaturalNews) Corporate ownership of world food sources may be shifting into high gear. Goldman Sachs, the private equity investment bank of the ultra wealthy and powerful, has announced that it’s in the race to scoop up assets related to food production. Its latest investment is $300 million in Chinese chicken farms.
U.S. based Goldman recently announced it has acquired full ownership of 10 poultry farms on the mainland of China for $300 million, according to Frederick Yeung, reporter for South China Morning Post. The farms are in the Hunan and Fuijan provinces. This move helps fortify Goldman’s position in the mainland livestock industry.
Although Goldman bought the farms outright, they will not be involved in their daily operations which are to be outsourced to third parties. According to Yeung, the investment bank will maintain control of the livestock prices.
The purchase is seen by many as yet another rapacious move by big money to take control of the assets of the underprivileged. It comes on the heels of the collapse of World Trade Organization talks aimed at leveling the trading field and taking steps to protect the trade interests of the third world countries who seek to trade their agricultural products to the first world countries in return for other goods. The talks fell apart when the wealthier countries refused to compromise their agricultural subsidies.
The Chinese are showing themselves to be respectful of their farmers. The People’s Bank of China has recently raised its commercial bank loan allocations to support small farmers and their workers.
In 2006, Goldman won a bid to purchase a 100 percent stake in meat and poultry group Henan Shuanghui but the deal later ran into trouble with the Chinese government who want to maintain tight control over foreign investment in the assets of the country. Goldman already holds a 13 percent stake in China Yurun Food Group, the country’s second meat and poultry processor whose profits are surging.
The entrance of the investment banking company into commodity ownership comes at a time when investors’ enthusiasm for commodities is cooling. Many commodity indices are experiencing corrections of 15 percent or more from their all time highs earlier this summer. The commodity price correction has most notably shown itself in lower gasoline prices. Goldman’s latest purchase suggests that this correction could be short lived.
Goldman Sachs provides a range of investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. It is considered the premier investment house on Wall Street and the representative of the ‘smart money’. Goldman Sachs is a public company whose shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
Investment guru and former hedge fund manager Jim Rogers says the most valuable investments on the mainland of China are its agricultural products. Rogers was one of the first to predict the bull market in commodities that began at the turn of the century. He sees commodity investments by the super rich as continuing for many years to come. Rogers has a history as a knowledgeable citizen of the world. He and has his family have become recent ex-patriots to mainland China, since that’s where he sees the action for the foreseeable future. His books on investing in commodities are available from Amazon and others.
(NaturalNews) Corporate ownership of world food sources may be shifting into high gear. Goldman Sachs, the private equity investment bank of the ultra wealthy and powerful, has announced that it’s in the race to scoop up assets related to food production. Its latest investment is $300 million in Chinese chicken farms.
U.S. based Goldman recently announced it has acquired full ownership of 10 poultry farms on the mainland of China for $300 million, according to Frederick Yeung, reporter for South China Morning Post. The farms are in the Hunan and Fuijan provinces. This move helps fortify Goldman’s position in the mainland livestock industry.
Although Goldman bought the farms outright, they will not be involved in their daily operations which are to be outsourced to third parties. According to Yeung, the investment bank will maintain control of the livestock prices.
The purchase is seen by many as yet another rapacious move by big money to take control of the assets of the underprivileged. It comes on the heels of the collapse of World Trade Organization talks aimed at leveling the trading field and taking steps to protect the trade interests of the third world countries who seek to trade their agricultural products to the first world countries in return for other goods. The talks fell apart when the wealthier countries refused to compromise their agricultural subsidies.
The Chinese are showing themselves to be respectful of their farmers. The People’s Bank of China has recently raised its commercial bank loan allocations to support small farmers and their workers.
In 2006, Goldman won a bid to purchase a 100 percent stake in meat and poultry group Henan Shuanghui but the deal later ran into trouble with the Chinese government who want to maintain tight control over foreign investment in the assets of the country. Goldman already holds a 13 percent stake in China Yurun Food Group, the country’s second meat and poultry processor whose profits are surging.
The entrance of the investment banking company into commodity ownership comes at a time when investors’ enthusiasm for commodities is cooling. Many commodity indices are experiencing corrections of 15 percent or more from their all time highs earlier this summer. The commodity price correction has most notably shown itself in lower gasoline prices. Goldman’s latest purchase suggests that this correction could be short lived.
Goldman Sachs provides a range of investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. It is considered the premier investment house on Wall Street and the representative of the ‘smart money’. Goldman Sachs is a public company whose shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
Investment guru and former hedge fund manager Jim Rogers says the most valuable investments on the mainland of China are its agricultural products. Rogers was one of the first to predict the bull market in commodities that began at the turn of the century. He sees commodity investments by the super rich as continuing for many years to come. Rogers has a history as a knowledgeable citizen of the world. He and has his family have become recent ex-patriots to mainland China, since that’s where he sees the action for the foreseeable future. His books on investing in commodities are available from Amazon and others.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
ULOM - The Prelude
ULOM was established exactly 3 years ago with a passion for success coupling skill, knowledge and determination.
Over the past 3 years, we tasted the sweetness of achievements and experienced the disappointment of failures. Nevertheless, ULOM is making steady progress and is moving steadily toward her goal.
Over the past 3 years, we tasted the sweetness of achievements and experienced the disappointment of failures. Nevertheless, ULOM is making steady progress and is moving steadily toward her goal.
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