Israel & South Korea
A top global index provider said last month it may reclassify South Korea and Israel as “developed” instead of “emerging” economies, a move some say could reduce foreign investment in those countries.
Both are now listed as emerging economies by MSCI Barra, whose indexes are tracked by index funds and exchange-traded funds and commonly used as performance benchmarks for active funds.
If the markets were listed as “developed,” they might find themselves small fish in big ponds, says David Riedel, president of Riedel Research, a research firm.
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Microsoft, AOL plan merger talks
Time Warner may struggle to clinch an agreement to sell AOL to Microsoft by Aug.1, when the world’s biggest software company’s fight to acquire Yahoo! comes to a head. Microsoft is more interested in getting Yahoo’s search business so it can compete more effectively against Google, said Jay Welles, an analyst at Manning & Napier Advisors.
At Yahoo’s shareholder meeting next month, investors will be able to vote for a slate of directors proposed by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who favors a deal with Microsoft. Microsoft had plans to meet with AOL executives Wednesday to discuss a possible combination, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. Time Warner spokesman Keith Cocozza and Microsoft’s Frank Shaw declined to comment.
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Going For The Green Deeds
Boeing is conducting tests with four airlines – Virgin Atlantic, Japan Air Lines, Air New Zealandand Continental – to see what may work best as an alternative fuel. British Airways, meanwhile, has invited energy producers to bring it fuels that it will test in laboratory conditions, said its chief executive, Willie Walsh. Corn-based ethanol is out of consideration because it freezes at high altitudes and does not provide the power a jet needs. For its part, Boeing wants a fuel that does not threaten the food supply, taint water or require that land be cultivated, said Billy Glover, Boeing’s director of environmental performance.
Scott Carson, chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, likens the industry’s quest for suitable biofuels to efforts to send a man to the moon. “We didn’t know how to do that then; we don’t know how to do this now,” Carson says in a video that runs continuously at Boeing’s display. But, he adds, “We’ll do it, just like we did then.” Efforts are “so promising, and so close” to developing a new biofuel that could be derived from algae or other plant life, such as Jatropha, a tropical plant whose seeds are rich in oil, Carson said Tuesday.
New fuels are just part of the effort. Engines are an important element, since they can yield improvements in fuel economy and reductions in carbon emissions. General Electric showed a new engine, developed with a French partner, Safran, which it said should be ready in 2016.
Separately, Pratt & Whitney unveiled its PW-1000G, which has a geared-turbo fan that some experts think is the wave of the future. The lower-spinning fan uses less fuel, generates less heat and noise and releases less nitrogen oxide than other engines.
GE does not yet have a buyer, but the Pratt & Whitney engine will be featured on Bombardier’s new 100-seat jet, the C-series, which was announced here Sunday. Bombardier, which also owns LearJets, halted development on C-series two years ago so it could focus on making it more efficient.
Aircraft manufacturers are also shifting away from traditional materials, such as aluminum and steel, to plastic composites made from carbon fiber, and metals such as titanium. But demand from aircraft companies for these materials may well outstrip supplies, said Philip Toy, who is managing director with the restructuring firm AlixPartners of Southfield, Mich., where he follows aerospace. “There are no inexpensive substitutes for these materials right now,” he said.
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