Employee of the Month!

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Naomi Watts-Put Your Money on Her!

Reuters had reported that Australian actress Naomi Watts, who starred in “The Ring,” King Kong,” and “Eastern Promises,” is the actress who provides the best return for a film studio, according to a list by Forbes.com.

With cash-strapped studios looking for return on their investments, Forbes.com compiled a list of the 10 actresses who provide the best bang for their buck.

They found actresses who commanded the highest prices, like Angelina Jolie who topped Forbes’ list of the best paid actresses after banking US$27 million (RM92 million) in a year, were outranked by those earning around US$5 million and under for a film.

Watts, 41, topped the list after the analysis found she helped the box office make an estimated US$44 for every $1 she was paid for her last three major films.

Jennifer Connelly, star of ““Blood Diamond” and “He’s Just Not That Into You,” came second with her films earning about US$41 for each dollar she was paid and Rachel McAdams, of “The Notebook” and this year’s “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” came third with US$30 for every US$1 earned.

Fourth was Natalie Portman of the new “Star Wars” movies and “The Other Boleyn Girl” with her films making US$28 for every US$1 she was paid followed by Meryl Streep who made the top five due to the massive box office success of last year’s “Mamma Mia,” earning US$27 for every US$1 paid.

Rounding out the 10 were Jennifer Aniston (US$26 per US$1) while films by Halle Berry, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, and Hilary Swank all made US$23 for every dollar they earned.

Forbes.com said it compiled its list by looking at the 100 biggest stars in Hollywood. To qualify each actress had to have starred in at least three movies in the past five years that opened in more than 500 theatres.

They looked at the star’s estimated earnings, each movie’s estimated budget, and box office, DVD and television earnings to figure out an operating income for each movie.

Axiata-Your Deepavali Plan,please?

The plan by India’s second largest mobile operator, Reliance Communications to offer the cheapest tariff in the country is expected to pressure Axiata’s associate, Idea Cellular so says ECM Libra Investment Research today.

The disruptive plan, which allows both prepaid and postpaid users to make calls at only US $1 cent/min (RM0.36) nationwide, would see Axiata facing significant pressure on margins and downside risks to revenue and subscriber growth.

In a research note, ECMLibra said on average subscribers paid US $2 cents/min for local calls, while national long-distance calls were at about US $3 cents/min.

ECM Libra speculates Axiata is expected to respond quickly to avoid problems and maintain its growth trajectory, as the next several weeks coincide with Deepavali and the wedding season in November and December.

A decision is crucial to ensure it does not lose out as mobile usage and new subscriber additions will likely surge during the period.

However, being only the fifth largest among 11 players, Idea may not have the clout to go head-to-head with Reliance in a price war.

Reliance currently operates on a subscriber base of 84.8 million with an Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (Ebitda) margin of 39.1 per cent.

Idea on the other hand has 50.1 million subscribers and a Ebitda margin of only 28.9 per cent.

The market leader, Bharti Airtel, leads with 110.9 million subscribers and Ebitda margins of 40.6 per cent.

So, what is you Deepavali plan, Axiata?

Think Tangram.........

Time Flies!

See how Time flies!

On achieving the court's sanctions for its restructuring plans, Time Engineering (Time)took wings today. Opening at 28 sen, it became the volume leader by mid-day and further up-trended in the afternoon for a glorious price increase of some 27% today. With the restructuring in place, most of its debts have been wiped out in one felled stroke and its only loans are to a development bank that charges it a friendly two percent interest. Also, The option to sell off Time.dotcom at a good price within certain price and limits stays put to protect shareholders' interest. Interestingly, the number of shares will not be diminished but the par value will be converted to 20 sen from one ringgit.


We shall see how much will be the re-rating before it stabilizes.

Australia Leads!

Is it a red herring or is Australia showing us the way out of global recession?

When the Reserve Bank of Australia’s raised interest rates yesterday, it created a tsunami of sorts with a rally on commodity prices and strong gains in European and North American share markets indicating a positive sign for the global economy.

The RBA lifted rates by 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent.

The Australian stockmarket jumped in early trading today (7 Oct)amid growing confidence about the global economic recovery.

The resources sector was leading the bourse higher after gold bullion shot up to a record $US1045 an ounce in New York. Banking stocks were also stronger.

US stocks leapt higher at the opening bell overnight after a surprise interest-rate increase by the RBA drove a pullback in the US dollar.

The Australian dollar peaked at US89.20 cents in New York, its highest level in nearly 14 months, and in domestic trade this morning was at US89c.

ABN Amro Morgans adviser, Lisa Jarvis, said Australian stocks, currency and bonds were hot property at the moment.

“Money from America is trying to find a home in Australia,'' she said.

“Our currency is stronger than the US. The US dollar is losing ground each day.

“Everyone is looking for appreciating assets... and we have the highest interest rates now. Asian markets will play it, too.”

On Wall Street, the the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 131.50 points, or 1.37 per cent, at 9731.25. In two sessions, the Dow has jumped 243.58, or 2.57 per cent, marking its largest two-day gain since the two days ended July 16.

So those who invested in the Aussie dollar is laughing all the way to the bank, this time so much louder, I am sure!