Posted on 07/19/2002 12:53:56 AM PDT by BlackJack
LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's biggest companies had 90 billion euros wiped off their market value at the open on Friday after U.S. shares slumped to fresh five-year lows in late trade on Thursday and as Ericsson posted gloomy earnings.
The world's biggest maker of mobile networks reported a worse-than-expected second quarter loss of 3.5 billion Swedish crowns, its seventh straight loss, and announced a long-awaited $3.25 billion rights issue.
That hit Ericsson shares hard in unofficial trading and knocked fellow telecom equipment makers Alcatel and Nokia down between 5.1 percent and 6.7 percent.
Epcos AG added to the tech gloom after the German electronic components maker unexpectedly announced a loss for the third quarter and said it saw no improvement in the fourth quarter, pushing its shares down by 13 percent.
"It's worrying that companies are not managing to transfer the seemingly good macroeconomic data into good profit growth, which indicates some sort of structural problem," said Sharon Coombs, European strategist for HSBC.
That echoed talk earlier in the year of a 'profitless recovery', although a weak Philadelphia Fed survey after most European markets closed on Thursday suggested the U.S. economy was flying into fresh turbulence anyway.
Can i give you a small part of the European brands who produce mainly in Europe and exports all over the world?
Carmakers: BMW,Mercedes,Audi,Volkswagen,Renault,Peugeot,Ferrari,Lamborghini,Maserati,Ducati,Aprilia etc. etc....
Aerospace: Airbus,EADS
Pharmacy:GlaxoSmithKline,Novartis,Astrazeneca,Roche
Computer/Chips/Telecom infrastructures and devices:STMicroelectronics,Nokia,Ericsonn,Infineon (i agree that Siemens,Philips mainly produce in South East Asia)
Metal processing: Arcelor (world biggest steel producer)
All luxury brands don't subcontract to areas with cheap labor forces, they need the top quality that only in the EU can be found (that's why an Armani suit worth all the 10,000$ it costs)
I can keep on till this evening...
yea, and with most of those jobs you get really nifty polyester uniforms and the privilage to ask, "Do you want fries with that?" through your whole shift. great.
This next Christmas, look under your tree and see how many things were made in the USA. Or, better yet, have a non-China, Tawian, or whomever Christmas and ONLY buy gifts made in the USA.
But before you do, go to your local mall and see how many you can find first.
yea, those are such terrible things. Everyone in the world should work 60+ hours a week just to earn a living.
But it is designed in the US.
I've spent six of the last twelve years in Europe. Europeans are very well educated, and they certainly understand the basics of business. Many speak three or four languages, which certainly helps in the international business scene. However, I think you are right that they don't have as strong a work ethic as the U.S. does. You could write a book about it, but one thing really sticks in my mind. I have seen, repeatedly, Europeans go on vacation, even though their expertise was needed in a crisis situation. When they departed on vacation, they left everyone else in the dark, failing to give them the information needed to succeed. Most Americans would have adjusted their vacation plans. If not, they would have ensured that someone else was fully briefed and able to carry on.
But it doesn't mean people in Europe are poor:they are more thrifty and usually manage to save a lot during their lifes.
Also Globalism isn't working.
>Europeans are very well educated,
I would make that read "many have spend a lot of time in school" with the aid of student grants loans and other social incentives, designed to keep them out of the work force to artificially hold down youth unemployment and general unrest.
> and they certainly understand the basics of business.
Sorry, but I think they are generally clueless when it comes to business. Their entire lives are focused around what government can do for them. Very few understand business and it's role in their lives.
>Many speak three or four languages, which certainly helps in the international business scene.
But English is the language of international business. I used English exclusively in every West European country without significant handicap. (Now Asia, that's another story...)
> However, I think you are right that they don't have as strong a work ethic as the U.S. does.
No question about this one. They probably don't have a good work ethic because unlike in America and some other parts of the world, working harder just brings them higher taxes with little perceptable improvement in quality of life.
You are right about that. Part of me admires Europeans for their ability to completely forget about about work at the end of the day and just relax at home or at a cafe. However, the American side of me is amazed at how Europeans can relax when there are still things that need to be done at work.
This difference in work ethics is very real. When I sold my house in Washington State last year before moving overseas again, my realtor worked hours that would shock a European. I left a voicemail message for her after midnight once, and she called me back within ten minutes. She was at work! Several times she stopped by my house at 9:00 P.M. or so to take care of business. Selling real estate was what defined her (her children were already grown and successful), and she was very good at what she did. She made a lot of money, but she earned it!
Not all of them, but that's a fair comment. Since you mentioned government, I'm sure you would agree that government in most of Europe is a serious roadblock to business efficiency. In Western Europe it's ridiculous work force regulations (I'm afraid we're heading down that road in the U.S.). In Eastern Europe it's official corruption.
One or two weeks vacation is fairly normal for many working stiffs in the U.S. It's a national disgrace.
Yep. It is the "usual" suspect.
The fact that she EARNED it would alone be enough for armies of people to hate her. There is no such thing as "earning" it, in their minds.
Maybe there's something in between we could try...like...freedom?
The studies are pretty conclusive on this: the American job boom was 1) substantially, though not overwhelmingly, in "upper" service and management positions; 2) manufacturing grew dramatically, though the rust-belt industries of auto and steel lost jobs; and 3) obviously computers and data-technologies comprised an important part. But to try to slink out of the obvious reality that our economy is growing while the Euros stagnate is pure LEFTISM.
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