All posts by Peter Jefferson

About Peter Jefferson

Peter Jefferson is a full-time researcher for www.businessdistrict.com, a task he took on in 2011 when the site was launched. He brings to the position a wealth of practical experience in the field of fiscal policy, having consulted with various government bodies on revenue collection, expenditure and economic growth. Contact Peter at peter[at]businessdistrict.com

J.C. Penney’s New Executive Officer Is On The Move

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J.C. Penny Co. reported a net third quarter loss of $143 million. Lasts year’s third quarter showed a net profit of $44 million. This is J.C. Penney’s first losing quarter in two years and it is combined with declining revenues.

This month, J.C. Penney welcomed a new Chief Executive Officer, Ron Johnson, who ran Apple’s retail operations. Ron Johnson did great work at Apple and is very highly regarded. In 2010, he received $700,000 in salary and his total compensation was over 29 million dollars.

Immediately on starting at J.C. Penney, Johnson has been performing a strategic review of pricing, products, and promotional strategies to rebuild sales and revenue. Johnson told employees that “I’m not here to improve, I’m here to transform.”

Since his appointment in June Johnson has brought in Michael Francis from Target Corporation to the lead marketing effort and has also appointed 2 former executives from Apple to  serves as CEO and as chief talent officer.

Right now, the company needs to attract customers. One idea to attract younger customers would be to start coffee lounges with complementary WiFi. This would attract the kind of customers who buy at Apple stores, a consumer base that Ron Johnson has much experience with.

Some of J.C. Penney’s major managers are Marie Lacertosa, Ruby Anik, Michael T. Theilmann, Michael P. Dastugue, Ken Mangone, Clarence Kelley, Janet L. Dhillon, Thomas A. Clerkin and Michael Francis.

Emirates Airlines Is Taking Off

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The Emirates airlines in Dubai is a government owned airline which plans to be the major travel hub in the Middle East. It will  connect the Middle East to Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. It has just ordered 50 Boeing 777’s which is the largest order that Boeing has ever had. The total list price is 18 billion dollars but the Emirates will probably receive a large discount because it has such a large order.

Emirate Airlines reported a $225 million profit for the first half of its financial year. This is less than the profit from the same period last year.

Boeing is currently producing 7 Boeing 777’s per year and intends to increase production to get up to 8.3 planes per year.

The management of Emirates Airlines includes: Adel Ahmad Al Redha, Gary Chapman, Abdulaziz Al Ali, Ismail Ali Albanna, Ali Mubarak Al Soori, Sir Maurice Flanagan.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is incomplete as a basis for investment decisions. All investment decisions should only be made after a thorough analysis of the investment.

Sergio Ermotti to be Appointed CEO of UBS

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The SonntagsZeitung newspaper, citing an unnamed source, said that the board of directors of the wealth management/investment bank UBS is planning on appointing Sergio Ermotti as the permanent chief executive officer at the opening of a long-looked-forward-to investor meeting this coming Thursday.

The Swiss paper wrote that the appointment will be made at the meeting during a telephone conference in order to give Ermotti the chance to present the latest business strategy for the bank in New York in the capacity as permanent CEO.

The new strategy which SonntagsZeitung described and which is expected to be announced by Ermotti is a scaling back of its investment bank activities in order to focus greater efforts on its core wealth management business.

UBS did not offer to comment on the report.

McGraw Hill Goes To China

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The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (MHP) provides information services for educational, business and financial markets internationally.  It is a huge company which was founded in 1888 and has expanded over time.
The company has just signed a joint venture deal with New Oriental Education & Technology Group (EDU) to provide educational services in China. The two companies will teach technology and work skills to bring China’s children and youth up to 21st century capabilities. Both of these companies are international leaders in education services. The companies will operate “MaxEn Centers” to educate children from ages 4 to 15.

The company will help children with creative thinking, English, technological, and collaboration and team-building skills which are vital for academic and professional success.

Robert Bahash, the president of the Educational division of McGraw Hill said, “Businesses worldwide are rapidly adopting new technologies and moving at a pace that is bypassing traditional educational resources.” “Through our partnership with New Oriental, we will develop the tools and programs that provide students with the skills that are vital to their professional and even personal success. It will help them become life-long learners in a learning-centric world.”

Main managers at McGraw Hill are: Julie Romandetta, Alicia Hartjen, Michael Parcewski, Paul Konstadt, Robert J. Bahash, Gerald Pothier, Ehrick Wright and Larry McQuaid.

Marks & Spencer Department Store Is Still Going Strong

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Marks & Spencer Group plc (MKS.L) sells food, clothing, and home products around the world. It sells men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories. It also sells home and furniture products including towels sheets, curtains, dinner ware, small appliances, furniture etc. In addition, M&S markets technology products, personal grooming products, gifts, and foods. It has 701 stores in the United Kingdom and 361 stores in 42 other counties. The company was founded in 1884, so it has a wealth of retailing experience and a successful track record.

Among the interesting figures about this business is that while the market capitalization is $5 billion, the enterprise value is $511 billion which is 100 times the market capitalization. Usually the enterprise value is 10 or 20% more than the market capitalization. Marks & Spencer’s enterprise value is 10,000% more than its market capitalization. This may well be because the company was founded in 1884, 127 years ago, and has been growing ever since. We can see the the company is well managed because the return on assets (ROA) is 7.44% and the return on equity is 24.62%.

However, due to the weak economy, sales have been falling and annual profit estimates have been cut back from 725 million pounds sterling to 705 million pounds sterling. The company still making great money.

The top management of Marks & Spencer includes Vindi Banga, Kate Bo-stock, Robert Swannell, and Jeremy Darroch,

Buy the way, the stock is at a down right now and it may decline further. It also might have reached it’s low and be ready to rise. I personally wouldn’t buy it at this time.

Disclaimer: All information in this site is general information and is not comprehensive enough to make investment decisions. Investment decisions should only be made after a thorough analysis of the stock involved.