Monday, July 23, 2007

Overview of Investment Banking


In its Investment Banking business, Credit Suisse offers securities products and financial advisory services to corporations, governments and institutional investors. Operating in 57 locations across 26 countries, Credit Suisse's investment banking business specializes in innovative solutions, drawing on expertise from across the full spectrum of products: debt and equity underwriting, sales and trading, mergers and acquisitions, investment research, correspondent and prime brokerage services. We are a proven leader across the spectrum of investment banking, capital markets and financial services, ranking in the top tier in virtually all major business segments. Our organizational structure focuses on providing the highest quality of client-centric services.
About Investment Ideas

To enhance your investment strategies, take advantage of the full line of resources available online in Investment Insight. You may have access to broad-based research including earnings estimates and news reports from some of the most respected names in investing. In addition, you can access tools such as FundScan™ which is an interactive mutual fund screening and selection tool. You simply input the desired fund characteristics and performance criteria, and FundScan will assemble a list of mutual funds that meet your objectives.

Closed End Funds…
The Only Funds That Go "On Sale"


Americans are comfortable with mutual funds. According to Investor's Business Daily, we have over $11 trillion invested in them.

But there is another type of fund, one that holds much less in total assets, that is generally a better bargain. They're called closed end funds. And if you aren't familiar with them, you should be.

Open-end funds, like those offered by Fidelity, Vanguard and other leading mutual fund groups, continuously offer and redeem shares based on each day's closing net asset value.

Closed-end funds are different. They raise money on an initial public offering, just like a company going public, and then begin trading on an exchange.

Because these funds trade like stocks, you buy them through a brokerage account. And you can trade them intra-day using market orders, limit orders, or stop orders. They are marginable like stocks, too.
FOREX - US DOLLAR ENDS DEARER AGAINST RUPEE

MUMBAI, July 12 Asia Pulse - The US dollar ended slightly dearer against the Rupee at Rs 40.41 per dollar and the Pound Sterling also turned higher at Rs 82.09 per pound at the close of the Interbank Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market here on Wednesday.

The Euro ended at Rs 55.60 and Japanese Yen ended at Rs (100) 33.27.

FOREX and DOLLAR US


SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - The US dollar was higher against the yen and euro early in Asian trading hours Friday, but still within familiar ranges, after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke concluded Thursday his semi-annual testimony to the US Congress.

Bernanke reiterated that the Fed's main concern was inflation and that weakness in the housing market in the US would be a drag on economic growth, but his remarks failed to shake the currency markets.

At 10.18 am here (0018 GMT), the dollar was at 122.15 yen, up from 122.01 yen in late trading in New York Thursday. The euro was at 1.3801 dollars, down from 1.3804 in New York.

The carry trade has been boosted by data released Thursday showing the Chinese economy expanded by 11.9 percent in the second quarter, growing at a faster rate than the 11.0 percent forecast by the market and the 11.1 percent recorded in the first quarter.

This helped the Australian dollar reach a new 18-year high of 0.8810 US dollars in New York trading.

The Australian dollar is also at its highest levels against the yen since the early 1990s.

NAB Capital said the Australian dollar had also been boosted by the higher prices for industrial metals.

'We note that the Australian-US dollar pair still looks quite undervalued relative to commodity prices, despite its strong run-up this year,' NAB Capital said.

'Even a further rise to 0.8950 US dollars, where it briefly traded in February 1989, would still leave quite a large gap with the current level of commodity prices.'

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Production outside Germany

BMW started producing automobiles at its Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant in 1994. Today, the plant manufactures the BMW X5, the BMW Z4 Roadster and Coupe, and the BMW Z4 M Roadster and Coupe. The oft-rumored crossover vehicle, the X6, and the formerly Euro-produced X3 were recently confirmed by the Chairman of BMW's board as being under development for production at Plant Spartanburg.

Outside Germany, the largest output of the BMW Group comes from British factories. The Hams Hall plant manufactures four cylinder BMW engines for use around the world in 3-Series, 1-Series and Z4 vehicles. This is in addition to MINIs and Rolls-Royces made in Oxford and Goodwood.

The Spartanburg plant is open six days a week, producing automobiles approximately 110 hours a week. It employs about 4,700 people and manufactures over 500 vehicles daily. Recently, the plant has undergone a major renovation switching from 2 production lines down to one. Now both the X5 and the Z4 are produced in the same line, one right after the other.

After a period of local assembly, BMW's Rosslyn, South Africa, plant now manufactures cars, with over 70% of its output destined for export. In the mid-1990s, BMW invested R1bn to make Rosslyn a world-class facility. The plant now exports over 50,000 3 Series cars a year, mostly to the USA, Japan, Australia, Africa and the Middle East.

BMW signed agreement in 1999 with Avtotor to produce cars in Kalingrad, Russia. Factory has been assembling 3 and 5 -series cars.[8]

Starting from October 2004, BMWs intended for the Chinese market are produced in Shenyang, China.[9] BMW has established a joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Brilliance to build BMW 3 Series and 5 Series that have been modified for the needs of local markets.

The BMWX3 was manufactured in Graz, Austria between 2004 and 2007 by Magna Steyr with mainly German components. The X3 production has been moved to the Spartanburg plant due in part to high production and transportation costs of what was meant to be the "more affordable" SUV. North American pricing, after said costs, were nearly on par with the larger, American-built X5. [10]

In 2005, BMW Group built a new manufacturing facility in Egypt. This plant builds 3 Series, 5 Series, 7 Series, and X3 vehicles for the African and Middle East markets.

BMW opened its first assembly plant in Chennai, India in March 2007 to assemble 3-series and 5-series vehicles. The 20 Million Euro plant aims to produce 1,700 cars per year in the medium term, though this could rise to up to 10,000 cars if demand grows.[11][12] The new factory may also be used to help boost the production of BMW’s super-successful MINI.[13] BMW India headquarters is located in Gurgaon outside Delhi.

The BMW Group is considering the establishment of a new plant which will be located either in Volos, Greece or Limasol, Cyprus. These plants will be manufacturing motorcycles as well as the BMW 1 Series and the BMW 3 Series and will be serving the markets of Eastern Europe and Middle East. Construction is rumored to begin in 2009.

Rolls-Royce

In the early 1990s, BMW and Rolls-Royce Motors began a joint venture that would see the new Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph and Bentley Arnage adopt BMW engines.

In 1998, both BMW and Volkswagen tried to purchase Rolls-Royce Motors. Volkswagen outbid BMW and bought the company for £430 million, but BMW outflanked its German rival. Although Volkswagen had bought rights to the "Spirit of Ecstasy" mascot and the shape of the radiator grille, it lacked rights to the Rolls-Royce name. Rolls-Royce plc (the aero-engine business) retained the rights over the Rolls-Royce trademark and wished to strengthen its existing business partnership with BMW which extended to the BMW Rolls-Royce joint venture. Consequently, BMW was allowed to acquire the rights to the grille and mascot, and licensed the name and "RR" logo after 2003 for £40 million. Volkswagen was permitted to build Rolls-Royces at its Crewe factory only until 2003, but quickly shifted its emphasis to the Bentley brand.

In the meantime, BMW was faced with the need to build a new factory and develop a new model. The new factory at Goodwood produced the new Rolls-Royce Phantom, unveiled on January 2, 2003, and officially launched at the Detroit Auto Show on January 5, 2003. The model, priced around US$330,000, has experienced record sales worldwide of 796 Phantoms sold in 2005.

Redesign controversy

In the early 2000s, BMW undertook another of its periodic cycles of redoing the design language of its various series of vehicles, under the auspices of newly promoted design chief Christopher Bangle. These controversial designs often featured unconventional proportions with complex concave and convex curved surfaces combined with (sometimes arbitrary-appearing) sharp panel creases and slashes, a design cue called "flame surfacing" by Bangle. Much of the new language did not rest well with BMW enthusiasts or the automotive press which referred to the new designs as "Bangled" or "Bangle-ised". Bangle is commonly mistakenly accused to have penned all of the designs himself; however, he only chose which design was to be used. As evangelist Bangle has now been promoted within the company to the BMW Group Head of Design, leaving him in charge of not only BMW but also Rolls-Royce and Mini, some question what long term effect the disaffection of BMW traditionalists for these designs will have on sales, and on the company's future. Nevertheless, sales at BMW have increased every year since some of his most debated designs have gone into production.

Though many BMW enthusiasts zealously insist that BMW is the world's top selling luxury brand, new research indicates that their sales performance has not been as a result of their ever-growing skills in creating a luxury car. Instead, BMW's research indicates, that BMW owners generally purchase BMW's for the crisp, sporty characteristics for which BMW is famous. As a result of this worrying research, BMW has redoubled marketing efforts to chase the top selling luxury car, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Many aspects of the "controversial" designs are now beginning to surface in other auto manufacturer's designs, most notably Toyota and Honda. Though the Bangle-butt design debuted and was popularlised by BMW's 7-Series, Hyundai incorporated this design cue in 1999, three years before the 7-Series was released, and Maybach incorporated it since its first showing in 1997.

What is not as well known, however, is that Bangle was also responsible for many 'conservative' BMW designs and has worked at BMW for almost a decade. The first X5 sketches (which closely resembled the production car), were designed by him, and under his tenure the E46 3 Series came to be. Despite much of the scorn heaped on Chris Bangle, his design selections were approved by the entire executive board of BMW AG, including the majority owners, the Quandt family.

"The English Patient" – Rover

Between 1994 and 2000, under the leadership of Bernd Pischetsrieder, BMW owned the Rover Group in an attempt to get into mass market production, buying it from British Aerospace. This brought the active Rover, Mini and Land Rover brands as well as rights to many dormant marques such as Austin, Morris, Riley, Triumph and Wolseley under BMW ownership.

The venture was not successful. For years, Rover tried to rival BMW, if not in product, then in market positioning and "snob appeal". BMW found it difficult to reposition the English automaker alongside its own products and the Rover division was faced with endless changes in its marketing strategy. In the six years under BMW, Rover was positioned as a premium automaker, a mass-market automaker, a division of BMW and an independent unit. A five part BBC documentary, When Rover Met BMW (1996), gave some insight into the difficulties faced by the two firms.[7]

BMW was more successful with the Mini, MG and Land Rover brands, which did not have parallels in its own range at the time.

In 2000, BMW disposed of Rover after years of losses, with Rover cars going to the Phoenix Venture Holdings for a nominal £10 and Land Rover going to the Ford Motor Company. The German press ridiculed the English firm as "The English Patient", after the film. BMW itself, protected by its product range's image, was largely spared the blame. Even the British press was not particularly sympathetic towards Rover.

BMW retained the rights to Mini, Triumph and other marques. MINI has been a highly successful business, though the other names have not been used yet. The Rover name has recently been sold to Ford after BMW gave it a first refusal offer in 2000.

World War II

BMW motorcycles, specifically the BMW R12 and the BMW R75 combination were used extensively by the Aufklärungsabteilung of German panzer and motorised divisions of the German Army, Waffen SS and Luftwaffe.

BMW was also a major supplier of engines; supplying the Luftwaffe with engines and vehicles, and the Wehrmacht with motorcycles. Planes using the aero-engines included the BMW 801, one of the most powerful available. Over 30,000 were manufactured up to 1945. BMW also researched jet engines, producing the BMW 003, and rocket-based weapons. BMW has admitted to using between 25,000 and 30,000 slave labourers during this period, consisting of both prisoners of war and inmates of infamous concentration camps such as Dachau [4].

The BMW works were heavily bombed towards the end of the war. Of its sites, those in eastern Germany (Eisenach-Dürrerhof, Wandlitz-Basdorf and Zühlsdorf) were seized by the Soviets. The factory in Munich was largely destroyed.

Post-war history

After the war the Munich factory took some time to restart production in any volume. BMW was banned from manufacturing for three years by the Allies and did not produce a motorcycle, the R24, until 1948, and a car model until 1952.[6]

In the east, the company's factory at Eisenach was taken over by the Soviet Awtowelo group which formed finally the Eisenacher Motor-Werke. That company offered "BMWs" for sale until 1951, when the Bavarian company prevented use of the trademarks: the name, the logo and the "double-kidney" radiator grille.

The cars and motorcycles were then branded EMW (Eisenacher Motoren-Werke), production continuing until 1955.

In the west, the BAC, Bristol Aeroplane Company, inspected the factory, and returned to Britain with plans for the 326, 327 and 328 models. These plans, which became official war reparations, along with BMW engineer Fritz Fiedler allowed the newly formed Bristol Cars to produce a new, high-quality sports saloon (sedan), the 400 by 1947, a car so similar to the BMW 327 that it even kept the famous BMW grille.

In 1948 BMW produced its first postwar motorcycle and in 1952 it produced its first passenger car since the war. However, its car models were not commercially successful; models such as the acclaimed BMW 507 and 503 were too expensive to build profitably and were low volume.

By the late 1950s, it was also making bubble-cars such as the Isetta.

In 1959 BMW's management suggested selling the whole concern to Daimler-Benz. Major shareholder, Herbert Quandt was close to agreeing such a deal, but changed his mind at the last minute because of opposition from the workforce and trade unions and advice from the board chairman, Kurt Golda. Instead Quandt increased his share in BMW to 50% against the advice of his bankers, and he was instrumental in turning the company around.

That same year, BMW launched the 700, a small car with an air-cooled, rear-mounted 697 cc boxer engine from the R67 motorcycle. Its bodywork was designed by Giovanni Michelotti and the 2+2 model had a sporty look. There was also a more powerful RS model for racing. Competition successes in the 700 began to secure BMW's reputation for sports sedans.

At the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1961, BMW launched the 1500, a powerful compact sedan, with front disc brakes and four-wheel independent suspension. This modern specification further cemented BMW's reputation for sporting cars. It was the first BMW to officially feature the "Hofmeister kink", the rear window line that has been the hallmark of all BMWs since then.

The "New Class" 1500 was developed into 1600 and 1800 models. In 1966, the two-door version of the 1600 was launched, along with a convertible in 1967. These models were called the '02' series—the 2002 being the most famous—and began the bloodline that later developed into the BMW 3 Series.

By 1963, with the company back on its feet, BMW offered dividends to its shareholders for the first time since before World War II.

By 1966, the Munich plant had reached the limits of its production capacity. Although BMW had initially planned to build an entirely new factory, the company bought the crisis-ridden Hans Glas GmbH with its factories in Dingolfing and Landshut. Both plants were restructured, and in the following decades BMW's largest plant took shape in Dingolfing.

In 1968, BMW launched its large "New Six" sedans, the 2500, 2800, and American Bavaria, and coupés, the 2.5 CS and 2800 CS.

Of major importance to BMW was the arrival of Eberhard von Kuenheim from Daimler-Benz AG. Just 40 years old, he presided over the company's transformation from a national firm with a European-focused reputation into a global brand with international prestige.

Already commercially successful by the mid 60s, in December 1971, BMW moved to the new HQ present in Munich, architecturally modeled after four cylinders.

In 1972, the 5 Series was launched to replace the New Class sedans, with a body styled by Bertone. The new class coupes were replaced by the 3 Series in 1975, and the New Six became the 7 Series in 1977. Thus the three-tier sports sedan range was formed, and BMW essentially followed this formula into the 1990s. Other cars, like the 6 Series coupes that replaced the CS and the M1, were also added to the mix as the market demanded.

From 1970 to 1993, under von Kuenheim, turnover increased 18-fold, car production quadrupled and motorcycle production tripled.

Pre-WWII

BMW was founded by Karl Rapp originally as an engine manufacturer, Rapp Motor. adam Motoren Werke GmbH was founded as a successor company to Rapp Motor on July 21, 1917. [1] The Milbertshofen district of Munich was chosen, apparently because it was close to the Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik site. The blue-and-white roundel BMW logo, which is still used (illustrated above right) alludes to the white and blue checkered flag of Bavaria. It is often said to symbolize a spinning white propeller on a blue-sky background, although this interpretation developed after the logo was already in use. [1]

In 1916 the company secured a contract to build V12 engines for Austro-Daimler. Needing extra financing, Rapp gained the support of Camillo Castiglioni, Cornelius Jagdmann and Max Friz, the company was reconstituted as the Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH. Over-expansion caused difficulties; Rapp left and the company was taken over by the Austrian industrialist Franz Josef Popp in 1917, and named BMW AG in 1918. [2]

After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles (1919) prohibited the production of aircraft in Germany. Otto closed his factory and BMW switched to manufacturing railway brakes.[2]

In 1919 BMW designed its first motorcycle engine, used in a model called the Victoria, which was built by a company in Nuremberg. [3]

In 1924 BMW built its first model motorcycle, the R32. This had a 500 cc air-cooled horizontally-opposed engine, a feature that would resonate among their various models for decades to come, albeit with displacement increases and newer technology. The major innovation was the use of a driveshaft instead of a chain to drive the rear wheel. For decades to follow, the shaft-drive boxer engine was the mark of the BMW motorcycle. [3]

In 1927 the tiny Dixi, an Austin Seven produced under licence, began production in Eisenach. BMW bought the Dixi Company the following year, and this became the company's first car, the BMW 3/15. By 1933 BMW was producing cars that could be called truly theirs, offering steadily more advanced I6 sports and saloons (sedans). The pre-war cars culminated in the 327 coupé and convertible, the 328 roadster, fast 2.0 L cars, both very advanced for their time, as well as the upscale 335 luxury sedan.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Find the Right Deals Online on Car Insurance



Car insurance is a necessary evil to many. If you have a car, you must have an insurance too. Good things need to be protected and especially a thing as beloved as a car needs protection against all those factors that can threaten to wear off its beauty. Accidents and natural wear and tear or even thefts or burglaries are sad possibilities that cannot be ruled off.

Car insurance comes as a great boon at times as these which may seem inevitable. And if you have set up your mind on going for a good deal on your car insurance, you need to do better research than others who might be wasting money due to unnecessary hurry. You ought to take your time to find the best deals and also, at the same time, keep in kind some basic guidelines that can help you make a match out of it—because in the end, what you would like is to give your car protection and an assurance of good treatment and in the process, not end up hurting your pocket either.

If you intend to go online, you are sure to come across many good web sites that can offer you good deals and give you your money's worth—with clear-cut terms and conditions and hassle-free service when you have to claim your insurance sometime. A bit of tact and good information about the insurance products always stands you in good stead.

One thing to be understood well here is that the cheapest car insurance is more often than not, not the best one. For all you know, they may contain hidden costs or otherwise hassles that you may have to face when you make your claims. Therefore clarity is imperative as to what areas and under what conditions your car insurance is applicable.

Online car insurance quotes also give you the ease of applying while sitting at home and faster application processing at that. Also, since the internet insurance market is relatively new, chances are that you might come across special discounts. Online market is also more flexible and you can strike up customised deals, if you informed enough.

New Car Insurance


If you have bought or are thinking of buying a brand new car and it is over £5,000 then you will have no choice but to take out what is called "fully comprehensive" car insurance for your new pride and joy. However the name can be a little bit misleading to the majority of people, while you would think fully comp means that you will be covered for all eventualities, this isn't so. Even by purchasing fully comprehensive insurance there will still be certain things that you won't be covered for.
The majority of fully comprehensive car insurance policies will cover you for repairs to your cars and any others involved should you have an accident, along with this it will cover you for everything that third party, fire and theft cover will.
Usually fully comprehensive will also cover you for any damage which is deemed as accidental, for instance if damage to the insured vehicle occurs through such as malicious damage and very often includes any damage to the cars windscreen.
New car insurance can be expensive but if you look around for your insurance then you can still make huge savings on your premiums. One of the best ways to make savings is by shopping online, shopping online allows you to get almost instant quotes and along with this you are also able to compare the quotes against other companies which means you get the best deal possible. Along with this if you have an excellent driving record and no claims bonus this can help to reduce your premiums by a large amount. Another great way to cut down on the premium you pay for your new car insurance is to offer to pay a large amount for the excess; this is the amount that you have to pay before the insurance will take over should you make a claim.
There are many other additions you can make to your new car insurance policy and depending on the value of your car you might choose to include one or more with your fully comprehensive cover. Legal expense cover could be included in the fully comp policy so it is worth checking, but this covers you for any legal expenses that could occur as the result of an accident.
You can also take out further cover for such eventualities as damage from storms, should anything fall onto your car and cause it damage or any such thing out of the ordinary. However, again always check the exclusions within the policy as not everything will be covered.