Dental Insurance

Warschaw Learning Institute, the industry leader in online training for dental professionals, and military spouses offers a dynamic new Dental Insurance course for dentists, dental managers and their teams as well as individuals just entering the dental field. This easy to understand course guides the student through types of insurance policies, communicating with patients, estimating coverage, treatment planning, coding, financial policies and more.
The goal of this course is to help team members implement an office-wide protocol for educating patients on their dental insurance coverage, resulting in higher case acceptance. Protocols and guidelines are set forth to help the practice implement financial policies to new and existing patients, and streamline their current insurance claim process. The course also helps show how to manage your claims through regulations governed by the American Dental Association to gain optimum coverage from dental insurance companies.
As health care professionals, it is important to understand the ins and outs of the Dental Insurance industry, our responsibilities as providers, and our patient’s duties as well. This course will teach students efficient claim filing methods and presentation of treatment plans, as well as key words to use (and not use) to improve patient compliance.
By being able to present treatment cases and insurance benefits more effectively, the office can increase revenue while keeping collections to a minimum. Communicating to your patients that you are helping them get the most out of their insurance coverage will earn their respect and their referrals.
Cathy Warschaw, Director of the Warschaw Learning Institute has a goal for every student to excel in his or her profession with the help of WLI courses. “Our goal is to be there for you not only during your learning experience but afterwards” she says, “Because your success is our success!”
The course instructor is Anthony Warkins. Warkins is currently employed by one of the top dental insurance companies in the country. He has long felt that there is a tremendous disconnect between providers and insurance companies, and he is determined to bridge that communication gap. With over 10 years in the dental insurance field he will train you to look at your patient’s insurance claims from the viewpoint of an insurance adjustor. This will increase the efficiency of your claim submissions and enable you to understand what an insurance company is really looking for in your claims.
Insurance has changed the face of healthcare and our dental offices wouldn’t be what they are today without it. Many patients may not even receive comprehensive dental treatment at all if it weren’t for the fact that they have coverage through a 3rd party insurance agency.

Warschaw Learning Institute is a Recognized ADA CERP provider. Enroll today and begin making positive changes in your office’s insurance coordination.

Guinea

Reforms by Guinea's first freely elected government are needed to clean up a mining sector in disarray after decades of political turmoil, but they risk scaring off investors if they go too far too fast.
The world's top bauxite supplier and a new frontier for iron ore, Guinea is rewriting its mining code, probing joint venture deals, and has dealt tough blows to major firms since the election of President Alpha Conde last November.
The poll in the country that depends on mining for 70 percent of revenues was heralded as its first free vote since independence from France in 1958, ending nearly two years of military rule and decades of authoritarian leadership.
"From one perspective, the government of Guinea is trying to clean up the books, which makes sense because Guinea is a country rich in resources but has not benefitted from them at all," said Samir Gadio, analyst at Standard Bank.
"But from a perception standpoint, it is a bit tricky. (These moves) might create a negative perception among investors, and Conde's government needs to take into account this tradeoff," he said.
Conde's government is drafting amendments to the mining code, the first changes since 1995, that include rules boosting state share in the industry to as high as a 35 percent and toughening up requirements for winning concessions.
An executive at one international firm operating in Guinea called the proposed changes "a step backward" and warned they could trim future investment after they are signed into law in the coming months.
But other industry players have said the new mining code could improve transparency on local terms of doing business, making it easier to judge investment options.
"It is the sovereign right of every state to define the rules of the game," said Mamoudou Diallo, president of the Guinean Chamber of Mines and also director of Guinean gold miner SEMAFO. "All we are asking for is that the rules are transparent and widely published from the start."
Top global mining firms Rio Tinto, Vale, and RUSAL are among Guinea's biggest investors.
DISPUTES, CANCELLATIONS
The mining reforms come alongside reviews of Guinea's recent joint venture deals -- which include those between Rio and Chinalco, and Vale and BSGR for development of the Simandou iron ore deposit -- and follow the scrapping of big contracts with two international firms.
Conde in March cancelled a deal with France's Getma International for the management of a container port in the capital Conakry, and handed the multi-million dollar deal to port group Bollore.
Getma has said it is seeking international arbitration, and has also filed corruption charges.
In April Conde also suspended an agreement with Vale to upgrade a 640-km railway, and this month the country briefly seized the local assets of telecoms firm MTN over a license fee dispute.
"I think all these moves are supposed to help things somehow. But instead they are bringing chaos into the system," said Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, analyst at DaMina Advisors.
"To a degree these developments could hamper investment. There are so many investigations and so many reform plans that investors may take a wait and see approach."

Another big mining country, Democratic Republic of Congo, launched its own mining review in 2007 on the back of an election and high commodities prices, deeply undermining business confidence in the country.
In a sign of more squabbles to come, a Guinea mines ministry official told Reuters last month that it was "moving toward a showdown" with Russian firm RUSAL, a company already facing allegations it paid too little for its Friguia alumina refinery and that it underpaid on taxes.
Rio said in April that it had agreed to pay Guinea $700 million to secure rights to blocks 3 and 4 of the Simandou iron ore project, which it believes is one of the world's biggest unexploited reserves.
Guinea had stripped Rio of its rights to blocks 1 and 2 under the rule of former president Lansana Conte, and last year warned Rio it could lose its remaining stakes.
"The situation is not good, even if the initial outlook seemed promising," a banking industry executive based in Guinea said on condition of anonymity, referring to hopes Guinea's election would attract more investment.
"Under the junta, money was circulating. But now things are slowing down," he said.

Linkedin IPO

There is only one thing that stands in the way of a successful pricing later today of LinkedIn’s IPO – and that’s common sense.
But tonight’s IPO buyers need not worry. Common sense generally has little to do with the IPO market – and absolutely nothing to do with the LinkedIn IPO.
After all, what is the sense in putting a $4.3 billion valuation on a company with slowing revenue growth and zero projected profits for 2011 or in paying $43.50 for a share that post-IPO will have a tangible book value of just of $3.38, or one-thirteenth what you just paid.
Of course, there isn’t much sense. But that doesn’t matter. Here’s what does: The belief that someone out there will pay even more for the shares.
When everyone on Wall Street tells you that a LinkedIn share will open far higher than the price at which it is  issued, the 189-page LinkedIn S-1 and your 500-line Excel DCF model are really just details.
Why not put in for an allocation of shares and then flip them at your earliest convenience?
Such is the beauty and horror of a frothy IPO market where it’s in everyone’s interest to ignore ugly facts and numbers and put a pretty price on LinkedIn.
Consider the selling shareholders. Goldman Sachs, just to name one, will be selling its entire stake of 871,840 LinkedIn shares in the IPO. Why would Goldman — or any other selling shareholder, for that matter —  unload their shares for anything less than the most they could get?
Even those investors not selling like Sequoia and Greylock have a vested interest in a successful IPO. LinkedIn’s pre-IPO shareholders are carrying shares at an average cost of $1.34 a share.  Why would it be bad for them if the shares close the first day at $50?
Then there’s LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. Sure, he doesn’t want the headache of a poor IPO aftermarket. But he’s taking $5 million off the top by selling down 115,335 of his 2.3 million shares.
As for Morgan Stanley, LinkedIn’s lead underwriter, it  badly needs this IPO to be deemed a “success.”  On the board of LinkedIn sits Reid Hoffman, Skip Battle and Mike Moritz, David Sze – a who’s who of Silicon Valley.  If LinkedIn is up 50% a week after the IPO, Morgan Stanley can kiss the Facebook and Zynga IPOs goodbye.
That’s why the underwriters just upped the LinkedIn price range by a whopping 30% or $10 a share. It’s not that Morgan Stanley thinks the company is suddenly “worth” 30% more. It’s just that Morgan Stanley discovered on the LinkedIn roadshow that they could unload LinkedIn’s shares at almost any price.
That’s the dynamic of the “hot” IPO. And strangely, jacking the price by 30% made the offering even more enticing for lots of prospective IPO buyers.

That this shouldn’t be the case. The laws of supply and demand say the higher the price, the less the demand.
But again, that’s common sense and this is Wall Street, where a higher price equals more demand, where if the other guy wants something, then you want it even more.
How did Microsoft get comfortable paying $8.5 billion for Skype? Why are private investors paying $70 billion for Facebook shares?
Because they convinced themselves that if they didn’t, somebody else would.  It’s impeccable logic until you realize it doesn’t make any sense. 

OneMap

OneMap

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said two new services have been added to OneMap, an integrated map platform for the public to access government agencies' location-based services and information.

PropertyPrices shows the transacted prices of both private housing and Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats over the past year on a map.

Users can also view information such as size of the unit, tenure type (freehold or leasehold) and transaction date.

It combines property transaction data provided by the URA and HDB on a common map platform.

Space2Lease allows businesses to check for government properties available for rent by the SLA and HDB.

SLA said OneMap is now also available on the iPhone.

Several iPhone apps have already been published using this platform, including NParks' Parks Live, URA's Masterplan 2008 and Property Market Information, as well as Nanyang Polytechnic's Pocket OneMap.

The Pocket OneMap makes it easy for users to access OneMap information and services while on the go.

SLA said OneMap has been well received since its launch a year ago.

And the public has also given useful suggestions to improve OneMap.

One suggestion taken on board was the Public Transport Routing service.

It provides travel directions and journey planning on public buses and the MRT, enabling users to choose the route best suited to their needs and calculates the trip fare, estimated travel time and travel distance to their destinations.

M1 Singapore

M1 Limited today announced it will offer iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G in Singapore on 20 May. M1 will offer all iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G models with select tariff plans on a two-year contract, as well as a range of attractive data plans for iPad 2 without a contract.
iPad 2 is the second generation of Apple's revolutionary new device, featuring an entirely new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the same stunning 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. iPad 2 features Apple’s new dual-core A5 processor for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics and now includes two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime and Photo Booth, and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video, bringing the innovative FaceTime feature to iPad users for the first time. Though it is thinner, lighter, faster and packed with new features, iPad 2 still delivers up to 10 hours of battery life* users have come to expect.
“We are excited to bring the amazing iPad 2 to M1 customers. Together with M1's advanced high speed network and affordable data plans for iPad 2, our customers will get an unbeatable experience at home, at work and everywhere else,” said P. Subramanian, Chief Marketing Officer, M1.

Customers can buy all models of iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G, beginning 20 May at M1 Shop at Paragon from 8am onwards and at 10am from all other M1 Shops.

M1 Network Down

M1 Network Down

M1 subscribers that their mobile network has been down since Wednesday morning.

There were complaints about being unable to make or receive any phone calls on their mobile devices, as well as send SMSes.

Some also had difficulty contacting the M1 hotline to find out the problem.

A statement by M1 as of 2pm said M1 is experiencing technical difficulties on one of their customer management severs.

M1 said mobile services to some of their customers are also temporarily disrupted.

M1 said it is putting all available resources to promptly rectify this issue, and deeply apologises for the inconvenience caused.

Bajaj Finserv

The following companies may have unusual price changes in India trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are as of 9:44 a.m. in Mumbai.
The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or Sensex, advanced 11.13, or 0.1 percent, to 18,148.48. The BSE 200 Index slid 0.1 percent to 2,249.01.
Bajaj Finserv Ltd. (BJFIN) surged 5.3 percent to 523.25 rupees, the steepest gain in two months. The financial services company plans to expand its retail wealth management business to as many as 10 Indian cities by the end of the financial year that began April 1, Managing Director Sanjiv Bajaj said in a phone interview. The company also reported fourth-quarter profit jumped.

Container Corp. of India Ltd. (CCRI IN) dropped 2 percent to 1,073.1 rupees, set for its lowest close in three months. The state-controlled freight-train operator was cut to “sell” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which cited declining growth and returns as well as the stock’s “unfavorable” valuations. The brokerage lowered its share-price forecast to 1,007 rupees from 1,088 rupees, analysts led by Ishan Sethi wrote in a report.
State Bank of India (SBIN) lost 2.3 percent to 2,359.7 rupees, bound for its lowest close since July 8. The nation’s largest lender’s Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said loan growth may be restricted if the company faces a cash crunch. The stock was also cut to “inline” from “outperform” at Standard Chartered Plc.

SBI Recruitment 2011

The online registration for the State Bank of India (SBI) Recruitment 2011 has started from 18 May 2011, Wednesday.
The online registration will stay open from 18 May 2011 to 9 June 2011 on the official website - http://www.statebankofindia.com.

SBI has invited applications for the post of Probationary Officer (PO) recruitment 2011.
The fee payment voucher can also be downloaded from the official website of SBI -http://www.statebankofindia.com.

The written examination will be held on 24th July, 2011.

For more information visit the State Bank of India website.

LA Noire

The evidence is pretty straightforward: a bloody shoe, a suspect with a temper, an eyewitness who can place him at the scene.
So why do I feel this sense of unease, as if I just locked up the wrong person?
L.A. Noire, the crime drama inspired by 1940s-era Los Angeles, is arguably one of the most fascinating titles from Grand Theft Auto developers Rockstar Games. It's mature and thought-provoking, featuring a wonderful balance of detective work and action on the street.
The star of L.A. Noire is Cole Phelps, a veteran of World War II who joins the Los Angeles Police Department. After demonstrating his skills as a police officer, his captain decides to move him up to the rank of detective.
Cole starts out on the Traffic desk, investigating crashes and other incidents before moving his way up to other beats such as Homicide, Vice (drugs, prostitution, gambling) and Arson.
Cole is far different from recent Rockstar characters such as Niko Bellic from Grand Theft Auto IV and John Marston fromRed Dead Redemption. The straight-laced Cole seems to do everything by the book. He's also quite intelligent, as demonstrated when quoting Shakespeare during one case.
Like its lead character, L.A. Noire is quite different from previous Rockstar titles. Judging on looks alone, players may assume the game is "Grand Theft Auto in the '40s."
However, there are several key differences. L.A. Noire has a feeling of openness, but there's a bit more structure to how the main story arc plays out. Instead of roaming the city seeking out activity tied to the primary plot, players are handed cases which they must go investigate and solve. Cole's time on Patrol serves as training of sorts, allowing players to learn the basic mechanics of the game.
L.A. Noire breaks down into three components: scene investigation, interrogation and action on the street.
At the start of each case, players will explore the crime scene searching for clues. As players discover a clue, the controller rumbles and music plays, indicating objects nearby. Some may be unrelated, but others serve as key clues to help solving the crime. Similar audio cues will pop up so players know they have found all the clues at a specific scene. Clues, as well as key people and locations, are stored in Cole's notebook, which players can reference at any point.
The second piece is interrogation. Scene witnesses and suspects are grilled based on the clues players discover. After each answer, players choose one of three responses: Truth, Doubt and Lie. When accusing someone of lying, the player must present appropriate evidence to back up that claim. Guess correctly and the witness or suspect will divulge more details. Otherwise, they may dodge your queries.
This is where the use of MotionScan technology is valuable. When suspects or witnesses answer questions, their eyes shift back and forth, or bite their lip or express other feelings of nervousness on their face.
As players move up the detective ranks, they earn Intuition points to uncover more clues at a crime scene or narrow down options during interrogations. Players boost their rank by solving cases, completing street crimes on the sides or find Los Angeles landmarks.

The third component, action on the street, is where the GTAcomparisons come into view. Players may chase a suspect on foot, in a vehicle, engage in a fistfight to take down a suspect or even in a firefight. Controls are similar to GTA and Red Dead, so players familiar with those titles should have little trouble adjusting.
Although L.A. Noire plays very differently from its Rockstar brethren, all these games share one similar trait: the ability to deeply immerse players into the world created by developers.
In the case of studio Team Bondi's effort, downtown Los Angeles drips with atmosphere, whether it stems from the 40s-era jazz music, the cars, the clothes, the black-and-white intros to each case, and other notable landmarks. The only thing I wish L.A. Noire offered was more incentive to explore the city, beyond just busting up street crimes and seeking out landmarks or other hidden gems.
The cases encompassing the main story arc are incredibly interesting, and open in terms of potential outcome. Players may not find every clue, or question every witness. During one case I played a second time, I discovered a key piece of evidence earlier in the investigation, revealing a different ending.
Also, players may make a misstep during an interrogation and miss out on key details. On a separate case, the captain chewed me out for bungling the investigation.
The overall story is also surprisingly mature, and not just for the violence and nudity. The plot is reminiscent of films such as Chinatown and L.A. Confidential, and, to some degree, even TV shows like Law & Order. The pace of the game is also slower, yet it remains engaging.
Here's what most amazing about L.A. Noire: Rockstar Games and Team Bondi could have easily cranked out a GTA-style game set in this era and had a pretty strong title. However, they stepped outside that box and delivered a truly unique detective drama with detailed crime scenes and intense interrogations. That's enough evidence to label L.A. Noire as a potential game of the year.
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Team Bondi
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Price: $59.99
Rating: M for Mature
Release Date: May 17
Score: 4 stars (out 0f 4)

HPQ

HP (NYSE: HPQ) reported that net revenue of $31.6 billion was up 3 percent from the prior-year period as reported and up 1 percent when adjusted for the effects of currency. GAAP diluted earnings per share was $1.05, up 15 percent from $0.91 in the prior-year period. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.24, up 14 percent from $1.09 in the prior-year period.
Financial highlights for various business segments are:
Personal systems group revenue declined 5 percent year-over-year with a 5.7 percent operating margin. Commercial client revenue growth was 13 percent outpacing consumer client revenue decline of 23 percent in the quarter.
Imaging and printing group revenue grew 5 percent year-over-year with a 17.0 percent operating margin. The group continued to deliver strong performance across the business with share gains in all printing categories and 41 percent year-over-year growth in commercial printer hardware units.
Services revenue grew 2 percent year-over-year with a 15.2 percent operating margin.

Enterprise servers, storage and networking revenue grew 15 percent year over year with a 13.8 percent operating margin.
HP financial services revenue grew 17 percent year-over-year with a 9.4 percent operating margin.
HP software revenue grew 17 percent year-over-year with a 20.2 percent operating margin. Revenue was driven by strong growth in licenses and services of 29 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
HP generated $4.0 billion in cash flow from operations in the second quarter. HP utilized $2.7 billion of cash during the quarter to repurchase approximately 64 million shares of common stock in the open market. HP exited the quarter with $12.8 billion in gross cash.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2011, HP estimates revenue of approximately $31.1 billion to $31.3 billion, GAAP diluted EPS of approximately $0.90, and non-GAAP diluted EPS of approximately $1.08. HP expects full year fiscal 2011 revenue in the range of $129 billion to $130 billion, GAAP diluted EPS of at least $4.27, and non-GAAP diluted EPS of at least $5.
The shares last traded at $39.80 with a 52-week range of $37.32 to $49.39.

SBI Q4 Results 2011

The key benchmark indices extended initial losses to hit fresh intraday lows in afternoon trade soon after banking major State Bank of India announced poor Q4 results. Weak start for European stocks also weighed on the sentiment. The BSE 30-share Sensex was down 144.10 points or 0.78%, up close to 10 points from the day's low and off close to 235 points from the day's high. The market breadth was weak. The S&P CNX Nifty tumbled to near eight-week low and the Sensex hit 1-1/2-week low.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries extended initial slide. State-run upstream oil companies plunged on reports the government has increased subsidy burden on upstream companies with respect to under-recoveries of oil marketing firms on sale of fuel at controlled price. Interest rate sensitive realty stocks declined on worries higher interest rates could dent demand for residential and commercial property. IT stocks rose on a weak rupee.
Meanwhile, stock brokers have informed their clients that shares purchased in cash segment on Monday, 16 May 2011, cannot be sold for delivery on Tuesday, 17 May 2011, due to merger of settlements. Banks remain closed today on account of Buddha Purnima.
At 13:20 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 144.10 points or 0.78% to 18,202.77. The index lost 155.24 points at the day's low of 18,189.79 in afternoon trade, its lowest level since 5 May 2011. The Sensex gained 90.77 points at the day's high of 18,435.80 in morning trade.
The S&P CNX Nifty was down 55.25 points or 1% to 5,443.75. The Nifty hit a low of 5,442.10 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 23 March 2011.
The market breadth, indicating the health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 1534 shares declined while 1025 shares advanced. A total of 118 shares remained unchanged.
Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 20 declined while the rest of them advanced. Hero Honda Motors, Tata Motors and NTPC shed by between 1.84% to 3.38%.
India's largest commercial bank by branch network State Bank of India (SBI) was down 3.72% after bank announced during market hours today that net profit fell 98.88% to Rs.20.88 crore on 18.07% rise in total income to Rs. 26536.84 crore in Q4 March 2011 over Q4 March 2010. A sharp surge in tax provision to Rs. 1901.85 crore from Rs. 977.88 crore in Q4 March 2010 pulled down the profit to a measly figure in Q4 March 2011.
India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank lost 1.17%. The bank raised its benchmark base rate by 50 basis points to 9.25% per annum effective 7 May 2011. It has also announced an increase of 0.5% in its benchmark prime lending rate and in its Floating Reference Rate for consumer loans (including home loans).
India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank rose 0.54%. The bank raised its base rate by 55 basis points (bps) to 9.25% per annum and prime lending rate (PLR) by 50 bps to 17.75% effective 12 May 2011.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) lost 2.4% to Rs. 921.65, extending initial decline. The stock gyrated between Rs. 921.10 and Rs. 947.45 so far during the day. Reportedly RIL is working on a pricing formula for coal bed methane from three blocks in Sohagpur (east and west) and Sonhat in Madhya Pradesh, prior to asking government approval. The government is now insisting on its power to set the price for any gas produced by private companies. Reports added that RIL is discussing the pricing issue with some power and fertiliser companies and will take it to the government once it arrives on a price.
India's largest oil exploration firm by sales ONGC plunged 5.78% on high volume of 18.31 lakh shares on reports the government has increased upstream share to 38.5% of total subsidy burden of about Rs. 77922 crore for the year ended March 2011 (FY 2011). Upstream companies will have to bear burden of Rs. 30,000 crore in FY 2011, reports added. Another state run upstream oil firm Oil India slumped 4.65%.
Software firms rose after the rupee fell to its lowest in two months against the dollar on Monday. The partially convertible rupee ended at 45.1550/1650 per dollar on Monday after falling to 45.18 in intraday trade -- its weakest since 17 March 2011. A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports. India's second largest software services exporter Infosys rose 0.29%. India's largest software services exporter TCS gained 1.08%. India's third largest software exporter Wipro shed 0.78%.
Interest rate sensitive realty stocks declined on worries higher interest rates could dent demand for residential and commercial property. Purchases of both residential and commercial property are largely driven by finance. Ackruti City, DLF, HDIL and Unitech fell by between 0.02% to 1.34%.
India's largest cigarette maker by sales ITC rose 1.69% on expectations of good Q4 results. The company unveils its Q4 March 2011 result on 20 May 2011.
Among other FMCG stocks, Dabur India, Hindustan Unilever, United Spirits and Britannia Industries rose by between 0.17% to 3.94%.
State-run Steel Authority of India declined 3.12% after media reports quoted company's chairman C. S. Verma as saying that the company will likely launch its follow-on public offer share sale by 14 June 2011, after the board of directors of the steel maker finalise the draft prospectus early next week.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs. 47.07 crore and domestic funds bought shares worth Rs. 3.41 crore on Monday, 16 May 2011 as per provisional figures released by the stock exchanges.
The corporate results announced so far have been good. The combined net profit of a total of 1982 companies rose 17.5% to Rs. 58824 crore on 22.6% rise in sales to Rs. 607395 crore in the quarter ended March 2011 over the quarter ended March 2010.
On the macro front, the wholesale price index (WPI) rose an annual 8.66% in April 2011, lower than the upwardly revised annual rise of 9.04% in March 2011, government data showed on Monday. The government also revised upwards inflation rate for February 2011 to 9.54% from provisional rise of 8.31% reported earlier.
State-run oil marketing companies hiked petrol rates by a steep Rs. 5 per litre effective midnight Saturday. Reports on Sunday indicated that Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will head a ministerial panel to decide on raising diesel, LPG and kerosene prices later this week. If diesel price is hiked, it could further stoke inflationary pressure in the economy -- diesel being a key transportation fuel. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at its annual 2011-2012 monetary policy review on 3 May 2011, said it will continue with its anti-inflationary stance. Short-term sacrifices in economic growth will have to be made to rein in surging prices, the central bank said.

European shares fell on Tuesday weighed by persistent peripheral euro zone debt concerns, while OMV was among the top fallers after it announced a refinancing plan. The key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK fell by between 0.34% to 0.65%.
Asian stocks declined in volatile trade. The key benchmark indices in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong fell by between 0.08% to 0.86%. The key benchmark indices in Japan and China were up 0.09% and 0.13% respectively. Markets in Singapore and Indonesia were closed for a public holiday.
Trading in US index futures indicated that Dow could rise 10 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, 17 May 2011.
US crude futures were down 39 cents or 0.4% at $96.98 a barrel on Tuesday. India imports majority of its crude oil requirements and high oil prices have raised concerns about widening current account deficit (CAD). High oil prices have also raised concerns about higher oil subsidy bill for the government and its negative impact on the government's fiscal position.

Galaxy Macau

Flanked by long-legged models adorned in peacock feathers, Hong Kong property and construction tycoon Lui Che Woo was all smiles as he opened the doors to his new $US2 billion ($A1.9 billion) casino in Macau on Sunday.
Lui, chairman of Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment , around 20 per cent owned by private equity group Permira, is the only operator to open a casino this year in Macau, the world's largest gaming market, where revenues surpass Las Vegas four fold.
Designed as an Asian-style palace, the 550,000 square metre property is the third casino to open on the developing Cotai strip, Macau's version of the Vegas strip and which authorities hope will transform Macau from a pure gaming destination into a renowned tourist and leisure destination.
"It doesn't feel like a casino, it's so beautiful" said Wer, a 30 year old male visitor from Zhuhai. "People can come here to relax, bring their families. It feels comfortable."
Like gilded ice cream cones, Galaxy Macau's gold embossed turrets glow against the Macau skyline, magnifying the glitz of billionaire Sheldon Adelson's Venetian property and Melco Crown Entertainment's City of Dreams, all situated within walking distance of each other.
Macau, formerly a hotbed for piracy and smuggling, has been trying to upgrade its image with Michelin starred dining options and vast luxury retail outlets, all in a bid to woo China's rising middle class."
While around 70 percent of gaming revenue is still accrued from the high-rolling VIP sector, Galaxy Macau is allocating two-thirds of its 450 gaming tables to the mass market, confident of delivering returns in the mid to high teens to investors, Chief Financial Officer Robert Drake said.
Galaxy's new 2200 room property, which incorporates international hotel brands Banyan Tree and Japan's Okura, is hoping to creating a "super industry" of gaming and tourism in the former Portuguese colony, said Galaxy Vice Chairman Francis Lui.
"If you merge Phuket in Thailand together with Macau it would create a new dimensional kind of market. The example of Galaxy Macau is to bring this tropical mood to Macau," said Lui, also a committee member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
FRIENDLY COMPETITION
With its 350 ton white sand beach, simulated wave pool and southeast Asian resort-style spa facilities, Galaxy is hoping to create a niche market in the former Portuguese colony, emphasizing the health and well being of its visitors.
But it remains to be seen whether the chain-smoking hard-core gamblers that flood from into Macau from the mainland will have significant interest outside the heaving baccarat tables.
"The casino is great, I am going to come regularly," said 27 year old Edwin. Dressed in a tight white t-shirt and fitted trousers, he shrugged: "I haven't seen the pool yet, maybe later."
Galaxy Macau is following in the footsteps of rivals Melco Crown and Sands China in targeting China's mass market, betting that improving infrastructure and rising consumption will help propel demand.
"Galaxy's opening is also good for us, more people will come here," said a waiter at Adelson's Venetian. "It is exciting. We have been waiting three years for the open. It is not a threat, just friendly competition."
Galaxy shares have surged more than 300 percent over the past 12 months, compared with the Hang Seng Index's roughly 17 per cent gain. Analysts remain bullish on the firm's prospects. "We think the property has potential to exceed revenue and cashflow expectations," said Union Gaming in a note.

Galaxy's new project only covers around a third of its available land space on the Cotai strip. It plans to develop the rest of its land bank over the next seven to eight years.
Wynn Macau, casino mogul Steve Wynn's Macau unit of Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts International, and SJM Holdings are the three other licensed operators yet to start construction on the strip.
"We could build three more of these if we wanted to," Drake, Galaxy's CFO, said.

CEBU Pacific

CEBU Pacific

The Philippines’ largest national flag carrier, Cebu Pacific (CEB), was named the most sociable airline in the world recently by Planely.com, an air travel-focused social networking site that saw 142 airlines joining its contest.

Planely’s service allows passengers to register their flights, and the website shows them who they will be flying with so they can meet and help pass the time, network or taxi-share.

Nick Martin, founder and CEO of Planely, said: “We’re delighted to see how the fun concept of connecting people as they travel was received by both airlines and passengers. It brings us one step closer to helping the friendly skies become even friendlier.”

According to Newsweek Budget Travel blogger Rachel Mosely, “All flights registered on Planely between April 13 and April 20 were tabulated, and after a Twitter campaign that corralled their more than 150,000 followers, Cebu Pacific, the participating airline with the most flights registered (an impressive 913), was crowned the winner...”

Other participating airlines include JetBlue, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, SWISS, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines and Delta.

“CEB is grateful for the tremendous support from our community in Facebook and Twitter. We are very proud to be recognized as Planely.com’s Most Sociable Airline, and we look forward to providing more fun ways for our passengers to communicate and connect, aside from offering our trademark low fares,” CEB Vice President for Marketing and Distribution, Candice Iyog, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

Because of this, CEB is holding a seat sale May 14-16, 2011 or until seats last, to encourage even more passengers to connect, and offer more opportunities for every “Juan” to fly.

She said for travel from June 1 to September 30, 2011, they can purchase P699 seats from Manila to Calbayog or Surigao. CEB flies from Manila thrice weekly to both Calbayog and Surigao.

For travel from July 1 to September 30, 2011, P649 seats are also available from Cebu to Dipolog, General Santos, Ozamiz, Pagadian or Surigao. Those coming from Manila can purchase P1,299 to Dipolog, General Santos, Ozamiz or Pagadian, according to Iyog.

She said international seats up for grabs are P999 only from Manila to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah and from Clark to Macau. And the P1,499 seats from Manila to Brunei, Ho Chi Minh, Kuala Lumpur, Macau or Taipei are also available.

Meanwhile, for travel from September 1 to November 30, 2011 are P2,099 seats from Manila to Busan, Incheon or Osaka, and from Cebu to Busan or Incheon.

Galaxy Macau

GALAXY Entertainment Group opened its $HK14.9 billion ($A1.8 billion) casino resort in Macau yesterday after an almost two-year delay because of the credit crisis, adding more competition to the booming market for James Packer's Melco Crown joint venture.
The 450-table, 2200-room Galaxy Macau may help Hong Kong billionaire Lui Che Woo's company reduce its reliance on high-stakes gamblers, said Donald Cheng, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Haitong Securities.
Galaxy's StarWorld casino made about 90 per cent of first-quarter sales from gamblers betting as much as $250,000 a hand.
''It will help Galaxy diversify its business,'' said Mr Cheng. ''Being the only new casino in the city this year, when revenue is undergoing a strong and healthy period of growth, will also bring more people there.''
Casino gambling revenue in Macau will probably grow 35 per cent to about $US32 billion ($A30.2 billion) this year, according to estimates by CLSA Asia Pacific Markets. Galaxy has almost quadrupled in market value over the past year, Wynn Macau has more than doubled and Sands China climbed 87 per cent as gambling has surged in the world's biggest casino hub.
The new venue will be ''a strong catalyst for market growth'' and will help boost revenue in the so-called mass-market gambling segment, which is more profitable, Aaron Fischer and Huei Suen Ng, Hong Kong-based analysts for CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, said in a note to clients. Galaxy Macau is on the isthmus of reclaimed land known as the Cotai Strip, where billionaire Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Sands Corp's chairman and chief executive officer, has said he planned to recreate the Las Vegas Strip. Sands' Venetian Macao, the world's biggest casino by floor area, is on the Cotai Strip, with Packer's Melco Crown's City of Dreams across the road from it. Gambling revenue in the former Portuguese colony soared 58 per cent last year to $US23.5 billion, about four times that of the Las Vegas Strip.

''We're very excited about the infrastructure development in mainland China, which will make Macau more accessible to the burgeoning middle class of China,'' Galaxy chief financial officer Robert Drake said in an interview. ''The Macau market is projected to grow 15 to 20 per cent this year and … we are quite confident that we can sustain that growth.''
Galaxy Macau may boost the company's revenue at least 20 per cent this year, Francis Lui, son of Lui Che Woo and the company's deputy chairman, said in March.

Go Daddy

This week Domain Name Wire discussed Godaddy auction domains appearing within the registration path. This change had actually occurred months ago, but since there was no announcement by Godaddy most didn’t notice the change.  DNW points out that this change means that you can now list a domain at auction for a lower commission and the name shows for sale when a user searches for that name.
The change also means more than the added exposure and lower commission.  It opens up Godaddy’s registration path to all registrants at any registrar.  Godaddy auctions allow anyone to auction any domain from any registrar. Previously only Godaddy registered domains (via the Premium Listings channel) would display within the registration path.  So for example, a domain name registered at Moniker can be listed for sale through Godaddy’s Auctions and will show up within the registration path.
There are some things to consider.  Selling domains through Godaddy’s Auctions have the added benefit of a lower commission (7% vs 30% on Premium Listings), but selling through Auctions requires the seller to handle the transfer process and from our experience may also requires some management of the sale via Escrow.com. Godaddy’s Premium Listings benefit from an instant sale and transfer process which is more “hands-off” for the seller.  The Premium Listings also have a much more instant buy process, requiring less of the buyer.
When DNN discussed this new feature offering with Godaddy execs they informed us that this particular channel doesn’t convert as well as Premium Listings.  If you consider that the registrant will see the domain for sale in the registration path and that the user must take the steps to register and then bid (or buy it now) this may be the reason for a lower conversion.  If you want to sell more names at a steadier rate,  Premium Listings with the higher commission is the better way to go and reflects a higher commission.  Premium Listings however are only available for Godaddy registered domain names.
For now if you have domains registered outside of Godaddy and want to sell them on Godaddy, listing them with a Buy It Now on the auctions is your best bet.  This a welcome new addition to domain sellers looking to have their domains in front of one of the largest sales channels available.

Aftermarket sales within the registration path have been sort of the “Holy Grail” for domain sellers.  Think of a customer coming to a site like Godaddy.com typing in “yourdomainnameyouhaveforsale.com” and seeing it available for purchase. That moment that a customer is searching for that domain is the best time to capture that sale. The registrar venue is also likely the best place for that sale to occur as well, since registrars likely have already gained the consumer’s confidence and trust.
We’re pretty excited about Godaddy opening up this channel and hope that other registrars follow suit.

Kroger

Pay for Kroger Co.'s CEO fell again as the grocery chain's sales and profit growth fell below tough targets in a choppy economy.
An Associated Press analysis of a regulatory filing Friday shows that David Dillon, chairman and CEO of the nation's largest traditional grocer, received compensation for 2010 valued at $5.4 million. That's down 19 percent from 2009, and the third straight year in which Dillon's largely performance-based pay fell.
The 60-year-old CEO's compensation has dropped about 40 percent in that time, from $9.09 million in 2007.
Kroger outperformed most competitors last year, with revenue up 7.1 percent to a Kroger-record $82.2 billion. Earnings per share were $1.74, up from only 11 cents for 2009 when Kroger took a charge for the decline in value of its Ralphs division in California. Revenue at stores open at least 15 months, a key retail indicator, increased 2.8 percent excluding fuel.
However, the company target was 3 percent to 4 percent growth, and earnings and other undisclosed strategic measures were also below goals. The company's leaders did reach a fuel growth target, the Security and Exchange Commission filing states.
"In sum, the committee believes our management produced outstanding results in 2010, but we did not achieve our aggressive business plan objectives for sales, earnings and our strategic plan," the compensation committee stated in the report.
The filings shows Dillon's annual salary got a 1 percent bump to $1.25 million. But his bonus fell 35 percent to about $808,000 and the value of his stock and option awards fell 19 percent to $3.27 million. He received perks worth $58,027, mainly for life insurance premiums.
Kroger has focused on building customer loyalty in a weak economy as consumers have seen their household budgets squeezed by the recession, unemployment and jumping gas prices. The company sends out special coupons for regular shoppers, holds sales such as offering rebates for buying featured items, and has increased gas rewards while expanding its number of store gas stations and a tie-in with Shell Oil.

The company operates more than 2,400 groceries in 31 states. Its annual shareholders meeting will be June 23 in Cincinnati.
Dillon, a native of Hutchinson, Kansas, joined Kroger when his family's Dillon Cos. grocery chain was acquired by the Cincinnati-based company. He became CEO in 2003 and was elected chairman in 2004.
The Associated Press formula calculates an executive's total compensation during the last fiscal year by adding salary, bonuses, perks, above-market interest the company pays on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock and options awarded to the executive during the year. The AP formula does not count changes in the present value of pension benefits. That makes the AP total slightly different in most cases from the total reported by companies to the SEC.

Canon USA

Camera maker Canon USA Inc. recently celebrated the setting of the last segment of steel for its new corporate office in Melville, N.Y.

The new facility, which will serve as Canon USA's headquarters for North and South America, will be one of three worldwide corporate offices for parent company Canon Inc. The other two are in Tokyo and London.

"Today we are celebrating yet another milestone toward completion of the new Canon Americas headquarters," said Joe Adachi, president and CEO of Canon USA. "I look forward to the day when we open the doors to One Canon Park and provide our employees a world-class facility in which to grow and succeed."

Canon has said the 700,000-square-foot facility will feature several environmentally friendly elements such as a design emphasizing the use of natural lighting; the incorporation of energy-efficient equipment and materials in construction; and a landscape design that will utilize native species and drought-resistant vegetation.

The 52.17-acre complex is located at the southwest corner of the Long Island Expressway South Service Road and Walt Whitman Road.

Canon has been a fixture in the Long Island community since 1971, when the company moved its headquarters from Woodside, Queens, to Lake Success.

When Canon moved to Long Island in the 1970s, the company employed approximately 80 people, and currently has approximately 1,200 employees in Lake Success.

The new facility will eventually create 750 new jobs over a number of years once Canon moves to Melville, according to the company.

Playstation Asia

Sony Corp. began a limited and phased restoration of its PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment videogame services Saturday, bringing the company a step closer to normalcy following an attack on its systems that compromised personal information for more than 100 million user accounts last month.
The Japanese electronics giant said that following the release of a mandatory software upgrade for all PlayStation 3 videogame console units, it would begin bringing its PlayStation Network back online in the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East. The network will be limited at first, the company said, restoring Internet-based game play, movie rentals, music services and online video streaming through companies like Netflix Inc.
Sony said some customers will be able to regain access on Saturday. Full service should be restored by the end of the month, the company added.
In Japan and seven other Asian locations -- South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia -- Sony is not restarting the PlayStation Network yet. The company doesn't yet know when customers in Asia will regain access, but it aims to restore full service in the region by the end of the month, just like the rest of the world.
"We know even the most loyal customers have been frustrated by this process and are anxious to use their Sony products and services again," Kazuo Hirai, head of Sony's game division, said in a statement. "We are taking aggressive action at all levels to address the concerns that were raised by this incident, and are making consumer data protection a full-time, company wide commitment."
The intrusion, which occurred last month, led to the theft of names, addresses, passwords and possibly credit card numbers from its PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment gaming services. Sony shut down both services as it investigated the attack, which the company said was highly sophisticated.
The events led to multiple inquiries from Congress and several lawsuits against the game maker, which has been producing videogame consoles for nearly two decades. Sony's brand image also took a hit, according to surveys by YouGov's BrandIndex, dropping significantly following the shutdown and subsequent revelations of the data breach.
Sony has said it will provide its customers with free identity-theft services for a year, including a $1 million insurance policy.
As part of the phased restoration, Sony said all PlayStation 3 customers will need to download a security patch before regaining access to the online gaming services. As a precaution, Sony said customers will be required to change their passwords when they first log back into the systems.
Sony will also be offering "welcome back" packages, including access to otherwise limited content and other freebies in attempts to appease frustrated users.
PlayStation Network has about 77 million user accounts around the world, and about 31 million are in the U.S.

The restart this time doesn't include Asia because Tokyo-based Sony is still in talks with Japan's industry ministry, which is asking for more detailed explanation on how Sony's online service works and what security measures the company is implementing, according to a person familiar with the situation. Because Japan doesn't have a local equivalent of Debix, which has services that cover thefts and misuses of not only credit cards but also other personal information, Sony and the ministry are still figuring out the best way to protect Japanese customers, the person said.
As the vast majority of PlayStation Network users in Asia are in Japan, the service in the region won't resume until the Japanese service is ready to relaunch. And Sony can't restart the service in Japan unless the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry gives the green light.

Modern Warfare 3

Activision has yet to confirm much of anything about this year's Call of Duty title, including whether or not it is, as expected, Modern Warfare 3. Some details were unearthed earlier this week -- namely, it is MW3, and environments in the game are going to be larger and feature destructible elements, bringing the game more in line with what's seen in a Battlefield title. More details were set to be revealed in the "coming weeks," most likely at E3, but a huge leak has instead brought with it a tremendous amount of information about Modern Warfare 3 including screenshots, multiplayer details, and an outline of the game's campaign and story (complete with spoilers, which are marked below). We've also got what's allegedly the game's release date: November 8, 2011.
Update: Infinity Ward Creative Strategist Robert Bowling, better known as FourZeroTwo, wrote onTwitter a short while ago, "A lot of hype & a lot of leaked info on #MW3, some still accurate, some not. To avoid spoiling the experience, I'd wait for the real reveal."
Kotaku obtained the information by way of "multiple sources" who were not identified, though speculation is sure to be rampant about who's responsible given just how much was leaked. Some of the content is subject to change, given the game is still six months away from release. Kotaku noted that they haven't seen the game for themselves, but they've "gone to great lengths" to confirm what they could. It's unlikely this was an intentional leak in order to generate buzz, as some of the screenshots aren't especially great looking -- and considering that the consensus on Battlefield 3's graphics has so far been a resounding "wow," that makes it unlikely that Activision, Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, or Raven Software (the latter two of which are helping out with development of the game since IW's former heads and many of its staff have left over the past year-plus) would leak any of this as a PR move.
There are 20 multiplayer maps currently in development, but it's possible some won't make the final cut or will be held back for a lucrative map pack release. Modern Warfare 2's Spec Ops mode makes a return with two types of levels: Cooperative missions, like those in MW2, and 'survival maps' that sound similar to the Horde mode in Gears of War where you face waves of enemies that become more difficult as time goes on. There are five Survival maps listed (Carbon, Dome, Radar, Seatown, and Village) and seven mission-style Spec Ops maps (Civilian Rescue, Flood the Market, Invisible Threat, Little Bro's, Out of Africa, No Fly Zone, and Wing Man). The names of the competitive multiplayer maps were also shared: Alpha, Alps, Bootleg, Bravo, Brooklyn, Carbon, Coast, Dome, Exchange, Hardhat, Interchange, Lambeth, Meteora, Mogadishu, Paris, Plaza 2, Radar, Seatown, Underground, and Village.

Single-player spoilers ahead.
Without going into great detail -- Kotaku's report outlines much of the game's story (they've held some stuff back), the different locales you'll visit, which characters die, and so on -- it's worth noting that the story picks up immediately after Modern Warfare 2 as the U.S. is still dealing with the Russian invasion which was caused by the infamous "No Russian" level. As per the usual, you'll assume the role of multiple characters, including a tank gunner and an AC-130 gunner, across 15 levels. The Russians will invade New York City (Manhattan, specifically) before the story wraps up in Dubai. Besides the existing cast of characters we've seen in previous titles, two new Delta Force troops, Frost and Sandman, are introduced, whom Kotaku speculates could become recurring characters in future MW games.
At one point, SEAL Team Six is mentioned, which isn't something new; it was previously mentioned during Call of Duty 4. But the name becomes more significant now that the real-life SEAL Team Six is responsible for killing Osama bin Laden. It's unlikely that there's any connection given how recently that happened, but that won't stop people from thinking otherwise.
With E3 less than a month away, we should have at least some aspects of this leak confirmed soon -- unless Activision decides to address the leak sooner. As of yet, it hasn't made any comments.

Sprint

Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier, reported first quarter 2011 results on April 28. Adjusted loss bettered the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7 cents and was 14 cents narrower from the year-ago loss. Total revenue also improved from the year-ago quarter and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
First Quarter Review
Sprint delivered improved results despite competitive pressure from its chief rivals AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ). Revenues from the wireless segment increased on strong subscriber growth and lower churn. Wireline revenue, however, remained the dampener.
Sprint added 1.1 million wireless subscribers in the first quarter to reach 51 million. The company’s multi-brand prepaid strategy like Assurance Wireless and Virgin Mobile and innovative offers like Boost Mobile’s Monthly Unlimited is contributing significantly to the company’s subscriber growth.
Prepaid subscribers generated strong growth while the post-paid subscriber fell following the launch of the Verizon iPhone and aggressive pricing by T-Mobile and AT&T. The recently concluded quarter remained depressed by the higher subsidy costs resulting from increased smartphone sales.
Further, the company recorded year-over-year growth in adjusted OIBDA (operating income/loss before depreciation, amortization, asset impairments and abandonments) for the first time in the last four years.
(Read our full coverage on this earnings report: Sprint Ahead, Loss Narrows)
Agreement of Analysts
The trend noticed over the last 30 days shows the analysts’ positive bias in estimate revisions for the upcoming quarter and two fiscal years. The analysts’ estimates remained unchanged over the last 7 days.
For the second quarter, 15 out of 23 analysts revised their estimates upward while 3 moved downward. Similarly, for fiscal 2011, 15 out of 26 analysts made positive revisions while 6 moved in the opposite direction.
For fiscal 2012, out of 27 analysts, 13 made upward revisions while 8 moved downward.
Sprint has started gaining solid ground this year following contracts wins, the appointment of the new CFO and the resolved wholesale pricing dispute with Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) that was plaguing Sprint’s revenue since last year. After several years of focussing on cost containment and business stabilization, Sprint is turning around its post-paid wireless business. In December 2010, Sprint announced Network Vision, a multiyear network infrastructure initiative, which could be a significant long-term margin driver. The initiative is expected to generate $10 billion to $11 billion in savings over the next seven years.
Sprint is continuously expanding its 4G services that are vital for its survival in the matured U.S. wireless market given its continued market share erosion to larger rivals. The company’s 4G network is expected to cover 130 million people by the end of 2011 and its entire coverage by year-end 2013.
Further, Sprint is expected to benefit from increased penetration of smartphones, rising average revenue per user (ARPU) and lower churn. The company maintains a strong and adequate liquidity to pay off debts, invest in capital expenditures as well as for future growth.
All these efforts made by Sprint increased confidence among investors, urging the analysts to raise their estimates. The efforts also overshadowed the company’s major risk stemming from the completion of proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger, which will likely hurt Sprint’s profitabilty and shrink its subscriber base.
Magnitude –– Consensus Estimate Trend
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second quarter remained stable at a loss of 14 cents over the last 7 days and decline by a nickel over the last 30 days. The estimate represents a 9.86% increase year over year.
For fiscal 2011, the Zacks Consensus Estimate remained static at a loss of 68 cents over the last 7 days and declined 11 cents over the last 30 days, representing a substantial growth of 41.65% year over year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2012 is a loss of 48 cents, unchanged over the last 7 days and 6 cents below the last 30 days. This represents a growth of 29.09% annually.
Following the magnitude of estimate revisions, the loss will continue to decline going forward. We believe an attractive wireless product and service mix, wider 4G network footprint, prepaid brands, new wholesale agreement as well as the Network Vision initiative will continue to boost earnings.
Earning Surprises
With respect to earnings surprises, the company’s healthy track record is expected to continue in the coming quarters. Sprint produced a positive average earnings surprise of 15.24% over the last four quarters, which suggests that it outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by that amount over the last year.
Neutral Recommendation
We believe Sprint will generate higher revenue due to increased penetration of handsets, lower churn and better ARPU. Sprint’s network modernization project is expected to generate substantial synergies over the next few years with reduced costs and more efficient network.

However, we remain cautious due to lower margins in wireless and wireline, higher payments made to Clearwire, higher subsidies and increased competitive threats due to the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger. Further, the Network Vision initiative will also dilute margins and free cash flow in the initial years of implementation.
Hence, we are maintaining our long-term Neutral recommendation with the Zacks #3 (Hold) Rank.