| Buyers of TXU see interest payments quadruple
The buyers of TXU Corp. took on billions in debt to finish the deal, nearly quadrupling annual interest payments to $3.6 billion. And as costs are set to rise, the company, now called Energy Future Holdings Corp., is bringing in less money, according to a filing on Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Energy Future said net income in the third quarter dropped to $992 million from $1 billion a year ago as the company sold less electricity, lost customers and cut prices. Revenue for the company dropped to $3.4 billion from $3.5 billion. Energy Future is the new name for the company now that private equity firms have officially taken over. To pay for it, the buyers boosted the company's total debt to about $40 billion from the $10.6 billion in long-term debt TXU reported at the end of last year.
Postal Service removing all stamp machines
Need stamps for those holiday cards? Don't go to the post office, unless you're prepared to stand in line or pay with a credit card.
Stamp vending machines, where customers can buy a single 41-cent stamp or a book of stamps with coins or dollar bills, are on their way out.
The U.S. Postal Service is removing the stamp machines at post offices across the nation. By the end of next year, all of the machines will be gone. Customers still will be able to buy stamps at the post office window, online or at select stores.
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OUTCOMES FASB OCTOBER 17, 2007 BOARD MEETING
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has released a summary of its October 17, 2007 Board meeting.
The Board continued its discussions of a working definition of an asset“An asset is a present economic resource to which the entity has a present right or other privileged access"to replace the existing definition of an asset“Assets are probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by a particular entity as a result of past transactions or events."
The Board tentatively decided to:Focus the definition of an asset on a present economic resource, rather than on future economic benefits.
Remove the assessment of likelihood from the existing definition of an asset
Focus the definition on the present rather than on past transactions or other events.
South Africa: Emerging Markets
HOW do you allocate capital to stimulate sustainable economic growth in emerging economies? This is a question faced by governments throughout the developing world, and the way it is being answered is increasingly defining the developmental success of nations throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. In SA, the focus of this crucial question falls on the development of small to medium enterprises (SMEs), which are widely touted as key to the future success of the domestic economy. However, despite acknowledgement of the benefits of promoting SME development, the South African government has been slow in backing up the rhetoric with pragmatic policies governing the allocation of capital to SMEs and developing institutions . .
Survey Finds Retail Wireless Networks Insecure
If the results of a recent study by AirDefense are to be believed, every time you use your credit card at a retail store you run a 50/50 chance that your credit card data and other information could be transported over an insecure and easily hacked wireless network. The problem is bigger than that though. The percentage of home wireless networks that are improperly secured is probably higher than 50%. When those home users log into their bank or credit card web sites to update their Quicken files, or access their eTrade.com accounts to buy and sell shares of the latest hot stock, they are also transmitting important, and sensitive information which can easily be intercepted by an attacker within range of their wireless access point. Oh, and just because you can't get your wireless signal to transmit from your living room to your bedroom, don't think an attacker can't get it.
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