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From: Jim Mullens	3/21/2011 8:00:42 PM
	of 117879

Japan Update From Eurotechnology Japan Snips>>>> + US actions: "Operation Tomodachi": The US Pacific Command has built up a massive help and relief effort "Operation Tomodachi", which involves US Air Force, US Marine Corps, US Army (458 personell + 1000 contractors), US Navy (12,750 personell participating in Operation Tomodachi). A summary of US Pacific Command help to Japan including "Operation Tomodachi" can be found here. In particular, US experts and loaned equipment are helping with the Fukushima nuclear power stations, US is working to repair Sendai Airport and other damaged infrastructure so that supplies can be forwarded, and US military is delivering supplies including food, blankets, fuel and water into the disaster area. According to announcements by the US Ambassador Roos, the US Embassy in Tokyo has increased staffing by about 30%, and 96 US Government employees and experts have arrived from outside Japan to help. + EU actions: EU response: summarized here on the EU website . Many EU country Embassies have reduced staff or shut down in Tokyo. + Electricity savings by the population were beyond expectations, so that planned electricity cuts have been largely avoided - most electricity cuts were announced but not implemented - the electricity keeps flowing in most areas, especially in the central areas. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Japan update [2] (Tokyo, March 22, 2011) Radiation risk situation for Tokyo \| USA & EU actions Suffering caused by the Friday March 11, 14:46 earthquake in Japan continues, but we see hope and reconstruction. Tomorrow the new high-speed train line north of the disaster zone is planned to run again between Shin-Aomori and Morioka. Japan's society has developed over 100s of years coping with similar disasters, and it is already obvious that Japan will overcome this disaster strengthened. In recent years, Japan overcame the Kobe-Earthquake and the Niigata-Earthquake, and Japan will also overcome this earthquake soon. We observe many discussions to learn from this disaster and to strengthen Japan. In this newsletter we focus on analysis of radiation risks (see below) in Tokyo, and on US and EU response. Situation in Tokyo: We see Japanese companies and Japanese workers - including our company Eurotechnology-Japan here in Tokyo - working almost normally throughout the period of after-quakes. A notable exception is the account settlement IT system of Mizuho-Bank which apparently has broken down. Electricity savings by the population were beyond expectations, so that planned electricity cuts have been largely avoided - most electricity cuts were announced but not implemented - the electricity keeps flowing in most areas, especially in the central areas. While many long-term foreign residents remained in Tokyo, a large fraction of temporary foreigners left either to Osaka, or left Japan altogether. The departure of some foreigners (and some Japanese) has not been un-noticed. One Japanese surgeon (medical doctor), who had stayed at the bedside of patients throughout the quake, broke down in tears telling me about a colleague leaving Tokyo during the after-quakes. US actions: "Operation Tomodachi": The US Pacific Command has built up a massive help and relief effort "Operation Tomodachi", which involves US Air Force, US Marine Corps, US Army (458 personell + 1000 contractors), US Navy (12,750 personell participating in Operation Tomodachi). A summary of US Pacific Command help to Japan including "Operation Tomodachi" can be found here. In particular, US experts and loaned equipment are helping with the Fukushima nuclear power stations, US is working to repair Sendai Airport and other damaged infrastructure so that supplies can be forwarded, and US military is delivering supplies including food, blankets, fuel and water into the disaster area. According to announcements by the US Ambassador Roos, the US Embassy in Tokyo has increased staffing by about 30%, and 96 US Government employees and experts have arrived from outside Japan to help. EU actions: EU response: summarized here on the EU website . Many EU country Embassies have reduced staff or shut down in Tokyo. Situation at the Fukushima Reactor Through heroic work of the fire fighters at the reactors the situation seems to stabilize and improve in the right direction. The International Atomic Energy Agency website summarizes the the situation officially here dated March 20, 2011. It appears that since March 20 the situation has improved further. We at Eurotechnology-Japan are continously working here in Tokyo for you. Subscribe for our newsletters and updates here. Analyzing radiation levels in Tokyo/Shinjuku Radiation in Tokyo/Shinjuku (until March 22, 3am) compared to Austria Comparing radiation levels in Tokyo/Shinjuku with Austria: The blue curve above shows the radiation levels in Tokyo/Shinjuku as measured and published by the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Public Health here: • each hour for the last 24 hours • daily starting March 1 Before the earthquake on March 11, 2011 at 14.46, radiation data were around 34 nanoGray/hour. Around March 15 and around March 21 increases to the range of 130 - 150 nanoGray/hour where measured. It is generally assumed that these increases are due to radioactive isotopes carried from the Fukushima Nuclear Power station due to wind and weather conditions. To put these radiation levels into context, we compare these radiation levels in the Figure above with the radiation levels naturally found in Austria. The Austrian umweltnet.at website shows current radiation levels in Austria, and mentions that natural radiation levels in Austria are between 70 and 200 nano-Sievert/hour, which corresponds to 70 - 200 nanoGray/hour. We indicate this range above in pink color. This Figure shows that according to our interpretation, radiation levels in Tokyo/Shinjuku were about 30% lower than the lowest radiation levels found in Austria, and are currently increased to levels which in Austria would be in mid-range of natural radiation in Austria (natural radiation is mainly caused by Radon gas diffusing out from the ground, and from the natural cosmic radiation from space). tinyurl.com

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From: Jim Mullens	3/21/2011 8:09:46 PM
	of 117879

Apple to Include NFC E Wallet Chips Created by QCOM in Future iPhones >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Apple (AAPL) to Include NFC E-Wallet Chips in Future iPhones -NYTimes (NXPI) (QCOM) March 21, 2011 5:16 PM EDT While Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has said that it plans to bring near-field communications (NFC) technology to a future version of the iPhone, a report from the NY Times today suggests that Apple may not include the NFC technology in the next version of the iPhone (the iPhone 5), expected to launch this summer. The report stated that the iPhone e-wallet chip will be created by Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) and will allow future models to make mobile payments, effectively making the smartphone a credit card. Rumors have been flying since Apple opted to not include the NFC technology in the iPad 2 released earlier this month. Forbes reported last week that NFC technology will be included in the iPhone 5, but other media reports have refuted this rumor. Like all other Apple devices, rumors will continue to swirl and the details will become less murky as the launch date nears. NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ: NXPI) makes the technology surrounding NFC chips and stands to benefit greatly once Apple brings the capabilities to its myriad devices. streetinsider.com

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From: Bill Wolf	3/21/2011 8:16:47 PM
	of 117879

Japan Quake Knocked Out 25% Of Global Silicon Wafer Production Mar. 21 2011 - 3:40 pm By ERIC SAVITZ The Japanese earthquake and tsunami have knocked a quarter of the world’s production of silicon wafers off line, according to the market research firm iSuppli. The reduction reflects the suspension of operations at two plants: Shin-Etsu Chemnical has stopped manufacturing operations at its facility in Shirakawa, while MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) has shut its Utsunomiya facility. Shin-Etsu’s facility, which alone supplies 20% of the world’s wafers, makes 300 mm wafers used mostly for producing DRAM and flash memory chips. “Because of this, the global supply of memory semiconductors will be impacted the most severely of any segment of the chip industry by the production stoppage,” iSuppli reports, with logic devices also significantly affected. Shin-Etsu has said there has been damage to the plant’s production facilities and equipment, and that the time needed for repairs is still uncertain. MEMC said the Utsunomiya plant, which produces about 5% of global wafer output, last week issued a statement saying “operations at the facility remain suspended pending the conclusion of building and equipment safety inspections and an analysis of potential damage,” and that “shipments from this facility will be delayed over the near term.” The research firms warns that suspension of operations at the two plants “could have wide-ranging implications” for global chip production. Meanwhile, iSuppli also said that two Japanese companies – Mitsubishi Gas Chemical and Hitachi Kasei Polymer – have shut down production at plants that make 70% of the world’s supply of copper-clad laminates – the raw material used to make printed circuit boards. Both say they will resume production within two weeks. iSuppli also noted the following production issues in Japan: * Elpida Memory said its semiconductor assembly facility in Yamagata has been damaged and that it also is having power issues. The facility’s utilization rate now is at less than 50 percent. * The quake damaged about 40% of the wafer capacity of Renesas Electronics. * Half of the wafer capacity at Fujitsu has been damaged.

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From: Bill Wolf	3/21/2011 8:29:20 PM
	of 117879

March 21, 2011, 8:06 PM ET Dealpolitik: AT&T/T-Mobile — The Most Complex Deal Ever You would expect a $39 billion acquisition to have its share of complexities. And you probably have read that this deal could be a tough sell to the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission. The second and fourth mobile carriers are, after all, combining to be the largest. But there are indications that the deal-making in this transaction is just starting. You see, although there is already a deal between AT&T and Deutsche Telekom AG, the current owner of T-Mobile, there are more parties to come, including the government, Sprint and possibly other carriers. At the moment, AT&T is selling the deal as a win-win for everyone in a highly competitive market. In their conference call Monday morning AT&T executives said that their “starting expectation” is that no divestitures will be required. Good luck. That is not going to go over so well when they start to dig in at the Antitrust Division and probably the FCC. Those agencies are going to see a lessening of competition in what are already concentrated markets. So when the government says it doesn’t buy the “no divestiture” position and expresses skepticism as to whether the deal can be done at all, AT&T’s tone on divestitures will quickly change. And then the real work will start. AT&T will, I believe, then start selling the government a very different product: That in return for permission to close the transaction, AT&T and T-Mobile will redistribute significant assets to strengthen the competitive structure of the market. And to do this, AT&T will commit to sell spectrum and even customers to Sprint and other smaller carriers. In short, in return for permission to leapfrog over Verizon Wireless, AT&T is going to agree to strengthen Sprint and others in challenging both Verizon and AT&T. How much is AT&T willing to divest? Well, they are not going to tell us and the government that, but there is an indication it is potentially huge. How do we know? Because the acquisition agreement between AT&T and Deutsche Telekom contains a massive “reverse breakup” fee of $3 billion in cash plus some spectrum. The reverse breakup fee is payable by AT&T to and Deutsche Telekom if the deal does not receive regulatory approval. Looking just at the cash portion of the reverse breakup fee, it means that AT&T should be willing to give up at least $3 billion worth of value in the transaction before it would walk away from the deal. Now $3 billion worth of asset disposals would be large. But AT&T will not be giving these assets away for free. It will sell them. Sprint and others will need to pay for these assets, even if they get a bargain because of the pressure on AT&T to get the deal done. Suppose AT&T gets 80% of the value for the assets it sells. That fee implies AT&T should prefer disposing of at least $15 billion worth of assets over killing the deal and paying the $3 billion fee. And $15 billion in divestitures would be massive — sufficient to significantly change the complexion of the most concentrated markets while strengthening what are now relatively weak competitors. This is a potentially very big carrot for the government. So if the Department of Justice and FCC are sufficiently skeptical about the antitrust aspects of the deal, AT&T appears to be positioned (and essentially required by its financial obligations to Deutsche Telekom) to offer what may be unprecedented changes to the competitive landscape. Of course, a “no” answer by the government would be easy. The DOJ has been looking for an excuse to look more aggressive after lots of big deals have received a pass. Amid a rising chorus of criticism, who would not admire a government that refused to “cave in” to the cell phone companies? But the question here — and AT&T may be banking on this — is whether the regulators have enough confidence to swing for the fences. In this deal they have the opportunity to make more than minor tweaks in a few markets. They could force through changes across the entire industry. Stay tuned — this is going to turn into a most complex deal. The author owns shares in AT&T and Verizon. Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company,

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From: pyslent	3/21/2011 9:13:19 PM
	of 117879

Sprints new EVO 3D looks to be the first dual core Snapdragon powered handset to get officially announced... engadget.com CTIA snooping is in full swing today, as the HTC EVO 3D has seen its major specs divulged courtesy of a document within the exhibition halls of the show. True to our initial scoop and subsequent spec leak, we're looking at a 3D-capable successor to the EVO 4G, this one rocking a 1.2GHz dual-core processor (Qualcomm's MSM8660), a 4.3-inch qHD ( 960 x 540) display, dual 5 megapixel cameras around back, and the sweet, sweet promise of 1080p video playback. That's constrained to 720p for viewing 3D content, but there's no denying this new Sprint smartphone's shaping up to be yet another multimedia powerhouse. Specs of the EVO View tablet have also been snapped, marking it as indeed a Sprint rebadge of HTC's 1.5GHz, 7-inch Flyer slate. Look for both to become official at Sprint's presser later this week.

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From: Jim Mullens	3/21/2011 9:24:50 PM
	of 117879

AT&T/T-Mobile merger scrambles long-term handset picture By Phil Goldstein Created Mar 21 2011 - 11:05am AT&T's (NYSE:T [1]) proposal to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion is reverberating across the wireless world, and the one sector that may be affected the most is the handset industry. Though there are currently more questions than answers, analysts agreed that if the transaction is approved handset makers will have to adjust to the reality of dealing with a wireless behemoth with nearly 130 million subscribers--a carrier that would weild incredible buying power. Interestingly, AT&T executives made clear that there will be major shifts in how handsets interact with the combined network. AT&T CTO John Stankey said on a conference call that, over the course of several years, AT&T will move customers off of T-Mobile's UMTS service, which currently runs on its 1700 MHz AWS spectrum, and onto AT&T's 1900 MHz spectrum. AT&T will then run its LTE service over its 700 MHz spectrum and over AWS spectrum. In other words, T-Mobile customers with 3G handsets will eventually have to purchase new devices that work with AT&T's frequencies. Representatives from various handset makers generally said that they have built up strong relationships with both carriers and that they expect to maintain those relationships. Analysts were more divided though over the long-term ramifications for the handset industry. "There will be wider handset choice at AT&T as the carrier picks up some of T-Mobile's line, but likely less choice overall--i.e., it is hard to imagine AT&T offering every phone it does today plus every device from T-Mobile's shelves," Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart said. Greengart said HTC could benefit, since HTC sells a lot of smartphones at both AT&T and T-Mobile, "but AT&T lets the vendor use and promote its own brand while T-Mobile uses HTC more as an ODM for its carrier-branded phones." He said Sony Ericsson and LG are stronger at AT&T than at T-Mobile and could benefit as well, though LG may lose out in tablets. However, he said, for most other vendors, the transition to AT&T from T-Mobile will not dramatically shift the competitive balance. The deal also likely will bring Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL [2]) iPhone to T-Mobile customers, though Greengart noted that they will have to adopt AT&T's more expensive pricing plans. (In a FAQ on the transaction, T-Mobile warned its subscribers that it won't be able to offer the iPhone until the transaction is approved by regulators.) Tim Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies, said he thinks the deal "should allow [AT&T] to carry more models and push for more innovation that in the end gives their customers more choices." Other analysts echoed that position. "In the short term, AT&T becomes the only major GSM/HSPA+ carrier in the U.S," said Ross Rubin, an NPD Group analyst. "The combined entity might not pursue HSPA+ rollout as aggressively as T-Mobile was now that there is a clearer path to LTE. T-Mobile had been hamstrung in the past by handset selection due to its AWS spectrum. Presumably the massive combined subscriber base would allow AT&T to drive more handsets that supported it. Long term, with both AT&T and Verizon on LTE along with major European carriers, a more common network standard could accelerate handset development across the two largest carriers." Source URL: fiercewireless.com

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