Why John Paulson Loves AngloGold Ashanti
Posted: March 21, 2012 at 6:25 pm
By Meena Krishnamsetty - March 21, 2012 | Tickers: AU, ABX, GG, HMY, NEM | 0 Comments
Meena is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.
AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) remains the largest position in John Paulsons Advantage Fund (see more of John Paulsons top picks). AngloGold Ashanti is the third largest gold producer in the world, behind Barrick (NYSE: ABX) at number one and Newmont (NYSE: NEM) at number two, with annual output of over 4.3 million ounces. It has a number of new projects coming online that will boost annual production to an estimated 5.5 million ounces by 2015. Paulson & Co.s 2011 production estimates for Barrick is 7.7 million ounces and for Newmont is 5.2 million ounces. With mines in the United States, South America, West Africa, and South Africa, AngloGold Ashanti has a global presence.
When the new management team took over in late 2007, it set to turnaround the business by: eliminating the hedge book, improving safety, restoring growth, and diversifying out of South Africa. Management completely eliminated the hedge book by October 2010, fully exposing AngloGold Ashanti to the spot price of gold.
Management was successful in its other initiative to improve the AngloGold Ashantis safety performance. AngloGold Ashantis safety statistics have shown meaningful improvement, and in the four and a half years to June 2011 the Companys injury frequency rate declined by 63%. With the operational turnaround under its belt, managements focus has shifted towards delivering future increases in production. The new projects in the United States, South America, and Continental Africa are expected to increase production by 27% by 2015. This enhancement of production growth y-o-y will be an important factor in driving stock price performance. AngloGold Ashanti has recently begun commissioning the new Corrego do Sitio mine in Brazil, and has initiated construction activities on the Tropicana mine in Australia and at the Kibali joint venture in the DRC. Two development projects in Colombia can potentially begin to contribute around 2020. When the market acknowledges AngloGold Ashantis achievements, the shares should outperform.
Improvements in the Companys balance sheet and operational performance as well as international growth opportunities have not been lost on credit rating agencies. Recently, Moodys upgraded its rating from Baa2 from Baa3, recognizing improvements in the fundamentals. The increase in operational strength positions the Company well for hefty upcoming capex budgeted over the next three years (approximately $2 billion in FY12.) This will be supported by strong cash flow generation. During FY11, AngloGold Ashanti generated $833 million in free cash flow. From a debt perspective, AngloGold Ashanti has indicated that it has the capacity to increase its net debt balance to $1.8-2 billion, as needed. We believe this upgrade may improve AngloGold Ashantis cost of capital and generally speaking we believe management will manage the Companys leverage appropriately.
Despite this strong financial performance, the shares declined by 13.8% in 2011. AngloGold Ashanti shares are now trading close its 52-week low of $37.42, presenting an attractive opportunity to initiate a position. Despite AngloGold Ashantis strong operational performance, it trades at a discount to its peer group. Paulson estimates that AngloGold Ashanti shares trade at 6.9x EV/EBITDA versus other large producers that trade at much higher multiples, Harmony (NYSE: HMY) at 10.5x, Newcrest (NCM) at 11.1x, and Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) at 13.0x (based on February 7, 2012 closing prices).
Furthermore, earlier this month, AngloGold Ashanti announced its planned, $335 million acquisition of the Mine Waste Solutions assets of First Uranium (FUM). AngloGold Ashanti has had a 20% stake in FUM since 2011 with its eye on a growth strategy in the Vaal River region. We believe this to be a smart tack-on acquisition for AngloGold Ashanti as there are significant opportunities to achieve synergies since AngloGold Ashanti already has a prominent presence in the area. Management expects that this will add 75,000 to 80,000 ounces to its total output and provide further gold and uranium production upside. Importantly, this acquisition a substantial capital investment that would otherwise be required to construct a plant to process its Vaal River tailings, and reduces long-term potential environmental liabilities. We see additional value in adding capacity (aside from the R100 million capex AngloGold Ashanti has set forth) to increase existing uranium capacity and/or acquiring capacity to treat regional tailings that would serve to manage the risk of future environmental liabilities.
From a macro point of view, we are bullish on gold for the long-term, as is George Soros, given unprecedented amounts of quantitative easing by central banks and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. And at these prices, gold and select miners present a favorable risk reward profile. AngloGold Ashanti is our pick among South African miners. We like that the Company has entered a growth phase and that its strategy is to diversify into promising regions like Australia, Brazil and Colombia. While stock price performance has been disappointing in the short-term, AngloGold Ashantis strong fundamentals should eventually be reflected.
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Why John Paulson Loves AngloGold Ashanti
HP Restructures, Combines PC and Printer Units
Posted: at 6:25 pm
Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday morning confirmed that it will be rolling its printer business into its personal computer unit to "improve performance and drive profitable growth."
As part of the realignment, long-time imaging and printing group head Vyomesh Joshi will retire from the company. Todd Bradley, who has served as the executive vice president of the PC group since 2005, will lead the newly combined unit, which will be called the Printing and Personal Systems Group.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP said the move will help streamline its market strategy, branding, supply chain, and worldwide customer support efforts. Together, the two business units had about $65 billion in sales in 2011, more than half of HP's total revenue last year. Rumors of the restructuring first surfaced yesterday on AllThingsD.
"This combination will bring together two businesses where HP has established global leadership," Meg Whitman, president and chief executive officer at HP, said in a statement. "By providing the best in customer-focused innovation and operational efficiency, we believe we will create a winning scenario for customers, partners and shareholders."
But some are questioning the move, saying it might hurt the company. Global Equities Research's Trip Chowdhry said HP's personal computer division "may destroy" its healthy printer division. HP has failed to innovate in the PC space its computers lag behind Apple on screen resolution, design, and network technologies, Chowdhry said. The company is still thought of as a leader when it comes to printing, however.
"Instead of innovating, HP is masking the incompetency of the PC business, by merging it with the stronger printer business," Chowdhry wrote in a Wednesday note to investors.
But HP said the move will drive innovation across both units, and provide opportunities for cost-savings, allowing the company to pursue growth and reinvest in the business.
HP had a rather tumultuous 2011; for more, see PCMag's Year in Review for HP, as well as the slideshow below charting the company's greatest hits.
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HP Restructures, Combines PC and Printer Units
Captains claim junior honours
Posted: at 6:25 pm
KOROITs Patrick Sinnott says coach Sam McCosh laid the foundations for his teams success this season and for his personal success at last nights presentation.
The Saints captain was named the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association under 17 cricketer of the year after polling 26 votes during the home-and-away season.
Sinnott collected 21 wickets and scored 398 runs at an average of 44.2.
The all-rounder, who modestly only described himself as a batsman, believed McCosh was instrumental in guiding Koroit to a semi-final appearance.
Our coach really helped us at training, he said.
I improved along with the whole team because of Sam.
It was a successful season because we made finals.
The 17-year-old opener said his aim each time he went to the crease was to try and be his teams anchor.
I just tried to stay around and work with the others who were around me, he said.
Batting-wise, sometimes I did all right and sometimes I was a little bit off.
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Pearson Announces Online Program to Help Teachers Develop Their Personal Technology Skills for Today’s 21st Century …
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pd21 Professional Development Creates Computer-Savvy Educators to Enhance Student Achievement
Boston, MA (PRWEB) March 20, 2012
Pearson is partnering with the award-winning Edvation to help teachers fast-track their skills development and use of technology in the classroom with their online pd21 professional development system. Educators will be test-driving the program live at the 67th annual ASCD conference in Philadelphia March 24-26. From gaining proficiency in Microsoft Office suite to social media tools and applications like SketchUp (for learning to design) and GeoGebra (for understanding algebra), pd21 will help teachers integrate a wealth of powerful resources into their classrooms in practical and engaging ways to impact student learning and achievement.
Stefan Kohler, head of teacher effectiveness and professional development for Pearson School, said, Every day we are talking to teachers across the country and they are telling us they are hungry to accelerate their own tech abilities in order to enhance the content of their lessons and create deeper student engagement. He continued, In addition to helping them quickly improve their own skills, our partnership with Edvation will also help to speed the adoption of technology in the classroom by giving teachers a library of more than 150 project-based technology integration curriculum activities to use with students that support Math, Science, Social Studies and Language Arts in grades K-12. Each standards-based project can be immediately used in the classroom, to build confidence and proficiency and provides an opportunity to translate professional development learning into immediately effective classroom practice.
Edvations CEO Adam Smith said, Now that we have partnered with Pearson, the #1 school education company in the nation, we have the ability to reach so many more teachers who are looking to improve their individual computer skills. With Pearson, we look forward to helping educators across the country become more knowledgeable about the many ways they can individually enhance their students achievement through use of technology. He added, We have seen teachers catapult from basically zero computer literacy to working with their students to develop games and puzzles or creating photo essays within a semester. Its truly amazing to see the kind of creativity that our teachers bring to their classrooms once theyve taken advantage of the pd21 system.
pd21 meets teachers at their individual level of technology proficiency, providing various options for courses, from self-paced online tutorials to anytime/anywhere workshops that focus on meaningful technology integration and 21st Century teaching.
Kohler said one of the reasons Pearson teamed up with Edvation was because the pd21 program is proven to support systemic, district-wide success by providing for both teachers needs with research-based content, planning and learning facilities; and meeting administrators needs - with comprehensive management and reporting tools.
For more information, go to http://www.pd21.com
About Edvation
Edvation empowers educators with tools and resources to support the successful integration of technology and 21st Century skills development into standards-based curriculum and classroom practice. Providing curriculum, assessment, professional development and training solutions, Edvation is focused on the meaningful integration of technology to enhance learning and support systemic school improvement processes. With proven solutions implemented worldwide since 1996, Edvations award-winning products and services are used to support integrated state and district-level digital learning goals, improve and measure technology literacy, and provide educational leaders with the data needed for informed decision-making. For more information about Edvations award winning K-12 educational solutions visit http://www.edvation.com.
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Inspire! iPad Application Utilizes Visualization to Improve Personal and Professional Productivity
Posted: at 6:24 pm
SAN DIEGO, March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --InnovaMobile, a leader in developing innovative solutions for the mobile market, is pleased to announce that its new iPad application, Inspire!, is available in Apple's App Store. The app was built to take full advantage of the iPad technology including the new Retina display feature on the third-generation iPad.
The app helps users create and visualize personal and professional values and goals, and achieve these through weekly planning. Inspire! was developed to help users increase their productivity and find balance in their lives by focusing on the things that matter most.
"Never before has an application integrated visualizations, such as photos, music and inspirational quotes, in such an innovative way that enable users to be emotionally connected to their roles, goals and values," says Chris Wollerman, InnovaMobile's CEO. "The Inspire! app was built to take full advantage of iPad's stunning new Retina display which allows users to associate amazing photos to their goals, roles and values and motivates them to become the best person they can."
Inspire! offers additional features such as weekly planning and calendar integration. Users can drag-and-drop tasks directly from the app into multiple calendars such as iCal, MS Outlook and Google. In addition to weekly planning, creating objectives and scheduling tasks, users can create a goal status report and distribute it to others in their personal or professional worlds.
"Prior to this app, people only had access to this type of goal and priority development through paper-based planners and expensive leadership seminars," Wollerman said. "With the Inspire! app for iPad these barriers no longer exist. Users are able to define, associate imagery and efficiently track the status of their goals. In addition to setting and tracking goals, users can define personal and professional mission statements, values and roles in life. The Inspire! app enables users to plan, track and achieve their personal and professional dreams."
The Inspire! Personal Productivity app for iPad is available for $9.99 in Apple's App Store. For more information visit http://innova-mobile.com/ima/InspireApp.aspx.
Press Contact: Shana Erickson InnovaMobile 619.756.6583 shana@innova-mobile.com
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Personal Development and Fitness Expert John Spencer Ellis Warns About "Sociopathic Gurus"
Posted: at 6:24 pm
Personal Development and Fitness Expert John Spencer Ellis Warns About "Sociopathic Gurus"
As the guru business continues to grow, a long time fitness and personal development expert warns about guru claims and their own personal agenda.
While this topic is a little different than the more positive aspects of health, fitness, wellness and personal development I typically blog about, I think its a really important one. Sociopathic people can be manipulative and dangerous, so you need to learn how to identify them and how to handle them, said Ellis, founder of John Spencer Ellis Enterprises, a fitness and personal development solutions company. The crazy thing about sociopathic people is that they will have you believing that you are the crazy one, so you really have to learn to pay attention and listen to your gut.
If someone exhibits three or more of the following characteristics, they might be a sociopath: antagonistic, callous, impulsive, pathological liar, lack of or shallow emotions, exaggerated sexuality, excessive boasting, glib, manipulative, secretive and paranoid.
Ellis recommends the following steps for dealing with a sociopath in your inner circle:
Listen to your gut. If its telling you to stay away from someone, pay attention. Do your own research. If a coach, mentor or guru comes across a manipulative or slimy, stay away. Dont just listen to their boasting or testimonials. If someone seems to have befriended you for their benefit only, take a closer look at the relationship. If everyone else in your organization strongly dislikes one person, you should probably get rid of them. Do not try to help or fix them.
The blog offer more example of well-known sociopaths and advice for staying clear of manipulative people. In addition, Ellis blog regularly offers personal development, fitness and wellness advice.
About John Spencer Ellis Enterprises John Spencer Ellis Enterprises is a solutions provider for fitness and coaching professionals around the world, providing education, turn-key business programs, coaching and resources for new and advanced fitness and coaching professionals. For more information about John Spencer Ellis Enterprises or sociopathic behavior, please visit http://johnspencerellis.com/is-your-guru-or-anyone-in-your-inner-circle-a-sociopath/
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Personal Development and Fitness Expert John Spencer Ellis Warns About "Sociopathic Gurus"
Benefits Of Online E- Learning Software – Campusin.com – Video
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Benefits Of Online E- Learning Software - Campusin.com - Video
ArKaos MediaMaster – Video
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Careerlinecourses Australia High Standard Online Education Classes – Video
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