Malaysia considers dumping petrol subsidy scheme

Malaysia is not currently subsiding petrol and may dump its subsidy scheme altogether, despite major protests earlier this year over spiralling pump prices, a minister said Tuesday.

The government on Tuesday cut pump prices by seven percent to 2.00 ringgit (0.56 dollars) per litre as global crude prices continued to ease. The price of diesel was also reduced by 15 sen to 1.90 ringgit per litre.

“We have stopped subsidising petrol from the time when the pump prices were cut to 2.00 ringgit per litre,” Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Samad told AFP.

He said that at current prices, the government is making about 30 sen per litre.

“At about 60 dollars per barrel we are already making money,” he said.

Shahrir said the government was still handing out direct subsidies in the form of cash rebates for motorists of 625 ringgit per year and that diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) were still being subsidised.

“The rebate system is still being enforced… but it will runs its course until March next year before we either stop it or implement a new system,” he said.

Tuesday’s cut was the fifth the government has announced since a 41 percent hike in June as the price of crude soared, sparking angry street protests and calls for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to resign.

Shahrir said the government will decide by the end of the month if subsidies will be reinstated if crude oil prices go up again. It will consider setting a floor price of 1.92 ringgit per litre.

“I would be happy to have a floor price of 1.92 ringgit. This would allow the government to earn some revenue and it is also easier to manage the price,” he said.

“It is also a better option because we can use the savings for development or to reduce the deficit.”

The government earlier this month announced a 7.0 billion ringgit (2.0 billion dollar) stimulus programme — reaped from savings on reduced oil subsidies — to boost the economy amid the global slowdown.

But the additional spending saw the government widen its budget deficit forecast for 2009 to 4.8 percent, from 3.6 percent predicted in August. 

Laid off sysadmin arrested for threatening company’s servers

 A systems administrator was arrested in New Jersey Monday for allegedly trying to extort money and even good job references out of a New York-based mutual fund company that had just laid him off.

Viktor Savtyrev, of Old Bridge, N.J., was arrested at his home Monday morning. He faces two charges under the federal cyber extortion statue. Savtyrev, also known as Victor Savturev, had an initial hearing in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J. Monday afternoon and is scheduled for a bail hearing on Thursday morning, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto.

Savtyrev was employed as a systems administrator for an unnamed mutual fund company in New York City until he was let go, along with nine other employees, on Nov. 5. All of the laid off workers were given a severance package, according to a criminal complaint filed with the courts.

“This is important, especially at this time of layoffs and financial difficulties, because we’re making it clear that people can’t take their frustrations out on companies and employers,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Erez Liebermann. “This arrest should also send a message to other companies that extra vigilance is important right now.”
 

Late in the morning of Thursday, Nov. 6, Savtyrev allegedly used a Gmail account to e-mail the company’s general counsel and three other employees, saying he was “not satisfied with the terms” of his severance, according to FBI Special Agent Gerald Cotellesse in the complaint. Savtyrev allegedly threatened to cause extensive damage to the company’s computer servers if they would not increase his severance pay, extend his medical coverage and provide “excellent” job references.
The system administrator also threatened to alert the media after attacking the server.
According to the complaint, the company contacted law enforcement personnel the day of Savtyrev’s first alleged threat. That evening, at the direction of investigators, a company employee recorded a phone call in which Savtyrev allegedly repeated his demands. During the call, he also allegedly said he would get his “comrades from Belarus” to help him hack into the company’s servers.
Savtyrev allegedly sent a second e-mail to the company on Friday, Nov. 7, and in a taped phone conversation that evening agreed to show company officials how he would exploit the systems in return for meeting his demands, the complaint said.
The criminal complaint notes that he sent a third e-mail on Saturday saying he had opened several back doors in the company’s system and it would take them months to find them.
Liebermann noted that with a rocky economy and increased layoffs, companies need to shore up their defenses by shutting down internal and remote access immediately upon terminating a worker, monitoring system logs for any anomalies, adding extra layers of security and having a plan in place to quickly report any threats or breaches to law enforcement.
“And it’s important that they report instances like this before they go from a threat to a loss of data,” he added.

For more enterprise computing news, visit Computerworld. Story copyright Computerworld, Inc.

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5 tech companies that could use a bailout

If the government ever decides to rescue the tech industry, Sun, Nortel, Motorola, Yahoo and Sprint would top the list
By Brad Reed , Network World , 11/17/2008

Now that the government has pledged $700 billion to bail out the financial banking industry and is considering lending $25 billion to help the auto industry avoid bankruptcy, many tech companies may be wondering where to get their hands on government bailout cash. While tech companies may not have the same level of clout among Washington policy makers as AIG or General Motors, some of the industry’s biggest players have been hit hard times in recent months and could certainly use a health infusion of cash to help them right their ships. Here’s our take on the five biggest tech companies that are most in need of a helping government bail out.

Bailout Candidate #1: Yahoo

The numbers: Yahoo recently said that it would lay off “at least” 10% of its global workforce before year-end; third-quarter 2008 revenue only increased 1% over third-quarter 2007 revenue; third-quarter 2008 net income of $54 million was just over one-third the size of its third-quarter 2007 net income of $151 million; share price has declined by more than 60% over the past year, currently stands at around $10.75 per share.
What’s gone wrong: Look back to the heady days of last February, when Yahoo was confidently rejecting Microsoft’s bid to purchase the company for $44.6 billion. Apparently, Yahoo was pushing for Microsoft to increase its offer to $56 billion, which would have translated to a value of about $40 per share. What a difference nine months makes: Yahoo’s share price is now hovering in the $10 range and its proposed arrangement to share advertising revenues with search rival Google was scuttled on fears that the U.S. Department of Justice would block the deal from going through.

The turnaround strategy: At the moment, Yahoo is clearly rethinking its decision to reject Microsoft’s bid from earlier in the year. Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang recently acknowledged at a Web 2.0 conference that “the best thing for Microsoft to do is buy Yahoo” and that he would be willing to sell the company “at the right price whatever that price is.” Unfortunately for Yahoo, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently indicated that his company has “moved on” and that no deal was currently in the works.

Bailout candidate #2: Sun Microsystems

The numbers: Sun announced plans last week to cut 18% of its global workforce, or as many as 6,000 of its employees. In its most recent earnings report, the company posted a $1.7 billion loss in the first quarter of 2009, down from its net income of $89 million in the first quarter of 2007; its share price has declined by more than 80% over the past year and currently stands at around $16.50 per share.
What’s gone wrong: Sun insists that its troubles are primarily the fault of poor economic conditions and are not the result of losing business to competitors such as IBM. Specifically, Sun says that the collapse of major Wall Street firms over the past three months have wiped out some of its biggest customers. However, the company has missed analyst expectations for three consecutive quarters and some analysts have pointed to the company’s struggles with its servers and server virtualization segments as particular trouble spots.
The turnaround strategy: Sun’s recent round of layoffs are a part of its broader reorganization plan, which includes creating an Application Platform Software division that will focus on technology such as its MySQL database and its GlassFish application server. The company has also been rumored to be a major candidate to be bought out, with Fujitsu and HP said to be the most interested parties.

Bailout candidate #3: Motorola

The numbers: Motorola posted a $397 million loss in the third quarter of 2008, with the biggest losses coming from a mobile-devices segment that reported an operating loss of $840 million for the that quarter, more than three times the $248 million loss it reported in the third quarter of 2007. The company has also announced plans to cut another 3,000 jobs, with the vast majority coming from its cell phone segment; its share price has declined by more than 75% over the past year and currently stands at under $4 per share.

What’s gone wrong: In the two-plus years since Motorola scored a major success with its Razr series – which until recently was still the best-selling handset model in the United States – the company has been left behind by high-profile 3G devices such as Apple’s iPhone, Samsung’s Instinct, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Storm and HTC’s G1. The company, which trails Nokia and Samsung for the largest market share of the global handset market, has even been rumored to be willing to spin off its handset division, despite forming the largest segment of its total wireless business.
The turnaround strategy: Starting next year, Motorola will be concentrating on producing handset models that run on either Windows Mobile or Google Android. Motorola co-CEO and handset division chief Sanjay Jha said recently that concentrating on two mobile operating systems will cut production costs and improve the customer experience. Previously, Motorola had offered devices based on several platforms including its own Motorola OS, Windows Mobile, Symbian and the Linux-based MOTOMAGX.

Bailout candidate #4: Nortel

The numbers: Nortel lost an astonishing $3.41 billion during the third quarter of 2008, which was way down from the $27 million net income that it generated in the third quarter of 2007. The company also expects to lay off 1,300 employees; its share price on the New York Stock Exchange has declined by more than 95% over the past year and currently stands at less than $1 per share.
What’s gone wrong: A lot of things. Nortel is primarily being hurt by the current economic recession and by declining demand for its equipment from telecom service providers. Additionally, some have speculated that some of Nortel’s major 3G build-outs have stalled due to frozen credit markets. Since Nortel is a Canadian company, it will have to get that government to pony up.

The turnaround strategy: Nortel’s first order of business seems to be selling off its Metro Ethernet unit, which the company has said is being crowded out of its market by tough competition. If the company is successful in its bid to sell off its Metro Ethernet assets, it will have more money freed up to its carrier and enterprise networks units. Nortel plans on undergoing a major restructuring early next year by giving each of its units more control and autonomy, which the company says will create more accountability for each unit. The company is also looking to invest more in applications services and in adopting a more software-driven business model.

Bailout candidate #5: Sprint

The numbers: Sprint posted a net loss of $326 million for the third quarter of 2008 and has endured net losses totaling nearly $1.2 billion for the year; since the third quarter of 2007, Sprint has shed a total of 3.5 million customers, and the company’s wireless segment has lost $645 million so far in 2008. Sprint’s stock price has dropped by more than 86% over the past year and currently stands at just above $2 per share.

What’s gone wrong: For the past couple of years, Sprint has faced myriad problems, from continued
difficulties in integrating former Nextel users into the Sprint network to challenges in delivering quality customer service to a shrinking subscriber base. The result has been a steady drop in both net earnings and customers for the carrier, which is now the third-largest in the United States with just more than 50 million wireless subscribers.
The turnaround strategy: Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, who took over the company late last year, has made improving customer service his top priority, and has also been working to make some improvements in Sprint’s voice and data network quality.
Earlier this year, Sprint won an award from consumer ratings group J.D. Power for having the highest wireless call quality in the southwestern United States, and J.D. Power President Steve Goodall said that Sprint had shown quality improvements in five of the six major regions throughout the United States. The company is hoping that spinning off its WiMAX division into Clearwire’s $14.5 billion mobile broadband venture will free up more resources that it can put into marketing and in network upgrades.

All contents copyright 1995-2008 Network World, Inc. http://www.networkworld.com