V/16/02 AABR Business Bulletin

 

o Change of Date. “National Training Conference on HUBZones” has been moved (from May 23) to June 5. Everything else stays the same. For details, check http://www.aabronline.org.

 

o A divided panel of experts recommended that federal service contracts, worth a east $100 billion be warded on the basis of ”Best Value,” not lowest bid. But value criteria include technical expertise, past performance, innovation and ability to recruit and retain talented workers, among others. This is bad news for federal employees, small businesses, SDBs, WOBs, etc. The union is against it, calling it subjective.

 

o The US and international companies are just beginning to file their 2001 annual reports. Global Reports offers annual reports from 11,500 companies in 40 countries with up to 5 years of history. All are available for immediate purchase and online viewing in full-color PDP format.

 

o The Dirty Dozen in federal contracting continue to receive federal contracts in spite of their violations. Ranked by penalties for EPA and OSHA violations (1995-2000): Ford Motor, TRW, Archer Daniels Midland, ExxonMobil, DuPont, Avondale Industries, GM, GE, Olin Corp., Atlantic Richfield, Daimler Chrysler and Textron.

 

o A Govt. report concluded in 2000, those responsible for awarding federal contracts were extremely reluctant to take action, eve when they were aware of violations. In the rare instances when the rule was enforced, it was almost always employed against small companies with little clout in Washington.

 

o Telecom companies are quick to install the latest technology in urban areas, but many rural regions and small towns have had to wait for wireless, broadband, DSL and other high-speed Internet options. Now some municipalities are taking matters into their own hands and providing Internet access to their citizens. Telecoms are suing, saying they can’t compete with city hall.

 

o The District’s (Washington, DC) photo-enforcement traffic program, is a cash-cow for city govt. regardless of protestations to the contrary, has issued more than half a million citations, collected nearly $43 million in fines and is now taking in more than $69,000 a day from drivers who speed and run red lights.

 

II. Private Sector

o KPMG will hire as many as 8,000 Andersen workers in a $284 million package deal involving 23 businesses consultancy units, doubling in size if all the potential legal hurdles could be surmounted this summer.

 

o Deloite & Touche will absorb about 200 of its US tax partners and 1800 employees. Terms of the agreement have not yet been disclosed.

 

o Ernst & Young, which absorbed many of Andersen’s overseas operations, will take over its tax and audit practice in Pittsburgh, with 6 partners and 80 employees as well as its Midwestern offices.

o Siemens cut an additional 6500 jobs in its telecom network division. The German technology conglomerate posted strong 2^nd Q. profits and predicted a good year, but did not elaborate.

 

III. Federal Government

o A proposal by US Dept. of Education would change the way the Fed. Govt. enforces the 30-year old Title IX statute, the landmark law that outlaws discrimination based on gender. Instead of discouraging all-girls and all-boys public schools as it does now, the Govt. is encouraged to help establish them, officials said.

 

o INS will track approximately 1 million foreign students in the next several months, according to DOJ.

 

o It’s business as usual with accounting! Strong lobbying from this business group watered down the provisions of a new bill requiring annual review by SEC. The amendment eliminated the required review, and merely gave SEC “authority to conduct one,” power it already has.

 

o Food poisoning in the nation’s schools is increasing at about 10% a year, according to GAO.

 

o DOL officially launched GovBenefits.gov, a web site designed to simplify access to information about Govt. aid and other benefit programs.

 

o OMB estimates the Govt. would save $50 million to $70 million annually in printing and copying contracts now handled exclusively by GPO if they are submitted for competitive bids. Contracts are valued at $500 million a year.

 

IV. International

o With smaller IT budgets to use, CIOs at large Asian companies must deliver short-term results to bolster business while protecting long-term IT projects.

 

o China continues to be the driving force for personal computer market in Asia and is poised to shift up a notch to become the world’s second-largest  market by 2003, according to research firm, IDC.

 

o Hongkong banks will invite public comment on their controversial claim to share more customer credit information with each other.

 

o Softbank and McDonald’s Japan have signed a deal that will turn the fast food restaurants into cyber cafés. Softbank has agreed to offer broadband service to the chain’s nearly 4,000 restaurants in Japan.

 

o Taiwan memory chip maker Powerchip Semiconductor plans to begin a second-generation plant using advanced 12-inch technology by the end of next year.

 

o Auto distributor and retailer Inchscape has won majority approval to privatize its Singapore subsidiary and its dual listing n the city-state, but insists Asia is still a core marke

 

o Indonesia has agreed to buy Deutsche Telekom stake in the country’s 2^nd-largest cellular firm Satelindo for $325 million after tough negotiations.

 

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