Archive for August 6th, 2008
ML’s guide for beginners trying to read Financial Reports
Recommended the Merrill Lynch Guide to Understanding Financial Reports to one of my friends who had never read financial reports before. Turns out he found it very insightful.
This small booklet could go a long way for beginners… here’s the direct link to the PDF (47 pages) on ML’s website.
Air Freight numbers drop, passenger growth hits 5 year low
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) international traffic data for June 2008 showed a continued slowing of demand growth for air transport.
“The global economic turbulence clearly shows in the 0.8% drop in freight volumes compared to last year. Although the passenger demand grew by 3.8%, this is the slowest growth that we have seen since the industry was hit by the SARS crisis in 2003. With consumer and business confidence falling and sky-high oil prices, the situation will get a lot worse,” said Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of IATA in a press release issued by the organization.
“The airline sector is in trouble. Losses this year could reach US$6.1 billion, more than wiping out the US$5.6 billion that airlines made in 2007. Falling demand and rising costs are re-shaping the industry,” said Bisignani. “To survive the crisis, urgent action is needed. Airports and air navigation service providers must come to the table with efficiencies that deliver cost savings. Labour must understand that efficiency is the only path to job security. And governments must stop crazy taxation and give airlines the freedom to merge and consolidate where it makes business sense.”
Reproduced below are numbers from the IATA website
| Jun 2008 vs. Jun 2007 | RPK Growth | ASK Growth | PLF | FTK Growth | ATK Growth |
| Africa | -1.5% | -0.8% | 67.6 | -1.9% | -4.7% |
| Asia/Pacific | 3.2% | 4.9% | 75.8 | -4.8% | -0.9% |
| Europe | 2.1% | 4.4% | 77.9 | 0.7% | 3.5% |
| Latin America | 12.5% | 10.1% | 73.5 | -12.7% | 8.2% |
| Middle East | 9.6% | 9.8% | 75.5 | 12.1% | 11.8% |
| North America | 4.4% | 6.1% | 83.7 | 4.0% | 6.6% |
| Industry | 3.8% | 5.5% | 77.6 | -0.8% | 3.3% |
| YTD 2008 vs. YTD 2007 | RPK Growth | ASK Growth | PLF | FTK Growth | ATK Growth |
| Africa | -1.4% | -2.0% | 68.2 | -9.0% | -4.8% |
| Asia/Pacific | 4.8% | 5.5% | 74.8 | 0.8% | 2.0% |
| Europe | 3.5% | 5.2% | 75.1 | 3.1% | 4.6% |
| Latin America | 16.4% | 14.5% | 73.5 | -11.9% | 9.9% |
| Middle East | 10.6% | 10.7% | 74.8 | 11.8% | 12.0% |
| North America | 6.0% | 6.7% | 79.6 | 4.6% | 6.4% |
| Industry | 5.4% | 6.2% | 75.5 | 2.4% | 4.6% |
Explanation of measured terms:
- RPK: Revenue Passenger Kilometres measures actual passenger traffic
- ASK: Available Seat Kilometres measures available passenger capacity
- PLF: Passenger Load Factor is % of ASKs used. In comparison of 2008 to 2007, PLF indicates point differential between the periods compared
- FTK: Freight Tonne Kilometres measures actual freight traffic
- ATK: Available Tonne Kilometres measures available total capacity (combined passenger and cargo)
Optimum use of Limited Sleep
Was looking around for info on the effects of “intermittent” sleep. Found this interesting 1983 paper titled Sleep Deprivation and Performance: The Optimum use of Limited Sleep Periods, which publishes the results of a study done by Wilse B. Webb from the University of Florida. The study was supported by the US Army Medical Research and Development Command at Fort Detrick.
Given below is a verbatim reproduction of the summary of the report:
This research is concerned with continuous performance over extended time periods. The particular efforts of this report measured the effects of two placements of 4 hours of sleep compared with no sleep across seventy two hours. The performance battery included sleep sensitive tasks as well as an extensive battery of cognitive tasks. Two hour of “preparatory” sleep from 1OPM-12PM were permitted in one group before the second and third “night” (12PM-8AM). Two hours of “recovery” sleep from 8AM to lOAM was permitted for a second group after “nights” two and three. The control group had no sleep. Six young adults served in each group. It is clear from preliminary analyses that significant effects are obtained.
For those interested in readying it, the complete report can be found here (PDF).
