Right People Consultants - A CXO Research Company

There are few companies where even recession cannot hit. Technology giant Apple has recorded its best 4th quarter results mostly driven by sales of Mac Computers and smartphone iPhone. The company exceeds its expectations and recorded a 47% rise in net profits. Apple CFO said in a statement “We are delighted with our September quarter and fiscal 2009 results”. The company calls it as a ‘most profitable quarter ever’and assures the same for the next quarter. “Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2010, we expect revenue in the range of about $11.3 billion to $11.6 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $1.7 to $1.78,” Oppenheimer said.

Apple has continued to give tough competition in the computer segment and smartphone market. The company’s Mac computers are in great demand and selling like hot cakes. The iPhone continues to be the leader in smartphone segment. Apple announced the iPhone on 9th January 2007 and introduced it in the US on 29th June 2007 and since then it has been quite a revelation. After the 4th quarter results announced, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said,”We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter. We’ve got a very strong line up for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010.”

After the results, the company’s stock prices jumped sharply on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

Two days ago, Google announced its 3rd quarter results and they were better than expected even in this tough market situation. And today, management announced the bonuses for its employees to celebrate Diwali. “The bonuses we rewarded our employees is a part of the annual bonus that nearly 20000 employees worldwide were given. Job-holders across all levels were handed out a bonus,” said Mr. Manoj Varghese, Head-Human Resources, Asia Pacific Region, Google.

This is a committment which is shown by Google management that they do care about their employees. The employees received the surprise mail today that they will be given bonuses. The quarter has been good for them and they recorded 7% growth rate. “While there is a lot of uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery, we believe the worst of the recession is behind us and now feel confident about investing heavily in our future.” said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google during the earnings call last week.

Bernard Madoff, the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC is an American Convict who has siphoned investor money to the tune of $50 billion in the largest ever ponzi scheme in Wall Street history. He was arrested on December 11, 2008, as Madoff’s sons Mark and Andrew Madoff reported him to the federal authorities for running the giant ponzi scheme, which he revealed to his sons on December 9, 2008. After Madoff’s arrest, the assets of the Madoff Family Foundation were frozen by a federal court.

Madoff is said to have admitted beginning his ponzi scheme in the early 1990s. He admitted that never made any legitimate investments with his client’s money and instead deposited the money into a business account with Chase Manhattan Bank. He is believed to have paid rich dividends to his existing clients with the money collected from new clients, by false trading activities masked by foreign transfers and false SEC filings.

In March 2009, Madoff claimed a guilty plea that he was the sole person responsible for the fraud as it was believed that his two sons, Madoff’s bother Peter, niece Shana knew about the fraud because of their personal investments in the scheme, the longevity of the fraud, and because of their corporate roles at the company, however, Madoff claimed that they were on the legitimate side of the business. Henceforth, no criminal charges have been brought against his family members.

On June 29, 2009, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison and was ordered to forfeit $170 billion in assets. According to a March 13, 2009 filing by Madoff, he and his wife were worth up to $126 million, plus an estimated $700 million for the value of his business interest in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. Other major assets included securities ($45 million), cash ($17 million), half-interest in BLM Air Charter ($12 million), a 2006 Leopard yacht ($7 million), jewelry ($2.6 million), Manhattan apartment ($7 million), Montauk, N.Y. home ($9 million), Palm Beach home ($11 million), Cap d’ Antibes, France property ($1 million), and furniture, household goods, and art ($9.9 million). All homes will be auctioned by the U.S. Marshall Service after Labor Day 2009.

On September 18, 2009, the U.S. Marshall Service concluded the sale deal of Madoff’s 3000 Sq. Ft., 4 bedroom, Montauk, N.Y. beach house for $9.41 million to an undisclosed buyer, which was expected to fetch $8.75 million. The sale was an important step forward, as all the proceedings will go towards repaying thousand of investors burned by his ponzi scheme.

Madoff’s Manhattan apartment and Palm Beach home have already been put up for sale and are awaiting the right buyer, the proceedings of which would also go to repaying the victims of his ugly scam.

I am left with a Dollar

Billionaire to a Beggar

Billionaire Raj Rajaratnam - the founder of the Galleon Group and five others have been charged on Friday, October 16, 2009, with a large Hedge Fund insider-trading scheme, which involved several publically traded companies. The investigators used the telephone wire taps to keep track of the events. The SEC and authorities say the case has generated more than $20 Million in illegal profits.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas F. Eaton set bail at $100 million to be secured by $20 million in collateral despite a request by prosecutors to deny bail. He also ordered Rajaratnam, both a Sri Lankan and U.S. citizen, to stay within 110 miles of New York City.

Rajaratnam, 52, was ranked No. 559 by Forbes magazine this year among the world’s wealthiest billionaires, with a $1.3 billion net worth.

It’s the right time when CXO’s should take a next step. I appreciate people who have spent lot of time in making the companies successful and now they have looked out for some noble cause.

Nothing can be better then to have public image from a big corporate world.

Warner Chilcott plc has received Stephen G. Pagliuca’s formal resignation from the board of directors of Warner Chilcott plc.  Consistent with Mr. Pagliuca’s recent statements, “his decision to resign was made in connection with his decision to run for the U.S. Senate seat for Massachusetts and was not the result of any disagreement with the Company”.  Mr. Pagliuca has not participated in any board meetings or discussions relating to the Company since the announcement of his campaign in September 2009.

I have heard companies during recession ask CXO to work without pay. Here the case is bit different “Pay without work” Rashmi Garde, who departed from her role as Vice President and General Counsel on September 22, 2009 will receive biweekly salary continuation payments through September 22, 2010 or such earlier date that she commences employment elsewhere.

It is always interesting to read the 8-K specially the Item5.02. The same information is available under http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1124610/000119312509209207/d8k.htm.

Its a great move by the board of Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation VTSS. I think they are taking the correct steps in investing in technology and at the same time cutting the expenses.

In the last 2 months they have done a great job in technology:
- VITESSE AND DUNE NETWORKS DELIVER INTEROPERABLE END-TO-END SOLUTION
- Advanced Vitesse 10 Gigabit Ethernet LAN/WAN PHY Sets New Standards for Compact SFP+-Compliant Transceiver

As previously disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation (the “Company”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2009 (the “February Form 8-K”), Christopher Gardner, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, agreed to a temporary 20% reduction in his base salary. The February Form 8-K also disclosed agreements between the Company and Richard Yonker, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, and Michael Green, the Company’s Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, for temporary 10% reductions in their base salaries. These temporary salary reductions were agreed to as part of the Company’s expense reduction initiative and were contemporaneous with a temporary reduction of salaries for all employees through the end of fiscal year 2009, ended September 30, 2009. On October 1, 2009, the salaries of the Company’s employees other than Mssrs. Gardner, Yonker and Green were reinstated to the same levels as in effect prior to the reduction.