"In a lot of these cases, I'm surprised that people are not lining up to get these things," he said.
The comparison between gas and electric cars also can vary with geography, largely because energy prices vary wildly across the U.S. In Oregon, where gasoline is 18 per cent more expensive than the national average and electricity is 16 per cent lower, an electric Fit will save $121 a month in fuel. In Connecticut, which has the highest power prices in the country, the monthly savings are just $83.
COSTS VARY BY REGION
The fuel used to generate electric power and the cost of gasoline also vary by region -and that affects how environ-mentally friendly an electric car purchase is.
In Midwestern states that rely heavily on coal, driving an electric car produces 18 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than driving a typical gasoline-powered car, says the Union of Concerned Scientists. Surprisingly, driving an all-electric car there produces 50 per cent more greenhouse gases than driving a 21.26-kilometre-per-litre electric hybrid.
In the northeast and north-west, where a bigger portion of the power is produced with nuclear reactors, hydroelectric dams, natural gas-fired power plants and wind farms, an electric car will produce 76 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a typical gasoline-powered car and 56 per cent fewer emissions than a hybrid.
No matter what the energy costs, Honda expects to trumpet the Fit EV's mileage figure, even though it will lease only 1,100 of the cars in its first two years on the market.
Honda predicts that the initial customers for the Fit EV won't be focusing on a cost-benefit analysis. Instead, they'll want to make a statement about cutting greenhouse gases and reducing dependence on foreign oil, said Robert Langford, Honda's manager of plug-in electric vehicle sales.
Like the rest of the auto industry, Honda isn't sure when or if electric vehicles will ever replace those that run on gas, he said. The company keeps constant watch on sales of electric cars already on the market. "That's constantly on our mind right now and on our radar screen," Langford said.
Chevrolet doesn't actively market the Volt's 40-kilometre-per-litre figure, because it's too confusing to explain to consumers that the car can drive that distance while running on electricity. The Volt, unlike other electrics, has a small gas engine on board to generate power for the car after the battery is depleted.
Electric vehicles, Toprak said, won't sell en masse until customers know they will ultimately save enough to take a risk on new technology.
"You're not buying it to save the trees. You're buying it to save money for yourself."
ELECTRIC VS. GAS
Annual fuel savings are impressive, but the high sticker price on an electric car puts it out of reach for the average consumer
A car that gets 50 kilometres a litre sounds nice, but to figure out how much money you will save, you have to look a little closer. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has come up with a measurement called "miles per gallon-equivalent." It measures how much energy it takes to move an electric car. But that energy - electricity - is priced very differently than gasoline. At a U.S. average retail price of electricity of 11.6 cents a kilowatt hour, and an average retail price of gasoline of $3.57 a gallon, electric vehicles can save about $1,000 in fuel costs a year. The higher price of the electric vehicle, though, means it can take more than 10 years of fuel savings to make up the difference. (In B.C., where electricity is cheaper and gasoline more expensive, the savings would be bigger and the payback time faster.) Here's how some electric vehicles compare with the base price of their gasoline-powered siblings. The Nissan Leaf is compared with the Nissan Versa. Mitsubishi does not sell a gasoline-powered car that is the same size as its electric car.
Finance ministry rejects ATEbank wind-down report - Athens News
Finance cost, Rupee fall key hurdles for infra - MoneyControl.com
UR Associates has come out with its report on infrastructure sector.
Construction firms pin hope on roads and railways sectors to improve order books When L&T declared its annual results earlier this month, it gave a bright outlook for the current financial year, saying it expected order inflow to grow 15-20%. Thermax Ltd, too, projects a similar outlook. L&T expects the orders deferred in the fourth quarter of the last financial year to come in this year, boosting the company’s order book. It hopes to get Rs 100-150 bn of deferred orders in the coming quarters. Though Thermax did not give details of the expected orders, M S Unnikrishnan, MD, said the company was in talks for a couple of projects. He said the second half of the current financial year could turn for the better if the macro-economic situation improved.
Currently, financing costs and rupee depreciation, among other factors, have led to a record number of projects moving into the freeze mode, resulting in reduction in capital expenditure of companies. The railway and road sectors, however, are expected to keep the boat afloat this year. Construction companies dependent on the power sector are the worstaffected. For instance, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, which depends mostly on internal projects, is positive about its construction business margins at 8%, with an order book of Rs 173 bn. Besides, power companies such as GMR, GVK Power, Adani Power Ltd and Tata Power Ltd said they had frozen new projects for now, owing to coal supply issues among others.
Companies banking on orders from the power sector are still in a gloom. Capital goods companies are still talking about slowdown, and power sector orders are still in problem. But it’s still not completely gloomy. With the National Highways Authority of India hoping to bid out road projects of around 8,500 km this year, the road sector might be a saviour. Road projects have been offering steady orders in the last few years. In the last financial year, NHAI awarded projects worth ~Rs 570 bn, and gave away Rs 23 bn projects in January 2012 alone. It had set a minimum achievement target of 7,300 km for 2011-12, up by 43.6% from last year’s 5,083 km. Since last year, NHAI has set up month-wise targets in awarding projects to ensure a continuous flow of projects.
The railway sector has also started looking up with the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation planning to award projects worth Rs 100 bn this year.
GMR Infra claims TNEB owes dues of Rs 8.5 bn
GMR Infrastructure Ltd has alleged that state-run Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and its generation arm Tamilnadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd (TANGEDCO) owes around Rs 8.5 bn to the company. According to the company's balance sheet, as of March 31, 2012 the power segment companies have receivables (including unbilled revenue) from Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and TANGEDCO Ltd aggregating to Rs 8.5 bn. Based on internal assessment and various discussions that the group had with TNEB and TANGEDCO, the management is confident of recovery of such receivables. In case of GMR Power Corporation Ltd (GPCL), a subsidiary of the company, claims/counterclaims arise out of the power purchase agreement (PPA) and land leasing agreement (LLA) in respect of the dues recoverable form TNEB on account of sale of energy including the reimbursement towards interest of working capital, minimum alternate tax (MAT), rebate, start/stop charges and payment of land lease rentals to TNEB.
More trouble for Lanco as Crisil downgrades Rs 82 bn worth of loans
Lanco Power, a subsidiary of Lanco Infratech, is in trouble. An increase in the cost of coal, a key raw material and delays in receiving payments from PTC India, have prompted ratings agency Crisil to downgrade Rs 82.07 bn worth of long and short-term loans given to Lanco Power. The downgrade reflects growing risk of timely repayment of its debt, Crisil said, adding that both higher coal costs and delayed payments have resulted in a sharp increase in working capital for the power producer. Crisil said Lanco is approaching various banks for more short-term credit as well as has started selling power on the power exchange, but is still likely to face intermittent “cash flow mismatches”. Hence, the downgrade in the power producer’s rating to ‘moderate risk’ from ‘moderate safety’.
BHEL bags Rs 11.43 bn worth of contract from NTPC
BHEL has bagged an Rs 11.43 bn contract from country’s largest power generation utility NTPC for setting up a 500 MW power generating unit at its Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station in Madhya Pradesh. “NTPC has placed a major order to the company for supply and installation of the main plant package (boilers, turbines and generators) for a power project in Madhya Pradesh involving one generating unit of 500 MW,” BHEL said in a statement. “Valued at Rs 11.43 bn, the contract envisages setting up a 1-500 MW thermal power generating unit at NTPC’s Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station (STPS), in Madhya Pradesh,” the statement said. On commissioning of the unit, 12 million units of electricity will be added to the grid, every day, BHEL said.
Corporate finance: ‘Mittelstand’ bonds prove attractive - Financial Times
June 8, 2012 3:17 pm
Money Centers of America Inc., acquires Landmark Group Holdings assets - YAHOO!
Money Centers of America, Inc. (http://www.moneycenters.com) announced Friday that it had acquired the assets of Landmark Group Holdings. The deal includes Landmark’s proprietary software and contracts with properties in Washington, Idaho, California, Colorado, South Dakota, and Nevada. The company will continue to operate under the Landmark name as a subsidiary of Money Centers.
King of Prussia, PA (PRWEB) June 08, 2012
Money Centers of America, Inc. (http://www.moneycenters.com) announced Friday that it had acquired the assets of Landmark Group Holdings. The deal includes Landmark’s proprietary software and contracts with properties in Washington, Idaho, California, Colorado, South Dakota, and Nevada. The company will continue to operate under the Landmark name as a subsidiary of Money Centers.Washington based Landmark provides check guarantee, check verification, Title 31 / Currency Transaction Reporting, and on-line software applications to establish credit limits and monitor guests’ marker activities.
Landmark’s C4 software captures and stores check cashing, credit and debit card transactions and related credit information in a real-time, on-line environment. This product is designed to increase cash flow and minimize declined check requests on responsible guests. The Landmark system gives the client immediate and specific information including credit history and available credit.
Landmark and Money Centers describe this as an opportunity to grow a national database and consolidate software products for the cage.
“It is a data driven world today. Cashing checks, extending credit and processing cash advance transactions from the cage is the lifeblood of the casino. Having real-time transaction information not only puts money on the floor but also allows the casino to get better information on their customer’s available credit for marketing and player tracking purposes.” Landmark and Money Centers President Mark Wolfington said.
Money Centers Chairman and CEO Chris Wolfington says acquiring Landmark is a sign of Money Centers growth. “Since 1998, Money Centers has been providing cash access services and software that enables gaming operators to use the power of technology to increase profits and improve the customer experience. Adding Landmark’s technology and products is an extension of that mission.”
“We have worked with Landmark in the past year integrating our ONtime POS system with Landmark’s check guaranty engine. Landmark has a deep database and long history of cashing checks. By combining their West Coast presence with our locations we have created a national database. We are excited about the opportunity to own our own risk management software and have a fully integrated credit database.”
Lauren Anderson
Money Centers
610-354-8888
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