Actually, I think I must have missed your TOT post back in March — I was just reading it now, and I am struck by the fact you reach many of the same conclusions ** — particularly your dubiety over the whole acquisition focus & scale /
quality of the resulting returns.
Not exact matches
Actual
results, including with respect to our targets and prospects, could differ materially due to a number
of factors, including the risk that we may not obtain sufficient orders to achieve our targeted revenues; price competition in key markets; the risk that we or our channel partners are not able to develop and expand customer bases and accurately anticipate demand from end customers, which can
result in increased inventory and reduced orders as we experience wide fluctuations in supply and demand; the risk that our commercial Lighting Products
results will continue to suffer if new issues arise regarding issues related to product
quality for this business; the risk that we may experience production difficulties that preclude us from shipping sufficient quantities to meet customer orders or that
result in higher production costs and lower margins; our ability to lower costs; the risk that our
results will suffer if we are unable to balance fluctuations in customer demand and capacity, including bringing on additional capacity on a timely basis to meet customer demand; the risk that longer manufacturing lead times may cause customers to fulfill their orders with a competitor's products instead; the risk that the economic and political uncertainty caused by the proposed tariffs by the United States on Chinese goods, and any corresponding Chinese tariffs in response, may negatively impact demand for our products; product mix; risks associated with the ramp - up
of production
of our new products, and our entry into new business channels different from those in which we have historically operated; the risk that customers do not maintain their favorable perception
of our brand and products,
resulting in lower demand for our products; the risk that our products fail to perform or fail to meet customer requirements or expectations,
resulting in significant additional costs, including costs associated with warranty
returns or the potential recall
of our products; ongoing uncertainty in global economic conditions, infrastructure development or customer demand that could negatively affect product demand, collectability
of receivables and other related matters as consumers and businesses may defer purchases or payments, or default on payments; risks
resulting from the concentration
of our business among few customers, including the risk that customers may reduce or cancel orders or fail to honor purchase commitments; the risk that we are not able to enter into acceptable contractual arrangements with the significant customers
of the acquired Infineon RF Power business or otherwise not fully realize anticipated benefits
of the transaction; the risk that retail customers may alter promotional pricing, increase promotion
of a competitor's products over our products or reduce their inventory levels, all
of which could negatively affect product demand; the risk that our investments may experience periods
of significant stock price volatility causing us to recognize fair value losses on our investment; the risk posed by managing an increasingly complex supply chain that has the ability to supply a sufficient quantity
of raw materials, subsystems and finished products with the required specifications and
quality; the risk we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings if our goodwill or amortizable assets become impaired; risks relating to confidential information theft or misuse, including through cyber-attacks or cyber intrusion; our ability to complete development and commercialization
of products under development, such as our pipeline
of Wolfspeed products, improved LED chips, LED components, and LED lighting products risks related to our multi-year warranty periods for LED lighting products; risks associated with acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures or investments generally; the rapid development
of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render our products obsolete; the potential lack
of customer acceptance for our products; risks associated with ongoing litigation; and other factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our report on Form 10 - K for the fiscal year ended June 25, 2017, and subsequent reports filed with the SEC.
Crane was purchased with the idea that its transition from a holding company with a collection
of high
quality, niche businesses to a fully integrated, operations - focused business would
result in high
returns, improved margins and a better stock price.
Given the favorable
quality of market action, it may or may not be time to panic yet, but we do know that even while market action is generally favorable, we have overvalued, overbought, and overbullish conditions that have generally been associated both with poor short - term
returns (as a
result of the overbought, overbullish features), and disappointing long - term
returns (as a
result of overvaluation).
If we truly want for our efforts to
return maximum
results, we should be far more concerned about the
quality of our efforts rather than focusing so much on quantity.
Forgiveness, is a
quality that is sometimes found lacking — but its worthwhile having especially if it
results in this player having a change
of mind and
returning to the
quality - performer we know he can be.
Time for some brutal honesty... this team, as it stands, is in no better position to compete next season than they were 12 months ago, minus the fact that some fans have been easily snowed by the acquisition
of Lacazette, the free transfer LB and the release
of Sanogo... if you look at the facts carefully you will see a team that still has far more questions than answers... to better show what I mean by this statement I will briefly discuss the current state
of affairs on a position - by - position basis... in goal we have 4 potential candidates, but in reality we have only 1 option with any real future and somehow he's the only one we have actively tried to get rid
of for years because he and his father were a little too involved on social media and he got caught smoking (funny how people still defend Wiltshire under the same and far worse circumstances)... you would think we would want to keep any goaltender that Juventus had interest in, as they seem to have a pretty good history when it comes to that position... as far as the defenders on our current roster there are only a few individuals whom have the skill and / or youth worthy
of our time and / or investment, as such we should get rid
of anyone who doesn't meet those simple requirements, which means we should get rid
of DeBouchy, Gibbs, Gabriel, Mertz and loan out Chambers to see if last seasons foray with Middlesborough was an anomaly or a prediction
of things to come... some fans have lamented wildly about the
return of Mertz to the starting lineup due to his FA Cup performance but these sort
of pie in the sky meanderings are indicative
of what's wrong with this club and it's wishy - washy fan - base... in addition to these moves the club should aggressively pursue the acquisition
of dominant and mobile CB to stabilize an all too fragile defensive group that has self - destructed on numerous occasions over the past 5 seasons... moving forward and building on our need to re-establish our once dominant presence throughout the middle
of the park we need to target a CDM then do whatever it takes to get that player into the fold without any
of the usual nickel and diming we have become famous for (this kind
of ruthless haggling has cost us numerous special players and certainly can't help make the player in question feel good about the way their future potential employer feels about them)... in order for us to become dominant again we need to be strong up the middle again from Goalkeeper to CB to DM to ACM to striker, like we did in our most glorious years before and during Wenger's reign... with this in mind, if we want Ozil to be that dominant attacking midfielder we can't keep leaving him exposed to constant ridicule about his lack
of defensive prowess and provide him with the proper players in the final third... he was never a good defensive player in Real or with the German National squad and they certainly didn't suffer as a
result of his presence on the pitch... as for the rest
of the midfield the blame falls squarely in the hands
of Wenger and Gazidis, the fact that Ramsey, Ox, Sanchez and even Ozil were allowed to regularly start when none
of the aforementioned had more than a year left under contract is criminal for a club
of this size and financial might... the fact that we could find money for Walcott and Xhaka, who weren't even guaranteed starters, means that our whole business model needs a complete overhaul... for me it's time to get rid
of some serious deadweight, even if it means selling them below what you believe their market value is just to simply right this ship and change the stagnant culture that currently exists... this means saying goodbye to Wiltshire, Elneny, Carzola, Walcott and Ramsey... everyone, minus Elneny, have spent just as much time on the training table as on the field
of play, which would be manageable if they weren't so inconsistent from a performance standpoint (excluding Carzola, who is like the recent version
of Rosicky — too bad, both will be deeply missed)... in their places we need to bring in some proven performers with no history
of injuries... up front, although I do like the possibilities that a player like Lacazette presents, the fact that we had to wait so many years to acquire some true
quality at the striker position falls once again squarely at the feet
of Wenger... this issue highlights the ultimate scam being perpetrated by this club since the arrival
of Kroenke: pretend your a small market club when it comes to making purchases but milk your fans like a big market club when it comes to ticket prices and merchandising... I believe the reason why Wenger hasn't pursued someone
of Henry's
quality, minus a fairly inexpensive RVP, was that he knew that they would demand players
of a similar ilk to be brought on board and that wasn't possible when the business model was that
of a «selling» club... does it really make sense that we could only make a cheeky bid for Suarez, or that we couldn't get Higuain over the line when he was being offered up for half the price he eventually went to Juve for, or that we've only paid any interest to strikers who were clearly not going to press their current teams to let them go to Arsenal like Benzema or Cavani... just part
of the facade that finally came crashing down when Sanchez finally called their bluff... the fact remains that no one wants to win more than Sanchez, including Wenger, and although I don't agree with everything that he has done off the field, I would much rather have Alexis front and center than a manager who has clearly bought into the Kroenke model in large part due to the fact that his enormous ego suggests that only he could accomplish great things without breaking the bank... unfortunately that isn't possible anymore as the game has changed quite dramatically in the last 15 years, which has left a largely complacent and complicit Wenger on the outside looking in... so don't blame those players who demanded more and were left wanting... don't blame those fans who have tried desperately to raise awareness for several years when cracks began to appear... place the blame at the feet
of those who were well aware all along
of the potential pitfalls
of just such a plan but continued to follow it even when it was no longer a financial necessity, like it ever really was...
The Knowledge Portal is intended to be secure, compliant with pertinent ethical regulations, accessible to a wide user base, inviting to researchers who may want to contribute data and participate in analyses, organic in the continuous incorporation
of scientific advances, modular in its analytical capabilities and user interfaces, automated, rigorous in the
quality of data aggregation and
returned results, versatile, and sustainable.
The
results are consistent with other studies that show a substantial
return (up to 50 percent
of a standard deviation on standardized achievement tests) to achievement from observed classroom
quality, with greater effects often accruing to children with higher levels
of risk and disadvantage.
The Perry study found that ``... one dollar invested in high -
quality early childhood education programs by policymakers
results in a
return of seven dollars in preventative costs associated with incarceration, truancy, school dropout, and teen pregnancy» (Stegelin, 2004).
Value, momentum,
quality and size have historically low
return correlations, so a multifactor smart beta portfolio can potentially benefit in a variety
of market conditions and may lead to more consistent long - term
results.
But many who try to mimick Buffett end up getting mediocre
results (average index like
returns) because they don't have Buffett's ability to match security analysis (determining if a business is undervalued) with business analysis (being able to judge the economics
of the business as well as evaluate the
quality of the management).
If a treatment would
result in a less than a 50 percent chance
of returning to a good
quality of life, you should talk with your veterinarian about whether the treatment is really in the cat's best interest.
By getting the cats neutered and implementing colony management, you have vastly improved the
quality of the cat's lives and no one should criticize your decision to let the animal
return to his family and not euthanize him because
of a test
result.
Hill's offers you the option
of returning a product if you're not satisfied with its
result on your dog's
quality of life
By getting the cats neutered and implementing a managed colony, you've vastly improved the
quality of the cats» lives and no one should criticize your decision to let the animal
return to his family and not euthanize him because
of a test
result.
Pets
of all ages, sizes, and breeds can have improved
quality of life as a
result of therapeutic interventions that can minimize the effects
of disability, slow physical decline, promote weight loss, and allow earlier
return to normal function and previous level
of activity following surgical procedures.
During your afternoon appointment, the veterinarian will
return your pet to you, review the test
results and suggest a plan to maintain your pet's health and
quality of life for as long as possible.
- the game's shading mechanism has changed, which allows for increased gear texture
quality - all graphical aspects and programming mechanisms have been built up from scratch for this sequel - maximum resolution is 1080p in TV mode - a bigger focus for Nintendo was the 60 frames per second - occasionally the resolution will be scaled down when there is too much ink displaying on the screen - Nintendo reduced the CPU load and refined the way to use CPU power effectively to maintain 60 fps in all matches - weapons were tweaked to let players be more creative by thinking about unique weapon characteristics and their best uses - weapons are designed to be effective when they are used during the right occasion - Special weapons are stronger than the original ones when used in the right situation, but weaker otherwise - the damage and effect
of slowing down your movement when you step in the opponent's ink are reduced from original - you can jump up in rank if you're good enough, but only up until S - you can't jump up from C, B or A to S + - when you win battles in Ranked mode, the Ranked meter fills and your rank goes up when its fully filled - when you lose a battle, the gauge does not decrease, but the meter starts to crack - once the meter reaches its limit, it breaks - when the meter breaks, you have to start over again from the beginning or from a lower rank - highest rank is still S +, but if you fill up the Ranked meter, you get numbers after the alphabet such as «S +1», «S +2» and so on - maximum number is «S +50», but this number will not be displayed to your opponent - you are the only one to see it, and you can check it on your own status screen - Ranked Power is calculated by an algorithm to measure how strong each player is with minuteness - this will determine if a player's rank is worthy
of receiving a big jump (like from «C» to «A»)- Ranked Power has no relation to your splat rate, and is more tied into to how well you lead your team to victory - you won't drop off more than one rank even if you play poorly - stage rotation time was changed to two hours - this was done because the devs expected people to play for an hour or so, but they found people play much longer - with Salmon Run, Nintendo considered how to implement a co-op oriented mode in a player - versus - player type
of game - the devs will monitor how users are playing this mode to see if there's some tweaks they can throw in - more Salmon Run maps will be added in the future, but Nintendo wouldn't comment on adding more enemy types to the mode - rewards are changed each time Salmon Run is played - you can obtain rewards when playing locally, but not gear - originally Nintendo had an idea for this mode, but had no background setting, enemy designs, etc. - Inoue suggested that it should be salmon - themed - when Nintendo hosted the Splatfest that pit Callie against Marie, the development
of Splatoon 2 had started - the devs had already decided to have the
result reflected in the sequel - they even had an idea to announce the Splatfest with a phrase «Your choice will change the next Splatoon» - the timing to announce a sequel wasn't right, so they decided against this - they eventually released a series
of short stories about the Squid Sisters to show how the Splatfest affected the sequel's story - Nintendo wouldn't say if Marina is an Octoling, and noted that Inklings are not paying attention to this too much - Inklings don't care about appearances, as long as everyone is doing something fresh - the Squid Sisters had composers who produced their songs, but Off the Hook are composing their music by themselves - Pearl is genius artist, but she couldn't find a right partner because she's a bit too edgy - she eventually found Marina as a partner though, and their chemistry is sparkling right now - Nintendo is planning a year
of content updates for Splatoon 2 - when finished, the quantity
of stages will be more than the original - some
of the additional stages are totally new and some will be arranged stages from the first game - not all original stages will
return and they are choosing stages based on the potential for them to be improved - Brella is shotgun-esque weapon, so the ink hits your opponent more if you are closer - it can shield damage when you open it, but the amount
of damage has a limit and once it reaches it, it breaks - you can shoot ink, but you can't use the shield feature when it breaks - the shield won't prevent your allies ink - there are more new weapon categories which haven't been revealed yet - there are no other ranked modes outside
of the three current options - the future holds any sort
of possibility, but the devs didn't get specific about adding more content like that - for the modes, they adjusted the rule designs so that players will experience the more interesting aspects
Report warns regulation could see
return of «creative schemes» Clients are not suffering on
quality or cost as a
result of referral fees in conveyancing and personal injury, a Legal Services Board (LSB) report has found.
Sterling Talent Solutions ensures the accuracy
of results with numerous
quality control measures, and
returns the
result to our client within one business day
of receiving the request.
The $ 2.6 M settlement sent a resounding message that the practice
of putting a name in a system and
returning back whatever the raw
results are, without any meaningful
quality assurance filter, is no longer acceptable.
Developed and implemented improved methods for identifying problematic
return issues
resulting in a reported annual
return prevention savings
of $ 1.2 M for the Product
Quality Assurance Department in 2010.