Writing With Numbers

Writing with numbers Adding accuracy, evidence and context with prices, ratios, forecasts and percentages

Number one rules on numbers  Use

numbers that convey the theme.  Avoid numbers in first sentence  Make sure every number pulls the reader toward the context and through the story.  Use numbers that matter  Look past the first numbers in a press release

Getting Numbers Right Time

and money Percentage and percentage points Numbers that add meaning Sourcing Forecasts

Key Ratios for Stocks  Price

movement in context  Price earnings ratio  Dividend yield  Earnings per share

Currencies numbers  All

major currencies are stated against the dollar, except the British pound, the Euro, the Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar.  Be careful with rises/falls  Weakening = depreciation  Strengthening = appreciation

Yielding to Bond Numbers  Yields

move inversely to prices  Yields are expressed in percentage points; changes in yields are expressed in basis points.  Bond prices are relevant only in stories about bond trading; otherwise, just the yield is fine.

On Average  Mean  Median  Mode

Key Numbers for Companies Net

profit Operating profit Revenue Long-term interest bearing debt Forecasts

Reinsurance 

This procedure is used by insurance companies to reduce the risks associated with underwritten policies by spreading risks across alternative institutions. It's like portioning out pieces of a larger potential obligation in exchange for some of the money the original insurer  received to accept the obligation. The party that diversifies its insurance portfolio is known as the ceding party. The party that accepts a portion of the potential obligation in exchange for a share of the insurance premium is known as the reinsurer.

Actuary A

professional statistician working for an insurance company. They evaluate your application and medical records to project how long you will live

Premium  The

specified amount of payment required periodically by an insurer to provide coverage under a given insurance plan for a defined period of time. The premium is paid by the insured party to the insurer, and primarily compensates the insurer for bearing the risk of a payout.

Term life insurance A

policy with a set duration limit on the coverage period. This type of insurance policy contrasts with permanent life insurance, in which duration extends until the policy owner reaches 100 years of age.

Whole life insurance A

life insurance contract with level premiums that has both an insurance and an investment component. The insurance component pays a stated amount upon death of the insured. The investment component accumulates a cash value that the policyholder can withdraw or borrow against. 

Liability insurance  Any

type of insurance policy that protects an individual or business from the risk that they may  be sued and held legally liable for something such as malpractice, injury or negligence. Liability insurance policies cover both legal costs and any legal payouts for which the insured would be responsible if found legally liable. Intentional damage and contractual liabilities are typically not covered in these types of policies.

Mutual company A

company whose profits are distributed in proportion to the amount of business each participant does with the company. Examples include federal savings and loan associations, state-chartered mutual savings banks, and mutual insurance companies.

Stock insurance company A

life insurance company owned by shareholders who share in its earnings, as opposed to a mutual company, which is owned by policyholders.

Credit default swap A

tradeable contract in which a party agrees to pay an annual interest rate in exchange for the promise to pay the face value of a bond or loan should the issuer fail to fulfill its payment obligations, i.e. default.

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Apple Concludes Best Quarter & Best Year in Company History CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -Apple(R) today announced financial results for its fiscal 2005 fourth quarter ended September 24, 2005, reporting the highest revenue and earnings in the Company's history.

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Apple posted revenue of $3.68 billion and a net quarterly profit of $430 million, or $.50 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $2.35 billion and a net profit of $106 million, or $.13 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 28.1 percent, up from 27.0 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 40 percent of the quarter's revenue.

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Earnings per share benefited by $.12 from several tax items related to net deferred tax assets, tax reserves, and a revision to the full year tax rate estimated in prior quarters.

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Apple shipped 1,236,000 Macintosh(R) units and 6,451,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 48 percent growth in Macs and 220 percent growth in iPods over the year-ago quarter.

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For fiscal 2005, the Company generated revenue of $13.93 billion and a net profit of $1.335 billion, reflecting annual growth of 68 percent and 384 percent, respectively, and representing the highest annual revenue and net profit in the Company's history.

"We're very pleased to report 48 percent year-over-year growth in Mac shipments in Q4, as well as our 10th consecutive quarter of record iPod sales," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO.  "Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2006 which will span 14 weeks, we expect revenue of about $4.7 billion. We expect GAAP earnings per diluted share of about $.46, translating to non-GAAP EPS of about $.49." 

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Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Computer Inc. said fourthquarter profit rose on sales of iPod music players and back-toschool demand for Macintosh computers. The shares tumbled as much as 11 percent after revenue missed analysts' estimates. Net income rose to $430 million, or 50 cents a share, from $106 million, or 13 cents, a year earlier, Cupertino, Californiabased Apple said today in a statement. Sales increased 57 percent to $3.68 billion, compared with estimates of $3.74 billion. IPod demand also fell short. Shipments of the music players climbed to 6.45 million units, missing analyst predictions that ranged as high as 8.5 million. Analysts had predicted that the new pencil-thin Nano, introduced by Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs last month, would fuel sales. Instead, Apple said today it couldn't make the Nanos fast enough to meet demand. ``They missed the top-line estimates on revenue and they missed the overly optimistic estimates on iPod shipments,'' said Jim Grossman, who helps manage $63 billion and owns Apple shares at Thrivent Financial in Appleton, Wisconsin. Shares of Apple, which have risen 60 percent this year, fell $5.54 to $46.05 in extended trading. They earlier rose $1.22 to $51.59 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The stock more than tripled last year. Net income included a tax benefit of 12 cents a share, Apple said. Profit this quarter will be about 49 cents on revenue of $4.7 billion, Apple said in the statement. Analysts were expecting profit of 48 cents on sales of $4.53 billion.

Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Daimaru Inc (8234 JP) reported half-year consolidated earnings results for the period ended Aug. 31. Figures other than EPS are in millions of yen.

Revenue

Half-Year Results Year Earlier Versus Results Company Forecast Versus Results Toyo Keizai Est. Versus Results Full Year Forecast Previous Full Year Versus Forecast Old Forecast

Operating Profit

Current Profit

Net Income

Earnings Per Share

396,852 12,250 11,768 6,321 393,992 10,339 10,109 5,009 0.7% 18.5% 16.4% 26.2% 394,700 11,300 11,000 5,700 0.5% 8.4% 7.0% 10.9% 394,700 11,300 11,000 5,700 0.5% 8.4% 7.0% 10.9% 816,400 29,500 28,300 15,600 809,275 26,136 25,387 14,499 0.9% 12.9% 11.5% 7.6% 814,400 28,500 27,500 5,000

23.79 18.73

21.00 59.19 53.99 56.28

1 Microsoft to buy bio software operation

   SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said on Monday it would buy some of the assets of Rosetta Biosoftware, part of a Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N) unit which makes data management software for medical researchers, furthering Microsoft's push into the expanding healthcare technology business. As a result of the deal, whose value neither company disclosed, Microsoft said it would be able to add a number of new capabilities to its Amalga Life Sciences software platform for medical researchers, including the management of genetic, genomic, metabolomic and other types of complex data. Under the agreement, Merck will become a customer of the current version of Amalga Life Sciences for use in its research activities. 2.   

   Magna Aims to Complete Purchase of GM’s Opel Unit by September   June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Magna International Inc., Canada’s biggest auto-parts maker, said it aims to complete the purchase of General Motors Corp.’s European operations by September, once antitrust regulators approve the acquisition. “The timeframe is very tight,” Magna Co-Chief Executive Officer Siegfried Wolf told reporters today at the Ruesselsheim, Germany, headquarters of GM’s Adam Opel GmbH division. “We don’t have a second to lose.” Wolf and Opel labor leaders met today for the first time since Magna and Russian partner OAO Sberbank reached an agreement with GM on May 30 to buy the unit. Wolf said he wants to sign a purchase contract with the Detroit-based carmaker after a five-week review of Opel and its Vauxhall sister brand in the U.K. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government approved Magnas purchase of the GM Europe division under a plan to provide 1.5 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in loans to keep the unit afloat. As many as 11,000 jobs may be eliminated

Cisco knocks GM out of Dow Jones index Citigroup and General Motors, once two of the biggest flag-bearers of US business, were on Monday dumped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the most high-profile US stock market barometer. They were replaced by Travelers, the insurance company formerly owned by Citigroup, and Cisco Systems, the maker of networking equipment. GM, which on Monday filed for bankruptcy, and Citigroup, the recipient of $45bn of US taxpayer aid, are the first companies to leave the Dow since AIG was removed in September. Their shares have lost more than 90 per cent since the start of 2007.