Word: programming
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...demand from India, with its population of 1 billion, is holding up. In March, China imported a record amount of iron ore and coal, while imports of crude oil hit a 12-month high. The binge is being fueled in part by optimism that Beijing's $565 billion stimulus program will drive a turnaround in the sagging economy. "After a brief pause, China's appetite for natural resources has returned to buoyant levels," Jing Ulrich, chairman of China equities at J.P. Morgan in Hong Kong, wrote in a report this month...
...over the same period. Some 95% of Rosetta Stone's revenues come from the U.S. market, so there's a huge growth opportunity overseas. Plus, institutional customers like schools, corporations and government agencies account for some 20% of the company's sales. Rosetta Stone recently created a customized Arabic program for the U.S. Army, which includes military-specific vocabulary, and the Defense Intelligence Agency is a client. "These institutional revenue streams tend to be pretty steady," says Brady Lemos, equity research analyst at Morningstar. "The terms are often locked in over a period of time, which protects the company...
...every advantage they can get these days. "In this era of unemployment, language skills are very much in vogue," says Scott Sweet, senior managing partner at IPO Boutique, a research firm. "It can open up so many more doors." Though Rosetta Stone software is expensive - the typical three-level program costs about $500 - it's still more cost-effective than the classroom, or extensive one-on-one tutoring...
...challenging consumer spending environment, however, that $500 could be used for more essential purchases. A second language is nice, but it doesn't pay the rent. Another challenge for Rosetta Stone: the barrier to entering the language learning market is small. "While we think its unique self-study program is scalable, niche software developers like this rarely enjoy success over the long-term," Lemos wrote in an April research note. "There are many larger software companies with much greater financial, research and development, and marketing resources, and Rosetta Stone's recent success could draw these firms into the market...
...international censure it received. Infuriated by the United Nations' condemnation of the launch, which flew over Japan and fell into the Pacific Ocean, Pyongyang kicked out international monitors from its nuclear facilities on April 14, and has said since then that it would restart its nuclear program and quit the on-again off-again so-called six-party disarmament talks...