Barak Paztal - Seeking Alpha 'Barak Paztal' Tag RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/author/barak-paztal Salary Trends in China Present New Business Opportunities http://seekingalpha.com/article/113633-salary-trends-in-china-present-new-business-opportunities?source=feed 113633 Though the global economy is headed for a recessesion this does not mean that financial loss should be accepted as inevitable. In the wake of China's rapid development many 2nd and 3rd tier cities have been running to catch up to the explosive economic growth of Beijing and Shanghai. Savvy business leaders should take this crisis as their opportunity to reinvent the way that they conduct business with the China, improving overall annual returns now and into the future.

To gain further insight into the potential impact of the global economic crisis on China's job market and economy I have analyzed Meijob.com, a local online job search engine with over 1M registered users and 800,000 job positions advertised by over 100,000 recruiters across China. The relative size and monthly updates by recruiters and job seekers provides a consistently wide enough picture to track current salaries and predict future trends.

]]> Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:48:02 -0500 Barak Paztal Though the global economy is headed for a recessesion this does not mean that financial loss should be accepted as inevitable. In the wake of China's rapid development many 2nd and 3rd tier cities have been running to catch up to the explosive economic growth of Beijing and Shanghai. Savvy business leaders should take this crisis as their opportunity to reinvent the way that they conduct business with the China, improving overall annual returns now and into the future.

To gain further insight into the potential impact of the global economic crisis on China's job market and economy I have analyzed Meijob.com, a local online job search engine with over 1M registered users and 800,000 job positions advertised by over 100,000 recruiters across China. The relative size and monthly updates by recruiters and job seekers provides a consistently wide enough picture to track current salaries and predict future trends.


Complete Story »]]> ALBCF.PK BIDU GOOG MSFT NTES SINA SNDA SOHU TCEHF.PK YHOO Barak Paztal The Global Crisis' Impact on China's Job Market http://seekingalpha.com/article/111854-the-global-crisis-impact-on-china-s-job-market?source=feed 111854 There is a debate about the potential impact of the global economic crisis on China's job market and economy. In order to provide a local angle I have conducted an interview with one of China's most promising entrepreneurs, Shaun Rein. Shaun is the Founder and Managing Director of the China Market Research Group ((CMR)).

How do you feel the economic crisis is influencing the Chinese job seekers?

]]> Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:41:32 -0500 Barak Paztal There is a debate about the potential impact of the global economic crisis on China's job market and economy. In order to provide a local angle I have conducted an interview with one of China's most promising entrepreneurs, Shaun Rein. Shaun is the Founder and Managing Director of the China Market Research Group ((CMR)).

How do you feel the economic crisis is influencing the Chinese job seekers?


Complete Story »]]> BIDU GOOG JOBS LNVGY.PK MSFT MWW NTES SINA SNDA SOHU TCEHF.PK YHOO Barak Paztal Will We Reach 4 RMB Per U.S. Dollar? http://seekingalpha.com/article/109540-will-we-reach-4-rmb-per-u-s-dollar?source=feed 109540 Though this title may be extreme to some readers, it is provocative on purpose. The dollar has appreciated 30 to 54 percent against most of the world's leading currencies over the last few months. Recently, 1.0 Euro was equal to 1.6 USD, now it is traded at 1.3USD. Similarly, 1.00 USD was equal to 1.03 Australian dollars; it currently is traded at 1.59 AUD.

The fact that something appears to be an extreme scenario does not necessarily make it unreasonable. In the economy there are cycles that can repeat. A lack of balance is built gradually. When change happens gradually, people slowly become accustomed to it, soon accepting the new status quo without question.

]]> Sun, 07 Dec 2008 08:33:16 -0500 Barak Paztal Though this title may be extreme to some readers, it is provocative on purpose. The dollar has appreciated 30 to 54 percent against most of the world's leading currencies over the last few months. Recently, 1.0 Euro was equal to 1.6 USD, now it is traded at 1.3USD. Similarly, 1.00 USD was equal to 1.03 Australian dollars; it currently is traded at 1.59 AUD.

The fact that something appears to be an extreme scenario does not necessarily make it unreasonable. In the economy there are cycles that can repeat. A lack of balance is built gradually. When change happens gradually, people slowly become accustomed to it, soon accepting the new status quo without question.


Complete Story »]]> CNY Barak Paztal What Should Google Do Next? http://seekingalpha.com/article/108970-what-should-google-do-next?source=feed 108970 Is it possible to predict the future? Is it possible to influence the future? Sometimes we get used to doing things in a certain way even if it no longer makes sense. When there is a clear need and the technology exists, it is quite easy to predict the future.

Six years ago I was talking with Nir, who worked in my department at orange.co.il in Israel as marketing manager of Mobile content. I mentioned that there was an opportunity for an online retailer to evolve in the music and video space. I mentioned that I could see consumers paying premium for comfort while they download music and movies or watched it via streaming. Nir was surprised and said he did not believe that in a world full of piracy, someone would actually pay to access music.

]]> Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:28:18 -0500 Barak Paztal Is it possible to predict the future? Is it possible to influence the future? Sometimes we get used to doing things in a certain way even if it no longer makes sense. When there is a clear need and the technology exists, it is quite easy to predict the future.

Six years ago I was talking with Nir, who worked in my department at orange.co.il in Israel as marketing manager of Mobile content. I mentioned that there was an opportunity for an online retailer to evolve in the music and video space. I mentioned that I could see consumers paying premium for comfort while they download music and movies or watched it via streaming. Nir was surprised and said he did not believe that in a world full of piracy, someone would actually pay to access music.


Complete Story »]]> AAPL GOOG Barak Paztal Concerns and Opportunities in Focus Media Group http://seekingalpha.com/article/106231-concerns-and-opportunities-in-focus-media-group?source=feed 106231 Focus Media (FMCN) just released its 3rd quarter results. It was the 4th quarter in a row that the company had bad news to share with investors. The stock price reached a 5 year low (6.5) after completing a 90% decline from its top price (65) in October 2007. So what happened to one of China's most promising media giants? The purpose of this short article is to provide insights about concerns that led investors to throw out the stock and to show the opportunities the company has to recover from the severe mistakes management made in the last 18 months.

The concerns:

]]> Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:31:29 -0500 Barak Paztal Focus Media (FMCN) just released its 3rd quarter results. It was the 4th quarter in a row that the company had bad news to share with investors. The stock price reached a 5 year low (6.5) after completing a 90% decline from its top price (65) in October 2007. So what happened to one of China's most promising media giants? The purpose of this short article is to provide insights about concerns that led investors to throw out the stock and to show the opportunities the company has to recover from the severe mistakes management made in the last 18 months.

The concerns:


Complete Story »]]> FMCN Barak Paztal Apple's Future in the Mobile Phone Market http://seekingalpha.com/article/103802-apple-s-future-in-the-mobile-phone-market?source=feed 103802 Apple (AAPL) released its 3th quarter report a week ago. It was another great quarter for Apple: the company that introduced the iPhone in 2007 reported that it became world’s third-largest mobile phone supplier. The main goal of this article is to try to predict what is expected of Apple in the long run in the mobile phone market.

Apple reported revenues of $4.6B on 6.9M hand sets (667USD per unit). Nokia reported revenues of $12.7B on 118M hand sets (107 USD per unit).

]]> Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:53:19 -0500 Barak Paztal Apple (AAPL) released its 3th quarter report a week ago. It was another great quarter for Apple: the company that introduced the iPhone in 2007 reported that it became world’s third-largest mobile phone supplier. The main goal of this article is to try to predict what is expected of Apple in the long run in the mobile phone market.

Apple reported revenues of $4.6B on 6.9M hand sets (667USD per unit). Nokia reported revenues of $12.7B on 118M hand sets (107 USD per unit).


Complete Story »]]> AAPL Barak Paztal Apple Should Increasingly Dominate Key CE Markets http://seekingalpha.com/article/60943-apple-should-increasingly-dominate-key-ce-markets?source=feed 60943 Apple (AAPL) will release its 4th quarter report soon. It will probably be another great quarter for Apple, the company that introduced the IPhone in 2007. The main goal of this article is to try to predict what is expected of Apple in the long run, and to check if the company internal value is attractive.

Apple has 3 major advantages:

]]> Tue, 22 Jan 2008 05:34:06 -0500 Barak Paztal Apple (AAPL) will release its 4th quarter report soon. It will probably be another great quarter for Apple, the company that introduced the IPhone in 2007. The main goal of this article is to try to predict what is expected of Apple in the long run, and to check if the company internal value is attractive.

Apple has 3 major advantages:


Complete Story »]]> AAPL Barak Paztal Looking at Kong Zhong Through Warren Buffett's Lens http://seekingalpha.com/article/59976-looking-at-kong-zhong-through-warren-buffett-s-lens?source=feed 59976 Kong Zhong (KONG) will release its 4th quarter report soon. It will probably be a 'tipping point' quarter for Kong Zhong, the company that suffered from China Mobile regulations along with all the VAS industry in China. The company estimates that 4th quarter revenue will be just above $17 M compared to about $34 M two years ago. The company's stock price is just about $6 compared to $14 two years ago.

The main goal of this article is to try to predict what is expected of Kong Zhong in the long run, and to check if the company internal value is attractive. The methodology that I used is Warren Buffett's tried-and-true value approach.

]]> Sun, 13 Jan 2008 11:39:14 -0500 Barak Paztal Kong Zhong (KONG) will release its 4th quarter report soon. It will probably be a 'tipping point' quarter for Kong Zhong, the company that suffered from China Mobile regulations along with all the VAS industry in China. The company estimates that 4th quarter revenue will be just above $17 M compared to about $34 M two years ago. The company's stock price is just about $6 compared to $14 two years ago.

The main goal of this article is to try to predict what is expected of Kong Zhong in the long run, and to check if the company internal value is attractive. The methodology that I used is Warren Buffett's tried-and-true value approach.


Complete Story »]]> KONG Barak Paztal Looking at Focus Media Through Warren Buffett's Lens http://seekingalpha.com/article/27489-looking-at-focus-media-through-warren-buffett-s-lens?source=feed 27489

The main goal of this article is to try to predict what is expected of Focus Media in the long run, and to check if the company internal value is attractive. The methodology that I used used is Warren Buffett's tried-and-true value approach.

Focus has 3 major advantages:

]]> Tue, 20 Feb 2007 08:34:16 -0500 Barak Paztal

The main goal of this article is to try to predict what is expected of Focus Media in the long run, and to check if the company internal value is attractive. The methodology that I used used is Warren Buffett's tried-and-true value approach.

Focus has 3 major advantages:


Complete Story »]]> FMCN Barak Paztal Warren Buffett