Top 10 chocolate museums

SYDNEY, Oct 16 (Reuters Life!) - For people who love chocolate and love travel, what could be better than a chocolate museum.

The members and editors of VirtualTourist.com (http:\\www.virtualtourist.com) have compiled a list of the World's Top 10 Best Chocolate Museums. Reuters has not endorsed this list.

1. The Cologne Chocolate Museum; Cologne, Germany

Located on the Rhine River, this futuristic building gives visitors three floors of chocolate history to ponder, but the real centre of attention here is the famous chocolate fountain. Museum staff dip waffles in the hot liquid for salivating guests.

2. Musee les Secrets du Chocolat; Geispolsheim, France

Complete with theatre, tea room, and gift shop that sells chocolate pasta, chocolate vinegar, chocolate beer and decorative antique chocolate molds, this museum is every bit as elegant as the country it represents.

3. Pannys Amazing World of Chocolate, Phillip Island Chocolate Factory; Newhaven, Phillip Island, Victoria, Canada

This facility houses such tongue-in-cheek exhibits as statue of David replicas, a Dame Edna mural and an entire chocolate town. Aside from the eye candy, visitors are treated to real candy with a chocolate sample upon arrival.

4. Choco-Story Chocolate Museum; Bruges, Belgium

In addition to dedicating a section of the museum to the health benefits of chocolate, this museum also houses a quirky collection of chocolate tins that pay tribute to the Royal family.

5. Museu de la Xocolata; Barcelona, Spain

The sculptures at this museum are so impressive, you'll forget you're looking at chocolate. Subjects range from copies of serious religious works to whimsical cartoon characters.

6. The Chocolate Museum (Musee du Chocolat); St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada

This museum pays tribute to the Ganong Bros who were candy makers in the area and who have the distinction of introducing the world to the iconic heart-shaped chocolate box, many of which, not surprisingly, are on display here.

7. Choco-Story Chocolate Museum; Prague, Czech Republic

Chocolate may be a feast for the palate, but this museum is truly a feast for the eyes. With collections of stunning antique chocolate wrappers and demonstrations of the chocolate making process, it's hard to know what to look at first.

8. Candy Americana Museum, Wilbur Chocolate; Lititz, Pennsylvania

Started when the wife of the company president began collecting chocolate memorabilia at flea markets and antique shows, this now over-30-year old museum still admits visitors for free.

9. Chocolate Museum; Jeju-do Island, South Korea

While the chocolate workshop, "Bean to Bar" showroom, and art gallery are all impressive, perhaps this museum's biggest draw is their working San Francisco-style trolley car.

10. Nestle Chocolate Museum; Mexico City, Mexico

Known more for its modern design and the speed with which it was built (by most estimates 75 days from start to finish), this futuristic building is an exhibit in itself.

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TIMELINE-Oil's wild ride: Price moves since 2008 14 Oct 2009 14:30

 Oct 14 (Reuters) -  Oil prices rallied for a fifth day on 
Wednesday to top $75 a barrel for the first time this year, 
stoked by a weak dollar and surprisingly strong China trade data 
that underscored a recovery in the world's No. 2 oil consumer. 
    Markets have been steadily rising after a dramatic collapse 
to near $30 a barrel in December and January, from a record peak 
of almost $150 in July last year. 
    Here is a brief timeline charting the price highs since 
January 2008. 
     
    Jan. 2, 2008: U.S. crude <CLc1> briefly breaks the $100 
barrier for the first time on the first trading day of 2008. 
Prices rise fairly steadily through the first half of the year. 
    March 5: Despite new record price highs of over $104 a 
barrel, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries 
(OPEC), which pumps more than a third of the world's oil, says it 
will not put more oil on the market. It says there is enough oil, 
and blames U.S. economic "mismanagement" for global prices. 
    June 6: Prices surge $11 to a record high near $139 a barrel 
on a slumping dollar and mounting tensions in the Middle East. 
Soaring crude leads a frenzied broad-based commodity rally on 
U.S. grains and oilseed futures markets.     
    June 7: Average retail price for regular gasoline tops $4 a 
gallon for the first time in the United States.     
    July 11: Oil peaks at $147.50 for Brent <LCOC1> and $147.27 
for U.S. crude. 
    July 15: A sell-off begins after remarks by Federal Reserve 
Chairman Ben Bernanke indicating a significant fall in demand in 
the United States, the world's top consumer.     
    July 18: Oil prices drop by more than $18 from a week ago to 
$128.88 per barrel. The price fall is triggered by a 3 million 
barrel increase in U.S. crude stocks and falling U.S. demand. 
    Aug 15: Prices continue sharp decline, falling to around $110 
a barrel for Brent crude.     
    Sept 15: Prices below $100 a barrel for first time since 
March 4, and still falling.     
    Sept 22: Oil spikes $16 in biggest one-day gain on record. 
Prices pop over $120 a barrel, extending a climb from a low near 
$90 the previous week after the United States unveils a sweeping 
rescue plan for its battered financial sector.     
    But soon after, oil prices begin a heavy slide.     
    Nov 21: National average price of regular gasoline falls 
below $2 a gallon for first time since March 2005 -- dropping 3.1 
cents to $1.989.     
    Dec 19: Oil drops below $34 a barrel -- charting about a 75 
percent loss of value since July.     
    Jan 2, 2009: Oil falls more than $3 on first day of trading, 
with U.S. crude at $41.25 a barrel and Brent at $42.18.     
    Aug 25: U.S. crude rises to touch this year's resistance 
level of $75 a barrel, the first time since late-Oct 2008. 
    Sept 10: At its meeting, OPEC kept output targets steady at 
the reduced levels agreed in September 2008, as high oil prices 
of above $71 meant there was no need for action. 
    Sept 25: Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said that $75 was a 
fair price for crude and he saw no need for OPEC to change 
production ahead of its next meeting in December. 
    Oct 14: U.S. crude rises to $75.15 a barrel, the highest in 
2009, underscored by a soft dollar and optimism over a global 
economic recovery. 
     
    Source: Reuters, Energy Information Administration 
(http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/MEC_Past/2008.html)  
 ((gill.murdoch@thomsonreuters.com, +65 6417 4681, Reuters 
Messaging gill.murdoch.reuters.com@thomsonreuters.net))  
 ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to 
newsfeedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com))  
  

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FACTBOX-Valuation ratios of Southeast Asian telcos 12 Oct 2009 14:34

   KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Malaysia's top telecom 
firm, Maxis Berhad, is expected to be relisted in November in 
Southeast Asia's largest IPO in more than a decade. 
     
Here is a table of key valuation ratios of Southeast Asian 
telecom firms: 
     
Company      RIC         P/E   Price/Sales Price/Cash Flow   ROE 
     
PT Indosat  <ISAT.JK>   12.0     1.3          3.4           12.3 
PT Telkom   <TLKM.JK>   13.1     2.4          5.6           30.5 
AIS         <ADVA.BK>   15.8     2.5          7.6           25.5 
DTAC        <DTAC.BK>   14.1     1.5          5.6           10.8 
Axiata      <AXIA.KL>   15.9     1.9          6.2            8.8 
DiGi.com    <DSOM.KL>   14.9     3.1          8.0           59.0 
TM          <TLMM.KL>   19.7     1.3          4.0            8.2 
SingTel     <STEL.SI>   11.7     3.1          9.3           17.2 
Starhub     <STAR.SI>   10.8     1.5          6.0          253.1 
     
 Source: Thomson Reuters, I/B/E/S 

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UPDATE 2-Strong Wynn Macau IPO puts pressure on debut, rivals 30 Sep 2009 15:04

Wynn Macau prices IPO at HK$10.08/share - sources

* Company raises $1.63 billion, fourth largest IPO for 2009

* Successful deal puts pressure on Sands upcoming HK IPO

* High price makes strong debut more difficult - analyst

(Adds analyst quote, byline)

By Michael Flaherty and Sui-Lee Wee

HONG KONG, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Las Vegas casino company Wynn Resorts <WYNN.O> raised $1.63 billion after pricing its Asian IPO at the top of its indicated range, a sign that demand is still strong for certain offerings despite a glut of Asian stock deals.

Wynn Macau <1128.HK>, the fourth-largest global IPO this year, now faces the challenge of its Hong Kong trading debut, where several new listings have been battered by increasingly selective investors.

Wynn Macau sold 1.25 billion shares Hong Kong-listed shares at HK$10.08 each, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the deal but were not authorised to speak publicly about it.

The IPO's range was HK$8.52-HK$10.08, with Wynn selling 25 percent of the business to the public.

But some brokers said the high price may make a strong debut more difficult for Wynn.

"The valuations are really high and market sentiment is not that good now," said Conita Hung, head of equity research for Delta Asia Financial Group. "I don't expect this to be a good one."

On a 2010 enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation ratio (EV/EBITDA), Wynn Macau trades around 16 times, much higher than Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho's flagship casino firm SJM Holdings' <0880.HK> 7.5 times, according to Credit Suisse analyst Gabriel Chan.

The Macau gambling sector EV/EBITDA average trades at around 14.5 to 19.4 times, Chan said.

"It'll get a big hit," said Linus Yip, strategist at First Shanghai Securities, referring to the Wynn Macau debut. "The main concern is the price range."

"MCC had set its price at the middle of its range, but it still fell below the issue price. Valuations for Wynn are definitely still a concern."

The dismal debut of Metallurgical Corp of China (MCC), a building and engineering firm, last week has weighed heavily on investor sentiment for new share offerings in Hong Kong.

Wynn's successful sale also puts pressure on arch-rival Las Vegas Sands <LVS.N>, which plans to raise billions of dollars through a public offering in Hong Kong at the end of November or early December.

NOW THE HARD PART

The Wynn Macau offer is especially important given the deal's potential impact on the company's flagship Las Vegas operations. Wynn is hoping a high valuation through the Hong Kong listing will boost valuations at its other divisions.

U.S. casino operators, grappling with high debt levels and a recovering economy, are hoping to boost valuations through spinoffs in China's gambling hub, Macau, the former Portuguese colony located an hour away from Hong Kong by ferry.

Macau now hosts the world's biggest gambling market, which raked in record bets in August. [ID:nHKG238575]

While institutional and retail demand for Wynn Macau was strong, now comes the hard part: a strong debut that will vindicate those investors who lined up for the offering.

JPMorgan <JPM.N>, Morgan Stanley <MS.N> and UBS AG <UBSN.VX> are joint sponsors and global coordinators of the deal, with BofA-Merrill Lynch <BAC.N> and Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> as joint bookrunners.

Wynn Macau attracted a combined $250 million from several so-called "cornerstone investors," or investors who take a substantial stake in the company before the offering, one of the sources said.

Among them is Thomas Lau, billionaire managing director of Lifestyle International <1212.HK>, the retailer that operates the Sogo department stores in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui districts and the Jiuguang Department Store in Shanghai.

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CORRECTED-ANALYSIS-A123's smash-hit IPO could herald more green debuts 25 Sep 2009 09:32

(Corrects company name to BrightSource Energy, not Energies, paragraph 9)

* A123's market cap zooms over $1.9 bln on first day

* More venture-backed IPOs could hit market

* Investors looking for high-growth sectors

By Poornima Gupta

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 24 (Reuters) - A 50 percent leap in the shares of lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc <AONE.O> on their first day of trading looks likely to jumpstart the market for clean-tech share offerings.

The Watertown, Mass.-based A123 Systems is now worth over $1.9 billion, a striking valuation for a company that has yet to make a profit and still needs large-scale commercialization.

Industry executives and experts said A123's success shows investors have an appetite for green technology companies that lose money, but have tremendous potential.

So the stock's first day jump, which is the second-best performance for a debut stock in 2009, should encourage more venture capital-backed clean technology companies to go public, they added.

"This is an interesting time for the market because there are several (clean-tech) companies that have been growing very nicely," said Faysal Sohail, managing director of venture fund CMEA Capital, which is an investor in A123.

Sohail declined to comment specifically on A123, but said the whole environment is creating opportunities for clean-tech companies and expects 2010 to be a busy year for green IPOs.

"They are real companies with substantial revenue and growing at a very fast clip," he said.

CMEA Capital also backs companies such as Silicon Valley solar manufacturer Solyndra and biofuel company Codexis, which many see as likely candidates for the IPO market.

Other green companies deemed ripe for an IPO include smart grid network company Silver Spring Networks, electric carmaker Tesla Motors and solar thermal company BrightSource Energy.

Rival lithium-ion battery maker Ener1 Inc <HEV.O> also cheered A123's stock performance, which shows how much value there is in the emerging sector.

"It's great for the space. They have done a good job of getting the market excited," Ener1 Chief Executive Charles Gassenheimer told Reuters.

Ener1 went public in 2003, but used a reverse merger with a public shell corporation to do so.

Gassenheimer said the warm reception of the IPO would encourage other clean-tech companies to tap the public markets.

"Any time you have an IPO trade up as much as 50 percent, that means investor receptivity has returned," he said. "I think you will see a lot more IPOs on the back of this."

HIGH GROWTH SECTORS

A123, founded by scientists linked to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), develops batteries for electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and works with carmakers such as BMW <BMWG.DE>, Chrysler and General Motors Co [GM.UL].

Electric vehicles and batteries are considered markets that have immense potential for growth.

The automotive market for lithium-ion batteries, mostly found in mobile phones and computer laptops, is projected to be $32 million in 2009, but is expected to skyrocket to $22 billion in 2015, according to A123's prospectus.

"That's compelling," said Matt Therian, an analyst with Renaissance Capital, referring to the market potential. "We have seen a lot of large profitable companies go public. But a smaller one with a little more risky profile ... I think it bodes well for the health of the IPO market."

Looking forward, Therian expected plenty of the larger, cash-generating, private equity portfolio companies would go public in 2010.

"But on their heels, we could also see another wave of your more traditional growth companies," he added.

For now, A123 co-founder Yet-Ming Chiang, a professor of ceramics at MIT's department of materials science and engineering, is happy but understands the company still needs to deliver.

"It's a scientist's and engineer's dream to see something from the lab make it to commercial technology that has an impact," Chiang said. "Even though this is a significant event, there is still a lot of work to be done and tomorrow we all get back to work." (Reporting by Poornima Gupta; additional reporting by Scott Malone in Boston; editing by Andre Grenon) ((poornima.gupta@reuters.com +1-415-677-3934; Reuters Messaging: poornima.gupta.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: A123/

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China MCC's Shanghai IPO freezes up $234 billion 11 Sep 2009 08:55

* MCC Shanghai IPO freezes 1.6 trillion yuan ($234 billion)

* Demand may push its Shanghai shares up 40 pct on listing

* Plus HK offer, MCC IPO will be world's 2nd largest in 2009

By Lu Jianxin and Jacqueline Wong

SHANGHAI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Metallurgical Corp of China (MCC), which is raising up to $5.3 billion in the world's second-largest initial public offering (IPO) this year, has seen the subscriptions to its Shanghai portion of the IPO freezing up a huge 1.6 trillion yuan ($234 billion), boding well for its listing debut later this month.

MCC, one of China's biggest engineering and construction firms, which is also active on global markets, sold 3.5 billion shares in Shanghai, or 21 percent of its expanded capital, at 5.42 yuan per share, the top end of an indicated price range, it said in a statement on Friday.

MCC has said it needs funds from the Shanghai IPO to develop overseas projects including a copper mine project in Afghanistan. It also needs funds for technical upgrades, equipment purchases, property development and supplemental working capital.

A company document issued on Thursday said MCC would start trading in Shanghai on Sept. 21 and in Hong Kong on Sept. 24.

CITIC Securities <600030.SS> was the Shanghai IPO's sole lead underwriter, while Morgan Stanley <MS.N>, Citigroup <C.N> and China International Capital Corp (CICC) are among book runners for the Hong Kong deal.

Initial analysts' estimates for its Shanghai listing debut price stand at around 7.5 yuan, rising about 40 percent from its IPO price because of huge demand and typically strong Chinese investor interest in newcomers. The estimations could be adjusted slightly in line with stock market conditions.

MCC's main retail portion of the Shanghai IPO was 91 times subscribed on Wednesday, freezing up 1.04 trillion yuan, according to Reuters calculations based on figures quoted by MCC's Friday statement published on the Shanghai Securities News.

The remaining institutional portion was 75 times subscribed on Tuesday, locking in 566 billion yuan, according to the statement. Money would be returned to unsuccessful bidders on Friday for institutions and for retail investors on Monday.

Fund demand ahead of MCC's IPO pushed China's weighted average seven-day bond repurchase rate <CN7DRP=CFXS>, the barometer of liquidity on the money market, to a one-month high of 1.80 percent on Monday, though the rate has since fallen back.

MCC is also selling up to 2.87 billion H shares in Hong Kong worth as much as HK$19.55 billion ($2.5 billion).

If it prices its H shares also at the top of an indicated price range of HK$6.16 to HK$6.81, it will raise $5.3 billion combining with the Shanghai portion to be the world's second largest IPO this year, only below China State Construction Engineering Corp's <601668.SS> $7.3 billion IPO in July [ID:nSHA330047].

MCC will use the H-share proceeds to fund payment of mining rights in Afghanistan, Argentina and Pakistan, and to fund iron and steel mine projects in Australia, India, Vietnam and Mongolia. Proceeds will also be used to repay bank borrowings and to fund potential acquisitions of overseas mineral resources. (US$1=6.83 Yuan=HK$7.8)

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Stock market may collapse again, TCW's Gundlach says

Sept 09 09

By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The stock market's recent rally is likely to run out of steam soon and equity prices may collapse again, Jeffrey Gundlach, chief investment officer at Los Angeles-based mutual-fund giant TCW Group Inc., said Wednesday.

The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index is "extremely unlikely" to climb above 1,100, before collapsing again, he said during a conference call.

"You've made 90% of the money you're gonna make in this rally," Gundlach said, advising investors to sell on strength when the S&P 500 is above 1,000.

The S&P 500 closed at 1,033 Wednesday, leaving it up more than 50% since early March.

Gundlach, who also runs TCW's flagship Total Return Bond Fund /quotes/comstock/10r!tglmx (TGLMX 9.98, -0.01, -0.10%) , had spotted cracks that subprime mortgages were forming in the financial system by June 2007 and was among the first to warn that an era of easy money would come to a bad end. See full story on Gundlach's warning.

His new concern is the massive debt being accumulated by the U.S. government as it tries to stimulate an economy that's been mired in the worst recession since the World War II.

"We're basically borrowing money and calling it economic growth," he said on Wednesday. "It's not real economic activity."

Debt-fueled government stimulus, such as the "cash for clunkers" program, may keep the U.S. economy growing for one or two years, but then growth will probably "just die," Gundlach said.

Cash for clunkers, in which the government gave up to $4,500 to new car buyers if they handed in old gas-guzzling vehicles, illustrates another of Gundlach's concerns, that of deflation.

"Deflation is so strong that you can't even sell cars unless you slash prices 20% through government subsidies," he said.

Gundlach is similarly bearish on credit markets and commodity prices, arguing that "a turning point is close at hand in these markets."

One of the few areas he's bullish on is the U.S. dollar -- but not for good reasons.

Gundlach sees such large debt defaults in coming years that he thinks the trend will cut the supply of dollars, pushing up the currency's value.

"We're standing on the edge of a major default wave," he said. "Defaults are the elimination of dollars. You could eliminate so much actual wealth that this could be the source of a strong dollar rally."

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