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Unions representing around half of Greece’s 4 million-strong workforce have called a 48 hour general strike for Wednesday and Thursday to protest against a sweeping package of austerity measures due to be passed in parliament this week.A wave of individual strikes over recent days by groups ranging from garbage collectors to tax officials, journalists and seamen has given a foretaste of this week’s protest which will culminate in mass demonstrations in front of parliament.The protest, dubbed “the mother of all strikes” by the daily Ta Nea newspaper, is expected to be the biggest since the financial crisis began two years ago, shutting state offices, shops and even providers of everyday staples like bakers.Prime Minister George Papandreou, battling to satisfy demands from international lenders for tough action, has appealed for unity, saying the package must pass to allow Greece to emerge from the crisis.”The nation is at a crucial moment and we have to be united. In this battle, we need everyone,” Papandreou told a cabinet meeting late on Monday. “Everyone must assume their responsibilities.”“Our main goal is to end the uncertainty over the country’s future. Because this uncertainty undermines our efforts and sacrifices,” he said.Late on Monday, the government suffered a symbolic blow when PASOK lawmaker Thomas Robopoulos resigned in protest, although parliamentary rules allow him to be replaced by another member of the ruling party, leaving its 4-seat majority intact.Two other PASOK deputies have also threatened to vote against part of the package but, with one of the smaller opposition parties possibly offering support, the package is still expected to pass.RECESSIONThe bill due to be passed on Wednesday or Thursday includes tax hikes, wage cuts, public sector layoffs and changes to collective bargaining rules. It follows a series of painful austerity measures that have already roused bitter resentment.Trapped in deep recession for the past three years, Greece is still choking on a public debt that amounts to around 162 percent of gross domestic product, despite repeated doses of austerity which risk crushing any growth prospects.The economy is forecast to contract 5.5 percent in 2011 and 2.5 percent next year.However European partners and the International Monetary Fund, which have been providing the funds needed to keep Athens afloat have pressed for more action, complaining that Greece has been falling behind its budget targets.Parliament is due to open a three-day debate later on Tuesday, after Papandreou meets members of the ruling PASOK parliamentary group to rally support.He wants a convincing show of support for the measures in time for an EU summit on October 23, when a new bailout deal is expected to be outlined. He is due to meet conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras in a bid to present a united front in Brussels.Government officials have dismissed rumors that Papandreou might renew an offer for a coalition government, which Samaras turned down in the summer.

The top-rated programing of the night was overrun from the Dallas Cowboys-New England Patriots game on Fox at 7 p.m., which amassed an 8.7 rating/25 share in the adults 18-49 demographic and 23.3 million total viewers. The post-game show “The OT” at 7:30 p.m. drew a 4.7/13 in the demographic and 11.7 million total viewers, while “The X Factor” at 8 p.m., airing on a different night than usual, received a 3.3/8 in the demographic and 8.6 million total viewers.On NBC, “Football Night in America” at 7 p.m. took a 1.8/5 in the demographic and 5.3 million total viewers, while the 7:30 p.m. installment of “Football Night” took a 3.0/8 in the demographic and 8 million total viewers. The third installment of “Football Night” at 8 p.m. grabbed a 4.6/12 in the demographic and 12.7 million total viewers, while “Sunday Night Football” at 8:30 p.m. received a 5.7/13 in the demographic and 14.4 million total viewers. The combined football programing pushed NBC to a nightly win with an average 4.8/12 in the demographic and 12.3 million total viewers which also made it the most-watched network of the evening.CBS’ night kicked off with dispiriting news, with “60 Minutes” at 7 p.m. plunging 41 percent versus last week to a season low. It received a 1.9/5 in the demographic and 10.9 million total viewers. “The Amazing Race” the following hour slipped 11 percent to a 2.5/6 in the demographic and 9.2 million total viewers, while “The Good Wife” at 9 p.m. received a 2.1/5 in the demographic and 10 million total viewers. “CSI: Miami” closed the night at 10 p.m. on an up note, climbing 9 percent for a 2.4/6 in the demographic and 10.5 million total viewers.ABC’s night consisted of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” at 7 p.m. which took a 1.5/4 in the demographic and 6.4 million total viewers. “Extreme Makeover” the following hour had a 1.9/5 and 7.1 million total viewers. “Desperate Housewives” at 9 p.m. received a 2.7/6 in the demographic and 8.2 million total viewers. “Pan Am” at 10 p.m. took a 1.8/4 in the demographic and 5.8 million total viewers.

* Court finds Southern Peru Copper overpaid for Minera* Orders Grupo Mexico to pay $1.26 bln to Southern CopperOct 17 (Reuters) - Grupo Mexico was ordered to pay $1.263 billion to Southern Copper Corp , which it controlled when Southern Copper overpaid for another Grupo Mexico company in 2004.Grupo Mexico proposed in 2004 that Southern Peru Copper Corp, as it was then known, buy another Grupo Mexico mining company, Minera Mexico. A deal was completed in 2005 for $3.75 billion, paid in Southern Copper stock.Southern Copper shareholders sued, and Delaware’s Chancery Court agreed that Minera was vastly overvalued in the deal.The court determined Minera was worth $2.43 billion and ordered Grupo Mexico to return the overpayment.The judge, Leo Strine, said Grupo Mexico could pay the award by returning the necessary amount of Southern Peru Copper shares it received for Minera.Grupo Mexico said it was studying the decision, which was published on Friday.”This is not a definitive decision, we are studying the best course of action and the possibility of appeal is one option,” said a company spokesman.The spokesman said the ruling would not impact Grupo Mexico’s plans to merge Southern Copper with its Asarco mining business.Strine ordered the parties to present a plan in the next 15 days for implementing the award.Strine’s 106-page opinion blasted the work of Southern Copper’s special committee, set up to evaluate the Minera deal, calling the eventual agreement a work of “commercial charity” toward Grupo Mexico.Shares of Southern Copper were down 1.9 percent at $27.76 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of Grupo Mexico were down 1.6 percent at 34.65 pesos on the Mexico City bourse.

Around 11 percent of the 2,000 British people surveyed by the Center for Creative & Social Technology (CAST) at the University of London for their “Cloud Generation” report said they had included internet passwords or plan to include them in their wills in a trend that CAST labeled “digital inheritance.”“It’s an area that will become increasingly important given, for instance, the monetary value of music collections and sentimental value of photograph collections - fewer people now keep hard copies of either,” the report quoted Steven Thorpe, partner at Gardner Thorpe Solicitors, as saying.”Cloud Generation” co-authors Chris Brauer and Jennifer Barth used 15 in-depth case studies and the larger poll to investigate the implications for people whose personal and cultural keepsakes increasingly exist only in the so-called cloud — online services run on remote computers rather than one’s own PC.In the course of their study, they discovered people naturally wanted to save valuable music, photos and videos for their own use during their lifetime, but now increasingly are seeking to preserve those things for their heirs.”It’s that it’s representative of your identity, of who you are,” Brauer told Reuters on Friday.Brauer said they discovered that “digital natives” as — he called them — now instinctively rely on the cloud to interact, save, store and share their personal tastes and data.The idea of digital legacies appeared when they asked cloud users what they would rescue if the house caught fire.”They said: ‘I would go to my computer, email my photos (and other digital treasures) to myself and then leave the house’,” Brauer said.What happens to people’s online identity and activities after they die has become a growing issue with the ubiquity of cloud computing, digital memorabilia, social networking and an aging generation of Internet users.For example, social networking site Facebook allows a deceased user’s profile to be taken down, but will not pass on passwords to give next of kin access to the account.The use of smartphones and other gadgets has also increased the amount of online services people use — including storing movies, emails, family videos and work data.About 25 percent of respondents to the report believed that by 2020 they would no longer print photos and 14.5 percent thought they would not own any physical books.

* China’s capacity expansion could hurt rates long-term* Volatile financing may dent transportation leasing dealsBy Soyoung KimNEW YORK, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The global shipping industry could see robust dealmaking activity in coming years as weak freight rates caused by vessel overcapacity spur firms to consolidate to cut costs and get better access to capital, according to senior industry bankers.Most shipping companies have suffered from distressed freight rates in the past several years as demand to transport commodities has lagged supply of vessels. This has been compounded by a slowdown in the global economy that has made access to funds difficult.The weak rate environment is expected to continue through 2012 and beyond. While 2013 could see some recovery in rates, the prospect of continued capacity expansion in China presents a longer-term challenge, said Mark Friedman, a senior managing director at investment bank Evercore Partners Inc.”There’s a lot more shipyard capacity than there’s ever been in the industry before, with a lot of the incremental capacity being in China,” Friedman said. “And that capacity just doesn’t go away. The increased supply of ships could pressure rates over the long term.”“There ought to be more consolidation as some companies do not have adequate capital market access or liquidity.”Friedman and George Ackert, who together run Evercore’s transportation and infrastructure advisory practice, say that shipping assets have become an attractive investment for financial firms and private equity investors looking to take advantage of the overcapacity-induced downturn.In a recent industry transaction, investors including private equity firm First Reserve, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross’ investment shop WL Ross & Co and sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corpannounced a $1 billion equity investment in U.S. shipping company Diamond S Shipping, which will use the funds to acquire 30 tankers.In March, private equity firm Carlyle Group formed a joint venture with maritime investment firm Tiger Group and other investors to buy more than $5 billion worth of containers, tanker vessels and other shipping assets.Evercore also worked on several shipping deals over the past two years, including advising Capital Product Partners on its acquisition of Crude Carriers Corp and representing Overseas Shipholding Group Inc in its purchase of OSG America L.P.Ackert, who joined Evercore in early 2009 to build transportation practice for Evercore — the first for an boutique advisory — said shipping and transportation leasing have been two of the most active sectors in transportation in terms of deal activity over the past year.FICKLE FINANCINGDeals in recent months include General Electric Co’s $1 billion sale of its container leasing business to China’s HNA Group and Bravia Capital, and the sale of American International Group’s rail car services and leasing unit to Perella Weinberg Partners.While the recent volatility in financing markets means deals have become more expensive and harder to complete for some buyout firms, private equity investors continue to actively scour transportation leasing for deals, Ackert said.Buyout firms typically need leveraged loans and high-yield bonds — the riskier form of lending that carries some of the highest interest rates and often is among the first financing to be withdrawn when credit tightens.”Private equity always needs to put money to work, and their deal appetite remains the same. But as financing gets worse, deals are harder and taking longer,” he said.Ackert has been integral in some of the industry’s transformational deals during his investment banking career at Evercore and previously at Bank of America Merrill Lynch , where he served as the global head of transportation and infrastructure.Along with Evercore Founder and Chairman Roger Altman, Ackert advised railroad company Burlington Northern Santa Fe in its $34 billion sale to Berkshire Hathaway in late 2009, which stands as the largest transportation M&A deal ever. Recently, Ackert advised AMR Corp , the parent of American Airlines, on its planned spin-off of regional unit American Eagle.Within just over two years of launching transportation advisory, Ackert and Friedman have built the New York-based group into a team of 14 bankers dedicated to deals in airlines, rail, shipping, trucking, logistics, infrastructure, leasing and travel.Evercore’s acquisition in June of Lexicon Partners, a UK-based investment bank focused on utilities and infrastructure among other sectors, adds a London-based infrastructure team to complement its U.S. practice, Ackert said.

By Joseph Guyler DelvaPORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Haitian President Michel Martelly sought to rally prominent political figures behind him on Wednesday, meeting with two former presidents in an effort to encourage reconciliation among past rivals.Martelly, who swept to the presidency by winning an election runoff in March, held separate meetings with former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier at their private residences in Port-au-Prince.He said he had proposed the creation of a council of former Haitian presidents he hoped would assist in building consensus in a country often torn by political faction-fighting, and still struggling to recover from a devastating 2010 earthquake.”As president, I want to work with you and we have to work together,” Martelly told Aristide.Many Haitians have called repeatedly for the country’s divided political class to find common ground to help lift Haiti out of its longtime status as the poorest country in the Americas.Notorious for decades of dictatorship, corruption and instability, Haiti is facing a huge reconstruction task after last year’s earthquake and a cholera epidemic.Martelly, a former pop star with no previous government experience, took office in May. He is facing the challenge of governing with a parliament dominated by rival political parties.Aristide returned home to Haiti in March after seven years in exile. The former Roman Catholic priest was ousted from power in 2004 in an armed rebellion but still commands a loyal following among poor Haitians.Since his return, Aristide has generally avoided public appearances and commenting on local politics.”I am withdrawing gradually from active politics,” Aristide said. “But I remain open to help.”Speaking to reporters before their meeting, Martelly acknowledged previous political differences with Aristide.’A NEW PROJECT’Martelly also sat down for a private meeting with Duvalier in a private hillside villa overlooking Port-au-Prince.Duvalier returned unexpectedly to his Caribbean homeland in January after 25 years of exile in France. He faces charges in Haiti of embezzlement, corruption and crimes against humanity stemming from his 1971-1986 rule.”Your visit is a move in favor of national reconciliation,” Duvalier said, reading a statement after the two men met.”I take the opportunity to call on all political leaders to put aside rancor and for them to understand the need to come together in the face of the numerous challenges we are confronting,” he said.”Baby Doc” Duvalier, the son of Haiti’s feared dictator, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, still has ties with some of Haiti’s small but powerful political elite.On Tuesday, Martelly held a meeting with former President Prosper Avril, who as an army general led a military coup against a transitional government in 1988. He resigned two years later.”We all need to stand together behind a new project,” Martelly said. “All of us need to rebuild our country. And that’s when we’ll be able to talk about a dignified Haiti.”

The International Rescue Committee said on Wednesday some of the displaced were sheltering in communities within Ivory Coast while others were in camps in neighboring Liberia.”Six months on, the majority of the 170,000 Ivorians who fled to Liberia are reluctant to go back due to persisting insecurity in parts of western Ivory Coast and concerns about targeted attacks by ethnic or political rivals. They remain in precarious conditions in camps and communities,” the IRC said in a statement.Ivory Coast’s five-month post-election crisis ended when former president Laurent Gbagbo, who tried to cling on to power despite losing an election in November, was ousted by forces loyal to current President Alassane Ouattara.Insecurity remains a headache for Ouattara, particularly in the volatile west, where ethnic militias still roam.The United Nations has expressed concern about ongoing abuses by Ivorian troops loyal to Ouattara, including looting, rape and summary executions, despite six months of overall peace.The report by Oxfam, the Danish Refugee Council and Care, which was released on Tuesday, said there was a significant humanitarian crisis and that the west of the country would need “sustained support for some time to come.”It noted that less than a third of the U.N. appeal for emergency aid for Ivorian refugees had been met.”Amongst those interviewed, food is the overwhelming priority … 83 percent of displaced people saying they do not have enough to eat,” it said, adding that shelter was also a concern because many homes had been destroyed.Ivory Coast’s southwest has been fraught with ethnic strife for decades, largely centered on land rights between indigenous tribes and the migrants who now make up the backbone of Ivory Coast’s cocoa industry.Tensions between the two groups reignited during last November’s election — and the bloodiest fighting of the conflict outside of Abidjan was in the far west.

LONDON Oct 12 (Reuters) - The European Union’s efforts to establish the full carbon emissions from burning bio-energy is an all but impossible task which illustrates the difficulty of trying to cut humankind’s environmental impact, which first has to be measured.The complexity of trying to link energy crops including corn for ethanol on one side of the planet with carbon emissions on the other is a tangled web of cause and effects which might recall an equation in atmospheric physics.But a fuller measure of carbon emissions is important, even an inaccurate number beats ignoring the issue, especially given the lessons from a related food versus fuel battle which sparked a global backlash against liquid biofuels three years ago.In a world of limited land and a growing population decisions taken in Europe can cause farmers to wield chainsaws in a tropical rainforest.Trying to substitute 10 percent of fossil fuels with solid and liquid bio-energy would consume 20 percent of the world’s current harvest of all plants and trees, illustrating the need for limits on bio-energy.That’s because the calorific value of fossil fuel consumption is double that of the world’s entire harvest of biomass for food, clothing, energy and wood products, show data from European Environment Agency (EEA) experts.The EU’s executive Commission is deciding whether to account for a range of ignored carbon emissions in a step which is exciting passions in policy, the biofuel industry and academia.Groups of U.S. and European experts recently urged the EU to take a full look at indirect emissions effects which some biofuel producers hotly dismiss as an academic joke.Less European demand would likely dent a growing bio-energy industry in south-east Asia and may jeopardise trade ties, with Malaysia already disgruntled.And there are implications for the EU’s broader renewable energy targets, achievement of which relies heavily on bio-energy. The EU has a target to get a fifth of all energy from renewable sources by 2020, and up to 10 percent of road transport fuel from biofuels.See this EEA chart: link.reuters.com/mug44sRECKONINGThe EU is rewarding consumption of bio-energy to try and wean off fossil fuels and cut carbon emissions.Food, energy crops, wastes and wood fuel can all be used to generate bio-energy, including solid and liquid fuels for heat, power and transport.They incur direct, observed carbon emissions for example from tractor fuel and fertilisers.Qualification for support payments and numerical targets is conditional on liquid biofuels cutting carbon emissions by at least 35 percent compared with gasoline and diesel under the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive, rising to 60 percent from 2018.The EU recommends the same savings for solid biomass such as wood fuel compared with gas or coal.But the rule only applies to direct emissions, not so-called indirect land use change (ILUC), where some bio-energy displaces grazing and food crops, driving carbon emissions from causing land to be ploughed up elsewhere.One study last year estimated that full ILUC accounting would increase the net carbon emissions of bio-ethanol made from U.S. corn by 40 percent, to nearly the same emissions as burning gasoline, at 92 grams of CO2 per megajoule of energy compared with 96 gCO2.Link to the paper: link.reuters.com/hug44sIn another so far ignored effect, members of the scientific committee of the EEA last month drew attention to a “basic error”, from ignoring what they called “foregone carbon sequestration”.All plants extract CO2 from the air as they grow. If they are then burned to produce energy, the CO2 is released back into the air in what appears a zero net effect.But when energy crops are planted they replace other plants, such as a crop, grass, scrub or forest, which were also actively extracting CO2.In a full reckoning of effects that interrupted CO2 sequestration should count as emissions, said the EEA experts in a suggestion which would increase the carbon emissions of all bio-energy crops unless these were planted on barren land.PROPOSALThe EU has to make do with limited information.Regarding indirect, ILUC effects, these are unobservable and rely on agronomic-economic models still at an early stage.A draft EU study meant to inform the bloc’s decision illustrates the uncertainty: it cited estimates of the extra cropland needed worldwide to meet the EU’s 2020 liquid biofuel target at 8,209 to 52,372 square kilometres worldwide.It described extra, ILUC emissions at ranging from 0.2 billion to 1.1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent cumulatively over 20 years, compared with global CO2 emissions last year from burning fossil fuels of 33 billion tonnes.See link: link.reuters.com/jug44sEuropean Commission leaks suggest the preferred policy response, to be announced, will arbitrarily raise the bar for all liquid biofuels, to CO2 savings of 50 percent from 35 percent compared with fossil fuels.The ruling would likely be extended to solid biomass, such as using wood fuel to generate heat and power.While unscientific, the approach will work as a stand-in. It will probably disqualify bio-ethanol made from corn - a highly inefficient process - but allow more efficient sugar cane-based ethanol.But it should be coupled with certification of bio-energy which adds least carbon emissions, such as waste including sawmill residues, food waste and crop co-products, in a simple refinement recognising and rewarding these more. That could be tied with industry standards for wood fuel from sustainable plantation forests.A full accounting method in the long-run will favour the industry by driving efficiencies, advancing greener approaches, and quelling hostile green groups and doubtful scientists.Many forms of bio-energy would still qualify: planting energy crops on degraded grasslands or exhausted plantations in Brazil or Indonesia, for example, should barely register wider impacts or forgo sequestration, while forest plantations should also pass, assuming these didn’t directly damage natural forests, were managed sustainably, and didn’t displace pulp and wood fibre industries.Removing subsidies for liquid biofuels should also help, as recommended to G20 leaders by U.N. agencies, the World Bank and others in June.A smaller renewable energy industry could then press its advantages, as a cheap, proven alternative to fossil fuels and a useful stopgap to more expensive solutions, such as offshore wind, solar power, hydrogen fuel cells and electric cars.

* Zain board’s Badr al-Kharafi joins Zain Saudi board* Zain Saudi must complete capital restructuring to alleviate accumulated lossesBy Matt SmithDUBAI, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Saad al-Barrak has resigned as telecoms operator Zain Saudi’s chief executive to be replaced by a U.S.-educated veteran from its parent Zain, two weeks after a consortium withdrew plans to buy a 25 percent stake in the Saudi unit.Khalid Al-Omar, CEO of Zain’s operations in Kuwait, will also take over as chief executive and managing director of Zain Saudi with immediate effect, the company said in a statement to the Saudi bourse.Badr al-Kharafi, a member of the Kharafi family that is a major shareholder in Kuwait-based parent Zain , has also been appointed to the board of the Saudi unit.”Relations between the Kharafi family and Barrak haven’t been good for the past few years,” said Nadine Ghobrial, EFG-Hermes telecoms analyst.Barrak, who was formerly CEO of the wider Zain group, was the architect of Zain’s acquisition spree which was put into reverse in recent years as the Kharafi family sought to cash in those assets.Bahrain Telecommunications Co and Kingdom Holding withdrew a joint $950 million bid for the 25-percent stake owned by Kuwait’s Zain in late September, more than six months after initial terms were agreed, while Barrak also tried to put together his own consortium to buy out Zain and allow him to remain in charge.This protracted deal stalled Zain Saudi’s capital restructuring plan to accommodate about $2.3 billion in accumulated losses, while its debts top $5.5 billion according to first-quarter results.Zain Saudi had 16 percent of the Saudi mobile market last year, down from 18 percent in 2009 in terms of subscribers, leaving it a distant third to Mobily and Saudi Telecom Co .”The balance sheet is over-stretched and the operator had not been able to significantly improve operational performance in the face of aggressive competition in the market.” said EFG’s Ghobrial. “Its situation will not improve until it completes its capital restructuring.”I see a repeat of what happened when Barrak resigned as Zain group CEO - Zain went through a period of lack of focus and unclear strategy for more than one year.”Zain has gone from having operations in 23 countries in 2009 to a seven-licence carrier, selling its African operations to India’s Bharti Airtel for $9 billion in 2010.The indebted Kharafi Group was the driver of this change in strategy, with Zain paying out about 1.59 billion dinars ($5.78 billion) in dividends in the past 18 months.Kharafi also failed in two attempts to sell controlling stakes in Zain, first to an Indian-led consortium and then to UAE’s Etisalat . The latter deal was bitterly opposed by other major shareholders and the warring continues.The Kharafis cemented their grip on Zain when two key opponents were ousted from the board in April and Badr al-Kharafi was elected, but in September a Kuwait court ruled the election process was void, upholding a case brought by Sheikh Khalifa Ali al-Khalifa al-Sabah. [ID: nL5E7KP0B1]Zain Saudi shares fell 1.7 percent on the Saudi bourse on Tuesday, nearing last week’s seven-month low.Zain’s shares ended unchanged to remain down 38 percent in 2011.

SES has geographically diverse revenue streams which are highly visible and non-cyclical. These revenues, which are typically contracted under long-term (10-15 year) agreements, are supported by solid underlying demand drivers which include the increasing capacity requirements associated with a growing number of high-definition TV services, and increasing demand for direct-to-home satellite services in emerging markets.”SES’s recurring revenue growth has taken a temporary dip in 2011 due to satellite launch delays but growth should pickup from 2012 as additional capacity becomes commercially available,” says Damien Chew, Senior Director in Fitch’s European Telecoms, Media and Technology team. “Management’s implementation of a streamlined organisational structure should also boost EBITDA starting in 2012.”SES is committed to maintaining its unadjusted net debt/EBITDA below 3.3 times (x) even as the company continues to invest for growth. Fitch considers a ceiling of 3.3x to be consistent with a ‘BBB’ rating for a business with SES’s profile, giving the group an appropriate level of headroom under the 3.5x net debt/EBITDA covenant contained in its U.S. private placement to support a Stable Outlook. Net debt/EBITDA was 3.05x at the end of the second quarter of 20ll (2Q 2011) after the EUR317 million payment of its 2010 dividend.SES is currently investing EUR3.5 billion (cumulative in 2010-2014) to increase the capacity of its satellite fleet by 23% between the end of 2010 and the end of 2014. The agency expects SES’s cash flow from operations (CFO) to remain stable over the medium term, underpinned by the high (>80%) EBITDA margin generated in the infrastructure segment, which accounted for 82% of group revenue (before eliminations) in the first half of 2011 (1H 2011). Future CFO should be sufficient to cover the 2011 peak in the group’s investment plan, smaller bolt-on acquisitions and continued increases in dividends.SES’s position as one of the leading players in the fixed satellite service sector is protected by high barriers to entry. Access to the orbital slots needed to operate a geosynchronous satellite are limited and the most desirable orbital slots rarely change hands. Economies of scale are also significant from spreading operational and capital spend over a larger fleet and in providing a hedge against the risk of satellite failure.SES’s rating is constrained at the ‘BBB’ level by its current leverage policy. While there is potential for upward migration if this policy is tightened, Fitch has no expectation at present that this will occur.Significant changes in SES’s risk profile are unlikely in the three- to five-year rating horizon given the stability and long-term nature of the satellite industry. Potential industry challenges over the longer term are primarily technological, with substitutes being found for satellite capacity (such as fibre networks) or more efficient transponder use than predicted, which could reduce demand. While widespread satellite failure across the fleet could have negative implications for the company’s financial profile and rating, this is mitigated by SES’s large fleet and significant unutilised transponder capacity (80.7% utilisation rate as at 30 June 2011).The group’s liquidity profile is good. With its EUR1.2 billion RCF maturing in 2015 and EUR217 million of cash at the end of June 2011, SES should be able to cover its debt repayments due in 2011, 2012 and 2013.