Moving and Storage Business News

The News Review:

- Do moving stats show Fla.’s allure dimming?
- LSI Logic Loses Steam
- Overland Storage Reports Fiscal 2007 Second Quarter Results.
- Jelf Group PLC – Preliminary Results.
- Moving It All to Vista

Do moving stats show Fla.’s allure dimming?
St. Petersburg Times – Jan 25, 2007
‘s allure dimming?Three major moving companies are taking more people out of the state than into it. By DONNA WINCHESTER and IVAN PENNPublished January 25, 2007 ADVERTISEMENT For the first time in years, three of the nation’s largest moving companies say they’re transporting more customers out of Florida than into it. In 2006, what the industry calls “outbound” moves actually surpassed “inbounds,” according to data from United, Atlas and Allied van lines. The industry had seen a steady increase in the number of customers heading out of the state in the past five years. Florida still had an overall increase in residents… “Some Floridians are moving to Georgia and the Carolinas as well. ”The Virginia-based company that tracks data for the nation’s moving companies won’t release 2006 statistics until April. But a look at the difference in inbound and outbound Florida moves from 2004 to 2005 indicates a trend among the top 11 companies, said Mary Scott, spokeswoman for the American Moving and Storage Association. In 2004, 61,496 shipments came into the state and 43,372 left, Scott said. About the same number came into the state in 2005, Scott said, but 57,188 shipments left. “The warm-weather states like Florida, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona have traditionally been inbound states,” Scott said. “The question would be, why would people want to leave one of those states? Did something go kerflewie in Florida?”Last year’s decline in the national housing market could have played a part, said Jim Dewey, director of the economic analysis program at the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida.

LSI Logic Loses Steam
BusinessWeek – Jan 25, 2007
The Milpitas (Calif. ) company sells computer chips for all kinds of things, including DVD recorders, wireless networks, and video game consoles. LSI had announced plans in March, 2006, to streamline its business by moving away from serving industries like communications and focusing instead on the storage and consumer markets, according to Standard & Poor’s. (S&P, like BusinessWeek. com, is owned by The McGraw-Hill Companies. ) Then in December, LSI announced a $4 billion merger with its rival Agere Systems (… 25 Agere reported another profitable quarter, earning $16 million during the three months ended Dec. 31, compared to a net loss of $19 million during the same period of 2005. “We think operating expense control and growth in IP, as well as storage and mobility sales will positively impact the merged entity,” said Standard & Poor’s Corp. analyst Jay Hingorani in a research note. But investors showed disappointment on the New York Stock Exchange. After the news they sold LSI’s stock 7.

Overland Storage Reports Fiscal 2007 Second Quarter Results.
Free with registration – PR Newswire – AccessMyLibrary.com – Jan 25, 2007
8 million, compared with $60. 6 million for the same period a year ago. The company reported a net loss of $8. 70 per share, for the fiscal 2007 second quarter compared with a net loss of $2. 19 per share, for the same period a year earlier.

Jelf Group PLC – Preliminary Results.
Free with registration – Europe Intelligence Wire – AccessMyLibrary.com – Jan 25, 2007
‘ ENQUIRIES Jelf Group Alex Alway, Group Chief Executive 01454 272713 Rose Clark, Group Financial Controller 01454 272853 Pelham PR Polly Fergusson 020 7743 6362 Philip Dennis 020 7743 6363 Notes for Editors: a Jelf Group was founded by Chris Jelf in 1989. Today it operates from 19 locations in the South of England and Wales (17 as at 30 September 2006) and offers an extensive range of corporate and private client services a The Group advises over 12,000 corporate clients, principally in insurance, healthcare, employee benefits, commercial finance and wealth management services. These clients cover the spectrum from significant public companies to small owner-managed businesses. Core Jelf Group clients are medium-sized owner- managed businesses, typically employing between one to fifty staff, with a turnover of up to AGBP10 million a The Group has developed a corporate support infrastructure that has enabled it to make a number of acquisitions over the last five years. These acquisitions span all core areas of Jelf ‘s business and have been made to either supplement existing operations or to acquire a corporate client base that can be used by the enlarged Group Acquisitions – for the Year ended 30 September 2006 October 2005 – book of employee benefits business purchased from Alexanders November 2005 – Farndale Hammond (Healthwise) Ltd – acquisition of a Hampshire based healthcare intermediary March 2006 – Goss Group Ltd – acquisition of a substantial commercial insurance and financial services intermediary, based in the South East of England May 2006 – Brian D Thomas Insurance Services Ltd – acquisition of a South Wales-based commercial insurance intermediary May 2006 – Cherwell Insurance Management – acquisition of an Oxfordshire-based commercial insurance intermediary June 2006 – Auto Business Solutions Ltd – acquisition of a specialist vehicle and asset finance intermediary, based in Wiltshire Chairman’s Statement I am delighted to once again be able to report another strong year of trading for the Group. In addition to completing six acquisitions, the culture of cross referrals within the Group continues to produce good organic growth. I am also particularly pleased to welcome Michael King and the wider Goss team who joined us in March of this year… I am also particularly pleased to welcome Michael King and the wider Goss team who joined us in March of this year. The combined business is going to be a real force in each of our chosen markets. The Group continues to secure and develop value-creating propositions such as the specialist transportation team, which focuses on the self storage and professional removals sector and the retirement counselling advisory services offered to larger corporate clients, both of which had been nurtured by the Goss team. I would particularly like to thank the Employee Benefits team which has enjoyed a tremendous year, both in terms of developing their proposition and through winning new client mandates. The Jelf story of dramatic growth in the last few years will have been interesting to the external observer, but it is the opportunities for the future that really continue to excite myself and the whole team. There is however no room for complacency and our continued focus and objective is to provide a world class personalised service to our valued clients. The employees and management team in the last few years have served shareholders well, with a substantial rise in the market value of the Group and I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Board to thank our colleagues for their efforts and continued support in driving the Jelf Group forward.

Moving It All to Vista
New York Times – Jan 25, 2007
Windows Vista, scheduled for its debut to the general public next week, includes a free tool called Windows Easy Transfer. Like the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard that came with Windows XP, it is designed to move most of your personal stuff by means of a cable connection between old and new machines. Moving files over a network or with recordable discs and drives are other methods for transferring your files to the Vista PC as well… The exact length of time may vary by company, and you should check with your particular mail service for specific details. In the case of Yahoo, its Web site states that you need to check in at least once every four months before your free account expires. People who pay $20 a year for the premium service, Yahoo Mail Plus, do not have to worry about their accounts expiring. (Yahoo Mail Plus subscribers get more mailbox space, no advertisements on their messages, better spam filters and other perks. )An account with Microsoft’s MSN Hotmail service may expire if not checked at least every 30 days.