Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 25, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B4 BUSINESS EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204- 697- 7308 business@ freepress. mb. ca I MARKET DETAILS B5 I winnipegfreepress. com TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2014 B 4 THE federal government is threatening to introduce new railway regulations to speed up the flow of grain from Western Canadian farms to ports. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Monday following a meeting with railway and grain company officials in Winnipeg that lengthy delays this winter in getting western grain to port are not acceptable. He said the problem isn't the grain companies because they told him their grain- handling systems are at their best when they have 13,000 rail cars per week at their disposal, which is almost three times what the railways are currently providing. And the problem isn't limited to not enough rail cars, he said. The railways also don't have enough locomotives and train crews. " As you know, regulation is not something our government takes lightly or favours... But as I said before, our government is considering all options with respect to the challenge of ensuring our farmers have access to the rail service and supply chain that they need, and that our global customers demand." Ritz didn't spell out what regulations are being considered. And he wouldn't speculate on how long it might take to enact the new rules. The minister told reporters the government also is considering ways to ensure grain companies live up to their contractual obligations to farmers. That could include introducing new service standards that would force the railways to pay farmers interest for storing grain they were under contract to take, but didn't accept within a reasonable period of time. Doug Chorney, president of Manitoba's largest farm group - Keystone Agricultural Producers - said grain farmers will be thrilled to hear the federal government is finally talking about possibly taking action against the railways. " This is the first time the minister has really levelled threats. I think this is exactly what we needed to hear from the government to spur some type of action. " And I think the railways will take this very seriously. I don't think they want to have that conversation." But Chorney wasn't happy to hear the government may penalize grain companies for failing to take delivery of farmers' grain. He's worried if they're forced to pay interest to farmers for storing the grain, they'll stop entering into futures contracts. " That's crazy, and I would be absolutely and completely against that," he added. The Saskatchewan government also said Monday it wants the federal government to oversee talks between grain and rail companies about getting grain to port, even as railways give assurances they will ramp up service. A record crop is sitting in bins across the Prairies, and grain- handling companies have told Saskatchewan Economy Minister Bill Boyd it may be well into 2015 before the backlog is cleared. Boyd led a delegation that met with Canadian National and Canadian Pacific rail officials to talk about ways to get a backlog of grain moving. He said the railway companies told him they're adding " thousands more grain cars per week" and will keep that up until at least next December. But Boyd said there still need to be agreements, with penalties, for both grain companies and railways to ensure service levels. CN has said it uses shorter trains during cold weather to ensure brakes can be used properly, which affects shipment capacity. Company spokesman Mark Hallman said in an email to The Canadian Press the company's goal is to return to more normal winter performance of 4,000- plus cars per week " as soon as extreme cold temperatures abate." CN has another 500 hopper cars coming on stream and it is lining up crews and locomotives for as many as 5,500 cars per week at country elevators once the Ontario port at Thunder Bay reopens, probably in early April, he said. " CN is doing its level best to move this 100- year grain crop to export position and world markets," he added. - with files by The Canadian Press murray. mcneill@ freepress. mb. ca Feds threaten new rules to fix grain bottleneck Action is needed, Ritz says after huddle with industry officials By Murray McNeill NEW YORK - Mark Zuckerberg, known for his outsized ambitions for Facebook, is applying a similar longterm vision to bringing the Internet to the billions of people around the world who don't already have access. The 29- year- old CEO of Facebook Inc. discussed long- term plans for a world in which everyone is able to get online during an onstage interview at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Monday. It was Zuckerberg's most highprofile appearance yet at the world's largest mobile trade show, signalling Facebook's growing influence in mobile communications. The company's mobile footprint has just expanded with its decision to buy WhatsApp, the wildly popular smartphone messaging service, in a surprise deal announced last Wednesday. While Zuckerberg spent most of his time discussing Internet. org, the ambitious project that aims to get the world online, he couldn't skirt questions about Facebook's decision to pay a staggering US$ 19 billion for WhatsApp. " WhatsApp is a great company and a great fit for us," Zuckerberg said, calling the service the " most engaging" mobile application that has ever existed - and one that's well worth its price. With 465 million monthly members, the service is growing at a faster pace than Facebook ever has and Zuckerberg believes WhatsApp is on track to reach a billion users. It's because of that potential, and not WhatsApp's current revenue stream, that Zuckerberg thinks WhatsApp is worth more than US$ 19 billion. In comparison, Twitter Inc. which has 241 million users, is worth roughly US$ 32 billion, based on its stock price Monday. Even so, Facebook investors shouldn't expect a quick windfall from WhatsApp. Zuckerberg said the acquisition will allow the startup to focus on growing its user base - and not on making money - over the next five years or so. That echoes earlier comments from WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum at the wireless show. Koum, who announced WhatsApp will soon offer voice calling as it works to lure more users to its service, stressed his company has no plans to add " marketing" or advertising to the service and that its staff of 55 is unlikely to grow much. On the surface, Facebook and WhatsApp appear to hold divergent views on a number of matters, but Zuckerberg said the companies share a common vision in making the world more connected. Some 70 per cent of world's population, or five billion people, are still without Internet access. - The Associated Press By Barbara Ortutay Zuckerberg announces campaign to make Internet access universal B ARCELONA, Spain - Sony unveiled a new waterproof phone that can take ultra- high- definition video. Nokia introduced three Android smartphones aimed at emerging markets. And Lenovo announced one with an all- glass exterior. Yet the spotlight Monday was on Samsung, which announced a successor to its flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone. The Galaxy S5 will feature a heart- rate monitor, a fingerprint sensor for security and a sharper camera with faster autofocus. Samsung's glitzy announcement during the Mobile World Congress wireless show in Barcelona, Spain, made it harder for other phone makers to get noticed. Samsung had several times the attendance of either Sony's or Nokia's event Monday. An orchestra opened Samsung's event as blue spotlights moved up and down the aisles. " It's increasingly difficult to get attention for your mobile device in a very crowded marketplace," said Dan Hays, U. S. wireless advisory leader at the consulting firm PwC. It's even more difficult when one of the competing devices comes from Samsung Electronics Co., which announced the new phone a day after it unveiled two new computerized wristwatches, the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo. Samsung also announced a fitness band on Monday. Apple is the only company that might be able to overshadow Samsung, but it isn't attending or announcing anything at the show. Roger Entner, an analyst with the Recon Analytics research firm in Boston, said the S4 and its predecessor, the Galaxy S III, were both blockbuster phones and have helped Samsung surpass iPhone maker Apple Inc. as the world's largest smartphone maker. Gartner said Samsung had a 31 per cent market share last year, compared with 16 per cent for Apple. No other company had more than five per cent. More important than having wellmade phones, however, " is that they are spending a significant amount on advertising," Entner said. Samsung spent nearly $ 4.3 billion in advertising in the 12 months through September, about four times the $ 1.1 billion Apple spent in the same period, the latest for which figures were available. Although Samsung also makes TVs, refrigerators and other products, analysts believe much of the marketing is for newer products such as phones. In a November interview with The Associated Press, Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside said Samsung has shown " that marketing can really create a product and create a phenomenon. We're never going to have the money that they have to market our products." The only other company that comes close to matching Samsung's muscle is Apple. The iPhone's debut in 2007 showed the world phones can do much more than phoning and messages. Since then, each new iPhone release has taken on an aura of a rock concert, with the most devoted Apple fans lining up at stores for hours or days to buy one. Apple typically skips trade shows, however, and prefers holding its own events. Samsung also typically holds its own events. Last year's Galaxy S4 announcement came in New York a few weeks after the Barcelona show. But timing this year's unveiling to the show is a good opportunity for Samsung to make deals with wireless carriers and other partners. Sony Mobile president Kunimasa Suzuki said with Apple and Samsung so dominant, the real battle is for No. 3. He said that means marketing that is focused by country and product line. " It doesn't mean we just directly compete with the big giants," he said in an interview Monday. Despite all the marketing power, Samsung will have to give people a reason to upgrade. There's a notion phone improvements these days are incremental rather than innovative. Samsung tried to shatter that notion by highlighting features not found in other phones. That includes a heart- rate sensor to complement its upcoming wearable fitness devices. The S5 is also among the first to have a fingerprint sensor for security, though that's already in Apple's iPhone 5s. In the past, Samsung has tried to appear innovative by packing its Android phones with a slew of features, such as automatic scrolling of content when the phone or user's head is tilted. But these features don't always work as promised and come across as disjointed from one another. Samsung also has been updating phones by making their screens larger. The S5 continues that trend, with a display that measures 5.1 inches ( 12.95 cm) diagonally. By contrast, the S4 was five inches and the original S from 2010 was four inches. The iPhone's screen has stayed steady at four inches since 2012. Meanwhile, Sony Corp. said its new Xperia Z2 smartphone will have noise- cancelling technology that works with an in- ear headset sold separately. It will be able to capture video in the emerging 4K resolution, which offers four times the details as current high- definition video. Sony also announced a companion tablet and a cheaper, mid- range smartphone. Nokia Corp. is targeting emerging markets with its Nokia X line of phones, starting at $ 122. - The Associated Press WFP SCAN PAGE TO SEE LAUNCH OF SAMSUNG'S NEW SMARTPHONE Big splash for new Galaxy S5 By Anick Jesdanun Attention to Samsung's launch proves tech firm's domination MANU FERNANDEZ / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Samsung CEO J. K. Shin presents the new Samsung Galaxy S5 at the Mobile World Congress Monday. MANU FERNANDEZ / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Mark Zuckerberg focused on Internet. org but couldn't avoid WhatApp talk. B_ 04_ Feb- 25- 14_ FP_ 01. indd B4 2/ 24/ 14 9: 26: 02 PM ;