Wednesday, March 16, 2011

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 16, 2011

Asian Defense News: DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 16, 2011
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - March 16, 2011: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued March 16, 2011 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND

L3 STRATIS, Reston, Va., was awarded a single $84,900,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Special Operations Forces Information Technology Enterprise Contracts distributed computing management services (DCMS) in support of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The contractor will assist the government in performing the daily operations necessary to facilitate USSOCOM’s ongoing ability to effectively and efficiently optimize delivery and performance of DCMS to sustain and maintain USSOCOM’s global enterprise information technology distributed computing environment. The work will be performed primarily at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., with limited performance in multiple stateside and overseas locations. The anticipated total contract period of performance is four years. USSOCOM is the contracting activity (H92222-11-D-0008).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Trajen Flight Support LP, dba Atlantic Aviation, Plano, Texas, is being awarded a maximum $53,613,429 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other location of performance is San Antonio, Texas. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally two proposals solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2015. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-11-D-0040).

Trajen Flight Support, LP, dba Atlantic Aviation, Plano, Texas, is being awarded a maximum $18,812,353 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other location of performance is El Paso International Air port, Texas. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally 115 proposals solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2015. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-11-D-0124).

Freeman Holdings of Louisiana, LLC, dba Million Air*, Lake Charles, La., is being awarded a maximum $18,702,327 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other location of performance is Chennault International Air port, La. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally 115 proposals solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2015. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-11-D-0118).

Deer Horn Aviation, Ltd., Co., dba Avion Flight Centre*, Midland, Texas, is being awarded a maximum $11,199,517 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other location of performance is Midland International Airport, Texas. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally 115 proposals solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2015. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-11-D-0034).

DEFENSE COMMISSARY AGENCY

Hardies Fruit and Vegetable Co., LP, is being awarded an indefinite-delivery, requirements type contract on March 15 to provide fresh fruits and vegetables (FF&V) for resale at 33 commissary store locations in the Defense Commissary Agency’s West Region, considered Area 2 Groups 1 and 2. The estimated award amount is $43,651,781.72. Contractor will deliver FF&V to the store locations as needed. The contract is for a two-year base period beginning May 1, 2011, through April 30, 2013. Three one-year option periods are available. If all option periods are exercised, the contract will be completed April 30, 2016. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Sixty-four firms were solicited and four offerors submitted proposals. The Defense Commissary Agency, Resale Contracting Division, Produce Support Branch, Fort Lee, Va., is the contracting activity (HDEC02-11-D-0010).

NAVY

AMSEC, LLC, Virginia Beach, Va. (N00406-11-D-1175), and CDI Marine Co., Jacksonville, Fla. (N00406-11-D-1176), are each being awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contracts for marine design and engineering services in support of Puget Sound and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyards and intermediate maintenance facilities. AMSEC is being awarded $40,259,622 and CDI Marine is being awarded $40,666,277. Work is to be performed in Kitsap County, Wash. (60 percent); Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (30 percent); and San Diego, Calif., and Norfolk, Va. (10 percent). Work is expected to be complete March 2016. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured through full and open competition on Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with two offers received. The Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Puget Sound, Bremerton, Wash., is the contracting activity.

ACI Technologies, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., is being awarded $29,270,383 increased funding to previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee task order #0003 under existing contract (N00014-06-D-0090) to develop an open architecture radar that meets the Navy’s current Littoral Combat Ship requirement for a low cost, upgradeable system. The proposed system will be such that any of the subsystems can at a later date be subject to competition. This project also includes development of radar system requirements and an open architecture framework for both hardware and software. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pa., and is expected to be completed June 2015. The total cumulative face value of this contract is $29,270,383 with the amount being awarded at this time of $1,100,001. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity.

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $20,293,345 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery requirements contract (N00019-04-D-0131) to provide logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot-level maintenance of 14 T39N and six T-39G aircraft located at the Naval Air Station (NAS), Pensacola, Fla. In addition, this modification provides for aircraft intermediate maintenance services in support of Chief of Naval Air Training aircraft and transient aircraft at NAS Pensacola, Fla., and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. Work will be performed in Pensacola, Fla. (99 percent), and Corpus Christi, Texas (1 percent), and is expected to be completed September 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

L-3 Chesapeake Sciences Corp., Millersville, Md., is being awarded a $13,015,958 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for towed array program support. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $39,000,000. Work will be performed in Millersville, Md., and is expected to be completed March 2012. If all options are exercised, work could continue until March 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured as a Phase III under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity (N65236-11-D-6087).

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded an $8,034,801 modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-10-C-0030) to procure first article testing and 700 low rate initial production direct attack moving target capability weapons, as well as the technical data. Work will be performed in St. Charles, Mo., and is expected to be completed in March 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

AAI Corp., Hunt Valley, Md., is being awarded a $7,898,553 modification to a previously awarded contract (N00174-10-C-0026) for the procurement of universal test sets. The universal test set is used to support operational level testing of Joint Counter Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare systems currently in theater. Work will be performed in Charleston, S.C., and is expected to be completed by February 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $7,898,553 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, Indian Head, Md., is the contracting activity.

Simmonds Precision Products, Inc., dba Goodrich Corp., Vergennes, Vt., is being awarded a $7,370,520 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 30 integrated mechanical diagnostic and health usage monitoring system units for the fiscal 2011 Lot 8 production upgrade aircraft UH-1Y and AH-1Zs (19 UH-1Y units; eight AH-1Z units). Work will be performed in Vergennes, Vt., and is expected to be completed in November 2012. This contract was not competitively procured. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-11-F-4002).

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $6,999,750 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-5396) to exercise firm-fixed-price options for Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) fiscal 2011 Block 1B1 and 1B2 full-rate production and spares. SEWIP Block 1 provides enhanced electronic warfare capabilities to existing ship combat systems to improve anti-ship missile defense, counter-targeting and counter-surveillance capabilities, and improved battlefield situational awareness. SEWIP Block 1B1 provides a stand-alone specific emitter identification subsystem to ships with the active AN/SLQ-32(V) variant, and Block 1B2 integrates the SEI subsystem with the improved control and display software to ships with the passive AN/SLQ-32(V) variant. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Va., and is expected to be completed by July 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity.

URS Federal, Germantown, Md., is being awarded $6,543,762 for task order #0100 under previously awarded contract (M67854-02-A-9011) for PM Fire Support Systems, to provide technical, programmatic, and logistics support for the Marine Corps Systems Command, Armor and Fire Support Systems, Fire Support Systems (FSS) Program Office. Current FSS programs include the Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS); the Precision Extended Range Munition for EFSS; the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System; the Common Laser Rangefinder; the Joint Terminal Attack Controller Laser Target Designator; the Portable Lightweight Designator Rangefinder; the Thermal Laser Spot Imager; the Modeled Meteorological Information Manager; the Ground Counter Fire Sensor; and several other legacy systems. The scope of requirements includes providing support to the FSS program management office as well as supporting the three FSS sub-teams (Weapons Team, Target Acquisition Team, and the Program Support Team) and supporting the Internally Transportable Vehicle Program’s fielding efforts. FSS requirements include technical, programmatic, and logistics support for key fiscal 2011-12 initiatives such as developing evolutionary capabilities, procurement support, fielding support, operational support to fielded units, development/update of program documentation, and maintaining on-site support at Fort Sill, Okla., Albany, Ga., and Huntsville, Ala. Work will be performed in Quantico, Va., and is expected to be completed in April 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

ARMY

HOK - HWP Planungsgesellschaft, New York, N.Y., was awarded on March 11 a $19,831,293 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the architect and engineering design services in support of hospital design. Work will be performed in Kaiserlautern, Germany, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District, Wiesbaden, Germany, is the contracting activity (W912GB-11-D-0007).

Longbow, LLC, Orlando, Fla., was awarded on March 11 a $10,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of radar electronics units and unmanned aerial system tactical common data link assembly units in support of the Apache Block III helicopter fire control radar. Work will be performed in Orlando, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2015. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-10-C-0005).

ITT Systems Corp., Colorado Springs, Colo., was awarded on March 11 a $7,986,262 hybrid cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the maintenance, supply and transportation services in support of the Army Preposition Stocks – Kuwait, and direct theater support for Southwest Asia missions. Work will be performed in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2015. The bid was solicited through the Internet with five bids received. The U.S. Army Rock Island Contracting Center, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W911SE-07-D-0006).

GPS Information Guidance, LLC, Huntsville, Ala., was awarded on March 11 a $7,660,967 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the development and maintenance of financial systems. The work will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., with an estimated completion date of March 14, 2016. The bid was solicited through the Internet with eight bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District, Memphis, Tenn., is the contracting activity (W912EQ-11-C-0008).

Global Strategies Group NA, Inc., Easton, Md., was awarded on March 11 a $6,230,157 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of 400 food sanitation center modification kits and 30 thermostatic controls. Work will be performed in Easton, Md., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2016. The bid was solicited through the Internet with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Natick Contracting Division, Natick, Mass., is the contracting activity (W911QY-11-D-0006).

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DTN News: Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries Establish Joint Company To Perform Advanced Training Aircraft Project For The Israeli Air Force

Asian Defense News: DTN News - ISRAEL DEFENSE NEWS: Elbit Systems And Israel Aerospace Industries Establish Joint Company To Perform Advanced Training Aircraft Project For The Israeli Air Force
(NSI News Source Info) HAIFA, Israel, - March 16, 2011:

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ and TASE: ESLT) ("Elbit Systems") announced today the signing of a founder's agreement (the "Agreement") with Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. ("IAI") to establish a joint company and a limited partnership (collectively the "Joint Entity") to perform a potential project of purchasing and maintenance of advanced training aircraft, as well as additional services (the "Project"), for the Israeli Ministry of Defense (the "MoD").

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080408/300441 )

The Joint Entity established under the Agreement, will be equally owned (subject to required regulatory approvals), and will supply the MoD with the products and services required for the Project's execution. Certain portions of the Project's work scope will be acquired from IAI and Elbit Systems, respectively, in accordance with a work sharing plan determined by the two sides.

To the best of Elbit Systems' knowledge, the MoD is currently reviewing contractual possibilities with regards to the Project, and in this context has provided to Elbit Systems and IAI a request for information (RFI). It is the intention of the two companies to submit a response to the RFI in the coming days through the Joint Entity.

To the extent that there will be a contract between the Joint Entity and the MoD with regards to the Project, it is expected that its scope will be significant and that it will be performed over a long-term period. In the framework of a contract for the Project, it is also expected that the Joint Entity will seek sources of financing for the establishment of infrastructure and for the operation of the Project, as well as to purchase from aircraft manufacturers and other suppliers the aircraft and additional equipment required for the Project.

It is noted that at the time of this announcement, the Joint Entity and MoD have not yet signed an agreement for the Project and that there is no certainty that an agreement will be signed.

According to the Agreement, the scope of the Project will be divided to the extent possible equally between Elbit Systems and IAI, and if required, balancing arrangements will be established between the two companies.

About Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems Ltd. is an international defense electronics company engaged in a wide range of programs throughout the world. The Company, which includes Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, operates in the areas of aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance ("C4ISR"), unmanned aircraft systems ("UAS"), advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, EW suites, airborne warning systems, ELINT systems, data links and military communications systems and radios. The Company also focuses on the upgrading of existing military platforms, developing new technologies for defense, homeland security and commercial aviation applications and providing a range of support services.

For additional information, visit: http://www.elbitsystems.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) regarding Elbit Systems Ltd. and/or its subsidiaries (collectively the Company), to the extent such statements do not relate to historical or current fact. Forward Looking Statements are based on management's expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results, performance and trends may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation: scope and length of customer contracts; governmental regulations and approvals; changes in governmental budgeting priorities; general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates or sells, including Israel and the United States among others; differences in anticipated and actual program performance, including the ability to perform under long-term fixed-price contracts; and the outcome of legal and/or regulatory proceedings. The factors listed above are not all-inclusive, and further information is contained in Elbit Systems Ltd.'s latest annual report on Form 20-F, which is on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.


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DTN News - FINANCIAL NEWS / JAPAN EARTHQUAKE: Factbox ~ Economists' Estimate Of Japan Quake Impact

Asian Defense News: DTN News - FINANCIAL NEWS / JAPAN EARTHQUAKE: Factbox ~ Economists' Estimate Of Japan Quake Impact
(NSI News Source Info) TOKYO, Japan - March 16, 2011:

The following is a summary of analysts' assessments of the likely economic impact of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the northeast coast of Japan. Most assessments were published before workers were ordered to withdraw briefly from a quake-hit nuclear plant amid fears that the crisis was spiraling out of control.


GOLDMAN SACHS

Economic impact:

* Total economic losses likely to hit 16 trillion yen

* Real GDP likely to decline by 0.5-2 percent in Q2

Comment:

"We based our estimates on three scenarios: (a) our base scenario, with power outages lasting until end-April, as Tokyo Electric Power is currently indicating, (b) outages lasting until end-June, and (c) outages lasting until end-December.

"In our base scenario (a), we estimate that real GDP will contract in the second-quarter, but return to 2 percent growth in the third quarter, once the impact of power outages disappears. Real GDP is pushed down around 0.5 percent in this case.

"In the event power outages are prolonged however, such as cases (b) and (c), we estimate a 2 percent contraction in real GDP in 2Q; and if they were to last until end-December (case c), we estimate GDP would continue declining until the year-end."

SOCIETE GENERALE

Economic impact:

* Economic losses of around 10 trillion yen, or 2 percent of GDP. Fiscal measures responding to the damages will amount to 1-5 trillion yen, or 0.2-1 percent of GDP

Comment:

"Any disaster will diminish the value of assets and is never positive for the economy. The disruption caused by a disaster usually results in lower economic output in that particular month or quarter. However, in the longer term, disasters actually tend to bring a larger growth, rather than a smaller growth, because of the reconstruction demand for infrastructure and replacement demand for consumer durables.

"Consequently, we expect a severe decline in economic output for a month or two, followed by a sharp rebound in the following months. The main risk to 'a trough and a spike' scenario is a significant and prolonged shortage of power, as described earlier."

BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH

Economic impact:

* Expects 2011 GDP growth to be 0.5 percentage points lower

Comment:

"We would expect a good deal of production shifting: for example, prior to the disaster, the auto sector was running about 20 percent below its peak in 2007.

"As a rough estimate, looking back at past disasters, our team in Tokyo expects GDP to drop roughly 0.5 percentage points over the full year relative to their baseline of 1.5 percent. However, the drop is short-lived: they expect a surge in reconstruction to add to growth in the second half and in 2012."

JP MORGAN

Economic impact:

* The bank cut its Q1 and Q2 growth forecasts for Japan's economy to 1.7 percent and 0.5 percent respectively, from previous growth forecasts of 2.2 percent in each quarter; in Q3 and Q4, estimates were raised to 4.0 percent and 2.5 percent from 2.5 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively

* Full-year growth in 2011 was revised down to 1.4 percent from 1.7 percent; 2012 growth estimate revised up to 2.0 percent from 1.8 percent

Comment:

"The economic cost of the disaster will be large. There has been substantial loss to economic resources, and economic activity will be impeded by infrastructure damages (like power outages) in the weeks or months ahead. However, the rebuilding effort will be a significant boost particularly in H2."

IHS GLOBAL

Economic impact:

* Based on preliminary estimates, Japanese real GDP growth could be cut by 0.2 to 0.5 percentage point this year and boosted by 0.2 to 0.5 percentage point next year

* Rough estimates suggest that the negative impact on global growth this year will be negligible -- at most in the 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent range, with a correspondingly small boost to growth next year

Comment:

On the GDP outlook: "If the nuclear crisis turns into a full-blown catastrophe, then the negative effect on growth this year will be much larger.

"The big uncertainty about this disaster (and what sets it apart from other such disasters) is that roughly 10 percent of electricity generation capacity (both nuclear and coal) may be off line for a few months, until oil- and gas-fired plants can ramp up. In the near-term, this could have major negative ramifications for the Japanese industrial sectors; some steel and automotive factories have already been closed."

CREDIT SUISSE

Economic impact:

* Total economic losses could be 14-15 trillion yen, less than half that of the 1995 Kobe earthquake; recovery could cost 4-5 trillion over next three years

* Initial disaster relief could cost 2 trillion yen, mostly funded from contingency reserves so only limited need to increase Japanese government bond issuance

* Cuts 2011 growth rate estimate by 0.2 percentage points but sees a "decent risk" of 0.5-1.0 percentage point hit to Japanese growth this year

CITIGROUP

Economic impact:

* 5-10 trillion yen (up to $122 billion) in damage to housing and infrastructure

* Growth to be slower than previously forecast in H1, but faster in H2 because of reconstruction

* 2011 GDP growth forecast: 1.7 pct (unchanged)

* 2012 GDP growth forecast: 2.3 pct (up from 1.9 pct)

Comment:

"It may be too early to discuss how much damage was done to housing and infrastructure, but we suspect it could match that of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995.

"Some of the damage will likely generate reconstruction demand and bolster activity in the coming months as actual restoration begins."

UBS

Economic impact:

* 2011 GDP growth forecast: 1.4 pct (down from 1.5 pct)

* 2012 GDP growth forecast: 2.5 pct (up from 2.1 pct)

Comment:

Duncan Wooldridge, chief Asia economist at UBS in Hong Kong:

"It remains to be seen, but I would think the impact most likely would be temporary. So you will have a drop in economic growth, but after that, of course, a recovery process.

"Because of disruptions to power supplies and transport, you to tend to find drops in (economic growth). But as that infrastructure is repaired in the months ahead, you get a re-acceleration in economic growth. This is by far the most likely outcome."

BARCLAYS CAPITAL

Economic impact:

* Losses of 15 trillion yen, or 3 pct of GDP

Comment:

"The final damages are expected to exceed those from the Kobe earthquake. As noted above, there is also a need to consider the potentially negative impact on other regions due to the Tohoku region's "trade economy" character.

"Earthquakes not only curb effective demand (eg. consumption, capex) but also lower potential growth through damage to tangible fixed assets and human capital. In terms of the CPI, we believe the impact will be neutral."

NOMURA

Economic impact:

* Power cuts to subtract 0.29 pct from nominal GDP

Comment:

"Based on what occurred after the Kobe earthquake, we think an all-out slump in the Japanese economy caused by the Sendai earthquake is overly pessimistic. However, a V-shaped recovery supported by a rapid upturn in demand driven by rebuilding work in the affected areas is also unlikely.

"We now expect the Japanese economy to take longer than we expected to exit its current soft patch owing to the earthquake and tsunami.

"The consensus forecast on the timing for this exit was Jan-March 2011, while we had projected April-June. However, we now think July-September or possibly October-December is more likely. We expect solid economic recovery to be confirmed in October-December."

STANDARD CHARTERED BANK

Economic impact:

* Rebuilding costs to be at least 1 percent of GDP

* Likely to see negative GDP growth in the first quarter

Comment:

"Provided that the authorities can successfully contain a nuclear-plant crisis, we now expect most economic activity to take a substantial hit in March/April but to rebound in the following months.

"In terms of assessing the damage, this is still a developing situation. It is now feared that energy rationing could continue until the end of April. This, plus damage to supply chains, could hit production even for companies far removed from the scene of the disaster.

"Also, confidence is fragile, and there are fears that the situation at the nuclear plants may deteriorate. If so, this could hit confidence further."

OCBC BANK

Economic impact:

* Reconstruction costs may hit 3 percent of GDP

Comment:

"The Bank of Japan announced to double its asset purchase program on Monday. Meanwhile, it injected a record 15 trillion yen into the banking system to ease liquidity concerns. The additional easing action taken by the BOJ is likely to turn Japan's inflation slightly positive in the near future."

(Compiled by Kevin Yao; editing by Vidya Ranganathan)

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Workers briefly abandon Japan nuclear plant as crisis worsens | Video

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DTN News - AIRLINES NEWS / JAPAN EARTHQUAKE: Factbox ~ Airlines' Response To Japan Quake, Radiation Fears

Asian Defense News: DTN News - AIRLINES NEWS / JAPAN EARTHQUAKE: Factbox ~ Airlines' Response To Japan Quake, Radiation Fears
(NSI News Source Info) TOKYO, Japan - March 16, 2011:

Following are responses from airlines from several countries followingJapan's earthquake and tsunami and subsequent crisis at a nuclear power complex.



Workers were briefly ordered to withdraw from a stricken nuclear power plant on Wednesday after radiation levels surged.

AUSTRALIA

-- Qantas said it was flying to Japan as normal.

CHINA

-- Air China said it had canceled some flights to Tokyo from Beijing and Shanghai, mainly due to lack of operational capacity at some airports(www.airchina.com.cn).

-- China Eastern Airlines suspended flights from Shanghai to Fukushima, but other flights between China and Japan were still operating and it was adding an extra flight to Tokyo on Thursday to help Chinese citizens get home.

-- China South Airlines said it had canceled one flight from Changchun to Sendai, which was badly hit by the tsunami, between March 14 and March 26. It added one more flight to Tokyo on Wednesday to get Chinese citizens back.

EUROPE

-- Deutsche Lufthansa said it was continuing to fly to Japan but was diverting flights away from Tokyo to Osaka and Nagoya via Seoul until at least the weekend.

-- Air France-KLM moved all its crew out of Tokyo to Osaka on Monday but a statement on its website on Wednesday said flights were continuing as normal.

-- British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Finnair said they were still flying to Tokyo's Narita and Haneda airports.

HONG KONG

-- A Cathay Pacific spokesperson said in a statement: "We are monitoring the situation very carefully and so far there has been no authoritative suggestion that flight operations to Japan are likely to be affected."

MALAYSIA

-- Malaysia's AirAsia, Asia's largest budget carrier by fleet size, and Malaysian Airline System, the country's national carrier, said they were flying to Tokyo without any disruptions to schedule yet. But they say they were monitoring the situation.

NEW ZEALAND

-- Air New Zealand flights to Tokyo were continuing as per schedule for the time being but were being reviewed in the light of new information.

PHILIPPINES

-- Cebu Air, operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific, said it had no plans for now to cancel its three times weekly flights to Osaka.

-- Philippine Airlines said it was closely monitoring the situation in Japan, but at the moment its operations center had determined no threat to its operations. The airline flies to Narita, Kansai, Nagoya and Fukuoka 32 times weekly.

SINGAPORE

-- Singapore Airlines said on its website that it was closely monitoring developments in Japan but that at this point, all its flights to and from Japan are operating as scheduled.

TAIWAN

-- EVA Airways said it would cancel flights to Tokyo and Sapporo until the end of March.

THAILAND

-- Thai Airways International was still flying to Japan as normal.

TURKEY

Turkish airlines said on its website it was flying as normal to Japan.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

- Emirates said on its website it was flying as normal to Japan.

UNITED STATES

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