The Greek government is unsurprisingly unable to find consensus on new, even stronger austerity measures aimed meeting the terms of its bailout by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Anger is growing in Athens as the economic situation worsens and the government is pushed into privatizing state-owned assets if it wants to get access to its next tranche of aid.
Divisions among policy makers in Europe over what to do next indicate inertia can be expected until the market forces the next leg of the crisis but some analysts say the Greek people are beginning to question the direction of policy.
“The rescue package has never been right in the first place,” said Karsten Schroeder, the CEO of Amplitude Capital told CNBC.
“In all honesty, the EU-IMF package was a rescue package for banks exposed to their debt and not Greece itself. It was wrong in the first place,” Schroeder added.
Others believe the new measures being forced onto Greece in order to free up money to see it through 2012 will do little to address the underlying problem.
“The privatization program, even if it arrives on time, will not be sufficient to cover Greece’s capital requirements,” said Jan Amrit Poser, the chief economist at Sarasin in a research note.
IMF Power Ebbing
With Greek officials aware of this, Poser believes the EU and IMF’s power to force new measures on Athens is ebbing away.
“The Eurogroup is caught on the horns of a dilemma. It has no power to threaten Greece because not paying the financial aid would have unforeseeable consequences for all the parties concerned.
The babble of phrases used to describe the steps that might be taken and the presumed consequences is increasing,” Poser wrote.
If you owe the bank 100 euros it is your problem, if you owe it a million it is the bank's problem.
At some point this is going to dawn on the Greek people and the politicians will follow, analysts said.
“Greece and other Southern European states (at least Portugal) should opt for the default option,” Schroeder told CNBC.
“The austerity measures combined with the debt levels are not manageable. They would never recover otherwise,” he added.
Education and investing in growth are Schroeder’s answer to the crisis facing Greece but he said Athens should also be considering leaving the euro all together.
"As a last resort, going out of the euro zone should be considered as an option,” he said.
Debt Reprofiling
This is not an option according to Poser who believes debt reprofiling is the answer.
“The legal prerequisites for this do not exist, nor would it be technically feasible to implement an exit within a reasonable timeframe. We think a euro exit can be ruled out entirely for economic as well as political reasons,” he said.
“A reprofiling does not reduce the face value of the bond, but instead the coupon and/or principal payments are delayed.”
“As a consequence, private creditors would maintain their exposure to Greece and stay on board. Second, it would reduce the strain on the protective umbrella in the short term. Third, Greece would have more time to repay its debts,” said Poser.
Euro zone politicians and policy makers will be hoping this option can ease the crisis.
For the Greek people paying the price of austerity it might not sound like such a good idea if growth remains so weak and the cost of meetings its debt repayments so high.
“Some suggest that defaults could create instability in the financial system: how do we know that the perspective isn’t spun by institutions with vested interests?” Schroeder questioned.
It might not be that long before Greece begins to ask itself the same question, some analysts said
( Source: CNBC )
Anger is growing in Athens as the economic situation worsens and the government is pushed into privatizing state-owned assets if it wants to get access to its next tranche of aid.
Divisions among policy makers in Europe over what to do next indicate inertia can be expected until the market forces the next leg of the crisis but some analysts say the Greek people are beginning to question the direction of policy.
“The rescue package has never been right in the first place,” said Karsten Schroeder, the CEO of Amplitude Capital told CNBC.
“In all honesty, the EU-IMF package was a rescue package for banks exposed to their debt and not Greece itself. It was wrong in the first place,” Schroeder added.
Others believe the new measures being forced onto Greece in order to free up money to see it through 2012 will do little to address the underlying problem.
“The privatization program, even if it arrives on time, will not be sufficient to cover Greece’s capital requirements,” said Jan Amrit Poser, the chief economist at Sarasin in a research note.
IMF Power Ebbing
With Greek officials aware of this, Poser believes the EU and IMF’s power to force new measures on Athens is ebbing away.
“The Eurogroup is caught on the horns of a dilemma. It has no power to threaten Greece because not paying the financial aid would have unforeseeable consequences for all the parties concerned.
The babble of phrases used to describe the steps that might be taken and the presumed consequences is increasing,” Poser wrote.
If you owe the bank 100 euros it is your problem, if you owe it a million it is the bank's problem.
At some point this is going to dawn on the Greek people and the politicians will follow, analysts said.
“Greece and other Southern European states (at least Portugal) should opt for the default option,” Schroeder told CNBC.
“The austerity measures combined with the debt levels are not manageable. They would never recover otherwise,” he added.
Education and investing in growth are Schroeder’s answer to the crisis facing Greece but he said Athens should also be considering leaving the euro all together.
"As a last resort, going out of the euro zone should be considered as an option,” he said.
Debt Reprofiling
This is not an option according to Poser who believes debt reprofiling is the answer.
“The legal prerequisites for this do not exist, nor would it be technically feasible to implement an exit within a reasonable timeframe. We think a euro exit can be ruled out entirely for economic as well as political reasons,” he said.
“A reprofiling does not reduce the face value of the bond, but instead the coupon and/or principal payments are delayed.”
“As a consequence, private creditors would maintain their exposure to Greece and stay on board. Second, it would reduce the strain on the protective umbrella in the short term. Third, Greece would have more time to repay its debts,” said Poser.
Euro zone politicians and policy makers will be hoping this option can ease the crisis.
For the Greek people paying the price of austerity it might not sound like such a good idea if growth remains so weak and the cost of meetings its debt repayments so high.
“Some suggest that defaults could create instability in the financial system: how do we know that the perspective isn’t spun by institutions with vested interests?” Schroeder questioned.
It might not be that long before Greece begins to ask itself the same question, some analysts said
NIFTY Performed on Tuesday
Nifty for Tomorrow 24 May :- Tomorrow, 24 May, Spot Nifty should open and sustain at least above 5386 in the opening bell. Nifty hurdle is at 5390. Spot Nifty will face the first strong resistance at 5405 level. If Spot Nifty can able to cross 5405 within the first hour of the opening bell, the it can go up to 5440-5460 levels. 5460 is a strong resistance above which spot nifty can maximum go up to 5490-5520 levels. Otherwise, if spot nifty could not sustain 5386 in the opening bell, then profit booking can bring the spot nifty down sharply up to 5370-5350 levels. Breaking of 5350, panic selling may pull the spot nifty down up to 5320-5300-5270 levels.
Positional Trend with Levels
(Updated on 24-5-2011)
Buying Zone 5370-5490
(This zone is trend changer which can lead to nifty up direction for positional, mean this support is able to move NIFTY 5578 above for shortly)
After the crossing 5600…NIFTY will enter into the bullish zone for targets 5755-5811 in 1-3 months only)
Just, Concentrate on Closing or Breaking…!
Breaking of this support is not dangerous for long term investor because next support available for to move up for Nifty to move up… which is between 5240-5278!
Yes, Short term trade can take short position after breaking 5370 for targets 5300-5278…?
Technical Data-Sheet on NIFTY:
LAST (24-05-2011) CLOSE@5394 (+8 POINTS)
LAST HIGH@5422 LOW@5367
WEEKLY HIGH@5541 LOW@5367
5DMA@5423
20DMA@5546
50DMA@5638
200DMA@5755
IMMEDIATE TREND NEUTRAL.
POSITIVE ABOVE 5422.
NEXT RESISTANCE ARE AT 5444 AND 5488.
What for Today…?
Nifty expected consolidation between 5336- 5430…!
Support at 5378-5349
(This support can force to nifty to test 5458-5463)
Just watch 5349
(Break 5349 below with volume and stay for 5-10minitues …then Panic fall expected 5311-5324 )
Note: Trading is not good due to this consolidation range.
(Best for buy is only above 5430 closing base)
The United States government has never defaulted on its obligations to pay its debt. It has never, ever missed a payment. This is one of the reasons that “flights to quality” typically involve buying US Treasury debt. Uniquely in the history of sovereign borrowers, the United States has paid when it said it would pay.
Not everyone sees history this way. Over at Business Insider, Polycapitalist writes that the “U.S. has defaulted or 'restructured' (a partial-default) at least once every century since the founding of the republic.” He relies on Carmen Reinhart's and Ken Rogoff's research in their book “This Time is Different” to make this claim.
Reinhart and Rogoff give four examples of US defaults/restructurings.
Let’s run through each of them.
The 1790 Default. Shortly after the formation of the first United States federal government under the Constitution of 1787, Congress passed and President Washington signed the Funding Act of 1790. This act directed the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, to assume the Revolutionary War debts of the states, allowing creditors to exchange the state-backed war debt with bonds issued by the US Treasury. The interest on the bonds was deferred until 1801. A total of $21.5 million dollars was assumed.
Prior to the passage of the Funding Act, much of the debt was expected to default. It traded at deep discounts to face value. Once the act was passed, the value of the debt skyrocketed—because bondholders were sure they would be repaid by the new federal government. In fact, quite a lot of money was made by people who bought the state debt in anticipation of the Funding Act or with early notice that it had passed. Even at the time of the Founding, traders were profiting from informational asymmetries.
The Act also provided that the debt securities issued by the Confederation government that existed prior to the federal government would be converted into new federal bonds. The interest on one third of the value of the converted bonds was deferred until 1801.
So why is this described as a default by Reinhart and Rogoff? It’s pretty clear that the federal government was not defaulting on its own obligations. Instead, it was modifying obligations incurred by the states—either directly or through the Confederation—and assuming them.
This was almost the opposite of a default, since it made payment much more likely. That’s why the bonds rallied after the passage of the act.
The 1841-1842 Defaults. This was actually a series of defaults by nine state governments, including three states that repudiated their debt altogether. The federal government was not involved.
The 1873-1884 Defaults. Another series of defaults by states and cities. In total 10 states defaulted. West Virginia, the worst of the state financial basket cases, was still working out its debt with creditors by 1918. There wasn’t a federal government default, however.
The 1933 Default. In the summer of 1933, Congress passed the “Joint Resolution to Assure Uniform Value to the Coins and Currencies of the United States” which declared invalid and provisions of obligations of the federal government which were “purported” to give the creditor the right to require repayment in gold. The Roosevelt administration wanted to depreciate the paper currency, and thought the “gold clauses” contained in various bonds were an obstacle.
This is arguably the closest the US government came to defaulting. But this is more like monetizing debt than defaulting. It is closer to having the Federal Reserve inflate our way out of debt than what Rep. Ryan is proposing.
So no history of defaults?
To be fair to Reinhart and Rogoff, they don’t describe these as pure defaults—but as instances of defaults and restructuring. In this paper, they give more details on them.
It’s just not correct to say that the US is a serial defaulter—or to imply that we can predict the consequences of a default now based on past defaults. We just don’t have any historical data to tell us what would happen.
( Source: CNBC )
( Source: CNBC )
Valcom Inc ( PINK: VLCO ) reported a huge increase in profit for its 2nd quarter 2011. Company's assets has grown more than 200 % while it has reported an earnings of $0.33 per share, which is 15 times of its stock price. (usually most company's earnings are in a fraction of its stock price not in times of its stock price ) This is something extraordinary results from the company and if company able to manage such a good performance in coming quarter, stock might see a huge upside from here. Traders and Investors might consider buying the stock for huge gains.Company Stock is on on radar at stockinvestips.
Below is the press release
 |
| Valcom Inc |
A key statistic in the 2nd quarter 2011 financial data is the company's total assets which grew over 200% from September 2010 to over $24 million. The increase is primarily due to the company's audio and film library and growth within its My Family TV television network (www.myfamilytv.tv).
"ValCom is starting to heat up!" stated Vince Vellardita, President and CEO of ValCom. "Our financial results are starting to show what our shareholders have waited for. This company has been dramatically undervalued as we continue to execute our business plan to increase shareholder value."
The 2nd quarter financial results showed a $.33 earnings per share, meaning that ValCom's earnings per share are 15-times where the stock is currently trading.
ValCom expects a great surge in revenues from its content library. The company has over 6,000 video and audio titles in the library. In 1st quarter 2011, an appraisal was conducted by DOS Broadcast and Appraisal Services to determine an accurate value of the content owned by the company. DOS has estimated that the value of the library exceeds $128 million. The library contains rare and unique video and audio content including 13 master recordings of Elvis Presley with The Platters; masters from Ike & Tina Turner before they were stars; and a very rare 3 Stooges film. The library also contains films starring the top names in Hollywood like Denzel Washington, Anthony Hopkins, Robert DiNiro, Jodi Foster, Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson.
In addition to utilizing the content to leverage the growth of My Family TV, the content can be licensed via various distribution channels including broadcast stations, cable networks, video on demand, and internet streaming. There is major revenue potential due to the overall expansion of new media and the growth of the international marketplace. For example, Netflix recently did a 5 year license of New Line Cinema's library of 250 titles for $750 million. ValCom has started the process of licensing the content in the syndication marketplace and has already lined up buyers.
Additional information pertaining to ValCom's quarterly results can be found in the company's 10-Q filing.
Lyric Jeans,Inc ( PINK : LYJN ), company announced a jewelery collection to be launched exclusively at Walmart stores, Stock has jumped more than 320%, news might be a positive development for the company and stock might see further upside in coming trading session. Stock might offer good intra day trading opportunity, Keep an eye on the stock.
Below is the Press Release:
 |
| Lyric Jeans Inc |
Lyric Jeans, Inc. (PINK: LYJN) today announced that Lyric Culture is launching a jewelry collection under its Lyric Nation brand name. The collection, exclusive to Walmart, hits nearly 1500 stores in July 2011.
The line includes over 40 different styles in the assortment of necklaces, bracelets and key rings featuring inspirational and country music song lyrics such as "Jesus Take the Wheel/Carrie Underwood," "The Dance/Garth Brooks," "God of Wonders/Chris Tomlin," "My Wish/Rascal Flatts," "Heart of Worship/Matt Redman," "Live Like You Were Dying/Tim McGraw," "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys/Willie Nelson," "Mighty to Save/Hillsongs," "American Honey" made famous by Lady Antebellum and many more. The retail price for the products ranges from to $4-7 USD.
"We are continuing to expand the range of music that drives the creative direction of our brands," said Hanna Rochelle, President of Lyric Culture. "Walmart is the ideal retailer to distribute the Lyric Nation line with inspirational and country music at its core," she continued.
• Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX) in $446 Million Deal for Generics Firm More...
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• TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals Closes $6 Million Series C-1 Investment withNextech Invest Ltd. More...
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Indentive Group Inc ( NASDAQ:INVE ) offers common stock at $ 2.55/share. Stock of the company loose more than 17 % of its value and trading below $ 2.55.
Below is the detailed news
Identive Group, Inc. announced that it has priced its underwritten public offering in the United States of 7,843,137 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $2.55 per share. The gross proceeds to Identive, before underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, from the sale of the shares is expected to be approximately $20,000,000. Cowen and Company, LLC and Morgan Joseph TriArtisan LLC are underwriters and joint book-running managers for the public offering. Identive also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,176,470 additional shares to cover over-allotments, if any. If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, gross proceeds from the offering, before underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, will be approximately $23,000,000. The offering is expected to close on May 27, 2011. Identive intends to use the net proceeds it receives from the offerings to fund continued growth, acquisitions, working capital and general corporate purposes
( Source: Reuters )
Tech Five: Technology Headlines for March 24 2011 ( Tuesday ) !!
1. Amazon may have got off an impressive first shot in the cloud war with Apple, but it also may have done too much too soon: Numerous reports suggest Amazon's cloud systems couldn't supply the demand for Lady Gaga's priced-to-move latest release and are suffering some failures. In particular they seem unable to route enough traffic through their grid, and commenters are confirming to us that it's been over 12 hours and album downloads are incomplete.
2. Apple has spoken up to defend its app community against legal threats from patent law firm Lodsys, which has been sniping at certain developers for allegedly violating its patents relating to the way in-app upgrades occur. Apple's stance is that it has licensed the technology from Lodsys and has thus "undisputedly" sub-licensed it on behalf of its developers. It's demanding Lodsys "cease its false assertions" and stop harassing its coders.
3. Twitter has continued its inward-pulling development and has bought third-party app TweetDeck for over $40 million in cash and stock, ending weeks of speculation. Simultaneously, Twitter has shaken up its developer family by announcing some new email systems that alert users when their content has been retweeted--a service that some third party apps also provide--the two moves underline Twitter's move to consolidate its own platform despite its large third-party network.
4. Apple has acted to defend its IP and has bought over 200 patents and pending applications from Freescale Semiconductor. The patents tend to cover Wi-Fi and cellular encoding technology, and include ones filed as recently as 2010. It's unclear exactly how Apple acquired them from former Motorola division Freescale, likely it leveraged its large cash fund. We can expect the ongoing legal battles with Nokia and Samsung to get more complex.
5. Barnes & Noble is expected today to refresh its hardware lineup in its e-reader battle with Amazon. A new e-ink based device is rumored to be revealed, with a touch-screen display that uses the improved Pearl e-ink tech and has Wi-Fi only, in order to keep its price down. That price is apparently around $140, pitched to match the Kindle Wi-Fi edition, though the Kindle lacks a touchscreen.
( Source: Fast Company )
 |
| Daily Digest Stockinvestips |
1) DSW ( NYSE: DSW) upgraded from neutral to buy by MKM Partners.
2) Gentiva Health Svcs ( NASDAQ:GTIV ) upgraded from underperform to market perform by FBR Capital.
3) Gladstone ( NASDAQ: GLAD) upgraded from sell to hold by Stifel Nicolaus.
4) Mylan Labs ( NASDAQ: MYL) upgraded from hold to buy by Argus.
5) STEC Inc ( NASDAQ:STEC) upgraded from negative to neutral by Avian.
Downgrades for May 19 2011 Friday:
1) CBOE Holdings ( NASDAQ: CBOE ) downgraded from hold to sell by Stifel Nicolaus.
2) Geokinetics ( AMEX : GOK) downgraded from market outperform to market perform by Howard Weil.
3) Longtop Financial ( NYSE: LFT ) downgraded from markets outperform to market perform by BMO Capital Markets.
4) Research In Motion ( NASDAQ: RIMM ) downgraded from buy to hold by Stifel Nicolaus.
4) Research In Motion ( NASDAQ: RIMM ) downgraded from buy to hold by Stifel Nicolaus.
See More
Coverage Initiated for May 19 2011 Friday:
1) Antares Pharma ( AMEX: AIS ) coverage initiated with outperform by Oppenheimer.
2) AutoNation ( NYSE: AN) coverage initiated with neutral by Davenport.
3) Box Ships ( NYSE: TEU) coverage initiated with buy by UBS.
4) CONSOL Energy ( NYSE: CNX) coverage initiated with buy by Davenport.
5) Integrated Silicon ( NASDAQ: ISSI ) coverage initiated with outperform by Northland Securities.
6) LogMeIn ( NASDAQ: LOGM) coverage initiated with outperform by Morgan Keegan.
7) Sonic Automotive ( NYSE: SAH) coverage initiated with buy by Davenport.
8) TMS International ( NYSE: TMS) coverage initiated with outperform by RBC Capital Mkts.
9) Zipcar ( NASDAQ: ZIP) coverage initiated with outperform by Oppenheimer.
10) Zix Corp ( NASDAQ: ZIXI) coverage initiated with outperform by Morgan Keegan.
See More here at stockinvestips
Mecox Lane Limited ( NASDAQ: MCOX ) Announces First Quarter 2011 Results. Company's
Net Revenues from Internet Platform Increased to $26.3 Million in the First Quarter of 2011. Company has reported 153% loss of $3.9 million than a year earlier ( $1.5 million ). Result worsen the sentiment amongst the investors, as stock slumped more than 23% to $ 3.79.
Below is the press release:
(GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mecox Lane Limited ("Mecox Lane" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:MCOX), which operates one of China's leading online platforms for apparel and accessories as measured by revenues in 2010, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.
First Quarter 2011 Highlights
Internet net revenues increased by 25.9% year-over-year
-Net revenues decreased by 2.4% year-over-year to $48.1 million from $49.3 million in the year-ago period.
-Net loss increased by 153.0% year-over-year to $3.9 million from $1.5 million in the year-ago period
-Gross profit1 decreased by 16.7% year-over-year to $17.4 million from $20.8 million in the year-ago period
"In the first quarter of 2011, we continued to see growth in our Internet platform business as our number of orders grew by 40% year-over-year during the quarter. While our Internet sales rose steadily, an increasingly competitive environment in China's e-commerce industry has led us to offer coupon giveaways and other promotions in order to drive traffic to our website and aid in customer acquisition. This, in conjunction with delivery disruptions we experienced due to the labor shortage in courier service providers during the Chinese New Year holiday, offset some of the growth in our revenues from our Internet platform business. Nonetheless, as a testament to our ability to execute on our strategies of enhancing our online marketing efforts and providing our Internet customers with a compelling product offering, traffic to our m18.com website increased significantly with daily unique visitors growing by 54.3% year-over-year for this quarter. Going forward, we will continue to build upon this growth and acquire new customers," said Mecox Lane's Director and Chief Executive Officer Alfred Gu.
Mr. Gu added, "With a goal of building our competitive advantage in our Internet business, we are exploring strategic options in relation to our physical retail store operations in order to focus on enhancing our operational strength and customer service capabilities."
Mr. Gu concluded, "With strategic focus on our Internet platform and our consistent emphasis on improving customer service and increasing our warehouse and logistic capacity, we are well-positioned to expand our market share, grow our top line and deliver shareholder value in the future."
First Quarter 2011 Results
Due to the seasonal nature of its business, the Company presents its financial results on a year-over-year basis between the first quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2010 as in the following paragraphs.
Total Net Revenues
Total net revenues were $48.1 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing a decrease of 2.4% from $49.3 million in the first quarter of 2010.The decrease in the Company's net revenues was primarily attributed to the decline in orders placed through the Company's call center due to the growth in China's e-commerce sector accompanied by a corresponding change in customer preference for Internet shopping and a decline in the Company's catalog circulation.
Internet Platform
Net revenues from the Internet platform were $26.3 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing an increase of 25.9% from $20.9 million in the first quarter of 2010. The growth in net revenues was primarily attributed to an increase in the number of active customers due to greater online advertising and marketing efforts, partially offset by coupon give-aways and discount promotions that were offered to customers and a decrease in the fulfillment rate caused by a greater disruption in courier services during the Chinese New Year holiday than was previously anticipated.
Call Center
Net revenues from the call center were $11.5 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing a decrease of 26.9% from $15.8 million in the first quarter of 2010. The decrease in net revenues was primarily attributed to a decline in orders placed through the call center due to the growth in China's e-commerce sector accompanied by a corresponding change in customer preference for online shopping and a decline in the Company's catalog circulation.
Directly Operated Stores & Franchised Stores
Net revenues from directly operated stores were $5.9 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing a decrease of 31.9% from $8.6 million in the first quarter of 2010. The decrease was primarily due to a decline in the number of directly operated stores from an average of 175 stores in the first quarter of 2010 to an average of 119 stores in the first quarter of 2011.
Net revenues from franchised stores were $4.3 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing an increase of 10.1% from $3.9 million in the first quarter of 2010. The growth in net revenues was primarily due to an increase in the number of franchised stores in operation from an average of 260 stores in the first quarter of 2010 to an average of 325 stores in the first quarter of 2011.
Cost of Goods Sold2
Cost of goods sold was $30.7 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing an increase of 8.0% from $28.4 million in the first quarter of 2010. The increase was primarily due to an increase in the cost of goods sold attributable to the Internet platform, corresponding to the increase in its sales.
Gross Profit1 and Gross Margin
Gross profit was $17.4 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing a decrease of 16.7% from $20.8 million in the first quarter of 2010. Gross margin was 36.1% in the first quarter of 2011, compared to 42.3% in the first quarter of 2010. The decrease in gross margin was primarily due to the combined effects of (i) the increase in weighting of the Internet business in total net revenues, which generated a lower margin than other segments; (ii) the increase in net revenues from third-party branded products, for which the profit margin is lower than for the products under the Company's own proprietary brands; and (iii) the increase in the number of franchised stores in operation, where the Company offered a higher average discount rate to its franchisees.
Operating Expenses
Total operating expenses were $22.9 million in the first quarter of 2011, remaining substantially unchanged from $22.8 million in the first quarter of 2010.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $22.6 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing an increase of 4.1% from $21.7 million in the first quarter of 2010.
Depreciation and amortization expenses were $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing a decrease of 17.8% from $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2010.
Loss from Operations
Loss from operations was $5.5 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing an increase of 180.2% from $2.0 million in the first quarter of 2010.
Net Loss and Loss per ADS
Net loss was $3.9 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing an increase of 153.0% from $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2010. Non-GAAP net loss3 was $3.4 million in the first quarter of 2011, representing an increase of 364.7% from $0.7 million in the first quarter of 2010. Basic and diluted loss per American depositary share ("ADS") attributable to Mecox Lane shareholders was $0.07 in the first quarter of 2011. One ADS represents seven ordinary shares.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
As of March 31, 2011, Mecox Lane had cash and cash equivalents totaling $101.0 million, compared to $86.0 million as of December 31, 2010.
Recent Business Updates
In March 2011, the Company announced that SINA Corporation and China DongXiang had entered into separate agreements to acquire an aggregate of 117,505,755 ordinary shares (equivalent to 16,786,535 ADSs) of Mecox Lane from two major shareholders of the Company, Maxpro Holdings Limited and Ever Keen Holdings Limited, both wholly owned by Sequoia Capital.
