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Biogen Idec, Invitrogen lead sector gainers
By Val Brickates Kennedy, MarketWatch
Last update: 10:50 a.m. EST Feb. 6, 2008
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Drug stocks climbed Wednesday, as shares of biotech mainstay Biogen Idec gained in the wake of a strong financial results that showed fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled.
The Amex Biotechnology Index ($BTK: 740.19, +4.92, +0.7%) rose 0.7% to 740.43 and the Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG:) added 0.4% to 313.34 in early action, as the sectors rebounded from a disappointing session on Tuesday.
Shares of Biogen Idec (BIIB:) hopped 3% to $62.07.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based drugmaker reported quarterly earnings jumped to 67 cents a share, up from 32 cents in the final three months of 2006, while revenue rocketed 26% to $893.3 million. Biogen also reiterated its 2008 profit forecast.
Meanwhile, shares of research tools provider Invitrogen Corp. (IVGN:) jumped 5% to $87.37.
Late Tuesday, the company said it's settled long-standing patent litigation against Agilent Technologies (A:).
Specific terms weren't disclosed, but the settlement calls for payments to be made on both sides, along with certain licensing agreements. In addition, Agilent will cease selling its RNase H minus RT products.
In addition, Invitrogen reported fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations that jumped to 82 cents a share, up from the prior year's 46 cents. On an adjusted basis, earnings would have been $1.15 a share, up from 99 cents a share.
Shares have sold off 30% since last report; some analysts see a bottom
By Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch
Last update: 1:32 p.m. EST Feb. 6, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- With its shares off nearly 30% in the past three months, many analysts believe Cisco Systems Inc. has nowhere to go but up following its second fiscal quarter report, due after the closing bell Wednesday.
But with questions of a recession looming, others are worried that the report might provide a replay of Cisco's last earnings announcement, when the company's forecast failed to match Wall Street's hopes, sparking a sharp sell-off on the shares and providing a key driver to a downswing in tech stocks that has forced the Nasdaq to give up all of its gains made in the last year.
"Our checks indicate that the quarter was okay but not great and that guidance will also be okay but not great," BMO Capital Markets analyst Paras Bhargava wrote in a note to clients Wednesday. "In our view, the stock price is building in a lot worse."
For the second quarter, Cisco (CSCO: 23.47, +0.21, +0.9%) is expected to post a 16% increase in net sales along with a 13% rise in net earnings, according to Wall Street's current estimates.
Earnings per share for the quarter are expected to come in at 38 cents with revenue of $9.79 billion, according to consensus forecasts from Thomson Financial.
Tim Daubenspeck of Pacific Crest said in a report Tuesday that the company seems to have seen some weakness in the U.S. corporate market in late January. This may damper the company's outlook for the remainder of the year, he wrote.
"This change in ordering patters will likely force Cisco to maintain its full-year revenue guidance of 13% to 16%, although the company was berated by investors last quarter for not raising guidance," Daubenspeck wrote.
The company's forecast will be the key metric watched by investors, as well as comments from CEO John Chambers on the conference call later in the day. Currently, Wall Street expects the company to earn 39 cents a share on revenue of $10.2 billion for the quarter ending in April.
For the fiscal year ending in July, Cisco is expected to earn $1.59 a share on revenue of $40.3 billion.
"We believe that investors will focus on the growth outlook, margins and broader economic themes given the recent macro concerns," Tim Long of Banc of America Securities wrote in a report Wednesday. "The outlook for the U.S. enterprise business and the company's new products will also be a hot topic for the call."
'Damn the torpedoes' isn't good policy: Plosser
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
Last update: 2:52 p.m. EST Feb. 6, 2008
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- An overly aggressive rate-easing campaign by the Federal Reserve would only fuel higher inflation down the road, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said Wednesday.
"There are those who have expressed the view that in times of economic weakness, the Fed must not worry about inflation and should focus its entire effort on restoring economic growth by dramatically driving interest rates down as far and as rapidly as possible," Plosser said, calling this a "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" approach to policy.
Ignoring inflation during times of economic weakness "risks undermining our ability to achieve economic growth over the long run," he added.
Speaking to a business group in his hometown of Birmingham, Ala., the Fed president also said he doesn't agree with conventional wisdom that slower growth will automatically lead to lower inflation.
"All you have to do is recall the 1970s, when we experienced both high unemployment and high inflation to appreciate that slow economic growth and lower inflation do not necessarily go hand in hand."
Recent rate cut
Plosser, a noted hawk on inflation, is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee this year.
He supported the Fed's most recent half a percentage-point rate cut, which was the second action in eight days that brought the federal funds rate down to 3% from 4.25%.
Plosser said that the rate cut was the reaction to deterioration in the economic forecast.
But he commented that Fed rate cuts are not some sort of magic that can cure all the economy's current ills.
"It [monetary policy] cannot solve the bad debt problems in the mortgage market. It cannot reprice the risks of securities backed by subprime loans. It cannot solve the problems faced by those financial firms at risk of being given lower ratings by rating agencies, because some of their assets are now worth much less than previously thought," Plosser said.
"The markets will have to solve these problems, as indeed they will. But it will take some time."
Forecast
Plosser did not forecast a recession. Instead, he said that he expects "quite weak" growth around a 1% annual rate over the first half of the year.
The economy would pick up gradually over the second half of the year and return to trend growth of 2.7% in 2009, according to Plosser.
The unemployment rate should rise to around 5.25% in 2008 from its current 4.9% level, he added.
Plosser's forecast was similar to one offered by Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, although Lacker went one step further and said that a mild recession couldn't be ruled out. See full story.
Plosser pointed out that the weak January unemployment report was not a shock to him, and that he expects more weak data in the first half of the year.
"My outlook for 2008 already incorporates the fact that we will be receiving quite a few weak economic numbers in the first half of the year," he said.
As a result, he suggested that it would take some type of intensification of the downturn for him to consider more interest-rate reductions.
"My inclination to alter monetary policy depends on whether the accumulation of evidence based on the data between now and our next meeting causes me to revise my forecast further."
Plosser said that he expects "little progress" to be made in reducing core inflation this year.
He projected a 2% to 2.5% increase in core inflation in 2008 and said this was above his range of price stability.
Plosser also commented that he observed some signs that inflation expectations were beginning to creep up.
"Fortunately, so far inflation expectations have not changed very much. But they bear watching because there are some signs that they too are edging higher. These may be early-warning signs of a weakening of our credibility, and we must be very careful to avoid that," he said.
4:06 PM ET, Feb 06, 2008 - 1 minute ago
04.§[CSCO] Cisco Systems Q2 net income ex-items 38c vs 33c
4:06 PM ET, Feb 06, 2008 - 1 minute ago
By Riley McDermid
Last update: 4:06 p.m. EST Feb. 6, 2008
Investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER 52.97, -1.53, -2.8%) is most at risk for having its credit ratings cut due to its problems with bond insurers and collateralized debt obligations, ratings agency Standard & Poor's said on a conference call Wednesday. S&P analyst Scott Sprinzen said Merrill's current ratings, which depended heavily on besieged bond insurers to hedge risk in its CDOs, have only a "limited tolerance" for further losses. Ratings agencies have recently warned that bond insurers may lose their top-tier triple-A ratings if their capital reserves are found to be insufficient. S&P said further downgrades could be in the future for brokers and dealers as fallout from the subprime mortgage mess continues to spread.
By Dan Gallagher
Last update: 4:10 p.m. EST Feb. 6, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (Marketwatch) - Cisco Systems Inc. reported that earnings for the second fiscal quarter grew 10.5%, in line with Wall Street's estimates. For the quarter ended Jan. 26, the company reported net income of $2.1 billion, or 33 cents per share, compared to net income of $1.9 billion, or 31 cents per share, for the same period last year. On a non-GAAP basis, Cisco said it would have earned $2.4 billion, or 38 cents per share, for the recent quarter. Revenue grew nearly 17% to $9.8 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 38 cents a share on revenue of $9.79 billion, according to consensus forecasts from Thomson Financial.
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Net income rises more than 10%; Street awaits forecast in call
By Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch
Last update: 4:21 p.m. EST Feb. 6, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (Marketwatch) -- Cisco Systems Inc. reported that earnings grew more than 10% for the January quarter, meeting Wall Street's estimates.
For the period ended Jan. 26, the network equipment giant reported net income of $2.1 billion, or 33 cents per share, compared with net income of $1.9 billion, or 31 cents per share, for the same period last year.
On a pro-forma basis, Cisco said it would have earned $2.4 billion, or 38 per share, for the recent quarter.
Revenue grew nearly 17% to $9.8 billion from $8.4 billion last year.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 38 cents a share on revenue of $9.79 billion, according to consensus forecasts from Thomson Financial.
No outlook for future periods was given in the initial earnings report. Cisco executives usually save forecasts for the conference call later in the day.
Cisco reported cash and equivalents of $22.7 billion by the end of the quarter. The company said it repurchased about $4 billion worth of stock during the period.
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4:59 PM ET, Feb 06, 2008 - 39 seconds ago
02.§[CSCO] Cisco says Jan. order growth rate was below expectations
4:59 PM ET, Feb 06, 2008 - 39 seconds ago
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Cisco meets targets, but warns on outlook
Revenue forecast below expectations after order slowdown in January
By Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch
Last update: 7:16 p.m. EST Feb. 6, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Cisco Systems Inc. managed to grow its earnings by 11% in the January quarter thanks to solid sales growth, but the company's shares took a hit in after-hours trading after the networking giant issued a disappointing forecast for the current period.
The results are likely to give further rise to fears that an economic slowdown could hit the high-tech sector, which led many other industries in earnings growth last year.
Chart of CSCO
It is the second consecutive period in which Cisco's (CSCO:) forecast could weigh on the market. In the company's last quarterly report in November, cautious comments from CEO John Chambers about the high-tech environment led to a sharp selloff that has clipped the company's shares by 30% and helped build negative sentiment around technology stocks, leading the Nasdaq to give up all of its gains made in the last year.
This time around, Chambers tried to sound a more optimistic note, saying he expects the slowdown will likely last "a few months," at least among corporate customers buying high-tech gear.
"I'm personally very optimistic that this market transition provides opportunities for us and will be relatively short-term in is implications," Chambers said on the call, adding that the company planned to use the slowdown as an opportunity "to be aggressive about moving into new market adjacencies," implying a potential upswing in acquisition activity.
However, a sharp slowdown in orders during the month of January led the company to issue a cautious outlook for the current quarter, which ends in April.
Chambers said he expects revenue for the April quarter to grow 10% from the previous year. That equates to revenue of about $9.8 billion, lower than the $10.19 billion expected by analysts for the period, according to Thomson Financial.
Shares of Cisco fell more than 8% in after-hours trading Wednesday following the report. The stock peaked above the $34 mark in early November before the last earnings report.
Earnings on target for second quarter
For the period ended Jan. 26, Cisco reported net income of $2.1 billion, or 33 cents per share, compared with net income of $1.9 billion, or 31 cents per share, for the same period last year.
On a pro-forma basis, the company said it would have earned $2.4 billion, or 38 cents per share, for the recent quarter - meeting estimates set by Wall Street analysts, according to Thomson Financial.
Revenue grew nearly 17% to $9.8 billion from $8.4 billion last year. Analysts were expecting revenue of $9.79 billion.
Cisco reported cash and equivalents of $22.7 billion by the end of the quarter. The company said it repurchased about $4 billion worth of stock during the period.
The company's legacy switching unit remains its largest business, with revenue totaling $3.3 billion, or about 34% of the quarter's total. Revenue from the Advanced Technology unit - which includes businesses that range from cable-TV set-top boxes to video conferencing products - totaled $2.4 billion, or 25% of the total while revenue from the Router business came in at just under $2 billion.
Revenue from the U.S. and Canada slipped about 4.5% from the previous quarter while revenue from emerging markets jumped more than 40%, tough the total accounted for just 12% of Cisco's total revenue base.
Street surprised by forecast
Leading up to the report, several analysts predicted that Cisco would adopt a cautious outlook for the quarter, given the current environment.
However, the guidance surprised even those who were already cool towards the stock.
"We were cautious going into the call, but they even surprised us," said Sam Wilson of JMP Securities, who currently has a neutral rating on Cisco's shares. "It's about $450 million they're taking out of the quarter. We knew January was weak; we didn't think it was that weak."
Wilson added that he believes Chambers is being too optimistic in expecting the current slowdown to be short-term in nature.
"We believe that we are at the front of a slowdown," he said.
Shaw Wu of American Technology Research, who rates Cisco as a buy, took a more bullish view, saying that Chambers was right to "reset the bar." But he conceded that the company's forecast was worse than many hoped for.
"I think investors were expecting some sort of guide down, but I think this was lower than expected," he said. End of Story
Despite backing of 59 senators, $158 billion plan fails
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
Last update: 6:37 p.m. EST Feb. 6, 2008
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A $158 billion plan to stimulate economic growth failed in the Senate late Wednesday on a 58-41 procedural vote, despite support from a majority of senators.
The bill needed 60 votes to be considered under Senate rules. At the last minute, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid switched his vote to no, giving him to right to ask for another vote.
The vote was largely on party lines, with all 49 Democrats and two independents joining with eight of 49 Republicans in voting for it.
Barring some kind of deal to win one more vote, the Senate will now turn to the House-approved version of the economic stimulus plan, which includes $600 to $1,200 tax rebate checks for 117 million households as well as tax breaks for business investments at a cost of $146 billion.
President Bush had urged the Senate to pass the House plan so he could quickly sign the legislation. Lawmakers are trying to meet a self-imposed deadline of Feb. 15 to send the bill to Bush.
The House plan was negotiated between the White House and Democratic and Republican leaders in the House without any input from the Senate.
"If we do it quickly, the people will be astonished," said Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who led his party to once again frustrate the efforts of the Democratic majority.
The Internal Revenue Service has indicated it won't be able to send out rebate checks until after the April 15 tax deadline. Sending out all the checks could take about three months.
"This is a bipartisan package," said Reid, adding that the Senate took the House plan and made it better. "It's smart, targeted and effective."
The defeated Senate plan, sponsored by Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, would have sent slightly smaller checks of $500 to $1,000 to about 22 million more people than the House plan, including retirees and disabled people. More upper-income Americans would have received checks under the Senate plan.
The defeated Senate plan also included an extension of unemployment benefits beyond six months, and it included an extension of several tax credits for using renewable energy. The Senate plan would have also allowed municipalities to issue tax-exempt bonds to help refinance subprime mortgages.
The extension of unemployment benefits was judged by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to be among the most effective ways to stimulate the economy. Business tax breaks, by contrast, were given low marks as stimulus.
Both plans would give money to workers who don't make enough to have income tax liability, but who do pay payroll taxes.
No bang for the bucks
Surveys find most Americans will use stimulus rebate for debt, savings, not spending
By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch
Last update: 6:25 p.m. EST Feb. 6, 2008
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- The government's efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy by doling out checks to workers could backfire, according to two surveys asking consumers what they will do with their checks.
Nearly three-quarters of those asked on both surveys said they will either pay down debt or save any money sent to them as part of an economic stimulus package. The remaining quarter indicated they would spend the money, which is the goal of the program.
"Don't expect a big bang from the tax rebate if only about a quarter of that gets actually spent," said Michael Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers, which commissioned a survey by Opinion Research.
"That's $25 billion, not $100 billion, and it's not clear how quickly it will be spent," he said. What's more, money that is directed toward lenders, be it to pay off mortgages or credit-card bills, is money that's already been spent. In other words, it's already done its job in helping the economy.
ICSC found that 46% of respondents said they would mostly pay off debt with the checks while another 28% said they would save the money. Twenty-six percent indicated they would spend it.
A separate survey from CCH Complete Tax, an online tax-preparation service, found that 47% would pay off debt with any rebate while 32% would save it. Only 21% would spend it.
Both surveys found that the results didn't differ across income levels.
The House passed a roughly $146 billion pact in which everyone earning a paycheck, including those who make too little to pay income taxes, would get at least $300. Income-tax payers would receive as much as $600 while couples get $1,200 and another $300 for each child. The rebate phase out for individuals earning more than $75,000 and $150,000 for couples.
The Senate is still debating a bill that would be broader and more expensive at about $161 billion. If approved, almost everyone earnings a paycheck would get $500 that would jump to $1,000 for married couples. The extra $300 per child would be applicable as well. The cap is higher at individuals earnings $150,000 and couples at $300,000. The package also includes giving checks to those whose incomes are derived from Social Security or veterans' disability.
The rationale behind the stimulus, which is primarily aimed at lower- and middle-income taxpayers, is that those with less income are more likely to spend the money on things they might not have been able to afford otherwise, such as big-screen TVs or new clothes. That in turn would boost economic activity and help the U.S. avoid a recession.
Yet both surveys had identical results from those with household incomes of $35,000 to $50,000: Fifty-seven percent said they would pay down debt.
CCH discovered, too, that 47% of those with income above $75,000 would opt to lighten their debt load.
CCH also found that those who are retired would be most likely to spend the money, an argument that the Senate is using in its debate.
The surveys also support the overall theme from more than 800 comments MarketWatch readers shared about how they would spend their checks.
Most readers reprimanded the government for giving out the money at all, many noting that it should go to paying down government debt or creating new jobs.
| Indexstand: | 13.110,14 |
| Kurs Zeit: | 04:52 |
| Veränderung: |  10,90 (0,08%) |
| Letzt. Schlußk: | 13.099,24 |
| Eröffnungskurs: | 13.077,25 |
| Volumen: | 0 |
| Tagesspanne: | 12.972,55 - 13.185,78 |
| 52W Spanne: | 12.572,70 - 18.297,00 |
Angehängte Grafik:
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European Central Bank expected to hold rates steady
By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
Last update: 5:47 a.m. EST Feb. 7, 2008
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The euro erased small losses against major counterparts Thursday, with markets awaiting the European Central Bank's decision on interest rates.
The ECB is widely expected to hold its key lending rate at 4%, with concerns over inflation trumping signs of economic weakness in the 15 nations that use the euro. The ECB is scheduled to announce its decision at 07:45 a.m. Eastern. See related story.
The euro was trading around $1.4637, up around 0.1% from Wednesday. The euro was trading at 155.88 against the Japanese yen, up slightly from the previous day.
The Bank of England is also set to make a decision on interest rates Thursday, with most economists expecting its Monetary Policy Committee to cut the key lending rate by a quarter-point to 5.25%.
The British pound was lower against the dollar and the euro ahead of the 7:00 a.m. Eastern announcement. Sterling was off 0.4% against the dollar at $1.9541 in recent activity, and down 0.4% against the euro at 0.7492 pounds. See global markets page.
The dollar was 0.1% higher against the yen at 106.46.
The ECB announcement is Thursday's main event, with markets eyeing how the central bank and its president, Jean-Claude Trichet, will address signs of slowing economic growth in the euro zone.
Trichet in recent weeks has underlined the central bank's inflation-fighting mandate. And annual inflation remained at 3.2% in January, above the ECB's medium-term target of close to 2%.
Surveys show economists are virtually unanimous in expecting the ECB to hold steady on rates. But markets will be looking for indications that policymakers discussed the possibility of easing in Thursday's meeting.
Analysts at KBC Bank, in a research note, said another round of hawkish comments from Trichet at Thursday's news conference would likely do little to boost the euro.
"The market has already made up its mind and assumes that it is only a matter of time before the ECB will be forced to ease its policy," they wrote. Overly hawkish comments would likely be viewed as a sign that ECB policymakers are "behind the curve."
Various market surveys show economists widely expect the Bank of England to trim its key rate by a quarter percentage point. While U.K. inflation remains slightly above the BOE's target rate of around 2%, officials have also highlighted growth concerns in recent weeks.
The pound briefly extended losses after the Office for National Statistics reported U.K. December industrial production fell 0.1%. That compared with expectations for a 0.2% rise. Manufacturing output for the month also underperformed expectations, declining 0.1%. Market forecasts called for a 0.1% rise.
Citigroup sees price rally continuing as blizzards, floods cap output
By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch
Last update: 7:08 p.m. EST Feb. 6, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Coal, whose price surge has already outrun those of crude oil and natural gas, is generating an even louder buzz as a rash of bad weather has reduced its production globally.
Citigroup earlier this week raised its forecast for thermal coal, saying it now expects prices for the benchmark product to double this year as blizzards in China, power outages in South Africa, and floods in Queensland cut into global output. Meanwhile, demand for coal keeps rising as the world's electricity use expands.
Coal is poised to continue its rally as "tight markets are being further squeezed by new developments," Alan Heap, an analyst at Citigroup, wrote in a research note.
Prices already have had a remarkable run. Thermal coal prices at Newcastle, Australia -- an Asian benchmark for coal used in power generation -- jumped 73% last year, beating crude oil as the best performing energy commodity.
This year, coal futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange have gained 42%, a contrast with oil futures' nearly 10% decline and a 6% rise for natural gas.
Citigroup's Heap now sees coal reaching $100 per ton at the end of 2008, nearly double 2007's year-end price. Other investment banks, including UBS AG (UBS: 37.91, -0.28, -0.7%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM: 43.72, -0.17, -0.4%) , also raised their estimates for prices of both power-generating and steelmaking, or metallurgical, coal.
The recent run-up in fuel prices means higher costs for consumers and industries heavily dependent on electricity. In China, which gets most of its electricity from coal, smaller metals manufacturers could go out of business due to higher electricity prices, analysts said. At the same time, higher traditional energy prices are likely to push China and other countries to pursue alternative energies to heavily-polluting coal.
Surging coal prices have generally meant good times for miners, however. Shares of Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU: 50.61, -1.35, -2.6%) , the largest U.S. coal producer, soared 60% last year, although its shares gave back some of those gains this year amid disappointing earnings and fears of a U.S. slowdown.
Arch Coal Inc. (ACI: 46.73, -0.66, -1.4%) shares have gained 4.4% this year, adding to the 46% gain last year. Shares of Consol Energy Inc. (CNX: 72.35, -0.85, -1.2%) have also moved higher after more than doubling last year. London shares in Switzerland's Xstrata PLC (UK:XTA: news, chart, profile) , one of the world's largest coal miners, have jumped nearly 10% this year after soaring 40% last year.
Snowstorms
A streak of bad weather is responsible for the recent run in coal prices.
Over the past month, deadly snowstorms raging across China grounded the country's transportation system, cutting off coal supplies. Stalled freight trains brought the country's coal reserves to a short-term low. The current stock of coal for power generation is less than half of the normal amount, which is usually enough for 15 days of consumption, according to Minggao Shen, an analyst at Citigroup.
More than 80% of China's power generation comes from burning coal, government data show.
David Riedel, president of overseas-equity specialist Riedel Research Group, anticipates China will sharply increase coal imports in the coming months to build its reserves. Coal demand from China, the world's largest coal consumer, "will be very strong in February and March," said Riedel.
China, a net coal importer, recently banned coal exports until March, a factor that could further push coal prices higher.
Long-term demand for coal is also high. Demand growth from China is estimated 1.5 times above its GDP growth, which stood at 11.4% last year, Heap said.
Those factors have pushed up the front-month coal futures contract to nearly $80 per ton Tuesday, up from $56 per ton at the end of last year. U.S.-traded coal futures are rising because the U.S. is shipping more coal to Europe, which has seen its coal imports from Africa and Australia disrupted, said Charlotte Wright, a coal analyst at Platts, a commodities information provider.
Coal prices in Asia are running even higher. Prices at Newcastle spiked to $116.44 a ton for the week ending Feb. 1, a historic high, according to globalCoal NEWC index. The barometer tracks coal prices at Newcastle, the world's biggest coal-export harbor.