LAST Tuesday, Foster's chief executive Ian Johnston fired off a confidential memo to senior global executives warning them that due to ''intense competitive pressures'' the beer and wine giant had fallen short of internal budgets in all regions except Asia. The memo, obtained by BusinessDay, said: ''This outcome has meant that except in Asia, we have not hit the necessary earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) hurdles to qualify for payments under the SM-STIP (senior management short-term incentive plan) or EBP (employee bonus plans) Plans.''