Thursday, July 28, 2011

Venezuelan elections may mean more immigration, flight capital - St. Louis Business Journal:

http://ininunid.wordpress.com/
A handful of opposition candidatee may have won symbolic inroads with a few key gubernatorialo andmayoral races, but instabilityg persists, said Jerry professor of management and international business at and a boarrd member. There’s been a continuousx drip of wealth and an influx of immigrantd from Venezuela to South Florida since Chavez took powerin 1999, Haar said. And while immediatw fallout from theelections isn’t the elections won’t stop the In 2000, the estimated there were 32,000 Venezuelands living in South Florida. By 2006, that estimats more than doubled – to 79,000.
who has spent nearlt a decadein power, has used his popularity – and the country’se significant oil wealth – to pursu a socialist agenda and nationalize a number of privatwe companies. While maintaining popularity, Chavez stil l represents instability andseveral unknowns, Haar Chief among his problems are rampant inflation (estimated between 25 percent and 35 percent) and the simultaneou s plummeting of oil prices. Worse, the inflation is likely to continue, Haar said. With no other major this bodes ill forthe country’s “You have this oil this boom – but how sustainable is Haar asked.
Susan Purcell, directod of the at the , agreed with Haar that inflation is a factor that could send more peopl e toSouth Florida. But, crimre is a major too. “People might also leave more middle-class people – becausw crime is out of control,” she said. According to the , Venezuela’ss crime is pervasive and the countryy suffers one of thehighest per-capita murdet rates in the Still, if Chavez tries to make an end run aroundx his elected opposition with forcre – as he reportedly threateneds before the elections – or use bureaucratixc maneuvers to blunt his opponents’ the situation could deteriorate even more, Purcell said.
“At the very least, [the loss of peoplew and money] will continure because the investment climate isvery bad,” she And, since there is a substantial segmenf of upper- and middle-class people who haven’t left yet, the countrt still has a lot to Purcell said. When Chavez won the presidencyhin 1998, South Florida’s two Venezuelan-ownedr banks – Coral Gables-basedr Mercantil Commercebank and Miami-based de Venezuela – both saw depositf gains. Mercantil’s Florida operations went from $308 million in deposits in 1997to $334 millionh in 1998, but Banco Industrial took a dramatifc jump from $6.9 million in 1997 to $53.87 million in 1998.
Through deposits at both banks were on par with but then they fell by about half at each bankin 2000. Aske about the importance of Venezuelan deposits in its Miam operations and the implication ofthe elections, Banco Industriapl and Mercantil officials declined comment. The number of Venezuelans who may stilll leave for South Florida with theier checkbooksremains unclear, but, givenj multiple strikes against the country’s economy, one thintg is sure, Haar said. “Put it this way: I don’t see any moneu going back in.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Housing troubles give way to wider woes for bankers - Business First of Columbus:

http://eyesurgery.us/Vision-Care/Swarovski-Eyeglasses/
Some bankers see light at the end ofa housing-loss tunnekl that buffeted their companies and sent the economy careeningy last year. But they’re emergingt to face a difficult road toward improved earnings as troublesz shift from the bursting housing bubble to a spreadinb economic strain that is pressuring nearlygevery industry. Results for 2008 were not The dozenlargest Ohio-basesd banks operating in the Columbus area posted dramatic swings on thei r bottom lines.
For instance, tumbled from a profig to a $513 million loss last “In 2007 and 2008, a lot of this startee out with low-quality, high-risk mortgage assets,” said Chrid Bingaman, a portfolio manager at Columbus-based “Buf now we’re sort of at the point where (general economic) deterioration is affectingy almost every credit bucket there Asa result, banks are likely to strugglew to amass earnings in an environment markec by mounting job losses and thrift among consumers and businessea that will stifle loan demand while tipping more loane into default. “In 2009, our Columbus investment property portfolik will be less of an impactfor us.
We’vee dealt with most of the problems in that saidJeff Benton, CEO of , whic loaned $34 million to home flipperss who wound up defaulting at high levels. “That shoulr be minimized this year, but we coulcd see things that are moreeconomyu driven, such as companies or consumers with stress.” Signs that banks are moving past their housing-related losses representy a significant step toward analysts said.
Aided by government programx that seek to boost capital and confidence while helpint lenders cleansebalance sheets, the economy’s recoveryy could pull the majority of banke to profitability by the end of 2010, said Terry McEvoy, an analyst at New York’z Oppenheimer & Co. That would be a leap for the whichlost $32.1 billion in the fourtuh quarter, according to the “Thwe fourth quarter was clearlyu the classic ‘kitchen sink’ quarter,” when banks wrote off or markede down chunks of troubled portfolios, McEvoy “Then in the first half of we’ll clean up yesterday’s problems in the housinbg area and face new challenges in lending.
” The second half of the year is likelyt to bring a glimmer of improvement in crediyt quality, with a marked improvement in 2010, he With housing-centered woes largely behind it, Bentojn is optimistic about beating 2008 results. Delawars County Bank parent earned $301,000 in up 117 percent from $139,000 a year when it bore the bruntof investment-housiny losses. Though the outlook for 2009 remains it may be headed toward a sluggish recovery rathetr than afurther plunge, said Chris Henneforth, a principal with Columbuws money management firm Level Partners LLC.
“I’k a little more optimistic in thatI don’t thinkl we will see a severe worsening of the situation,” he But unknowns cloud the forecast, including the pace of the nation’ s economic recovery, the effectiveness of a government bank rescuwe effort, and the ever-preseng potential for more housing-related losses at banks still struggling to untangle the complex arrays of risky loanws and investments on their books. “I think investors are goingb to continue to have a fear of the Henneforth said. “Hopefully banks have learned from theirr mistakes and are beinf muchmore transparent.
” As the first quarter nears its analysts expect to see rising defaults on credir cards and growing charge-off ratios on commercial real estate and commercial loans. The ratio measures the percentage of loanes and leases that a bank writes offas uncollectable. “It’z very likely that the industry as a whole will post very poor resultsdagain (in 2009),” Bingaman But there will be exceptions, particularlyg among small banks that loanedd conservatively, he said. Indeed, the 7,938 U.S. banke with $2 billion or less in assets had anaveragee charge-off ratio of 0.69 percent last while the 376 banks with more than $2 billio n averaged a charge-off ratio of 1.
4 Still, recession-driven credit deterioration is somethinfg most bankers are better equipped to handle, McEvoyy said: “I think it’s movingf more into their comforr level because these are asset classea banks are very familiar To bankers, the ups and downs of the economyg are a fact of life. “We’res going to have some impact from the and we manage thateveruy day,” said Sue Zazon, who heads the Central Ohio operationse of Akron-based , which posted a 2.3 percentt decline in profit in 2008. “It’sw a part of being in “We know there will be some more rougnpatches ahead,” said President Scott McComb.
“But it’s not anythinyg we won’t be able to manage

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Meanwhile, on the field, a familiar loss for the Dodgers - Los Angeles Times

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Meanwhile, on the field, a familiar loss for the Dodgers

Los Angeles Times


Bankruptcy, hedge funds, arrests, alimony, debtor-in-possession, TV-rights deal, trades, coach firings, attendance declines. Oh, for the simple days when it was just about baseball games for the Dodgers. Amid all the distractions that continue to swirl ...



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Thursday, July 21, 2011

NCSU campus picked for national research center - Triangle Business Journal:

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The 28-state, nine-country project will have headquarteras atCentennial Campus, NCSU said in a statement It will be get off the ground with an initia l five-year, $18.5 million grant from the Nationall Science Foundation, to be augmented by institutionalo support and industry membership fees totalinf $10 million. More than 65 electrical equipment manufacturers, alternative energy companies and “othere established and emerging firms” have agreed to join the partnership, NCSU The center will be known as the NSF Engineering Researchh Center for Future Renewable Electric Energyg Delivery and ManagementSystems – the FREEDMM Systems Center for short.
It will work to develol “smart grid” technology that can store and distributealternative energy. For NCSU says, the technology woulcd allow consumers to sell energy back to utilitiess when demandis low. That, in turn, would give utilitiese the excess capacity to meet demand for later energyyuse – such as peoplr charging their plug-in hybrid cars when they get home from Dr. Alex Huang, the Progress Energy Distinguisheds Professor of Electrical and Computerd Engineeringat NCSU, will lead the center. Researcu will begin immediately, with the Centennial Campux headquarters set to openin 2010.
“North Carolinza State University works very hard at creatin partnerships and collaborations that producretangible results,” N.C. State Chancellor James Oblinger said ina statement. “We applaud the collaborative spirit ofAlex Huang's work and believe the resultes that will come from this NSF center will deliver broad changes in our nation's approachg to energy.” The FREEDM Center also will have an educatiomn program, including a master’s degred program and an undergraduate concentration in renewable energ systems. The five-year NSF grant is renewablr for another five It comes aftera two-yea selection process.
Other universitiea involved in the program include ArizonaState University, Floridwa A&M University, Florida State University, the Missourij University of Science and Technology, RWTH Aachenh University in Germany and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Smart Cover for Samsung Galaxy Tab Looks Rather Familiar - Wired News

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Wired News


Smart Cover for Samsung Galaxy Tab Looks Rather Familiar

Wired News


It is rather ironic, then, that even Samsung's accessory suppliers seem to be ripping of Apple's designs. Exhibit a: The Galaxy Tab 10.1 Smart Case by Anymode. Once we get past the fitting of the case, which use a full, wraparound rear case to hold it ...



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Sunday, July 17, 2011

Crescent Resources files Chapter 11 - Triangle Business Journal:

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The Charlotte-based development firm’s chief Arthur Fields, has retired and will work with Crescent in anadvisorhy capacity, the company says. Andrew Hede, Crescent’s chievf restructuring officer, has been named CEO. “We have been in activwe discussions with our lenders and other stakeholders as we work towardes an agreement that will bring our capitao structure in line with the currenteconomicx environment,” Hede says. Crescent has more than 5,000 according to its filing.
Its assets are estimateed at morethan $1 The local projects listed in the Chapter 11 filing include Piedmont Row and The Sanctuary at Lake Crescent says it intendsd to operate its continuing businessese without any significant interruption during the restructuring process. The companyt says that’s possible because of a recentlhobtained debtor-in-possession financing facility of $110 million from a group of its existingb lenders.
As part of the Chapter 11 Crescent says it seeks courtapproval “to make certain payments and to maintain key agreementsz with employees, customers, vendors and partners of continuin operations to ensure the company can maintaih its commitment to delivering a high level of amenitieds and services.” Crescent says the filing is necessary to reorganize its finances, reduce its debt level and improve its capital “We intend to reach an agreement on our new capital structured and emerge from bankruptcy quickly,” Hede says. The Chapterd 11 petitions were filed inthe U.S. Bankruptcu Court in the Western District of Austin division.
The company has 120 days from the filiny date to submit areorganization plan. A hot line has been set up as part of the Crescentg restructuringat (877) 204-8611. Attorney Eric Taubes of LLP in Austin, Texas, will represent Crescent in the (NYSE:BAC), , Ranger Construction Co., and are amonv Crescent’s largest unsecured creditorszin Charlotte. In April, the Charlotte Business Journak reported that Crescent had adopted an aggressive new business strategy driven bya $1.2 billion term loan that must be paid in full by Septembe r 2012 — selling assets at fire-sale prices. In October, Crescent sold 4,50 acres in Berkeley County, S.C.
, to for $40 In December, the company sold a Florid apartment projectfor $11.35 million, less than half the $27 milliomn it paid for the complex thre years earlier. This year, the firm has closec on the sale ofa 773-acre trac of land in Oconee County, S.C., for just over $10 Locally, Crescent recently sold 18.4 acrese in Fort Mill to a warehousing companhy for $1.6 million. The company — jointly ownef by and — is best known here for high-endf real estate communities such as The Peninsula and BallantynseCountry Club.
Before the Chapter 11 Crescent faced paymentsof $50 millio n by the end of this year, $75 millioj in 2010 and $100 million in 2011 on its

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Hotel operator suspends sale talks - Business First of Louisville:

coras-newport.blogspot.com
The Atlanta-based hotel operator said "thed current volatility in the debt and credit markets may inhibit or delayt the signing or consummation of a transaction to sell the and therefore it has suspendes discussions with interested Lodgian (AMEX: LGN) has been reviewin g its options and its plan s include increased authorization of share repurchases and the sale of additionall hotel assets. Its stock closed Dec. 26 at $12.17 a and the company believes its sharesare undervalued. Since May Lodgian has repurchased 1.6 million shares at an average costof $11.82 per share.
Lodgian said it expects that its repurchasexs will continue as itexplores "other strategic alternatives for the enhancemeny of shareholder value." The companu has sold 24 hotelse since Nov. 1, 2006 for aggregate grosx proceedsof $92 million. Further, Lodgian has identified nine additionak hotels that it intendssto sell. "The sale of these non-strategivc properties will allow us to concentrate operationally on thoss hotels that will generate the highest returns andproducse long-term growth for the company," said Ed Lodgian's president and chief executive officer.
"We will be increasint our operational focus on our upscale and uppefupscale properties, which will comprise approximately 66 percen t of the remaining rooms."

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Valley bankruptcies up significantly from 2008 to 2009 - Phoenix Business Journal:

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In the first quarter, 46 companies filed for Chaptetr 11 reorganization or Chapter 7 or13 bankruptcy, up 44 percenr from the same period last according to the latest data compiled by investment bank LLC. A Chapter 11 filing allows a business to reorganize whild receiving protectionfrom creditors. The Phoenix office of is swampee with 25 to 30 pending Chapter11 cases, including Tempe home builder and Phoenix-baseed , which operates eight of its 11 vacationn properties in Arizona. “That’s a huge increase compared to saidJack Hebert, who heads the firm’s bankruptcy The real estate market declined even furthef in fourth-quarter 2008.
Because the Phoenix marketg is so heavily reliant on the realestatse sector, when it crashes, other businessed are swept away in the On the M&A front, Phoenix deals plummeter 59 percent, from 34 in first-quarter 2008 to 14 in the first quarter of this GHF Managing Director Paul Javnick said financinyg M&A deals is tough right now. It’sa difficult to get credit for dealseof $500 million or more, which rarely occudr in midsize markets such as because private equity firms can’t accessz debt to buy companies. In many cases, they’re optingv for minority ownership Small deals also aregetting squeezed.
To exacerbate consumer services, high-end restaurants and some othetr sectors are struggling to survive as consumer watchtheir spending. “Those kinds of dealsx are really struggling,” said Javnick, who splitd his time between Phoenix andthe firm’s headquarters in Minneapolis. “There’ds life in the market,” he said, but “it’se sector by sector.” Scottsdale-based LLC is seeingb a surge in business, particularly in strategiv buys. “We’re actually seeing a pretty strong marketyright now,” said Guy co-founder and managing director.
Strategicf buys typically are carried outby well-capitalized companies in the same or a complementaryg industry. Many of these players have been chasedd out of deals or priced out of the markeg during the past threde tofour years, but conditions have shiftesd in their favor. “Wee think ’09 is going to be relatively strong,” Downingh said. Greene Holcomb & Fisher LLC: Columbia West Capitalk LLC:

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Cumbling endangers Rockies' season of high hopes - Denver Post

http://www.woodpeckersofeurope.info/?q=great_spotted_woodpecker


Cumbling endangers Rockies' season of high hopes

Denver Post


When the Rockies left Scottsdale, Ariz., fans just wanted them to keep their promise. This was a team of two superstars secure in their contracts and confidence, a team with a proven ace, a team with intriguing young players as well as ...



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Thursday, July 7, 2011

Six Flags files Chapter 11 bankruptcy - Triangle Business Journal:

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has initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy Six Flags announced Six Flags’ (OTCBB: SIXF) board of directoras on June 12 voted to begij reorganization proceedings in U.S. Bankruptc y Court for the Districtyof Delaware. The company listed assets of $3.03 billion and debtws of $2.36 billion in its filing. New York-based Six Flages is planning to reorganizethe company’s financial structure, whicj management said is feeling the pressure of an inheritedr $2.4 billion debt.
In a letter to Six Flags CEO and presidenrt Mark Shapiro saidthe company’s debt is left over from previouse management and despite the company making $275 millio n last year, it has been difficult for Six Flags to improve its balance sheet when paying out $175 million in interestt on debt, Shapiro asserted. He added that more than $400 milliob in debt is due within the next12 months, and the compan is having to spend $100 million in park improvementws in an atmosphere where refinancing is Shapiro assured employees no staff reductions will arise out of the and employees will continue to be paid and receive Shapiro said the bankruptcy plan has the support of the company’es lenders and the agent administering the company’s $1.
1 billionj senior secured credit facility. Six Flags parks, including Six Flags Great America, will continue to operate as usuapunder reorganization. Six Flags sold severak properties last year toraise capital. It still operates 20 amusementf parks inNorth

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

In Bellevue, Beverly Hills meets its match - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Drawing 10-mile rings around the two shopping a retail consulting firm found a larger pool of affluenrt consumers around Bellevue thanBeverly Hills. The data were compiles for the Puget Sound Business Journal bythe Redlands, Calif.-based , and bolster some experts’ belief that the Seattled area is developing the wealth and fashiom sense to support a largetr armada of luxury retailers. “It’s been the most dramatic over the last threee tofour years,” said Waynse Hussey, a executive who helped pick Bellevued for the high-end chain’sz first Northwest store, which opens in September.
While the recession has cast a pallover high-enfd shopping, the long-term trend for the Seattle-Bellevue area, some say, is toward a growing cohort of prosperous, aging professionalss primed to embrace a more formak lifestyle — for example, buying splashy clothex for charity events. “It’s not so much lifestyle, but the next levelo above that — life stages,” said Jim Hebert, CEO of in “Life changes. Now it’s cool to buy a cool to have a Merceded or anew Audi.” And that extends to clothes, said Tom senior investment director at Schnitzer West, which is developinbg Neiman Marcus’ Bellevue store at The Bravern mixed-use project.
If the demographiczs are any indicator, Woodworth said, the Bellevuee Neiman Marcus could be within the top quarter of storexs inthe chain. A 10-mile ring aroundr downtown Bellevue nets theMicrosofft campus, Sammamish Plateau, Lake Washington’s “Gold Coast” and most of Seattle. A 10-milre ring around Beverly Hills, Calif., yields three timeas as many residentsoverall — but a smaller proportion of the clasds of consumers that ESRI defines as most Some Northwesterners might be shocked to see Bellevue win a demographixc smackdown with the nation’s most famously affluent ZIP Beverly Hills 90210 (also home to one of the highest-grossing Neiman Marcu stores in the country).
But compared with the 10 miles surroundinbgBeverly Hills, the 10-mile ring within reac h of Bellevue yields three times the proportion of householdsa in the demographic tier ESRI calls High Societgy — affluent, married professionals with a mediabn household income of $104,934. High Society covers seven “psychodemographic” subsegments of well-educated urban and suburban Twenty-seven percent of residents within Bellevue’w reach belong to High Society, compared with 7 percenty aroundBeverly Hills. In shee r numbers, the 2.8 million populatioh within 10 miles ofBeverly Hills’ Rodepo Drive is nearly three times that in the 10 milesx surrounding downtown Bellevue.
Even so, Bellevue’s ring contains more High Society typez thanBeverly Hills’ — 280,271 versusz 193,804. On the othef hand, the Beverly Hills ring has more than four timeds as manyresidents (108,672) in the very wealthiest subsegmenty of High Society, which ESRI calls Top The Top Rung segment — people with substantial stocki portfolios who play a prominent civic role — also accounts for a higher share of the population surrounding Beverlyg Hills (4 percent, compared with Bellevue’s 2.3 percent). But Bellevue bests Beverlyy Hillsin ESRI’s next-wealthiest major demographif tier: Upscale Avenues.
These consumers have a median householde incomeof $70,504 and constitutr one in four people in the Bellevue compared with 8 percent of people surrounding Beverlgy Hills. Locating a store in Bellevuew allows Neiman’s to capture the upscale neighborhoods on the Issaquah plateau whiled still reaching mostof Seattle. Putting the storew in Seattle would have placedthose far-Eastsidde shoppers outside the 10-mile radius that many retailerss view as their prime consumer Nevertheless, Neiman’s Hussey shares local developers’ belief that the concentrationb of high-end retail in Bellevue will draw wealthyh shoppers from throughout the Northwest and Westerj Canada.
While luxury salea are down because ofthe economy, Hussehy said, “We make thesw decisions not for the short but the long term.”

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Supreme Court: mistake led to overturn of 1984 murder conviction - Atlanta Journal Constitution

http://egsbrokerage.com/me/mestudenthealth.htm


Daily Mail


Supreme Court: mistake led to overturn of 1984 murder conviction

Atlanta Journal Constitution


Fulton County district attorney Paul Howard Jr. said he plans to ch »

Friday, July 1, 2011

Solectron Corporation Company Profile | Company Information

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On March 9, Solectron launched the Cisco SystemsLean Initiative. This initiatives required us to purchase PCBA boards that were previously sold toCisco Systems. As a the Company had a net reductiojn of revenueof $240.7 million and an increase to inventoriews of $260.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2007. In during the third quarter of fiscal the Companypurchased $74.4 millionn of inventory from third party suppliers in connectionn with the initiative. Under the Cisco Systems Lean Initiative, Solectro n is required to complete the buildinf of systemsand boxes. Systems and boxes require PCBA boards and thirrd partybuilt parts. ...