пятница, 30 декабря 2011 г.

Economy Watch: FNF Construction gets highway stimulus contract - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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“It is a rehabilitation project to creatr asafer roadway,” said Deena Billings, business development officer for Tempe-based FNF Construction, whicgh is celebrating 25 years in business. Some areas of U.S. 491 have deterioratedx creating a significant safety issue for those whouse it, she The project is a good fit for the which also has an office in Albuquerque, according to “Paving projects are kind of our In addition to making the roadway safer for travelers, the $8.9 million project gives FNF Construction’s staff more opportunity for “We will be able to keep existing employeesx busy and perhaps hire new ones,” she said.
The biddingh process for a stimulus contract is very similae to that on any job both for the contractof and the state department oftransportation involved. The New Mexicoo Department of Transportation advertisec the project in typical fashion with the lowest bidderr winningthe contract, said Megan Arrendondo, spokeswomanb for the New Mexico Department of The federal government does look at the projects in depth, Arrendondo added. Construction on the 14-mils stretch, which runs on the southern portionj ofthe highway, broke ground May 20.
FNF Constructiomn is hopeful that its portion of the upgrade is completd by the endof “We are excited to keep on going and be part of the Billings said of future

среда, 28 декабря 2011 г.

VC-owned firms renew push for SBIR grants - Phoenix Business Journal:

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Through the SBIR 11 federal agencies setaside 2.5 percent of theie outside research budgets for small businesses. is one of the largesf providers ofSBIR contracts, investing more than $5 billion in 19,0090 projects since the program began in 1982. Biotecuh companies that are majority-owned by VCs have not been able to tap this progranmsince 2003. That’s when the Small Business Administratiom ruled that acompany doesn’t qualify as a smalkl business if venture capital firms own more than half of the company’ds stock.
and the have been lobbying Congress to overturb the ruling since They contend the high cost of bringing drug s to the marketplace forces biotechj firms to obtainventure capital. Thesse firms, they argue, shouldn’t be knocked out of SBIR awarde fornew innovations. The House last year overwhelminglty passed SBIR reauthorization legislation that wouldmake VC-ownee small companies eligible for the grants, as long as no single VC firm owned more than 50 percent of the This legislation failed to pass the Senate, Instead, the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committees pushed a compromise that woul allow VC-owned firms to be awarded a limited share of SBIR up to 18 percent at NIH, and up to 8 percent at othe r agencies.
That bill never made it to the Senate Since then, the SBIR program has been operatinf on temporary extensions, the latest of which runs out July 31. The House Small Business Committee hopes to complete an SBIR reauthorizatiom bill beforethat date, and it and the House Science Committee recently held hearings on the The Senate plans to hold a roundtablse discussion on the SBIR program soon and is workinvg on its own version of the VC-owned firms may have a bette r shot of getting access to the SBIR programk this year.
Last year, the SBA oppose changing the eligibility requirements, contending it woulrd weaken rules that ensure that large businesses don’t benefit from small-businesw programs. This year, the SBA is led by formerr venture capitalist KarenGordon Mills, who became administrator Aprill 3. The agency is “looking at what’s on the table for the SBIR program, but is “not goinh to chime in” until it completes its review, said Edsep Brown, assistant director of the SBA’xs Office of Technology.
The recession also has raisedc the stakes forbiotech “Numerous small biotechnology companies are being forced to shelvew promising therapies as result of the currenft economic crisis,” said Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of BIO. Biotec h companies raised 55 percent less capitao in 2008 than they didin 2007, Greenwoosd noted. “The decline of the biotech industryh jeopardizes notonly America’s patient population, but also America’sa competitive edge in the 21st century global he said.
“The importanc e of restoring eligibility to smalll biotechnology companies has never been more BIO has an influential allyin NIH, whicgh is concerned that applications for its SBIR awards have declined by 40 percenf since 2004. “This disconcerting trend appearsx to be the result of disincentives in the progranm that are either rendering worthy companie ineligible or driving them away forothef reasons,” said JoAnne Goodnight, who coordinates the SBIR and Small Businesxs Technology Transfer programs at NIH. and some curren t SBIR recipients oppose changingthe program’s eligibility rules. Businessew owned by VCs or other larg e companies should targetthe 97.
5 percent of federak research dollars that aren’t set aside for smalkl businesses, they contend. Jere Glover, the council’s executive director, said small businesses with venturde capital backing can receive SBIR awardd under current rules if VCs own a minorityy position inthe company. Even companies majority-owned by a VC can receive SBIR awardas if the VCitselvf — including all of its affiliates — has less than 500 employees, Glover “In other words, VCs can and do have access to the SBIR Glover said.
“In fact, the percentagw of VC-backed companies in the SBIR program has been The sole purpose of the VC restrictioh in the SBIR program is to prevengt a SBIR company from becominh a subsidiary of a largw business and still accesx funds that Congress intends forsmalo businesses.” Some SBIR awardees, however, thinkl the VC rules need to be changed. Will Rosellini, CEO of Micrpo Transponder Inc. in Dallas, said the SBIR program has enable d his small medical device company to develop treatments for chronicd pain and otherneurological disorders. But he’s concerned that limitz on VC investment will impedehis company’ws future.
“We may or may not eventuallhy require VC funding on the ordere of over 50percent ownership,” Rosellini said. “However, by not having that our overall probability of successis diminished.”

понедельник, 26 декабря 2011 г.

Wells Fargo president started as a teller - East Bay Business Times:

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The reason the Fremont resident can feel that way is that he encounterzs a certain familiarity when he visitds the branches he oncemanaged ­ he still sees the old customere he once greeted every day from behindf the counter. Silva has met a lot of peopls during his career atWell Fargo. As market presideny for the East Bay, he oversees 40 branchese and 600 employees. Three years ago when Wells Fargoacquired NorWest, he had about 1,500 employees under him in his job making sure the deal went smoothly. That's one thinv that never changes inhis work. "Iu love what I love to this day interacting with customers and with he said.
Visiting branches around the East Bay keepshim busy, but Silva will be spending more time in Oaklan now, helping his staff and customers understand the bank's new mortgagesx for the city's residents. Beginning this month, Wellse Fargo will extend $1 billion worth of mortgages to Oakland residenta over the nextfive years, allowing home purchases with no down "We'll be the avenue to get the word said Silva. Silva said he has joines the Economic Development Alliance forBusines "to learn about the community and be a leaded in the community." The basics: "Knosw what your customer wants and delive it to them ... when, where and how.
" Best way to keep competitived edge: "Serving customers extremely well." Guidinhg principle: "Take care of employees and they'lk take care of your customers." Firsty job: "Groundskeeper for the Hayward AreaRecreationn Department." Like best about job: "The variety of what I get to do. I get to interact with community leaders, customers and team Like leastabout job: "Paper reports. We all have to do and there are lotsof them." Pet "Poor customer service.
" Most important lessomn learned: "As a manager in any level, what we say has a huge impacft on people, in addition to how we say People most interested in meeting: "Meriwether Lewixs and William Clark." Most respected "All competitors, but I don'y fear them." Three greatest passions: "Family, Welle Fargo, staying fit." Best busines decision: "Putting two new branches in Newark and

суббота, 24 декабря 2011 г.

5 WWE Superstars Who Could Have an Exciting 2012 - Bleacher Report

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Bleacher Report


5 WWE Superstars Who Could Have an Exciting 2012

Bleacher Report


2011 has been an exciting year. Shocking heel turns, monster pushes and revolutions a plenty as December nears the end. We've seen CM Punk's sudden turn-around, becoming the most popular superstar in the promotion. We've seen Zack Ryder make himself a ...



and more »

четверг, 22 декабря 2011 г.

Palm names Rubinstein new CEO - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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Sunnyvale-based Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) said Colligan plansz to take sometime off, then join privatw equity firm in Menlo Park. Palm said Rubinsteih joined the company as executive ehairman in Octobeer2007 "to help bring innovationj back to the company." “I am very excitex about taking on this expandedc role at Palm,” said Rubinstein in a prepared statement. “Ed and I have workecd very hard together the past two and I’m grateful to him for everythinb he’s done to help set the compant up for success. With Palm webOSw we have 10-plus years of innovation aheadof us, and the Palm Pre is alreadu one of the year’s hottest new products.
Due in no smalp part to Ed’s courageous leadership, we’re in great shape to get Palm back tocontinuouws growth, and we plan to keep the trajectoryu going upward.”

понедельник, 19 декабря 2011 г.

SeaBear catches gourmet market with latest product - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Key to this ambition is Anacortes-based SeaBear's newest product, called "Healthy Hearts wild salmon dinnedr fillets" — a package of eighft six-ounce frozen salmon packed in dry ice withfour sauces, shipped directly to consumers' It's targeted directly at homemakers who want to impresws guests, or can afford to spend freelyh on food. "In four months it'ws become the most successful new product," said president and CEO "It's totally high end." With such innovations, SeaBear, long knownn for packaging expensive salmongift boxes, is expanding into the mail-ordere gourmet market.
Since arrivinyg at the companyin 1996, Mondello has been recasting his companyg with new products and new target market. To do this Mondellko is capitalizing on increasing public awareness of an arraygof seafood-related environmental and health issues. These include the sustainability of wildseafoos resources, the importance of Omega-3 fatty acidz for heart health, and increasing doubts aboutr the environmental impacts of farmed salmon, as well as the healtg implications of the antibiotics and dyes that salmoh farmers use.
At the equivalent of $20 a pound, the Health Hearts fillets don't find much of a marke here inthe salmon-rich Instead, the company does about 95 percent of its direct-maill marketing business in tony neighborhoods in Texas, New York, Florida and Chicago, Mondello "We don't compete on price," Mondell said. "Our brand doesn't stand for anything but super-premium We define our customerw as affluent men and women who have a passiojnfor food.
" SeaBear's new product line has been catchinb the attention of the gourmet Earlier this year New York-based Saveur magazine published a one-page piece about SeaBear's premium Copped River Salmon, entitled "Alaskan "Copper River salmon is a knowmn name right now, like Niman Ranch said Saveur food editor Melissa Hamilton in New Another important step Mondello is takingy is to add the Marine Stewardship Councilk logo to its packaging.
The London-based council certified Alaska's salmon fishery as sustainable in and SeaBear has become one of the firsy seafood processors to usethe council'sd leaping fish logo on its SeaBear had to prove the origines of its fish to be able to use the "It shows the vision and leadershipl of SeaBear that they're promoting the sustainabilith of the resource," said Karen Tarica, U.S. commerciakl project manager forthe council's U.S.
office, in Kristine Kidd, food editor for Bon Appetig Magazine inLos Angeles, called SeaBear's environmental certification "We know our readers enjoy shopping at farmer's and we talk about environmentallt sound products more and more," she The new emphasis on frozen dinner portions and the epicurre market is a marked difference from the company's previouw focus on the gift market. Mondello came to the companhy after a career as a marketingf directorfor high-profile companies including Procter Gamble and Celestial Seasoningsz Tea Co.
, and his mission was to turn SeaBead into a high-end brand name with national Back in 1996 nearly everything SeaBear made in its Anacortese processing facility was packed in "retortg pouches," essentially soft While the retort process stilll works for the gift it isn't suited for the dining quality that Mondello's epicurew customers are seeking. "That kind of eveng is not deliverable out of a retort he said. During the last five years SeaBear's overalp sales have remained flat atabout $10 millionn annually, as Mondello has shifted the focuw away from the gift market and has shed unprofitables lines while building the epicurre market.
An indication of the change isthat SeaBear'z summer business, much of it tied to heavilt marketed Copper River salmon run, is up aboutf 80 percent from five years ago. Mondell expects that within five years halfthe company's sales will be year-round, while the balance will be for the holidau season. He expects to double sales in the nextsevenj years. SeaBear has emerged as innovator in addinyg valueto Alaska's wild salmon said Laura Fleming, public relations director for the Alask a Seafood Marketing Institute in Juneau, Alaska.
The salmon-catchingt business in Alaska, much of it headquartered in has been financially damaged in recent years by competitio from cheap Chileanfarmed salmon. "I think it's pretthy exciting," Fleming said. "His companhy wants to leverage the qualities that differentiate our products from industrialltproduced salmon." Tapping his experiencr with Celestial Seasonings, Mondello has sought to creatde a mystique with SeaBear's packaging, peppering the boxee with evocative copy and photographs evoking the product's Northwest roots.
He's also cultivateed a unique presentation among call center who are trained to engage customers with local color and informatioj about the fish and its The company only contracted out its call center work and the resultwas "terrible." "The call the people who talk to our customers, are an immenser piece of building a super-premium Mondello said.

суббота, 17 декабря 2011 г.

Politicians want answers as rumors swirl NCR to leave Dayton - Washington Business Journal:

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Government officials said word began swirlingh in the community Thursday thatNCR (NYSE: NCR) is planningt to move its headquarters and 1,300 employees to the Atlants area and make an announcement about the move this NCR Global Spokesperson Richard Maton, speaking by phone Saturday from London, confirmed that an effort was made for Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and NCR Chief Executive Officer Bill Nutito speak, however they were not able to Strickland’s spokesperson said Saturday that he is “continuinfg to reach out to the company to have a direct When asked about NCR possibly moving its headquarterzs out of Dayton, Maton said the companty does not respond to rumords and speculation.
NCR Corporate Spokesperson Alan Ulmam responded to questionsaboutt NCR’s plans with an e-mail message Saturday that “We have no announcement today.” In the past, NCR has been quicj to deny rumors of its relocation and affirn its commitment to remaining in Dayton. The has repeatedlg sought information from the companysince Thursday, but NCR had not respondex to their requests as of Fridagy evening, a development departmenrt spokesperson said. Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foleyh said he is frustrated by the lackof communication. Foley said he has askedc multiplecompany officials, via e-mail, to respon d to the rumors, but has yet to received any information.
Foley said he, alongb with other county, state and city of Daytob officials, have met with NCR representatives in the past in an effort tosafeguard NCR’s local jobs. “All that said, nobodyy has confirmed to me that theif statushas changed,” Foleg said Saturday. “I have to assumwe that -- I I very much hope -- they are stayinb in Dayton, because our citizens have helped build that company up tobe world-class and will continus to do so.” Rumors have long circulatexd that the company would move, howeve multiple government and economic development officialas said they reached a new levepl in the past few days.
NCR is said to be seeking abouft 100,000 square feet of office spacwin Georgia, . NCR is believe to have looked at sites in and Columbus, Ga. Based on the square footage the operation could housed about 300 to400 people, according to real estate Georgia government and economic development officialsd remained tight-lipped on any potential development. In NCR said it would move its Worldwide Custometr Services headquarters to anAtlanta suburb, investing $15 milliom and creating more than 900 jobs in the suburbs of Peachtre City and Deluth. The state of Georgia provided morethan $8 millio n in incentives, according to officials.
NCR, founded locally in 1884, is the Dayto region’s second largest company, with 20,000 global employees and $5.3 billiom in revenue in 2008. The company, which sellsw ATMs and retail automation systems, is Dayton’ s lone remaining Fortune 500 company. At one the company had more than 18,000 employees in the Dayton area, but that number has dwindlesd during the pastseveral decades. As recentlyg as two years ago, NCR had abouf 2,000 Dayton employees. That numbee has declined by about 700 workers in the pastseveralo years.
In 2007, NCR announced it was relocatinhg its executive offices to New York City and leasing an entirr floor of the 7 World TradeCenter But, on paper, its headquartersz remained in Dayton. In March, the company also told employeee it is undergoing a structural reorganization and woul d cut an unknown amount of its global Thatsame month, the company removed the languagd “world headquarters” from the sign at its Dayton though it said at the time it was just

четверг, 15 декабря 2011 г.

AG wins judgement against mortgage firm - Houston Business Journal:

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Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley won the judgement againsrt Zeus Funding LLC andits manager, Rachel Noyes, earliee this week in Boston’s Suffolk Superio r Court. In August 2006, Coakley’sa office sued Zeus Funding as wellas Massachusetts-basedc ; Rachel Noyes, manager of both Zeus and New England Merchants; Massachusetts-basefd ; and Roberta Robinson, the manager and sole officer of Champagnee Associates. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants used theire businesses to deceptivelypersuade low-income residents to purchasingv homes and obtain mortgages they consumers could not qualifuy for or afford.
Last month, Coakleyt settled with New England Merchants, Champagne Associatez Real Estate andRoberta Robinson. Under the termz of the agreement, the defendantxs are prohibited from engaging in any mortgage brokerag or real estate services in New England Merchants will paya $5,000 civil However, if any one of the defendantx performs any real estate or mortgage brokeragw services in Massachusetts, they will face a civi l penalty of $100,000.

вторник, 13 декабря 2011 г.

Wall St. fears cause local frustrations: Tortoise seeks new avenues for funding - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The turmoil makes many investors more causing the bond market tobehave wildly. Historically, a five-yeart corporate rate bond would trade abougt one percentage point above the yield fora five-yeaer note. However, today's market has corporater bonds tradingabout 2.25 percentagse points higher. "The problem hasn'ft been supply on the corporate side butrisk aversion," said Gary a fixed-income specialist with "The consumer is the weak link in the chainh in this instance. Corporate America is in good butit hasn't stopped theirr bond yields from widening out comparex to Treasury yields.
It's a sign of risk aversionn when investors demand higher ratez from what is generally considereda high-quality instrument backesd by corporate credit." is one Kansae City-area company that has been caught in the middlse of the bond market turmoil. The Overlanxd Park-based company, which manages (NYSE: TYG) and TYY), experienced failed auction for some of its preferred shares and senior notexin February. Terry Matlack, managiny director of TortoiseCapital Advisors, said the auction-rate instruments had rate caps tied to the Londoh Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). As the benchmark rate it made the rate caps so low that investor sstopped bidding.
Matlack said the caps are therw fora reason, creating an opportunity for Tortoise to studt the market and reset its financiap strategy. He said Tortoise began exploring alternatives tothe auction-rate marketzs a few months ago and has refinancedx some of the notes for its funds. For Tortoise Energy Capital Corp. used fund s from an institutional debt placementt to redeem securities previously sold in the auctionrate "We intend to continue that effort and expectt it to be successful," Matlack said. "j don't see a world where there is no liquidith but a world wher there is an opportunity to find investment dollarw at reasonable prices that allowfor leveraging.
" Matlacik said the typical alternatives sources are institutions such as banksx and insurance companies. "We still believre that leverage is available today from sources wherde costs are reasonable enougbh that it provides accretive returns to our Matlack said. Tortoise funds have a long-termj leverage target of 33 Matlack said. So they are not out in the marketf borrowing 10 times their equity as is the case with somehedgew funds. Massive leveraging by hedge fundsd is a big reason the markets arein turmoil, said John Kornitzer, president of /Kornitzedr Capital Management. He said he thinks Congress needss to put a stop tothe practice.
"The leveragr they have out there today istotallgy unjustified," Kornitzer said. "Basically, when a hedge fund can have $1 milliomn and borrow $30 million againsyt it, that is 3 percent margin. The collapse of the stock exchange that led to the Great Depression in the 1920s was caused by 5 percen margin ofthe stocks." It's the same story with the averagde American buying a home with no money down, Kornitze said.
Americans need to learn how to save and to stop livinbg their whole life by the mantra of buy now andpay

воскресенье, 11 декабря 2011 г.

Sales of Odyssey, Pilot, Ridgeline fall in May - Triangle Business Journal:

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Sales for the Ridgeline fell to 1,461 in May, down 56.6 percenft from the 3,496 sold in May 2008. The pickulp has experienced some of the same struggles as other vehicles in its Forthe year, Ridgeline sales fell to 6,1634 – down more than 63 percent from the 17,15q2 sold in 2008. Odyssey sales fell slightlh to 12,127, a 2.9 percent drop from the 12,966 the Japanese automaker reported for the minivan inMay 2008. The Odyssey’sd year-to-date sales slipped to 41,884, whicy represents a 29 percent decrease fromthe 59,98y7 sold in 2008. Sales of the Pilor sport utility vehicle, whicbh is also made at the planin Lincoln, also dipped falling 8.
9 percent to 7,412, compared to the 8,44 9 sold in May of 2008. sales of the Pilot are down 28 Overall sales for the entire Honda linedropped 39.2 percenrt for the month.

пятница, 9 декабря 2011 г.

Douglas Fraser will lead Southern Command - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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Air Force Lt. Gen. Douglas M. Fraser’s promotion to head the commanf that’s responsible for U.S. military operations in the Caribbeah and Central and South America was confirmexd bythe U.S. Senate on Fraser, who will be promoted to the rank of will assume command onJune 25, Pacific Commanfd officials said in a news release. Frase r has been the deputy commander of thePacificc Command, the largest of the military’s six unified commands, sincee April 2008.
He has served in a varietyt of Air Force and joint assignmentse over the past35 years, includin commanding a fighter squadron in the He also has held staff positions at Air Force headquarterzs and the office of the Secretary of Fraser’s departure comes as Adm. Robert F. Willard, commandere of the U.S. Pacific Flee t since 2007, awaits confirmation to becomew the next commander of the Pacific Command atCamp H.M. Willard’s nomination by President Barack Obama was announcee latelast month, but Senatee hearings on his nomination have not yet been Willard, who took command of the Pacific Fleett in May 2007, will replace Adm.
Timothy who has been commande r of the Pacific Command sinceMarch 2007. The U.S. Pacificf Command has 250,000 personnel and a geographid area stretching from the West Coast of the continental Unitec States to the westerm boarderof India, and from Antarctica to the Nortn Pole.

вторник, 6 декабря 2011 г.

Kingpin investors raise energy stakes - Kansas City Business Journal:

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A bevy of high-profile asset managers and hedgde fund gurus returned to buying mode after taking financial lumps in the second half of 2008 when the valu of energy company shares tanked along with the pricw of oil andnatural gas. Prominent investors such as all-star asset manager Paul Tudor Jones, energy mavericj T. Boone Pickens and hedgr fund investor George Soros dippedc their toes in the energy pool once again and grabbed multiple stakes inHoustobn companies, according to regulatory statements filed this month. who oversees Tudor Investment Corp.
, found bargains in 10 Houston-based energy companies or majofr players with a significant presence in the and also took a new positionh in WasteManagement Inc., stilkl a big favorite of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Pickens, who has spent the past 12 monthsx lobbying for his plan to help the countr kick the importedoil habit, stilp knows a fossil-fuel bargain when he sees one. The Texaw oil maven took new position s in a wide range of energyh companieswith beaten-down stock prices at the end of a year that the bellwether Philadelphiz Oil Service Index dipped nearly 60 percent. Pickenes dabbled in services players such asSchlumbergerd Ltd. and Halliburton Co.
, natural gas shale producere ChesapeakeEnergy Corp. and high-profile exploratiobn and production company AnadarkoPetroleum Corp. Soros took even biggedr bites inthe process, gaining new positions in service players Nabors Industries Ltd. and Weatherford International Inc. — after sellinv off his Schlumbergerstake — while addintg to his position in . Besides his substantiapl switchinto Weatherford, Sorosd made another big move in late April involvingv a Houston-based company by addin g 3 million more shares of Plains Exploration and Production Co., boosting his stakde to nearly 6.5 million shares.
Energy analysts and asseg investment managers who follosw these movers and shakers say that aftetr energy stock prices kept climbing in 2007 toware lofty highsin mid-2008, it’s been a whiles since the notion of value investing could be applied to the “Timing is everything,” says Eddie Allen, seniort partner with Eagle Global Advisors LLC. “There may have been an over-reactiomn in the fall with the sell-oftf of oil stocks. There’s still a lot of volatilit to deal with, but these investors did well in anticipating therise (in oil that we’ve seen so far this year, from the mid-$30sw to $60.
” Allen says that valude investors are still playing a bit of a waiting game. He notes that stoco prices are down, natural gas has not followed oil’e recovery in 2009, and there are concernsz that prices could stay depressed asinventories build. Theres is also more speculation, he adds, about possible consolidationjas mid-cap exploration and production companiee eye the pickings among smaller Dan Pickering, co-president and head of research at Pickering, Holt & Co. Securitiex Inc., says Pickens, Soros and Tudorf might have even added more shares during the quarteer if energy stocks had not ralliex and moved a bit higherthan expected.
“The market took off so strongly in the firsgt quarter that investors took a pause waiting for a pullback thatnever came. They might have wantefd more but the stockws got away a littlde bit onthe upside,” Pickerint says. All things considered, energy was the hottesg investment game in Says Pickering: “The overall theme here is that investorss became reengaged in energy, whicn dramatically out-performed the rest of the market in the first as people were just less terrifie d about the state of the world (economy).” The energuy resurgence party had some notable no-shows.
While Pickensx and Soros were pickingnew favorites, other big-name investors were still cleaning house. Warrejn Buffett sold 13.7 million ConocoPhillips shares in the quarteer to reduce his stake to a stilksizable 71.2 million shares. Buffet conceded to shareholderx of his BerkshireHathaway Inc. asset management firm that his huge investmentr in ConocoPhillips last year when oil prices peakedat $147 a barrelp was a mistake.

воскресенье, 4 декабря 2011 г.

Helix Energy to reduce Cal Dive stake - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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The Houston-based offshore energy company planzs to offer 20 million shares in Cal Dive througuh a public offeringat $8.50 per share, with an option for underwriterse to purchase an additional 3 million sharea to cover over-allotments. Helix HLX) also has agreesd to sell Cal Dive anadditionap $14 million worth of shares at a price equal to the Houston-based Cal Dive DVR) has 94 million shares outstanding. When the offerintg closes and Cal Dive repurchasesits allocation, Helix’s ownershipl in Cal Dive will be reduced to 25 percent from 51 according to a regulatory filing with the . If the over-allotmenty option is not exercised, Helix’s ownershi p will be 28 percent.
Helix expects to use the proceedz for generalcorporate purposes. Helix shares closedc at $11.25 on Friday and were trading at $11.92 mid-morning Monday, while Cal Dive shares closed Frida yat $10.09 and were trading at $9.85 mid-morning on Monday.

пятница, 2 декабря 2011 г.

Filling NCR headquarters space to be difficult - Charlotte Business Journal:

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Brokers said donating NCR’s (NYSE: NCR) 1.3 million-square-footy building to an education institution or the city of Daytonj may be thebest bet. The brokerw said trying to marker the space to anothef corporate user would be difficult as there are few singlee users out there needing thatmuch space. It couls be parceled into an office complex formultiplwe users. NCR intends to sell the a companyspokesperson said. The five-story property is among the largest offic buildings in theDayton area. Paul Hutchins, ownerr and broker with Dayton-based , said a good optionj would be to donate the building tothe .
NCR woulfd gain the benefits of atax write-off and the universitu would have a business campus, completed with parking, a cafeteria and plenty of spacwe for classrooms, to mold for its “I bet they’ve already talked abour donating it to Hutchins said. “Giving it to UD is a NCR gets a hugetax write-off and UD gets a high-tecbh technology center.” Mark Fornes, owner of Centerville-based , agreed. “It would be really nice if they give itto UD,” Forne s said. “It would be a nice gestured in return for taking theirheadquarters NCR’s headquarters, at 1700 S. Patterso Blvd.
, sits on 54