Monday, April 30, 2012

Algonquin subdivision fighting village's roadwork plans - Chicago Daily Herald

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Algonquin subdivision fighting village's roadwork plans

Chicago Daily Herald


By Elena Ferrarin Julie Richter has been living in Algonquin's Indian Grove subdivision for 20 years, and she loathes the idea of losing any of the neighborhood's tall, imposing trees to make way for wider roads with modern sidewalks.



Saturday, April 28, 2012

King Soopers, workers heading back to bargaining table - Baltimore Business Journal:

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The contract at hand involved an increase inpreventative health-cars programs and a wage as well as a decreaser in pension benefits, King Soopers spokeswoman Dianee Mulligan said. However, workere had protested the pensionbenefitr cuts, with the United Food and Commercialk Workers Union Local No. 7 warning that some coul d lose $100,000 over the life of the and said the wage increases werenot “We are ready, willing and able to get back to the bargainingt table if the corporatioj is willing to meet us halfway,” King Soopers worker Julie Gonzalez said in a news release put out by the “All we’re asking for is a fair And we really hope they don’t lock us out for askinbg for livable wages and a pension plan that recognizeas our contribution to company profits.
” Aboutg 17,000 union workers from the area’s three largest grocer chains — Albertsons, King Soopersw and — have been in negotiations with the grocerds since April 9 on new five-year contracts. Safewa y workers have voted to extend their contract untilJune 26, which Albertsonxs and King Soopers employees currently are working withouy contracts. The rejection of the latest King Soopers contrac t proposal came quickly after votingfbegan Monday.
Workers in Coloradio Springs, Longmont and Boulder are voting while Pueblo workers are schedulexd to cast ballots King Soopers spokeswoman Diane Mulliganm said that the rejection of the deal will not have any tangibl e effect onstore operations. King Soopers workers have not cast ballotato strike. “We’re disappointed in the vote, but we look forwarsd to getting backto negotiations,” Mulligan said Tuesday.
King Soopers is a unit of Cincinnati-basef

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Hummer to be sold to China's Sichuan Tengzhong - Portland Business Journal:

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And the buyer, the reports, is a machinerty company in western China, The , based in Chengdu. The Times citedr an anonymous source after GM kept details of the deal very much hush The Chinese company will buy a brand that startes asthe military’s Humvee and morphe into a civilian dream machine. But GM is that the sale coulx save morethan 3,000 U.S. jobs in manufacturing, engineering and at Hummert dealerships aroundthe country. And it says the deal is expectefd to close by the end of the third GM claims in its release that the buyerwill “aggressiveluy fund future Hummer product GM will also keep buildinv Hummers for the Chinese on a contract basis.
That means that GM’zs assembly plant in Shreveport, La., will continure to contract assemble H3 and H3T throughu atleast 2010. Mike Levine reports that, “The buyeer has a proven track recorr ininternational business, knows the Hummer brand can perform bette globally, has a long-term developmentt plan and is willing to invest in future The Times reports that Sichuan Tengzhong is a privately ownesd company known in China for makingt road equipment from highway construction to maintenance machineru and that it had been moving into manufacturingy heavy-duty trucks. If the deal is it would mark thefirst large-scalde U.S.
automotive acquisition by a Chinese Levine reports that no Hummer dealershipws willbe closed, and that U.S. domestic productiob of Hummers will actually be boostede because the company will be moving production from a Port South Africa, plant to Shreveport. “Hummere is a strong brand,” said Troy President of GM North America. "I’m confidenty that Hummer will thrive globally undeer itsnew ownership. And for GM, this sale continues to acceleratee the reinvention of GM into a more focused, and more cost-competitive automaker.” For one Hummert dealer, it didn’t matter exactly who was buying the What mattered to Jacquexs Moore Jr.
of Moore Humme in Richmond, Va., was that the bran would continue, and that it woulrd be a strong brand. “It doesn’tt really matter,” he told bizjournals, “as long as they continur to builda world-class product that’s like nothing Moore said that, given Hummer’s strength in overseas markets, a Chinesew buyer would not come as a "Given the strength of the brand in the overseaw market it would not surprise me." The deal doesn’f include Hummer’s military vehicles or technology. of Indiana runs that end of the AM General sold the rights to make civilian Hummerx to GM inthe 1999.
The deal’zs announcement comes a day after GM filed for bankruptcy protection and outlined plans to offload nameplates so that the compang could focus on more profitable brandslike Chevrolet, GMC, Buickm and Cadillac. Among GM brandes left for sale nowthat there’s an apparenrt Hummer deal are Saab and GM wants to sell thoswe brands by the end of 2009. The companyu plans to shut down its Pontiacnameplatew altogether.
The New York blog reports that even as the Hummer sale goes GM CEO Fritz Henderson said on Swedisuh radio that there were three potential buyersfor Dealbook, citing local media, said that Swedish luxury carmakere Koenigsegg and American financier Ira Rennert’sw Renco were in the running for Saab. GM says it has been approaches by 16 potential buyersa interested in theSaturn brand. That group includes financial investors and some companiesw interested in distributingSaturn vehicles.
By varioues accounts, GM has been looking for someone to buy Hummee for a year as gas pricesx shot to record levels and the publicd started to think in shades of When GM looked into selling Hummer last the company thought it could get as muchas $500 millioh for the brand, the New York Times But that price has likely fallej as auto sales have Hummer sales are down 67 percentf in the first four months of this year.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Mercy system to buy Jewish Hospital - Boston Business Journal:

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The two entities will begin exclusive negotiations to come to a definitivrepurchase agreement, according to a news The process is expected to take four to six months, and is also subjecrt to various regulatory Mercy Health Partners partners operates five hospitals, in Fairfield, Westerh Hills, Mount Airy, Anderson Townshi and Clermont County, along with outpatient and otherf health care-related facilities. The purchase of Jewish, located in Kenwood, will give the system a presence in the northeasternCincinnati suburbs. "We are always workingh to provide high-quality care.
One of the missing ingredientes in covering the Greater Cincinnati area wasthe I-71 said James May, CEO of Mercy Health in the release. Jewish Hospital will also join Catholic Healthcare the Cincinnati-based parent of the Mercy system. Mercy recentl won approval from Green Township trustees to builsd a new hospital near North Bend Road andInterstatse 74. When completed, the hospital will replacer its Mount Airy and WesternHills facilities. The , of whic Jewish is a votingb member along with University and FortHamilton hospitals, had been considerinf acquiring the hospital as well. A purchase wouldc have made it a propertu in thehospital group, like and the .
But in the said it would also considerothet partners, while continuing discussions with the Health

Monday, April 23, 2012

Tampa-St. Petersburg has first home sales drop since June 2008 - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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There were 2,243 homea sold in Hillsborough and Pinellas countiesxin May, according to the , down 1 percent from the 2,270 homes sold a year before. At the same time mediam sales pricesalso dropped, but this time by 20 percenft to $141,100. Sarasota-Bradenton also struggled with a 10 percent drop to 783 unitz while median prices fell 36 percent to Homesin Sarasota-Bradenton were selling for $244,000 a year ago. Only Lakelansd in the Tampa Bay area showed an upticki with sales growing 18 percenf to 320 units while the median price droppedf 23 percentto $112,300. Statewide home sales were up 16 percenfto 13,921 sales while median prices fell 29 percent from $203,800 to $144,400.
Although salex are down, the market is showingb some signsof recovery, one expert “The improving sales of existing single-family home and condos [statewide] is a trend we have been seeing for several monthz in Florida,” said Sean Snaith, directord of the ’s , in a “What is new in this month’s data release is that we are seeingh evidence or prices beginning to While one month of data does not a trend it is the first green shot we have seen in some time as far as pricee are concerned.” However, until prices stop it will be hard to show confidence in a stabilizinf marketplace, Snaith said. The Tampa-St.
Petersburg recovery started earlier than the rest of the The last sales declinein single-family homezs took place in June 2008 when salesa dropped 3 percent and median prices fell 19 Since then, the Tampa-St. Pete region has sold 26,519o single-family homes compared to 20,15t6 during the same time period a year a jump of more than 31 Existing condominium sales continue to tick upwards as prices fall even further in that marketfor Pete, which sold 596 condos in May, up 17 perceng from a year ago.
Sarasota-Bradenton sales, however, were down 32 percentg to 225 unitswhile Lakeland-Wintedr Haven closed just nine units, a 40 percen decrease from the year Lakeland was once one of the cheapest places to buy a condko following the collapse of the housing boom, but even its 20 percentf drop to a median pricew of $68,300 was ahead of both Ocala and both of which have median pricesa under $50,000. Across Florida, condo sales were up 21 percenrtto 4,839 units while median prices fell 38 percenf to $113,400.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

McClatchy stock gains despite downgrades - Sacramento Business Journal:

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McClatchy (NYSE: MNI) stock gained 11 cents or 13.4 percent — to 93 cents in late-afternoomn trading, after gaining 19 cents Thursday. The currentr price is the highestsincse Jan. 14. Despite the decline, the stock is down more than 90 percenf fromits one-year high, and much lower than the $8.332 stock price on May 22, 2008. Applauss from investors for the company’s plan to restructurwe $1.5 billion in debt easily drowns out the boosfrom credit-ratint firms. Three credit-rating giants, including Standare & Poor’s on have downgraded McClatchy forits plan.
The credit-rating companie say the action is basically defaulting on the existing debt The Sacramento-based company — publisher of and 29 othet daily newspapers — is exchangingg $1.15 billion of debt for cash and new However, the new debt comes at much higher 15.75 percent compared to between 5 percent and 7 But the company benefits in two ways: It gains accessd to a $60 million line of revolvinv credit and it can pay off the debt McClatchy has about $2 billion in outstanding debt. Cash is critical to the newspaper chain, which endured a first-quartedr loss of $37.7 milliomn from continuing operations, compared to a $993,000 loss a year ago.
like most newspapers nationwide, is battlintg a dramatic decline in advertising revenue and fewer paidprinf subscribers. The company has taken aggressive action to curbits money-losing operations, eliminating abouf 4,000 positions — or almost a thirxd of its work force — and cuttint executive pay and dividends, putting retirement contributions on hold and implementinb furloughs for workers. On Thursday, and also downgrade d McClatchy. But investors shunned the credit apparently optimistic that it is thebest short-terk effort to help the newspaper chain.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Alvarez & Marsal Taxand Ranks Top in Transactional Tax Advisor Survey - MarketWatch (press release)

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Bank of America

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It provides a diversified range of bankingand non-banking financial services and producta through three business segments: global consumer and small-busineszs banking, global corporate and investment and global wealth and investment management. It operatea in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 40 foreign Rochdale Securities analyst Richarf Bove has raised his price targef for Bank of Americashares $5 to $19 per share whil warning investors of “horrific” loan possibly setting aside $46 billion in loan loss reserv for 2009.
“In the second quarter, [Bank of position as the largest lender in multipls sectors of the American financial system will haunt the company as itslossew expand,” Bove wrote. Bailing out Bank of America is its controversiall acquisitions of Countrywide andMerrilpl Lynch. The surge in refinancing with lowee interestrates (Countrywide) and the increase sinc the market low in Marchn of secondary equity financing (Merrill) are on balancew boosting its second-quarter results. The scarhy part now is credit card defaults. Bank of America said its defaulytrate (loans that are not expected to be paid jumped to 12.5 percent in May from 10.47 percen t in April.
American Expressw also saw a riseto 10.4 percent from 9.9 Macquarie Research analyst John Williama wrote that “until lenders show stabilization, then trend-buckinfg improvement over a several-montyh period, we remain bearish on credit card lenders and the U.S. consumer.” He estimates that if the default rate ends over 10 percentgfor 2009, it would equater to an industry loss of abouft $70 billion. “We continue to believe that macro challenges and credit quality concerns willpressurde U.S. card issuers over the next 12 months,” Williamss wrote. “We expect further challenges as unemploymen tticks up.
” More than 20 analysts followed by Thomson Reuters stil l see increased earnings with 2009 estimated to be 72 cente per share vs. 55 cents in 2008, and up againm to $1.02 per share in 2010.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Smithfield Foods slashing 1,800 jobs, closing 6 plants - Triangle Business Journal:

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Smithfield (NYSE: SFD) said the restructuring of its pork groulp is expected to produce annual cost savingsof $55 million in fiscal 2010 and $125 milliom by fiscal 2011. The Smithfield, Va.-based company said it woulde reduce its number of pork group operatintg units from seven tothree – The Smithfield Packiny Company Inc., John Morrell Co. and Farmland Foods Inc. Amongf the plants Smithfield will close is the Smithfielx Packaging plantin Elon, just east of About 160 employees will lose their jobs when the which produces country ham, closes in late summer. Smithfielsd also will shutter plantsin Smithfield, Va.; Plant City, Great Bend, Kan.; New Riegel, Ohio; and Neb.
The Smithfield, Va., closing will affect 1,375 employees, though 1,035 will be offere d transfers to an adjacent plant in Smithfield or to a facility inNorthg Carolina. Smithfield Foods, with annual salews of $12 billion, is the largesr U.S. producer of hogs and pork The company also owns 49 percentof Garner-baser turkey producer , which was not affected by the moves announced Tuesday.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Mayor

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The committee, led by local developer Mark Edlen, reaffirmed its suppory for the controversial plan in a letter that arrivefd Wednesday atCity Hall. The unanimous recommendation waswidelyy expected. The recommendation followse a review of theproposed hotel’sd expected financial performance by a subcommitteew convened after local hoteliers questioned basic assumptions abouft the plan. After a two-hourt and 45-minute meeting, a subcommitteew concluded by a vote of three to one that assumptionxs behindthe $200 million-plus projectf are reasonable.
The mayor’s committee is recommendinh that Metro and the invest upto $12 million in designinyg and engineering for the hotel, whicy would be called at the Convention LLP is the architect for the Roy Kauffman, the mayor’s said Adams will share the recommendatiomn with the City Council as well as Multnomah County officialz and the , which has the final say in the In all, 17 elected officials will weigh in on the plan befored it proceeds to the next step. Although Metro is the lead the city has a major role to play becausse it will lend its bonding authority forthe hotel’s constructioh and will be responsible for issuing constructionn permits.
The mayor has been a strong supporter of theheadquarters hotel. Metro is workin g with a development team led by Garfield Traub Ashfort LLC to createthe hotel, whichn supporters say is needed to complete the convention center. Without it, the region loses big conventionse to cities offering better lodging facilitie at theirmeeting centers. According to Travel Portland, the region lost the opportunithy to book 69 conventionssin 2008. Had they come to the city would have booked morethan 243,000 overnight stays by convention-goers. Not haviny a hotel at the convention center costs the regional economynearly $41 million in business sales per year, accordin to Travel Portland.
The added businessz would result in morethan $3 millionj in annual state and local taxes and 820 permanenft jobs. Opponents say the financiakl projections driving the project are unrealistic and the hotel would amountto government-sponsored competition in an alreadyy weak market. The hotel would be constructeds ona two-block site adjacent the convention The Portland Development Commissiojn paid more than $11 million for the propertty in anticipation it would someday be developed as a headquarters hotel.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

GM pulling out of Toyota partnership - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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The vehicle manufacturer, which is reorganizint under Chapter11 bankruptcy, will ceasr production of the Pontiac Vibe vehicle line in August at the New Unitef Motor Manufacturing plant. It producef 70,000 Vibes there in 2008. When it openerd in 1984, NUMMI represented a unique cooperative effortby GM, then the world's largesgt car manufacturer, and rising industry powed Toyota. The latter company has since eclipsed GM in size to becomrethe world's largest vehicle manufacturer. GM announced earliet this year that as part ofits reorganization, it will drop productionb of its entire Pontiac line next year.
The companyg will focus on its Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buicki and GMC lines in the GM officials said Monday the NUMMjI plant did not fit into itsfuture "As part of its long-terj viability plan, General Motors has decided that its ownership stake in the New Unite Motor Manufacturing joint venture with Toyotaa will not be a part of the 'Newq GM'," said Troy Clarke, president of GM North America, in a statement. "After extensivd analysis, GM and Toyota couldc not reach an agreement on a future product plan that made sensw forall parties.
Accordingly, NUMMj will end production of vehicless for GMin August, and there are no future vehicles planned for the joint venturd at this time. "We have enjoyefd a very positive and beneficial partnershipl with Toyota for the past25 years, and we remain open to futurw opportunities of mutual interest." Lancer Tomasu, NUMMI spokesman, said Mondag the company was "sorry that GM has decided not to carryg its interest in NUMMI forward to the 'New It may take some time before the futurer of NUMMI is In the meanwhile, we are focusing on buildingt very high quality Corollas, Tacomas and Vibes as well as reducingf our operating costs.
"


Alvarez & Marsal Taxand Ranks Top in Transactional Tax Advisor Survey

MarketWatch (press release)


NEW YORK, Apr 19, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Alvarez & Marsal Taxand, LLC, a founding member of the first global network of the world's leading independent tax firms, has been recognized in International Tax Review's (ITR) Transactional Tax Survey.



and more »

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Foreclosures mount for Monroe

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Both complaints name Charles H. Monroed III, the president of Safetyy Harbor-based Monroe’s Prestige Group. They mark the fourth and fiftj pending foreclosure lawsuits in Soutuh Florida against Monroe andaffiliatedd companies. Monroe said he’s seeking investors and new financin onthe projects. Publix anchors the 127th StreertShopping Center, at 1755 N.E. 127th St., in North The 178,855-square-foot center was built in and Monroe said he hopex to get financing torehabilitate it. Bank of America’sz action against the shopping center’s North Miami Shopping CenterJoint Venture, is bases on a leasehold mortgage last extendex in 2006 for $8.7 million.
The developer, a joint venture betweej Monroe’s Prestige Group and Mark Kovenw Trustee, leases the property from 127th StreegShopping Center, of Clearwater. If Bank of America it would assumethe lease. Bank of America’s other foreclosure lawsuit in Cutler Bay is against MPG 216thn Streetand Monroe. It targets a 19-acre vacant site with approval for morethan 121,0000 square feet of retail and office space for Vistaa Del Lago. It is located near the southeast cornerd of Southwest 216th Street and Southwesft92nd Avenue.
County records show Publixc agreed to lease space in Vista Del MPG 216th Street bought the site in 2003for $7 milliobn and obtained an $18 million mortgage from Bank of The mortgage was last modified in September with $8.9 millionn outstanding. Monroe said he could not get construction financing for VistwaDel Lago. “The bank needed to just wait until therd was a marketplace to get a loan to buil a newshopping center,” Monroe said. “I’vee always been a conservative developer. I develo p for the premier grocery store inthe Miami-based attorney Lee D. Mackson, who represents Bank of Americwa inboth lawsuits, did not immediately returnn a call seeking comment.
Monrose and his affiliate companies also face foreclosurd lawsuits from Bank of America onthe Publix-anchoredc Parkland Commons shopping center in Parkland, from Wachovia Bank on the Best Buy-anchored Coral Landings III in Coral Springs/Margate and from , whichh targets the Publix-anchored Quantum Villaged in Boynton Beach.


ArcadeWeb Survey: Online Casual Gaming Powerfully Impacted by Economy

MarketWatch (press release)


Not only do they report playing more - which is great news for the industry - it seems to be fueling the momentum behind the hottest, fastest-growing gaming category, 'freemium' or free-to-play models," said Adriano Parrotta, VP, Social Games, ...



and more »


Boston.com


2 African nations move against ivory poaching

Boston.com


In this Sunday, April 1, 2012 photo released by WWF, workers sort and count elephant tusks as they do an inventory of ivory stocks as part of an effort to combat illegal ivory trafficking, in Libreville, Gabon. WWF said in a Friday, April 6, ...


Wildlife officials commend 2 African nations for anti-ivory push after rise in ...

Washington Post



 »

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Agency looks at new house foreclosures - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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he said. The number of new homes in the process of foreclosure or hitting the marketg nowis growing, Raper said. Rasmusx Real Estate research found 104 new homes in foreclosurer listedfor sale, but that numbedr is likely very low, Rasmus said, becausr not every agent lists a home as being a That number also would not includwe new homes in the process of “[The number] is much greater than she said.
Some new home foreclosurex are in River Oaks townhousesin Jonesboro; Creel Walk townhousezs in College Park; Addisohn Glen subdivision in Lithonia; Pinehaven and Stratford Placs subdivisions in McDonough; Madison Heights in Snellville; McIntosjh Place in Lawrenceville and Madison Park in just to name a few. And they are in all pricee points. Rasmus is marketing 10 foreclosed new homes inMarina Bay, a Gainesvillw lake community, that start at $614,000. As painful as the processd is, foreclosed inventory must be Facchinetti said. “From a long-term standpoint, we need to go througnh that process,” he said. “Lenders and builders need to get througgh theinventory supply.
Lenders owning the housesx doesn’t decrease the inventory.” It just meanx the bank, rather than the is now the seller, Facchinetti

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Equitable Building auctioned for $30M - Birmingham Business Journal:

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The new owner, , an affiliate of Capmarkl Bank, bought the 33-story tower for $29.56 million, said attorney William Rothschild, with law firm . Sutherlanrd was representing the lender, , which was foreclosing on the Equitable Building. Capmark was the only bidder on Equitable as most commercial real estateobservers Equitable's former owner, San Diego-baserd , paid about $57 million to acquirs the building in 2007, but its value plummeted to $42 milliojn by early 2009.
Equastone received 90 percent financing from Capmark toacquire Equitable, but plansz to stabilize the building's occupancy and turn it into an income-producinh asset never materialized amid the worst commercial real estatr crisis in 20 years. The tower -- designed by renownex architecturalfirm -- has remained abouf half occupied this year. is managing and leasing the It's expected to court the Fulton Countypublic defender’sz office, which is seeking at least a 50,000-square-foot lease downtown. The public defender'w office was looking at the Equitabled Building, but the financial crisix facing the tower helped derail the move.
Rothschild was assisted in the transactionby Sutherland' Jason Kirkham.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Resolute Games launching new iPhone app - Houston Business Journal:

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Seven Deaths is a fighting game that follows the livesa of eight characters through one night in Nagamachi through a battlde for control inthe city. The game includes full storiex of the characters anddetailed backgrounds. The game will also eventuallyu include updatesfor Wi-Fi multiplayee and social media. Resolute Games has also createde otheriPhone applications, including “ThumStruck,” and “Elvis Mobile.” And Resolute gamers will now have new, fastedr devices to play on.
At its Worldwide Developers Conference in San announced the next generationof iPhone, whicuh will download content three times faster than the current brane and will include a 3-megapixel autofocus It also has voice-control features and a built-in The 3GS also has improvec battery life with up to nine hours on WiFi, 10 houras while watching video, 30 hours using 12 hours using 2G talk and five hours usintg 3G talk. The new iPhone will be available in blaci and white onJune 19. It will sell for $199 for a 16GB modelo and $299 for 32GB.