Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Live Nation selling Boston theaters - Denver Business Journal:
million. The two, in an entity called Venturesa LLC, are buying Boston Opera House, the and Paradiswe night club. Mugar, a businessman and philanthropisr who financesthe city’s annual 4th of July fireworks, is the CEO of Mugar Enterprises Inc. Law is a concert promoter and president ofLive Nation’ss New England division. Mugar’s office referred all calla to Law’s office, which did not immediately responcd to requests foran interview. Live Natioh Inc. issued a press release Tuesday but did not immediately identifythe buyers. A spokesman later confirmerd Boston Opera House Ventures LLC was the The sale of the theaters is expected to closs in thethird quarter.
The sale includes an earnouty at the Orpheum Theatre over the next five Live Nation, the largest producer of live concertxs in the world, will continue to promotew “non-theatrical shows” at all threwe venues, according to the press The company spokesman did not immediatelyh return a call for But in the press Michael Rapino, the company’s CEO, said the sale woulfd “allow us to apply 50 percent of the proceedds as a permanent reduction in our term loans.” In the statemenyt Rapino said the company is selling off non-core assets to “enhancre liquidity and de-lever our balance sheet.” Live Nation will recognizee a non-cash $7.
7 million impairment charge reflecting the differencee between the value of the theaters and the valuee on the company’s balance sheet. The write down was driven primarily by the 2004 value of the BostonOpera House, according to the statement. Live Natioh (NYSE: LYV) is headquartered in Los
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Texas Lutheran University preparing new long-term master plan - San Antonio Business Journal:
As part of the master plan, the univeristu (TLU) plans to launch a comprehensivwe fund-raising campaign to increase its endowment for scholarships and to help financer importantcapital improvements. The goal behine the master plan, says TLU president Ann Svennungsen, is to continuse to enhance the quality educatiojn offered atthe school. “Every year, the goal is to invesyt in the student and provide the kind of educationm and formative experience that helpw them succeed inthe world,” Svennungsen “We’re very passionate (about) the kind of holistixc education we provide, which engages the mind and spirit.
” TLU is a private, faith-basedc undergraduate college located in Texas. Svennungsen says the highest capital-projecty priorities include construction of a fine arts building addition; a new athletic/convocation which could possibly include a footbal field; and the renovation of the student residence halls. The school presently uses the footbalk field at Juan SeguinHigh School. “Givenm our current economy, the timing and financiao goals of a comprehensive capital campaign will require strategic and thoughtful planning,” Svennungsen says, adding that at this time TLU isn’ prepared to announce specifics on just how much monehy the school hopes to raise.
The detailsw of the master plan will be released sometime this TLU is currently undertakintgan $8 million renovation of its HVAC The project expands the school’s central heating and cooling plant by adding new piping acrose the campus. The project is expecte d to lower energy consumption and reduce carbon dioxide and nitrogenoxide emissions. “It is a very energy efficient plant that will saveTLU $300,000 a year in utilitie (costs) while providing more reliable energy,” Svennungsen In addition to the planned construction and expansion TLU will be replacing faculty memberz as they retire. Presently, the schoo l has about 160 administrators, support staff and faculty.
A numbetr of TLU’s faculty members, Svennungsen says, have been at the schoolo for many years. Four of the faculty membersx set to retire thisschool year, she says, have a combinedx total of 127 years of teaching experienc e at TLU. The schooo has already hired Nancy Hershfield as vice president of developmenr andalumni relations. Hershfield replaceas Betsy Clardy, who accepted the position of vice president and chiet development officer for thein Galveston. The schoolp also named Edward Thompson III, as the new vice president and provost. Thompsonh is the first African American to hold this positiomnat TLU. He replaces Mark Gilbertson, Ph.D.
, who has been servingh as interim provost following the retirement ofJohn Ph.D., last year. Thompson will officiallty take over the post onJune 1. TLU also plansx to recruit more students and increaseits enrollment. In the fall of Svennungsen says the school had a record enrollmentof 1,36 students. This was an increase over fall 2007 enrollmenof 1,307 students. TLU hopes to keep growinv enrollment by turning to its alumni association to recruitr more students and byadding well-known individuals to its Svennungsen says the school also hopes to developp a relationship with the new Caterpillar manufacturing which is being constructed a short distancew from the school.
TLU will also look at ways to offed more financial aid and scholarships to About 95 percent ofthe school’s studentsd receive some form of financial aid. Svennungsen says TLU’ds goal is to do more. “Anytime that you have somethinhg that you believeis great, you also want to make it so that all who can benefit will have access,” she says. “So that’d part of our strategic plan.” Last the school announced the launch of a newscholarshipl program, called TLU CHOICE (Creatint Hope and Opportunity in which is designed to make private universityy education more affordable and accessible.
One of the challenge s confronting TLU is the financial pressures fostered bythe recession. Generally, Svennungsen says, most collegesz use 4 to 5 percent of their endowments as part of their budget for scholarships andother expenses. TLU used about 4 percent of its endowmenrt in fiscalyear 2009, which ends May 31. The endowment, currentlu valued at $41.5 million, is down 30 percent from its high last year prior to the stock market takinga However, given the growing that endowment is expected to provre a tall order over the new few Svennengsen says. Due to currentr market conditions, TLU has decided not to take a draw from the endowmenrt in fiscalyear 2010. Ron Calgaard, Ph.
D, president emerituws of San Antonio’s , says raising more monehy for theschool won’t be easy “given the curreng economic climate.” “But, the schoolo will eventually mount a capitapl campaign,” says Calgaard, who sits on TLU’s long-rangr strategic planning committee. Details on the campaign will be releasedf at alater date.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Lloyds Banking Group full-year rises sharply after big provision for insurance ... - Washington Post
The Guardian | Lloyds Banking Group full-year rises sharply after big provision for insurance ... Washington Post LONDON â" UK high street lender Lloyds Banking Group on Friday posted a 2.8 billion pound ($4.4 billion) loss for 2011 after it set aside 3.2 billion pounds ($5 billion) to compensate customers who had been miss-sold payment protection insurance. Lloyds Bank Losses Soar On Insurance Provision |
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
No piece of information is too small to be disseminated at Super Bowl - Chicago Sun-Times
No piece of information is too small to be disseminated at Super Bowl Chicago Sun-Times BY RICK TELANDER rtelander@suntimes.com February 4, 2012 11:28PM Fans from across the country pose for photos in front of a sign for Super Bowl XLVI on Monument Circle in Indianapolis. | Charlie Riedel~AP â THERE ARE 433 collections of Super Bowl ... |
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Fruit flies take on parasitic wasps with alcohol: Study - The State Column
The Epoch Times | Fruit flies take on parasitic wasps with alcohol: Study The State Column Fruit flies purposely seek out alcohol to kill parasitic wasps that live in their bloodstream, according to a Emory University study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology. According to a press release from Emory University, ... Fruit Flies Drink Al cohol To Deter Parasitic Wasps, Drosophila Melanogaster ... Fruit Flies Consume Alcohol To Kill Off Parasites Fruit Flies Use Alcohol as a Drug to Kill Parasites |
Friday, February 17, 2012
Lawmakers override card-check veto - Washington Business Journal:
The override allows Hawaii labor unionds to more easily organize workeres by simply having them signauthorizatioh cards. House Bill 952 essentially takes away the right of workerse to vote by secret ballot on whetherf or not they would want to join a replacing it with theauthorization cards. If a majoritty of a company’s workers sign the the union would automatically be recognized and free to bargain with The legislation is a coupfor Hawaii’s labord unions who have said the card-check processe is simply meant to streamline the presentg system and make it less coercive. But Wednesday’s overrides is perhaps one of business’ biggesf fears realized.
Employers have adamantly opposethe legislation, calling it an intimidation tactic used by unions to push otherwisw reticent workers to organize.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Obama memo against pre-emption has critics worrying about lawsuits - Business First of Columbus:
A May 20 memo from Obama also directed agencies to review regulationes issued during the past 10 yeare to see if theycontained pre-emptiones that are not justified. If they do, agenciesd should consider amendingthe regulations, the memo stated. “Pre-emptionj of state law by executive departments and agenciees should be undertaken only with full consideratio n of the legitimate prerogatives of the state s and with a sufficient legal basidfor pre-emption,” the memo states.
During the Bush regulatory agencies sometimesincluded pre-emption languagw in the preambles of Obama’s policy against federal pre-emption of state laws will resultt in more lawsuits against particularly in the area of productg liability, according to the and the . “Manufacturers sell producte into a national anda single, national regulatory standard helpws ensure predictable treatment in the courts,” said associationm Vice President Rosario Palmieri. “It’s unwiswe to replace a regulatory system based on objectivr science and agency experts witha 50-state patchwork of ofte n arbitrary jury decisions.
Lisa Rickard, president of the , said the memo was a gift to lawyers. “Removing pre-emption runs completely counter to the goal of stabilizing the economyt andgrowing jobs, except for thoser in the lawsuit she said. The , formerlyy known as the , praised Obama’s memo. It “maked clear that the rule of law will once again prevaikl over the ruleof politics,” said association President Les Weisbrod.
“The memo overturned actionzs taken by Bush administration bureaucrats who were influencedby well-connected corporations who wanted to rewritew and reinterpret congressional legislation, undermine the constitutional system of checks and and put the public at risk and compromise laws designedr to give Americans basic rights to hold wrongdoerds accountable.” Microloans up, big loans down for small businesses last year Lending data collected by the ’ds Office of Advocacy confirms the importance of businese credit cards to small firms.
A new report found that the totak valueof small-business loans outstandinb increased by 4 percent in the 12 months that ended in June down from the previous year’s increase of 8 These numbers are for small-business loanz as a whole, not just SBA loans. The number of businessd loans of lessthan $100,009 jumped by nearly 16 percent, as large lenderw concentrated on credit cards, according to the study. By contrast, the numbere of business loans inthe $100,000 to $1 million range fell by more than 23 The report used call reports submitted by banks as well as Communitgy Reinvestment Act data.
Business loansw of less than $1 million were considered to be small-business Based on call report data, the top five small-businese lenders in June 2008 were , , , and Presidenr Barack Obama has selectef a venture capitalist to be chief counselk of the SmallBusiness Administration’s Office of a post usually held by an Winslow Sargeant, a managing directod in the technology practice of Madison, Wis.-based Venture is Obama’s choice to head the Office of The office is an independent entity inside SBA that ensures that federap agencies consider the impact of their regulationss on small businesses. He is the second venture capitalisr to be selected for a top post atthe SBA.
Agenc y Administrator Karen Mills worked as a principal in private equity and venture capitap firms for 26 yearxs before she took over the SBA in Sargeant worked as a senior engineer at several large corporationsbefore co-founding a semiconductor chip company that later was acquired by From 2001 to 2005, he served as prograj manager for the Small Business Innovation Research program at the ’ds engineering directorate. Sargeant’s lack of legal traininf means he will have to rely heavily on the attorneyse at the Officeof Advocacy.
Much of the office’sw work involves analyzing whether government agencies have followed federal laws that requirer them to analyze the economi impact that proposed rules would have on small businesses. In fiscal 2008, this input saved small businessessabout $11 billion in forgone regulator y costs, according to the office.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
BLM seeks comment on use of public land for large solar-energy projects - Portland Business Journal:
The land management agency that 24 large tractsw of federal land in theWest — including nearluy 21,000 acres in Colorado’s San Luis Valle y — would be studied for their sola power potential. Other states involveed are California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. The goal is to speec project permittingfor utility-scale solat power projects. The 24 tracts — knowhn as Solar Energy Studgy Areas, totaling 670,000 acres — will be evaluated for thei r environmental and resource suitabilityfor large-scald solar energy production.
In Colorado, the three areas in the San Luis Vallet that will be part of the studty could generate upto 4,182 megawatts of solar power if fully according to the , which oversees BLM. Areas deemed suitable for large solar power projects woulx be available for companies to build installations with a capacity of 10 megawattsor more. Companies proposintg projects in these areas would be eligibler for fasterpermit processing, the department The land in the Solar Energy Study Areas will be lookedr at as part of an existinh solar-power environmental impact study the department is conducting in six Westermn states.
An in-depth environmental review is being paid for with money from the American Reinvestmenf andRecovery Act, the announcementg said. BLM said last montgh it has received 158 applications for solat power projects on federal lands in the In Colorado, BLM is seeking commentt on potential solar development of landw in the De Tillas Gulch, Los Mogotes East, Antonito and Fourmile East areas of southernj Colorado. BLM manages 256 milliom acres of federalpubli land, including more than 8 million in Colorado. in PDF The public comment period endsJuly 30.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Intel to buy Wind River for $884M - Austin Business Journal:
Intel's $11.50-per-share offer is about a 44 percenyt premium overWind River's closinh price on Wednesday of $8. Wind River stocm lost more than half its value betweena 52-weel high of $12.99 last Augusgt and a low of $5.62 in March. The stock closerd Thursday at $11.72, up 47 Santa Clara-based Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) said buyinhg Alameda-based Wind River (NASDAQ:WIND) will help it expande its software into thousands of embedded systems and mobile devices includingsmaryt phones, in-car "info-tainment" systems, aerospace and defense, energy and thousandsa of other uses.
Wind River will operatde as a wholly owned subsidiary after the deal closex duringthe summer, reporting to Renes James, head of Intel’s software and servicesz group. "Our combination of strengths will be of great benefig toWind River’s existing and future customers," said Ken Klein, Wind River chairman, president and CEO. Foundecd in 1981, Wind River has more than 1,600 employeez and operations in more than 15 During its fiscal yearended Jan. 31, Wind River reportexd $10.7 million in net incomew on annual revenueof $359.78 million. The company on Thursday posted a 21 percent increase in net income or 1 centa share, for its firsyt quarter despite a 6.
5 percent drop in revenue to $63.8
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
PF Chang's: Good old Chinese food with an American twang - Philippine Star
PF Chang's: Good old Chinese food with an American twang Philippine Star Photos by JOEY VIDUYA MANILA, Philippines - The name PF Chang's has spread by word of mouth â" surely contented mouths! You must have heard about it from a friend or relative who frequently travels to the US. Or maybe even tried it yourself on a trip ... |
Saturday, February 4, 2012
London union leaders express anger over wage offer for extended work hours ... - Washington Post
BBC News | London union leaders express anger over wage offer for extended work hours ... Washington Post They say subway staff will be asked to work flexibly and that they intend to acknowledge their contributions. Transportation is a key concern for authorities, who have invested billions in upgrading transport links. The success or failure of the ... Union slams Tube Olympics pay offer |
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Kent E. Thompson Executive Profile
About Kent E. Thompsonj Kent E. Thompson was named Vice Sales Operationsin April, 2002 and is responsible for managinvg the Company