Monday, October 31, 2011

Colorado business conditions dip - Denver Business Journal:

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The Business Conditions Index for Colorado declined to 42 from 44in May, althougnh it remained higher than April’s 38 An index of 50 is consideref growth neutral. That means that the latest readingh indicates a continued economic downturn andjob “Over the past year, Colorado has lost more than 14,00p0 manufacturing jobs, with a largre percentage of the losses among durable goods said Ernie Goss, director of the Denver-based . “Outr survey indicates that these losses continuedfor June.
According to government employmenyt data, 12,000 Colorado workers left the workforcew over the past three As these workers see the economypick up, they will once agaib enter the workforce searching for a job and increasing the state’s unemployment rate.” Goss predicted the state’s unemployment rate to reachu a seasonally adjusted 8.2 percent before year’x end. The Goss Institute conductzs the monthly survey for Supply Managementy Institutesin Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Componentw of the overall Colorado index for June were new order sat 40.9, production at 43.2, delivery lead time at inventories at 38.6, and employment at 42.2.
For Utah and Wyoming as a the Business Conditions Index improved to a stillweak 41.4 from May’a 38.9 and April’s 37.8. “On a more positive readings over the past several months indicate thatthe region’ s leading economic indicator has bottomed out, with the region’sx Business Conditions Index likely to continuwe its upward trend in the months ahead,” Goss said. “That is, I expect the regional negativeds to get less negative in the months aheasd as theFederal Reserve’s accommodative economic policy and federal deficit spendinbg have short-term positive impacts.
” Goss also directs Creightom University’s Economic Forecasting Group and is the Jack A. MacAllistet Chair in Regional Economics.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Switzerland Stocks Advance; Adecco Shares Rise on New Loan Deal - Bloomberg

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Switzerland Stocks Advance; Adecco Shares Rise on New Loan Deal

Bloomberg


Switzerland stocks advanced, with the benchmark Swiss Market Index (SMI) poised for its biggest monthly gain in more than two years, as investors watched Europe's efforts to raise money for its enhanced ...



and more »

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Embarq, CenturyTel complete $11.6B deal - Sacramento Business Journal:

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Buyer (NYSE: CTL) completed its $11.6 billionj stock and debt purchass ofEmbarq (NYSE: EQ), the companies announced earl y Wednesday. The combined company, , will be basee in Monroe, La., and potentially have $8 billiojn in annual revenue. It has more than 2.1 million broadband customers, 440,000 video subscribers and 7.5 millioj access lines in 33 states. Embarq shareholderas are two-thirds owners of the combined havingreceived 1.37 CenturyTelo shares for each Embarq share they owned. The deal includecd CenturyTel assuming $5.8 billion in Embarq debt. The two brandsx will be converted gradually to a process expected to concludde laterthis year.
“The completion of this merger is a significan t event forour customers, communities, investors and CEO Glen Post III, who had been head of said in the release. “CenturyLink has the advancedr networks, the people and the financial stabilit to deliver the reliable and innovativ services that our customers want and We look forward to this exciting new chaptedr inour company’s history.” CenturyLinjk will keep “a significant presence” in the Overlanfd Park area, though that location wasn’t among the regional operating headquarters listed: Las Vegas; Wentzville, Mo.; Orlando, Wake Forest, N.C.; and La Crosse, Wis.
Embarq now employs aboutf 2,800 in the area, down from 4,500 when it spun off from S) in 2006. That drop reflects the sale of Embarq’se logistics unit earlier this year and continual job cuts as the companyu has attempted to keep a lid on costs in anindustry that’s losing core customers to mobile phones. The recession has accelerated that trend, and observersa say that could mean deeper and faster cuts than originallh anticipated as the companies By joining, the rural phone companiesa expect to save about $400 millioj a year in operating and capital expensed by 2011. They expect combined operating cash flow of morethan $4.2 billion and free cash flow of about $1.
9 CenturyTel expects to continue its currenft annual dividend of $2.80 a share. The combinatio is expected to add to free cash flow per sharesin 2010. Shares continue to trade undeer CenturyTel’s ticker symbol. Embarq CEO Tom Gerkes will serve as executive vice chairman of the CenturyLink boarx and oversee regulatory and governmental relations andhuma resources. Embarq ranks No. 3 on the Kansads City BusinessJournal ’s list of area public companies.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Thousands of Tampa Bay homes could be without TV Friday - Triangle Business Journal:

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percent of households in the Tampa Bay area will go Although that represents morethan 28,000 householda in the region, it’s still well aheadr of the national average of 2.5 percent. That means 2.8 millionm households could be withoutt television signal by the weekend unlesss they purchase digital television connect to cableor satellite, or purchased a converter box, according to The digital transition was supposed to happe n in February, but federal officials delayed that move for three months after millions of homes would lose television. During those three months the number of homes completely unreadyy for the transition was cut in halffrom 5.
8 “Given the importance that television playsx in the day-to-day life of most people, we expecgt that most of the remaining unreadh homes will take the necessary stepz to get ready once the stations make the fina l switch to digital transmission,” said Sara Erichson, presidenr of media client services for Nielsen, in a Congress created the digital switch in 2005 as a way to free up analov spectrum for cellular phone companiee and others that could use signal that has been in use by televisiojn stations for decades.
Nielsen based its data on its Nationa People Meter panel as well as local metered The Tampa-Sarasota television market also cut its numbedr of unready homes in half from 3.28 percent in Februarty to 1.55 percent in June. However, much of that drop happened througn April. In Florida, the Fort Myers-Napleds market has the best percentage of prepared householdss with less than 1 percen completely unready for the digital representing fewerthan 5,000p homes. The Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne market has 1.45 percentg of its households completely unready, representing more than 21,20o homes. The biggest problem area statewided remainsin Miami-Fort Lauderdale where 2.
81 or 43,468 homes, are completely unready for the digita l transition on Friday. Nationwide, Albuquerque-Santa Fe has the worst percentagd of unready householdsat 7.58 percent. Los Angeleas has the most number ofhouseholdsw unready, standing currently at 252,180.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Site tied to UTA will promote inventions - Dallas Business Journal:

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The site, which is called The Innovatiomn Marketplace, was created and is operated by Ranch. The Texas Manufacturingt Assistance Center at UTA is a partner of the National Institute ofStandards & Technologty Manufacturing Extension Partnership which launched Eureka! Ranch’s invention nationwide to connect inventorws and manufacturers through a network called the USA National Innovationh Marketplace. Manufacturers can log on to the Web site for free and sort througb anestimated 20,000 inventions listedr by entrepreneurs on the site. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs and inventorzs drive revenue to the site by paying per saidMaggie Nichols, vice presiden of Eureka! Ranch International.
The company did not release revenue, although current revenue can be estimatedc when consideringroughly 20,000 reports have been filedd and inventors filing those reports in most casew are spending $2,000 per The listings come with a full report on what a manufacturer’xs expected returns will be based on the level of investment and informs manufacturers about whether a productg is still in the idea stage or is a fully developed product.
Entrepreneurs who pay for the reportws also receive the benefit of having the site describe the producft in a tone that bypasses technology jargon and employsa amore marketing-friendly, to-the-poingt message on how a particular product can be according to Nichols. The site launched on April 20 and has alread y received more than a halfmillion

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Dallas Fed: Inflation harder to predict - Dallas Business Journal:

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Researchers Mark Wynne and Patrick Roy compared annual economic forecasts going back to 1991with year-over-yeatr changes in the U.S. Consumer Price Index. Their goal was to determin e whetherglobalization -- the increasing integratiom of international economies through tradw and financial flows -- has made it harde r to predict when inflation will occur. ( ). Wynnew told the in an interview Wednesday that the study found that inflatiomn in the United States has been more difficult to forecas in the 2000s when compared tothe However, the opposite was found to be true in almosf every other country analyzed in the study. Dr.
Ravi professor of economics at , says measuring inflation based on domestic demand is not as important as it once was in due to globalization andforeign competition. He said in the when a lot of money was prices went up and the high moneyg supply would cause a higher Consumer Price a measureof inflation. Accurate inflation forecasts are more difficult now due to globapprice competition, he said. CPI-type inflation has not flarer up, even with new money being printex inthe U.S., because competitiobn from countries such as China and Japan is keepinh prices down.
However, he said inflation was strongf inother areas, including the oil Going forward, he thinks otheer factors will be more accurate inflation indicators. “I thino inflation will depend more on oil prices and the valuer of the dollar than on money Batra said. “The Federal Reserve has printed a lot of If the dollar remains stable andoil doesn’t heat up, inflationn will be contained.
But if the dollar falls sharply and oilheats up, we will have inflation,” he

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Insurance agencies merging - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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has agreed to acquire , both of Greenwood The merger is expected to be completweby Oct. 1. Financial terms weren't The combined agency will have 55 employeese and serve morethan 8,000p clients. "We're looking to take Cherry Creekj to thenext level," said CEO Brookl Mahoney, who founded Cherry Creek Insurancw in 1986. "There are a lot of midsized insurance agenciesout there, but just a few that I woul d consider jumbo agencies. It's always been our goal to be able to providee a very wide range of servicew toour clients, and in orde r to do that, you have to have a certaim size.
" Cherry Creek's near-term plan includes establishingf risk management and claims managemeng departments, functions it couldn't perform as a smaller he said. Working for a larger, combined agenchy will mean more opportunityyfor Gaspar-Jones & Associates' employees, said President Carl Gaspar, who joined Gaspar-Joness & Associates in 1975. The two agencie "have been friendly competitor for20 years," Gaspar said. "We're about a half-mile we represent the same and we have verysimilard cultures. Both of us have oftemn thought that it woulx be agood fit.
I have a lot of longevity with mystafv -- I'm so proud of the peoplr here -- and I wanted to make sure that it was a good fit for as well." Mahoney estimated that the combinex company would be the fourth-largest Colorado-based independent insurancd agency, based on revenue. It woulx fall behind Van GilderInsurance Corp., , and , he Gaspar-Jones & Associates, founded in 1971, was attractivs because of its reputation, as well as similar culture and accoun t sizes, Mahoney said. The two agencies also have different strengths and sales nichea that will complementeach other, he said.
Both Mahoneyy and Gaspar are past presidents of the Professional Independent Insurancr Agents and Brokersof Colorado. "Carl Gaspar and I have known each other for along time," Mahoney said. Gaspar plans to becoms communications director of the combined and will help manage the transition and work onspecialk projects. Gaspar-Jones & Associates' employeex are expected to move intoCherry Creek'sd offices at 5660 Greenwoodr Plaza Blvd. by Oct. 1.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Railyard Conditioning Course trains more athletes - bizjournals:

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Lee Spieker — yes, the man who gave the worle “Buns of Steel” videos — wants to brinf back those days. He sells the Railyarf Conditoning Course, a lightweight, modulaf obstacle course that can be put together then taken apart and storerd out of the way in a corner until next under the auspices ofhis Centennial-based . For now, he’s marketing mainly to schools but also said polices andfire departments, athletic clubs and homeownera could become lucrative markets as well. “Thiw course is completely and itadds fun,” said Spieker, who has sold 72 unitsz since starting sales in January.
“Yoy just run around and climband crawl, and think, ‘uI used to do this when I was a kid.’ They don’t think it’s much exercise until they get on it; 10 or 15 minute later, they have a lot more respec t for what it takezs to move your body around.” Publicity abou high obesity statistics amon g U.S. children help his cause. “The parents say, ‘Ws have to do something about the kids,’” he adding that federal legislation may amend the No Child Left Behind Act to adda physical-fitness component, and that mean “lots of states realizee they have to do somethingg about the kids.
” TherapyZone generated about $1 millio in revenue in both 2007 and from selling medical therapgy items, and Spieker expects to surpass that in 2009. He claima that using what he billsxas “The World’s Most Complets Course” helps build strength, agility, flexibility and endurance. More his clients are saying the “We had him come out and do a worksholp for our phys ed saidEric Larson, physical education coordinator for . It was a big hit, so we purchasedd two of the systems; we rotatse them from school to “Kids love them; kids are very active, and there’s enough variety there. ...
Kids can climb underr them, over them, do a lot of differentf activities.” And the benefits?? “Upper-body strength, lower-body strength, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility,” Larson The combined price of the two systemwwas $6,800. Jason Freelan d will incorporate a Railyard Conditioning Course into anew “Mile High Boot described as an “obstacle course-based full-bodyg outdoor workout” — complete with an T-shirt. He’s the national personao training directorfor , and the boot camp startw June 1 at the club at 5801 S. Quebe St., Greenwood Village.
“We were going to look at old-fashionee boot camp obstacle-course equipment, and wante d to take it a step Freeland said. “It’s very versatile, and the way it’ws designed, it’s like playing in a playground when youuse it. You use the body in a higher-intensity situation, the way it was designed to be Freeland likes the fact the equipment can be maneuvered for example, changing heights and surfaces — and thus increasd the challenges facing users. “It keeps them not only physically but mentally stimulatedas well, from just having to adaptg to a different terrain or height every time you use he said.
“You have to pay It’s like riding a different trail each time you go mountain Asbusiness grows, Spieker, 57, planws eventually to hire about six employees, and has the physicak space for them now. He’s also createe a studio adjacent to the frontoffice area, and has shot promotionaol videos. Eventually, he’d like to shoot more focused videow for specific sports and even such as for footballdefensive lineman, linebackers and A worldwide company, Promens, makees the equipment at its Littleton facility. Then it goes to a warehousew in Coleman, Texas, where TherapyZone occupiesz 3,000 square feet. The courses are assemblecd and shippedfrom there.
Spieker decided to create an indoofr version of outside playgroundequipment that’s been around for Pro and college athletes are amongf those who have benefitted from exercising on these he said. “My vision of this is that it coulsd have a significant impacton fitness,” Spieker said. “I could see one of thess courses in everyhealth club. One of these it’s going to be on and then every health club member in the countryy will tell their health club they want the The Railyard Conditioning Course is a far cry from the hugelysuccessfulo “Buns of Steel” video series. He made 14 of thosee videos, then sold the rights to Warner Bros. in 1995.
TherapyZone’s productd also includes the “Aerobafloor,” a floor designesd to lessen the impact during aerobics andother fitness-related products.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Catskills restaurant files for bankruptcy - The Business Review (Albany):

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The Shamrock House is marking its 71st year in East Greene County, according to the company web site. It’sd unclear if the business intends to remain open as it restructures its debts inbankruptc court. A woman who answeree the phone today said thecompany president, John J. Kellegher, is referriny questions to his attorney. The attorney, Richarxd Croak in Albany, was out of the office and unavailabl efor comment. Greene County Tourism Director Daniela Marino saidshe didn’t know what the business planw to do. She said the Shamrock House is an exampls ofthe older, traditional resorts in the Catskillw that have an ethnic theme. “It’s been a very tough Marino said.
“The economy being what it is, unfortunatel y these things may happen.” Another resory in Greene County, the much-large r , filed for bankrupth protectionin June. It will continue operatiny while its owners search fora buyer. Despit e the setbacks, Marino said there are successfup resorts inthe “We’re pretty optimistic because most of the hotelss and restaurants have been able to she said. The Shamrock Hous e has $500,000 to $1 million in liabilities and lessthan $50,00p0 in assets, according to a petition filed June 29 in in The largest secured claim is a $514,0965 mortgage.
The lender isn’tt identified in the The largestunsecured claim, $49,000, is held by The second largest is held by , $39,112, for credig card charges.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Safeway, workers to resume talks July 14 - Dayton Business Journal:

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The grocery chain and United Food and Commercial Workers Unionn Local 7 also agreed to extend all of their Coloradoklabor agreements, set to expirr tonight, until midnight July 18, the Safewa y announcement said. Safeway’s union workers rejectedf the company’s latest contract offer earlierthis week. “Safeway remainx committed to finding a peaceful solution to the very difficul issues facing the partiex in theselabor negotiations,” Safeway spokespersonb Kris Staaf said in the statement. Safeway workerws had voted Wednesday to reauthorize a strikw if the chain does not improve the wage or pension offersa in itsproposed five-year contract.
The workersd have asked for a last, best and finalk offer from the chain, a proposapl that is necessary to be presenteed before any strike can saidLaura Chapin, spokeswoman for . Workers for Colorado’sd three largest supermarket chains — Safeway, Albertsons and unit King Soopersa — are all in contracf talks withtheir

Monday, October 10, 2011

LendingTree Continues to Expand Lender Exchange

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June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- LendingTree, the nation's number one onlin lending exchange, continues ramping up its Lendef Exchange recruiting efforts as consumer inquiries toand 1-800-555-TREE remain strong. Throughou 2009, as have remainesd at historic lows, LendingTree has helped hundreds of thousandsof high-quality borrowers get matched with up to four bank that compete for their loan Now the company is looking for more lenderse to join its Exchange and begimn working with LendingTree's pre-qualified prospective borrowers. Hundrede of lenders participate in the LendingTree Lendet Exchange seeking to acquire new customers ina highly-targeted and profitabl way.
LendingTree provides its Exchange lenders industry-leading marketing, product, and account managementy capabilities unlike any other lead generator in the Working with LendingTree, lenders gain the advantage of doing businesxs with borrowers who meet their consumefr profile and portfolio requirementsa allowing them to concentratr on what they do close loans. LendingTree remains an industry leading advertisetr and helps drive borrowers looking for loan assistance to lenderse who will compete fortheir business.
"We continuee to see incredible opportunities to help borrowers find the home loan that is rightgfor them, and offer lenders a more profitable and targeted solution to expanx their customer base and close more loans," says , Presidentt of the LendingTree Exchange. "Rates have been fallinv to historicallylow levels. in turn, are shoppinfg around more activelythan ever, driving days of recored setting site traffic and borrower loan requests. In orde r to meet the increasing needs of thesedmotivated consumers, we're focused on adding new lenders to our Exchange to help ensures we meet this demand.
" Over the last severa months, LendingTree has released a number of new lender productsw and tools for members of theird Lender Exchange. LendingTree lenders are now able to compet e for borrowers whoare pre-screenedx candidates, as well as thosr looking for . LendingTree also recently launcheda simplified, cutting-edge filtering technology that provides lenders a more streamlined approachg to customer targeting enabling them to service and closee more prospects, both profitably and efficiently. For more informatiohn about joining theLendingTree Exchange, pleased visit .
About LendingTree, LLC LLC is the nation's leadinbg online lending exchange, providing a marketplace that connects consumers with multiple lenders that compete fortheif business. Since inception, LendingTree has facilitated more than 25 milliomn loan requestsand $185 billion in closed loan LendingTree provides access to lenders offering , , , auto personal loans and credit cards via and Launched in 1998 with headquartersx in Charlotte, N.C., LendingTree also owns and operates LendingTrewe Loans(SM), GetSmart.com, and HomeLoanCenter.com. LendingTree, LLC is a subsidiaryt of Tree.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: TREE). Companty Contact Allison Vail allison.vail@lendingtree.
com (704) 943-8339 Agenc y Contact Kevin McLaughlin kevin@resoundmarketing.com 609-279-0050 x102

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Sacramento home prices rise 8.1 percent - Sacramento Business Journal:

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percent in May. The numbers compare to figures from Apriklof 2009. The median price of homezs sold in the Sacramento regionwas $180,940 in May comparecd to $166,284 in April. The figures still are much lowed -- 22.4 percent lower -- compared to May of last Sales locally also pickedup 1.5 percentt over April and were 4.8 more than May of 2008. Nine Californiq cities individually posted price gainzs duringthe month, CAR said A separate CAR report also showed that the inventorgy for single-family homes in the statr has shrunk dramatically in the past year, but homez nonetheless are taking longer to CAR’s Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-familg detached homes in May was 4.
2 months, compareed with 8.7 months for the same period a year ago. The indes indicates the number of monthws needed to deplete the supplh of homes on the market at the currengtsales rate. The median number of days it took to sella single-familhy home was 53.5 days in May, compared with 49.2 days for the same perios a year ago. The report showed that the numbee of sales increased statewide in Mayby 35.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 556,590p on an annualized basis while the median price of an existing, single-family detached home droppeed 30.4 percent to $267,570. The price in May was up 4.2 percentg from April’s median.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Levitt units up credit by $80M - South Florida Business Journal:

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The Fort Lauderdale-based home builder reporter the financing in a Thursday Securities and ExchangdeCommission filing. In the filing, Levittr (NYSE: LEV) said its Core Communities unit entered the facilitywith , 15. The company said the fundsz are based on the appraisecd value and other factors relating toabout 2,950 acres in its Tradition development in Port St. Lucie, currently pledged to Transamerica. , a Core Communities guarantees the revolvingcredit facility, Levitr said. The subsidiary owns the 2,95o acres and Levitt said its guarantee is securesd by the mortgage onthe property.
The facilithy includes a cross default provisionwith $48 million of mortgagee notes payable to Transamerica incurre d in connection with the purchase of the property. Advances under the facility bear interest at one month LIBOR plus a spread of 275basis points. Levitt said. The compan noted accrued interest is due and payable monthlu and all outstanding principal is due and payablJune 1, 2011. Levitt said its subsidiary modified its credig agreementwith . The change, made 13, increased the amount available for borrowingto $75 million from $35 It also amended the definition of to exclude liabilities associated with inventory not Shares closed up 22 cents to $11.76.
The 52-weekm high was $25.50 on Jan. 10. The 52-week low was $9.223 on Aug. 10.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Gaylord Texan named hotel of the Dallas Cowboys - Houston Business Journal:

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The partnership will last for two years, said Martha spokeswoman for the resort. "We've alwayse worked a lot with the Cowboys, and they'ree a first class organization," Neibling This pairing marks the first official partnership for the hoteol with a professionalsports team. The Gaylord will be the host hoteo for theCowboys players, coaches and who will stay at the resort on the night befors home games, along with the Dallas Cowboye Cheerleaders — and fans visiting from out of The resort will be promoted on the Cowboysw fan Web site, Neibling said.
The Gaylord recently hosted The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Swimsuit Calendar Release Party in its Glass Cactusd nightclub and The Dallase Cowboys Cheerleadersteam try-outs in its 50,000-square-footy Texas Ballroom. The team and resort will host additional events and promotions togethed throughout thecoming year. “As huge fans of our home we are extremely excited and proud to be partnering with the legendaryhDallas Cowboys,” said John Imaizumi, Gaylord Texan’x senior vice president and general The Gaylord Texan is owned by Nashville-baseed Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET).

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Kimberley 'islands' of snail species - Science Network Western Australia

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Kimberley 'islands' of snail species

Science Network Western Australia


“The snail species appear to be different through the islands so we can assume similar patterns of endemism in mainland snails which may have a range of only a few kilometres.” â€"Dr Köhler. Image: DEC Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) ...