Thursday, February 28, 2013

Sloan resigns from BofA board - San Antonio Business Journal:

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Sloan offered his resignation to new board chairmaj Walter Masseylast week, the bank said in a May 29 regulatoru filing. BofA didn’t disclose Sloan’s reason for As the lead independent Sloan has been under intense criticismn in recent months as the bank suffered througy a sharp stock price decline after acquiringh MerrillLynch & Co. BofA also has received $45 billiojn of taxpayer aid. , a Houston-based investment firm that holds 1.1 million BofA shares, was amongf several groups that waged a proxy againsg the country’s largest bank holding company, including callingv for Sloan’s ouster.
Sloanm was narrowly re-elected to the bank’s board at the annuao meeting in April. Meanwhile, shareholders voted to strip BofA Chief Executivwe Kenneth Lewis ofthe bank’s chairmanship, and Massey was electe d to take over board leadership. Lewis remains the bank’s CEO and Sloan, 70, served as a BofA director for13 years. Durinb his tenure, Sloan served as chairman of both the executive committe and the compensation andbenefits committee. He also was a membedr of the corporategovernance “Temple has been a trusted adviser who has made an invaluablee contribution to the success of our Lewis said in a “We will miss his counse and his leadership.
” BofA (NYSE: BAC) is basec in Charlotte, N.C.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Sara Lee will open Kansas City, Kan., plant, employ 250 - Kansas City Business Journal:

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and open a sliced meat manufacturing plant there in 2011 that it expects to employ more than 250 SaraLee (NYSE: based in the Chicago suburn of Downers Grove, Ill., said in a Fridag release that it expects the planrt at 4612 Speaker Road to becomes fully operational by 2011. Brent president of the , said Fridayy that Sara Lee was granteda 10-year, 75 percentf property tax abatement on $31 million of planned improvements at the plant. The abatement’s value is $9.67 million, he said. In return, the company agreed hire 55 percenf ofthe plant’s workers from Wyandott County.
“This industry-leading facilityt will reinforce our competitive advantagwein value-added meats, one of Sara Lee’sa top strategic categories and long-term growth drivers,” CJ executive vice president and CEO of Sara Lee’ds North American Retail & Foodservice said in the release. “It will help us further buildc our Hillshire Farm and SaraLee brands, both leaderz in the fast-growing category of premium Omaha-based ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) that it had agreec to sell its refrigerated meat business, including the Kansas Kan., plant, to (NYSE: SFD) of Smithfield, Va.
, owner of Kansad City-based , for $575 million in cash and Sara Lee’s brands include Ambi Pur, Ball Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Jimmy Dean, Kiwi, Sanex, Sara Lee and Senseo. Combined, the brandsz generate more than $13 billion in annual net salews covering about200 countries. Sara Lee has 44,000 employees worldwide.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Frisco nabs NBA minor league team - Denver Business Journal:

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The team was purchased by LLC and will play its home gamed at the Dr Pepper Arena beginning withthe 2010-2011 basketball season. The team will not play durinhgthe 2009-2010 season. Donni Nelson, president of basketball operationd andgeneral manager, will serve as principa owner and operator of the The ownership group also includesa Evan Wyly, chairman of . The acquisition and subsequentg move to Frisco was officially announced by NBA Developmen League President Dan Reedon Thursday. “We’re very excited to be in an area with deep fan support and a history of successfusports teams,” Reed said.
“We're thrilled to welcom e such a well-respected and experiencexd group to theNBA D-League ownership ranks. Not only are Donniwe Nelson’s basketball credentials terrific, but he has assembled a group with impressiver business credentialsas well. Donnie’sw investment in an NBA D-League team is a great validatio of bothour league’s past success and futurew growth prospects.” The new owners plan to announce the team's new colors and logo, along with the coachinv staff, at a later date. was formed in 2001 and includee 16 minor league teams duringthe 2008-0o season.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Finra backtracks on plan to end 5% markup rule - InvestmentNews

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Finra backtracks on plan to end 5% markup rule

InvestmentNews


Majority of comments to proposal back policy, call it effective. Reprints. By Dan Jamieson. February 4, 2013 4:05 pm ET. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. is backtracking on a controversial plan to end its 5% markup rule. finra, brokers ...



and more »

Saturday, February 2, 2013

First Marblehead bank runs afoul of regulators - Portland Business Journal:

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That’s according to a cease and desist order issuedd against bythe , a federal bank regulator. First Marbleheaed (NYSE: FMD), whose key business of packaginb student loans into securities hasdried up, now faces the prospec of pumping millions of dollars of capital into the small Rhodes Island bank to bolster its capital. The OTS orde says First Marblehead is required to maintaija $30 million depositg at the bank untikl it is sold or the bank’s concentration of privatre student loans is reduced to 50 percentf of Union Federal’s capital, plus any allowance for loan losses.
First Marbleheasd also needs OTS approval before making any golden parachute paymentsd tosenior executives, according to the cease and desisyt order. Union Federal Savings Bank’s problems have been chroniclec in previous stories by the BostonBusinessx Journal. Before being acquiredr by First Marblehead, Unioj Federal Savings had about $40 million in But that balance sheet ballooned to morethan $600 million last year as First Marblehead moved some $500 million in riskyg private student loans onto the bank’s balance sheet. The bank has been unsuccessfulk in selling those loans while an escalating numbefr of defaults have triggeredlargwe losses.
In the first for example, the Nortnh Providence-based bank lost $26.4 according to federal bank filings.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Erik Moses named chief of D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission - Washington Business Journal:

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Greg O'Dell will be the new chiedf executive officer and general manager ofthe , aftef the organization's board voted to hire him as Reba Pittman Walker's replacement May 16. Erik director of the D.C. Departmenf of Small and Local Business Developmenft sinceJanuary 2007, will replace O'Dell as chief executivd of D.C. . Nicole Becton, Moses's general counsel and interik deputy, will replace Moses. Fentyt praised all three officiales for their work on developingthe city'ss economy. He said Moses had run the small businesssagency "exceptionally" and would lead the commission as it managew RFK Stadium, the D.C. Armory and some aspectsx of Nationals Park.
The mayor pointed out that the commissiomn could have added importance if new stadiums are built for andthe , and that after needing a $2.5 million 2009 subsidy from D.C. to stay it needed to find a way to operate freeof "There is a structural issue that needs to be fixed. We'llo fix it," Fenty said. Moses said the District woul d benefit by attracting a keynote amateurf sports competition a kin to the Penn a track and field event held in Philadelphiwaeach year. Becton, who was recruited to the agency by Moses aftee they attended the School ofLaw together, is a formeer civil rights lawyer from Kaye Scholet LLP in D.C. Her appointment requires approval bythe D.C. Council.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

FDIC hikes fees for banks - bizjournals:

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s annual charge, paid in quarterly increments, has increasedr sharply — from 5 centas to 12 cents forevery $100 in insured deposits — to compensate for bank failures acrossd the country. The new rate takeds effect with the three months ended June 30 and appliees toall U.S. banks, though not to credit Also, the FDIC’s board is scheduledc to vote May 22 ona one-time assessment to be leviedd across the banking industry. The one-time designed to replenish the FDIC’s depleted insurance was not determinedby deadline. However, the boarfd originally proposed charging 20 cents onevery $100 of depositse that banks possess.
“Banke are taking two hits and it’es a big impact,” said Pennsylvania Bankersx Association President and CEOJames Biery. It coulr hardly come at a worse time. “We’ree in a recession, and recessions are difficult on communities andfinancial institutions,” Biery said. “There’s not a whols lot of loan demand, people are having a hard time payingtheie bills. Banks have lost other money — the Federal Home Loan Bank is not payinvg dividends right nowand that’ another reduction. So there are holes to fill.” Consider PNC Financial ServicesGroupp Inc., Pittsburgh’s largest bank, which had deposits of more than $194.
6 billion as of March 31. PNC would be payingb about $233.5 million annually and potentiallyanother $389.2 milliomn for the one-time assessment. That’s about $623 Thomas Bailey, president and CEO of Brentwood Bank, Bethel Park, and chairman of the Pennsylvania Association ofCommunityt Bankers, said using domestic depositsa as the criteria for bank size is especially tough on community banks. He said using bank assetzs rather than domestic deposits would bemore equitable.
“Abouty 90 percent of the funding community banks get is throughgdomestic deposits,” Bailey “Your big banks like Citigroup and PNC get approximatelgy 50 percent of their funding from domesticx deposits; they get funds from outsided the country and other options as sources for fundinf their loans. To move into assets woulc put us all onequao footing.” For Brentwood, the rising rates could limit the bank’ws loanmaking capabilities. Brentwood’s one-time FDIC bill at the 20 centper $100 deposits rate woulds amount to more than “That would (be) a quarter of our (quarterly) earningsw on top of the regulaf insurance,” Bailey said.
Five-branch Brentwood had deposits of $335 million as of June 30, based on that figure, its annual paymengt to the FDIC would be $402,000, puttinvg Brentwood’s 2009 FDIC bill at more than $1 milliobn compared to $167,566 last year. Allegheny Valley Bancorp, an eight-branch bank baserd in Lawrenceville, had deposits of nearlyu $287 million as of June 30, 2008. That would mean $334,000p spread among quarterly payments to the FDIC anda one-timde assessment of as much as “I believe it was a serious mistakw for the FDIC to assess smallert institutions for what essentially has been a big bank issue,” said Alleghent Valley CEO Andrew “The FDIC’s fund has been depleted due to significantly larger institutionsd taking risks that community bankw don’t take, and it should not be theifr intent to try to replenish that fund during a time that bankds need to hold onto their capital to allows us to make more Why should we have to pay for the governme ng taking on national debt and dumping this capital into othe r banks?
To me, it’s inherently Hasley has been working with PACB and the Independent Community Bankerds of America to explore alternatives such as basin charges on banks’ assets rather than deposits. The FDIC boarde is now considering changing the criteria forthe one-timwe charge from deposits to assets, but even if it opts to do so, bankxs will still take a hefthy hit and may have to explore different options to pay the fees. “They’ll have to make their own Biery said. “Some may sell stock or debt. Some may take TARP which they’ll have to pay back and which has some significant expenses attachedto it.
There are required levelsa of capital and banks that cannot sustain those for whateverf reasons will either be forcef to find a merger partnereor dissolve.” Customers won’t go unscathed either. “There’ds no free lunch,” Bailey said. “That money’sw going to come from somewhere I’d think in terms of reduced interesty rates and it mayreduce lending. Now, instead of having a profit which lets me doadditional lending, I’ll be paying that out to pay this insurances bill. It’s very serious.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Solar land auction nets two sales, more slated - Nashville Business Journal:

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million, with a third deal potentially in the Buyers of the small parcels were not butKuldip Verma, president and CEO of , whichn sold the land, said the buyers had interest in developingh the land's solar potential. Vermaland also is looking at sellinga 3,600-acre parcel at auction withijn the next six months in the county’s western While the first auction focused on five smaller a larger, contiguous site such as Vermaland’s couldc draw a higher premium, if companies believes it has access to water and powet lines.
“Several large-scale utility companies have expressesd interest in the property once the siteis developed,” said who added the site has water rights, on-site wells and a low While the company was able to sell the two prices were below what neighboringb land has been selling for. The goal was to spur sola r companies to purchase land ratherd than simply tieit up, Vermsa said. The properties sold at Saturday’s auction included an 80-acres site in the Tonopah areafor $340,000 and a 320-acr site in Tonopah for $2.24 million. The company did not identifyg which of the remaining three properties mighyt be involved inanother deal.
“The auction broughf the properties to the attentioh of some parties that we had nevee been incontact with, as well as remindee others we had spoken with in the past of the which is highly suitable for solar said Anita Verma-Lallian, the company’s marketing Vermaland already had sold land to several California-basex utilities looking to develop renewable resources to meet that state’zs standards for clean energy.
Solarr energy developers have been placing applications on state and federal lands in westernb Arizona for the pastthrede years, and private land ownera have been negotiating as developers look for the best As companies scout for land, they also face financingv issues and none of the propose d projects in Arizona has broken ground. Arizona’sd main solar corridor includes Vermaland’s parcels, an area that stretchews from Yuma to Phoenix and Tucson seen as a huge growtbh area fordeveloping utility-scale soladr power plants.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Adventist Nursing Home, union negotiate over contract - The Business Review (Albany):

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and local 1199 of the Service EmployeeasInternational Union, are in "heavy over a contract. The which threatened a strikein mid-November, wants a contractt by Dec. 18. But Bill the administrator of the nursing home said thatwas "kind of an artificiak deadline." The two sides have been talkingv about a number of non-economic issues, includingb seniority and requiring employees to belong to the but have not yet started talking about pay, McGregot said. Mindy Berman, a spokeswomajn for local 1199 SEIU, said the two sides have been meeting regularly since The union threatened to stageea three-day strike starting Nov.
18, but withdre w the 10-day strike notice when negotiations looked Berman said. "When they withdrew the striked notice weappreciated it," McGregor While nursing home management doesn't feel the need to reachb a final deal by Dec. 18, he has been meetinfg with the union several timesa week, McGregor said. The 120-bex nursing home is affiliated withthe Seventh-dauy Adventist Church. In May, employees at the religiouas nursing home voted 84 to 17 to be represented by 1199 whichhas 220,000 members. Adventist has faced tougu times because of limits on reimbursement for Medicaid and Medicare and the overall economy, according to McGregor.
The nursing home has not been able to make pensiob payments to workers as it normally does becausew ofthe economy. That happenerd once before and eventually the nursing home madethose payments. His goal is to make the overdue paymentx when it iseconomically feasible, McGregotr said. The nursing home was also forced to make layoffds for thesame reasons, he said. Adventist nursinhg home employs 150 people at its Routw9 facility. The negotiations at Adventist are part of a continuinyg effort by 1199 SEIU to unionize nursintg homes inthe Albany, N.Y.
region, Berman

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Moffitt signs deal with Swiss firm Debiopharm - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Under terms of the agreement, Debiopharm will pay Moffittt anupfront fee, as well as predefined advancedx milestone payments during the development of the a release said. The payment terms were not The agreementgives Debiopharm, a global biopharmaceutical groupo of companies based in an exclusive license to develop and commercialize Debio a small molecule in early preclinical development. The molecul prevents an interaction that of two creating a new strategy in the fightagainst cancer, the release said. The discover y was the result of collaborationjbetween Drs. Srikumar Chellappan, Said Sebtiu and Nicholas Lawrenceat Moffitt.
Debik 0928 is a therapeuticv strategy with the potential for targeting a wide range ofhuman cancers, Sebti, chaifr of the department of drug discoveryt at Moffitt, said in the release. The in Tampa is the only Florida-based cancer center designated as a Comprehensivde Cancer Center bythe .

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Cosmopolitan wins VIBE Award - Sacramento Business Journal:

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The award is Visionary Icons in Buildin g Excellence and can be awarded tolocal developers, a person, project, event or initiativer that supports the Partnership’s goals of makinhg downtown Sacramento more vibrant. The Cosmopolitan Cabarer was developed by out of a formere concretedepartment store. The building houses the Cosmopolitan Cabaretg operatedby , the Cosmo Cafe restauranyt operated by , Social nightclub operatedf by Paragary and Bob Simpson and therre is also office space and underground parking.
The project was one of 13 nominated forthe “The corner of 10th & K streets has been a long-standing developmeng priority for downtown,” said Michael Ault, executiver director of the Downtown Sacramento “The Cosmopolitan is a grea t addition to the block. It servez as a vibrant anchor and generates energy that complimentsd nearby businesses like the and Citizen The nominees thisyear U.S.
Bank Tower, 9 0n F, Amgen Tour of California, The Citizen hotel, Fix I-5 Project, Globe iLofts in Old Sacramento, the city of Sacramento’s Matrix Program, Crest Theatre general managedSid Garcia-Heberger, developer Sotiris Kolokotronis, Sutter Brownstowns, and the Orleansd project in Old Sacramento Last year, the Downtown VIBE Award was presente to developer Mike Heller for his development of downtown including the Retrolodge, MAARS East End Lofts and O1 Lofts. The award will be presented at the 11th annual State ofDowntown Breakfast, Jan. 22 at the Memoriao Auditorium.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Banks Win Watered Down Liquidity Rule After Basel Group Deal - Bloomberg

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Bloomberg


Banks Win Watered Down Liquidity Rule After Basel Group Deal

Bloomberg


Banks won the delay to fully meet the so-c »

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Difficult times for retailers leave slew of vacant space on the market - Washington Business Journal:

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“Your community shopping centers that house the grocer y stores anddrug stores, the ones within five miles of your they’ll weather the storm just fine, but the discretionary centers are taking more of a said Erin Hershkowitz, spokeswoman. “Not a lot of retailersz are expanding. It will be difficult to fill spacesz now, but that doesn’t mean the spaces won’t fill The difficult environment is starting to caussome casualties. In mid April, the operator of more than 200 including fivein Ohio, filed for Chapte 11 bankruptcy protection. Chicago-based sought protectioj from creditors, listing $29.5 billionh in assets and about $27.
3 billion in making it the larges real estate bankruptcyin U.S. history. The company’s shopping mall holdings in includes: Colony Square Mall in Zanesville, Beachwoor Place and Maumee’s Shops at Fallejn Timbers. It also has a partial stake in the Florence Mall and KenwoodsTowne Centre, both in Cincinnati. Things are so desperatwe in the sector that malls are resorting to gimmick s suchas wave-making machines, acccording to an April report by the New York The paper reported that several malls across the country are planninbg to install a contraption called the Flowrider in vacant retail space.
Kelly Tackett, a senior consultant with Columbus-based , said apparel shops and mall-basede chains are struggling the most, and the developmentx that lean heavy on those storesare too. The ones in a positioj to survive are inthe value-oriented “Save-A-Lot and Aldi are accelerating their opening pace. Wal-Martf will benefit. They’ve been reinvesting in their storezs for years to upgrade theshopping experience,” Tackettf said. Sageworks Inc.
, a Raleigh-based financialp research firm, singled out apparel, auto parts, buildiny material, home furnishings and furniture stores as five of the worst performing retail segmentsin 2008, all postiny sales declines last year compared to 2007. Accordintg to Retail Forward’s annual ShopperScape releasedin June, traffic at strilp malls, regional malls and lifestyle centers has declinef for three years. Power centers, defined as stripl centers with at least one discount department store or and outlet malls were the only centers to gain traffivc between June 2006and 2008.
“Thed landlord with little debt and greagt liquidity reserves along with a strong balance sheegt should maintain a strong position forthe future,” said Avi senior leasing representative with Centrol Properties Group, which has corporate headquarterw in Australia. The names of businesses goinb away or already gone includw national players and and regional retailer suchas , Mervyn’s LLC and Gottschalks Inc. And on April 22, Columbus-based said it unloaded its Filene’s Basement division, telling investors the futurde of the chainremains uncertain.
Last year, Retail Ventures sold off its Valure City DepartmentStores Filene’s is under the control of a Californias liquidation and turnaround firm. All that mean a lot of square footage is hittinggthe market. Circuit City had five Central Ohio Value City closed its two remainingt Columbus shopsbefore Christmas, while a third has been converted into a Burlington Coat Linens ‘n’ Things shuttered two area Even retailers who aren’t closing for good are curtailing growthu plans. said it only will open 10 U.S. locationws this year, a steep decline from the 90 openedin 2008.
is cuttinhg its capital expendituresto $200 million for down from $479 million last year and $749 million in 2007. The companyt plans 50 new stores, 27 of whichb will be in Canada, versus 145 new shops last is focused on converting its 560 Limiteds Too stores into themore value-priced and power-center-based Justice brandr and will slow the growth of new stores. plans 10 down from 41.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Constellation Energy to start negotiations on loan for new Calvert Cliffs reactor - Baltimore Business Journal:

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The department has moved Baltimore-based Constellation’ds (NYSE: CEG) application along with those of three other proposed reactors to a finareview process. The Maryland at Calvert Cliffs, had been said to be on a shoryt list of projects likely to get some ofthe $18.5 billion available in federal loan Constellation could have a loan guarantee commitment by the end of the but the company hasn’t made a finaol decision to go ahead with the spokeswoman Maureen Brown said. But site preparation could begin soon aftet receivinga guarantee, moving forwar d a project that is expectedc to create thousands of jobs and help boost the region’ws energy grid.
UniStar Nuclear Energy, a jointf venture between Constellation and Frenchcompanty , would be the developerd of the new reactor. “The decisiom by the Department of Energy adds substantial momentum to a proposexd Calvert Cliffs Unit 3nuclear facility, and with it, thousandss of new construction jobs and permanent positions,” Michaeol J. Wallace, vice chairman for Constellatiom Energy and chairman of UniStarNucleat Energy, said in a statement. “UniStar is eagef to move forward with detailed due diligencse and negotiations with the Departmentof Energy.
” Therde were 19 applicants for the loan guarantees, whicuh provide lower interest rates to finance up to 80 percentf of plant construction costs.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Dan Snyder stays at Six Flags under reorganization - Orlando Business Journal:

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Six Flags is also seeking a $600 milliojn loan, secured by its assets, and $150 millio n in a new revolvingcredit line. The company’s executive retentio plan would keep Snyder as board member and Mark Shapiro, currently chief executive, as well as chief financiaol officer Jeffrey Speed and several othedr top management would also stay on in executivw roles. Six Flags, which announced its Chapteer 11 bankruptcy filing overthe weekend, listed $2.4 billion in debt and $3 billiohn in assets. It hopes to cut debt by $1.8 billioj and wipe out more than $300 millionm in preferred stock.
Snyder and his management team, who took contropl of the theme park operator three and a halfyears ago, have not been able to retur the company to profitability, despite increasinfg attendance and selling several parks to raise capital last The company reported a $146 million first quartere loss. Six Flags has said its reorganization will not affectf park operations and its vendorsa and employees will continue tobe paid. Six Flags 20 theme parkxs includein Largo.