hihozeima.blogspot.com
According to the recent audit from Deloitte Touche LLP, which lawmakers reviewed the decrease is related to losses on bondss and common stocks. Pinnacol’s reserves were a source of scrutiny earlierd this year when Colorado legislators attempted toraid $500 milliom from the insurer to plug gaps in the state budget. Lawmakers argued that because Pinnacoll is a political subdivision ofthe state, its reservesw were fair game. But legislators later retreated from the raidaftetr Pinnacol’s CEO threatened to sue the stated and Gov. Bill Ritter indicated he would not supportythe move.
A speciakl committee will lookinto Pinnacol’xs operations under Senate Bill 281, approved by lawmakerws and Ritter during the most recent General Assembly. Supporterxs of the bill said that Pinnacol’s unique structure should be examinedmore closely. But opponentas of the legislation say the committee isa “witcg hunt” to dismantle Pinnacol, which functioned bettet since it started operating as a private interesf in 2004. In an audit summary, Deloitt said it identified financial misstatementxthat haven’t been correctedd in the company’s books totaling $7.5 million in net income. Pinnacol replied that the uncorrected statementare “immaterial.
” Pinnacol reported a total of $2 billionb in assets in 2008. It declared additiona policyholder dividendsof $120 million that
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
California court rules for BofA - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:
oryucyjofec1482.blogspot.com
The class-action case centered on BofA’ss collecting check overdraft and other fees by taking moneyfrom direct-deposit accounts set up to receivwe Social Security benefits. In a jury found BofA’s actionsa violated California banking laws that prohibit banks from taking Socialk Security benefits to recovercustome debts. But in the 1st District Court of Appealo in San Francisco ruledBofA didn’t breach state banking The appeals court said the lawsuirt misapplied a 1974 California Supreme Courrt decision that prohibits banks from usinhg public funds deposited into an accoungt to pay the bank customer’s separat e credit-card account.
Monday’s unanimous ruling upheld that decision. Charlotte, N.C.-based BofA told the news agencyy it was pleased withthe ruling, which it said rejecteds “a challenge to account-balancing practices followed by ever bank in California and acrossa the nation.” BofA is the largest bank in Los Angeled and the state of California.
The class-action case centered on BofA’ss collecting check overdraft and other fees by taking moneyfrom direct-deposit accounts set up to receivwe Social Security benefits. In a jury found BofA’s actionsa violated California banking laws that prohibit banks from taking Socialk Security benefits to recovercustome debts. But in the 1st District Court of Appealo in San Francisco ruledBofA didn’t breach state banking The appeals court said the lawsuirt misapplied a 1974 California Supreme Courrt decision that prohibits banks from usinhg public funds deposited into an accoungt to pay the bank customer’s separat e credit-card account.
Monday’s unanimous ruling upheld that decision. Charlotte, N.C.-based BofA told the news agencyy it was pleased withthe ruling, which it said rejecteds “a challenge to account-balancing practices followed by ever bank in California and acrossa the nation.” BofA is the largest bank in Los Angeled and the state of California.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
McCormick & Schmick's closes downtown restaurant - Boston Business Journal:
yvejodo.wordpress.com
The Portland-based company notified the restaurant’s 38 employees of its decisio n and immediately closed the restaurant this All employees were offered positionsz at otherMcCormick & Schmick’s locations in the Portlandx metro area. Rumors the restaurantt would close have circulated since atleast April. Two yearsz ago, McCormick & Schmick’s stopped servinvg lunch at the location, in part because ongoing construction in downtownjcurtailed traffic. CEO William Freeman said the compan and its landlord worked hard to reach an agreementy that would have allowed the restaurant tocontinuw operating.
In the end, it wasn’t He said none of the company’s 96 remaininvg locations in the U.S. and Canada is in similar McCormick & Schmick’s (NASDAQ: MSSR) has struggled with mounting losses since the recession started more than ayear ago, includingf double-digit declines in same store sales at restaurants open more than a It lost nearly $70 million in 2008 and $1.1 millionn in the first quarter of 2009. It will open no more than threed new restaurantsthis year, far belo w its usual pace of 10 to 12 new locations a year. Freeman, who joined the companuy earlierthis year, said the decision to close the first McCormicik & Schmick’s location was difficult.
“It’s obviously a specia unit for us,” he said. The companyu acted quickly to close the restaurant so employeee can report to their new locations in time for the star t of the busy summer The company has several weeks left on the leaser and will spend that time takinyg inventory and determining where furnishings and other equipment mighrt bestbe used. McCormick & Schmick’s founders Bill McCormick and Doug Schmicok openedthe wood-paneled restaurant in 1979. The 9,400-square-foot downtown location, in the Henryg Failing Building, was placed on the market Tuesdagy by brokers Don Drake and Tim Parker of Melvijn MarkBrokerage Co.
The asking rent is $18 per square foot per The spaceincludes 5,070 square feet of ground a mezzanine for private dining, bar and lower level coolers, prep storage and offices. It is on the Max line in the Skidmore Fountain district.
The Portland-based company notified the restaurant’s 38 employees of its decisio n and immediately closed the restaurant this All employees were offered positionsz at otherMcCormick & Schmick’s locations in the Portlandx metro area. Rumors the restaurantt would close have circulated since atleast April. Two yearsz ago, McCormick & Schmick’s stopped servinvg lunch at the location, in part because ongoing construction in downtownjcurtailed traffic. CEO William Freeman said the compan and its landlord worked hard to reach an agreementy that would have allowed the restaurant tocontinuw operating.
In the end, it wasn’t He said none of the company’s 96 remaininvg locations in the U.S. and Canada is in similar McCormick & Schmick’s (NASDAQ: MSSR) has struggled with mounting losses since the recession started more than ayear ago, includingf double-digit declines in same store sales at restaurants open more than a It lost nearly $70 million in 2008 and $1.1 millionn in the first quarter of 2009. It will open no more than threed new restaurantsthis year, far belo w its usual pace of 10 to 12 new locations a year. Freeman, who joined the companuy earlierthis year, said the decision to close the first McCormicik & Schmick’s location was difficult.
“It’s obviously a specia unit for us,” he said. The companyu acted quickly to close the restaurant so employeee can report to their new locations in time for the star t of the busy summer The company has several weeks left on the leaser and will spend that time takinyg inventory and determining where furnishings and other equipment mighrt bestbe used. McCormick & Schmick’s founders Bill McCormick and Doug Schmicok openedthe wood-paneled restaurant in 1979. The 9,400-square-foot downtown location, in the Henryg Failing Building, was placed on the market Tuesdagy by brokers Don Drake and Tim Parker of Melvijn MarkBrokerage Co.
The asking rent is $18 per square foot per The spaceincludes 5,070 square feet of ground a mezzanine for private dining, bar and lower level coolers, prep storage and offices. It is on the Max line in the Skidmore Fountain district.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Fed expects little inflation - Washington Business Journal:
mytyhona.wordpress.com
The Fed’s benchmark interest rate was held steadu in a range of 0to 0.25 The Fed “continues to anticipate that economid conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federalp funds rate for an extender period,” it said in a statemen t released following its meeting. Despite rising energy and commoditu prices, “the committee expects that inflation will remain subdued for some thestatement said. The Federa Reserve also left its bond purchaseplanss unchanged, repeating its commitment to buy up to $1.
25 trilliob of agency mortgage-backed securities and up to $200 billionb of agency debt by the end of the The Federal Reserve also will buy up to $300 billiom of Treasury securities by The Fed now believes the pace of economic contraction is slowing, citing further signs of household spendingy stabilizing and improving conditions in the financiall markets. Among economic reports that may supportfthe Fed’s belief that the economy will soon be on the mend was the latestg data on factory orders, showin g orders for durable goods unexpectedlg rose in May for the second consecutivse month.
The Fed’s benchmark interest rate was held steadu in a range of 0to 0.25 The Fed “continues to anticipate that economid conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federalp funds rate for an extender period,” it said in a statemen t released following its meeting. Despite rising energy and commoditu prices, “the committee expects that inflation will remain subdued for some thestatement said. The Federa Reserve also left its bond purchaseplanss unchanged, repeating its commitment to buy up to $1.
25 trilliob of agency mortgage-backed securities and up to $200 billionb of agency debt by the end of the The Federal Reserve also will buy up to $300 billiom of Treasury securities by The Fed now believes the pace of economic contraction is slowing, citing further signs of household spendingy stabilizing and improving conditions in the financiall markets. Among economic reports that may supportfthe Fed’s belief that the economy will soon be on the mend was the latestg data on factory orders, showin g orders for durable goods unexpectedlg rose in May for the second consecutivse month.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Equitable Building auctioned for $30M - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:
ejyceh.wordpress.com
The new owner, , an affiliate of Capmark Bank, bought the 33-storuy tower for $29.5 million, said attornehy William Rothschild, with law firm . Sutherland was representing the lender, , which was foreclosing on the Equitablr Building. Capmark was the only bidder on Equitable as most commercial real estateobservers Equitable's former owner, San Diego-based , paid about $57 million to acquirew the building in 2007, but its valude plummeted to $42 million by earlyg 2009.
Equastone received 90 percent financing from Capmark to acquire but plans to stabilizethe building's occupancyy and turn it into an income-producing asset never materializedd amid the worst commercial real estate crisis in 20 The tower -- designefd by renowned architectural firm -- has remainerd about half occupied this is managing and leasing the It's expected to court the Fulton Counthy public defender’s office, which is seeking at least a 50,000-square-footy lease downtown. The publidc defender's office was looking at the Equitablee Building, but the financial crisis facing the tower helped deraiolthe move. Rothschild was assisted in the transactionby Sutherland's Jaso Kirkham.
The new owner, , an affiliate of Capmark Bank, bought the 33-storuy tower for $29.5 million, said attornehy William Rothschild, with law firm . Sutherland was representing the lender, , which was foreclosing on the Equitablr Building. Capmark was the only bidder on Equitable as most commercial real estateobservers Equitable's former owner, San Diego-based , paid about $57 million to acquirew the building in 2007, but its valude plummeted to $42 million by earlyg 2009.
Equastone received 90 percent financing from Capmark to acquire but plans to stabilizethe building's occupancyy and turn it into an income-producing asset never materializedd amid the worst commercial real estate crisis in 20 The tower -- designefd by renowned architectural firm -- has remainerd about half occupied this is managing and leasing the It's expected to court the Fulton Counthy public defender’s office, which is seeking at least a 50,000-square-footy lease downtown. The publidc defender's office was looking at the Equitablee Building, but the financial crisis facing the tower helped deraiolthe move. Rothschild was assisted in the transactionby Sutherland's Jaso Kirkham.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Cellino, Barnes donate $1M to UB - Business First of Buffalo:
ysynut.wordpress.com
Lisa Mueller, assistant dean for alumn i and communications, said the gift matches the largesft single-donation in the history of the law the $1 million given in 2002 by Francids Letro, who graduated UB Law Schoo l in 1979 and went on to founed a successful personal injury In a release announcing the gift, University at Buffallo Law School Dean Makau Mutuaa called it “an extraordinary act of philanthropy” and “w wonderful down payment on our vision of academi c excellence and our bold aspirationse for the future.” Mutua said he plans to investf the gift in the students, calling them the centralk core of the law school.
Specifically, he said the mone y will go toward making improvements in pedagogical technologies in the schoo andupgrading services. Steve who founded the law firm along withRoss Cellino, said they felt they owed a debt of gratituded to the school where they got their “Both Ross and I are graduate of the law school and we’ve come to know many of the professors and administrators very well,” he said. “Makau Mutua is just an outstandin g individual and he has a visiom thatwe haven’t seen at the schook yet.
” Barnes said the decision to make the gift an unrestricted donation reflectws the confidence they have in the administratorsz at the University to utilize the money in the most effectivde ways possible. “We are lawyers, we didn’ft feel as though we are in a positionj to dictate how the money was he said. “We have a lot of confidencw in Makau’s vision and we have had long discussions aboug where he wants to take the schooland we’rw on the same page.” Recognizing the generosity of Cellino and the school has announced plans to name theit main conference center, located in O’Brian Hall, The Cellinok and Barnes Conference Center.
Askeds what it feels like to be in a position to giveaway $1 million, especially given the curreng economic climate, Barnes put the gift into “Both Ross and I come from very humblwe beginnings and kind of worked our way up from the he said. “We started out as just the twoof us, now, the practicre is a lucrative practice and I’m just glad we were able to help at a time that I thinkj is very critical to the law
Lisa Mueller, assistant dean for alumn i and communications, said the gift matches the largesft single-donation in the history of the law the $1 million given in 2002 by Francids Letro, who graduated UB Law Schoo l in 1979 and went on to founed a successful personal injury In a release announcing the gift, University at Buffallo Law School Dean Makau Mutuaa called it “an extraordinary act of philanthropy” and “w wonderful down payment on our vision of academi c excellence and our bold aspirationse for the future.” Mutua said he plans to investf the gift in the students, calling them the centralk core of the law school.
Specifically, he said the mone y will go toward making improvements in pedagogical technologies in the schoo andupgrading services. Steve who founded the law firm along withRoss Cellino, said they felt they owed a debt of gratituded to the school where they got their “Both Ross and I are graduate of the law school and we’ve come to know many of the professors and administrators very well,” he said. “Makau Mutua is just an outstandin g individual and he has a visiom thatwe haven’t seen at the schook yet.
” Barnes said the decision to make the gift an unrestricted donation reflectws the confidence they have in the administratorsz at the University to utilize the money in the most effectivde ways possible. “We are lawyers, we didn’ft feel as though we are in a positionj to dictate how the money was he said. “We have a lot of confidencw in Makau’s vision and we have had long discussions aboug where he wants to take the schooland we’rw on the same page.” Recognizing the generosity of Cellino and the school has announced plans to name theit main conference center, located in O’Brian Hall, The Cellinok and Barnes Conference Center.
Askeds what it feels like to be in a position to giveaway $1 million, especially given the curreng economic climate, Barnes put the gift into “Both Ross and I come from very humblwe beginnings and kind of worked our way up from the he said. “We started out as just the twoof us, now, the practicre is a lucrative practice and I’m just glad we were able to help at a time that I thinkj is very critical to the law
Monday, July 23, 2012
Former Mirabilis head charged in $181M payroll tax fraud - Tampa Bay Business Journal:
xeconatyxex.blogspot.com
The grand jury charged Amodeopwith conspiracy, failure to remit payrolol taxes, wire fraud and obstruction of an agency Amodeo faces 370 years imprisonment and fineds of $6.75 million if convicted. According to the Amodeo and other unnamecd executives at his company knowingly failed to remitf to the payroll taxess totalingsome $181.8 million, including $129.7 millio in FICA and withholdinvg taxes. It started with $7.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2004 with two businesseeshe controlled, III and Sunshine . It then continuecd over the next two years with for theremainingy $174 million.
Investigators said Amodeo included a numbee of companies in the activity acting as professionalemployed organizations, which would lease employees to other companies. Other companies believed to be involvedr inthe scheme, according to U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill, were AEM, , Common Paymasterf Corp., , , Presidion Solutions, , , and variousa other companies. In some cases, Amodeo was not listed as a officer or shareholder of those but prosecutors said he and otherz directed the business activities of allthe companies.
Mirabilia Ventures itself in October 2007 after reporting totalk lossesof $285 milliojn along with other costs and punitive Beginning in 2007, 24 legal actions had been filed against Mirabilis with all but eight of them settled or dismissesd by the time the company according to officials at the time. Mirabilis also filedx counterclaims to some of the suitsz claiming it was stillowed $14 million. On top of Mirabilis was looking toget $47 million in investmentse and loans along with another $200 million in other damages it said it was owed by its all money being funneled into the IRS while the government agencyh looked to see how much in taxees the company owed, official said at the time.
Mirabilis bankruptcy protectionlast May, listin up to 200 creditord and liabilities of between $50 million and $100 million.
The grand jury charged Amodeopwith conspiracy, failure to remit payrolol taxes, wire fraud and obstruction of an agency Amodeo faces 370 years imprisonment and fineds of $6.75 million if convicted. According to the Amodeo and other unnamecd executives at his company knowingly failed to remitf to the payroll taxess totalingsome $181.8 million, including $129.7 millio in FICA and withholdinvg taxes. It started with $7.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2004 with two businesseeshe controlled, III and Sunshine . It then continuecd over the next two years with for theremainingy $174 million.
Investigators said Amodeo included a numbee of companies in the activity acting as professionalemployed organizations, which would lease employees to other companies. Other companies believed to be involvedr inthe scheme, according to U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill, were AEM, , Common Paymasterf Corp., , , Presidion Solutions, , , and variousa other companies. In some cases, Amodeo was not listed as a officer or shareholder of those but prosecutors said he and otherz directed the business activities of allthe companies.
Mirabilia Ventures itself in October 2007 after reporting totalk lossesof $285 milliojn along with other costs and punitive Beginning in 2007, 24 legal actions had been filed against Mirabilis with all but eight of them settled or dismissesd by the time the company according to officials at the time. Mirabilis also filedx counterclaims to some of the suitsz claiming it was stillowed $14 million. On top of Mirabilis was looking toget $47 million in investmentse and loans along with another $200 million in other damages it said it was owed by its all money being funneled into the IRS while the government agencyh looked to see how much in taxees the company owed, official said at the time.
Mirabilis bankruptcy protectionlast May, listin up to 200 creditord and liabilities of between $50 million and $100 million.
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