Wednesday 31 August 2011

Blackline Wins ASIS Accolades Security's Best Award - Marketwire (press release)

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Blackline Wins ASIS Accolades Security's Best Award

Marketwire (press release)


31, 2011) - ASIS International, a leading organization for security professionals worldwide, has selected Blackline GPS Corp (TSX VENTURE:BLN) as one of the top 10 winners of the ASIS Accolades Security's Best competition. ...



Monday 29 August 2011

Restaurants ask Supreme Court to rule on Healthy S.F. - St. Louis Business Journal:

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The filed a petition Monday asking the nation’s top court for a finall decision on fees charged to businessesa with at least 20 Those fees, starting at $1.23 per hour per employee, help fund Healthy San Francisco, a novel program meanf to cover people who don’t get healtnh coverage through their employer. The fees charged businesses are the association argued incourt papers. The restaurantt association said afederal law, the Employee Retirementt Income Security Act, restrict local governments from administering employee benefits.
Since January 2008 restaurantas and all other businessezs in San Francisco with at least 20 employees are requirerd to spend a minimum amount per hour per employee on health Therestaurant association’s move marks yet anothetr skirmish in its years-long court battle over how Healthgy San Francisco is funded. The association has offered other idea on ways to fundthe program, includinh a quarter cent sales tax or hiking the business registration fee. Thos e proposals have not been embraced bycity officials. The restaurantr association lost its case last year before the Ninth Circuit Courg of Appeals in San The association will hearby Oct.
5 whether the Supremse Court will hearits plea. Healthy San Francisco covers abouyt 41,000 San Franciscans.

Friday 26 August 2011

House bill would expand SBA training programs - Portland Business Journal:

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Legislation reauthorizing the SBA’s entrepreneurial developmenty initiatives would establish newgrant programs. Those programs would enable Small Business Developmen t Centers to provide specialized training to smalol firms on how tofind capital; win local, state and federal and start a clean-energy business. SBDCzs are located at universities and receivre funding from local sources as well asthe SBA. The bill also callas for grants that would enable SBDCss to establish statewide Small Business Helplines that would offer immediats assistance tosmall Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.
) sponsored the which also expands Women’s Business Centerds and creates new servicesfor veteran-owned and Nativ American-owned small businesses. “Asa a small-business owner myself, I know these programxs provide the counseling and technicalp resources that can make the differencer for an entrepreneur trying to get offthe ground,” says who owned a real estate business after ending his career in professional “Businesses that take advantage of these resources are twice as likely to succeed.
” Underd the legislation, SBDCs could receivde up to $150 million in federal funding in fiscal 2010 and up to $160 millioh in fiscal 2011 — far above the $110 million they receivexd this year. President Barack Obama’se budget proposal would trim federal funding for SBDCseto $97 million next The bill also directds the SBA to contract with third-party vendors to offer online entrepreneuriakl training. Business organizations are criticizing President Baracok Obama for encouraging regulatory agenciesw to refrainfrom pre-empting statee laws when issuing new regulations.
A May 20 memo from Obamwa also directed agencies to review regulationes issued during the past 10 years to see if theycontaine pre-emptions that are not justified. If they do, agenciews should consider amendingthe regulations, the memo “Pre-emption of state law by executiv departments and agencies should be undertaken only with full considerationh of the legitimate prerogatives of the statex and with a sufficient legal basis for pre-emption,” the memo states. Duringb the Bush administration, regulatory agencies sometimesincluded pre-emptio n language in the preambles of regulations. The National Associationm of Manufacturers andthe U.S.
Chambed of Commerce contend Obama’s policy against federal pre-emptiomn of state laws will result in more lawsuitswagainst businesses, particularly in the area of productr liability. “Manufacturers sell products into anational market, and a national regulatory standard helps ensurd predictable treatment in the courts,” says NAM Vice Presidenyt Rosario Palmieri. “It’s unwise to replace a regulatoryh system based on objectivew science and agency experts witha 50-state patchworlk of often arbitrary jury decisions.
“The litigation industr y is thrilled at the prospect of bringing more lawsuitsa and finding venues where frivolous suite stand a better chanceof success,” Palmieri But the American Association for formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, praisews Obama’s memo. It “makes clear that the rule of law will once again prevail over the over the ruleof politics,” says Les association president.
“The memo overturned actions takebn by Bush administration bureaucrats who were influencesdby powerful, well-connected corporations who wanted to rewrite and reinterpreg congressional legislation, undermine the constitutional system of checks and and put the public at risk and compromise laws designexd to give Americans basic rights to hold wrongdoersw accountable.” President Obama has selected a venture capitalistr to be chief counsel of the Smalo Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, a post usually held by an Winslow Sargeant, a managing director in the technology practice of Madison, Wis.
-based Venture Investors, is Obama’s choics to head the Officwe of Advocacy. The office is an independent entityh inside SBA that ensures federao agencies consider the impact of theid regulations onsmall businesses. The offic e also conducts researchon small-business issues. Sargeant is the second venture capitalist to be selected for a top post atthe SBA. Agencyu Administrator Karen Mills worked as a principalin private-equitt and venture-capital firms for 26 years before she took over the SBA in WHAT ISSUES ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU? •Neex information from Washington? Tell us what you wouldd like to read about. E-mail David Harris at dharris@bizjournals.com or call (704) 973-1146.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Craft Brewing Industry Primer - Behind the Revolution : SAM, HOOK, BUD, SBMRY - GuruFocus.com

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Craft Brewing Industry Primer - Behind the Revolution : SAM, HOOK, BUD, SBMRY

GuruFocus.com


For those interested in the brewing industry, in general, or the craft brewing industry, in particular, this article is intended to introduce, or perhaps enhance, your circle of competence by providing a macro-level look of the craft brewing industry. ...



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Monday 22 August 2011

Builder pushes developer to sell unfinished office project - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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filed suit against and its , seeking to force the sale of One Greenway Centeer to payoff $3 million in constructionm debt against the nearly completed officee building along Carothers Parkway. Meanwhile, N.C.-based Crescent is struggling to refinancda $1.2 billion loan, with payment in full due by Septembe r 2012. Crescent said it amended the loan last because it was in violation of theoriginall terms. The company must now make paymentssof $50 million by the end of this year, $75 millionb in 2010 and $100 million in 2011.
In a statement released earlierthis month, Crescent CEO Art Fields said the developer, whicg owns commercial and multi-family properties around the Southeast, has been hit by a drop in demand because of the recession. “We are evaluatint many alternatives with our key one of which includes a potential bankruptcy he said. The Bell filed April 24 in Williamson CountyChancery Court, follows liens filed againsft the property by Bell and several subcontractorsd in early March.
Pat vice president and regional manager of Crescentfin Tennessee, declined to comment on the possible and says the status of the Greenway project has not The 164,000-square-foot building was set to open in but work stopped that same montu and has been on hold since, with plywooe boards covering the doors. Bell Presidenf Keith Pyle also saysthe project’s status has not and that he couldn’t comment on the pendint lawsuit.
Crescent, which has developeds more than 1 million square feet of office spac in Cool Springs and owns several properties in theNashvilled area, also stopped work on its $58 million Franklin Crestf apartment complex at McEwen Drivr and Carothers Parkway, which the company had planned to complet in 2010, Emery says. “We’vew put everything on hold except our he says. Crescent’s business is builf around developing andselling projects, ratherf than holding properties for years and generating revenue through rents. The developefr has been selling off assets since last In October, Crescent sold 4,500 acres in Berkeley S.C., to packaging firm for $40 million.
In the company sold a Florida apartmenr projectfor $11.35 million, less than half the $27 milliom it paid for the complex threre years earlier. This year, the firm closed on the sale ofa 773-acrse tract of land in Oconee County, for just more than $10 million, and locally, it recentlyh sold 18.4 acres in Fort Mill to a warehousin company for $1.6 million. The jointly owned by and , has modifiexd its strategy to focus on generating cash from its realestate projects. The goal, according to securitiew filingsby Duke, is “to improve liquidity and reducre debt, in an environment whic favors buyers.
” In 2008, Crescent reported a loss of $420 compared to net income of $76 milliobn the year before. Duke has been writinbg off losses in valueat Crescent, and earlier this to insulate itself from further losses, the compang wrote off all of its liabilitiesx involving the development company and its debts.

Saturday 20 August 2011

Economy Watch: FNF Construction gets highway stimulus contract - Dallas Business Journal:

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“It is a rehabilitation project to create asafer roadway,” said Deenq Billings, business development officer for Tempe-base d FNF Construction, which is celebrating 25 years in Some areas of U.S. 491 have deteriorated creating a significant safety issue for those whouse it, she The project is a good fit for the company, whicjh also has an office in according to Billings. “Paving projects are kind of our In addition to making the roadway safetfor travelers, the $8.9 million projecrt gives FNF Construction’s staff more opportunituy for work.
“We will be able to keep existinbg employees busy and perhaps hirenew ones,” she The bidding process for a stimulus contract is very similaer to that on any job both for the contractodr and the state department of transportatiomn involved. The New Mexico Department of Transportation advertisede the project in typical fashionm with the lowest bidder winningthe contract, said Megah Arrendondo, spokeswoman for the New Mexico Department of Transportation. The federaol government does look at the projectsin depth, Arrendondo added. Construction on the 14-milde stretch, which runs on the southern portion of the broke groundMay 20.
FNF Constructiomn is hopeful that its portion of the upgradse is complete by the endof “We are excited to keep on going and be part of the Billings said of future jobs.

Thursday 18 August 2011

Lumen condos to be auctioned in July - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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Located at the foot of Seattle’s Queenj Anne Hill just east of Seattle Centee near the future headquarters ofthe , the Lumen is a 93-unitt project designed by architect David Hewitt. It feature s an interior courtyard, a business centeer and a communal lounge andmovie theater. The retaikl portion of the project includes aQFC grocery, an Officd Max store and a Tokyo-based Genkk Sushi restaurant.
One-bedroom, one-bathroom units that were originallty pricedat $460,000 have a minimum bid of Bids for two-bedroom units will start at The remaining 1,631-square-foot loft-style home will have a minimum bid of a reduction of more than $500,000 off its original The auction will be held at the Seattle Gran d Hyatt Hotel on July 11 at 1 p.m. will hold a pre-auctionm seminar for prospective buyers onJuly 1. For more information on the The project was developed by Alan Winninghak of500 LLC.

Monday 15 August 2011

Cogdell Spencer hikes offering to 20M shares - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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The Charlotte-based real estate investment trust priceed the offeringat $3.50 per share. It says it will use the $66.87 million in proceeds to funda $50 millio repayment on a loan held by its Erdman subsidiary, reduced borrowings and provide working Cogdell Spencer closed on its purchase of Marshall Erdman Associates Inc., a Wisconsinm designer and builder of health-care facilities throughout the Uniterd States, in March 2008. The company’s which have traded between $3.89 and $19.95r over the last year, closed at $4.33e Tuesday.
They dropped nearluy 20 percentin after-market trading, following the company’ announcement that it would cut its dividencd to 11 cents per share from 22.5 cents and sell 18 millionn common shares in a publi offering. The company’s stock closed at $3.6t per share Wednesday. As of early May, Cogdello Spencer had 19 million common shares registered withthe public, says Frankk Spencer, chief executive. The company had a total of 27.5 million outstanding shares and operatingpartnership units, which can be tenderedf for shares or cash aftef a period of time. Spencer says the companhy decided onthe $3.
50 per sharre price for the stock offering earlhy Wednesday morning after the offering’s book runnerw took bids and orders. He says Cogdell Spencer increasedf the size of its offering to 20 milliojn shares to raisemore “It’s a real vote of confidence” in the Spencer says. “The infusion of capital allows us to reduce debt on our balance sheet and givews us the ability to implement our businesse plan of fully integrating servicesfor health-care real Cogdell Spencer’s dividend reduction to 11 cents per sharew will remain in effect for the rest of the The company says it wante to maintain financial flexibility in light of the curren t state of the capital markets.
It also citess the increased number of shares of common stock expected to be outstanding afte r it completes the public The expected dividend payments are based on the assume d size of the offering and are subjecrto change, the company says. Cogdell Spencetr has extended an option to the underwriters to purchasde up to an additional 3 million shares in the upfrom 2.7 million sharews on Tuesday. If they exercise their options, Cogdell Spencefr will raise a totalof $76.8 million. David one of the company’s directors, purchasede 1 million shares of commobn stock inthe offering. Those shares weren’t subject to a discount.
Cogdell Spencedr (NYSE:CSA) invests in specialty office buildings for themedicakl profession, including medical ambulatory surgery and diagnostic centers.

Saturday 13 August 2011

Mortgage applications fall to four-month low - Kansas City Business Journal:

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percent, the reported. In its Weekly Mortgagre Applications Survey, the Washington-based association said the fall is the biggesrsince February. Refinancing slumped to the lowest level insevem months. In the week that ended June 26, the Refinancre Index fell 30 percent from oneweek earlier. The Refinancre Index is at its lowest level since The average contract interest ratefor 30-yeafr fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.34 percent from 5.44 percent, with points increasing to 1.12 from 0.99 (includinh the origination fee) for 80 percentf loan-to-value ratio loans. The averages contract interest ratefor 15-year fixed-rate mortgagesa decreased to 4.81 percent from 4.
93 with points increasing to 1.04 from 0.92 (including the originationb fee) for 80 percent LTV The survey covers more than 50 percent of all U.S. retaio residential mortgage applications. The association has conducted it weeklysince 1990.

Thursday 11 August 2011

RealPage Turns To Profit In Q2; Lifts FY11 Profit View - Quick Facts - RTT News

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RealPage Turns To Profit In Q2; Lifts FY11 Profit View - Quick Facts

RTT News


(RTTNews) - RealPage Inc. (RP: News ) reported that its second-quarter net income attributable to common shareholders was $0.3 million or breakeven per share compared to a loss of $0.8 million or $0.03 per share in the same quarter last year. ...



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Tuesday 9 August 2011

Unemployment rate falls in Allegheny, Beaver counties - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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and Industry released seasonally adjusted unemployment figures forthe state’sz counties and metropolitan statistical areas on Tuesday. In Alleghenu County, the unemployment rate fell from 6.6 perceny in March to 6.5 percent in Beaver County’s went from 8.2 percent in March to 7.9 percent in April. The improvements in Allegheny andBeaver however, were not enough to boost the seven-county Pittsburgh MSA, which saw its seasonallty adjusted unemployment rate increase from 7.2 percent in March to 7.3 percent in April. Pennsylvania’es unemployment rate held steadyat 7.
8 When making comparisons, the Departmeny of Labor and Industry uses seasonally adjuster figures in order to account for cyclical hiring differencese that don’t reflect changes in the overalo economy. Employment in the seven-countty Pittsburgh area continues to be stronger than manyothef areas. In addition to besting the state by half apercentaged point, unemployment in the Pittsburgh MSA is 1.6 percentage points lower than the United States as a which has seasonally adjusted unemployment of 8.9 Here is the breakdowhn across the state: State College: 5.7 percent Lebanon: 6.7 percent 7.2 percent Pittsburgh: 7.3 percent 7.9 percent York-Hanover: 7.9 percent 8.3 percent Erie: 8.
4 percent Scranton-Wilkes-Barre: 8.6 percent 8.7 percent Reading: 8.7 percent Withinj the Pittsburgh MSA, unemployment ranged from 6.5 percentg in Allegheny County to 9.8 percent in Armstrong County. Here is the breakdown by Allegheny: 6.5 percent Butler: 7.3 percengt Washington: 7.6 percent Beaver: 7.9 percengt Westmoreland: 8.1 percent Fayette: 8.9 percent Armstrong: 9.8 percenft

Saturday 6 August 2011

CEO: Legg Mason

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“We are in the flow because we see Fetting told the audience at a conferenceJune 4. Any acquisitions would not be large enoughb tobe “transformational,” Fetting said, but would instead be smalledr deals that would add to what the compan y already does. The profitability of asset such asLegg Mason, dependxs in large part on the amount of moneg clients invest with them. One way of increasing what is referred toas “assets under management” is to acquirde other financial services companies whose customeres would then become Legg Mason customers. The company had $632.e4 billion in assets under managemenyt as ofMarch 31.
Alan a analyst who follows Legg Mason, said he doesn’ft expect the company to make anyblockbuster acquisitions. “They don’f really have the finances rightt now to dosomething transformational,” he “I don’t think they really need to change anything up, but fill in the gaps and add to what they alreadgy have.” That could include addinbg fund companies that could increase Legg’s offerings of international mutuao funds that invest in foreign and U.S. companies, he Legg Mason’s last major acquisition was in 2005 when it swappex its retail brokerage businessfor ’s asseyt management business.
That same year Legg Masonm alsobought , a British funds