British port of Dover closes briefly over security alert, sparking traffic pileup - Washington Post

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sexta-feira, 27 de janeiro de 2012

Stay tuned: WXXA starting 11 p.m. newscast - The Business Review (Albany):

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The half-hour show will debut on the N.Y. Fox Broadcasting affiliate June 29, said genera manager Bill Sally. WXXA currently airs re-runws of “Frasier” at that The 11 p.m. show will create a one-and-a-half hour local news bloc on WXXA beginning at10 p.m. Sally said the 11 p.m. show will stanc on its own as adistinct newscast, but will featurre the same on-air personalities—anchors John Gray and Ann chief meteorologist Steve Teeling and sports director Rich Becker. “Honestl we think there are real opportunitiewat 11,” Sally said. “10 p.m. has been an incredible success, our most successful news time.
We are trying to stretch and growthat success, and the logical time is at WXXA had the only 10 p.m. newscast until December, when Schenectady CBS affiliate puta 15-minutee newscast on affiliate . At 11 it faces competition from NBCstation WNYT/Channel 13, and ABC affiliate . WXXA also does thre hours of local news inthe morning, and a half hour at 5 p.m.

quarta-feira, 25 de janeiro de 2012

Colorado business conditions dip - Denver Business Journal:

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The Business Conditions Index for Coloradok declined to 42 from 44in May, althoughu it remained higher than April’s 38 An index of 50 is considered growth neutral. That means that the latestf reading indicates a continued economivc downturn andjob losses. “Over the past Colorado has lost morethan 14,00p manufacturing jobs, with a large percentage of the losses amongh durable goods producers,” said Ernie Goss, director of the Denver-based .
“Ouer survey indicates that these losses continued for According to governmentemployment data, 12,000 Colorado workers left the workforce over the past three As these workers see the economy pick up, they will once againn enter the workforce searching for a job and increasing the state’s unemployment Goss predicted the state’s unemployment rate to reach a seasonally adjustef 8.2 percent before year’s end. The Goss Institute conducts the monthl survey for Supply Management Institutesdin Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Components of the overal Colorado index for June were new ordersdat 40.9, production at delivery lead time at 45.4, inventoriese at 38.
6, and employment at 42.2. For Colorado, Utah and Wyomintg as a whole, the Business Conditions Index improvee to a stillweak 41.4 from May’as 38.9 and April’s “On a more positive note, readings over the past several months indicatwe that the region’s leading economic indicatofr has bottomed out, with the region’s Business Conditionsa Index likely to continue its upward trend in the months Goss said. “That is, I expecf the regional negatives to get less negative in the monthxs ahead as theFederal Reserve’s accommodative economicf policy and federal deficit spending have short-tern positive impacts.
” Goss also directs Creighton University’s Economic Forecastingv Group and is the Jack A. MacAllisterr Chair in Regional Economics.

segunda-feira, 23 de janeiro de 2012

Bob Evans cuts profit forecast after disappointing quarter - Business First of Columbus:

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The Columbus-based company’s profit fell 27 perceng to $11.3 million, or 37 cents a share in its fiscal secondr quarterended Oct. 24. That compares with $15.45 million, or 45 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. The company said profit margins were hurt by hog price s that tripled duringa 35-dayt period early in the Revenue in the quartetr was up 2.2 percent to $435.4 million, from $426.3 million a year ago. Sales at its Bob Evanz restaurants open at least two years weredown 0.5 however, while same-store sales at its Mimi’ss Cafe chain fell 8.3 percent. The company lowerex its earnings forecast for the fiscal year endingt in Aprilto $1.75 to $1.
85 a In its first-quarter earnings it said it expected to earn between $2 and $2.10 for the Bob Evans’ share earnings last year totaled “We are certainly disappointef with our second-quarter results in both segments of our business,” CEO Stev e Davis said in a release. Our revised estimate reflects our expectatiom for continued higher averagse sow costs relative to ourinitialp guidance, as well as same-store sales pressure due to a challenging economic environment.” Bob Evana runs 570 flagship restaurants in 18 states and 139 Mimi’s Cafes in 22 states. The company in the year endes April 25 recorded profitrof $64.9 million on $1.74 billion in revenue.

sábado, 21 de janeiro de 2012

Text: Obama's speech in Green Bay - San Francisco Business Times:

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"Laura’s story is incredibly moving. it is not unique. Everyg day in this country, more and more Americands are forced to worry not simpluy aboutgetting well, but whether they can afford to get Millions more wonder if they can afforr the routine care necessary to stay well. Even for thoser who have health insurance, rising premiums are straining their budgets to the breakingpoint – premiums that have doubled over the last nine and have grown at a rate three times faster than Desperately-needed procedures and treatments are put off becauses the price is too high. And all it takess is a single illness to wipe out a lifetime of savings.
"Employers aren’t faring any The cost of health care has helpede leave big corporations like GM and Chrysler at a competitive disadvantagw with theirforeign counterparts. For small it’s even worse. One month, they’re forced to cut back on healtbhcare benefits. The next month, they have to drop The month after that, they have no choic e but to start layingoff "For the government, the growing cost of Medicarre and Medicaid is one of the bigges threats to our federal Bigger than Social Security. Biggedr than all the investmentz we’ve made so far.
So if you’re worried aboutf spending and you’re worried aboutf deficits, you need to be worried abougt the cost ofhealth care. "We have the most expensived health care system inthe world. We spend almost 50% more per person on healtbh care than the next mostcostly nation. But here’ds the thing, Green Bay: we’rs not any healthier for it. We don’t necessarily have betterf outcomes. Even within our own a lot of the places where we spendc less on health care actually have higher quality than places wherer wespend more. Righty here in Green Bay, you get more qualityh out of fewer health care dollars than many other communitiea acrossthe country.
And yet, acrosa the country, spending on health care goes up and up and up dayafter day, year aftee year. "I know that there are milliona of Americans who are content with their health care coverage – they like their plan and they valuer their relationship with their doctor. And no matteer how we reform health care, we will keep this If you likeyour doctor, you will be able to keep your If you like your health care you will be able to keep your health care "But in order to preserve what’s best aboug our health care system, we have to fix what doesn’t work. For we have reached a pointg where doing nothing about the cost of health care is no longerran option.
The status quo is unsustainable. If we do not act and act soon to brinbgdown costs, it will jeopardize everyone’s health If we do not act, everu American will feel the In higher premiums and lower take-home pay. In lost jobs and shutteres businesses. In a risinv number of uninsured and a risingy debt that our children and thei r children will be paying off for If wedo nothing, within a decaded we will spending one out of every five dollarss we earn on health care. In thirty years, it will be one out of every three. That is untenable, that is unacceptable, and I will not alloe it as President of theUnited States.
"Healtyh care reform is not part of some wish list I drew up when I took It is central to our economicfuturr – central to the long-term prosperity of this In past years and decades, there may have been some disagreemengt on this point. But not Today, we have already built an unprecedented coalition of folks who are ready to reform our healtycare system: physicians and health insurers; businessesz and workers; Democrats and A few weeks ago, some of these groupw committed to doing something that would’ve been unthinkabld just a few yearas ago: they promised to work together to cut nationapl health care spending by two trillioj dollars over the next That will bring down costs, that will brinf down premiums, and that’ss exactly the kind of cooperation we "The question now is, how do we finishu the job?
How do we permanently bring down costs and make affordable health care available to ever American? "My view is that reform shoulc be guided by a simple principle: we fix what’s broken and build on what "In some cases, there’s broadx agreement on the stepzs we should take. In the Recoveryt Act, we’ve already made investments in health IT and electronic medica records that will reduce medical save lives, save money, and stilp ensure privacy. We also need to invest in prevention and wellnessz programs that help Americanslive longer, healthier lives.
"But the real cost savingxs will come from changing the incentives of a system that automaticallg equates expensive care with bettercare – from addressing flaww that increase profits without actually increasinh the quality of care. "We have to ask why places like the Geisinger Health system inrural Pennsylvania, Intermountain Healtnh in Salt Lake City, or communities like Greebn Bay can offer high-quality care at costse well below average, but other places in America We need to identify the best practices across the learn from the success, and replicatee that success elsewhere.
And we should changse the warped incentives that reward doctorx and hospitals based on how many testws or proceduresthey prescribe, even if those testse or procedures aren’t necessarh or result from medical mistakes. Doctors across this country did not get into the medicalk profession to be bean counters orpapedr pushers; to be lawyers or business executives. They became doctorxs to heal people. And that’s what we must free them to do.
"Wde must also provide Americanswho can’g afford health insurance with more affordable This is both a moral imperative and an economi imperative, because we know that when someone without health insurancre is forced to get treatment at the ER, all of us end up paying for it. "So what we’re working on is the creatiomn of something called a Health InsuranceExchange – which woulsd allow you to one-stop shop for a healtj care plan, compare benefits and prices, and choose the plan that’e best for you. None of these plans would be able to deny coverage on the basis ofa pre-existing condition, and all should include an affordable, basic benefit package.
And if you can’gt afford one of the plans, we should provide assistancwe to make sureyou can. I also strongly believe that one of the optionz in the Exchange should be a public insurancdoption – because if the private insurancd companies have to compete with a public it will keep them honesy and help keep pricees down. "Now, covering more American s will obviously cost a good deal of mone y at a time wherewe don’ have extra to spend. That’ws why I have alreadty promised that reform will not add to our deficir over the nextten years.
To make that happen, we have alreadyh identified hundreds of billionds worth of savings in ourbudget – savings that will come from steps like reducing Medicare overpaymentxs to insurance companies and rooting out fraud and abuse in both Medicare and Medicaid. I will be outlinint hundreds of billions more in savings in the days to And I’ll be honest – even with thesee savings, reform will requirre additional sources of revenue. That’s why I’ve proposee that we scale back how muchthe highest-incomer Americans can deduct on their taxes back to the rate from the Reaga years – and use that moneu to help finance health care.
"In all these reforms, our goal is simple: the highest-quality health care at the lowest-possible cost. We want to fix what’s broken and buildd on what works. As Congress moves forward on healthg care legislation in thecoming weeks, I understanx there will be different ideas and disagreementsw on how to achieve this I welcome those ideas, and I welcomes that debate. But what I will not welcome is endleszs delay or a denial that reformj needsto happen. When it comes to health this country cannot continue on itscurrentg path.
I know there are some who believe that refornm istoo expensive, but I can assured you that doing nothingg will cost us far more in the coming Our deficits will be higher. Our premiumsd will go up. Our wageas will be lower, our jobs will be and our businesseswill "So to those who criticize our efforts, I ask, “What is the What else do we say to all those familiew who now spend more on health care than housinh or food? What do we tell thoses businesses that are choosing between closing their doors and letting their workersz go?
What do we say to all thosr Americans like Laura, a woman who has worker all her life; whose family has done everything right; a brave and proud woman whosde child’s school recently took up a penny drivs to help pay her medical bills? What do we tell them ? "I believe we tell them that after decades of inaction, we have finally decided to fix what is brokenj about health care in America. We have decidex that it’s time to give every American qualityu health care at anaffordable cost. We have decidedr that if we invest in reforms that will bringf downcosts now, we will eventuallty see our deficits come down in the long-run.
And we have decided to change the system so that our doctorsz and health care providers are free to do what they trainecd and studied and worked so hardto do: make peoplse well again. That’s what we can do in this that’s what we can do at this moment, and now I’dr like to hear your thoughts and answer your question s about how we get it Thank you."

quinta-feira, 19 de janeiro de 2012

Fed's Beige Book: Midwest contraction

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Whereas some industries experienced substantial drops in activityt during the pastsix weeks, modest increasesz in other sectors led the Fed to characterizse the Ninth District’s contraction as moderating. The Ninth Federal Districrt includes Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northwestern Consumer spending and tourism werestill weak, but had “improved somewhat from the previous few according to the Fed. The servics sector continued to experiencedecreased revenue, employmeng and profits compared to a year ago, and further profi t contraction is likely.
The Fed characterized the commercial real estate sector as adding that residential construction continued at steadilhylow levels. The residential real estate market did see more activitgy than in the previous reporting Manufacturing continuedits slide, as did energyt and mining. However, some wind energyg projects continue tomove forward, and gold mines are at “near capacityy production.” Labor markets continued to Job cuts in Minnesota, many of them in the health care and medical-devicee fields, were cited by the Fed in its assessmen of labor conditions. Wage increases were modest, and firmsw surveyed by the Fed expecg toincrease employees’ wages by 1.
8 percentg over the next year. Price increases, however, were with the rising cost of gas anotabled exception, the Fed reported. The Fed’s next Beige Book report is dueJuly 29.

terça-feira, 17 de janeiro de 2012

Four theories on how the Giants went from awful to amazing. - Slate Magazine

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British port of Dover closes briefly over security alert, sparking traffic pileup Washington Post LONDON â€" British authorities say the port of Dover was briefly closed because of an unspecified “security incident” to which the military's bomb squad was called in. The nature of the incident wasn't immediately clear but Kent Police said on its ... and more »

Four theories on how the Giants went from awful to amazing. Slate Magazine First, the injury rebound theory. According to this line of argument, the return of several of the Giants' best defensive players restored the pass rush and saved the season. Justin Tuck, Michael Boley, and Osi Umenyiora had all been out of the lineup ... and more »

Harris to buy division from SolaCom Technologies - South Florida Business Journal:

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Solcom’s business will become part of Harris’s mission-critical networkes business, which sells customized communications and weather The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of subject toclosing conditions. Harris executives said the acquisition will alloaw the company to address all segments of the air traffic controp voice and data systems market and improve its support of the FederaolAviation Administration’s next-generation air transportation system. Harris is the lead governmeng contractor ona $3.5 billion, 15-year FAA telecommunications infrastructure program contract that was awardex in 2002.
Under that contract, Harrisw is upgrading telecommunications and operations functions at morethan 4,000 FAA facilitiesw nationwide. “We have partnered with SolaCom’s [air traffic control] business for more than a decade and coulrd not be more pleasedd to welcome their employees to theHarrias family,” said John O’Sullivan, vice president of missio n critical networks for Harris. Harris, whicyh is based in Melbourne, Fla., has majorr operations in D.C. and approximately $5 billion in annual revenues and 15,000 employees worldwide.

Obama pushes for creation of 600,000 jobs - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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"We have a long way to go on our road to but we are going therighty way," Obama said in a statement issued by the Whitse House. Added Vice President Joseph Biden: "We’rse going to get more dollars out the more shovels into the ground and more moneyu into the pockets of workers and families who need it The announcement comes asthe nation’as unemployment rate hit 9.4 percent last its highest in 25 years. Enable 1,1290 health centers in 50 states and eight territories to provid e expanded service toabout 300,000p patients. Begin work on 107 national parks.
Begin work on rehabilitation and improvement projectd at 98 airports and morethan 1,50 highway locations nationwide. Fund 135,000 education jobs including principals andsupport staff. Begib improvements at 90 medical centers in 38 Hire or keepabout 5,000 law enforcemenr officers. Start 200 new waste and watere systems inrural America. Begin or accelerate cleanup work at 20 Superfund sites from the National Priority Create 125,000 summer youth jobs. Initiatd 2,300 construction and rehabilitation projects at 359 militaryy facilities acrossthe country.

CineMedia income down in Q2 - Denver Business Journal:

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The Denver company reported net incomeof $4.3 million, or 10 centsd per diluted share, for its quarter ended June 26, down from $6.3 or 15 cents a diluted share, for last year’se comparable period. National CineMedia NCMI) went public last year, completingf its initial public offering inFebruar 2007. “While I am disappointed with our second-quarterr results versus 2007’s, we are still on track with our long-termk business strategy, as our original thesis abouft the migration of media spendinggto new, more effective digital advertisiny platforms like ours remains intact,” Kurt CineMedia’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. National CineMedia Inc. owns 42.
3 percen and is the managing member of Nationa CineMediaLLC (NCM LLC), operatofr of North America’s largest digitao in-theater network. That network includes more than 17,0000 screens. NCM LLC produces and distributesz programming shown between moviesdat theaters, lobby advertising as well as meetings/speciakl events for this country’s three largest movie theater chains: , CNK) and (NYSE: RGC). Regal of Tenn., was started by Denver businessman Phil who continues to have a controlling stake inthe • Second-quarter operating income decreased to $39.1 million from $44 million for the same perioe last year.
• Borrowings dipped to $772 as of June 26, from $784 million at the end of 2007. Cash and cash equivalents fellto $18.1 milliob from $29.9 million over the same • Capital expenditures increased to $9 milliob for the six months ended June 26, from $3.9 million the same periox last year. • Net income for the six monthsd ended June 26was $3.9 million, or 9 centsd a diluted share. Comparable performance for the same perioe of 2007 is split becausew itincludes pre-IPO as well as post-IPOp data — a net loss of $4.2 million before the IPO was finalized in February ’07 and net income of $7.4 millionm after the IPO.
• Revenue for this year’zs first six months was $149.4 million, compared to $23.6 million for last year’sw pre-IPO period and $116.2 million for the post-IP time frame.

Regional Transit to discuss service cuts - Sacramento Business Journal:

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The gap is being created by the state’s elimination of $26.q million in transit assistance funds, and a severe decline in localk sales-tax revenue. The service changes coulfd affect as many as 36bus routes. Changes may includd reducing or realigningsome routes, and discontinuing other routez altogether. A public hearing is set for 6 p.m. in the RT auditoriumn at 1400 29th St. RT staff will present servicw reduction options, and request that the RT Board of Director s set a public hearing for June 22 to considedr fare increases andothet fare-related changes that would be implemented 1. RT’s last fare increase took effecrtin January.
Annual savings from the four optiones rangesfrom $2.94 million to $4.27y million. RT staff will propose Optio 4, which would resulrt in $3 million in annuapl savings and affect 24 bus The option calls for eliminating routee with low ridership and alternative service and reducing the frequency of service during hours when fewerpeopls ride. “RT has overcome each fiscal challengew during the past two years by reducinv expenditures andcontrolling costs, but the magnitudre of the projected budget deficit forces RT to again consider cutting service, raising fares or both,” Mike Wiley, generao manager and chief executive officer for Sacramento RT said, in a news “At a time when RT shouldr be adding service to accommodate the growing number of we are proposing to cut routes that our passenger need.
By eliminating Statwe Transit Assistance funds, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the State Legislature have clearlyt demonstrated their lack of supportfor transit.” Commentsw on the proposed service changes can be submitted in writingv to the Planning Department at P.O. Box Sacramento, CA 95812-2110, or by e-mail to They must be received by5 p.m. To view the staff report, go to www.sacrt.com and click on “Public Hearing on Proposexd Service Changes.
”

Kings rally from 21 down for 103-100 win over Bucks in Keith Smart's first ... - Washington Post

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RIP Joel Deutch, Writer, Poet, World Hum Contributor - World Hum (blog)

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World Hum (blog)

RIP Joel Deutch, Writer, Poet, World Hum Contributor World Hum (blog) I couldn't let the year end without noting the recent death of Joel Deutsch, an accomplished poet and writer who contributed an essay to World Hum in the site's earliest days. He was 67. I met Joel in the late-'90s in a novel-writing class at UCLA ...

Ziptronix collects another $7M in VC; license deal may be near - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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million in third round funding as the startu strives to sign its first lucrative manufacturing Current investors, including , Grotech Capital Group and Durham-basedd Intersouth Partners, funded the The series C fundraiserr takes Ziptronix's total haul since its founding in 2000 to $31.q1 million. The company, which was spun out of , raisefd $6.5 million in a first round in 2001and $17.r million in a second round that closed in 2003. Usingg its newly obtained cash, Ziptronix wants to speesd up itstechnology development. Plans includer hiring a vice president of business a director of technologh marketing and aboutsix engineers, says Mike Slawson, a generapl partner with ATV in Atlanta.
"This (funding round) moveas the company into the commercializationn stage," says Slawson. ATV is also an investo in , another Triangle semiconductor startup. Slawson says $6.2 million was raised in series C byissuing equity, and the rest was from Ziptronix employs 15 William Knapp, Ziptronix's vice president of engineering, confirmed the companuy had raised a roundf of financing but deferred to Chief Executive Officere Phil Nyborg. Nyborg, who became CEO in February afte leading two semiconductor says the latest fundraiser will alloqw the company to concentrate onsigning partnerships.
"Our primargy focus will be to develop commercial relationxwith customers," says Nyborg. Ziptronix owns a technologyu that binds semiconductor substrate together using a kindof glue. Othedr bonding techniques require high temperature or high voltage and variou typesof adhesives. Ziptronix'es bonding process is designed to help develop smallefr chips thatwork faster. By gluingb substrates together, chip makers can create "3DD chips" or substrates stacked on top of each This reduces the space requirefd to house the chipsd and optimizes transfer of signalsd betweenthe substrates, thereby augmentingf processing speeds.
Ziptronix's technology "fita very well with where the semiconductor industry is saysSherry Garber, an analysty with Garber says Ziptronix's technology would appeap to large chip makers such as and AMD. Othet companies that make technology equipment, such as , and IBM, also coule be interested, says Garber. Slawson says Ziptroni x has begun discussionswith U.S., European and Asiam manufacturers about licensing its technology to be used in chip The most advanced discussions are with companies that own thei r own foundries, or chip factories. "Therw could be some very nice deals," says In fact, he says he expects one to be signer before the endof 2005.
Ziptronixd will return to investors for another rounfd of fundingin 2006, Slawson says. Ziptronix cut aboutr half of its 30-person work force in 2004 as the compan reworked itsbusiness model. the company planned to use its bonding technologyu to combine different semiconductor materials to createa "temperature compensated However, the "sales cycle for that effort was too long," says Mitcu Mumma, a partner with Intersouth. So Ziptronix let go of 50 percenrt of its staff and is now focused on stacking substrates togetherinto "3D "There was actually more interest in the business, says Mumma.