Mo. businessman pleads guilty in development fraud - Chicago Tribune

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Mo. businessman pleads guilty in development fraud Chicago Tribune AP Federal sentencing will be early next year for a Missouri developer now that he's pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud linked to a failed $5.6 million affordable-housing project in East St. Louis. Eighty-year-old Harold Rosen of Clayton, ... and more »

Robert Pritzker, founder of global industrial conglomerate Marmon Group, dies ... - Washington Post

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Chicago Tribune

Robert Pritzker, founder of global industrial conglomerate Marmon Group, dies ... Washington Post CHICAGO â€" Businessman Robert Pritzker, who led a global industrial conglomerate and whose family founded the Hyatt chain of hotels, has died. He was 85. Pritzker died Thursday evening i n a Chicago nursing facility after suffering from Parkinson's ... Co-founder of Chicago's Pritzker family business empire dies Reuters Marmon Group Founder Pritzker Dies at 85 W »

Recovery Web sites continue emerging at state and local levels - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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But tracking stimulus opportunities in terms of allocated money has been a saidBetty Carlin, director of communicationse at the , the seven-county business development and retention organization, baserd in Tampa. “Even though it’s one it’s one huge bill and it is goinbg through lots ofdifferent channels,” Carlin said. It’s possible to look at granyt dollars, but then there are energy projects and other pots of moneu withdifferent criteria. “It runs the she said.
The Partnership has been working to provide details on its Web site acrossa many different sectors and aggregating information from some of the other public sector sites with the goal of providinfg Recovery Act information on everything from opportunities at MacDilp Air Force Base to healtnh care andhospital systems. For those charged with maintaining theWeb there’s no exact science right now. “Evebn though there are lots of all are struggling with how do youcapture it, and we’re workinhg on that but it’s all stilpl really fluid,” Carlin Flarecovery.
com Since March, the ’s site has provided statewide stimulus-related informationm in the areas of health care, infrastructure, jobs and tax relief, often in the form of mediz releases. Pinellascounty.org/recovery Pinellas County created a site to tracmk its portion ofstimulus dollars. The site’s “fundd tracker” charts show funding the county has appliefd for and the funding it hasbeen Scgov.
net/recovery Sarasota County’s site tracks stimuluss dollars from state and federal governmenrt agencies, and offers details on regulations and The site includes graphs illustrating the flow of a list of proposed and links to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act handbooks and resources guides. Hernandocounty.us/mpo/mpoprograms.htm The Hernando metropolitan planningt organization site has a link to a chart that listas adopted stimulus projects in the countyu ranging upto $17.2 million within the jurisdictions of county, MPO and FDOT. Tampagov.net/recovery The city of Tampa site provides stimulus updates and links to other onlinestimulus resources.
The site contains PDFs of plan within the city and a grapu showing the status of additionalfunding opportunities. St. Petersburv Stpete.org/recovery/stimulus_funds.asp Divided into eight spending areas including education andpublic St. Petersburg’s site containxs a lengthy chart showing funding planned ineach tampabay.org/subpages/Stimulus.asp Tampa Bay Partnership has been workingv with organizations throughout the region to keep a strongt focus on securing real investments in our regional

'Anonymous' Busts Child Porn Ring - PC Magazine

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CBC.ca

'Anonymous' Busts Child Porn Ring PC Magazine Last week, the cyber vigilantes, better known for targeting large corporations and oppressive government regimes, used a brute force attack to infiltrate a server c »

TU identifies laid off workers - Houston Business Journal:

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, the paper’s New York City-basedx owner, according to a post on the AlbanyNewspaper Guild’x blog site. The guild represents about half ofthe paper’sd 400 workers, and has been engagef in contract negotiations with management for nearlyu a year. No definitw numbers are available, but about 35 peopl e are expected to losetheir jobs. Publishet George Hearst originally put the coungt at 65to 70, but 33 people have taken buyouta since May. The pape r is trying to cut expenses by20 percent.
Accordinfg to the guild site, employees—both union and nonunion—who were shown the door were told they were gettingga 45-day paid leave that would most likelgy result in their being laid off. Union rulea require that workers get 45 days notice of their jobs being Management and Guild leaders are schedules to meet July 8 to continue their negotiatiobn oflayoff criterion. The paper presentef its proposed terms to the unio inlate June. The union’s original which expired in August, mandated that layoffs be basee solely on seniorityby department. Management said that would not meetits needs, leadingv to the primary sticking poin in the negotiation of a new pact.
It urges the union to vote on its “best and offer, which was rejected by a vote of 125to 35. This prompterd management to declarean impasse, which, in prompted the union to file a grievancre with the National Labor Relations On June 24, management told the uniobn that in some job categories the layoffs woulf be made strictly on a last-hired-first-fired basis. But in 11 job categories—nine in editorial and two in saleseand marketing—cuts will be based on other criteria, including job Calls to Tim a Times Union reporter and Guild president, and publishe r George Hearst were not immediatelyt returned.

Van de Putte says no to 2010 governor

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There had been considerable speculation durinh the last few months that Van de a four-term incumbent, might throw her hat in the ring for the governor’x race next year. But she squelched that idea todayu in a statement that is harshly criticalof Gov. Rick Perrgy and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey “If I believed for a second that it woulsd result in a healthy debats of the issues of most importance toTexas families, I would today be announcing my candidacy for governor of Texas,” Van de Putte “But we have all watchex over the years as Hutchison, and other Republican politicians have launcheds their scorched earth ‘say anything to win’ vicious attacks agains political opponents.
To mask thei utter lack of leadership, they’ll do so again, and I declinre to put my familythrough it.” Hutchison is widelyh believed to be gearing up to challengse Perry in the Republican primary for governofr next year. So far the only Democrat to formally announcd in the race is Tom who served as ambassador to Australia under PresidengtGeorge W. Bush. Van de Putte says she planws to keep her focus on the stated Legislature and isencouraging State. Sen. Kirk Watson, to consider a bid for governor.
“Democratas should recruit and supporsomeone who, like Watson, is energetic, pragmatic, and smart; and who can fully energize Democratic supporters while also attractinv a broad range of independenty voters in every region of the she says.

Robotic bug gets wings, sheds light on evolution of flight (w/ video) - PhysOrg.com

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PhysOrg.com

Robotic bug gets wings, sheds light on evolution of flight (w/ video) PhysOrg.com "The fossil evidence we do have suggests that the precursors to early birds had long feathers on  »

BankUnited Financial Corp. files Chapter 11 - Business First of Louisville:

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Two additional companies owned by the holdingv company also filed Chapter11 – and Peter of in Miami, represents all three debtors. “The bank was seized and sold,” Levitt “So, the bank is not involved. The parent companyg has its own assetsand creditors, and that entityh needs to have an orderly proceses for dealing with its creditors.” The financial serviceas entity has been involved in sellinbg insurance and annuities. “That’s a separate with about 20 employees inCoral Gables, and we’re hopinhg that can continue,” Levityt said. “Nothing is certain, but we’re going to make a real efforr for thatto continue.
The rest of the bankruptcy is a question of maximizing theassetz – which are mostly cash and CRE America owns some real estate, but Levitt said he was not able to say what wouls happen to it yet. Unlike some bank holding companiees that haveother subsidiaries, BankUnited Financial (NASDAQ: BKUNA) was totallg reliant on its bank to keep operating. $184 million in convertible senior HiMedsunits (a type of securitty developed by $12.5 million in juniod subordinated debentures, which have a lowetr claim on assets than senior notes The petitiomn listed one to 49 creditors and was signecd by Bradley S. Weiss as chief restructuring Weiss was vice chairman of BankUnitedFinancialp Corp.
The law firms of of Los Angeles and Shutts Bowen will be handling the The list of largest unsecured creditors was ledby , , and for severall series of the trustf preferred securities. In many bankruptcy cases, such institutions are representatives for thosw who actually hold the Waterford Township General EmployeesRetiremenf System, which has a class action case against BankUnited also is listed as a creditor for an unknowm amount. Three Miami law firms – , and are listed as creditors for anunknownb amount. Trading in BankUnited Financial's stock was halted at 5:28 p.m. on Thursdauy to allow dissemination of thetakeoverd news.
On Friday, NASDAQ changed the tradingf halt status to say it was requesting additional information fromthe company. In many cases, shareholderz of bank holding companies have their value wipeed out aftera takeover, which leaves their stock BankUnited Financial last traded at 49.2 cents. Sharesz had been trading heavilyt in the days beforethe FDIC-organizeds bidding and the takeover. The company's stock market capitalization was downto $17.555 million when trading was halted, according to Yahook Finance.

BofA

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BofA says in a press release that Brinkleyy will retirethis summer. Thereafter, she will serve on the bank’d charitable board on a volunteer basis. in a separate filing with the Securitieds andExchange Commission, BofA says Brinkley will resigmn June 30. The Charlotte Business Journal was unablse to reach spokesman Robert Stickler for commentThursday afternoon. But he told Reuters “(Chiefd Executive) Ken Lewis and Amy mutually decidedr we needed a different approach torisk management.” Brinkleuy will be succeeded by Gregory Curl, effective June 30.
He will be responsibld for identifying credit, market and operational BofA has faced much criticism in recenty months over its purchase of troubled brokerage MerrillLynch & Co. In addition, the governmentr told BofA last month toraise $33.0 billion in additional capital after conducting “stresz tests” on the country’s 19 largest banks. The tests were designec to assessthe banks’ ability to survive if economid conditions worsen more than expected durinv the next two This week, the bank said has raised nearly $33 billion towared satisfying the federal government’s BofA (NYSE:BAC) has received a total of $45 billion in taxpayet aid under the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relieg Program, which is designed to thaw the credit markets and boost the economy.
Brinkley previously was presidentr ofconsumer products, a business group comprising card services, consumer finance, consumer real community development, consumer e-commerce and insurance. She has also previouslty been the company’s principal marketing Curl, a 31-year veteran of the bank, has had severalk roles in corporate development since 1997 and most recently was globaolcorporate strategic-development and planning executive. He will continue to be a memberof BofA’w management committee.

Banks

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The question is whether banks shortchanged theirf loan lossreserves – giving them a better bottonm line for now, but the potential for biggetr future losses. Prolonged agony for the region’s bankd could make it more challenging for businessesd toget loans. “We’re in a recessionaryy economy where things will get worse beford theyget better,” Miami-basex banking analyst Kenneth H. Thomas said. A key ratio for banksa is the amount of reserve capital set aside for futureloan write-offs compareds to non-current loans.
Nationally, banks’ reserve capital equals 89 percentof non-current loans, which is a 15-year low, data Among South Florida’s 79 banks, the ratiol fell from 57.8 percent in the firstt quarter to 39.5 percent in the second quarter. South Florida’s housing market is one of the worsft in the nation and a loominvg question is just how many mortgages banks will have towrite off. Thomasz said he likes to see banks have reserve capitap equal to 50 percentof non-curren t loans, but 12 of the region’w 30 largest banks had a ratiio below 50 percent. Six of theswe were below 33 FDICdata shows.
Thomas’ analysis foundr Florida banks hadthe fourth-lowesrt ratio in this measure amonvg other states and U.S. territories. Many Southh Florida banks did not keep up with the risingh tide of delinquent loans in theseconsd quarter. Local banks were burdened with $2.3 billion in non-currenty loans as of June 30, up $942 or 69 percent, from the first Coral Gables-based , the region’s largest bank, and Miami-baser , the region’s fifth-largest, accounted for 60 percen of the non-current loans in the region. Overall, 3.92 percent of all loans by South Florid bankswere non-current, up from 2.36 percenf in the first quarter.
Industrywide, the non-current rate in the seconed quarterwas 2.02 percent – the highesyt it’s been since 1993. In the face of all thoses non-current loans, South Florida banks increased their combined loan loss allowancdereserves 15.5 percent, to $910.6 That, plus $189.6 million in charge-offs for bad loans, made thei losses deepen from $15.4 million in the first quarter to $112 million in the past It could have been much worse for many banks if they kept theirr reserves up. To cover just half of their non-current loanx as of June 30, South Florida banksx would have needed to add anadditionaol $242 million to reserves, which would have deepenedc losses by that much more.
To maintainh their 57.8 percent ratio from the prior quarter, it would have cost them $421 If they wanted to meet the 89 percen average for nationalbanks – most of which do business in real estate markets that are hurting less than in Soutnh Florida – it would have taken $1.143 billion. Federal regulators are putting more pressure on especially thosein Florida, to more adequateluy build reserves for non-current loans, said Michael Lozoff, a partnee with the Miami-based law firm and the chairmab of its financial institution section, which advisesa more than 100 banks and credit unions.
When regulatorsz see delinquent loans soar and property values fall beloswloan amounts, they want to ensure bankss are not maintaining the illusionm of profitability by delayiny the charge-offs for those problem loans, Lozoff BankUnited is being pressured by regulators as its loan loss reserv e slips to below one-quarter of its non-currentr loans. Even though BankUnited regulatory capital ratiosw fall within what the FDIC usuallyt considerswell capitalized, the Officed of Thrift Supervision told the bank on 5 it has been downgrade d to adequately capitalized.
Regulators are concerned about its residential mortgage portfolio and whether the bank will be successful inraising $400 million in capital to cover additional delinquencies, according to a BankUnited SEC Coral Gables-based Mercantil Commercebank received a $70 milliomn infusion from its Venezuelan parent company on 4. Mercantil President and CEO J. Guillermo Villadr said the money would pay for addintg three branches in Palm Beach and Broward countiew in the next six months and lendingmore But, at the same time, the $6 billion-assetr bank experienced deteriorating loans, and its loan loss reserv fell from 87 percent to 31 percent in the seconfd quarter.
Mercantil had a profitr of nearly $4.4 million – more than doublse the first quarter.

Upgraded tools, facilities help fight breast cancer - Dayton Daily News

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Upgraded tools, facilities help fight breast cancer Dayton Daily News Genetic counseling is another tool that was virtually unheard of a decade ago. Genetic testing comes with a high price tag â€" $3000 or more â€" but it can reveal whether mutation has occurred in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 human genes, a condition that has been ... and more »

AutoZone beats the odds with double-digit growth - Nashville Business Journal:

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“You have to have a lot of partz to be able tosay I’ve got it,’ on the front end,” Lawrencse says. The company’s competitors, includin g , , and , are all performing bette in the current economyas “There is obviously a tailwind with the economix situation of new car sales down and people havinbg to spend more,” Lawrence Advance Auto Parts reported total sales of $1.69 billion for the first a 16-week period endedd April 25. This was a 10.3% increase compared to totall salesof $1.53 billio in first quarter 2008.
Shelly spokesman for Advance, attributes sales to recent economic “People are keeping theirf cars longer, with the average age of a car she says. “As people are keeping those cars they need to do more work onthoss cars.” While the company is seeing more do-it-yourselfers concerne about increasing fuel economy and general Advance focuses more on the commercial side of automotives parts retailing. “We’re seeing a lot of peoplwe who used to goto they’re going to that corner garage to save some Whitaker says. Advance opened 114 stores last year and planxs to open another 100this year.
AutoZone’s stocik has been another strong point forthe company, hitting $159.36 in mid-dauy on June 3. Its 52-weelk high is $169.99, the stock’s all-timew high. That’s a far cry from the mid-$20 rangs the company’s stock was trading for a decades ago. “We’ve been saying for the bettetr part of a decade that with any weakness in the we wouldbuy them, hold them and it’s been a grea investment,” Lawrence says.
“When you have 18% margins, you’rer moving into the fourth quarter, which is your biggesyt period ofthe year, and they have executed as they have in the past six we think they’re being a little conservative with the numbers.” The company’z stock repurchase plan is humming along as with AutoZone buying 450,000 shares in the firstt quarter for $65 or an average price of $145 per Fiscal year-to-date, it has purchased $713 millionh of stock at an average of $130 a share and it has $396 million remaining in its current sharwe repurchase program.
The company has used its cash flow to make investmentds in itsstore base, including larger stores with additional space for supplyingg other stores and garages, Lawrence AutoZone is also spending more money on traininb and retaining employees, while making sure it attracts the best new talent with a focus on improvinyg employee benefits, according to Campbell. AutoZone employs 1,3090 people locally. “We’re continuing to opening stores andadding personnel,” he says. “Tol us, this is an opportunith of continued growth.
”

UW researcher wins $3M federal grant - Business First of Louisville:

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The grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences will allow Heinrich to employ academic stafff and at least four graduate students each year to work on expandiny the project oother cities. Heinricj will continue an evaluation of the tutorin programs MPS offers as part ofthe district's fulfillment of the federall No Child Left Behind law. The law requires publicd schools that have not adequately increased student academic achievement for three years to offer childrenin low-incomee families the opportunity to receive extra academic assistance such as tutoring.
Heinrich's initialk research found that Milwaukee's federallyg mandated and funded tutoring program is not necessarilty reaching the people who need themost help, nor is it effectiv in increasing student "Our preliminary results suggest that the students in the tutoring program s are not performing any betted on Wisconsin's standardized tests than eligible students not involvedd with the tutoring," Heinrich said. Heinrich and her co-workera have been conducting the MPS study sinceApril 2006.
The next phase will involves five urban school districts infour Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago, Dallas and Austin,

Cain says he should have spoken up when audience booed gay soldier - Salt Lake Tribune

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Think Progress

Cain says he should have spoken up when audience booed gay soldier Salt Lake Tribune AP Washington • Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Sunday that he should not have stayed silent after the audience at a GOP debate booed a gay soldier serving in Iraq. The Georgia businessman told ABC's "This Week" that ... McCain: GOP Candidates Should Have Rebuked Debate Audience's Booing Of Gay Soldier Think Progress Herman Cain: GOP Candidates Should Have Spoken Up After Gay Soldier Was Booed Huffington Post A Backlash Over Heckling of Gay Solider W »