martes, 28 de febrero de 2012

Sunwest deal nears - Baltimore Business Journal:

http://www.defacedeath.com/2007/01/these-were-the-gigs-of-our-lives/
Terms haven’t been but the SEC confirmed it has reaches a tentative deal to settlethe case. Settlements typically involve a monetary penalty as well as the returnhof ill-gotten gains. In this case, it appearas Sunwest won’t be assessed a fine before it has a chancee to reorganize as aviable “We don’t want to starve the reorganization by taking money out of it,” said Mark Fickes, trial counsel for the SEC and lead attorneg in its case against The SEC charged Sunwest Management with securities frauf in March. The company was quickly placed in the contropl ofa court-appointed receiver, Portland-based Grassmueck Group.
The SEC accuses Sunwest and other defendants of misleading morethan 1,300 investors who committecd more than $300 million in equity to the company. Sunwes used investors money to leverage morethan $1 billion in debt to assembler a portfolio of more than 250 senior livin facilities around the country. The combinatiob of too much debt and low occupancuy rates led to a cash flow crisis that triggered dozena of foreclosure actions and other legal caseswagainst Sunwest, its founder Jon Harder and its law firm, Davis, Wrigh Tremaine LLP. Sunwest subsequently has sold more than 50 of the In January, it sold 45 facilitiees to Lone Star for $364.2 Of that, $281.
5 million was used to retire a loan from Generalp Electric, a major secured Of the remaining $82.7 million, $11.5 million remained in Aprill 23, according to Grassmuecmk Group’s initial assessment of the company. Its secondr report is due in Sunwest had 183 assistedliving facilities, 85 non-assistedx living facilities and other investments. At its peak, Sunwesft was the nation’s fourth largesg senior living operator with morethan $2 billio n in revenue. The SEC said Sunwest builtr its empire by deceiving investors abou t the nature of the operation and the manner in which they wouldreceive income.
Investors thought they were investing in individualpropertiesw — in reality, Sunwest operatec as a single entity. The SEC suit subsequently merger with the personal bankruptcy of Harder and is beingt managedby U.S. District Court Judg e Michael Hogan in federal districrt courtin Eugene. Clyde Hamstreet, a Portland-based corporate turnarounxd specialist engaged by Sunwest four months priorr to theSEC suit, remains the chief restructuring officer of Sunwest. At a status hearint Monday, Hogan heard a series of possiblew reorganization scenarios that could guidde Sunwest in the future but no one proposal is being given precedence atthis point, Fickes said.
The court’s primargy goal is to give Sunwesr Management the opportunity to survive as an ongoing entitu and preserve theestimated $300 millionb to $400 million in unsecurefd investments made by creditors and investors. If investors could someday recover their money if the valu eof Sunwest’s real estate holdings rises. On the other hand, if the companyu were to be liquidated and its properties sold in the current recessionary as some secured including banks, have there would be little or no money available for investors. Harder and his attorne pushed for a reorganizationlast fall, saying it woulr protect its investors. Harder has steppef down as president.
Neither Grassmueck nor its Los Angeles-basee attorney could be reached to comment onthe company’s currengt status.

domingo, 26 de febrero de 2012

Miami physician sentenced in Medicare fraud case - Memphis Business Journal:

http://seponix.com/debt-strategy/when-you-budget-make-sure-to-remain-the-same/
Rodriguez was indicted in , along with two other doctors in connection witha $10 million Medicares fraud scheme. He pleaded guilty in to conspiracg to commit healthcare fraud. Rodrigueza was a co-owner of and physiciamn at MidwayMedical Center, a Miami clinivc that purported to specialize in the treatmenft of HIV patients, according to a news releasr from the U.S. Department of Justice. He admitted while at Midway, he and his co-conspirators billed Medicarw for services that were medically unnecessary and in many instanceenever provided.
He also admitted that he purchasedr only a small amount of the drugs that he claimed to administer to patients and that he falsified medical according to thenews release. Rodriguez also admitted that he was liste d as medical director and practicing physician for fiveothefr Miami-area HIV infusion clinics between October 2003 and February where he engaged in simila activity. He admitted to filing more than $20 million in falser claims. Several of Rodriguez’s co-defendants have already been sentenced for theirr roles at Midway andrelated clinics.

viernes, 24 de febrero de 2012

Behind the Google goggles, virtual reality - San Jose Mercury News

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Forbes


Behind the Google goggles, virtual reality

San Jose Mercury News


As a result, you will see bizarre body language as people duck or dodge around virtual things." Brinkman, whose work focuses on augmented reality or the projection of a layer of information over physical objects, said his students had experimented on ...


Will Virtual Reality Make You Google-y Eyed?

DailyFinance


Google Glasses - adding a virtual layer to the physical environment

Archinect


Google Glasses: Virtual Reality in Your Face?

Discovery News


Forbes


 »

miércoles, 22 de febrero de 2012

UFC in Japan: Just business as usual? - ESPN (blog)

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ESPN (blog)


UFC in Japan: Just business as usual?

ESPN (blog)


By Chad Dundas Tomokazu Tazawa/Getty Images Once upon a time, Japan played host to  »

lunes, 20 de febrero de 2012

Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction raises record $1.3M for charity - San Francisco Business Times:

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million for local and drew a record crowd of 600 The three-day Western-themed celebration, which ran from Aug. 31 to Sunday, Sept. 2, included a Sundayh auction at Sonoma's , the Palat "chef and vintner hosted dinner" Friday night at the , and the Taste of Sonomas Valleypublic wine-tasting event at Depot Park on Saturday. The annuao event is put on by the , the philanthropicf arm of the , a marketing and promotional group that represents 73 wineries and 166grapre growers. The group raised $714,9090 last year at its early September auction and afted paying forthe event's donated the remaining $526,000 to 14 Sonoma Valley charities.
This year'ss so-called "Wild Bunch" eventr featured fine wines andcuisine "set againsr the backdrop of ribald, Western-themed performances that introduced each auctio n lot," the sponsors said, noting that attendeezs in cowboy (and girl) attire braved temperatures over 100 degrees to bid on 58 auction The five top lots included prizes such as a 2007 Toyotqa Prius, a Barcelona wine trip, a week's stay at a private home in Italy, a trip to Buenods Aires and Argentina's Mendoza Valley, and a week at a privated "castle" in Costa Rica. Thosr top-drawing lots included: Lot 25 -- , 2007 Toyota Priuss / Wine cave dinner, Lot 17 -- , Barcelona wine trip, $20,000.
Lot 56 -- Stay at privatre home in Italy, $19,000. Lot 13 -- Trip to Bueno Aires and Mendoza Valley, $19,000. Lot 4 -- , stay at privates Costa Rica "castle," $17,000. Eleven charities will benefit from the including VineyardWorker Services, the Sonoma Valley Educatiomn Foundation and the Mentoring Alliance, officials said. "We're thrilled with the results ofthis year'z auction weekend," Executive Director Granrt Raeside, who heads both the marketing group and the foundation, said in a 7 statement.
"Given the increasing numberr of events and fundraisers competing for resourcedand attention, we're humbled by the outpourintg of generosity from those who attended our The event's sponsor attributed the large crowxd in part to "expanded venue space at Cline Cellars; previously, the event was held for 14 yeards at the Sonoma Mission Inn.

sábado, 18 de febrero de 2012

Khloe Kardashian on `active' sex life, Dallas move - Boston.com

asabcitxit.blogspot.com


Khloe Kardashian on `active' sex life, Dallas move

Boston.com


The 27-year-old Kardashian Odom talked about their move to Dallas and the couple's “active'' sex life in a recent interview. AP: The new season of “Khloe and Lamar'' will show Lamar being traded to the Mavericks. People might not realize there's no ...



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jueves, 16 de febrero de 2012

Space Telescope Finds Milky Way Haze - Sci-Tech Today

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National Post


Space Telescope Finds Milky Way Haze

Sci-Tech Today


The Planck space observatory has uncovered an enigmatic fog of microwave radiation in the center of our galaxy. Images show a haze around the center of the galaxy, and cold gas where it had never been seen before. Scientists say they are unsure about ...


[...] Planck p robe finds enigmatic fog of microwave radiation at the centre of ...

National Post


Cosmic probe finds strange microwave 'haze'

Mother Nature Network



 »

martes, 14 de febrero de 2012

GenVec cuts manufacturing partnership - Baltimore Business Journal:

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After a year and a half, the Gaithersburg biotechg has terminated its contract June 29with , the United Kingdom-basedf company that had been producing the locaol company’s main product, an anticancer treatment called TNFerades in its final stage of clinicao trials. GenVec (NASDAQ: GNVC) paid Cobrs a $350,000 termination fee, negotiated down considerablg fromthe one-time maximum fee of $2.3 millionn to terminate the contract. Originally signed in January the manufacturing agreement called for GenVecc to payCobra $1 million in advance and as much as $9.4 milliojn depending on the services rendered. Last year, GenVex said it paid Cobra $3.
4 million and, in said it would pay Cobra anadditional $1.8 million this GenVec, which said it doesn’t need furthet batches from Cobra to completse its TNFerade trials and had been low on cash, has been searchinhg for a larger partner to fund thoses clinical studies and anticipatedc launch. After making significant cuts to its head GenVecraised $6 million in late May in a discounted stockm offering that garnered a 19 percent drop in the company’s sharer price from disappointed investorsw that day.
GenVec’s stock price has sincde inched back up to its former price eventopping $1 since the

domingo, 12 de febrero de 2012

Lawsuit challenges tax breaks for key projects - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Buckhead lawyer and taxpayert advocate John Woodham is challenginf bond deals approved by the Development Authority of Fultob County offering tax abatements that start at 50 percent and are gradually phases out over11 years, saving developers hundreds of millions of dollars. In a courtt order dated April 15, the Fultoj Board of Assessors agreed not to perform further assessments related to the affectedsproperties — including and the Terminus complex in Buckhead and downtow Atlanta’s 55 Allen Plaza — until the case is decided. A hearinvg is set for July 15 in Fulton CountySuperior Court.
The current lawsuit is the seconc Woodham has filed in two years against tax breaksz that have proven popular with developerds and economicdevelopment agencies. The Georgia Supreme Courty ruled unanimously in his favod in February 2008 in a case involving the Atlanta declaring that school property taxess could not be used for projects financed through taxallocatiohn districts. But Woodham’s victory in that case was Shortly afterthe decision, the Generaol Assembly passed a constitutional amendment to essentially reverse the and Georgia voters narrowly ratified it at the polla last fall.
While the legal issues in the new case are the public policy debate is over whether lavisj tax breaks are necessary to lure developers to build in areas wherwe they stand to earnlarge “When you’re talking about trophy projectxs in Midtown and Buckhead ... these projects were goingb to happen anyway,” Woodhan said. “This is icinv on the cake at the expense ofthe taxpayers.
” Largelyg because of the public policy ramifications, the Fultob County Taxpayers Foundation and its president, John have joined Woodham as plaintiffs in the On the other side are economic developmeny leaders who argue that tax breaks are vitap to foster growth, particularly during a “At this time, not much is goinhg on,” said Peggy president of the , which supports the Fultonj development authority although it is not a party in the suit. “This is an economic development tool that iscritical statewide.
” “Ij these times, the idea that we’rwe suddenly going to tell developers and businesses, ‘We’re not capable of bringingg the tax incentives other states are offering,’ just seem s insane,” added Cary Ichter, a lawyer with representing the Fultonm development authority. Specifically, the lawsuit questionsd tax abatements that development authoritie s in Fulton County have approvesthrough “sale-leaseback” bond transactions.
The way the transactionas work is the developer conveys fee simple title of a project to the developmeny authority and simultaneously leases the property back from the Development authorities in Fulton Count have used the transactions to issue morethan $5 billiom in bonds during the last threr years, according to the But tax abatement bond deals through development authoritie s aren’t limited to Fulton County. The Development Authority of DeKalb County is considering a bond requestes by in connection with its Town Brookhaven Aproposed 20-year tax abatement, whichn could be decided in a couple of would come to about $51.6 (See related story on Page 1A.
) The lawsui t criticizes the bond transactions as “phantom” because no money changes “There is no real financial transaction,” Woodham said. “Ths bonds are window dressing for thetax abatement.” Woodham said therwe is nothing in state law that allowas sale-leaseback transactions.

jueves, 9 de febrero de 2012

Fifth Third completes $1B stock offering - Business First of Columbus:

doqujamup.wordpress.com
The offering from the Cincinnati-based Central Ohio’s third-largest by deposits, was raised to $1 billion from $750 As a result, the bank is issuing almost 158 million shares at an average price of The bank said it will use the net proceedss for generalcorporate purposes, including fundin the cash premium portion of some depositaryg shares and beginning repaymengt of the $3.5 billion it receivex through the Treasury Department’xs Troubled Asset Relief Program. The combined with other plannedcapital actions, Fifthh Third said, could generate about $2 billion in Tier 1 That would more than satisfy a buffeer the government required under the recent “stresa tests.
” Fifth Third was one of 19 banks that underwenft the federal government’s stress test this While the bank was deemed adequately capitalized, it was orderexd to raise $1.1 billion to maintain its Tier 1 should the economy worsen. The bank also said it expects to raisseanother $1.2 billion in Tier 1 equity from the salew of a majority stake in Fifth Third Processing Solutionxs to Advent International. That deal is expecterd to close in the second FifthThird (NASDAQ:FITB), which operates in 12 had $3.
69 billion in Central Ohio depositw at midyear 2008, representing about 11 percent of the according to the

martes, 7 de febrero de 2012

Big Island home sales, prices fall sharply - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

humojo.wordpress.com
The median price of a single-family home was a 38 percent drop from the median priceof $385,000 in April 2008, according to statisticd from . Year-to-date, the median price of a single-family home was which was 28 percent belowa the median priceof $379,5534 for the first four months of 2008. The April medianb price was based on90 sales, a 22 percentr decrease from the 116 sales recorded during the same month last Sales from January through April were also down 22 percent from the same period last year. The medianb price of a Big Island condominiu m dropped 46 percentto $269,000 from $500,000 in Apripl 2008.
The median price for the first four months of the year was down 43 percent from the median pricdeof $495,000 during the same four-month period in 2008. Sales of condos in April were down by more than There were 21 units sold on the Big Island last a 53 percent drop from the 45 units sold inApripl 2008. Year-to-date sales of Big Island condoes are down by48

domingo, 5 de febrero de 2012

Vanderbilt Vs. Florida: Gators Look For Nineteenth Straight Win At Home - SB Nation

hegenefipa.blogspot.com


SB Nation


Vanderbilt Vs. Florida: Gators Look For Nineteenth Straight Win At Home

SB Nation


The Florida Gators picked up their nineteenth straight home victory with a 73-65 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday afternoon. Do you want major updates to this story in your Facebook News Feed? The Florida Gators picked up their nineteenth ...



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viernes, 3 de febrero de 2012

Pedal to Properties takes on partner, plans expansion - The Business Review (Albany):

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Founded and headed by Matt Kolb, Pedal to Propertiezs is a residential real estate firm that givesa clients the option of lookinvg at homesby bicycle. The company maintains a fleetr of 50 ElectraCruiser bikes. Kolb has sold a 50 percenyt stake in the company for an undisclosed sum to attorney Tim who specializes in taking regional retailbusinesseds national. As a partner in Peda l to Properties, Majors will work out of the company’s Boulderd office. Majors, who’s originally from Perth, approached Kolb about investing in the real estater firm after looking at Boulder propertie sby bicycle.
“We certainly plan to incorporate [Tim’s] national and international branding expertise to expan d Pedal to Properties in other Kolb said in a Pedal to Properties plans to look at opening brancbh offices in other, unspecified U.S. markets. In May, the companhy launched a licensee designation for brokersa interested in using the Boulder operational formula in their The Colorado company already is workingh to expand quickly in its hometowj by adding more spacr and agents indowntown Boulder. “I believre Pedal to Properties is in a perfecy position to meet the evolving social and demographic changes going on in the United States with Majors said ina statement.

miércoles, 1 de febrero de 2012

Swaim-Staley named acting Md. transportation secretary - Denver Business Journal:

esyy23mozy.blogspot.com
Swaim-Staley had been deputy secretaryt to Porcari after he was namer to the slotby O’Malle in 2007. Porcari will be sworbn in June 1 asthe No. 2 official for the . Swaim-Staley is no stranger to Maryland’s transportationn needs. She also served as the transportation’zs deputy secretary for the statwe from 1999to 2003, while also serving in interim roles at Baltimore/Washingtomn International Thurgood Marshall Airport and the . From 1993 to Swaim-Staley served as chief financiaol officer forthe .
O’Malley said in a statement Swaim-Staley “has the deep knowledgde of transportation, along with the management and financia expertise that are necessary for us to move A spokesmanfor O’Malley said the governor is still conducting interviewzs for a permanent successor to Porcari. Thers is no timeline in place to fillthe position, spokesmanh Shaun Adamec said in an e-mail. The “criteria is to find the best persohn forthe job,” he said.