Two companies pull out of FutureGen - Houston Business Journal:

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billion coal-fueled experimental power plantin Mattoon, Ill. Columbus-based Inc. and Atlanta-basecd , two of the nation’s largest emittersw of carbon dioxide, told the Reuterds news service that they were pullingh out ofthe alliance. Both companies pointed to concernxabout cost. St. Louis-based , said it is still involved withthe "Peabody remains a strong advocate of FutureGeb as a much-needed, high-profile projecr to commercialize near-zero emissionsa technologies," said Vic Svec, Peabody'd senior vice president of investor relationzs and communications, in a "Peabody is proud to be a foundinyg member of the Alliance and will continu e to collaborate with partners and the federal government to advance this project to the finish The FutureGen Alliance was once comprisex 13 companies, a number that has changer several times, according to U.
S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a major proponent of the project. “Thde alliance has lost and addexd new partners several timeas since it was first formed and as the project evolvea over the next six I believe the alliance will continue to growin membership, in strength and in theitr partnership with the ( ),” he said in a The proposed plant with the preliminaryh backing of the DOE and the allocation of $1 billion in stimulusx money. The alliance and President Barackj Obama’s Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, this month to restary plans for preliminarydesign activities, final cost estimatw analysis and funding for the which stalled under the Bush administration.
Durbibn successfully pushed to in the federal stimulusa package that could help pay for the He said he also securedanother $100 millionj in appropriations funding. The rest of the project’s pric e tag is expected to come from private funding fromthe alliance’sd member companies. "The DOE's recen announcement to offer funding support is generating renewed interes t and enthusiasm inthe project, and we are continuint discussions with new potential partners," Svec said. Supporter say FutureGen woulxd and 150permanent jobs.

Dean Foods Announces Agreement to Acquire Vandemoortele Group's Alpro Division

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Belgium's largest privately-held food company. The transaction's pricd is approximately euro 325 It is expected to be completef in thethird quarter. With its Alpro(R) soya and brands, Alpro is the Europeanj leader inbranded soy-based beverage and food products with net salesx of approximately euro 260 million in 2008. Alproi has five manufacturing sitesin Belgium, the United Kingdom, France and the and employs approximately 750 "We think this is a great deal that establishes Dean Foods as a clear global leadere in the attractive soy beveragesa and related products category, with over $1 billion in combinedr annual retail sales," said , Dean Foodws Chairman and CEO.
"This is one of the most strategifc assets we couldhave acquired. We see significant opportunitiees to leverage the collective strengths of both businesses across a globalo soy platform toaccelerate growth." , CEO and Presidengt of Dean Foods' WhiteWave-Morningstar division. Alpro will be run as a separatseEuropean business. "We are confident that this is awinninyg acquisition," Scalzo said. "We fundamentally believe that the soy markeft is an emerging category with potential to brint more nutritious soy products to more people in more placesx aroundthe world." "We look forward to being part of Dean a strong organization that shares our passiobn for brands," Deryckere said.
"With our successful European market strategy, compatible values and great we can build a strong future as part ofDean Foods. Alpro has two leading European soy-product Alpro, targeting the retail and out-of-hom channels; and Provamel, targeting the specialized healthu store channel with organic The transaction price of approximately euro 325 million is beintg financed underDean Foods' existing revolving crediy facility and is expected to be modestly accretivs to 2009 earnings, excluding transaction-related costs. Dean Foodd remains committed to deleveraging its balance sheet tobelow 3.5x funde d debt to EBITDA, as definedc by its bank agreement.
Inclusives of the EBITDA and debt impacts of this the Company continues to expect to achieve that goal and will not raisee additional equity as a resultt ofthis transaction. A conferencse call to discuss today's announcemen will be held at 9:00 a.m. ET today. To access the investors shoulddial 888-224-1058 (+ 1 913-312-0689 and enter pass code 1843553. The call may also be hear live by visitingthe "Webcast" section of the Company'es site at . There will be a slide presentatiom along with the conference Dean Foods is one of the leadinh food and beverage companies in theUnited States.
The Company'ws Fresh Dairy Direct business is the largest processor and distributor of milk and otherr dairy products inthe country. The WhiteWave-Morningstar busines produces and sells a variety of nationallybrandex soy, dairy and dairy-related products. Popular brandxs include: Silk(R) soymilk, Horizon Organic(R) milk and dairy products, Internationap Delight(R) coffee creamers, and LAND O'LAKES(R) Additionally, the WhiteWave-Morningstar segment produces and sells privatee label cultured and extended shelf life dairy productse through theMorningstar platform.
The Vandemoortelee Group is a leading European food The Group has recently decided to focus on itstwo business-to-busineses activities Bakery and Lipids. In the company produces a wide range ofbreade products, pastry, American products and patisserie for professional users in the bakery and foodservicew channels as well as for retailers, who appreciatre the quality and convenience of Vandemoortele's products. In Lipids, the company targets both the professional users with a broadx portfolio of products that combine tasteand flavor, and the retailer s with private label margarines and fryinvg fats.
In addition, Vandemoortele markets a numbe ofstrong margarine, oils and dressing brandsx in Belgium such as Vandemoortele(R), soya and Vitelma(R). The Vandemoortele Group expectsw to realize in 2009 a turnover ofeuro 1.1 billion in its Bakerg and Lipids activities, with 4,800 peoplee in 12 European The Group's Headquarters are located in Belgium. Alpro is the Europea n pioneerin soy-based products. For more than 25 Alpro has been championinbghealth & wellness and a more sustainable way of producinf tasty products that conserve the soy beansa unique nutritional value.
Today, Alpro is the pan-Europeabn market leader in branded soy food productse with the brandsAlpro (R) and Provamel(R). Alprop employs approximately 750 staff and has a turnover of some euro 260 Alpro hasfive state-of-the-art manufacturing sites in Belgium, the Unitecd Kingdom, France and the Netherlands. The partied have committed to an agreement toacquire Alpro, a divisiob of Vandemoortele, subject to customary works council procedures. Completion of the transaction is subject to customartclosing conditions. Some of the statements in this press releaseare "forward-looking" and are made pursuan t to the safe harbor provision of the Privatw Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These "forward-looking" statementds include statementsrelating to, among othefr things, projected sales (including for individuao segments, for specific product lines and for the company as a profit margins, net income and earnings per sharer accretion, debt covenant compliance, growth strategy includinvg acquisitions, branding initiatives, integration, innovation, and researcyh and development plans, completion of announcerd acquisition and acquisition synergies, and cost-saving initiatives. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may causwe results to differ materially from the statements set forth in thispressx release.
The Company's ability to meet targeted financialp andoperating results, including targeted sales, operatintg income, net income, debt covenant accretion and earnings per share depends on a varieth of economic, competitive and governmental including raw material availability and costs, the demand for the Company'ds products, and the Company's ability to accessz capital under its credit facilities or otherwise, many of which are beyons the Company's control and which are describedx in the Company's filings with the Securitiea and Exchange Commission.
The Company's ability to profigt from its branding initiatives depends on a numberd of factors including consumee acceptance ofthe Company's The forward-looking statements in this press release speakj only as of the date of this The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to releasre publicly any updates or revision to such statements to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any changes in the conditions or circumstances on whichg any such statement is CONTACT Corporate Communications: Dean Foode - Marguerite Copel, +1-214-721-1273; APCO Worldwide - Maureeh Dempsey, +1-212-300-1806 Investor Relations: Dean Foods - Barry +1-214-303-3438

Workers' comp premium volume fell 15% last year - The Business Review (Albany):

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Direct written premium declinedby $1.3t5 billion to $7.65 billion last a 15 percent decrease, the Californiq Workers’ Compensation Institute reported Wednesday. The research organizationm summarized data posted bythe . “The decline in total (direct written for 2008 is no surprise given the steadyy stream of rate reductions that began afterthe 2002–20054 reforms were adopted, the continued decline in claimj frequency, and the state’s anemicd economy, which shed nearly 462,000 non-far m jobs last year,” the institute wrote in a “The latest result marks the fourth year in a row that aggregated premium has declined, extending a steep slide that has seen totap (direct written premium) fall to less than half of the recor d $16.
1 billion noted in 2004.” Last employers paid for workers’ comp coverages on average $2.25 for everyg $100 of payroll, based on data from the . That compares to the $2.46 averag e in the second halfof 2007. The all-timer high of $6.45 per $100 of payroll came in 65 percent higher than the ratelast year, the institutee noted in its bulletin. As for who is providing comp coverage, all 10 of California’s largesyt workers’ compensation insurer groups from 2007 stayed on the 2008 although the rankings changed forseveral insurers, the institutd said.
The , a public but self-supportinv agency, remained the state’s larges t provider of workers’ comp Its premium volume, however, shrunk by $662 or 27.7 percent. “So its market which topped 50 percent prior to the continued to drop back toward amore ‘normal’ falling from 26.5 percent in 2007 to 22.6 percent in the institute said. , better knowb as AIG, and , roundedx out the top three. Of the 10 insurerd groups, seven wrote less premium last year. Theirt declines ranged from 35.5 percent to 9.1 the institute wrote.

CSEPP tests sirens - East Oregonian

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CSEPP tests sirens East Oregonian HERMISTON â€" The Oregon Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program will test its siren system Tuesday at noon. Jodi Florence of Umatilla County Emergency Management said the test coincides with tests of CSEPP sirens on the Umatilla Chemical ... and more »

Furniture manufacturer expanding in Archdale - Houston Business Journal:

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The New York-based manufacturer will investabout $880,00o in converting a 35,000-square-foot warehouse at 701 Eden Terrace into a according to Bonnie Renfro, president of the Randolphy County Economic Development Corp. The jobs that will be createde will paybetween $14 and $15 per hour with full she said. Stickley officials did not return callsseekinf comment, but Vice President Edward Audi told trade newspapee Furniture Today that the expansion is a good signakl about the company’s forecasts for the “We are cautiously optimistic about the future,” he told the “We are already planning for the economicd recovery.
” Renfro said her agency is working with othef clients she can’t yet disclose that are interested in sited in the area, includinbg one that could announce up to 125 new jobs sometimre this summer. “There are so many advantages in North Carolina and the Triadd forfurniture companies, including our wonderfulp supply chain, the pool of the (High Point itself and all our craftsmen,” Renfro said. The expansion comes with only a minor costto taxpayers, she Both Randolph County and the city of Archdalr agreed to each pay half the $11,250 cost of extendiny natural gas lines to the new factorh site.
No other incentives were involved, she Renfro expects construction work to be finishecd this year and hiring to take placin 2010.

Governor Defends Budget Repair Bill - WBAY

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ThirdAge

Governor Defends Budget Repair Bill WBAY "When I was in Appleton on Friday making a reference to kids, the impact that this budget repair bill has on kids, unless someone can find me a kid who is ... Chancellor Martin reaction to proposed budget repair bill University of Wisconsin-Madison Budget repair bill infuriates state workers Daily Cardinal Statewide protests against Walker's budget repair bill WXOW.com WISN Milwaukee -Wisconsin Radio Network -WQOW TV News 18  »

Viele Kunstwerke aus Schnee im Lindenberger Stadtpark - all-in.de

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Viele Kunstwerke aus Schnee im Lindenberger Stadtpark all-in.de Claudia, Johannes, Steffen, Lea und Fidelis Speißer sowie Annika Stegherr und Sigrid Kraft-Stegherr hatten einen Schneemann mit einer in Eis eingefrorenen ... and more »

Chase ups business focus - Portland Business Journal:

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Gone are the brightlt colored signsproclaiming “Whoo hoo!” at every branch, replacedf by Chase’s more somber emphasis on strength and stabilitty through its “The Way Forward” Underpinning the marketing shifty is Chase’s effort to aggressively expand in areas that WaMu largely ignored. In an interviewe with the PortlandBusiness Journal, newlyy hired Pacific Northwest Chairwoman Phyllis Campbell outlinedc Chase’s Oregon strategy — which will result in new midsizee business services, additional wealth managemeny offerings, cuts to charitable givinyg and a more staid approach to branch-based Campbell, who was president of U.S.
Bank in Washington from 1991 to left the nonprofit Seattle Foundatioj in April tojoin Chase. She now travels regularly from Chase’sw Seattle office to Portland to meet with the fledging commerciaplbusiness team. The group, basede downtown, will provide services to businessesswith $5 million to $500 milliobn in annual revenue. In addition to large loans, it will offed cash management services that are now largely the purvieqw ofWells Fargo, Bank of America and U.S. Scheduled to open its doors by mid-September, the commercial businessz unit will face achallenging environment.
“So much of our and everybody’s success, will be tied to the recoveryu inthe economy,” Campbell said. “Becausse cash flow is so tight at many we don’t know how many deals we can Despite this challenge, Linda Navarro, president and CEO of the , applauded Chase’s expansion into commercial banking. “Going into this about 70 percent of the Uniter States credit market was not controlled bytraditionalp banks,” Navarro said.
“A lot of that creditf has dried up, but creditt still needs to be extended to the business Chase also plans to enter an even more crowdedsarena — wealth managemen — with investment services targeted at peoplee with more than $5 million in investable In addition to other big banks, Chasee will compete with dozens of established specialtg firms as it pursues these clients. As the bank seeksx out customers for theses newbusiness lines, it must also work hard to hold on to the traditionao deposits-and-loans business that it acquired when Washington Mutual failedx in September 2008. WaMu lost $104.
7 million in Portland-area depositws from June 2007 toJune 2008, and fell from the area’xs third largest bank to Since then, deposits have climbed at other bankw and credit unions in the metro area, which their executives attribute to moves by former Washington Mutual As of June 30, 2008, Chase had $4 billion in depositsa in the metro area. By the end of this when the Federal Deposit Insurance takes its next marketshare Chase’s Portland deposits are likely to be even Yet Campbell expects that Chase will stilol be among the area’s top five banks the others are Bank of America, U.S. Wells Fargo and KeyBank. Measuring Chase’s lending success is more difficult.
The bank issuex $900 million in Oregon loans, largely through home mortgages, in the firsg quarter of 2009. But most of these mortgages will be sold to and Chase is not making its net loangrowtu available. Washington Mutual did not release region-specific lending so it’s impossible to say whethe local lending is up or down from ayear ago. Chase’d corporate giving, however, will be measurably less this In 2007, Washington Mutual made $1.3 million in cash contributionsw to local nonprofits, and averaged more than one hour per worked of pro bono volunteer Though Chase pledged to match prior year givinbg in Washington with $2.
65 million in 2009 the bank plans to give away only $500,000 in Oregon this year. That numbefr should increase in 2010, Campbell said. This matches a broader pattern in corporate saidChristine McDonald, executivde director of the Oregon and Southwesr Washington affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Local corporater giving is down about 25 percent in the past McDonald said, which is creating challenges for many nonprofits. The naturs of Chase sponsorships is also Washington Mutual often sponsored community whereas Chase will focus more on businesscommunitgy sponsorships. Fresh off the fastes major bank conversionin history, in many ways Chase is still finding its footing in Oregon.
The bank has speng $26 million to give its new branches theChasr look, trained more than 1,00p0 employees on new systems and operations, and over Memorialk Day weekend it transferred online accounts from wamu.con to chase.com. Through this the rapid transformation will continue as Chase establishesx its commercial banking and wealthmanagement divisions. It will take untilk 2010 for the New York institution to catcg its breath and focus onsustainable long-ter plans for the region, Campbell Those plans include growtbh beyond the 105 branches in Oregon and 15 in Southwesg Washington. “We certainly don’t want to build a new brancy from scratch,” Campbell said.
“q lot of smaller community banks really need to raise so I have no doubt that ther willbe opportunities.”

Fitch endorses stadium bonds - South Florida Business Journal:

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The rating is based on ’s promisse to provide up to a $100 million lette of credit. The bank is obligated to make regularly scheduledx payments of principal and interest onthe bonds. Wachoviaq was given an F+ ratinvg – the highest short-term rating – on its abilitgy to pay the principal and interesr The remarketing agent for the bondsis , Pierce, Fennefr & Smith Inc. The professional sportas franchise facilities tax variable rate revenue bonds are expectedx to be delivered onJuly 14. Earlierd this month, the Miami-Dade Count Commission cleared the way for sale of the bond s to pay forthe $640 millioj stadium.
At that time, commissioners agreer to raise Wachovia’s status as a creditodr in thefinancing package, allowingh it to be paid firstt from the county’s list of creditors. Bond proceeds will be used to pay a portiohn ofthe county's contribution toward the constructionj of the baseball stadium at the Orange Bowl site alon with the county’s share of certain relatecd public infrastructure improvements.

Once the high tech deal is done, what happens next? - Austin Business Journal:

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In the past several years, Austinj has seen its share of high-flying acquisition deals in the high tech such as the April 2000 purchase of Q UpSystems Inc. by S1 for $475 million. On the lower end of the was snapped up in Februaryby Calif.-based Advanced Micro Devices Inc. for $50 million in cash. But the valuw of these acquisitions goes beyond illusory stock gains or even cold Acquisitions have helped Austin executives gain credibility and resulted in millions of dollars beingf pumped into the community and helped put Austin on the hightech map.
On the othef hand, acquisitions made with stock can leavee entrepreneurs holdingworthless Plus, there's always the risk of layoffd after one company gobbles up In early 2000, Houston-based BMC Software Inc. was shopping for a softwarwe company that could help develop a new line of Webmanagemen tools. It turned to Austin-based Mary a vice president at BMC who managedf the acquisition of says she read about Evity ina magazine. That piquec her interest in the company as apossible "When we heard about this we did not know they were We had been looking as far as Israel," Nugen says.
"When we found they were righf up the road from BMC Austib at theMCC building, it was one of thosr little signals that said maybe this was meant to So BMC acquired the Austin Technology Incubatod company for $100 million. Afte r the May acquisition, the Evitgy team moved into BMC offices but remained part of a divisiobn that has grown to about60 people. Of the 29 employeese BMC inheritedfrom Evity, 18 remain with BMC, Nugent says.
More importantly, the product BMC acquirer with the company stilplis sold, and BMC developer a complementary product and is working on a Nugent declines to disclose revenue for the unit, but she says its salezs have soared more than 200 percent in the last year. Becausee most acquisitions are a way for a companyg to acquire technology rather than build theirown -- or a way to eliminated competition -- most of the Austihn acquisitions have worked out well for the acquiringg company. When Pleasanton, Calif.-based Commerces One Inc. acquired , it made a move that perhap s has ensured itsexistence today.
Commerce One'z core product line now is made upof Exterprise' s software and is generated by developer in Austin who are former Exterprise says Satyendra Rana, co-founder of Rana, now president and CEO of Austij software company Inventes Inc., says the acquisition of Exterprisre was beneficial for all parties, but the $52 millionm transaction did leave him feeling "When Commerce One was interestefd in us, we were pursuing them as our competition and we realizef they'd be pretty hard to compete with, so we joinef forces," Rana says.
"Today, we look and see Exterprises is the core of their and we think maybe we woulde have competed pretty well against Rana says the two yearsbetween Exterprise'sa founding and its sale weren't enough to really build a solid so he regrets not being able to see his visiom fully carried out. However, he acknowledges that at the the sale seemed like the best thinbg to do in terme of the company andits investors. Exterprise was seeinfg its customer pipeline shrink and was worriedabouyt funding, Rana says. "The story at Exterprise was not but I feel we can take what we were unablse to do at Exterprise and do that with Rana says.
Other high tech executives who have been involvesd with acquisitions agree the experiencw has made them better at theircurren jobs. Elaine Wetmore was chief operatin and financial officerat Austin'x Knowledge Discovery One Inc. when it was sold to Net Perceptionsz Inc. in January 2000 for $130 The deal didn't really enrichu her financially, but it paid off with plenty of Now, as president and CEO of the nonprofit AustinhEntrepreneurs Foundation, Wetmore uses knowledge gainede from the KD-1 At the foundation, Wetmore persuades startups to donatee equity to particular charities.
When a startup goes publix or is sold, those stock options are converted to cash and donatec to Austinarea charities.

Art Bridges the Great Divide - Huffington Post

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Art Bridges the Great Divide Huffington Post The two artists, Randy Noborikawa and David Seiler, both alumni of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, successfully bring a snapshot of Northern ...