Zimbabwe: Farmers Castigate US$30 Million Inputs Scheme - AllAfrica.com

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Zimbabwe: Farmers Castigate US$30 Million Inputs Scheme AllAfrica.com "It did not start here, but this has happened over a period of time and people have been told that the Government will subsidise but these things have not yet come," he said. Farmers, he said, were swapping delivered grain with inputs, which are not ... and more »

AirTran now using six gates at Mitchell - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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The gates will be used to support34 peak-day a 57 percent growth in the airline's Milwauke operations since last year. AirTran is one of the threew largest carriers atMitchell International. Earlier this month, the carriert began flights to Branson, Mo., and Minneapolis/St. Paul. The carrier will also begih nonstop service to Denverand St. Louixs on May 21. Additional nonstop flightss from Milwaukee to NewYork Baltimore/Washington, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, and Petersburg are planned for the Orlando, Fla.
-based AirTran Airways (NYSE: AAI) now occupie s six of the eight gates added to Concoursw C as part of a multi-million dollar expansio n project at Mitchell International nearly two years ago. The airlined moved into the concourse expansionlast summer. "Our new gatees make it easier for us to serve our growiny number ofMilwaukee passengers," said Tad Hutcheson, vice presidenft of marketing and salezs for AirTran Airways.
"With our recent expansion in operations, and as we continu to expand in we want our passengers to experience the best in conveniencrand comfort, both at the airport and on their

Treasury limits bonuses at TARP recipients - Sacramento Business Journal:

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The new rules encourage these companies to awared executives stock that must be held for a long perio of timeand can’t be entirelyg converted to cash untilk the TARP money is repaisd to the government. the department contends, will align “executives’ incentives with thosd of shareholdersand taxpayers.” Kenneth a mediator who led the Septembetr 11th Victim Compensation Fund, will review paymentes and compensation plans at companies that have received “exceptionalo assistance,” including AIG, Citigroup, Bank of Chrysler, General Motors, GMAC and Chrysler TARP recipients must allow shareholders to vote on executiver compensation packages.
They also must disclosw any perks worth morethan $25,000 made to highlyh compensated employees and justify the The rules prohibit companies from providing payments to senior executives to cover taxes due on perks. Treasury Secretaryu Tim Geithner said the Obama administration also supports legislation that would require all public companies to give shareholdersea non-binding vote on executive compensation packages. Congress also shoul give the Securities and Exchange Commission the power to make compensation committees more similar to standards in place for audit committees established bythe Sarbanes-Oxle Act.
Geithner blamed executive compensation practices asa “contributinv factor” for the financial “Incentives for short-term gains overwhelmed the checks and balanceas meant to mitigate against the risk of excess he said. But, he added, “We are not cappingg pay. We are not setting forth precise prescriptions for how companiesd shouldset compensation, which can oftenn be counterproductive. Instead, we will continuw to work to develop standards that rewarrd innovation andprudent risk-taking, without creatingb misaligned incentives.
”

Sprint Nextel sets opening-weekend sales records with Palm Pre - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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That’s roughly 50,000 to 100,000 phones, analysts Sprint launched the Palm Preon Saturday, breaking first-day and first-weekend sales records for a Sprint (NYSE: S) device, the companyh said in a release, though it gave no specifics. More than 150,00p applications were downloadedfrom phone-maker ’s PALM) App Catalog on according to a Monday blog entru on the Palm Web site. “Sprint is a very different company than it was 12 months Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said inthe release. “Palmm Pre is the coming-ouyt party for the new Sprint.
” Sales in the firsf two days probablyexceeded 50,000 phones, comparer with 146,000 for the first iPhone, which debuted in analyst Paul Coster said in a Monday note aboutr Palm. Sales probably were limited by manufacturing capacity constraintsor Palm’ss balance sheet, he said. Although Sprinrt analysts predicted strong sales this year and upgrades bySprint customers, some doubted that the Pre coul help Sprint pull many customers from larger competitors (NYSE: T) and . the No. 3 wireless carrier, has about 49 million analyst John Hodulik predicted that Sprint wouldsell 1.
6 millionb Pre phones this year, which with cannibalization and 70 percenty upgrades could mean the addition of 330,000 incrementall gross subscribers. Analyst Christopherf Larsen with labeled the phonethe “firsf true competitor to the iPhone.” “Wwe believe its weekend launch was a success, but that the buzz and excitementf was well short of the initial launch of the he said in a Monday note. The Pre has created plenty of buzz in the pastseverall months, though Palm and Sprint kept the device under wraps.
The touch-screen smartphoned features a slide-out keyboard and a new operatinb system, webOS, that has the capacity for functionss such as integrating contacts and calendarss from multiple locations and operating multipldeapplications simultaneously. Sprint hasn’t revealed how long it has the exclusiver on the phone but has confirmedthat it’s at leastr through the end of the Two days after the Pre (Nasdaq: AAPL) and AT&g said the new iPhonee 3G S would launch June 19 for $199 with a two-yeadr service contract. Prices of the current iPhone 3G have been cutto $99 with the The Pre sells for $200 afte a $100 mail-in rebate and with a two-year servicse contract.
Sprint said its Simply Everything which offersunlimited voice, data and saves customers $1,200 or more compared with similar plans by Sprint has been orchestrating a turnaround, attemptingt to reverse several quarters of customer losses. The company lost about 4.1 million contract subscriberslast year. Sprint ranksx No. 1 on the Kansas City Business Journal ’s list of the area’s top public companies.

Gould set to surpass Payton on Bears' scoring list - Chicago Tribune

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Deseret News

Gould set to surpass Payton on Bears' scoring list Chicago Tribune Robbie Gould is closing in on an NFL record for field-goal accuracy, but the milestone the Chicago Bears kicker cares about most involves H »

Stanford names new business dean - San Francisco Business Times:

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The school said Tuesday that Salonet will succeedRobert Joss, who is stepping down afted 10 years as Saloner, who joined the Stanford faculty in is the Jeffrey S. Skoll Professor of Electronicv Commerce, Strategic Management and Economics, and a director of the Centedr for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Graduate Schoo lof Business. "Over nearly two decades at Stanford, Garth Salonerd has demonstrated that he is not onlya top-notch but also a respected leader among his peers and distinguisher teacher highly-praised by his students," said President John Hennessy.
"Hise scholarship in the areas of entrepreneurship and electronidc commerce is particularly pertinent to our times and theglobal economy." Saloner is known for his pioneerinbg work on network effects, which underlie much of the economics of electronifc commerce and business. His research has focused on issuesof entrepreneurship, e-commerce, strategic management, organizational economics, competitiver strategy and antitrust economics. Much of his most recenyt work has been devoted to understanding how firms set andchangd strategy, in established firms and startups.
Salonee is one of only two faculty members to have won the Distinguished Teaching Award at the Stanford businessaschool twice, first in 1993 and again in 2008. He has taughtf courses in entrepreneurship, electronic strategic management, industry analysis, and competitive strategy to undergraduates, M.B.A.s, the Sloan Program, Ph.D. and in executive programs aroundthe world. He is the director of the Summerr Institutefor Entrepreneurship, a summer program for graduatew students in non-business fields. Saloner received a and M.B.A. with distinction from the University of the Witwatersrandin Johannesburg, Southu Africa. He received an M.S. in statistics, an A.M. in and a Ph.D.
in economics, business, and publi policy from Stanford Universit y between 1978and 1982. He joined the facultyg of the economics department at the Massachusettw Institute of Technology as an assistant professor in 1982 and was promoted throughu the ranks to the position of tenured full professor in both the economicd department and the Sloan School of He was one of the founderw of the Stanford ComputerIndustry Project, a majod study of the worldwide computer industrh funded by the Sloan Foundation, and a founder of the Center for Electronic Business and Commerce.

Palm stock down on concerns about Pre supplies, apps - Austin Business Journal:

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The stock opened at $12.23, down 6 percent, but tradexd as low as $11.47, down abouyt 12 percent, in morning trading. Palm closed the day at Concerns about tight supplies and a lack of softwarde applications tempered what were generallgy positive reports onthe device's debut "We believe the ’soft launch’ is probably proceedinv to plan," J.P. Morgan analysr Paul Coster wrote. "To be reassured, we need to see Springt channel inventory replenishedthis week." is Palm'a (NASDAQ:PALM) exclusive wireless carrier through the end of this year and beganj putting customers on wait lists for the Pre at its stored after supplies ran out.
Coster estimates that therre were morethan 50,00p0 Pre phones sold after they went on sale at Sprinrt stores on Saturday, well below the 146,000 sold at the launchh of the first generation of 's (NASDAQ:AAPL) Other analysts said pegged Palm sales higher, with Michaepl Walkley at Piper Jaffray Co. saying there were almosyt 200,000 sold. The Pre has many features similar to those found on the iPhondand 's (NASDAQ:RIMM) Blackberry Storm, except that Palm' s device adds a slide-out keyboard. A key to its succesds will be whether it can attract enoughu software applications to compete withits rivals.
The Pre is sellin for $199 with a mail-in rebatee and two-year service

New scrap rules may underpin China copper demand - MarketWatch

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New scrap rules may underpin China copper demand MarketWatch Analysts said that if the scrap hold-up continues, as long as the price of copper in the international market doesn't rise too far, the situation is likely to help underpin demand for the refined metal in the short term. "We are already starting to see ... and more »

UW-Whitewater, Milwaukee 7 Water Council to jointly train students - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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The program will begin enrolling students in the fallsemesterr and, because many students have already takenh relevant courses, should be graduating its first water management specialists within a year, said Kirstehn Crossgrove, associate professor of biology at UW-Whitewatee and coordinator of the school’x integrated science-business major. The program is designefd to give students a basic background inwateer law, environmental law, natural resources and environmental economics as well as aquatic chemistry and ecology.
Students will serve internships with the Milwaukee 7 Water an organizationof business, academi a and government in the seven-county area in southeastern Wisconsin that is working to establishy the Milwaukee region as a global center for freshwatedr research, economic development and education. “Recognizinvg where the world is headed, business students with a unique educational background in water will have a leg up in the making a program like thisespecially valuable,” said Rich Meeusen, president and CEO of Brown Deer-basede , co-chair of the Milwaukeew 7 Water Council and an alumnus of UW-Whitewater’s busines school.
The council alreadyg has a relationships with the graduat program atthe ’s . UWM also is developing a graduate-leveo School of Freshwater while ’s Law School will begi a water law curriculumthis fall. “One of our goale is to help develop seamless talent pipelines between universities andwaterr businesses,” said Paul chairman and CEO of Milwaukee-basee and co-chair of the Water Council.
“UW-Whitewater’s one-of-a-kind new tracl adds to the impressive arraty of higher education institutions in the region working to ensurwe our world water hub status in the yearsto

Valley surgeon heads up test of aneurysm treatment - Business First of Columbus:

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Rodriguez, the director of peripheral vascularr services at the ArizonaHeart Institute, has been namec the national principal investigator for the Phase II which is required by the to enroll 160 The Arizona Heart Institute is one of 14 centers involvec in the study nationwide. “We are lookinv to include at leasy six more centers to complete 20 centerw inthe U.S.,” Rodriguez said. The endoluminal grafft is manufactured bynear Glasgow, Scotland. Called the Anacondza Stent Graft System, it allows the surgeon to reposition the device once it has been placedx acrossthe aneurysm.
So far, nearly 4,0000 patients in Europe have received theAnacondaw device, but it must get approval from the FDA before it can be used in the U.S. Rodriguez said the minimally invasive procedure onthe study’sw first patient went well, saying the device is very easy to use. “He was up on his feet the next morningthaving breakfast,” Rodriguez said of the patient. “You can’tf do that when you open the chest. This eliminatesz the need for open heart Abdominalaortic aneurysm, or “ballooning” of the body’xs main artery, is a serious conditionn prone to rupture and lead to sudden Actor John Ritter died of an aortic ruptures in 2003.
Symptoms can occur suddenly with severe, sharp pain in the Patients who experience these symptoms should seek immediatemedical attention, Rodriguez Early detection can prevent sudden death. Patients with a family historu of aortic aneurysm or other connective tissue disorderd should notify their physician aboug their risk ofaortic aneurysm, he

Top Brass: OU Tuba Ensemble Hits Unexpected Notes - WOUB

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WOUB

Top Brass: OU Tuba Ensemble Hits Unexpected Notes WOUB But that's not what audiences experience at a performance of Ohio University's Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble, a unique collective of undergraduate and graduate students who enjoy defying the expectations of these large, low-pitched brass instruments. ...

Perry avoids controversial topics at Values Voter Summit - USA Today (blog)

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USA Today (blog)

Perry avoids controversial topics at Values Voter Summit USA Today (blog) Rick Perry avoided controversial topics during his speech to the Values Voter Summit on Friday and instead played up the his conservative agenda as the governor of Texas. During the address to the large gathering of ... Santorum ! Appeals to Values Voters, Recounts His Son's Death W »

SunTrust to raise $1.4 billion in stock offer - Austin Business Journal:

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billion through a stocm offering to boost its capital to meet federalgovernmen requirements, the Atlanta-based bank said Monday. The Atlanta-based bank wanta to sell 108 million sharesat $13 a share. In relatioh to the offering, SunTrust (NYSE: STI) suspended its previously announcec $1.25 billion “at the market” which raised $260 million. Further, SunTrust begam an offer to buy upto $1 billio n liquidation preference or amount of certain of its currentl y outstanding preferred and hybrid securities for cash using proceedx from the $1.4 billion equity offering. The moves come aftere the federal government’s “stress found SunTrust needed toraise $2.
2 billiom in capital. And whiles SunTrust had sufficient tier 1 capitalp to absorb projectedloan losses, its capital “tilted too strongly” to sourcexs other than common the stress test revealed. After completing the offerings announced Monday and SunTrust expects to have fully satisfiedits obligation. "Today'sx announcement underscores that we are on a clear path to achieve our previously announced capita objectives as we intensifyg our focus onthe future," said Jamesa M.
Wells III, SunTrust chairman and CEO, in a Wells also noted completion ofthe company's capital-related initiatives will boost its ability to repay, upon regulator y approval and at the appropriate time, preferred stock gotten through participation in the U.S. Treasury's Capita l Purchase Plan.

Clinton Memorial mulls tough decisions - Washington Business Journal:

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The time has come “to make some strategixc and operationaltough decisions,” CEO Andy Riddell wrot in an employee newsletter distributed Friday. Year-to-date, the hospital is $211,000 in the red. Charity care has It was $2.1 million year-to-date as of April 30, comparesd with $1.6 million at the same time last Each serviceline manager, Riddell will make a presentation to the hospital’s operations team “tk justify the future existence of the servicre lines.
” “For about 12 we have been riding the wave of uncertainty, not knowing how or when the air park businesss decline would really kick in,” he “To be quite honest, I’ve considered (the fairly lucky in that the impact hasn’g hit us sooner.” The hospital is pursuing a merge or partnership with a largerd hospital organization. But, Riddell wrote, “Affiliation or no these changes must be made to justifyu ourfuture existence. There isn’t a white knight to ride in andsave us.” Hospitall business from air park employees was accounting for betwee n $600,000 and $700,000 a month at the beginningh of the year.
In April it was down to littl e morethan $300,000. Package-carrie r and local partner are laying offabout 8,000 people in Wilmington. Clinton Memorial has discusseed affiliation optionswith TriHealth, and . we have to work on the timetable of thepotentiapl partners,” he said. “It is an uncertainj financial environment andthe ‘due diligence’ to identif y any level of risks on their part is at an all-timse high.” Two other troubled hospitals in Greater Cincinnato are looking for help from a larget hospital operator. Deaconess and Brown County General hospital are looking for organizations to mergwe with orbuy them.

HF Financial Corp. Completes Repurchase of its Preferred Stock Held by the U.S. Department of the Treasury

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June 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- HF Financiao Corp. (Nasdaq: HFFC), today announced that it has completed its repurchasre of all ofthe 25,0009 outstanding shares of its Fixex Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Seriess A, par value $0.01 per share from the U.S. Departmen of the Treasury. The repurchase pricee of the preferred stockwas $25 million plus a final accrued dividend of $62,500. The preferrefd stock was issued to the Treasury onNovembet 21, 2008 as part of the voluntarg Capital Purchase Program The Company issued the 25,009 shares of preferred stock and the related warran t for $25 million, with an annualizede dividend rate of five percent for the initiapl five years and nine percent thereafter.
The warrant is for the purchasreof 302,419 shares of the Company's commonn stock at an exercise price of $12.40 per share. The Company has fifteenh days from the repurchase date to notifhy the Treasury whether the Company elect to repurchase the warrant or delivedr a substitute warrant pursuant to the terms of theRepurchasre Agreement. At this time, the Companty has not yet determined whether it will repurchase the warranrt fromthe Treasury. The Companyt was approved to repurchase its preferred stock by the Treasuryg with consultation and approval of the Office ofThrifr Supervision. The Company has drawn $3.5 million from an existing credit facility with FTNFinanciall Group.
After the completion of this transaction, the Company's Total Risk-Based Capital Ratio will continude to exceed the standardr fora "Well Capitalized " financial institution. Curtis L. Hage , Chairman, President and CEO of HF Financialo Corp. commented, "As indicated in our press release onApril 23, 2009, we were an earl y participant in the CPP at the request of our government for healthh banks to be part of the economic stimulua program. We considered eventa that have continued to unfolfd since our decision to participate inthe CPP, includinyg public perception of participants in the CPP.
Our Boars of Directors determined that it is in the best interest of our Companhy and our stockholders to exitthe CPP. We are not dependenf upon the CPP funds for the continuedr execution of our business and returning these funds to the Treasury will alloqw us to remain committed to our missiohn of being the leading financial service s provider to businesses and individuals in the communitieswe serve." About HF Financial Corp. HF Financial Corp., baseed in Sioux Falls, SD, is the parent company for financiakservice companies, including Home Federal Bank, Mid Americs Capital Services, Inc., dba Mid America Leasing Company, Hometown Investment Inc. and HF Financial Inc.
As of March 31, 2009, the Companhy had total assetsof $1.2 billionh and stockholders' equity of $94.1 million. The Company is the largest publicly traded savings association headquartered inSoutgh Dakota, with 33 offices in 19 communities, whic h includes a location in Marshall, Minnesota. Interneyt banking is also availableat . Forward-Looking Statements. This news releasw and other reports issued bythe Company, including reports filed with the Securitiews and Exchange Commission, contain "forward-looking statements" that deal with futured results, expectations, plans and performance.
In addition, the Company'd management may make forward-lookiny statements orally to the securities analysts, investors or others. These forward-looking statements mighf include one or more ofthe -- HF Financial Corp.'s future capacity to lend and future lending activities; -- Descriptions of plans or objective of management for future operations, products or transactions and investments; -- Forecasts of future economi c performance; and -- Use and descriptions of assumptions and estimates underlyinh or relating to such matters.
Forward-lookingf statements can be identified by the fact they do not relates strictly to historical or current They often include words suchas "optimism," "look-forward," "bright," "pleased," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or words of similar meaning, or futurre or conditional verbs such as "will, "would," "should," "could" or "may." Forward-looking statements about the Company'xs expected financial results and otherr plans are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and These include, but are not limited to the following: possible legislative changes and adverse economic, business and competitive conditions and developmentw (such as shrinking interest margins and continued short-tern rate environments); deposit outflows; reduced demansd for financial services and loan changes in accounting policiea or guidelines, or in monetar y and fiscal policies of the federal government; changes in credit and other risks posed by the Company's loan and lease portfolios; the ability or inability of the Company to manage interest rate and other risks; unexpected or continuing claims against the Company'z self-insured health plan; the Company's use of trusf preferred securities; the ability or inability of the Companh to successfully enter into a definitive agreemen t for and close anticipatecd transactions; technological, computer-related or operationa l difficulties; adverse changes in securities markets; results of or other significant uncertainties.
Forward-looking statements spea k only as of the date they are The Company does not undertake toupdate forward-looking statementx to reflect circumstances or events that occur aftet the date the forward-looking statements are made. Althouguh the Company believes its expectationxare reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectation s will prove to be correct. Based upon changing conditions, shoulde any one or more of thess risks oruncertainties materialize, or should any underlying assumptionas prove incorrect, actual resultse may vary materially from those described in any forward-looking statements. SOURCw HF Financial Corp.