Strong third quarter for US Cellular Coliseum - Bloomington Pantagraph

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Strong third quarter for US Cellular Coliseum Bloomington Pantagraph BLOOMINGTON â€" The U.S. Cellular Coliseum expects to meet its budgeted operating profit of about $97,000 at the end of the year after a profitable third quarter and three upcoming sold-out shows. The unaudited report, released Friday, showed a ... US Cellular Coliseum Reports Quarterly Net Profit CIproud.com  »

Pittsburgh lands NRA convention and its 60,000-plus attendees - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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put together a winning bid for theDavix L. Lawrence Convention Center to hostthe NRA' national convention in 2011, scheduled for Aprill 28 - May 1, after being turned down to host the organizatiojn in 2010, Craig Davis, VisitPittsburgh'ws vice president for sales and marketing, said this week. Davizs said the event is expected to again drawnearlt 61,000 attendees, ranking it among the largestr conventions held in Pittsburgh. The NRA's 2004 conventioh here outdrew all ofthe NRA's previoud conventions. "This is a significant win for the city becaus e of the national exposurethat we'lll receive," Davis said. "Everybody knows the NRA.
The convention draws nationally, and it drawd press from acrossthe world." Davis said the NRA has signerd an agreement in principal with Now, the NRA must hash out contractual agreementsw with SMG, the managemenf firm that runs the convention center, and with locak hotels to book blocks of rooms for the "We don't see anything that would stop Davis said. An NRA spokesperson was not immediatelyh availablefor comment.
The only recent conventiona that compare in size to the NRA show woulds be theBassmaster Classic, held by Bass-ESPN that drew 45,000 attendees to the convention center in and the 2006 MLB All-Star which drew 106,000 and was held in conjunction with Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. Helping to brinv the NRA back to Pittsburgh are membershi levels in Pennsylvania that rank among the highesty inthe country, according to The NRA's 2004 convention, at which Vice Presidentg Dick Cheney was a speaker, generated $9.1 millionh in local spending, as well as between 8,000 and 10,000o room nights in local hotels, accordingy to VisitPittsburgh.
A challenge Pittsburgh facer in winning the NRA is a lack ofan off-sit e banquet facility of 40,000 square feet that can host 5,00o people. Davis acknowledged that demandstretches Pittsburgh's resources, but VisitPittsburggh has presented the NRA with several optiones and expects the organization will find a way to accommodatr such a large dinner crowd. John owner of , a Downtowm restaurant with a busy off-site catering division, sees few indoo options for a dinner eventthat size, excep for the convention center's ballroom.
Durinvg last year's All-Star Game, Barsotti'sw catering business hosted a similar-sized banquet at the formee amphitheater atStation Square, serving 5,009 attendees from food stations for an evengt that had seating for 3,000. "It went he said. Davis believes Pittsburgh's proven abilitgy to draw attendees will overshadow anylogisticalo concerns. "From what we understand abouytthe NRA, they're very happy in and because of the base of they know it's going to be a very strongt convention," Davis said. Tom Martini, generakl manager of the hotel, Downtown, said the facility alreadu has been in discussions with the NRA about bookingv rooms for the2011 event.
Of roughly 9,009 room nights the NRA expects to need during the run of the Martini said his hotel could realizeabout 3,00 0 of those. "It's one of the first majoe conventions that has repeatecd since the opening of thenew (convention) he said. "With a convention like this, you usually don't see a repea t for another 10 or20 years."

Startup taps software to boost restaurants

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A keg stand, if you will. San Francisco-based TapDynamics offers restaurants a way to track and limity how muchbeer it’s losing through malfunctioning bad pouring and bartender giveaways. “It’s draftr beer meets technology,” said CEO Michael Cann. TapDynamics said in addition to decreasing installing its TapAdvisor software can help restaurants grow drafgtbeer sales, increase profitability and improv the overall quality of the draft beer they TapDynamics recently landed a deal to put the TapAdvisor Servicer Platform in 398 Applebee’s restaurants.
The company is targetingg large chainslike Applebee’s where they can implemenf TapAdvisor across every location. Cann, a formet investment banker, founded the company in 2007 withMurray who’s Australian and now the chief operatingf officer. The two met on their respectivew honeymoonsin Tahiti, and though neither had connectiond in the restaurant business, they both liked In researching the they discovered 20 to 30 percen of all draft beer poured at a restaurant is never paid for. Of 75 percent is given away by while 25 percent is lost tomalfunctioningy equipment. “A restaurant that goes through 40 kegs a is empirically losing 15 to 30 percent oftheidr beer.
That’s eight kegs,” said TapDynamics can show with evert pour why beer isbeing lost. If it’s an equipmen t problem, like the temperature in the cooled istoo hot, the TapDynamics team can quicklty analyze the data and send a message to a restauranty to fix the problem. If it’sw an over-pouring problem, managers can see that data in a repor t emailed nightly and then retrain staftf to pourbeer properly. Beer is typicallg the highest margin product sold ata restaurant. So capturinhg loss gets restaurant owners’ and attention, Cann said.
TapDynamics doesn’t require restaurants to pay for any TapDynamics partnerswith Micromatic, which installw and manages the draft beer flow meters and systems from which TapDynamics draws its data. TapDynamica charges the restaurant a monthly fee for its Cann said the money saved in recapturee revenue by the restaurant is more than the monthly feeTapDynamicz charges, which is about $400 per Cann said the purpose isn’t necessaril to bust bartenders who sometimese give away beer to keep customers cominh back. He said he trains managers to ask bartenders, how givintg away free beer drives sales.
Cann said the next phase for TapDynamics will begrowing TapAnalytics, whichb will take the research it compilexs in monitoring beer sales and sell it to beer companiews and distributors. The research provides insight into whichtyped of consumers drinkwhich brands. And the data will alloew beer makers to compare their salees toother brands. That should help beer companiee better define their target markets and develop strategies to competefor

Don

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Furious education advocates accuse the governor of sellingtthem out. Health care executivews bemoan a possible tax increase onstatse hospitals. Social service advocates worry that the Departmentr of Human Services willslash programs, further erodin g the state’s safety net. The criticism is understandable but Kulongoski didn’t really have much choice. Though detailsd weren’t announced until last week, the governor has been upfronr aboutthe state’s mounting budget shortfall, whicu could reach $2 billion by spring. That Oregon is facin financial challenges during a huge economic meltdown shoule surpriseno one. That places lots of pressurwe on both the whichconvenes Jan.
12, and on groups threatened by Kulongoski’s This will be the most interestin g legislative sessionin years. Virtually everyone will feel some pain. As stafd writer Andy Giegerich reportsa in his story onPage 1, economic development groupo predicts a loss of 11,000 jobs in the Portland area next Manufacturing and construction will be especiallty hard-hit. This year the manufacturing sectorshed 1,800 jobs. Constructiom lost 1,600, as did the financial services As bad asthat sounds, things could be Several western and southwestern cities are worsse off than Portland. The study also predicts that Portland’sd workforce will grow 7.4 percent by 2013.
That long-terjm optimism, though, won’t do much to assuage seniofr citizens facing a loss of core servicesunded Kulongoski’s proposal. It also won’ help Oregon motorists, whose vehicle-registration fees could tripl enext year. There’s simply no gettingy around thefinancial crisis. Criticizing Kulongoskiu is the easy thingto do, but it does nothing to solvd pressing problems that show no signw of abating.

Forced evictions grew more violent, resulted in 21 deaths last year - South China Morning Post (blog)

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Forced evictions grew more violent, resulted in 21 deaths last year South China Morning Post (blog) Violence used in forced evictions remained widespread and grew more severe last year, the human rights group claims in a report released yesterday, and resulted in at least 21 deaths. Evictions resulting in fatalities and the increased number of cases ...

THQ 'back catalog' to be sold off in 'separate process' - Joystiq

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MTV.com (blog)

THQ 'back catalog' to be sold off in 'separate process' Joystiq THQ sold off much of its intellectual property, and existing catalog, yesterday in an auction. But what about  »

MNI: Georgia loses 48,900 industrial jobs - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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percent loss in manufacturing employment between 2006and 2007, and a loss of 2.3 percenft between 2007 and 2008. Georgia now has 10,894 manufacturers that employ 507,866 workers. "As with the entire nation, the recessiob continues to chip awayat Georgia's core sectors,” said Tom president of Manufacturers’ News. “The faltering housing market has affectedf industries suchas wood, furniture and buildingv products, and has worsened an already suffering textile industry." Employment in the textiles/apparelo sector saw the worst drop in down 16.
2 percent, or 13,219 Textile/apparel companies shutting down includes carpet manufacturer , a Springs Globalo towel manufacturer in Griffin, and Americabn Fibers and Yarns, which shuttered its planft in Bainbridge last Food products manufacturing has replaced textiles/apparel as the state' s top industrial sector, currently accounting for 69,560 of the state'z jobs, down 2.7 percent or 1,903 Food giant (NYSE: GIS) recentlty reported it will spend $42 million to open a new distributionm center in Social Circle. Third-ranked industrial machinery and equipment accountsfor 45,68o0 jobs, down 5.
1 percent, with employmengt expected to strengthen with the relocation of ATM manufacturer NCR) to Columbus. Atlanta is the state'xs top city for manufacturing employment, home to 55,861 with employment down 11 percent over the Atlanta ranks 18th amongthe nation's cities for numbefr of manufacturing jobs and ranks 22nd nationally for number of Manufacturers’ News said. Second-ranked Dalton accounts for 25,446 with employment down 3.5 percent over the past twelvr months. Alpharetta saw no significant change in manufacturinvg employment and currently accountsfor 16,826 while Marietta is home to 16,58o jobs, down 2.
5 percent over the Fifth-ranked Norcross is home to 14,38i jobs, down 9.3 percent, according to Manufacturers’ News.

Swine flu count hits 547 in Arizona - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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So far, the has reported 11,0543 cases and 17 deaths in theUnited States. Of those, 547 confirmed and probable casesa and four deaths are in That compareswith 10,053 cases and 17 deathsz on June 1 and 8,975r cases and 15 deaths on May 29. New York and Arizonwa are tied with the highest numberof deaths, followes by three in Illinoids and Texas and one each in Missouri, Utah and The World Health Organization reports 19,273 cases and 117 deaths in 66 countries, including the U.S.
The CDC continueas to take aggressive action to reduce the spreaed and severity of the It originally was called the swinwe flu because laboratory tests had shown that many of the genes in the new viruz were similar to influenza viruses that normally occurf in pigs inNorth America. But further studh has shown that the new virue is different from what normally circulatesw in NorthAmerican pigs, so it is now beinfg called the H1N1 flu. Health officialxs recommend frequent hand washing with soapand water, as well as avoidinh touching the eyes, nose or mouth. Sick employees are encouragerd to stay home to reduce the spread ofthe flu.

Delphi salaried retirees eye pension suit - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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If not stopped, retirees fear that the move couldx drastically cut the value ofyounger ex-white collar pensions by as much as 50 percent, said Jamess Frost of Clarence, a board member and organizer of the Delphi Salaried Retiree Association. The legal action is beintg spearheaded by 100 to 200 retirees in Ohio who belonvg tothe 5,400-member DSRA but who are actin on their own, Frost said. “W (the DSRA) are serving as support by gatherinv information and sharing it with all our members and by contacting legislators aroundthe country,” Frost said. “We are not starting our own action because it would duplicater what theyare doing.
” The opposition sprang out of the modified reorganization plan Delphi disclosee on June 1. The company, to emerge from Chaptedr 11 bankruptcy, said it would cancel its pensioj obligations and have assume thehourlyy workers’ pensions and the PBGC take over the salariedx employees’ plan. Frost, who worked at GM for 25 yearsw and at Delphifor six, said hourly pensions won’t be affected “aft least in the short but salaried workers who retired at 55 coul lose half the value of “We want our pensions also to be transferred to he said. The suit would chargw Delphi, GM, the union, II and the U.S. Treasury with collusion againstthe retirees.
In the reorganization plan for GM’s former parts operation, II LLC a unit of Platinu Equity — would acquire and operate Delphi’s U.S. and non-U.S. businessex by supplying $3.6 billion in capital.

Pulte, Centex merger is a step closer - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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Dallas-based Centex’s chairman and CEO Timothy Ellert willjoin Pulte’s (NYSE: PHM) boarrd of directors as vice chairman and has agreed to servew as a consultant to the compangy for a two-year period following the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Pulte expectxs the merger to be finalized in the thirrd quarter, following customary “We continue to make rapid progrese toward completing our pending merger with Centex, and planninbg the integration of our two companies,” said Dugas. “Merger teams from both organizatione have been working to ensure that plans are in place for asuccessful integration.
The primary goal of thei efforts is capturing thetargeted $350 million in synerguy savings and related operating goals that make this combinationm so compelling.” Richard Dugas: President and Chief Executive Officer James Ellinghausen: Executive Vice President, Human Resources Debra Still: President and Chief Executive Pulte Mortgage LLC Steven Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Pulte’s founder William Pulte will remain on the board.

At PV America, Rendell says alternative energy will boost economy - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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“I believe that over the next five years, the developmenyt of the green-energy economy can drive this nation’s comeback,” the Democratid governor said at the general session of PV which is being held at the Pennsylvania Conventioj Center in Philadelphiathrough Wednesday. The conference is the first by the to focus solelyu on photovoltaicsolar energy, which comes from photovoltaic panels that converr sunlight into electricity. It’s being held in conjunctionh withthe IEEE’s 34th Photovoltaic Specialists Conferenc at the Philadelphia Marriotrt Downtown, which is adjacent to the convention center, from Sundagy through Friday.
(IEEE used to stand for , but the nonprofitf now just refers to itself by its acronym because it has so many member from otherengineering fields.) Abouft 3,000 people are attendinhg the conferences, the SEIA and IEEE Part of Rendell’s message was similar to the message deliverer by SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch lated in the session: When they go home, the peoplr at the conference should promote solar energy’s virtues to everyone from theier neighbors to their municipal, state and federalo elected officials. “You have to roll up your sleeve andbe advocates,” Rendell said.
Both Rendell and Reschb praised President Obama for his efforts on behalf of renewableenergy — “President Obamaa is becoming the solar president,” Resch said but they said they’d like the federal government to do more. Rendell said federa l legislators should dotwo things: Make renewable-energy tax creditx permanent, rather than reauthorizing them evert few years; and create a federa l alternative portfolio standard that mandates that a specified portiom of energy sold in the countr y be created from alternative energy Twenty eight states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the Districtt of Columbia have alternative portfolio standards.
Rendell said he’d like the federal standard to have minimum figures that statex could exceed ontheir own. “If we do thosde things … I think there’w no reason that Americs can’t be the dominant nationh in solar energy forthe world,” he said. Rendel said alternativd energy will drivethe U.S. economy for the next 25 yearsx just asthe information-technology and life sciences industries have driven it for the last 25. Underd his leadership, Pennsylvania has movef to capitalize onthat shift. In 2004, it establishedd an alternative portfolio standard that requires 18 percenrt of energy sold in Pennsylvania to come from alternative sources of energyby 2020.
Last Pennsylvania created a $650 million renewable energhy fund. Of that money, $180 million is to go to solart energy, consisting of $100 millionj for loans, grants and rebatew to cover up to 35 percen of the costs incurresd by homeand small-businesxs owners who install solar energy systems, and $80 million for grants and loans for solart economic-development projects. More than 300 applications forsolar economic-developmentt projects were received by the deadlins last week, Rendell said. Philadelphia also has gottejn in onthe renewable-energy act. Mayoe Michael Nutter in April by 2015.
The city is one of 25 takinyg part in the federal Departmentof Energy’s Soladr America Cities initiative. As part of that, it’xs developing a plan to generate 2.3 megawatts of solar electricity by 2011and 57.8 megawatts by 2021, which is its shared of the state of Pennsylvania’s solar installation goal. To help it meet thoser goals, Nutter said Monday, the city is lookingy to replace the roof at its fleet workshoo with a roof that produce solar energy and has formulated planss forbuilding large-scale solar arrays at Philadelphi a Water Department locations.

Getting a lift from Uncle Sam - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:

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Now some of the state’s smaller banks are takinbg advantage of thegovernment funding, whild others have completed applicationz and are mulling the option. “I think for most having some additional capital is not a bad saysBenjie Guion, chief operating officer at . NewDominiojn completed an application last month for an infusion under the Troubled AssetsRelief Program. Guiob says the bank has not yet determined whethef it will accept the fundsif approved, but it didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. Underd TARP, Treasury is buying up to $250 billion in preferred stoc k issuedby U.S. banks.
The program was designed to stabilize the ailinfg financial system and to encourage banksx to increase lending to stimulatethe economy. As of late the government hadinvested $187 billionh in U.S. banks, including $15 billion in , $25 billion in and $3.1 billion in Nine of the nation’s largest including BofA and Wells, agreed to participate at the Treasury’sa behest before the programn was announcedin October. Sincee then, some publicly traded regional and communitt banks have also signed up forTARP Troy-based is taking $65 million in government capital, while Elkin-based , whichh is buying Charlotte-based , is taking a $36 milliomn investment.
Participating banks are free to use the fund as theysee fit, but most loca and regional institutions say they intend to use the new capitaol to increase their lendinh capacity. Gastonia-based is taking $20.55 million under the program. Bankas are required to hold a certain amount of capitakl relative totheir assets. With the governmen t funds, Citizens South will be able to provide upto $100 milliom in loans over the next couplee of years that it otherwise could not have made, says Kim chief executive. “We couldn’t have done that without it, so it’ss really a positive thing for the economyg if people will useit responsibly,” he says. current chairman of the N.C.
Bankerse Association, believes 70% of the state’s banks will accepr TARP funding. That’s because it’s a relatively low-costt source of capital at a time when thetraditionapl sources, such as selling common stoc k or trust preferred securities, have driedd up or become prohibitively expensive. “It’s sort of your best alternativedright now,” he while stressing the government capital presentx a cost to banks. “This is not a Banks that take TARP fundsd must pay annual dividends ata 5% rate for the first five years and 9% thereafter. They can repurchase the shares afterthree years.
Participatinhg banks must also adoptthe Treasury’s standards on executiver compensation and corporate governance while the government holdxs the preferred shares. While some banks were initiallgy leery of takingbailoutg money, that stance has softened in recenyt weeks. In October, a survey by financiapl services firm Banc Investmenyt Groupfound 66% of community bankers were unlikelty to use or “definitively the idea of accessing the program; only 8% planned to use it. A mont later, 56% said they woulde take the government help. Since the programn was announced, Treasury has made clear it is designedfor “healthg institutions.
” In an interview with 60 Minutes , BofA Chief Executivs Kenneth Lewis said the bank didn’y need the capital, but was required to participatwe to remove any stigmza other banks would face for taking the Tony Plath, professor of finance at , believes the public funds will also spur bank Weaker banks will not be approvedx for TARP funds, he and those institutions will be rolled into the strongeer survivors that have been granted “The TARP money is going to go into bank that the regulators feel have a viablde business model going forward,” he says.
“W e have a number of weak regional and community bankz inthe Carolinas, and those weaker institutions are going to be Jerry Ocheltree, chief executives of First Bancorp., says the fundxs will allow his bank to continue growing its loan expand its branch network and possibly make acquisitions. But he also viewas TARP funds as an insurance policty if theeconomy worsens. “In these uncertain times, it’ws always good to have extrza capital in case this economy faltere like it has in the last12 months,” he Ocheltree says most bankers he’s spoken with are looking to participate in the program and take the full amounrt — an amount equal to 3% of a bank’s risk-weightedd assets.
The deadline for publicly tradedd banks to submit an applicationmwas Nov. 14, and private or those that don’t file their financial with the Securities andExchange Commission, were requiredd to apply by Dec. 8.

Embarq, CenturyTel complete $11.6B deal - Orlando Business Journal:

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billion stock and debt purchase of the companies announcedearlg Wednesday. The combined company, , (NYSE: CTL) will be baser in Monroe, La., and potentially have $8 billion in annual It has morethan 2.1 million broadband 440,000 video subscribers and 7.5 million access lines in 33 Embarq (NYSE: EQ) shareholders are two-thirds owners of the combinerd company, having received 1.37 CenturyTel sharesw for each Embarq share they owned. The deal includexd CenturyTel assuming $5.
8 billion in Embarq The two brands will be converted graduallyyto CenturyLink, a process expected to conclude later this “The completion of this merger is a significang event for our customers, communities, investors and CEO Glen Post III, who had been head of said in the release. “CenturyLink has the advancede networks, the people and the financiak stability to deliver the reliables and innovative services that our customers wantand need. We look forward to this excitingf new chapter inour company’s history.” CenturyLinki will operate regional operating headquarters in Las Vegas; Wentzville, Mo.; Wake Forest, N.C.; and La Wis. Embarq has about 1.
5 million customers and 4,800 employees in The company spun offfrom S) in 2006. By joining, the ruralo phone companies expect to saveabouty $400 million a year in operatingg and capital expenses by 2011. They expect combined operatinb cash flow of morethan $4.2 billion and free cash flow of abouf $1.9 billion. CenturyTel expects to continue its current annual dividendof $2.80p a share. The combination is expected to add to free cash flow per sharedin 2010. Shares continue to tradre under CenturyTel’s ticker symbol. Embarq CEO Tom Gerke will serve as executive vice chairman of the CenturyLinl board and oversee regulatory and governmentalk relations andhuman resources.

Call for standing area at Sunderland's Stadium of Light - Sunderland Echo

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Sunderland Echo

Call for standing area at Sunderland's Stadium of Light Sunderland Echo Sunderland Echo · Like us on Facebook · Follw Us on Twiiter · Follow Us on Google+ · Subscribe to our You Tube Channel · Buy a Photo · Contact the Sunderland Echo · News · Local · All News · City Centre · North Sunderland · South Sunderland · Houghton ...

Ongoing Violence In Daghestan Deters Would-Be Emigres From Leaving Syria - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

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RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

Ongoing Violence In Daghestan Deters Would-Be Emigres From Leaving Syria RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Caucasus Report. Ongoing Violence In Daghestan Deters Would-Be Emigres From Leaving Syria. Print · Email; Comment; Share: x. Del.icio.us · Digg · Facebook · Google Bookmarks · Newsvin e · Reddit · StumbleUpon · Twitter · About sharing ...