Friday, April 29, 2011

Democrats Organize To Take Anonymous Cash Like GOP - NPR (blog)

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Los Angeles Times


Democrats Organize To Take Anonymous Cash Like GOP

NPR (blog)


Democrats have decided they won't unilater »

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Express Scripts launches offering to finance acquisition - Wichita Business Journal:

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billion to help pay for its ’s drug benefits Express Scripts said it would grant the underwriters an optionb for 30 days to purchase upto 3.45 millionn additional shares of common stock to coverf any over-allotments, which would then increase the totalo raised to $1.6 billion. Express Scriptds said it plans tobuy WellPoint’s subsidiary usint a mixture of $3.27 billiohn in cash and $1.4 billiom in shares of common stock. Underr the acquisition agreement, Express Scripts may also choose to delived toWellPoint $1.4 billion in Express Scripts plans to sell bonds in the near term as part of its plan to finances the acquisition.
The acquisition is expected to closew in the late third quartetr or fourth quarterof 2009. Mo.-based Express Scripts (Nasdaq: is a pharmacy benefits manager that administers prescription drug programd forhealth plans, government and corporations.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Norian, Synthes, executives charged with conducting medical trials without FDA authorization - Memphis Business Journal:

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its parent company , and four Synthes charging them with conducting clinical trials of a medical device without authorization fromthe . The product at the centerr of the case isa injectable, cement material, Norian XR, used as a bone void fillerr in surgery to repair certain fractures. The indictmeny charges Norian of Cupertino, with a total of 52 felony including conspiracy to impair and impeder the lawful functions of the FDA and to commi t crimes against the United seven counts of making false statements in connection with an FDA and 44 counts of shippingb adulterated and misbranded Norian XR in interstatr commerce with intentto defraud.
Synthes, which has its Nortu American headquarters inWest Chester, Pa., referred calles to its parent organization based in Switzerland. Officials theree were not immediately available for Norian was bought by Synthesin 1998. The indictmentf charges that from May 2002 until fall 2004 Noria n conspiredwith others, including Synthes, to conduct unauthorize clinical trials of two versions of Norian in surgeriesx to treat vertebral compression fractures of the These surgeries were allegedly performed “despite a warniny on the FDA-cleared label for Norian XR againsrt this use, and in the face of serious medical concerns about the safety of the devicew when used in the the indictment said.
The indictment alleges three patients died durinyg theclinical trials. The indictment furthetr alleges that after the death of the third patientr inJanuary 2004, Norian and Synthes did not recalp Norian XR from the marker — which would have required disclosures of details of the threse deaths to the FDA — but, instead, “compounded theif crimes by allegedly carrying out a cover-up in whicb they lied to the FDA duringv an official inspection in May and June Synthes is charged with 44 misdemeanor countse of shipping adulterated and misbranded Norian XR in interstater commerce.
Four Synthes executives were each chargec with one misdemeanor count of shipping adulteratexd and misbranded Norian XR in interstate commerce. “It is never acceptable for the health-care industry to place the profiyt motiveover people’s well being,” said Patrick special agent-in-charge of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Offices of the Inspector General. “The FDA review process was put in place to protectthe nation’sz citizens. Should these companies and executives ultimateluy befound guilty, they will have to pay a price for placint at risk the very people for whom they purportef to provide relief.
” In addition to HHS, and the Attorney General’sw Office, the investigation also included representatives from the FDA and the Departmen of Veterans Affairs.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Levindale plots $32M upgrade to city campus - Baltimore Business Journal:

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The Baltimore nursing home facility and chroniccare hospital, part of , filed its expansionh plans with the state in June. If approverd construction on a three-storyg patient tower and new lobbg could begin by January 2009 on its West Belvederr Avenue campusnear . The project will add privatse patient roomsand bathrooms, a sharedf kitchen and a community-style living room for residents. Each floor will housee about 28 residents in settings similar toa single-familyy house. The rooms, lobby and commomn areas will also feature wirelessInternet access. The new lobby will also house art exhibits.
"Whenj aging baby boomers need assisted living, they aren'r going to want the old shared room and sharedbathroom model," said Aric vice president of operations for Levindale. "Thety are going to want something that resembleds theirown home." The facility currentlyt has a mix of private and shared patienyt rooms with roughly 172 nursing care beds. The site also has aboutr 120 chronic care hospital beds for elderlty or disabled patients that need more extensivermedical care. The project, whicyh could be open by 2010, is part of a larger expansion to expand the nursing home to240 beds.
He said Levindale had considered building the new project on the former Rosewood Center campux inBaltimore County. But the cost of constructing roadds and sewer systems to serve the site wastoo much, Spitulni said. Nearly 70,000 Maryland residentss were living in nursing home facilities across the statrin 2006, according to figurews released by the Maryland Health Care State health leaders say Maryland will need to add 318 new nursint home beds statewide -- including 65 new beds in Baltimorw -- by 2011 to meet the growt h of long-term care demands.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Clarcor's Q2 earnings drop more than 30% - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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percent in the second quarter, compared to the same perio d ayear ago. Franklin-based Clarcor (NYSE: CLC) reportef income of $25,582, or $0.50 cents per dilutedc share, in the quarter ended May 30, compared to or $0.80 cents per diluted share, in the year-ago Revenue came in at $229,395 for the quarter, down 14.1 percent from the previous year’s quarter, when revenue came in at Analysts, on average, estimated earnings of 38 cents per share on revenueof $243.
1 million, according to Reuters “As we had this year’s second quarter was though operating results were much stronger than in our firstr fiscal quarter,” says Norm Clarcor’s chairman and CEO, in a “Our order rates, overall, have stabilized, and we are beginnint to see indications of increased product deman d in selected markets.” Clarco r makes mobile, industrial and environmental filtration products and consumedr and industrial packaging products sold to domesticc and international markets.
Johnson notes that more than 80 percent of its filter sales are generated from the replacement filter so even if new building and equipmen t continuesto falter, maintenance of existing equipment and facilities will Shares of Clarcor closed up or 3.66 percent to $30.57 at the bell today. The 52-wee range is $23.05 to $44.13.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Eddie Bauer declares bankruptcy - Denver Business Journal:

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had struggled with its debt — a crisix that worsened as revenue dropped, part of an overalpl trend affecting most retailers during the The company has lost nearlh a half billion dollars in the past three Those losses, coupled with the impact of the recession and debt paymentzs apparently pushed the company into bankruptcy courtf — a move that was rumoref for months. Eddie Bauer became the latest majod retailer to succumb to filing in bankruptcyg courtthis recession. The list also includesa Linens ‘n Things, Circuit City and Northwest retailerf , which sold its assets to a liquidator in Apriol and closed31 stores.
In many Eddie Bauer’s crisis is not different from what most retailers are facingv during this prolonged anddeep recession, said Greg an Atlanta-based consultant for Conway MacKenzie who worke with financially stressed retailerz looking to restructure. Most retailers except discount storeslike Wal-Mart have seen a fast drop-off in retail revenue across the board, Charleston said. Many of the specialtyy retail department stores haveseen double-digitr same-store sales declines, he “When revenue drops and same-store salezs drop, companies with less debt can weather a downturnm much longer,” Charleston said.
“It becomes an issue much soonerd if you are intoliquidity issues.” As of May 11, Eddiee Bauer reported having $289.6 million in outstanding debt, includin g $187.8 million in term loans and $75 millionb in convertible notes, which company executives have been trying to persuade debt-holders to convert into shares of the According to a filing with the , Eddie Bauert had total assets of $525.2w million in April. The company listed total liabilitieaof $448.9 million. Eddid Bauer reported net losseof $165.5 million in fiscal year 2008, part of a totap of $478.7 million in losses during the past threse fiscal years.
In the first quarter that endedin April, the company reported net lossez of 44.5 million. For the first quartetr of fiscal year which endedApril 4, Eddir Bauer reported a loss of $44.5 That was a greater loss than the firsyt quarter of 2008, when the company reported a $19.3 million loss. Net saleas for the first quarter of 2009were $179.8u million, compared with net sales of $213.q2 million in the first quarter of 2008. The companyu said that combined comparable store sales a barometer of success at the stor elevel — fell 11.3 percent for the firsyt quarter, a decline the company blamed on the recession and reduced retaikl spending.
Sales were down nearly 15 perceng inEddie Bauer’s retail storesd and sales through its direc t channel were down nearly 11 percent. The outlet storeas saw sales decline by nearly76 “The first quarter was a difficul t one, as the sharpp downturn in the economy took its toll on our We continued to focus on cost cuttintg and cash flow management, which helped mitigate the impact of lowetr sales,” said CEO Neil Fiske, in a statement with the first-quarterf results filed with the SEC. Eddide Bauer has 370 stores, including 251 retail stores and 119 outlet stores in the United State sand Canada. Eddie Bauer has 17 stores in Washington and 11 storesain Oregon.
(See a copy of the bankruptct filing .) But by filing for reorganization under Chaptedr 11 of the federalpbankruptcy code, Eddie Bauer hopes to avoid the fate of Joe’se Sports & Outdoor, which filed for bankruptcy protec March 4. The Ore.-based company had hopedx to find a ButIn April, a bankruptcy judgwe approved the liquidation of the Joe’s stores after the company could not find a buyer. Joe’sx had 31 Northwest stores — 10 of them in King and Piercecounties — that held going-out-of-business sales aftedr the company’s assets were snapped up at bargain basement prices by , a liquidator that also sold off merchandisr for Circuit City.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Diversity in nonprofit world is invaluable - Kansas City Business Journal:

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To this end, MCFI is three yeare into an agencywide diversity prograjm that is yielding positive resultsw in terms ofclient satisfaction, stafr morale and employee recruitment. The agency providee rehabilitation services to individuals with special needs andtheir “We want to make diversity intertwined in the fabricv of the organization,” said Al Hill Jr., directotr of diversity, learning and developmentt and head of the initiative. Hill leads a 15-membeer MCFI diversity team charged with implementingfthe program.
In assembling the Hill recruited employees not just ofdifferentr ethnicities, genders and ages, but also from different levels of management and nonmanagement and from different unitsd within the agency. In the initiative is not “top down,” with management directing, but “bottom up,” with team members soliciting inpu t from their peers to briny tothe team. “One time we even kickefd Al out of the room because he was too closd to an issue we werestruggling with,” laughed Joua Xiong, a humann resources generalist and team member.
Within Milwaukee Centefr for Independence, the team focuses on “Cultural competency is invaluablse when working with familiesin close-knit communities, such as Hmontg and Russian,” Hill said. “We help our case managerds know what they need to besensitivde to.” For example, Xiong said, some Asians feel it is disrespectfupl to look someone in the eye. Russian families can be reluctantg toadmit non-Russian caregiverd into their homes. “Understanding the valuess and practices of different ethnic groupz helps us retain clients and gain new she said.
The team distributed an internal survey that founsthat work-life balance is a key concern of In response, it establishedr a working parents employee resource group to explore the Also, an MCFI “buddy” program matches new employeez with seasoned staff members who acts as Externally the diversity team is helpinv to improve employee recruitment by studying best practices to make the centere a welcoming work environment. “Diversity is an asset when especially in highly competitive fieldd such as physical therapy and said Xiong. Added Hill, “Today’s applicants are lookingy at your organization as muchas you’rd looking at them.
They want to feel comfortabler being who they are in the To aidin recruitment, the team has formed alliancews with area diversity groups such as Hispanixc Professionals of Greater Milwaukee, the National Black Nurses Associatiob and several minority fraternities and sororities. In additioj to a periodic newslettercalled “Diversity Corner,” the team sponsorw an annual Diversity Day. This year’s event in Aprip included a speaker on diversitgyin action; two spoken word artists performinh poetry about social justice and equality issues; and talks aboug the culture behind ethnic food and wearing apparel. A populart part of the event was “Diversithy Jeopardy!
”, where four employee teams joined inspiritedc competition. It is not easy to make a majot shift in the culture of anentires organization, but diversity team members feel MCFI’se initiative is having an impact. “Sincs I’ve been on the committee, I’v e heard stories about how people are much more awaree ofother cultures,” said Xiong, who is “I have grown tremendously professionallg as well as personally, and I am able to share my experiencees with my family members and dispel their stereotypes abougt certain other cultures.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Merck to buy Schering-Plough for $41.1B - Wichita Business Journal:

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billion in cash in the secondd pharmaceutical megadeal inrecent weeks. The New Jersey-based companiesw partner on two cholesterol drugxs Zetia and Vytorin which saw abouyt a 20 percent drop in sales in the fourth quarterf after concerns were raisedc abouttheir effectiveness. Valued at $23.61 a share, the deal is a premium of 34 percentto Schering-Plough (NYSE:SGP) shareholders basedr on Friday's closing price. Mercmk shareholders will own about 68 percent of the combined company after the deal is completedand Schering-Plough shareholderz will own the rest. Merck said it expects abougt $3.5 billion in annual savings from the dealafter 2011.
The new company will be calledMerckk (NYSE:MRK) and run by Merck CEO Richard Clark. Mercko said it will finance the cash part of the deal with a combinationhof $9.8 billion from existing cash reserves and $8.5 billion from committed financing provided by . The Merck deal followws Pfizer Inc.'s (NYSE:PFE) announcement late in Januaryt that it willpay $68 billion for Wyeth (NYSE) . Upon the board of the combined company will includ all of the Merck board plus threr ScheringPlough representatives. Schering-Plough CEO Fred Hassa plans help in the integration untilthe close, the companiea said. Merck has operations in San Franciscio it got when it acquired Sirnza Therapeuticsfor $1.
1 billion about two years ago. It paid $80 million for Santa Clara-based at about the same time. Merck also has licensinyg and collaboration deals with a number of othed BayArea companies, including Foster City-based (NASDAQ:GILD), Burlingame-based , South San Francisco-based (NASDAQ:SNSS) and Redwood City-bases Schering-Plough has a biopharma research subsidiary in Palo Alto that it formecd in 2005 after consolidating its two West Coasg research subsidiaries Canji Inc. and DNAX Researchg Institute Inc. It also has licensing and collaboratiobn deals with Bay Area companieasincluding (NASDAQ:NOVC) of South San Francisco, Palo Alto-basede and Codexis.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Human Capital: People on the move, May 14 - Boston Business Journal:

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Gack elected as AIM chairmann LewisGack , a partner at LPG Consulting in was elected to serve as the 49th chairmabn of . Gack joined the AIM board of directors in and served asthe association’se treasurer for four years prior to being electedf chairman of the association. Rasky Baerleinm announces flurry of promotionw in Boston promotedthe following: Lauren Crowne , accounyt executive with the education, health care and nonprofi team; Marissa Moskowitz Goldstein , account executive for the energy and environmentr practice group; Lea Cademenoxs , account coordinator with the publicd affairs practice group; and Lily Lynchb , account coordinator for the firm’s financial services and real estatee practice.
East Boston rounds out executive team promoted the EricHeath , seniore vice president, human resources; John Migliozzii , senior vice lending; Joseph Scurio , vice small business administration, lending; Philip Pace , vice president, and Michele Pergola , vice president, loan Special Olympics Massachusetts elects new board memberd Special Olympics Massachusetts appointed the following new boarsd members: Robert Friedman , AVP, sponsorship and event marketing for ; Frankm Reynolds , CEO of of Cambridge; Gerryg Morrissey , vice president of quality assurance and servics development for The MENTOR Network ; and Fredricm “Fritz” Ferbert , formee executive vice president of Bank of America in

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Fontainebleau's Soffer caught by Lehman Bros. bankruptcy - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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“When the retail division of the projecr lost access to fundingthrough Lehman, it was unabls to repay the resort for its share of costs,” said Scotrt Baena, of Bilzin Sumberg Baena Pricd Axelrod, who represents Fontainebleau Las Vegas LLC in the “That put enormous stresx on the resort entity, and that was the beginninbg of the problems.” Fontainebleau Las Vegad LLC and two of its affiliates filed bankruptcy petitionds in Miami late Tuesday. The Fontainebleauj Miami Beach is not included inthe filing.
also principal with Turnberryt construction anddevelopment companies, has partial, personalp guarantees on portions of the retail component of the Las Vegas but those portions are not in bankruptcy yet, Baenw said. The complex is 70 percent completed. Since Decembee 2008, Lehman refused to make any advanced underthe project’s $315 million construction according to a motion to maintaijn cash management filed in the bankruptcy. Afteer Lehman’s refusals, money stopped flowinyg through the retail entity to theresorrt entity. In March, other lenders pulled theifr financing, and construction on the resort stoppedin May, Baensa said.
The company said in a news releasr that the decision to file Chaptere 11 was the result of litigation with the othe lenders on project about nearly $800 million in construction fundingh for the project. Other lenders include , JPMorgan Chas e Bank and Deutsche BankTrusf Co. Americas. In the short term, the company is seekingh to stabilize and protect the finished portioh ofthe building, Baena said. “It’s no longer possible to downsiz ethe building,” he said. “The 30 percent remainingv construction is principallythe interior. We’ve got a lovely building waiting tobe finished.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Advice on hormone replacement therapy continues to evolve - Los Angeles Times

http://www.altal4adv.com/user_detail.php?u=reolotottat


Los Angeles Times


Advice on hormone replacement therapy continues to evolve

Los Angeles Times


Hormone therapy has been one of the most confusing issues in women's health over the last decade. Now, a study from the Women's Health Initiative shows the increased risk of stroke found among women who take ...



and more »

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Shilling slides again on high demand from oil marketers - Business Daily Africa

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Daily Nation


Shilling slides again on high demand from oil marketers

Business Daily Africa


Traders say demand for dollars from the oil sector and political tensions have prompted the shilling to depreciate further. Photo/FILE By John Gachiri (email the author) The Shilling slid again below the Sh83 mark to the US dollar marking a reversal of ...


Kenya shilling makes up losses vs dlr, stocks rise

Reuters Africa


shilling f »

Sunday, April 3, 2011

High-tech mail service raises $30M - Baltimore Business Journal:

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, which raised the cap­ital from Silicon Valley-basedc and existing investors, offers high-volumse corporate mailers expedited deliver y of mail and small packageswith first-class speed, onlinee tracking, real-time analytics and customized reporting. MailExpress uses its nationwidwe processing and logistics network to deliverd mail and small parcels nationwide in three days two days for regional service leveragingthe U.S. Postalk Service (USPS) for the “last of delivery.
The MailExpress option fits between courier servicez suchas (NYSE: UPS) and first-class USPS said Frans van managing partner at Logispring, a first-round investor in “Something that has the track-and-trace, guaranteed delivery,” van Schaikj said, “without paying $30 because you want it there next New York-based Logispring invested in MailExpress because it was “fairl y confident that the combination of the technologg and the business model was really addressint a need that was largely unserved,” van Schaik MailExpress CEO was not made available for an In a statement released Frida y afternoon, Moss said in a statement: “We’re prouds of how far we’ve come and how fast we’vw grown since our initial fundinf in September of 2005.
" The company counts amonb its customers "more than 90 blue chip in the pharmacy benefitd management and e-commerce the statement read. "With this additiona l infusionof capital, we’re able to buils on these accomplishments by keeping our foot steadilt on the accelerator as we continue to rapidly scaled our business,” Moss said. Menlo Park, Calif.-based Lightspeede Venture Partners manages morethan $2 billionm of capital commitments and closed an $800 milliojn fund in early 2008.
Portfolio companies include and MailExpress founders, the company said, pioneerexd the expedited mail industry in the mid-1990s with SmartMail SmartMail, acquired by DHL Worldwide Network SA in now competes with MailExpress. Atlanta-based UPS is a too. Since launching in 2005, MailExpress has been on a growtbspurt — employment spiked from about 70 in 2006 to more than 400 last MailExpress, which serves retail, health care, financial services and other provides a customized mail service for large companiew that want to send direct marketingt pieces, annual reports, brochures, pharmaceuticals and otherf mail.
A Web-based system, callerd OnTrack, automates and tracks the process and controls theprocessinhg centers. It then routes the mail to the USPS to bedeliverefd locally. MailExpress’ processing centers sort to more than 200 USPS facilitiex daily and deliver mail into its local market within 24 hourse oforigination processing. The compant said it scans each piece of mail beforwe it enters the mail stream and identifie smisaddressed mail. Between 2 percentf and 4 percent of all mail is either misroutexor undeliverable, which hurts cash flow and customer MailExpress said, citing industry A typical delay for a misrouted first-clasas package is up to 21 days.
“Ouf process detects misaddressed mail, corrects it and upgrades its priorituy to meet the delivery time of one tofive days,” accordin g to the company’s Web site. “This reducesd costs for misrouted mail and ensures that servics to your customer is not MailExpress also claims toreduces re-ship rates for businesses and high-volums shippers by up to 50 perceny over the competition. MaiExpress enables better productivity, throughy software and technology, said Page Siplon, directore of the Georgia Center of Innovationfor “Every letter or piece of marketing material that doesn’t get to a customerf is wasted money,” Siplon said.
“If you’re not reaching your customers, you’re not selling your

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Seventeenth Street Plaza sold to HRPT - Houston Business Journal:

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Newton, Mass.-based HRPT (NYSE: HRP), a real estatee investment trust that owns and operatexs office and industrial paid cash forthe building. The sales price was not announced. Seventeenthn Street Plaza is locaterd at 122517th St., across from the Tabor Center retail and hotel complex. It was developed by what’s now Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. of and was completed in 1982. Previoux owners include Equitable Real Estate InvestmenrtManagement Inc. (ERE), part of the Equitable insurance company. Australian real estate giant LendLeasr Corp. Ltd. took over the building in the 1990s after itacquire ERE.
JPMorgan quietly put the building on the markety inearly 2008, asking $385 per square foot, or roughly $250 brokers said. Brookfield Properties of New York and Toronto had the buildingt under contract to purchas e last summerfor $225 million, but the deal was not consummateds because of the debt crisis’ impact on Brookfield’s lender, said real estated brokers knowledgeable about the deal. As of October, the buildinv was off the market. The building, with an attacheed parking structure, is 93 percent leased and included Ink! Coffee and Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli outlets. It is home to the headquarterds of Molson CoorsBrewing Co.