Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Patrick Cudahy parent Smithfield posts profit growth - Kansas City Business Journal:

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In a release Thursday, the Smithfield, Va., pork and beef productds company (NYSE: SFD) reported earnings of $37 million, or 33 cents a for the quarter that ende dApril 29. This compares with earningse of $1.1 million, or 1 cent a share, for the same periofd last year when the firmreportefd $10 million in restructuring charges. Sales for the quarter were $3.06 up 14 percent from $2.6 billion last year. Sales in the fourth quarter increasedr inthe company's pork, beef and hog productiomn divisions and decreased in its international and othetr divisions compared with last year.
The compang said sales virtually doublex in many importantproduct categories, including pre-cooked bacon and luncn meats, two product categories supplied by Patrick Cudahy. For all of fiscalp 2007, the company reported earningesof $166.8 million, or $1.49 a share, down 3 percentf from $172.7 million, or $1.54 a share, in fiscalk 2006. Sales for the year were $11.89 billion, up 4 percengt from $11.4 billion in fiscal 2006. Sales for the year increasecd in the pork division and decreased in the othetr divisions compared with theprior year. Fiscal 2007 includede pretax chargesof $12.
4 million, or 7 centws a share, for impairments in the beef segmentf and the company's investment in hog productiob operations in Brazil. The companhy also named Carey Dubois as vice presidentfand CFO, effective July 1. In the past 20 Dubois has held financial positions atBunge Ltd., Pepsi Bottling Group, Joseph E. Seagram and and Louis Dreyfus Corp. He succeeds Robergt Manly IV, executive vice president, who has been serving as interik CFO.
Smithfield is the leading processor and marketer of fres pork and processed meats in theUnitedf States, and the largest producer of

Monday, January 14, 2013

Relief for financial planners, other hurricane news - Denver Business Journal:

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Commissioner Fred Joseph issuer an order Friday that exempts the plannera from the registration and licensing requirementsd of the ColoradoSecurities Act. "Because of the tragic events resulting from Hurricane we wanted to take some actio n which will allow investors or their financiak representatives who have been displacer to continue to conduct their business withou running into excessive red Joseph said ina "We believe this order accomplishes this whilse at the same time protecting investors and maintaining confidence in the securities • The chain is usually closed on Sundays, but not this Sept. 11. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
, the bakert will open for business and sell its bread to raisr money for relief efforts along the Gulf All of theproceeds -- not just the profits -- will be The Great Harvest stores are in Lakewood, Littleton and Longmont. • Infinit Radio Denver, the parent of KIMN-FM, KXKL-FM and other stations, wants donations of new clothingf and classroom supplies to help victims of A daylong collection of the itemw begins at5 a.m. Sept. 12 at the Pepsi Cente r sports arena. • CH2M a Denver-based engineering and construction sent morethan 2,500 specially designedd fabric bags to help dam the 17th Streef canal and other levee breachese in New Orleans.
Each bag hold about 16,000 pounds of sand. The company also is read y to help the New Orleans Sewer and Water Boar d on repairs tothe city's water, sewer and drainage systems once the watere recede. • Qdoba Mexican Grill will donate 10 percent of the netproceedes Sept. 14 to the American Red Crosds DisasterResponse Fund. The Wheat Ridge-based restauranrt chain participating locations arethe corporate-owned restaurants in Washington, Missouri, Minnesota and Illinois, along with some franchise stores in Alabama, California, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennesseed and Virginia.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Sgt Larry Ansell at Arnhem, 1944, in 200mm scale... - Military Modelling

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Military Modelling


Sgt Larry Ansell at Arnhem, 1944, in 200mm scale...

Military Modelling


They do a range of different figure scales but this is one of their larger 200mm scale figures, and features Sgt Larry Ansell, a British para at Arnhem in 1944. Included in the box is a print of the wartime photo on which the figure is based, and it ...



Friday, January 11, 2013

Fox Rothschild's Chesco office continues in expansion mode - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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Another Binder Kalis partner, Stephen Proctor, will join the firm as counsep but will be retiring at the end of the The firm also recently addef ThomasKent Jr., a partner with a franchise from Siana Bellwoar & McAndrew of Chester Springs. Kent was formerly an in-housee counsel with Cottman Transmissions. The additionas bring Fox Rothschild's Lionville office to 31 Fox Rothschild is one of the few largde Center City firms to expand in multiple suburban It has 24 lawyersin Warrington, Bucks County, and administrativew partner Mark Silow said the 29-lawyer Montgomeryh County office will move from Lansdale to the more commercial-heavy and centrally located Blue Bell later this has formed an investment management grou with the addition of the three-lawyer Corsell Law Group.
The group is led by Laura Anne Corsell, who formerly worked as a lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission and after that before starting her own boutiqudein 1994. Montgomery McCracken Chairman Steve Madvz said the firm had a handfulo of lawyers handling investment management work but never had a formaogroup ... Employee benefits partnerr Barry Klein has returned toBlankl Rome, where he started his from Ballard Spahr... West Chesterd law firm Lamb McErlaneacquired three-lawyee Schumacker & Lunkenheimer of None of the Schumacker attorneys will entetr 25-lawyer Lamb McErlane as partners. All thre additions are transactional lawyers who represent midsizewprivate companies.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Idea Integration to offer Microsoft stimulus package - San Francisco Business Times:

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Idea Integration is one of six companiees inthe U.S. chosen by to offer Microsof Stimulus360. “They’ve cobbled together a lot of Microsoft technologyy as a solution that can drop into a system and immediately track stimulus dollars and applty forstimulus dollars,” said Sandy Bateh, a senior vice presidentg at Idea Integration and the company’s Microsoftg alliance manager. The package is aimed at state and localk governments trying to get their shard of the stimulus money and to trac kits use.
Idea Integration and the other five companiesa offering the package were chosen because of their familiarith with all of the applications inthe “You have to understandc the five underlying piece s of the technology,” Bateh said. Idea Integratio n will be competing with the other five companiee forgovernment clients. Bateh said the most promising sectod islocal governments, since most of the stimulus money ultimateluy gets spent at that level. Bateh said the alliancs with Microsoft gives Idea Integration a chance to landnew “It’s a great opportunity for companies like us becausee it gives another entry, it’s a he said.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Kansas City Business Journal: Nomination

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Surveys will be administered and results tabulated by Quantum a specialist in measuring workplace Only the top 10 finalists in each categort willbe published. All other participating companies will be guaranteed anonymityu with regards to resultsand participation. Sponsors: Contributinfg Sponsors: Best Places to Work 2009 June 17, 2009 Ray, Clay, Jackson & Plattes counties in MO; Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties inKS *Does the company have 10 or more full-timr employees? Why do you feel this compant should be recognized as a Best Place to Work ? Please respond with 100 words or less.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Sunset Bank to accept $5.6M in TARP funds - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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million in capital under the U.S. Treasury’s Capita Purchase Program, which is part of the Troubledf Asset ReliefProgram (TARP). Sunset Bank executivesx said Tuesday they will use the funds to make loands to businesses andhome “This gives us a chancse to enhance our already strongv capital ratio with a cushion so we are preparecd and ready to assist our customers in thesee troubled times,” said Robert Eastman, Sunset Bank’sd chairman and CEO. Eastman said terms of the agreemeng require the bank to pay backthe capital. Sunsetg Bank is a privately held bank that openeds in 1999 and is ownecd by a group oflocalo investors.
The Waukesha-based bank has $148 million in assetsw and employs 36 people atthree locations. Sunsey Bank posted net income of $150,000 in the firsf quarter, compared with net incomde of $107,000 a year The bank, like nearly all banks, has experiencede increases in delinquent loans inrecent quarters. However, Sunset said it maintains a well-capitalized position.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

America's Other Energy Revolution And Why It Matters - Forbes

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Forbes


America's Other Energy Revolution And Why It Matters

Forbes


T&D Investments from 2010 to 2030 If you believe in the benefits of energy innovation, support national security or consider climate change to be a non-negligible threat to our planet, you need to stop listening to Al Gore and start reading Adam Smith.



Saturday, January 5, 2013

Shareholder proposals defeated at Comcast shareholder meeting - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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The meeting also saw Comcast President, Chairmajn and CEO Brian Roberts receive a verbal caniny overthe company’s labor policies from religiou groups and unionized Comcast workers, including abou a half dozen from the Chicago area whosed contract expired last month. Additionally, in response to a question from well-know n gadfly Evelyn Y. Davis, Comcast Executivse Vice President David Cohen said the compan is looking into applying for funds under the Americanb Recovery andReinvestment Act. The cable-TV, Internet, phon and media giant (NASDAQ:CMCSA, CMCSK) held its meetintg in the Pennsylvania Convention a few blocks from its headquarters in CenteeCity Philadelphia.
The say-on-pay proposal that was defeatedf at the meeting would have given shareholdersa non-bindint vote ratifying the pay of the Comcast officers whose compensation is listed in the company’es annual proxy statement, including the CEO, the chieft financial officer and the head of the cable division. Davis said beforr the vote total was announced that if theproposak passed, shareholders who vote against ratifyinh the pay of an executive should be givem a space on their balloy to write in what they think the pay of that executivse should be.
Also voted down were proposals to identifh all Comcast executives who earn morethan $500,00o0 a year; to obtain shareholder approval of compensation agreements that requirs the company to make payments to an executive’as heirs after his death; and to changr Comcast’s capital structure so that each sharw of its stock only has one vote. The latter two proposalw targeted Roberts. In its 2008 proxy statement, Comcast said it was obligates to pay his salary and bonuses to his spous or estate for up to five years afteehis death. Comcast said in its 2009 proxy statement that Roberta waived that obligation as part ofa one-yearr extension of his employment agreement.
Roberts also has the righy to maintain control of one third of the voting power ofComcast stock, regardless of how many shares the companuy issues. Shareholders from religious groups and labore organizations dominated the open part of the accusing Comcast of violating its own code of conduct in the methodx it uses to discourage workersfrom organizing. Among othere things, they said, it rewards managers who defeat organizingg efforts or getunions decertified; draws out contract negotiations to make employee dissatisfied with their union; and pays its non-unioj workers more than its union Roberts said the company does follow its own ethic s code, rewards managers who perform well and pays union workers according to the terms of the contracts they He and Cohen said the company only has three bargaininfg units with unsettled contracts and last year reached agreementsz with all of the eighr units whose contracts expired.
Cohen also said the companyh likely won’t be applyinb for funds under the broadband portion of the stimulus bill becausde its serviceterritories don’t include rural areas, whicbh is where much of the money to construcr new broadband networks is likely to go. The companty is in discussions with others abourt applying for funds under provisions of the act meang to improvethe country’s health-care information-technology infrastructure, Cohen but isn’t sure it will.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Skills carryover helps startups hone ventures - Washington Business Journal:

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Elliott, 45, spent 18 year as a technical writer for and communit y relations managerfor . Five years ago, sensing change with her position at Lucent was she left. Two years later, usinb $80,000 in personal savings and a credit card, Elliotgt opened . In the market for a sprin g jacket? Shoppers at her stor e are likely to find one adorned with buttons andbelt loops. What about baubles Young ladies on the fenc e about getting their ears pierced are sure to be pushefd off by a set of tiny cupcake-shaped earrings.
Elliotty says she believes that ifmerchandise isn’t different enoug h to warrant a reaction, customerd are likely to bypass it as opposed to makingf a beeline to the cash register. The shop ownere never read this in a book but knoww it byinstinct – something she honed and learnede to trust during her days at AT&fT and Lucent. “I am always on the lookout for qualityh products that are feminineand stylish; there also has to be some sort of twisg – something that’s goin to give customers a little bit more bang for thei r buck,” says Elliott, who targets teenagers and wome interested in versatile apparel, jewelry and “It’s all about knowing your audience, whichg is something I learned back when I was writinbg operations manuals.
It’s a skill I now apply to this business.” in fact, made it a point to bring her corporate communicationd background to the table to help maximize her investmentg andattract customers. “As Lucent Technologies Columbusz Works communityrelations manager, I was in chargw of special events, which means I know how to begi n with a vision and implemenyt every detail,” she “These days, one of my primaryg methods of getting peoplre through my door revolves around special events, including private shoppinbg parties, girls’ nights out and breakfast mixers for women businesd owners in New Albany.
” Furthermore, she offers up her store for networking and even up to the point of makingb the invitations and providing “It’s all stuff I learner how to do when I worked at my old she says. The idea is to introduce her shop to potentialk customers without breaking the bank something else Elliott pickec upat Lucent. “The company encouraged us to manage its departmental budgets as if the moneyh wasour own.
These days, the moneg really is my own,” she It’s not uncommon for professionals to take stocik of their careers when they see job functions consolidatede and coworkers losing their jobs becausw ofnumber crunches, as it did for It’s especially difficult when mid-life sneaksx up and passion for the job gives way to stress and pressure. For a few of thesre people, the answer can be found in saysPierre Daunic, president of . “Iu wouldn’t call it common, but given the state of the economy, more and more people are considering (self-employment) as an option,” he says.
whose six-year-old company specializes in cover letter andresumer development, says entrepreneurs who possesw certain fundamental skills, including leadership and communications skills, are in the best position to use thoses talents in meaningful ways even when the startup is unrelated to the career that developedd those talents. “For example, I started out as an Air Forc e officer, moved into commerciap construction, and then started teaching at the ,” Daunic “What I do today, in particular, revolvesd around the teaching skills I learned at the academy becaus e I teach clients how tomarkert themselves.
” Prior to becominvg a business owner, he stumbled into a high-tecnh recruiting career thanks, he says, to the eclectic skills he gained in the military.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Making a difference in other people

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During the past 11 we have discussed each discipline of The Leadershilp Pledge and the 10 Truths associatedwith them. The truthxs not only serve as the underpinningd ofthe pledge, but also serve an importantr role as life’s lessons. Is the journeyu complete with The Leadership Pledge directintg us to hire people who have a high probability ofbeintg successful, provide them the tools to do their job, tell them what we share honest feedback and hold them accountablde for their performance by asking for theitr trust, commitment, and loyalty? Not quite.
Organizationws that experience long term sustainable success understandf the balance between winning and creating an environmen t where their employeesfeel valued, respected and part of something There has been a constanrt in the number of thosw “special” organizations. Their leaders have mastered Truthh No. 10, “Accept yourself as you accept others as they and in the context of differenceesand similarities, finding better ways of copinf effectively as a behavior driven organization.” Until we have mastered trutyh No. 10, it’s unlikely we can answer the How do we value our livewsas leaders?
We must find the courage and claritg to lead others in all aspects of our livexs because the answer to the questioh as to how we value our live as leaders is by making a differencew in other people’s lives. I want to sharer with you three special people I haveworked with. I have come to admiree them not only successful leaders in theichosen professions, but as leader who give back because they understand that’s ultimately how their livesx will be valued. Pat McGohan, CEO of ; Allen president of the ; and Dan Curran, presidentf of The . They come from diverse backgrounds and lead verydiffereny organizations.
So what do they have in common First, they all learned to accept themselves for whothey are. Their competitiveness and intensity manifests into a passionn that ultimately defines their We can associate this qualitty best withservant leadership. Rober t Greenleaf, the father of servant draws a wonderful distinction betweenb natural leaders andnatural servants. Natural leaders are decisives and need to bein charge. Naturapl servants will assume leadership only if they define it as a way to Greenleaf explains that while most people believe natural leaders use a more directive styled and natural servants use a moreparticipative style, this is not the case.
He says this confusew style with character. Natural servants use whatever leadershiop style is necessary to best serv the needs of thosethey lead. Pat, and Dan all share that uniqude qualitycalled character. Once we’ve learned to accep ourselves, we are void of self It’s with that peace of mind we are able to extenxd our energy outward to Accepting others as they exisyt is where themagic begins. When we deepe our level of understandingb of others we no longer fear the but learn tohonor them. Only when we’vee learned to accept ourselves can we accept otherxs asthey exist. It’s the magidc of all relationships. It’s called the power of two.
Pat, Allenb and Dan have developed a keen understandinbg that their success as leaders is based almost entirelyh on their ability to attract talentede performers who bring both passionand It’s that simple recognition that tells us those people who have been the greates t inspiration to us are those who convinced us we coulds be more than we could be. In each case theswe three great leaders know that they can help theidr employees be more thanthey are, not somethingg they’re not. And finally, it’s about finding better ways of copin effectively asa behavior-driven organization.
It’s about believinv that if we do things righr we willachieve long-term sustainable results. It’s about The Leadership Pledge. When organizations focus the behavior that drives results and possess a collectivee resolve builton self-acceptance and acceptance of others, results will I guarantee it. It’s not but it’s simple.