Helping to make sure your tax refund lasts - KAIT

vickreyafolori1839.blogspot.com

Helping to make sure your tax refund lasts KAIT By Lauren Payne - bio | email feedback JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) "We want to buy a new home when I graduate so we thought well, we better start sticking it away early," said Trasie Cervantes. "We're going to use it to pay for ... and more »

April housing starts jump on multifamily permits - Sacramento Business Journal:

igoeosysata1533.blogspot.com
There were no multifamily building permits issuex inthe four-county regio in March; that jumped to 230 units in Home construction in 2009 is still about 40 percent lower than it was a year ago. Accordinfg to the permit data, permits for 976 residential permitsa were issuedfor single-family and multifamilyu structures so far this year. Through the same four-montn period of 2008, 1,607 permitsz were issued. Single-family home construction in California showee a significant increasein April, largest monthly totaol since October 2008.
Officials with the California Buildin Industry Association said the constructiobn activity is evidence that a homebuyer tax credit is leadingto new-home construction. Throughout the state, 2,265 single-family permits were issued, up 21 percent when compared to March.

Judge chastises casino proponents - Business First of Columbus:

soileauifyyfa1786.blogspot.com
Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge James Evans issued an order barring the Ohio Jobs and Growtbh Committee and those collecting signaturesfrom “misrepresenting the contents, purpos or effect” of the proposal. The committee has until July 1 to collecrabout 402,000 valid signatures to brinyg a constitutional amendment beforse voters asking to develop four gambling casinos in Ohio, includin one in Columbus. Mahonin County Democratic Party Chairman David Betras was seeking a temporar y restraining order blocking collection statewidre after casino opponents released a showing two collectores in Columbus making false claimsd aboutthe petition.
Democrates and Republicans in Mahoning County have lined up against the proposal becauseit doesn’ft include Youngstown. Instead, the amendment would ask votersa to approve building casinosin Cincinnati, Toledo and on the western edge of the Arena District. Wyomissing, Pa.-based (NASDAQ:PENN) and ownet Dan Gilbert would be investorse inthe $1 billiohn proposal.

Hawaii ranks 15th in U.S. for foreclosures, sees nearly 400% spike in May - St. Louis Business Journal:

zyluzugizovota.blogspot.com
Foreclosures were up 397.5 percenft for the month compared with May and wereup 19.3 percenf over April 2009, according to the latest report from RealtyTracd issued Wednesday. Hawaii ranked 15th in the natiom for foreclosuresin May, up from 23rd in April. Hawaiu had 816 foreclosure filingsin May. There were 684 foreclosurw filings in April and 164 foreclosure inMay 2008. Hawaii had a foreclosures rate of one filing for everyu621 households, according to the latest survegy by the California-based real estate researchj firm. Nevada again had the highestt foreclosure rate inthe country, with one filing for ever 64 households.
California had the second highesyt rate forthe month, followede by Florida. California had the highest number of foreclosures at Vermontranked 50th, with just six foreclosures at a rate of one filingv for every 51,906 households. Nationally, therd were 321,480 foreclosure filings for the down 6 percent from April and up nearly 18 percenr fromMay 2008, according to the report.

Stop & Shop Clerk Prevents Fairfield Woman From Being Scammed - Hartford Courant

Kenmore 75080

Stop & Shop Clerk Prevents Fairfield Woman From Being Scammed Hartford Courant Police in Fairfield are praising a Stop & Shop employee for preventing an 86-year-old Fairfield woman from falling victim to a common scam. Nadia Guarino, an employee at the store on Kings Highway ... and more »

Gaddafi building 'damaged by airstrike' - Telegraph.co.uk

Amana AH093E35AX

The Guardian (blog)

Gaddafi building 'damaged by airstrike' Telegraph.co.uk Libyan government officials take the media on tour of a Gaddafi compound building they claim was hit by an airstrike two hours prior. The facade of the building in Tripoli was clearly in ruins late on Sunday, with rubble strewn about, but there was no ... Journalists shown Gaddafi compound Sky News Australia Gaddafi's HQ hit: Reports TODAYonline Gadhafi's Libyan compound damaged in missile strike Montreal Gazette W »

Franklin Electronic Publishers

Air Purifiers Newport Newsd
Shares in the Burlington City, N.J., electronic handhelfd book maker closedat $2.11 Monday aftert closing at a little more than $1 Friday. The group’a proposal values Franklin (NYSE Amex:FEP) at $19.454 million, based on the number of shares that the companyu had outstandingon Jan. 28. Throug h its members’ ownership of Franklin stock and options, the group controls 43.7 percent of the company’s shar votes, although it expects to only exercisd options with an exercise priceof $2.354 or less per share, which would give it controlo of only 39.9 percent of Franklin’s share votes.
Franklinm said Monday its board of directores has appointed a special committee of independent boared members to considerthe proposal, which the group submittec to the board May 20. The group is comprise of President and CEOBarry Lipsky; Chievf Financial Officer Frank Musto; Chief Operating Officere Toshihide Hokari; Chairman of the Board Howard Director James Simons; a Bermuda investment company, Shinin Sea Ltd., that is ownedf by a trust established by Simons; and an Marcy Lewis. The group has formed a , to buy Franklin.
In the letter it sent to Franklin’a board, Saunders said it is owned by Mustoand Hokari, and that Simons, Shining Sea, Morgaj and Lewis have agreed to buy into it. Saunders also said its proposa is not subject to anyfinancinfg conditions. Franklin's products include handheldf electronic dictionaries and other electronifcreference books.

Survey: Houston No. 1 for manufacturing plants, jobs - Houston Business Journal:

Amana PBE12
The guide, published annuallu by of Evanston, Ill., states that Housto n is home to 221,697 manufacturing employeesx spreadacross 3,957 manufacturers. According to the Houston employment in the manufacturing sector has not changed over the past12 “Houston’s combination of low-cost living, favorable business climate, educatedx work force and proximity to the oil industryt have made it the choic of many manufacturers and other Fortune 500 companies,” said Tom president of MNI.
Industrial machinery and equipment manufacturingis Houston’sx top sector, accounting for 58,716 or about 27 percent of the manufacturingb jobs, with virtually no changre in the year to Oil and gas extraction ranks second with 30,58 jobs, up 7.8 percenft over the year, while third-ranked fabricatee metals account for 28,903, down 5.4 according to the report. The survey numbers are currentf as of the endof April. Some 23,589 manufacturerws call Texas home, employing more than 1.2 million New York, Chicago, Cincinnati and Los Angeles, rounded out the top five nationwide.
Dallas was sixth on the

Southern Conference considers Charlotte - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

http://www.theholistichound.net/article/The-Traditional-Thanksgiving.html
The commissioner of the expects to make a decisio n within a week to 10 days on relocatinghthe men’s basketball tournament to Charlotte from Chattanooga, Last week, John Iamarino, the conference and several athletic directors from membee schools came to town for site visitsz and meetings with the . The 12-school based in Spartanburg, counts Davidson College amongits “It’s been one of our goals to get Charlotted back in the mix,” Iamarino says, noting the conferenc e last held its tournament here in 1971. He also citez the city’s central location as a majotr selling point because it would allow schools to save ontraveo costs.
Though the Southern Conference has an agreemen t to play in Chattanooganext year, Iamarinol says the city is open to moving that date to 2011 to accommodatde playing in Charlotte next season. In 2009, the conferenced attracted 24,000 fans for its tournament, which featuredd both men’s and women’s games in That format is likely to be altered next Tickets for the entire tournamentcost $70 this Commitments to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conferencde and the at Time Warner Cable Arena make it likely that the Southern Conference would split games between Bojangles’ Coliseum, a 10,000-seatr venue on Independence Boulevard, and the uptow n NBA arena.
The visitors authoritg operates thesmaller arena, whilwe the NBA Bobcats control the uptown venue. ESPN televise s the Southern Conference men’s tournament championship with the winner earning an automatic bid to theNCAA men’se tournament.

Retail players find the silver lining in cloudy economy - San Antonio Business Journal:

dusinenezoqoc.blogspot.com
Last week, New York-based industry organization the (ICSC) held its annual conferencew at the Convention Center inLas Vegas. It is an eventt that draws thousandsof developers, retailera and brokers from all over the world, for four days of hand-shakinyg and deal making. Although this year, therd weren’t as many thousandsx who were Vegas The 2009 Global RealEstate Convention, or RECoj as it is better known, netted 30,000 attendees, according to Malach Kavanagh, staff vice president of communications and external relations, for That figure is down considerably from the 48,00 0 attendees for RECon 2008.
But what the conference lackesdin size, it made up for in according to many local industry sources who attended this year’s conference. “All in all, I received greatt value of my time and money invested intothe conference,” says Jerryy A. Williams Jr., a vice presidentr in the local office of Fewer participantzs meant less pressure to move at break neckspeexd — shaking hands and doing deals, insiderds say. In fact, this time the focus was not necessarily on doing deals for this year but on setting the groundwork for the years to addsMichael N.
president and principal for Unitedx CommercialRealty (UCR) San “I found it to be a betterr situation,” says Valerie Hunter, a seniodr associate with Grubb & Ellis. “Since the attendanced was down, you could spendx more time with retailers.” Not that anyonw was surprised atthis year’s lower Indeed, even ICSC went into the event knowinf that the attendance numbers were going to be Kavanagh says. One place where the lower turnourtwas apparent, the leasing mall. This mall spans about one millionsquares feet, and consists of a sea of booths by developers and others lookingh to do business in Sin City.
This there were some noted emptuy spaces where booths usedto be, attendantes say. “It was surreal seeing curtains in areas wherde you typicallysee booths,” notes Grubb Ellis Senior Vice President Cynthia Ellison. But for who remembers the dark days ofthe 1980s, adds that this year’es turnout in the leasing mall was still “veryu big compared to the old days.” She adds: “Spirita were high and all went especially compared to the downturn in the ’80w when Texas was red-lined — no one wantes to talk to a Texasz broker. On the contrary, Texas — and San Antonio were the so-called belles of the ball at this year’s REcon.
“Texas is definitely a priority for a lot of Jersin says. “In that same breath, San Antoni o is getting a lot of publicity — good things are happeniny here.” Participants were “talking very bullish aboutt Texas, and San Antonio,” concurs Rick founder of local retail/brokerage firm LLC and the Texas states director for ICSC. “In San Antonio, (retailers) are stilol looking, and still doing deals.” The tough economic timez have caused a shake out in various real estatwsectors — as businessese and brokers looking for an easy buck have gone by the The 2009 RECon was reflective of that trend.
“Those that were therew were serious aboutdoing business, about doing deals,” Kavanagh says. “Those who came out lookingf fordeals — most found them.”

Hawaii hotel occupancy hits new low - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

zolinstanixes.blogspot.com
percentage points to 61.9 percentt in May. That’s the lowest occupancuy level recorded since when first surveyed the Hawaii hotel The average daily rate also fell in down 12.8 percent to average $165 With lower rates and fewer revenue per available room (revpar) plunged 21.1 percentr to $102, as compared with May 2008. Occupancy, room ratews and revpar for the four main Hawaiian islands wereas • Oahu occupancy fell 3.6 percentagw points to 69.2 percent, room rates were down $19 to $145, and revpad was off $18 to $101; Maui occupancy dropped 9.8 percentage pointse to 55.
9 percent, room rates plummeted $36 to and revpar declined $44 to $117; • Kauaji occupancy decreased 10.3 percentage pointds to 59.4 percent, room rates slid $16 to and revpar was down $29 to and • Big Island occupancy slumpef 8.2 percentages points to 49.3 percent, room ratesa dipped $24 to $164, and revpar fell $27 to $81. The Hawai hotel monthly report is surveyed by Hospitality Advisorsand .

Scoops: Who

http://www.lastfm.ru/user/Neskalin
May, 62, has equity ownership and is a boarde memberof Sopogy, which specializex in solar power collectors. He also has equityh ownership in NaturalPower Concepts, an alternative energyy technology incubator. And, he is involved in at least twootherr soon-to-be-named tech firms run by entrepreneurs in theirr 30s. “It’s invigorating to be with people who have a passiohn for what they are doingy and using their experiences and skills to quicklyy launch new dreamsin products,” May said, addinyg that most of his time this year will be spengt capitalizing on new ventures, and taking the ideasx to market.
His wife, Carol Ai May, vice president of City thought he would take it easyduring “He’s busier than ever, doing something fun and she said. “Like me, entrepreneurialism is in his May, a board member of the , drives to all of his meetingas in ahybrid Prius. City Pharmacy at 966 Kaheka St. in Honolulj recently was bought by Longs Drug Stores for anundisclosedc amount. The small neighborhood pharmacy has been in business for sevemn years and also offered a comprehensive diabetes learninbg andmanagement center. It will now be called Longsd Pharmacy and will remain open Mondauythrough Saturday.
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl scorede points for state tourism industry The Sheraton Hawaiij Bowl set records for attendance andbroadcasft ratings. David Matlin, the bowl’s executive said 45,717 tickets were issueds and 43,487 people came through 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium’s Many of those seats became empty beginning late in thethirxd quarter, with the University of Notre Dame on its way to a 49-2q thrashing of the .
But nearlh 20 million watched at least part of the Christmas Eve ESPN broadcastor “Overall, we were happy from an advertising-marketing perspective on what it does to featuree Hawaii sunshine during some awfullyu cold Mainland weather,” said Keithj Vieira, senior vice president of in Hawaii. Vieira estimatefd that between 400 and 500 rooms at the Sheraton Waikiki were bookeds for the Fighting Irish andtheif boosters, and several hundred for the Warriors.
Many fans travelee from the Neighbor Islands, helping to boos t occupancy in other Waikiki Geri Marullo leaves after 3 years as CEO Geri Marullo has resigned as presidentg and CEO of the Consuelo Foundatioj after three years inthe job. In a letterr announcing her resignation, effective Thursday, Marullo said the job’s traveling requirementss had become difficult. “Traveling back and forth to the Philippines has been even though I loved being there once I she said inthe letter. “I am resigning ... in orderf to spend more time in Hawaiiu withmy family.
” The Honolulu-based Consuelo Foundation’w mission is to improve the quality of life of disadvantagedc children, women and families in Hawai i and the Philippines. It sets up shelters to offer educatioj andsocial services. San Vuong, its chiec financial officer, is acting CEO.

Fed e-mails critical of BofA, Lewis - Baltimore Business Journal:

uvepexatawus.blogspot.com
The e-mail messages were entered into the public record as partof Thursday’a hearing held by the U.S. Housse Committee on Oversight andGovernment Reform. Lewiss testified for about three hours regardingthe government’a role in BofA’s purchase of Merrill, saying government pressurse to go through with the deal was a factot in his decision. But e-mails from various high-rankinyg Federal Reserve officials suggest regulatord thought Lewis was bluffing when he considererd backing out of theMerrill deal.
“Ken Lewis’ claim that they were surprised by the rapidd growth of thelosses (at seems somewhat suspect,” Fed senior banking supervisorf Tim Clark states an e-mailp to other regulators. “It calls into questio n the adequacy of the due diligence process BAC has been doingf in preparation forthe takeover.” Another e-mai from Fed counsel Scott Alvarez to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says of Lewis: “Making hard decisionsd is what he gets paid for ... we shouldn’ft take him off the One e-mail says Lewis used the threat to call off the Merrill merger asa “bargaininbg chip.
” In testimony Thursday, Lewisz denied using Merrill as a bargaining Instead, he says his concerns about the deal were but bank and federal officials agree proceeding with the purchase usingf taxpayer aid was in the best interes of the financial system and Charlotte, N.C.-basedf BofA (NYSE: BAC), Greater Baltimore's largest

MBJ/Sovereign Wealth Index takes weekly dip, still up 15.8% on the year - Memphis Business Journal:

kleopatraxnibe.blogspot.com
In other corporate news, the U.S. Treasury announcef that 10 of the 19largesy U.S. financial institutions, including U.S. Bancorp JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs will be allowed torepay $68 billioh of TARP funds. In economicf news, the Fed’s Beige Book stated that there are signw that the economic decline is with several districts indicating that theirt expectationshave improved. Initiapl unemployment claims for the week ended June 6fell 24,00o0 to 601,000, which was betterf than consensus estimate of 615,000. And the May retailo sales numbers were aboutas expected, postingb a moderate increase of 0.
5% for both total sales and excluding For the week, the Dow Jone s industrial average gained 0.4%, closing just beloqw 8,800, putting it in positivr territory for the year. The Nasdaq advanced 0.5% and the S&oP 500 gained 0.7%. While the Memphis Business Journal/Sovereighn Wealth Management Index of local stockxs has historically moved in the same direction as the majotrequity indices, last week was an exception. The MBJ/SWMM Index fell -1.6% for the week ended June 12, with 9 of the 13 component stockssuffering losses. Local stocks fallinhg during the week PinnacleAirlines Corp., -12.8%; Mueller Industries, Inc., AutoZone, Inc., -2.6%; Thomas Betts Corp., -2.
4%; Education Realty Inc., -2.4%; Buckeye Technologies, Inc., -2.1%; and Mid-America Apartment Communities, -1.9%. Fred’s, Inc., fell -7.6 for the week after announcing net sales for the firsy quarter of 2009 decreasedto $458.4 millio n from $464.3 million in 2008, a quarter-over-quarter declinr of $5.9 million or 1.3%. Fred’s attributed the declines to the company’s store closinhg program coupled with ongoing economic challenges impacting their customers’ disposable income. FedEx shares fell -4.8% for the week.
Most of that loss occurre d onJune 12, following a recommendation from popular market maven Jim Cramef for investors to sell FedEx and buy sharee of rival UPS. Memphis-based stocks posting gains for the week First HorizonNational Corp., +2.3%; GTx, +7.4%; International Paper Co., +9.2%; and Wright Medical Inc., +0.8%. After a down week, the MBJ/SWM Indezx is now up 15.8% for 2009, with eighf of its 13 component stocks sporting gains forthe year.