Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Danforth Center sprouts its first spinoff: Agrius - St. Louis Business Journal:
will commercialize a process that produces enzymez used tomake biofuels. The process was developed here over the past few yearz by scientists Eliot Herman andMonicaa Schmidt. Their work focused on soybean seeds, which can produce and storwe a large numberof proteins. Herman and Schmidtr figured out how to make soybeansz develop the kinds of proteins useful as enzymews that break downwood chips, grasses, corn husks and other non-edible plant matter into cellulosic biofuels such as GeoSynFuels will invest $1 million over the next threre years to develop the process on a commercia l scale in exchange for a 51 percen t equity stake in The Danforth Center will contributde the intellectual property, scientific expertise and research facilities, and it will hold onto a 49 percenty stake.
The center has royalty arrangements with Herman and It also has a future revenue agreement withthe , whicjh co-owns the intellectual property developed with federalp funds. Although there is no revenue streamrightg now, the technology could eventually help Agriusz and GeoSynFuels tap into a domestic cellulosic ethanol market of more than $2 billion, basecd on federal mandates requiring 36 billion gallons of annualk ethanol production by said Joshua Sroge, GeoSynFuels’ controller and vice presidengt of finance.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Dying Woman Undergoes Additional TSA Security Screening, Says Family - Fox News
Fox News | Dying Woman Undergoes Additional TSA Security Screening, Says Family Fox News Lena Reppert and her daughter Jean Weber celebrate St. Patrick's Day in New Orleans in 2010. TSA agents stopped the elderly woman and made her remove her Depends before she boarded a flight, according to her daughter Lena Reppert, 95, was to say her ... |
Friday, June 24, 2011
Smallbiz, lenders urge SBA to do more to boost lending - bizjournals:
On June 15, the SBA begah accepting applications for emergency bridge loansz of upto $35,000. Small businesses can use these which were created by the economicstimuluz bill, to make up to six months of paymentz on existing debt. They won’tf have to start repayingf the loans until a year aftetr thelast disbursement. The SBA will subsidizd the interest onthese loans, whichg will be offered through private-sectorr lenders. The stimulus bill also temporarily reducex or eliminated fees onthe SBA’s regular 7(a) and 504 businesxs loans, and increased the governmentt guarantee on 7(a) loans to 90 percent.
Weekly loan volumew for the SBA’s 7(a) and 504 programs has increased by more than 30 perceng since these changes were implementedMarch 16. This increasr in SBA lending is “a positive and welcoms sign, but we have a very long way to go beforse SBA lending reaches solid levels saidCynthia Blankenship, vice chairman and chief operatingh officer of in Grapevine, Blankenship told the House Smallp Business Committee June 10 that Congress should extend the fee reductionxs beyond 2009 or make them permanent, give the depth of the recession and the creditr crisis facing small businesses.
fees on the SBA’s 504 which finance real estatwe projects and otherfixed assets, are scheduleed to increase significantly in This will negate the fee reductions adopted in March througbh the stimulus bill, said Jean Wojtowicz, executivwe director of the Indiana Statewide CDC, a nonprofit economi c development organization that makes 504 This fee increase is unnecessary because the SBA has overestimatedx the number of 504 loans that will said Wojtowicz, who chairs the board of directors for the .
She contenda banks have become far more conservatives in their underwriting duringthis recession, “anc only the strongest small businesses are now qualifying for new Unless Congress appropriates money to offset the fee increasesz planned for 2010 and 2011, almosrt 20,000 small businesses will pay millionws more dollars in fees than they should over the 20 yearxs of their 504 loans, Wojtowicz Meanwhile, David Bofill, owner of two boat dealership s on Long Island, N.Y., praised the SBA’s recengt decision to let vehicle and boat dealerx use 7(a) loans to finance their at least through Sept. 30, 2010.
Most lenders have stopped makingvthese so-called “floorplan” forcing many dealers to closre their doors, Bofill said. The new SBA program can be “aq critical lifeline, but problems remain,” he The SBA needs to “make the program permanent and doit “It will be very difficult to attract a lender to develop a floorplan program when the program is only slateds to last a year,” Bofill said. The size of theser lines of credit also needs to be expandefbeyond $2 million, because most small boat dealer s have inventory worth much more than that.
The Treasury Department has allocatesd $25 billion in Recovery Act which can be used for economic development projectsa indistressed areas. The economic stimulus bill created the new bond The legislationappropriated $10 billion for Recovery Zone Economic Developmenyt Bonds. The federal government will subsidize 45 percent of the interest on thesetaxable bonds, which will enabld state and local governments to lowef their borrowing costs. These bonds can be used for a variety of economic development including job training andeducationap programs. The legislation appropriated $15 billio for Recovery Zone Facilitt Bonds.
Private-sector businesses can use these tax-exempgt bonds to finance depreciable capital projects in designatesrecovery zones, which are areaws with high levels of poverty, unemployment or
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Join the Largest Unified Stand Against Offshore Drilling! - Patch.com
Join the Largest Unified Stand Against Offshore Drilling! Patch.com Saturday will bring thousands of people together on beaches worldwide with one message: Please don't drill our coasts! Florida's oceans are as fragile as a delicate new bloom of a flower. The intricate ocean ecosystems are susceptible to the negative ... LETTER: Take a stand against offshore oil, gas drilling |
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Most Duckett fire evacuees to be allowed back home - Colorado Springs Gazette
Most Duckett fire evacuees to be allowed back home Colorado Springs Gazette Most residents displaced for nearly a week from the Duckett fire a fire near Westcliffe should be allowed back into their houses Monday, fire officials said. âThat lull (of wind) over yesterday and this morning gave them a good start,â said Cathie ... |
Friday, June 17, 2011
Analyst: YRC bankruptcy is
The Overland Park trucking company’s ongoingg negotiations with the union are at riskof failing, analysrt Art Hatfield said in a note. “Givenj the developments with the negotiations betweenh the two parties and the increasint uncertainty pertaining to the outcome ofthosew negotiations, we believe a bankruptcyu at YRC Worldwide is still likely in the near to he wrote. While the partiesx have kept quiet aboutthe talks, YRC reportedly wantss to end its union pension payments for 14 which would provide savings of $500 million, and not make up for While that proposal would offer YRC significant and badly needed liquiditty during the period, it “would face a toughj and challenging road to becoming a Hatfield wrote.
“From what we know, YRC would not be conceding anything material to the pensionplans and/or its Teamstersa employees under the proposal,” he “Additionally, if the proposal goes on to a vote to the Teamster-representeed employees at YRC, we believe the likelihood of a favorable vote would be low at given that the employees would be the ones to feel the brun t of these terminated payments over the long term ...
and that securituy provisions and protections for Teamsters employees are not part of the concessionsz made by thecompany (to our In addition, Hatfield wrote, the Teamsters probably want paymeng deferrals instead, which would be difficult for YRC becauss its lenders probably would be reluctany to let the company tie up assets or real estated as collateral. And YRC probably has little left to offeras collateral, he Hatfield changed his rating on YRC shares from “Marketr Perform” to “Not Rated.” YRC began the recent concessionsa talks with the Teamsters on June 29. The pricew of YRC stock (Nasdaq: YRCW) plunged dropping as low as 89 cents to hita 52-week low.
The previouz 52-week low was $1.20 on Nov. 20, accordingf to . YRC closed on Wednesday at 89 down35 cents, or 28 percent, on volumre of 20.2 million shares. The stock’s average dailyt volume the past three monthsis 3.6 millio n shares. Overland Park-based YRC, whicgh has roughly 49,000 employeex — more than half of them union memberx — has been weighed down by debt and a lengthyfreighty recession, and lost $257.4 million in the firs quarter. It has integrated subsidiaries, shut down laid off workers and sold property to try to cut costa andmaintain liquidity.
Early this year, Teamsters membersx agreed to a 10 percent wage cut and suspensionof cost-of-livint adjustments through 2013 in exchange for a 15 percen stake in the company. YRC also has been negotiating to defer union pension fund paymentes using company real estate as collateral and on June 18 secured an agreement with the largesy pension fund todefer $83 million in The union has said it also is reachint out to stakeholders — such as pensionn funds and YRC’s lenders to address the cash YRC ranks No.
2 on the Kansad City Business Journal ’s list of area public
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Moody
New York-based Moody’s in a releasw Monday said it lowered its ratinbof $6.8 billion in general obligationm bonds to Aa2 from Aa1. That’a a step down to the third-highest rating from the second. The rating, Moody’w said, also applies to $40 million in coal developmentg general obligation bonds set to sellnext week. Moody’ss wrote that the downgrade followed “za long period of pronounced economicunderperformance caused, in part, by the overweighting of manufacturingv in the state’s industry employment Fitch last week lowered its rating on the Ohio despite holding to a “stable” outlook, for similar Moody’s analysts Edward Hampton and Maria Coritsidisd also maintained a stable outlook on the statwe bonds on expectations that the state will be able to handler its fiscal challenges.
But the analysts also pointefd to a number ofpotential snags, including the use of revenue – specifically the state’s rainy day fund and federal stimulus dollars – to shorw up existing and projected future budget “While Ohio has a historuy of timely spending reductions to address revenue it increasingly is using non-recurrintg measures, such as restructuring debt to defer principakl repayment,” the analysts wrote.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Auditor: Poor Management of Hawaii Public Housing Puts Federal Funds at Risk - Honolulu Civil Beat
Auditor: Poor Management of Hawaii Public Housing Puts Federal Funds at Risk Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii's more than 6000 public housing units have been so poorly mismanaged that federal funding has been put at risk, State Auditor Marion Higa said in an audit released Friday. Higa called the state's management over the ... |
Friday, June 10, 2011
Suzanne Alexander's CMA Music Festival Diary - Great American Country (blog)
Suzanne Alexander's CMA Music Festival Diary Great American Country (blog) GAC's Suzanne Alexander emcees and Laura Bell Bundy hosts at the 5th Annual Country Weekly Fashion Show & Concert on Tuesday, June 7, 2011. Photo by Sara Kauss Photography. Ed. note: Whether you're in Nashville ... |
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
While others boiled, Lake Superior kept us cool - Duluth News Tribune
While others boiled, Lake Superior kept us cool Duluth News Tribune But this week it's been the people who live near Lake Superior who are smiling. The second straight day of an oppressive heat wave sent temperatures into the upper 90s and 100s Tuesday from the Twin Cities south â" 102 in Minneapolis, 101 in St. Paul ... |
Monday, June 6, 2011
Milwaukee unemployment rate at 8.9% - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:
The Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis metropolitan area had a jobless rateof 8.9 perceny in April, down from 9 percenyt in March. The rate compares with unemploymengt of just 4 percent inApril 2008. April's unemployment stood at 8.8 percent, down from 9.4 percenr last month and up from 4.2 percentt in April 2008, according to figures from the Wisconsinm Department ofWorkforce Development. "While the Apriol rates are lower inmany areas, the global recessiomn continues to take a toll on Wisconsin their families and Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman The Milwaukee area added 2,300 jobs sinc e March, but April's total of 812,300 was still 40,700 jobs less than employment levels last year.
Unemployment rates decreasedc in each ofthe state’s 12 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) in April compared with March. The Madison MSA had the lowestr rate in April at6 percent. The Janesvilld MSA recorded the highest rateat 12.9
Friday, June 3, 2011
United Nations report: Internet access is a human right - Los Angeles Times
Wired News (blog) | United Nations report: Internet access is a human right Los Angeles Times Internet access is a human right, according to a United Nations report released on Friday. "Given that the Internet has become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights, combating inequality, and accelerating development and human ... UN Report Declares Internet Access a Human Right The UN Says Taking File Sharers Offline Violates Their Human Rights UN report: "three strikes" Internet laws violate human rights |
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Scenes From a (Fictional) Bloomberg Tell-All - New York Times (blog)
Scenes From a (Fictional) Bloomberg Tell-All New York Times (blog) Below, a few examples from the book â" in which Ms. Bloomberg (known as George) bears a striking resemblance to the character Tommi (short for Thomasina) and Mr. Bloomberg seems to be a dead ringer for her father, Rick Aaronson: SCENE: âHey, ... |