Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Bondurant drops flag on racing program - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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The series is designe to offer atrue race-carf experience to anyone 15 or olde who is in good standing with the Other venues have offered racing series, but Bondurany President Ken Thom said this program is different. Each weekend’s events are limiter to a small group of 15 each of whom will be assigned a specificv race car forthe duration, he said. Bondurant paid abouf $750,000 for Formula Mazda race cars to be used in the new program and forthe school’s regular racing classes, he The cars are shod with slico tires designed for racing, rathet than treaded road tires. “These are real race cars like they are racecd in thereal world,” Thom said.
The action will take placde over nine weekends at FirebirsdInternational Raceway. Friday test rounds will be followex by qualifying and racint on Saturdayand “The Bondurant Championship Race Seriesd is designed for anyone from the young aspiring driver who wanta to take it to the next to graduates of the Bondurant Schoopl who are looking for the next life-changingt opportunity,” said Bob Bondurant, CEO of the The $3,495 cost includes car rental, instruction and maintenancd of the vehicle for the Participants must provide their own racin g suits and helmets, Thom said.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Looking south for visitors - Orlando Business Journal:

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After a year punctuated with one bit of bad newsafter another, this year’s travel industry Pow Wow 2010, held May 16-20p in Miami Beach, offered the industry causew for hope. The annual which connects U.S. destinations and businesses with overseasatravel agents, drew more than 4,600 attendees and created connectionsw that could lead to billions of dollarsw in deals. South American nations generally have suffered less than others in theglobalk recession, and Pow Wow participants said tour operatorse and travel companies from Brazil, Colombia and other countrieas in the region were eager to discuss dealsx with U.S. travel industry representatives.
This year, the local visitorsd bureau, a major engine for driving travell toCentral Florida, is waging a major publicity campaign in Brazil, an effort bolstered by a new direcf air route to Sao Paulo. Orlando gets about 300,000 visitors a year from and the bureau expects that number toreachg 350,000 next year. As air links Sain said, the ability to strike new traveldealsa grows. “There’s no question that as we go forward, South Americ a will get a lot of our We have to make sure we have good lift many scheduled and charter airlineflights — to keep us The fresh emphasis on Latin America comes as recessionsd in Europe cut into a key source of Orlando’xs international business.
The U.K. is the biggesgt source of international visitors comingto Orlando, so the 10 percent to 15 percentt slowdown in visitors from there has hit Centra Florida’s attractions and hotels hard. Sain, however, expects gradual improvemen as economies on both sides of the Atlantixc recoverfrom recession. Pow Wow, which will be held in Orlando next attractsabout 1,500 international buyers and about 500 travel The event, in its 41st year, is responsibles for about $4 billion in said its sponsor, the U.S. Travekl Association. U.S. destinations use booths at Pow Wow to make contactws that can lead to increased business incominyg months.
David Wright, spokesman for Wet n’ Wild on International helped manhis company’s booth at the “We made so great contacts this We came away with the impression that things will turn aroun d next year. We’re seeing a strong emergence of interesrt from Braziland Colombia. Thingx are starting to look better in their and that’s good news for Orlando.” Bruce Bommarito, the Travep Association’s chief operating officer and generak manager of the Pow Wow agreed: “International travel has been down 6 to 8 perceng this year, but I have some cause for That’s because changes in U.S.
immigratio policies — including a reduction in the amount of time travelers must wait fora U.S. visa and an expansionb in the number of countries that get visawaivers — should stimulate growth. Althoughu no one can accurately say how many internationalk travelers come to Central foreign visitors generally stay longer and spend more than theirdomestic counterparts. The Travel Association estimates each foreign traveleespends $4,500 while in the U.S. According to the 633,000 foreign visitors excluding travelers from Mexico andCanada — came to the U.S. last fewer than in 2000.
Pow Wow is a key tool for increasingfthe flow, said “Pow Wow is all about buildingt relationships. We had 75,000 appointmentsx at this year’s show, which is the best we’ve ever This isn’t really a traditionall trade show, it’s an international markett place.”

Friday, August 26, 2011

Towson University expands undergrad programs in Harford - Baltimore Business Journal:

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By next fall, the university will offer an undergraduatwe bachelor's degree program in elementar education and special education at the University officials are working to recruit abour 15 to 20 students for itsfirsyt year. Since 1995, Towson Universitu has offered graduate programs and continuing educatio courses at theHEAT Center, a workforce development facility manageds by the community college. But the undergraduate programk is a first for the university atthe site. Harfords Community College also offers associate of arts degrees in theteachingf field.
The program is being offered as part of an effortr to meet the growing future needs ofHarforf County, expected to be impactec by the thousands of new jobs and families coming to the state from military changes at Aberdeen and Fort Georgre G. Meade in Anne Arundel County proposed by the federao Base Realignment and Closure also knownas BRAC. Harford's public schooo system is listed among the top school systemes in Maryland facing critical teacher according tothe . Higher education leader said the changes at Aberdeemn will be a challenge forthe county'sx schools.
"This is part of the ripplre effect that is coming toHarforc County," said Karen Blair, assistant dean of the Collegr of Education at Towson "With additional people moving into the area, we will need more Blair said students entering the programn at the center will complete their internships and studenrt teaching at schools in Harforrd and nearby Cecil County. In its firsr few years, most of the students in the programk will come from associate degree programs already offeree atthe center.
But the influs of new residents to the area from BRAC realignmentsd could also give the program a new poolof

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

$746K in stimulus steered to Albany for research - The Business Review (Albany):

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The grants, to , and the are part of $9.9 milliohn in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money to be distributed to medicapl researchers in NewYork state. The Wadsworth a public laboratory run by the state Department of will receive a total of Of that, $397,357 will be used to studgy mechanisms of West Nile virus selection and strain displacement, and $26,8054 will support student and/or teacher summer researchu experiences. The $85,219 Rensselaer will receive also is earmarkef for summer research by students and AlbanyMedical College, an arm of , will receivw $236,125 for research regarding MHC Class II subsets in B Lymphocyte Biology.
This project will investigated how the actions of certaimn immune cells are governedand coordinated, researcjh that could lead to the control of thesse cellular activities and improve immunization and anti-tumodr therapy. “These projects will invest in cutting-edge medicalp research,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). “Thisd funding will not only give an economix boost in the amount of jobs availablr in theCapital Region, but will brintg us another step closer to solvingb public health problems afflicting many New Our federal dollars must continue to emphasizde the importance of medical research in solvinfg today’s public health problemsw and giving our students the tool s they need to succeed.

Monday, August 22, 2011

A good dove shoot may depend on finding a good watering hole - NewsOK.com

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Wilkes Barre Times-Leader


A good dove shoot may depend on finding a good watering hole

NewsOK.com


1 and it if you can find a good dove watering hole this year, consider yourself lucky. They may be few and far between because of the extreme drought conditions across portions of Oklahoma. The opening of dove season is 10 days away but the drought ...


Dove season opener demands special safety consciousness

Daily Dunklin Democrat



 »

Friday, August 19, 2011

Markets mayhem is 'fuelled by fear' says Bank of England man Andrew Haldane - This is Money

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This is Money


Markets mayhem is 'fuelled by fear' says Bank of England man Andrew Haldane

This is Money


By This Is Money Andrew Haldane, executive director for financial stability at the Bank of England, said an exaggerated sense of fear is rampant in the markets and may be holding back the recovery. In a paper he compares today's 'Great Recession' with ...



and more »

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

RTI, Red Hat, Time Warner Cable find plenty of applicants - Triangle Business Journal:

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For the 71 job positione that has available, Faith Bliga’s talent acquisitiojn team will review as many as 300 or 400 applicationsand “You still have to review them all to find out whicu ones are qualified,” she says. “I guesa it’s a nice problem to have.” While the Triangle’sw unemployment rate remains high, at 8.5 percent, some optimistic signse are emerging.
Rod Frankel, president of in Raleigh, says he has noticeed in the last five to six weeks an uptickl in orders from his companyy clients that are ready to make direct hires versus filling positionsa with temporary workers or Frankel says he is seeing more activity in requests forsales personnel. “To me, that is a very definitse statement for our owners that while thingsx are not as rosy as theywould like, now is the time to identifyu good talent,” he says. At Raleigh-based software companyt , corporate recruiters are taking advantage of a larger labor pool to builcd a bigger networkof contacts.
“You never know who that perso is goingto know,” says DeLisa senior vice president of peoplde and brand at Red Hat. “They may not fit into a job wehave now, but they mighrt later. Now we have this database of people we can In 2008, Red Hat revamped its employee recruiting Instead of posting all of its open positionzs online and shuffling resumes, the company’s recruiters now actively go after Alexander says. “This is the time to finish up our reorganizatiob so when the market turnsaround we’ll be poised.
” At , recruitment director Cheryl Wingate is seeing an influx of job applicants from the financial services industry and more peopls with a broader base of experiencw applying for call center and sales positions. Some are and that can be a problem. “At the end of the day, we want to make the righ t choice for the compangy and forthe employee,” Wingate says. “We look at theier short-term goals, as well as six monthx and 12 months from Bliga at RTIInternational agrees.
“I think we are seeing a lot of candidates who are overqualifiec and willing to take less Bliga says, “but that usually creates a whole new set of “When the market starts to recover, they start looking for a job again,” she says. “It’s riskh to take someone with 25 years of experience and an MBA who is applyint for a position for someonre with five years experience anda master’es degree.

Monday, August 15, 2011

MCW to recruit more minorities for health careers - Business First of Louisville:

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million grant from the that will be used to increasw the number of minorities and otherf disadvantaged individuals pursuingbiomedical careers. The program will recruit colleger undergraduatesand first-year medical students from populations that are under-represented nationalluy in health-related sciences. The studentse will undertake a 10-week period of hands-on laboratorg experience during the summer at theMedicalk College. Under the guidancs of Medical College faculty, the students will develop investigative knowledge and particularly in the areaswof cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic or slee research.
The experience is intended to buildvaluable self-confidence and interest in the health sciences, and aid the successful entry into graduate school or medical school. Dr. Kennethu Simons, senior associate dean of academivc affairs and professor of ophthalmology and andJeannette Vasquez-Vivar, associate professor of biophysics, will lead the called the Summer Research Education Program to Increase Diversity in Healty Related Research. “The goal is to work one-on-onew with each student to help them map out a plan for advancintg to the next step on their academic path and providing them with the toolsw they need to get Simons said.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Second recession deemed possible - Denver Business Journal:

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Those odds may seem low, but they’re actuall y high since double-dip recessions are rare and the U.S. economgy grows 95 percent of the time, says the chamber’es Marty Regalia. He predicts the currentg economic downturn will endaround September. However, the unemploymenyt rate will remain high through the first half of next year andinvestmenft won’t snap back as quickly as it usually does afterf a recession, Regalia says. Inflation, however, looms as a potentia problem because of thefederal government’s huge budgetr deficits and the massive amountf of dollars pumped into the economy by the Federak Reserve, he says.
“The economyg has got to be running on its own by the middlde ofnext year,” Regalia says. Almost every majof inflationary periodin U.S. historyh was preceded by heavydebt levels, he notes. The chancesw of a double-dip recession will be lower if Ben Bernank is reappointed chairman of theFederal Reserve, Regalia If President Barack Obama appoints his economicd adviser Larry Summers to chair the Fed, that would signap the monetary spigot would remain open for a longerr time, he predicts. A coalescing of the Fed and the Obama administratiobis “not something the markets want to Regalia says.
Obama has declined to say whetherf he willreappoint Bernanke, whose term ends in February.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Fitch downgrades Lambert bonds - St. Louis Business Journal:

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million revenue bonds for to BBBfrom BBB+ and revised the ratiny outlook to negative from Fitch also assigned a BBB ratinh for $104.7 million in airport refunding revenuw bonds, which are scheduled for negotiated sale the week of June 22. The downgradd reflects a “developing trend of declining enplanements with an increasingt likelihood that no meaningful recoverty will occur overthe near-term as a result of weak economif conditions and the potential for permanent loss of most of the airport'as connecting traffic,” the credit rating agency said.
“Fitch expects the airport to face a higher cost profil e and reduced financial flexibility in the On Monday, to A- with a stable citing the airport’s debt service stabilization St. Louis officials and & Co., both based in St. and New York-based to handle the sale of $125 million in bonds to financer more renovationsat Lambert. The upgrades include termina improvements, new ticket counters, new flooring and lighting, upgraded security checkpoin t andnew restrooms. Lambert-St. Louis International Airport servezs more than 15 million passengers a year with an average of 300 dailu departures to 70 national andinternational destinations.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Denver-area commercial foreclosures double - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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The reasons: disciplined local commercial developmengtand lending, and metro Denver’s diverse economy and relativelhy stable job market, according to local real estate experts. “It’w a national phenomenon that commercial foreclosurd rates are very low in comparison toresidentiapl foreclosures. … The Denver economy, its diversitgy and just having some of the right industrieein town, including the energy industry, made a big differencr for us,” said Glenn Mueller, professotr at the ’s real estate Twenty-three commercial foreclosures were recorded in the first-quarter involvingv loan balances of at least $1 according to county foreclosurr filings.
The largest foreclosure was forthe ’s manufacturintg building at 1350 S. Public Road in for $7.65 million. The trustee was , workingv on behalf of the lender. There were roughlyg 1,300 residential filings in the first many with loan balances highet thancommercial balances. For 2008’s first quarter, there were 11 commercia l foreclosure filingsof $1 million-plusa in the metro area, and roughly 1,200 residential The filings represent lenders’ notification to borrowers that they’re in default on a real estate and that their property is in foreclosure. The area coveredr by the data includes Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.
Most first-quarter commercia l foreclosure filings involved retail properties such as storesaand restaurants, as well as relatively small office and industriakl buildings, apartment comptlexes and hotels. “Wd haven’t experienced overbuilding like we did in the we have a fairly healthy economy and our jobs aremostlyt intact,” said Tim Richey, executive vice president and investmeny broker at in Denver. “There’ds not enough stress in the market to causesignificanrt foreclosures.” Most loans for local commercia l properties also were underwritten conservatively, Muelle r said.
Conservative underwriting was helped along, starting a few yearas ago, by stiffer oversight required by federal and statesbanking regulators. “Regulators started paying special attention to commercial real estate saidBarbara Walker, executive director of the tradwe group. “Commercial banks started adjusting lendingg relationships with commercial realestate borrowers, and that put us in the good placwe we’re in now.
” Most of the publicd trustees foreclosing on commercial properties in the first quarter were including , , Bank of the West and Bank of There also were nonbanlk trustees, which have become less active in metrlo Denver in the last year or so, such as the Ruth G. Fink Trusr Number One, CapFinancial Partners LLC and Coloradi Note AcquisitionPartners LLC. “Nonbanj lenders had a big piece of the commercial realestate segment,” Walker said. One of the most high-profiled local commercial properties to face foreclosure in the first quarter was the Neighborhoodd FlixCinema & Cafe in the redevelopee Lowenstein Theater on East Colfax Avenuer in Denver.
Mile High Bank was the property’e trustee, and its loan balance was $2 The long-awaited redevelopment of the old Lowenstein Theater inthe mid-2000s was hailed by the city and real estatee experts as the beginning of an East Colfad renaissance. The project also includees two major local independentretailers — the ’se main location and the music store.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

State taking applications for BadgerCare Plus - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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The Core Plan is an expansion of BadgerCare Plus and provideas access tothe state’s most chronicallh uninsured population – low-income adults withougt dependent children. “During this difficult budget environment, it’s important we continus to protect ourbasic Gov. Jim Doyle said in a statement. we are making quality, affordabls health care achievable for people who traditionallt have not hadany options.
” The BadgerCarwe Plus Core Plan for Adults with No Dependeng Children is a limited plan that coversa basic health care services, includingh primary and preventive care and generifc drugs to low-income, chronically uninsured People who have been without health insurance for a year or or lost their health insurance through no fault of their own and have a limited income, can applyy online at: . Funding for the BadgerCare Plus Core Plan is provided throughy the hospital tax that was approved by the legislaturse and signed into law earliethis year.