Nasrallah: Hariri probe 'will not weaken resistance' - Ynetnews

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Royal wedding: diet used by Kate Middleton's mother 'a health hazard' - Telegraph.co.uk

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Washington Post

Royal wedding: diet used by Kate Middleton's mother 'a health hazard' Telegraph.co.uk Out of the regimes examined, only the Weight Watchers diet was considered to be roughly balanced. The study also pointed to an increased risk of fractures ... Higher-protein/low-GI diet best for maintaining weight loss TheHeart.Org High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet Best For Keeping Weight Off RedOrbit Study: Avoiding Weight Gain After Holidays, Diet Daily Health Report Insidermedicine -BusinessWeek -BBC News  »

Missouri gets $23M in stimulus for energy program - Kansas City Business Journal:

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million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for its StatsEnergy Program. State Energy Programs are designed to increasseenergy savings, create jobs in energgy efficiency and encourage the use of renewable Missouri will use the money to expand its Energy Centeer program and increase energy efficiency in the industriap and manufacturing sectors, the Department of Energy said in a The state also will use the monehy to find opportunities in energy efficiency in aluminum, chemicals, food metal casting and forest products, which the stated has identified as its more energy-intensive categories.
Missouri joinse Kansas and 12 other states in receivingg 50 percent of its ARRA money for its StatrEnergy Program. Missouri will receive the finalo $28.6 million once it demonstrates successful implementation ofits plan, bringinb its total ARRA allocation to more than $57 million. Thursday’s round of financing allocated morethan $154 millio n to the energy programs in four

Home loan rates take a ride back to the 1950s - Chicago Press Release Services (press release)

http://sun-valley-hotels.com/fr/303987-Hotel-Snowcreek-By-Resortquest/

Home loan rates take a ride back to the 1950s Chicago Press Release Services (press release) Don DeBats weekly real estate column is syndicated by DeBat Media Services. For more home-buying information visit his website at: www.dondebat.net. and more »

Crystal Cathedral bankruptcy creditors file more objections to executives' pay - Los Angeles Times

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msnbc.com

Crystal Cathedral bankruptcy creditors file more objections to executives' pay Los Angeles Times The creditors in the Crystal Cathedral's bankruptcy case have filed more objections to what they describe as unnecessary pay to church insiders. ... Bankruptcy Trustee Objects to Salaries Paid to Top People at Troubled Ministry ABC News Creditors fault Crystal Cathedral hiring of pastor San Jose Mercury News Bankruptcy official questions Crystal Cathedral compensation Los Angeles Times OCRegister -Los Angeles Times  »

Extended Stay Hotels files Chapter 11 - Baltimore Business Journal:

http://studenica.org/accomplishments_se.html
The Spartanburg, S.C.-based company filed the reorganization petitiohn in New Yorkbankruptcy court, Secretary and General Counseo Joseph Teichman writing that Extended Stay had aboutr $7.1 billion in assetsw and $7.6 billion in liabilities at the end of 2008. Extendeed Stay, whose more than 680 properties are managecd byHVM LLC, has 21 locations in Greater Baltimore. The companu bills itself as the largest operatorof mid-pricedf extended-stay hotels in the nation. Teichman in a court filing on Mondayu wrote that the company sought protection from creditorsx amid a general downturn in the hospitality industrty and a hit taken as fewer potential customerx needthe company’s services.
“Sincew the typical Extended Stay customer seeks a lengthyy stay based oncommerciaol relocation, the contraction of constructiom and new business development began to significantly and adversely affecteds Extended Stay’s revenue stream,” Teichman wrote. The companuy said its average revenue per room droppee about 23 percent in the firsft five months of the year compared with the same periofof 2008. As a result, it was unablr to deal with its debt burdenj with cash flow and is seekinga “comprehensivre restructuring of the entire capital structure.
” Extende d Stay said it plans to run operations followingv the Chapter 11 petition under a lender-approved arrangement usint cash collateral. Debtor-in-possession financing won’tg be needed, the company said. About 9,900 employeess work in hotels operated byExtendec Stay. The company is in 44 states and hasaboug 77,000 rooms.

State

http://netzwerk-omsk.net/transport.html
Under the “single sales factor,” corporate tax liability starting in tax year 2011 will be calculatexd on sales only within the The current rules of the game use a methocd that averages a proportionof sales, property and payrollk in California, with the sales factoe double-weighted. California companies that sell mainly outside the state argue that the curren t method of taxation rewards them for expandinvg outside the state because it reducesz their California property and payroll factore without necessarily changing theirsales factor.
Meanwhile, accordingv to a legislative analysis, companies with few employeed or facilities in thestate (but substantial sales here) will pay more tax. Although the singlr sales factor applies to mostprofitable companies, industrg trade organization BayBio says cleantech and high-tech companies in particular stand to benefit as they grow to “We want to stay here becauser we’re already here,” said Bill chairman and CEO of in Soutb San Francisco. Monogram should be profitable this Young said, and will be looking to expand with a lab facilityu to handle the increasing numbert of its breast cancer and HIV tests. “We’llo have to make a decision about Young said.
“One of the biggest factors will be Withthe change, it takes that piecde out of the According to the legislative the state would lose as much as $1.5 billion a year in tax but that loss could be offseg by additional revenue from employment and property as the state keeps businesses and wins expansions and relocations. Others aren’yt so sure that the single sales factor is an incentive for companieds to growin California. Instead, it simply is a way for multi-statee companies to avoid taxes, argued the California Tax Reform a small Sacramento organization focused ontax equity.
“Using salesw as the only apportionment factor will lead to accounting tricks toavoir tax, in ways that encourage using services outside the in order to lower sales within the the organization said on its blog. “The accountinv for these factors becomes difficult andrewardsd manipulation.” Here’s what $3 billion is buying you, CIRM says With a cash cruncjh putting its future on the the is rolling out a set of forumsa to tell state residents how their $3 billioj in state bonds are being spent. The firstf of three lay-level conversations is scheduled for6 p.m. March 18 at the Palace Hotelk inSan Francisco.
It will feature Renee Reijl Pera of the Institute for Stem CellBiology & Regenerative Medicine at the Stanfor d University School of Medicine; Tamara Alliston of the University of California, San Cartilage Repair & Regeneration Center; and Dr. Bruce Conklibn of the of Cardiovascular Disease. The other two forums will be in San Diegpo on March 31 and Los Angeles onApril 22. California votera in 2004 approvedselling $3 billion worty of bonds to fund stem cell research, aiming particularlu at embryonic stem cell research that dropped off afteer then-President Bush in 2001 set restrictions on federal “We have an obligation to tell them where we’re going,” said Don Gibbons, spokesman for the The state’s fiscal crisis and the markett for bonds have halted bond sales, forcing CIRM to live on cash reserveas of about $160 millionn while its funding commitments through the first half of this year total $107.
4 million. CIRM will seek $200 milliom in a private bond placement this yearand $200 millio next year. Waiting on Transcept keeps growing , which in July coulr win Food and Drug Administration approval ofits middle-of-the-night sleep drug is more than doubling its spacwe in Point Richmond. starting March 15, will lease 12,257 squarw feet at 501 Canal Blvd., a strong stone’s throw from its currentf 14,500 square feet at 1003 W. Cuttinvg Blvd. in the Point Richmond Tech Center.
The landlorcd at both sites is a unit of A key featurr of thenew lease, which will cost Transceptf about $15,000 a month, is the ability to pull out That’s important since Transcept doesn’t have FDA approval or a saleas partner for Intermezzo — yet the company still must builde up a sales and marketinh management team. “We just wanted ultimatew flexibility,” said CFO Tom Soloway.

SIUE goes to court over failed conference center - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

http://medievalbadges.org/p2nlinkpelgrimsc.html
Developer William Shaw and couldn’t come up with financinb for the hotel and conference center, which was to be called the Springf Green Lodge and located at University SIUE’s research and technology park, according to universityu spokesman Gregory Conroy. The project, first announced in died in 2007 when a groundd lease between SIU and WLS expirecd following extensions for the SIUE filed a declaratory judgment action Mondayh inMadison County, Ill., seeking to have the cour bring legal closure to its hotek conference center project.
If approved, WLS would have to removed all construction equipment and materials and remove the buildingb foundation it constructed to complty with the terms ofthe lease, Conroyg said. That would free up the located at Illinois Route 157 and UniversitygPark Drive, to become availablre for lease and the university said. University Park currentl y has 23 tenants representing a number of business sectors includingbagricultural biotechnology, health sciences, design professionals and informatio technology. The most recent announced addition to the park is the Blood Processingv Center and NationalTesting Laboratory.
The Americanb Red Cross plans to move toa 15-acrwe site at University Park Drive and Sout Research Drive and bring more than 500 jobs to the

Aegon to cut 138 positions in Louisville - Pittsburgh Business Times:

http://narcap.org/articles/McDonald1.htm
a subsidiary of Netherlands-based insurer Aegon will cut 138 positions from its Louisvilles offices atAegon Tower. Subsidiary Aegon USA Investment Management will eliminate 13 positions during the next few the company said inan e-mailed The company also will cut 125 positions handling certain life insurance administrative functions. Those duties will be transitioned to an Aegon officw inCedar Rapids, Iowa, during the next several months, according to the statement. “We are always exploring ways to improve efficiency and leverage the scale we have in ourvariouas U.S. locations,” the company said in the statement. Aegon is the parengt company of Transamerica LifeInsurance Co.
, Transamerica Financial Life Insurancs Co., Monumental Life Insurance Co., Stonebridge Casualtyg Insurance Co., Stonebridge Life Insurance Co., Wester n Reserve Life Assurance Co. of Ohio, Transamerica Life and Seguros Argos, A.S. de C.V. According to the company’ws Web site, www.aegonins.com, Aegon U.S. has more than 600 employee s in Louisville among severaloperating divisions, including individual savings and retirement, institutional, life and pensions and asset managemenr and reinsurance.

Newly named GSI inks $6M Korean deal - Boston Business Journal:

http://www.brandoncebenka.com/article/Simple-Tips-to-Prevent-Flu.html
Until last month, the Mass.-based company was known as GSI Lumonics. It supplies components, laserd and machines to manufacturers inthe medical, industrial and aerospacer sectors, and employs approximately 1,200 The company did not identify the Korean manufacturert by name. GSI's WaferRepair M450 system uses pinpoinyt lasers to cut defective circuitzs in dynamic random accessmemory disks, giving DRAM makers a bettefr yield in early production runs of new DRAM disk The product was released in December, and belongs to the laseer systems product family which produced $147 milliom in sales last year, primarilt from six DRAM manufacturers.
In the first GSI (Nasdaq: GSIG) reported a $100,000 profirt on $65 million in with revenue, bookings and backlog all down from the same periods theyear before. The compant said the decreases were due to unexpected delays of orderds in its lasersystems segment.

Caps hope subtle improvements impact long run - NHL.com

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Caps hope subtle improvements impact long run NHL.com NEW YORK -- It would be easy for the cynical fan to look at the hot start by the Washington Capitals and ask ... and more »

Raytheon wins three defense contracts worth $95M - Boston Business Journal:

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million, according to a variety of publishedrdefense reports. The US Navall Air Systems Command awarded Raytheona $75.6 million contract for a fourth batch of the laser- and sensor-based targeting and navigating devicez known as Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared Jane's Defence, published by British-baser Jane's Information Group, announced the deal. Delivery is expected to take place between December 2007 andNovembe 2008. According to Jane's, Raytheon has already delivered 168 podsand $43.u7 million worth of spare parts. Locally, Raytheon's Integratefd Defense Systems unit in Tewksburuy wona $7.1 million U.S.
Navy deal for logistics, manufacturing, test and delivery of NATO SEASPARROWreplacementy parts. The contract is the third optiomn year forRaytheon RTN), which is headquartered in Waltham, Mass., and years four and five are worty $7.7 million and $8.3 respectively, according to . In separats news, the U.S. Army Research, and Engineering Command in Adelphi, Md., announced yesterday that Raytheon TechnicalpServices Co. LLC of Reston, Va. won a $12.8 millioh deal to supply hard-to-kill improvisexd explosive device countermeasure Work on the contract will take place in Indianapolis, Ind. by June 30, 2006.

Arts and Education Council gets funding - St. Louis Business Journal:

http://excellaventures.com/getinvolved.html
million with the addition of a new Over the nexttwo years, the , will inves $200,000 in the St. Louis area to be allocated by the Arts andEducatiohn Council. As a result, the Arts Council’sx total budgeted funding for 2009 is up 7 percentfrom $1,232,850 last year. “Givenn the fact that it’s a challenging environment to raise funds forthe arts, the timing is fantastic,” said Jim chairman of the Arts and Education Council’s board.
The new Kresgd grants, which will range from $2,500 to $10,000, represent a shift in the way the Arts Councilpfunds projects, according to Brian Adkisson, director of marketing and Where once the council had donorss contribute to an overall fundraising campaign, Adkisson said the program is now evolvinfg into specific grants named after corporate sponsors. This year, the council’s boarxd of directors has budgeted $45,000 in granta for artistic projects, down nearly 48 perceny from a budgetof $86,000 last Project grant allocations totaled $104,309 in 2007. However, the Kresges grants will make up the differencrein funding. “Grantees will not be impacted,” Adkissoj said.
“The money is not diluted to the same numberof

Battle brewing over AEP rate hike - Business First of Columbus:

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Groups that include the and Office of the Ohio Counsel are considering a request for hearings beforde the PUCO to challenge parts of its AEP rate They are also considering an appeal to the Ohio Suprems Court if they thinkl theirconcerns aren’t addressed by the “(The rate hikes) will have a dire effect on manufacturers in AEP said Kevin Schmidt, director of public policy services for the 1,600-memberr manufacturers’ association.
“This forces our hand to see what we can IssuedMarch 18, the PUCO rulin caps rate increases at 7 percent this year and 6 percent each in 2010 and 2011 for commercial and residential customers of , the AEP businesz that services central and southern The caps for the company’s business, whicuh supplies eastern and northwest Ohio with electricity, are 8 percent this year, 7 percent in 2010 and 8 percent for 2011. AEP soughy 15 percent rate hikes in each of thethrere years. The PUCO-approved hike meansd an average Columbus Southern residential customerpayingg $99.52 a month will see monthly bills increase $6.98 this year, rise an additional $6.39 in 2010 and clim b an extra $6.
77 in 2011, according to a calculatiobn by Columbus-based AEP. The increases are expected to begin duringg the Aprilbilling period. But Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Janinwe Migden-Ostrander said the size of the rate hikeis “jusgt not right,” especially in light of the financia pressures Ohioans are under in the depresseed economy. “We think the rate increase is excessive and she said. Migden-Ostrander isn’t ruling out an appeal to the stat Supreme Court ifrelief won’t be provided duriny rehearings by the commission.
The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel has appeales 23 PUCO decisions tothe state’s highesft court since Migden-Ostrander took charge of the office in 2004. Groups with a stake in the AEP rate including thecompany itself, have 30 days from the PUCO’sw ruling to seek a rehearing. The commissiom would have 30 days after that to make saidShana Eiselstein, a PUCO In making its ruling, the commission said the rate increasew will provide an incentive for AEP to add programs to improvr the reliability of its electric service and give customerws tools to save on power Those efforts will include a stepped-upo vegetation management program alongt power lines and AEP’s gridSmart program that allowes customers to control their electric bills through advanced The rate increase is roughly half of what AEP requestef when it filed its rate plan with the PUCO in It cited the need to keep pace with risinbg fuel prices, especially coal burnedd at its power and other operating expenses.
Even with the AEP will still have the lowest electricityt ratesin Ohio, the PUCO said. Yet that is littler consolation to manufacturers facing jumps in their electric bills at a time whenthey can’t pass on the adder expense to customers, Schmidt said. “Our (members’) costs are increasing, too,” he said, “bug they’re being forced to give price Their customersare saying, ‘We’re not buying from you unless you lower your prices.’ “The (PUCO) orde r is very unfair,” Schmidt “especially when you consider today’s economifc environment. Manufacturers are barely hanging on bya thread.
” Criticz of the rate increases are irritated that the PUCO made the rate hike retroactivse to Jan. 1. They also don’rt like that the commission will allows AEP to defer the recovery of costs exceedintg the rate cap limits set for the nextthrewe years. Such costs, whicg might include expenditures for coal and compliance with possible greenhouse gas emission regulations, could be recovered from rate payers from 2012 through 2018.
Such provisions have businesses scrambling for answersx on how the AEP rate increases willaffecft them, said Sam Randazzo, a Columbus attorney who represent Industrial Energy Users-Ohio, a coalitio of about 50 industrial and commercial businesses that have opposefd the AEP rate request. The size of the rate increass was nota surprise, he said, sincee the PUCO staff had recommended 7 percent but approval of the deferred cost provision was “It’s the unknowns and increases that can be deferred that are hardee to put boundaries around,” Randazzo said.
“Peoplee are trying to figure out how much the hangover will He also said the rates AEP filefd with the PUCO on Marc 23 appear to contain increases for larger electrif customers that are higher than the percentage caps contained inthe PUCO’ order. That adds another question to the mix aboutthe commission’sx ruling. “The more we look into the thingsd thePUCO did, the less sensd it makes,” Randazzo said. Parts of the PUCO ruling did not sit wellwith AEP.
A statementg on the company’s Web site said the commission’se decision to moderate the impact of rate increase s on consumers means theruling “does not provide the cash flow necessarg to deal with the significant increasews related to fuel and environmental costse as we incur them.” Instead, that money will need to be collecte d over an extended period, the company “The fact our rates will be so much lowet than what our detailed analysis showe is necessary to fund operations is of particular the statement said. Still, AEP was encouraged the PUCO ruling support its proposed vegetation management andgridSmarr programs.
“It has its pros and cons,” AEP-Ohio spokeswomanm Terri Flora said ofthe PUCO’s ruling. “We need to work with the commissiojn to see where they arecoming from.” The company’s options at this point, she said, are to accep the commission’s decision, appeal it through file another electric service plan or pursuer a market rate option allowed under a comprehensive energh law passed by the General Assemblt last year. The law providew for a system in which rates are set by the PUCO througb electric service plans like the one filedfby AEP. It also outlines a path for electric utilitiese topursue market-based pricing.

Boomers show entrepreneurial spirit - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Job trends may increase entrepreneurial activity amongolder Americans. “While peoplde under age 30 have historically jumped from jobto job, the most strikinfg development today has been the deep drop in the incidence of jobs among men over age writes Dane Stangler, senior analyst at the foundation and authorf of the study. The past year’s economic upheavalx also may produce more entrepreneurs among allage “The very idea of ‘too-big-to-fail’ institutionds has been permanently damaged,” Stangler writes. “Recen t economic trends – away from lifetime jobs and toward more new companies will thus gain even greatercultural traction.
New and strongerd regulations aiming to prevenrt the rise of such giant organizations also may help creatse amore market-oriented society.” See www.kauffman.org.

Iridium earnings fall 42%; revenue up - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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The Bethesda-based provider of satellite telephonw services, which expects to become publicly traded this summer throughan acquisition, posted a 42 percent declinre in net income in the first quarter ended March 31, to $9.7 millionj from $16.7 million a year ago. Th companyh attributed the decline to costsd related toits next-generation satellite program. “Iridium continuee to grow, although the pace slowed given the curreneconomic climate,” said CEO Matt “In addition to the impact of phasing out equipment we believe the economic climatw is affecting equipment sales, as is the transitionn of newly introduced products into the distribution channe l as our partners move existing inventorgy to make way for new Company officials say either Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin or Thaleds Alenia Space will be selectecd as the program’s lead contractodr this summer.
The program’s new network of satellites callecd Iridium NEXT is expected to be deployesdin 2014. Iridium NEXT will providse higherdata speeds, greater bandwidth and the potentia l to deliver new data services and applicationss to customers. The company says its EBITDA, or earningzs before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, increased 4.9 percent to $27.6 million in the first quarter, up from $26.3 milliojn a year ago, though most analystxs do not use that as a reliablefinancial measure. Iridium’sa revenue rose 2 percent to $75.7 million for the quarter, comparefd to $74.3 million for the first quarter 2008.
The slightlhy higher revenue came from increased commercial services revenueof $36.8 millio n but was offset by a decline in subscribe r equipment revenue to $20.5 million for the Iridium’s commercial markets includes maritime, aviation and land mobile which grew by 11.5 percentr for the quarter. The company’x sales to government customers, includinv the Department of Defense, grew 31 Despite a 31 percent increase in subscribersto 328,000, comparedf to 250,000 in the first quarter of a $2 million amortization of equipmenty related to prior year equipment sales, added to the decline in subscribetr equipment revenue.
The company is planning to go public this but it is not taking the initial public offering It is acquiring a publicly tradedinvestment group, GHQ), an affiliate of Greenhill Co. Iridium has retainer Deutsche Bank as its financial adviser forthe transaction.

Milken Institute report gauges life sciences impact on Phila. area - Denver Business Journal:

http://www.ruscampus.co.il/articles/articleview.php?art_id=298
The report, commissioned by severap Philadelphia-area biotech and economic development organizations, found one in six jobs in the Philadelphiz region can be traced to the lifesciences “The Greater Philadelphia region is seeing the return on the investmentw they have made in their life sciences industry,” said Ross director of regional economics at the Milken Institute, an economic thinm tank in Santa Monica, Calif. “Thd combined efforts of policy makers, academic institutions and entrepreneurs are shapingthe region’s futur e as a top location for economi growth and high-wage jobs.
” The report comez out at a time when the region’ s smaller biotech companies are struggling to attract This year has already seen of Pa., sell it assets, the board of in Plymouthh Meeting, Pa., approve a dissolution plan, and (NYSE Alternext US:ILE) in Exton, Pa., announce it was runningf out of cash and pursuing debtor-in-possession financing in connection with a possible bankruptcy filing.
The study’s “current impacgt composite index” category evaluates measures such asemploymenty level, relative size and industry The Philadelphia region — which for the study includee parts of Pennsylvania, New Delaware and Maryland — ranked second in the Milken Institute’d overall composite index, trailing only Bostomn and just ahead of Greater San Francisco. The overalpl composite index used the currenyt impact score along with a ranking fora region’a pipeline of potential innovative new producte and “small business vitality indices” to rank what the studu describes as the elite “life sciences” clustere in the country.
Philadelphia was rankexd third overall when the Milkebn Institute last conducted a studyin 2005. In otherf categories, Philadelphia retained its third place ranking for innovatiobn pipelines and moved to thirde from fifth for life sciences work The region had itslowest ninth, in the study’s small businesss vitality index. The study foun d the region’s life sciences directly employed 94,400 workers and generatedf $7.7 billion in direct earnings.
“It’s encouraging that the report recognizexsthe region’s capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship and that acceszs to risk capital has increased during the past five years,” said Barbaraq Schilberg, managing director and CEO of the Philadelphia-based operator of the Biotechnology Greenhouse of Southeasterbn Pennsylvania. “The findings also reinforce our belief that therse are additional opportunities for regionalo partners to leverageGreater Philadelphia’s resources, to create new businessess that foster medical innovation and at the same time contributed to a strong regional economy.
” The Milken Institutes Study was commissioned by Pennsylvania Bio, Select Greater Philadelphia, BioNJ, Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences Delaware BioSciences Association, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturerse of America.