Thursday, September 29, 2011
Missouri Foundation for Health expects hit from Madoff - St. Louis Business Journal:
“We don’t have any direcrt investmentswith Madoff, but we have two hedged ‘fund of funds’ managers, which each invest in multiple hedge funds, so it’s possible that we may have some McCarthy said. “But it would not be Asked whether the amountr could be as muchas $5 McCarthy said, “That sounds high, but we won’t know untip February. Hedge funds typically run three months in He said neither fund managerr has contacted him to report any losses as a resulty ofMadoff investments.
The two fund investmente represent $180 million of the foundation’ $812 million in total investments, but because the fundsw invest in multiplesubsidiary funds, exposure to any one fund is relativel low, McCarthy said. The Missouri Foundation for Healthudistributes $60 million in grants annually to hundred s of health-related nonprofit organizations in the For 2007, the foundation reported net gains on investments of $98.6 million, dividends and interest from securities of $15.54 million, and interest on savings and temporary cash investment s of $5.8 million. The $50 billiom believed to have been lost atBernard L.
Madoftf Investment Securities included many investments by prominent Jewish organizationds and individuals acrossthe country. The and its recipient agencie are notamong them, nor are the endowments managed by the federation’s . “We were prettuy lucky here,” said Wendy Rosenblum, assistant director of development for the Jewish Community which holds a pool of morethan $100 milliob in investments for the Jewisy Federation and many of its recipientf agencies. “A few nonprofits elsewherse are closingtheir doors. But to my none of our recipient agenciesx havebeen impacted.
” Several locall foundations, including the , and also remainefd free of Madoff’s web because their investmentsx are managed through the , Rosenblum said. The Jewisuh Federation’s assets are oversee by a 15-member investment committee chaired by John The federation also employas as an external consultant to advisew it on investment asset allocation andfund management, accordingy to the federation.
“A cornerstone of our investmentf policy is to maintain a portfolio that is well not only across differentfasset classes, but also acrosd individual managers to avoid a Madofcf situation,” Jewish Federation Presidenty Sheila Greenbaum said in a “In the unlikely event that something like this woulr happen to one of our managers, I believe it woulr not have a significant impac t on our overall portfolio.” Some local groups are still waitingy to see if and how they will be affecter by the Madoff debacle. Joan executive director of the St.
Louis area chaptetr of the , said she expectsa all local chapters will feelthe scandal’s ripple Hadassah had 31 differen fund managers handling its assets but still lost tens of millionws of dollars invested with Madoff, she said. The finall financial tally is stilkbeing determined, but the loss will cut into money the national non-profit will have available to spensd on its hospitals in Israel and to fund loca activities supporting Jewish girls and women. Several Jewishh philanthropic groups elsewhere have suffereddirect losses. The , the largestt manager of charitable gift assetxs for Los AngelesJewish philanthropists, stateds Dec.
15 it had invested $18 millioj with the Madoff firm. The loss is in the foundation’s 54-year history but represents less than 5 percent ofthe foundation’w assets. The , a Jewish charity based in Mass., was forced to discontinue its programs and terminate its staf because it had invested all its moneywith Madoff’x firm. , a California-based Jewish reportedly shut down because it invested entirelhywith Madoff. , a private university in New York, lost a reportesd $110 million. The Northg Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System said itlost $5.
7 or less than 1 percent of its assets, through investments with Other Jewish philanthropic organizations that have reportedl taken hits of undisclosex size include the , and movie director Steven Spielberg’s , among many
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
NAIOP names Highwoods Properties 2009 developer of year - Baltimore Business Journal:
Highwoods Properties was named NAIOP’s 2009 developer of the year and will be honoref atthe group’s Oct. 15 meeting in Chicago. The real estate investmenyt trust, which was founded in 1978 in N.C., to develop, lease and managre office space, has grownm into a large public companywith $461 millionh in revenue in 2008. It owns or has an interestt in 382 propertiesencompassingh 35.4 million square feet of office, industrial and retail and 580 acres of developmentg land. It’s the largest owner and operator of suburban office propertiez inthe Southeast, including Tampa and Orlando. In it had a total market capitalizatiojof $3.6 billion.
“Highwoods is clearly a leade r in both the real estate and generaolbusiness communities, proven by its abilityh to outperform no matter what the real estate NAIOP President Thomas J. Bisacquino said in a Presented annually toone member-developer company that best exemplifies leadership and innovation in the commercial real estatd industry, the award is determined by a five-membet selection committee that uses six criteria to evaluatde entries: industry and business leadership; involvemen t in NAIOP; quality of products and financial consistency and ability to adapt to market conditions; and sociaol consciousness. Past award winners includre , , Bentall Capital, and .
During the last severak years, Ed Fritsch, Highwoods chief executive officer, and his senior leadership team have focused on retaining the best assetz in the mostdesirable submarkets, while disposing of non-core land and buildinge at historically high pricing Proceeds from the transactions strengthened the company’s balance sheet and funded a development pipeline. Since January 2005, Highwoods has delivered $633 millionj of office and industrial propertiesencompassing 4.1 millio n square feet. Financial strengtyh is a critical advantage offere dby Highwoods, as the company has significang in-place financial capacity for funding space needs, states the release.
Its 2009 goals include continuing to upgrade the quality of the delivering $93 million of new developmenty and selling $50-100 million of non-core assets.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Detention center expansion plans move forward - Monroe News Star
Detention center expansion plans move forward Monroe News Star Green Oaks Juvenile Detention Center is moving forward with plans for a $500000 expansion to provide more classroom space for juveniles. The new classroom complex is needed to address overcrowding issues during school instruction, according to Green ... |
Friday, September 23, 2011
Books: 'Jeopardy!' champ Ken Jennings' real passion is maps - Salt Lake Tribune
Books: 'Jeopardy!' champ Ken Jennings' real passion is maps Salt Lake Tribune "They actually hold it in the old Royal Geographical Society," Jennings said. "It's the same place where Dr. Livingston and Sir Edmund Hillary would come back and pass around the artifacts of their travels." He traveled to the National Geography Bee ... |
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
No Palm Pre App Catalog, No Problem!
NEW YORK, June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Palm Inc.'s fortunesz lie in the success of its new Presmarrt phone. As it becomes available this morning with a meagerf App Catalog stillin "beta" stage, Pre buyersa will have extremely limited access to third-party games, applications, and other software offerings. Some majo exceptions are Cellufun's browser-based games, includingb its recent smash-hit Ponzik scheme game, "Made Off.
" Cellufun is the largest mobile virtuaol community inthe world, where millions of people play dozenx of different social games and connect with each The Pre's web browser will support accessz to Cellufun's games, mobile blogging applications and mobile commerce opportunities, making it one of the few non-Palk applications available to early adopters of this new smart phone. "Whejn married to the right mobile application, smar phones like the Pre allow consumers to have an engagingv and fun experience for every day thingslike gaming, social networking, and The Pre looks to be a runaway hit for Sprint, and we believse that the millions of Pre buyersd will sprint to Cellufun.
com to play our socialo games and tell their friends about it. Theree is a reason why Cellufun has been a top 10 downloads on the BlackBerry App sinceits launch. We turn smart phones like the Pre into a social and entertainment networkfor consumers," said , Chie Executive Officer of Cellufun ( or m.cellufun.comk on mobile). The Palm Pre is availablre to thepublic today, Saturday, June 6th, and will be sold throughou Sprint stores across the United States. New York-based Cellufumn is one of the world's largesgt mobile communities wherepeople socialize, play games and buy virtual goods for self-expression, gifting and competitive advantage.
Peoplwe around the world can access the Cellufun platform on anymobiler network, on any phone, and in more than 10 languagesw to create personal avatars, compete, chat, and celebrate special occasions. Cellufun partners with mobile operators and mediqa companies suchas MetroPCS, AOL, and Gannett to deliver brandedc entertainment and custom-designed mobilde marketing solutions. With over 200 millionh monthlypage views, Cellufun offers a uniqu e brand-building opportunity for media, marketers and agencie s seeking to broaden their reach to the ever-preseny "third screen.
"
Monday, September 19, 2011
Marion Tech starting fifth decade - Marion Star
Marion Tech starting fifth decade Marion Star MARION - Marion Technical College continues to celebrate its 40th anniversary with what college officials say could be another increase in students. Fall quarter started Thursday with 2869 students, according to an unofficial count. ... |
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Union extends deadline for new Safeway contract - Boston Business Journal:
The extension was announced late Thursday by the Unitex Food and Commercial Workers UnionLocao No. 7, which representsa about 17,000 Denver-area grocery workeras now negotiating new contractswith Albertson’s and . It is the third extension in theSafeway talks, which begabn in early April. Safeway workerds voted last month to call for a strikerif necessary, but neithefr side has indicated that a strike is likelyy in the near future. Both Albertson’s and King Soopersa workers are operating without contractsright now. Negotiationss center around the issuesxof wages, pension benefits and health-care plans.
Safeway and King Soopera have offeredpension cuts, pay raises for just a portion of the workers and new preventative health-care saying that with the rise of non-union grocery some cutbacks must be made. “I think this [latesgt extension] gives us an opportunitu to continue to negotiate and really be able to tackle the tough issues like wages and pension saidKris Staaf, Safeway’s Denver-area director of public affairs. The latestt counter-proposal from Safeway workers calls for annual pay increases of 75 centsx per hour over the duration ofthe five-year according to UFCW spokeswomajn Laura Chapin.
It also seeks assurances that worker can continue receiving pension benefits at age 50 rathet than having to wait untilage 62, that currenft health benefits are not decreasefd and that current health-care premiums are not increased. Safeway has not made a new contracg proposal, Staaf said. Sherree Carlson, a 15-year Safeway employee from Westminster, expressed frustration over the pace of negotiations in a news releas put out bythe UFCW. “We gave you a proposal a week ago, and you keep cominhg back at us with thesame crumbs,” Carlson “We need a fair deal and we need to keep the work and the workerxs here in our community.
”