Net Fishers goings on

Source: ArabianBusiness.com (Original Article)

Lebanon’s Makhzoumi family dropped plans to raise up to $554 million in an initial public offering of its Dubai-based Future Pipe Industries (FPI), dealing the latest blow to the emirate’s international standards exchange.

The Makhzoumis had planned to sell up to 35% of FPI, which makes wide-diameter fibre-glass pipes, and list the stock on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX).

“Due to conditions in the equity capital market and recent events in the financial markets, (FPI) will not be proceeding with its proposed global offering at this time,” FPI said in a statement on Thursday. It did not give further details.

FPI was pricing its shares at between $5 and $6.6 each, valuing the company at between $1.2 billion and $1.58 billion.

“It’s another setback for the DIFX,” said Tamer Bazzari, head of principal investments at Dubai-based Rasmala, which manages about $1.3 billion of asset for customers, mainly in Arab markets.

“There is just not sufficient liquidity.”

This is at least the second time a company that planned to list on the DIFX has dropped its IPO. In 2006, Oger Telecom, owned by Lebanon’s Hariri family, cancelled plans to raise $1.25 billion through selling shares that would it list on the DIFX.

Dubai-government owned DP World was last year the first company to list its stock solely on the DIFX after raising almost $5 billion in the Middle East’s biggest IPO. Its stock has since fallen 20%.

Shares of Depa Ltd, a Dubai interiors contractor which raised $432 million in an IPO last month and with which FPI was competing for funds, are down 8% since listing on the DIFX on April 23.

Dubai set up the DIFX in 2005 to encourage local companies to sell shares to the public, and for foreign companies to tap growing regional wealth. Thirteen companies are on the exchange, of which three are primary listings.

DP World, which was criticised for selling its University Course 920 shares at the top of its …continue reading

Source: Denver Post (Original Article)

FORT COLLINS — Danille Moyer’s blue eyes widened as she described the fish she caught and the single-minded way the fish approached the “pretend worm” that was the lure.
“That big guy just went swimming after that worm. I’m really proud of him,” said Danille, 6, one of a dozen kids who learned a little more about fish and their environment Sunday from Colorado State University’s chapter of the American Fisheries Society.
Eight members of the society, a wildlife biology organization, taught the kids to cast a line and some of the finer points of fishing.
All of the kids attend the Fort Collins unit of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
None of the more than two dozen fish hauled in at the lake wound up in a pan because the kids returned them to the lake.
CSU students frequently provide activities for the kids, said Pam Rud, the club director.
The CSU chapter is part of a professional society for fisheries scientists whose goal is to promote the conservation, development and wise use of fisheries.
The fishing trip with the Boys and Girls Club is an annual event, said Lucas Young, who heads CSU’s chapter of the society.
It wasn’t hard to get kids to participate in the event at a tiny lake at the Lakeside KOA campground, Rud said. “I just said, ‘The first 10 kids with a permission slip get to go,’ and I had ‘em like that,” she said, snapping her fingers.
The CSU students used a seine — a large net that hangs vertically in the water with weights along the bottom edge and floats along the top. They dragged the net through the shallow water and pulled a handful of fish out to show the kids what the population below the water’s surface looked like.
“They told me what some of the fish were and how to use a seine net. It was really cool,” said Austin Goheen, 10, who, like Danille, attends Putnam Elementary School.
Austin had fished a few times before going with the CSU students but hadn’t caught anything.
His luck ANZ Frequent Flyer changed at the campground, where he …continue reading

Source: Jamaica Gleaner (Original Article)

A Mandeville batsman swings at the ball as Power of Faith Seniors wicketkeeper Glenn Wellington reacts during the Power of Faith Ministries Twenty20 Church Cricket League match at Lime Tree Oval in St Catherine last Saturday. Mandeville won by 55 runs. - Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer

Power of Faith Seniors need a prayerPower of Faith Seniors will need a powerful prayer to reach this year’s semi-finals of the Power of Faith Ministries Twenty20 Church Cricket League after their shock 55-run loss to Mandeville New Testament last Saturday.Ironically, Power of Faith Seniors will have to depend on the same team that beat them (Mandeville) for a chance to advance. Mandeville meet Miracle Open Bible in a 11:30 a.m. match at Lime Tree Oval today.Mandeville, Zone One leaders with maximum eight points from two matches, have already qualified and their only motivation for this game is to top the zone, while Miracle need a win to advance to the next round. A loss for Miracle (six points) would see the defending champions Power of Faith (six) going to the next round with a superior net run-rate. The other two semi-finalists from the next Zone are Braeton New Testament (eight) and Power of Faith Development (eight). Faith Temple, also with eight points were eliminated, just losing out to the Development team that had a better net run-rate.JBA/INSPORTS basketball semi-finalsThe JBA/INSPORTS St Catherine Primary Mini Basketball League has reached its semi-final stage following the playing of the quarter-finals at the Edgewater Community Centre in Portmore, St Catherine.Leading the qualifiers are St John’s Primary, Marlie Mount ‘A’ and ‘B’ and Greater Portmore.St John’s Primary and Marlie Mount ‘A’ topped their semi-final groups, with two wins and no losses, and Marlie Mount ‘B’ and Greater Portmore advanced as runners-up with one win and a loss. In Zone A, St John’s Primary beat Mount Moreland 14-6 and Greater Portmore 14-9, ANZ Credit Cards while Greater Portmore outscored Mount Moreland …continue reading

Source: Akron Beacon Journal (Original Article)

Earnings for the first quarter of 2008 for FirstMerit Corp. were relatively unchanged from the previous financial period.

In a report this morning, the Akron-based bank said first-quarter net income of $31.4 million, or 39 cents per share, compared to $31.5 million, or 39 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of 2007.

The bank’s first-quarter earnings are identical to those of a year ago, first quarter 2007.

In a press release, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Paul G. Greig said ”revenue growth, expense control and credit quality performance in line with our expectations highlight our financial results. FirstMerit is positioned to profitably grow its balance sheet by winning new business and deepening existing customer relationships. We will execute our super community banking model with an aggressive sales approach tempered by our enhanced credit discipline.”

The company will hold an earnings conference call for analysts at 2 p.m. today.

At 11:52 Domains Sales a.m., FirstMerit shares were up 12 cents to $20.43.

Source: FOXBusiness (Original Article)

Merck & Co.

The drugmaker Merck & Co. (MRK) on Monday reported that its profit almost
doubled in the first quarter due to a $1.4 billion distribution from a
partner drug company. Its sales were slightly higher than a year ago.

The
maker of allergy and asthma pill Singulair reported net income of $3.3
billion, or $1.52 per share, for the January-March period, up from $1.7
billion, or 78 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding the $1.4
billion gain from AstraZeneca PLC of Britain and other one-time items,
Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck earned 89 cents per share in the
latest quarter.

Revenues totaled $5.82 billion, up 1% from $5.77 billion in the first three months of 2007.

Analysts
surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of 86 cents per
share, a figure that generally excludes one-time items, but had
forecast higher revenues of $6.11 billion.

Its shares rose 21 cents to $66.72 in premarket trading.

Merck,
which is in the process of settling massive litigation over its
withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, got hit with some new problems during the
quarter.

Its osteoporosis treatment Fosamax, which had been the
leading drug in the category and one of Merck’s top sellers, got new
generic competition. The company also reserved $40 million for legal
defense costs amid about 940 lawsuits alleging the drug damaged jaw
bone in some patients.

In addition, Merck and New Jersey neighbor
Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP), which have a profitable partnership selling
cholesterol drugs, took a black eye when congressional investigators
and some doctors alleged that to protect sales of their blockbuster
drug Vytorin, the companies delayed releasing negative study results
expected to significantly hurt revenues.

“Merck posted solid
first-quarter results despite the loss of patent protection for
Fosamax, as well as a decline in expected sales from St.George Gold Credit Card our
Merck/Schering-Plough joint venture,” Merck’s chairman …continue reading

Source: New Zealand Herald (Original Article)

‘Going global’ can have a cost at home.

Two of New Zealand’s best-known firms, Fisher & Paykel Appliances and ANZ, are moving jobs to other countries.

Fisher & Paykel is closing its Mosgiel manufacturing site and laying off 430 workers.

Citing high costs, it said yesterday that it would move the Mosgiel operation and others in Brisbane and the US to Thailand, Mexico and Italy.

ANZ National, New Zealand’s largest bank, said it would outsource hundreds of jobs to India, but insisted no one would be made redundant.

But the bank workers’ union, Finsec, said job losses were inevitable under the cost-cutting plan.

The bank said it planned to move about “1 per cent of our New Zealand work to ANZ Bangalore this calendar year, and up to 5 per cent by the end of 2009″.

Dunedin knitwear manufacturer Tamahine Holdings also announced yesterday that it was closing, with the loss of about 50 jobs.

Chairman Trevor Scott said the factory had been running since 1970, but over the past 20 years it had battled to cope with a deregulated market that allowed a “flood of low-cost Asian imports”.

This had been exacerbated by the new free trade agreement with China and the high New Zealand dollar.

Meanwhile, ANZ National chief executive Graham Hodges said the bank’s decision represented about 400 jobs but the proposal would “not necessarily” result in a smaller New Zealand workforce for the bank.

“Our goal is to redeploy all our people who may be affected by this initiative, and we are confident in achieving this goal because, with normal staff turnover, we employ around 800 new people in Wellington and Auckland each year.

“The staged shift of work over the next 18 months will also help staff who wish to be re-deployed to find a suitable alternative role within the bank.

“As a result none of our staff need to lose their job,” Mr Hodges said.

Andrew Frequent Flyer Campbell of Finsec, which believes up …continue reading

Source: International Herald Tribune (Original Article)

WELLINGTON: Fisher & Paykel Appliances of New Zealand said Thursday that it would shift three of its manufacturing sites to low-cost countries as it looked to stay competitive.

The announcement sent its shares surging 15 percent.

The move would save the company about 50 million New Zealand dollars, or $40 million, before tax a year. About 1,000 jobs, or 28 percent of the total work force, would be lost in New Zealand, Australia and the United States as plants were relocated to Mexico, Thailand and Italy, where a similar number of new jobs would be created.

While investors were not surprised to see Fisher & Paykel forced to follow its competitors in moving to low-cost manufacturing, the size of the saving was a bonus, said Guy Elliffe, senior portfolio manager at AMP Capital Investors.

“Those numbers are large. It's quite a material change in the context of their financials,” Elliffe said.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters Estimates expect the company to post a net profit of 55.5 million in the year that ended March 31.

Shares in the firm, a top 10 company in New Zealand, rose 15 percent to 2.54 dollars. The stock has fallen 27 percent so far this year, compared with a 12 percent drop in the benchmark top 50 index.

A strong New Zealand dollar, high interest rates and free-trade agreements with low-cost-labor countries like China made the cost of manufacturing in its home markets too high, said John Bongard, managing director.

“It's one of the biggest days of change this company has ever seen,” he said.

The company said labor costs in Mexico were about a sixth of those in New Zealand.

The move would entail 50 million dollars in one-time costs, and 100 million dollars in capital expenditure, which would be met in the financial year that started April 1.

The plants would be relocated over the next two years and the full benefits would flow Amex Platinum Card through in the 2011 financial year.

Most …continue reading

Source: Economic Times (Original Article)

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Source: Tulsa World (Original Article)

So what, exactly, are these “private
equity” firms you’ve likely heard
about in the financial media?Well,
they generally make their money
by offering companies guidance
to make them more efficient and
funding to rescue them or help them
grow.

There are several different kinds
of private equity organizations. One
is the venture capital group, which
tends to make somewhat risky
investments in young, growing firms
before they go public and trade
stock. Then there are the leveraged
buyout (LBO) outfits, which like to
buy huge public companies by taking
on a lot of debt. The LBO firm will
take the company private and use
much of its excess cash to pay off its
debt, often while trying to improve
the efficiency of the company. Eventually,
the acquired company will
be sold to another buyer or to the
public, via an initial public offering
(IPO).

Other private equity investments
include buying chunks of private
companies and buying distressed
companies, with the intent of restructuring
and then selling them. There
are private equity funds, too, which
aggregate and invest the money of
smaller investors (those who generally
still have more than $1 million
in net worth). Money invested in
private equity is often

tied up for at
least several years.

Private equity organizations aren’t
required to make public the kind of
information that public companies
must disclose. They needn’t release
quarterly performance reports or
audited financial statements, for
example.

Some of the biggest names in
private equity today are Kohlberg,
Kravis, Roberts (KKR), with assets
estimated at more than $86 billion;
The Carlyle Group, with more than
$75 billion; and The Blackstone
Group, with more than $98 billion.

KKR owns bedding maker Sealy
and Toys R Us, among many other
organizations, while The Carlyle
Group, run by former IBM chief
Lou THATS SO RAVEN dvd Gerstner, owns Dunkin’ Donuts
and Hertz. …continue reading

Source: Bloomington Pantagraph (Original Article)

Season ends on a high note

By Douglas Hamm
dhamm@pantagraph.com

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BLOOMINGTON — Leo Thomas was waging a losing battle with his emotions, while Don Parsons was already looking ahead to next season.

Playing for pride on “Fan Appreciation Night,” the Bloomington PrairieThunder ended the season on a resounding note Saturday with a dominating 7-1 International Hockey League win over Muskegon before an appreciative crowd at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

“The only thing we had to play for was ourselves, the fans, the owners and the organization,” Parsons said. “We wanted to have a good start to next year. I think next year we go into the season 1-0 now after tonight’s game.

“It’s a good feeling. We’ve got some core guys that we’re looking forward to try and get back here next year. I think you’re going to see a whole new outlook on PT hockey.”

Despite being out of playoff contention the last two weeks, Bloomington ended its second season on a high note. The Thunder won three of its final four games and secured a .500 record at home (17-17-4) while finishing 31-38-7 overall.

“Obviously it would have been better if we had made the playoffs, but I’m proud of

everybody in this dressing room,” Thomas said. “It’s a great bunch of guys, and at the end of the day it was a great year.

“Everybody had fun and it was good to end with a big win like that. We had a great push at the end. Unfortunately it just didn’t work out for us.”

Thomas, Parsons, Jon Booras, rookie Brett Holmberg and Rob Guinn combined for 11 points as the Thunder had a season-high 45 shots against Muskegon (35-35-6), which clinched the IHL’s final playoff berth Friday night with a 3-2 home win over Bloomington.

Thomas set the tone early by giving the Thunder a 1-0 lead less than three minutes Airline Miles Credit Cards into the game after Muskegon goalie …continue reading