Net Fishers goings on

Source: WhoWon.com (Original Article)

NEWBERRYTOWN, Pa. — Racing action will return on Saturday, June 7 which will include the Late Models, Street Stocks, Xtreme Stock Cars, Legends Cars and Speedway Auto Sales Mini Vans. There will also be make-up Xtreme Stock Car feature from the postponed May 3 race event and a make-up Legends Cars feature from April 26 to begin the evening’s activities.

On Saturday, the pit gates will open 4:30 p.m. Grandstand gates will open at 5:00 a.m. and racing at 7:00 p.m. (please note the changed start time).

General Admission Grandstand ticket prices for the Stock Car Saturday Night will be Adults (ages 18-59) $12.00; Young Adults (ages 11-17) & Senior Adults (60 & Older) $10.00; Children (10 & under) are free. Pit pass prices are $22.00 with a reduced price of $20.00 for all pit competitor license holders. The minimum age requirement to purchase a pit pass is 14 years of age with a copy of a birth certificate is required for all ages 14 to 17.

There is a $2.00 repeat fan discount for each person with a ticket stub from races during the previous week’s events completed only. Returning fans are encouraged to write their name, address and phone number on the back of the stub to be entered into special drawings during and at the end of the season for great prizes. The Repeat Fan Discount is not valid for pit pass purchases.

The Susquehanna Speedway Park is located off I-83 to exit 32, then 1.4 miles NW on SR382 to York Road, then 1.3 miles south. For more information, contact the speedway offices at (717) 292-1696 or visit online at sspracing.net. On raceday, please use the track phone at (717) 938-9170 for up-to-date information.

Saturday, June 7, 2008 – Stock Car Saturday Night Time Schedule

(Subject to Change)

4:30 p.m. Pit Gates Open: Pit Passes: Members - $20.00; Non members - $22.00

5:00 p.m. Grandstands Gates Open: General admission: Adults (18 & older) – $12.00; Young pumpkin carving pattern Adults (11-

17) - $10.00; Children (10 …continue reading

Source: The Age (Original Article)

AXA Asia Pacific Holdings has swapped its closed annuities portfolio and a consideration of $100 million for Challenger Financial Services Group’s financial planning business.

The asset swap won praise from analysts and helped boost the stock price in both companies today.

AXA’s annuities portfolio, which has $1.3 billion in liabilities to allocated pension holders, is backed by $1.25 billion in assets.

AXA has earned a net consideration of $50 million on the transfer, which it will record as profit before tax.
Challenger’s financial planning business was sold for $150 million.

Goldman Sachs JBWere analyst Ryan Fisher said the deal made “perfect sense” and was a win-win situation.

“(AXA) gets to beef up its distribution business, while disposing of an annuities business that was non-core … under-profitable and keeping approximately $110m of regulatory capital tied up,” Mr Ryan wrote in a note to clients today.

At the same time, Challenger was disposing of a peripheral business while gaining scale and liquidity in its annuities business, he said.

Meanwhile, the Packer family-backed Challenger also forecast its normalised pre-tax profit for fiscal 2008 to reach $270 million, compared with $230 million in fiscal 2007, representing growth of  17.4%.

Bottom line net profit is expected to drop to $20 million from $255 million.

Challenger also forecast a fiscal 2008 interim dividend of 7.5 cents per share, up from five cents in the previous corresponding period.

The Sydney-based firm, which covers asset, funds and mortgage management, said strong earnings growth on a cash operating earnings (COE) basis had continued at its asset management division.

“The returns generated from the investments held on the balance sheet are expected to once again contribute to strong cash earnings, notwithstanding to the best card credit rate mark-to-market investment experience during the period,” …continue reading

Source: Wall Street Journal (Original Article)

Paul Gigot: Coming up next on “The Journal Editorial Report,” he’s under attack from John McCain for his lack of experience. But will a summer trip to Iraq help bolster Barack Obama’s foreign-policy credentials? Plus a look at Scott McClellan’s controversial new memoir. What is says about its author and what it says about the Bush White House. And the great space debate. Who should pay for projects like the Mars lander? We’ll hash it out after these headlines.

* * *

Gigot: Welcome to “The Journal Editorial Report.” I’m Paul Gigot.

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said this week that he’s considering a trip to Iraq before the November election but dismissed as a political stunt an invitation by Republican rival John McCain to make the visit together. McCain has been hammering Obama for making just one trip there, back in 2006, and has been playing up in recent weeks his opponent’s lack of foreign-policy experience, as well as Obama’s statement last year that he would meet without precondition with leaders of countries like Iran and North Korea.

James Rubin was assistant secretary of state during the Clinton administration. He’s now an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International Affairs.

James Rubin, welcome.

Rubin: Nice to see you, Paul.

Gigot: Good to have you here.

Let me start by reading you a quote from Joe Lieberman in The Wall Street Journal, an independent Democratic senator who has endorsed McCain. And he recently wrote, “Too many Democrats seem to have become confused about the difference between America’s friends and America’s enemies.” Who does Barack Obama think are our enemies?

Rubin: Oh, I think he’s quite clear that Iran and North Korea and others are a danger to the United States. And Sen. Lieberman is trying to confuse the issue by a rather selective approach to foreign policy in that piece. But let me address ANZ Credit Card directly the point.

Gigot: You said a …continue reading

Source: MSNBC (Original Article)

Major U.S. stock indexes finished higher Thursday, though below earlier highs, following a dramatic reversal lower for oil prices, which plunged despite a huge decrease in U.S. crude inventories.

A report on U.S. economic growth in the first quarter was revised slightly higher. S&P MarketScope cites a growing perception that the U.S. escaped recession as second-quarter GDP is expected to rise as well. Weekly initial jobless claims were slightly higher.

Bonds fell but closed up from session lows following an apparent asset allocation program to equities from debt. The dollar index was solidly higher. Gold futures were lower.

On Thursday, the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average finished higher by 52.19 points, or 0.41%, to 12,646.22. The broader S&P 500 index added 7.42 points, or 0.53%, to close at 1,398.26. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was higher by 21.62 points, or 0.87%, ending the session at 2,519.90.

Activity in the broader market was positive, with 19 stocks rising in price for every 11 that declined on the New York Stock Exchange. The ratio on the Nasdaq was17-11 positive. Trading was sluggish, reports S&P MarketScope. Financial stocks were strong.

July West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, which hit a high of $133.12 per barrel earlier in Thursdays session, fell $4.17 to $126.77 after an Energy Dept. report showed crude stocks unexpectedly fell 8.8 million barrels. Citi Futures’ Tim Evans said the drop came “on a combination of lower imports and higher crude runs and was focused on the Gulf Coast, which showed a 9.3 million barrels drop. Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma rose 700,000 barrels.”

S&P’s Mark Arbeter believes “crude oil prices are in the topping phase, and we think we could see a fairly large correction back to the $100 to $110/barrel range over the next two to four months.

U.S. jobless claims rose 4,000 to 372,000 for the week cheap flights ended May 24, about in line …continue reading

Source: PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung) (Original Article)

www.RetailVelocity.com - Vendor Managed Technologies, Inc. (VMT) the leading provider of enterprise Demand Signal Repository (DSR) and retail business intelligence (BI) solutions announced today that KKM has successfully implemented the Velocity(R) Solution Suite as its core retail reporting solution. Velocity is now the key enabling technology for managing their retail in-stocks and maximizing sales across their retail

accounts and manufacturer clients.

“We chose Velocity because of VMT’s depth of experience in POS data and retail execution. They have been the leading pioneer in POS data and reporting solutions for consumer goods suppliers and it shows in their depth of retail knowledge and responsiveness to our needs,” stated James Ruh, KKM’s Director of Retail & Marketing.

Velocity provides a “one stop shop” for store-level consumer data that enables category managers, customer logistics managers, replenishment managers and account managers to spend less time manipulating data and more time executing on store-level POS insights. Velocity cleanses, harmonizes and integrates store-level POS data with third party and internal data and provides end users with an off-the-shelf data warehouse, best-in-class analyses and best practices reporting tools. VMT equips its clients, such as 3M, Newell Rubbermaid, BIC, Masco and many other industry leaders, with the technology and insights needed to incorporate a consumer-driven strategy for their existing supply chain and sales processes such as CPFR, VMI, category management, direct store delivery (DSD), scan-based trading (SBT), and more. Since 1994, Velocity has been the leading enterprise demand signal repository (DSR) and business intelligence solution specifically built for retail analytics and reporting in the consumer goods market.

Velocity is based on the Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) platform utilizing SQL Server and .Net technologies. “Microsoft Cheap Travel and VMT are not new to …continue reading

Source: OCRegister (Original Article)

Contact the writer: kding@ocregister.com

Other Stories

Entourage dvd

Source: Portsmouth Herald News (Original Article)

As two readers so kindly pointed out last week, we haven’t done a sports cards and memorabilia hobby roundup in these pages for a while. With summer fast approaching and a bunch of local card shows on tap, now seems like the perfect time to do so.

Summer is always a great time for feeding your inner child, spending a little money and expanding your and/or your kids’ collections.

The ballparks around New England, including MerchantsAuto.com Stadium (the tedious name for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ home field) in Manchester and Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine, are open for business, not to mention Fenway Park in Boston. There are also plenty of cards and collectibles shows on tap that are close enough where you won’t need to cut into Junior’s college fund to pay for the gas.

First off, there is a card show in Rochester at the Elks Lodge on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is only a buck, so you just can’t go wrong there. And who doesn’t enjoy a leisurely drive to the Lilac City?

On Sunday, June 8, Chris Morse of Chris’s Cards and Comics in Seabrook fame is hosting a show at the Galley Hatch Conference Center at the Best Western: The Inn At Hampton (nice place, but could we cut down on the name?) on Route 1 in Hampton.

The show is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and admission for big kids is $3 (kids 12 and under are admitted for free). Log on to Morse’s new Web site at www.chriscardscomics.com for more info.

As if two upcoming Seacoast shows weren’t enough, there is a third one planned. Yep, it’s like Christmas in June if you collect sports stuff.

Seacoast show promoters Ken Kelley and Bill Harless are doing quite well with their new monthly show in Dover since relocating it a few months ago from Epping. The next one is set for Sunday, June 22 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Dover Elks Lodge on Route 108. Hmm, there’s just something about Elks Lodges and card shows, I guess. LAZYTOWN dvd Whatever works.

Down in Methuen, Mass, which …continue reading

Source: Newindpress on Sunday (Original Article)

Artist Jaspal Singh’s paintings, may bear titles of peoples and places but that does not mean that his charming portrait of a woman against palm trees and the sea, or his paintings of the Mathura and Vrindavan temples jostle with each other. They are made at different times, in different mediums, only that the artist thinks of the inherent relation within our surroundings, and that finds an important place in his paintings.

Born in Jorhat, Assam, Jaspal graduated from the Dibrugarh University in Fine Arts and later on went to the Government College of Art & Craft, Calcutta. He has experimented with watercolours on paper, acrylic on paper and canvas, worked in wood and clay and, thereby his creativity spans a gamut of elegant works.

Explaining his concept and method of work, he says: “The urban buildings, vehicles and roads appear to me as submerged or overlapped images. Often the fog, the pollution and the smoke create a gloomy atmosphere and sometimes a bright light can be seen in nocturnal scenes. Human figures also intrude in these scenes, but it is not the figures but the images that predominate and creation of a total and not individual objects appear to be more predominant. All these scenes sometimes appear to me more than one vibrant colour, or again in certain monochromatic structural images.”

He is also fascinated by kaleidoscopic and erratic changes in our daily surroundings. The concrete shapes and forms of an urban scene, or the flowers, leaves and birds with the freshness and simplicity of the village folks appear to him in the form of peculiar textures. The elongated human face with diagonal eyebrows and sharp nose are created with the help of broken lines partly covered with thick pigments of colours. Sometimes their exaggerated features try to express the untold words and with them, “I simply love to play with colours.”



His temperament is totally different while working with watercolours. So Travel tips much so, the work has to …continue reading

Source: PR Newswire (press release) (Original Article)

NORTH CAROLINA RANKS SIXTH NATIONALLY IN BOATING FATALITIES

HIGH ROCK LAKE, N.C., May 23 /PRNewswire/ — With the start of the
summer recreation season beginning this weekend, Alcoa joined forces with
local law enforcement officers at High Rock Lake today to stress the
importance of water and boating safety.

“Accidents can happen in an instant. When they do, there’s little or no
time to react. Your decision to wear a life jacket - instead of stowing
under a seat — could mean the difference between life and death,” said
Tommy Gibson, an Alcoa community relations manager. “We encourage everyone
who visits the lakes this summer to play it safe and always wear a life
jacket.”

Statistics from the U.S. Coast Guard show that 24 people in North
Carolina died in boating accidents during 2006, a 41 increase from 2005.
Nationwide, 710 people died in boating accidents, nearly two-thirds of whom
were not wearing a life jacket and drowned.

NEW COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM WILL FACILITATE COMMUNICATIONS

This year, law enforcement officials will have another valuable tool
when responding to emergencies on the lake.

A new long-range communications system, purchased with a grant from the
Alcoa Foundation, will facilitate better communications between various
agencies patrolling the lakes, including the NC Wildlife Resources
Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and local law enforcement
agencies.

The improved system allows direct communication between officers with
the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary,
and provides a faster way for those officials to be contacted by local
police and rescue squads. Communication is now possible between law
enforcement all across the lake and even between different lakes in the
region.

“This new communications system will be a tremendous help during
emergency situations,” said Dick Fisher, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. “It’s
important that those of us patrolling the Citibank Clear Credit Card lakes can share information
quickly. This …continue reading

Source: The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com (Original Article)

A manufacturing-advocacy group has bagged an $850,000
grant to expand the supply chain for wind power in Ohio.

The Ohio Department of Development awarded the grant this
week to the Westside Industrial Retention and Expansion
Network, known as WIRE-Net.

WIRE-Net’s Great Lakes Wind Network is already
surveying needs of the world’s largest wind-turbine
manufacturers to see what parts can be supplied by Ohio
companies.

“We’re seeing a perfect match between industries
here and the scarcest items in the wind-energy supply
chain,” said Ed Weston, director of the wind network, a
fledgling trade group of component manufacturers for wind
turbines.

Ohio already has 40 to 50 companies active in the supply
chain, he said. He hopes to lift participation to 75
companies by the end of the one-year grant.

WIRE-Net’s wind network is arranging interviews with
200 companies across Ohio that could be wind-industry
suppliers.

Work under the grant includes building a Web site and
information-management system for suppliers, marketing the
supply chain and sending leads on new business to state
development officials.

Early estimates put the market for wind-turbine components
at $10 billion by 2024, under Ohio’s recently passed
energy bill, Weston said.

Ohio companies would like to grab as much of that market
as possible, Weston said.

“It’s tailor-made for the rust belt” and
its abundance of eager manufacturers, Weston said.
“It’s an opportunity to revitalize
ourselves.”

WIRE-Net was the only applicant for the grant. Lt. Gov.
Lee Fisher, also head of the state development department,
said in a news release that the wind supply chain
“creates new jobs and investment from current Ohio
component manufacturers, and attracts new companies.”

Partners in the grant include MAGNET, another local
manufacturing-support group; the Edison Welding Institute in credit card au
Columbus; the Edison Materials Technology Center …continue reading