The cook, the thief, his wife and Xls

Source: BusinessWeek (Original Article)

Security Capital Assurance Ltd. has countersued Merrill Lynch & Co. for $28 million, claiming the investment bank broke agreements it made with the bond insurer.

Merrill Lynch last month sued Security Capital Assurance after the insurer killed seven contracts it had signed promising to cover losses on $3.1 billion in "credit swaps."

These swaps were contracts agreeing to cover missed payments on collateralized-debt obligations, which are investments splicing payments from various pools of debt.

Merrill Lynch claims SCA is responsible for the contracts it signed and is trying to force the company to honor the deals.

In its countersuit, SCA claims Merrill Lynch broke one of the stipulations in the seven contracts, which would entitle the bond insurer to terminate them.

Under the contracts, SCA was granted "control rights" over the CDOs, meaning the insurer had control over decisions affecting the investments.

SCA said Merrill Lynch, in a "rushed campaign" to dump risk from its books, promised control rights to other parties.

"Merrill Lynch made the decision to blatantly ignore its prior commitments," SCA said.

SCA’s suit seeks to validate the contract terminations, and seeks $28 million in damages the company says Merrill Lynch is liable for under the terms of the swaps.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by SCA’s subsidiary, XL Capital Assurance.

A spokesman for Merrill St. George Starts Low Stays Low Lynch did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Source: SunHerald.com (Original Article)

WOBURN, Massachusetts, March 31 — Mercury Therapeutics,
Inc. (MTI), a company that discovers and develops orally active protein
kinase targeted drugs, announces that it has filed for patent protection on
three lead compounds that directly and specifically activate AMP activated
protein kinase (AMPK).

The compounds are strong candidates for further development in relation
to the treatment of Type-2 Diabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome, where AMPK
activation is considered to be a key therapeutic target. MTI’s lead compounds
bind to a sub-unit of AMPK that is unique among human protein kinases.

The three lead compounds have been tested in obese mice, maintained on a
high fat diet, which displayed elevated fasting blood glucose levels and a
sluggish response in a glucose tolerance test (GTT). The statistically
significant test results (p

MTI’s proprietary integrated AMPK discovery platform technology has been
central to identifying novel chemical scaffolds that have resulted in
identifying multiple AMPK activators and inhibitors, and it is continuing to
produce additional active molecules.

MTI will be presenting pre-clinical data in relation to Type-2 Diabetes
and Metabolic Syndrome at the Spring BIO-Europe Conference in Madrid during
April 7-9, 2008.

Neal C. Birnberg, Ph.D., Mercury Therapeutics’ President and CEO, said:
“MTI’s program to develop an orally available AMPK activator has the
potential to re-write the rules of how Type-2 Diabetes is managed. The
mechanism of action through which AMPK normalizes metabolism will also create
markets to treat the pre-diabetic state known as Impaired Glucose Tolerance,
as well as the Metabolic Syndrome. With a continuation of the rapid progress
MTI has made in the design and synthesis of novel AMPK activators, I am
optimistic that we will be filing an IND by the end of 2009 to initiate
clinical trials focusing on Type-2 diabetics who no longer respond Frequent Flyer Credit Cards to
metformin or other available oral …continue reading

Source: Hartford Courant (Original Article)

Wolf Pack 10 Visa Credit Card Falcons 1

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Source: Hartford Courant (Original Article)

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Source: FOXBusiness (Original Article)

CANTON, Mass., March 28, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — Specialty-sized apparel
is the fastest growing segment of retailing today and Casual Male Retail Group
(Nasdaq: CMRG), retail brand operator of Casual Male XL, Rochester Big & Tall,
LivingXL and ShoesXL, is leading the way with a new store, opening in Rancho
Cucamonga, CA. The new Casual Male XL store is the twenty-fourth store in the
Los Angeles area and will be located in Victoria Crossroads at 12455 Victoria
Gardens Lane in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. There are also three Casual Male XL
Outlet store locations in Los Angeles.

“The Los Angeles area is an important market for us and we are excited
about continuing to expand here, now bringing our twenty-fourth Casual Male XL
store to the area,” said David Levin, President and CEO of CMRG. “With a wide
selection of apparel, a variety of quality name brands and a keen insight into
our customers’ needs, Casual Male XL strives to be the best and most
comprehensive resource for big and tall men’s fashion.”

According to the NPD Group, a New York based consumer and retail
market-research firm, the U.S. men’s big and tall apparel industry is nearly a
$6 billion market. Casual Male XL caters to men starting at size XL, with
waistlines 40″ and up, and specializes in clothing sizes XL to 6XL and XLT to
5XLT, making it the preferred apparel choice for big and tall men. Casual
Male XL strives to serve this market through broad apparel assortments carried
in more sizes than any other retailer and through multiple channels.

Before Casual Male XL changed the face of retailing, men with sizes larger
than XL had few options in ready-to-wear clothing. Today, men can visit
Casual Male XL and choose from a wide range of quality fashions from a variety
of designer and popular name brands.

Casual Male XL also offers casual, athletic and dress shoes in its
merchandise mix and has become the largest footwear retailer in the ANZ Visa Debit nation for
sizes 11 to 16, …continue reading

Source: Daily Times (Original Article)

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday issued notices and sought replies from the federal government, Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Lahore Electric Supply Company, and other electricity providing companies. These had been following separate petitions filed on behalf of various industrial units, challenging the levy of additional surcharge in electricity bills for the construction of Neelum-Jhelum Hydro Power Development Unit.

The notices were issued during the hearing of petitions moved on behalf of the Gojra Sugar Mills, Hajra Textile Mills, JK Tech (PTV) LTD, Ashiana Cotton Products and others.

The counsel for the petitioners said that the power supply companies had issued a notification on January 4, 2008, whereby Rs 0.10 per industrial unit had been imposed as an additional charge. This would be charged till December 2015 to create a fund known as Neelum-Jhelum Hydro Power Development Fund.

The petitioners pointed out that the said levy had been reflected for the very first time in the electricity bills for the current month (March 2008) under the head of Neelum-Jhelum Surcharge (NJS). They said that they were industrial consumers of respondent distribution companies and their tariffs were determined by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), under the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power Act XL of 1997, commonly known as NEPRA Act.

The counsel said that no authority, including the federal government, could impose any levy in relation to electricity without having prior recourse to NEPRA, which was not done. The counsel asserted that the levy had been directly imposed, which not only amounted to change in the rate of electricity, but also to change in the terms and conditions of electricity supply.

“The imposition of levy also amounts to taxing while under Article 76 of the Constitution, taxability is to be Business Credit Cards determined by the legislature through act …continue reading

Source: Reuters (Original Article)

By Dan Wilchins

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Security Capital Assurance Ltd (SCA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it severed seven credit guarantee contracts with a Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) unit because the investment bank had given key rights promised to SCA under the contracts to at least one other party.

SCA said its XL Capital Assurance unit was promised control rights on the $3.1 billion of portfolios it had guaranteed for Merrill Lynch International, but Merrill Lynch had given those same rights to one or more third parties.

“The decision to terminate the Merrill Lynch International contracts was not made lightly,” SCA said in a statement.

By terminating the contract, SCA is hoping to get out from under an obligation that could cost it hundreds of millions of dollars.

But ending the contract could also force Merrill Lynch to write down billions of dollars of exposure, which is why the investment bank is suing XL Capital Assurance to get the insurer to make good on the agreement.

“Apparently in light of the current dramatic downturn and deterioration in the credit markets, (the) defendants are having ’sellers’ remorse,” Merrill Lynch said in the complaint, which was filed this week in the U.S. District Court for the southern district of New York.

Control rights allow the seller of credit default protection to liquidate the portfolio if asset performance weakens. Those rights are crucial for minimizing losses on credit default swaps that require payouts.

The issue of bond insurers terminating contracts is thorny for the $45 trillion credit derivatives Frequent Flyer Credit Card market, where investors, banks, and others transfer credit risk.  Continued…

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

‘19,’ UK Chart-Topping Debut Album From Critically Acclaimed Emerging
Artist, Slated For Stateside Release Summer 2008

NEW YORK, March 18 /PRNewswire/ — The critically acclaimed UK soul
singer Adele has signed in the states with Columbia Records, who — in a
joint venture with XL Recordings, Adele’s worldwide label — will release
the emerging artist’s debut album, “19,” in summer 2008.

Born in London on May 5, 1988, Adele (nee Adele Adkins) has been the
toast of the UK music press and record buying public since the October 2007
release of her first single, “Hometown Glory,” an autobiographic
heart-rendering ode to London.

In December 2007, Adele became the first recipient of the Brit Awards’
newly inaugurated Critics Choice prize, presented to the year’s most
significant artist who, at that time, had yet to release an album. She was
also honored as the winner of BBC Music’s Sound of 2008 poll — a
consortium of UK music critics, editors and broadcasters — as the most
promising new musical artist likely to emerge in the upcoming year.

Adele delivered on that promise when XL Recordings (the influential
independent label whose UK roster includes The White Stripes, M.I.A.,
Radiohead, Vampire Weekend, Devendra Banhart and more) released the UK
edition of her debut album, “19,” on January 28, 2008, the week following
the introduction of the album’s lead-in single, “Chasing Pavements” (which
became the UK’s #1 Airplay Single). “19″ entered the UK Album Chart at #1
while hitting the Top 10 on the Irish Album Chart (#3), the Dutch Album
Chart (#4), Billboard’s European Top Albums Chart (#6) and the United World
Chart (#8). “Chasing Pavements” held onto its #2 spot on the UK singles
chart while “Hometown Glory” entered the UK singles chart at #32, meaning
that new artist Adele had the UK’s #1 album and two Top 40 singles all in
the same week. “19″ has been certified Platinum in the UK.

Praise of Adele and her music has Low Rate Credit Card been reverberating throughout the UK
mainstream …continue reading

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