The cook, the thief, his wife and Xls

Source: Reuters (Original Article)

NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - Troubles in the $2.4 trillion
bond insurance industry have been the focal point of a widening
credit crisis as expected losses in mortgage-backed debt put
the insurers’ ratings at risk.

Traditionally focused on insuring municipal deals, bond
insurers got into trouble after they ventured into structured
products to boost returns.

Massive delinquencies on U.S. subprime mortgages battered
the credit quality of these products, increasing the capital
that bond insurers need to maintain their crucial “AAA”
ratings.

As bond insurers’ ratings are downgraded, so are ratings on
much of the debt they insure, forcing sales by some investors
who can own only top-rated securities. The loss of a top “AAA”
rating also undercuts the value of bond insurance, making it
difficult for the companies to win business.

Following is a chronology of recent ratings actions on bond
insurers and ratings still under review for possible
downgrades:
MBIA Inc’s (MBI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) MBIA Insurance Corp
June 5 - S&P cuts rating four notches to AA from AAA
June 4 - Moody’s says likely to cut rating from Aaa
April 4 - Fitch downgrades AAA rating to AA
Feb. 26 - Moody’s removes Aaa rating from review for
downgrade, assigns negative outlook.
Feb. 25 - S&P removes AAA rating from review for downgrade,
assigns negative outlook.
Feb. 5 - Fitch puts AAA rating on review for downgrade.
Jan. 31 - S&P puts AAA rating on review for downgrade.
Jan. 17 - Moody’s puts Aaa rating on review for downgrade.
Jan. 16 - Fitch affirms AAA rating with stable outlook.
Dec. 19 - S&P changes outlook on AAA rating to negative from
stable.
Dec. 14 - Moody’s affirms Aaa rating, changes outlook to
negative from stable.
Ambac Financial Group’s (ABK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Ambac Assurance Corp
June 5 - S&P cuts rating four notches to AA from AAA
June 4 - Moody’s says likely to cut rating from Amex Credit Card Aaa
March 12 - S&P removes …continue reading

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

Adds leading treasury management and regulatory compliance suite to
product portfolio

WESTPORT, Conn. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) June 6, 2008 —
Triple Point Technology®, the established
leader in cross-industry commodity and energy trading, risk management,
scheduling and logistics software solutions, announced today that it has
acquired Investment Support Systems Inc. (INSSINC), the leading treasury
management and regulatory compliance solution provider.

The INSSINC acquisition is an important step in the realization of our strategic vision to offer the most comprehensive – in both breadth and depth – commodity trading and risk management solutions to the markets we serve.

INSSINC develops and markets treasury and risk management software
solutions, including products to enable companies engaged in the
procurement, processing or marketing of commodities or energy products
to obtain and maintain beneficial commodity hedge accounting treatment,
perform derivative instrument fair value level assignments and maintain
regulatory compliance under Sarbanes-Oxley, FAS 133, IAS 39, SAS 133,
CICA 3865, AASB 139, IFRS 7 and FAS 157. The company, with headquarters
in Parsippany, New Jersey, just outside New York City, and a European
center of operations in Surrey, serves more than sixty customers
throughout North America and Europe, including notable energy and
commodity industry leaders such as PacificCorp, TransAlta, TransCanada,
SUEZ Energy, Southern Company, Ameren Energy, PPL Corporation
(Pennsylvania Power & Light), Scottish Power, J.M. Smucker and Campbell
Soup Company.

The acquisition of INSSINC gives Triple Point the ability to immediately
and comprehensively address the increasingly important corporate
governance and regulatory compliance requirements of organizations in
Triple Point’s core markets, including Low Interest Credit Cards oil and
gas, metals and mining, …continue reading

Source: FOXBusiness (Original Article)

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Jun 05, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) —-XXL Energy Corp. (the “Company” or “XXL”) (TSX VENTURE: XL) -

Pooling Agreement Terminated

The Company has been
notified that the voluntary Pooling Agreement (the “Agreement”), previously announced by the Company on October 13, 2006 with
an effective date of September 6, 2006, has been terminated. The Company, who was not party to the Agreement, understands
that the securities owned by Marc Bruner, as to the 17,500,000 pre-consolidation common shares of the Company, John Hislop,
as to the 10,352,100 pre-consolidation common shares of the Company and other principal shareholder, as to the 9,102,200 pre-consolidation
common shares of the Company agreed in writing to terminate the Pooling Agreement on May 8, 2008.

About XXL Energy
Corp.

XXL, headquartered in Houston, is an independent oil and gas exploration and development company focused in the
Greater Green River Basin of Wyoming, the Columbia River Basin of Washington, the Piceance Basin of Colorado, the Great Basin
of Nevada, and the Williston Basin of North Dakota.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility
for the adequacy THATS SO RAVEN dvd or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: XXL
Energy Corp.

Source: CNNMoney.com (Original Article)

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS), the leader in global electronic design automation, reported the
successful kick-off of its series of five worldwide user conferences, with
a 10 percent boost in attendance over the prior year. More than 620
customers representing more than 200 European and international companies
attended CDNLive! EMEA, the EDA industry get-together that took place April
28 to April 30 at the Hilton Park Hotel in Munich, Germany. The event
centered on the Cadence product roadmap, EDA techtorials, and Designer
Expo, and proved to be a constructive networking platform for discussing
the various challenges of electronic design automation.

Cadence President and CEO Mike Fister introduced a new aspect of Cadence
solutions for advanced node designs — designs at 65-nanometers and below.
The new core technologies provide a major upgrade to the
Cadence® Virtuoso® custom design platform with IC 6.1.3 and
Virtuoso Multi-Mode Simulation 7.0 release. The new Spectre turbo
technology offered in the Virtuoso Spectre XL product addresses a broad
variety of challenges across all analog design methodologies and process
nodes by delivering a five to 10 times performance gain over existing
solutions without any loss in accuracy. These new capabilities help chip
makers accelerate volume production of large, complex designs, especially
at advanced node processes of 65 nanometers and below.

Guest speaker Prof. Dr. Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director, spoke
about the latest technological developments being used by the BMW Sauber F1
team.

“Our vision for CDNLive! EMEA this year was based around networking and
enabling the exchange of ideas in order to meet the challenges of the
electronic design industry,” said Alexander Duesener, group marketing
director, EMEA, Cadence Design Systems. “We wanted to offer European
designers a platform to facilitate interactive discussions, and Citibank Gold Credit Card the great
feedback given by participants …continue reading

Source: Seeking Alpha (Original Article)

Bank of America is out with a strong call on XL Capital (XL) saying a resolution to settle XL Capital’s guaranties on the pre-IPO liabilities of SCA Capital could be looming and could lead to significant upside to the stock. Reiterates Buy and $67 target offering 100%+ upside.

In the Firm’s view, the new XL Capital CEO Michael McGavick wants to leave the company’s SCA issues behind him and focus on the core business. Thus, the Firm believes that the two companies and regulators could be working diligently to provide SCA with much-needed capital, in exchange for extinguishing XL’s guarantees on SCA’s pre-IPO liabilities. The resolution of the pre-IPO guaranties would be a significant catalyst for the stock, but the question is at what cost?

Negative impacts from a potential settlement could be mitigated. In February 2009, XL Capital will receive $745 million in capital likely issued at $65 (or 11.5 million shares) from equity units issued a couple of years ago. Unless the resolution is significantly more costly than that, the EPS dilution and book value per share impact of any settlement or capital raised could be significantly less than expected.

XL currently trades at a trough multiple of 0.6x book value per share. BofA believes XL’s ultimate losses related to its exposure to SCA will be significantly less than market expectations. XL remains a high reward/high risk pick. Reiterates Buy and $67 target.

Notablecalls: I bankwest mastercard expect to see 3-5% of upside in XL stock today.

Source: Centre Daily Times (Original Article)

Spreadsheets save my life daily. Even if the mere word “spreadsheet” makes you itch, the concept of keeping track of important information on a chart should have a calming effect. It adds order to chaos, and with multiple kids in the house, it’s one of the most useful tools I have.

I find charting, or spreadsheeting, useful for lots of lists - to do lists, tracking birthday party RSVP’s, carpools, chores, and on and on. But the best prescribed (pun intended) spreadsheet I use is the Medical History one.

I keep a record of major medical events for each kid - antibiotics, Xrays/results, and certainly anything that warrants a trip to the ER. For each child, I have a mini medical profile including the following:

-Blood type (& parents’ blood types)

-Prescription Refill Numbers

-Drug allergies

-Doctor names/numbers for easy reference

Then, I keep track of any time the child needs antibiotics. The columns across the top are as follows:

-Date

-Medical Reason (strep, ear infection, etc.)

-Prescription

-Notes (i.e., made stomach jumpy; needed to switch mid-course; etc.)

This has proved invaluable in so many ways and has not only saved me (and our doctors) time, but it has changed the course of which medicine is prescribed, and has been extremely useful in identifying patterns when necessary.

-Quick Summary. First, it gives me a quick summary to show the pediatrician when we need antibiotics, because it shows what worked or didn’t in the past, and also if the kid had an adverse reaction. Doctors in general are rushed today – by going into an appointment organized, you cut the time required for history, ensure you’ve got your details in order, and maximize the time spent on results. (I love the look on a doctor’s face when they’re perusing my spreadsheet. The head nods. They’re focused. And you can tell they appreciate the fact that Aged Domains you’ve saved them time.)

-Track Frequency. …continue reading

Source: FOXBusiness (Original Article)

HOUSTON, TEXAS, May 30, 2008 (Marketwire via COMTEX) —-Share Consolidation and Name Change

Exxel Energy Corp. (TSX VENTURE:EXX) (”Exxel” or the “Company”) announces that
effective today, the Company’s shares will be consolidated on the basis of twenty (20) old shares for one (1) new share (the
“Share Consolidation”). The Share Consolidation was approved by the Company’s shareholders at the Company’s Special General
Meeting held on April 4, 2008. In addition, effective today, the Company’s name will change from “Exxel Energy Corp.” to “XXL
Energy Corp.” (the “Name Change”). The Name Change was previously approved by the Company’s board of directors. The Company
intends to file Articles of Amendment in relation to the Name Change on or about May 30, 2008. Both the Share Consolidation
and the Name Change have been approved by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Immediately prior to the commencement of trading
this morning, the Share Consolidation and Name Change will occur and the Company’s trading symbol will change from “EXX” to
“XL”. Concurrently, the Company’s website address will change from www.exxelenergy.com to www.xxlenergy.com.

Notice
was previously sent to to all warrant and stock option holders describing how the Share Consolidation will affect the number
of shares and the exercise price per share under each holder’s warrants or stock options. No actions, such as the delivery
of warrant certificates or stock option agreements, are required to be taken by holders of warrants or stock options in connection
with the Share Consolidation. The Company also entered into a first supplemental indenture effective May 30, 2008 (the “First
Supplemental Indenture”) to the common share purchase warrant indenture dated August 8, 2007 (the “Warrant Indenture”) between
the Company and Computershare Trust Company of Canada. The First Supplemental Indenture reflects the Name Change and makes
the necessary adjustments Cheap Domains to the exercise price and the …continue reading

Source: CNNMoney.com (Original Article)

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Israeli generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said Friday it launched a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline PLC’s antidepressant Wellbutrin XL in the 150 mg dosage.

Teva began selling the 300 mg version of the drug in December 2006.

According to IMS Health data, Wellbutrin XL 150 mg tablets had U.S. sales of $930 million for the year ended March 31, 2008.

American Depositary Shares American Express Gold Card of Teva rose 33 cents to $45.45 in morning trading. 

Source: Reuters (Original Article)

NEW YORK, May 27 (Reuters) - Security Capital Assurance Ltd
(SCA.N: Quote, Profile, Research), a Bermuda-based bond insurer, on Tuesday said it named
Elizabeth Keys as chief financial officer effective June 1,
replacing David Shea.

Keys, who was previously head of financial planning and
analysis, will report directly to Chief Executive Paul
Giordano, the company said in a statement.

Shea is leaving to pursue other opportunities, but will
remain as an adviser until June 15, SCA said.

SCA, spun off by Bermuda insurer XL Capital Ltd (XL.N: Quote, Profile, Research)
nearly two years ago, has seen its business severely dented by
unrealized mark-to-market losses on financial guarantees
written as credit derivatives.

The company reported a $96.8 million loss in the first
quarter, and has ceased writing new business. The company’s
shares are in danger of being delisted by the New York Stock
Exchange, after falling below a listing American Express Blue Sky threshold.
(Reporting by Lilla Zuill; Editing by Gary Hill)

Source: RTE.ie (Original Article)

Ireland West Airport Knock said its passenger numbers rose by 25% to over 177,000 passengers in the first four months of the year.

Knock airport said the Easter break was the busiest on record with 30,000 passengers travelling through the Co Mayo airport.

New routes to Bristol with Ryanair, London Gatwick with XL.com and Glasgow with BMIbaby have been added in recent months and have been a significant factor in this growth.

Knock expects UK passengers to pass the half a million mark this year, while its overall American Express Credit Card passenger numbers are expected to hit the 700,000 mark.