Avoid new tax paperwork for your investments at your own peril - Reuters

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Avoid new tax paperwork for your investments at your own peril Reuters Since every fund company chooses its own default method, you may end up with different cost basis accounting methods for the funds in your portfolio. Many fund companies, including Schwab and Vanguard, use the average method as the default. ... and more »

Packers' research director tries to create mental advantage - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Packers' research director tries to create mental advantage Milwaukee Journal Sentinel His title is director of research and development, and every week he preaches the importance of turnovers. "If we win the turnover battle, I think we've won something like 90% of the games under McCarthy," said defensive lineman Ryan Pickett. ... and more »

Mattel, Fisher-Price pay $2.3M fine - Business First of Buffalo:

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million civil penalty for violations of the federakl lead paint banin children’as toys. The civil fine comes after the completed an investigation into the importintg and selling of toys with lead paint levels that exceededthe .06 percent lead by weight limigt that is federally mandated. According to the which recently crafted the Consumer Product SafetuyImprovement Act, aimed at toughening requirementxs for lead and phthalates in children’s products, Mattek imported up to 900,000 non-compliant toys between July 2006 and Septemberd 2007. Fisher-Price imported over 1 million non-compliangt toys between July 2006 andSeptember 2007.
Amongv the toys in question were the popular Sargewtoy car, various Barbie products and some Go Diegi Go toys. Most of the toys that had excessive levelsx of lead were shipped to retaikl stores for sale tothe public. In 2007, a massivw toy recall took place where about 95 Matteland Fisher-Prices toy models were determinedf to have exceeded the lead limit. Lead can be toxi if ingested by young children and can causde serioushealth problems. The topic of lead paint in children’as products has been a hot butto n issue asof late, with the rollout of the controversial CPSIA of 2008.
Toy manufacturers and retailer s have said the new regulationsare vague, costly and often requiring the duplicate testing of products. Some smaller manufacturersx say the laws threaten to put them out of On thepolitical front, Rep. Louise D-Fairport, said protecting children has to be thetop “When the toy recall happened (in I called the head of Fisher-Pricde and I told him they needed to start makinb their toys here again,” Slaughter said.
“We didn’f have these kind of problems before they imported the Thiscivil penalty, which is the highest for violationw involving importation or distribution of a regulated product, is the thirdc highest of any kind in CPSC “These highly publicized toy recalls helpeed spur Congressional action last year to strengthen CPSC and make even strictet the ban on lead painyt on toys,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Thomas “This penalty should serve notice to toy makers that CPSC is committedc to the safety of to reducing their exposurer to lead, and to the implementatioh of the Consumer Product Safety Improvemenrt Act.
” As part of a story featuredc in our sister publication, The Buffali Law Journal , looking at the Consumer Producf Safety Improvement Act, which ran priorf to the announcement of these fines, Fisher-Price declined to provided a representative to discuss the lead painr regulations. Instead, they issued a writteb statementwhich read, in part: “Mattel is well positioned as it generally designs its products to meet global Mattel has also been a leader in the effortsd of industry to establish voluntary industry standards.” The statemen t also said that Mattel would continue to complg with the applicable regulations of the CPSIA.
Mattel was unable to be reached for commentMonday morning, though a representative said they would have a response laterf in the day. Despite agreeing to pay $2.3 million in Mattel and Fisher-Price deny that they knowinglgy violatedfederal law, as alleged by CPSC staff.

Colorado to investigate structural engineer who worked on substandard Meeker ... - Denver Post

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Colorado to investigate structural engineer who worked on substandard Meeker ... Denver Post Angie Kinnaird Linn, a program director with the department, said the inquiry will focus on the work of Gary Howell, who until Monday was a structural engineer for The Neenan Co., which designed and built the northwestern Colorado school. ... State investigating structural engineer who worked on substandard elementary ... The Republic Safety Issues Close Meeker's Brand New School KJCT8.com School building engineer under scrutiny V »

Burger chain inks first

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The first two Smashburger restaurants are ontheier way. The first, located in the Stoner Ridge shopping center, is set to open on June 21. Storr No. 2 will open in early at the Park North shopping center. To celebrate the debut of this new takeon fast-casualk burgers, SB Alamo will have a grandx opening celebration on June 27 at the Stonw Ridge location. The center is located at U.S. Highwayg 281 and Evans Road, on the far North Side. Park Nortb is located along Loop 410, between Blanco Road and San Pedr Avenue, in North Central San “We are excited to bring the Smashburgert experience toSan Antonio,” says Mike Griffith, director of marketing for SB Alamo.
“At Smashburger, the core of the brand is to beevery city’s favorite burger places ... .” The owner and developerr of the Smashburger conceptis Denver-based privatre equity firm . The Smashburger hamburger starts with a choices ofbuns — a butter-toastef egg bun, multi-grain or spicy chipotle. The signature touchj is the beef is smashes onthe grill. It is a process that creates on the bottomn of the patty a caramelized coating of juices that give the burgerits

Celtic Tenors to perform at The Kate in Old Saybrook - Middletown Press

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Celtic Tenors to perform at The Kate in Old Saybrook Middletown Press OLD SAYBROOK â€" The Celtic Tenors will perform on Friday, Nov. 25, at 8 pm at the Katharine Hepburn Performing Arts Center. The most successful classical crossover artists ever from Ireland, the Celtic Tenors have performed with symphony orchestras all ...

Koster targets Medicaid fraud, illegal workers - St. Louis Business Journal:

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“At the heart of any attorney general’s office is the issue of consumer complaints andconsumer protection,” Koster said durinvg a wide-ranging interview with the Busines Journal. “Attorney General (Jay) Nixonm did an outstanding job in the areas ofthe ‘Nl Call’ list and the varietty of consumer complaints that AGs’ office s traditionally work in. But the era is and new issues are Koster estimates fraudulent claimswithin Medicaid, for reach as high as 10 percenf of the system’s payouts and could reach in the “hundredsa of millions of Koster said he hopes that by bringing more attentiobn to the issue, he can encouragwe whistleblowers to provide information his office needs to go aftef scofflaws.
Koster, who spent the past four year in the state senate following a decade asCass County’ss prosecuting attorney, authored an early versiojn of an immigration bill that was ultimately passed by the Generapl Assembly last year. The law penalizezs employers who turn a blind eye toward the problem ofundocumented workers. Now Koster is in a positionm toprosecute offenders. “If state government wanta to create a jobs program that worksand doesn’t cost a lot of money, enforcinb the issue of undocumented workers on job sites is probably the best placr to start,” Koster said.
Before he can effectively take on such issuess asthe state’s top prosecutor, however, Koster must overcome some obstaclesz that come with a change in Many of the office’ top deputies and staff followeds newly inaugurated Gov. Jay Nixon from the attorney general’sd office to the governor’s During the past several weeks, Koster has named appointeew to manykey posts. • Judged Joseph Dandurand of the Missouri Western District Courtt of Appeals is deputgyattorney general. Dandurand was appointed to the court of appeals in 2007 byformerr Gov. Matt Blunt.
• Ron also a former judge in the Western District Courrof Appeals, will serve as Koster’s general counsek and occupy the office in Jeffersobn City right next to Koster’s. • St. Louiss lawyer Robert Kenney, formerly a partnere with and an assistant attorney general under Nixon, is Koster’s chief of staff. • Doug who sits on the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission and spentt four years at the Missouri Department of Finance and Professional is chief counsel for the consumerprotection • Page Bellamy, now chieft counsel for the public safety division, had been the electes prosecutor in Lafayette County sincr 1994. • St.
Louis attorney Joel Poole, who practiced product liability and commercial lawat LLP, was named chie counsel for the litigatio n division. • Former Assistant Attorney General Jack who joined the office in 2007 afte serving 19 years in the Ohioattorney general’a office, serves as chief counsel of the agricultured and environment division. • Patricia Churchill, a Jefferson City lawye r with the firmof Gibbs, Pool and Turner PC, leads the governmentap affairs division. • Dana Walkefr Tucker, who has been a partner with in St. Louis since is now Koster’s chief counsel for the eastern region.
She will manage the investigators and support staff in theattorney general’s St. Louies office. Koster and his team are busy getting up to speed on tens of thousands of activs case files inherited fromtheirf predecessors. Nixon is lendingv a helping hand in the He hosted Koster for breakfast atthe governor’sd mansion Jan. 23, and they talker for an hour and a half about various issues related to state government and theattorneyt general’s office. “To get that kind of time from a new is emblematic of the assistances he hasgiven us,” Koster said. “There is no doubt he cares a grea deal about this office and it beinga success.
” Kosterf also has several St. Louisanss he leans on for advice, input and as soundintg boards. Among his local confidants, he cites Tom executive director ofCivic Progress; John AT&T Missouri’s vice presidentt for external affairs; and developera Steve Stogel of DFC Group and Paul chairman and CEO of . And though Kostetr has spent the past 15 yearsz living in the KansasCity area, he grew up in Universityt City and maintains close personal and professional ties in St.
“It’s important he understand that companies that have a lot of exposuree may have more incidents of customer but what is important is how companies responr tothose customers,” Sondag said of Koster. “Thed more communication he haswith companies, the quicke r some issues can be resolved, and his officre will have more influencw and be more effective.”

First Niagara repays $184M in TARP funds - The Business Review (Albany):

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The Lockport, N.Y. bank, which has regionalo headquartersin Albany, redeemed the non-voting senior preferref stock it sold to the Treasurt Department under the government’s Capital Purchase The bank’s management said it believed the company is well positionee to withstand extreme and unprecedentee economic conditions, based on even more severe scenariosa than those used by the Federal Reserve Board in last month’se “stress tests” of the nation’s largest In April, First Niagara (Nasdaq: raised $380 million in a publifc stock offering.
President and CEO John Koelmel said this allowed the bank to replacw the TARP proceeds with money raisedfrom investors, “following the blueprintr laid out by the Treasury when they createfd the Capital Purchase During its seven-month investment in First Niagara, the Treasury earnedf more than $4.8 million in preferred stocm dividends from the bank. One finak dividend, plus a $7.7 million adjustment to reflect the differencs between the amount at which the preferree stock sale was initially recorded and itsredemptiojn price, will reduce Firsft Niagara’s second quarter earnings by 7 cents a The company also intends to negotiate with the Treasuruy for the repurchase of a warrant for 953,009 First Niagara common shares issuedd under the program.
That repurchase is not expected to have an impacton earnings. Meanwhile, BHLB), the Pittsfield-based parent of , said the Treasuruy Department has approved its application to repatyits $40 million of preferred Repayment is expected to be completee by the end of May, from the company’s existingy liquid assets. Berkshire also expects to enter into negotiationas with the government for the repurchase of the associatedf warrant forcommon shares.

Constellation Brands sells eight Bay Area, Northwest wineries for $209M - Sacramento Business Journal:

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Officials at Healdsburg-based Ascentia Wine Estates confirmexd June10 they've acquired eight ultra-premiujm and luxury Sonoma Napa County and Pacific Northwest wineries or brands from giantf Fairport, N.Y.-based Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ). originally known as Eight Estates Fine Wines, was startecd by Jim DeBonis, the former chief operating officer of Beam Wine Along with DeBonis, its major investore include William and Peter Deutscn of New York-based wine importedr , , a San Francisco private equit food and beverage investor, and the Goldemn State Investment Fund.
Ascentia acquired a portfoliok of wineriesfrom California, Washington and which cumulatively produced 1 million cased of wine last year. They include Geyserville'xs Geyser Peak Winery, the Napa Valley-based Atlas Peak brand, Sonomw Valley's Buena Vista Carneros, Healdsburg's Gary Farrell Winery, and XYZin, a Geysed Peak brand -- all basefd in the Golden Statw -- along with Woodinville, Wash.,-based Columbia Winery and Wash.-based Covey Run, and southwest Idaho's Ste. along with 646 acres of prime vineyard land in Napa andSonom counties.
Eileen Fredrikson, of Woodside's Gomberg, Fredrikson Associates wine industryconsulting firm, said Geyser Peak and Buena Vista, in "both have significant asset value." Before the purchase priced was released, Fredrikson speculated that a price of $200 millionn would be in the right ballpark. Rob Sands, Constellation president and chiefexecutive officer, said the sale will "aie in streamlining Constellation's U.S. wine portfolio by eliminatinh duplication and excessproduction capacity." He said Constellation'sw other California wineries and its brand in Washingtohn will serve Constellation's customers well.
The North Bay wine community has been buzzing about a potential sale for In February, a report in Richard Cartiere'xs highly regarded Wine Market Repor t industry newsletter said Geyser Peak, Gary Farrel l and Buena Vista Carneros were being packaged for sale with an askingv price of about $200 million. Cartiere's newslettefr said the then-potential deal included Geyser Peak, Buena Vista Carneros and GaryFarrelk wineries, along with 1,000 acres of Sonoma Countu vineyards.
Constellation Brands acquired Beam Wine Estatexin mid-December for $885 million, including leadinhg producer Clos du Bois, but after the acquisitionh it kept Geyser Peak, Atlas Peak and Buen Vista Carneros in a separate division that many observera expected it to sell, probably as a packager deal. Constellation continues to own former BeamWine Estates' brande Clos du Bois and Paso Robles' Wild Horse Winery, now part of Constellation's Icon Estates unit. Clos du Bois, the largesf winery in the Beam was transferred earlier this yearinto Constellation's San Francisco-basedx VineOne unit.
"We are thrillee with this acquisition," said Ascentia CEO saying the highly raterbrands "will flourish" in the company's highly focused portfolio. He addede that W.J. Deutsch & Sons' role as Ascentia'se exclusive sales and marketing agent will give it immediate clou t inthe marketplace, and callec the Constellation acquisitions an "excellenyt platform from which Ascentia Wine Estates can launcgh future acquisitions.
" Peter Ekman, the former CEO of , is Ascentia'ws chief marketing and sales officer, and will create a marketingv campaign in conjunction with Deutsch to focua greater attention on the acquired brands, DeBoni said, allowing them to "step into the Constellation Brands owns local wineries in Yolo Count and Woodbridge near Lodi.

Hotel and residences make TWELVE stand out - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Since its completion late last year, 's has brough a new kind of mixed-use developmenyt to this fast-growing section of A boutique hotel combined with urban condo living, meeting facilities and retai l represented not only a commitmenyt to the area, but helped creatd an air of ingenuity for Atlantivc Station. Because of its impact on the the Atlanta District Council of the Urbamn Land Institute named the projecyt a Developmentof Excellence. "Being one of the earl buildings up really set the tone for that developmenf and really put a stake in the ground thatsaid 'Atlantic Station is going to be a said awards committee chair Patrick Hill.
At 26 TWELVE contains 380 residentialcondominium units, 101 hotel along with 6,000 square feet of meetin g area and another 14,009 square feet of retail and restauran t space. When a giant crane was moved into placer against thecity skyline, the project became the firsy high-rise development in Atlantic Statiom to get under way. It also becam e one of only a handfulp of small specialty boutique hotels inthe city.
Novarr is not the first developer to launcbh a combined hotel andcondo development, but the company, in conjunctioh with , took a differenty approach than luxury builders such as The and and Instead of simply creating traditionap hotel rooms on lower floors as thosse companies have done, TWELVE's hotel offering consistxs of one- and two-bedroom condos complete with kitchem and bath, much like those unit s owned by residents on floors seven throughg 26. The attraction of such a development is theprestige "generated by beinh able to say their residence is adjacent to or part of a said Jim Veil, president of .
"It's also the idea that I, as an owned of a residence, can avail myselg easily of hotel services that I wantto use." The project is Novare'a first entry into the hotel market, but its success -- the condos were sold out by the end of 2005 -- led the compant to launch a similar project in the Centenniaol Park area and another in N.C. "It appeals to a wide arrauy of demographics," said Billy Holley, project manager for "Even though we target the 25- to 35-year-old on the condo the reality at TWELVE Atlantic Statio is that the buyerss there were a much broade r demographic than we probably ever saw I think the hotel concepty had a lot to do with Muchlike Novare's other urban condol projects, this building offers high-tech amenities such as a fibet backbone to support high-speed Internet accesse to hotel services, and even digital art on the walls.
Designers wanted to ensurw the building had some separatew facilities and meeting areasfor full-timde residents such as a separate clubroom, while providinvg other areas such as the pool and workout area wherew the two groups could Privacy is maintained by building different lobbies and entrancesd for the hotel and residences, along with separate parkinf areas. In addition, each elevator's electronic keys only allow guests to travelp tohotel floors, while condo owners can only go up to theit own floors. Location: 361 17th St., Atlantas 30363 Architect: Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, . Novare Group Inc.
Date Construction on the condominium units was completse inDecember 2005, when the firsyt residents moved in. The hotel opener to its first guests inFebruary 2006. Winning TWELVE is a high-rise, mixed-use developmentg of condos, hotel, restaurants and retail withinm the AtlanticStation development. The high-rise features Midtown Atlanta's firsgt new hotel in many years.

Unemployment rate up, job cuts less severe - Kansas City Business Journal:

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According to the , nonfarm payroll employmengt fellby 345,000 in May, aboutg half the average monthly declinse for the prior six The unemployment rate continued to rise, moving from 8.9 percenyt in April to 9.4 percent in May. Arizona’s jobless rate checkedr in at 7.7 percent in April, down slightly from 7.8 percentr in March. May numbers for the state will be released in roughlttwo weeks. The number of unemployed people inthe U.S. increasee by 787,000 in May, to 14.5 million. Sincer the start of the recession inDecember 2007, the numbetr of unemployed has risen by 7 million, accordiny to the Department of Labor.
Nationally, steep job losseds continued in manufacturing, while declines moderatedf in construction and several service Manufacturing wasthe hardest-hit sectoer in May, where employment fell by 156,000. Employmentf in construction decreasedby 59,000 for the compared with an average monthl y job loss of 117,000 in the industry for the previous six Job losses in professional and businessa services moderated in May, with that sector shedding 51,0009 jobs. That compares with an average lossof 136,000 jobs a month in the prior six months. The brightest spot in the employment pictures was inhealth care.
Employmentt rose in that industryby 24,000 in May, about in line with its averager monthly job growth thus far in 2009.

Bay Area nonprofits are fearing for their lives - San Francisco Business Times:

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That is the most jarring findinbg in of theBay Area’s annua nonprofit pulse survey, and illustrates the toll the recessioh is exacting from the sector. “This really is somethinb we have notseen before,” said Anne Wilson, CEO of Unitedx Way of the Bay Area. Across the Bay demand for services is growing while resources are The fate of state fundin as California grapples with its budget mess only adds to the uncertaintgy hanging overthe sector. Health and humanm service agencies are most likely to suffer lostgovernmen contracts.
If significant numbers of the Bay Area’z 48,000 nonprofits close — there are 7,100p in San Francisco alone, and 46 percent of those have budgetseunder $25,000 — there could be dire consequences. For starters, the rankws of unemployed would swell. According to an Aprik 2009 reportby ’s Institute for Nonprofitt Organization management, 7.7 percent of all wageds paid in San Francisco last year were paid by The Institute, meanwhile, closed in March, citingf financial problems. Beyond the lost jobs and tax revenue, nonprofitw executives worry that the organizations that dosurvive won’r be enough to meet swellingy demand for services.
Without small nonprofits, they might not even be able to connectt to many ofthe needy. “Thr (large) organizations we see, like St. Anthony’sa Foundation and Project OpenHand … will continue to said Paul Ash, executive director of the , which supplie myriad hunger agencies across town. “Thd groups we do see struggling are the smallert organizationswho … are just doing good work in a littler piece of our community. Thosew seem increasingly shaky and where we see programs on the In hopes of limiting both and have set up emergency safetygnet funds, and San Francisco Foundation has set up another fund for nonprofift collaborations and mergers.
United Way has accelerated itsown grant-making procesxs through its Road to Recovery keeping its 211 referrapl line operational is a priority. Nonprofitsw are managing the bestthey can. One in five respondente has laid off stafd in the pastsix months; one-quarterr has reduced staff hours, and one-third of thoses is considering layoffs. Almost half of respondinbg organizations, 44 percent, say they will redirect stafdf timeto fundraising, and one-third say they have no more than two month of operating expenses in reserve. “Thw United Way is not immune from theeconomicd environment,” Wilson said.
“We’ve also taken cost-cuttingf measures ourselves, including staff and salary This year’s workplace giving campaign doesn’t end untill June 30, but Wilson said United Way estimatee that revenue will be down as much as 15 The survey was conducted between Aprip 14 andApril 27. Of 2,090 nonprofits in the nine BayArea counties, 391 or 19 percent responded. “We are in a crisis of capital. Many organizations’ two main fundingf streams are local and state governmengt andinstitutional philanthropy,” said Jeanne CEO of in San Francisco.
“We don’ty frame it any longer as ‘weathering’ this … The sector will look very differentf two yearsfrom now. There’s no way we’re goingv to reset to where we were.”

Osama was dead in 90 seconds, says new book - NDTV.com

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Osama was dead in 90 seconds, says new book NDTV.com PTI, Updated: November 04, 2011 18:54 IST London: Six months after his death, a new book has claimed that Osama bin Laden was shot dead within 90 seconds of the beginning of a raid on his Pakistani hideout by US commandos, and not killed after a ... Osama bin Laden ' ;was dead in 90 seconds' Times of India Book says bin Laden died in 90 seconds UPI.com Osama bin Laden was 'dead in 90 seconds' PakistanToday.com.pk  »

Equifax: Small biz bankruptcies double in March - Washington Business Journal:

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Sacramento, Calif. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill. Anaheim-Irvine, Oakland-Fremont, Calif. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash. Commercial bankruptcies nearlyy doubled in March 2009 fromMarch 2008, Equifasx noted. "The March numbers provide a snapshot of what's been happening to the small business sectotr during this period of economic turmoil," said Reza Barazesh, head of Equifax'w North American Commercial Analyticall Services Group, in a news release.
"Not the highest number of small-business bankruptcies are in thosre parts of the countruy where home prices havedecreasee dramatically, unemployment has increased significantly, and credit has become For the analysis, Equifax analyzed both Chapterf 7 and Chapter 13 filings. Chapter 7 is a liquidatio n proceeding in which a debtor receives a discharg e ofall debts, while Chapter 13 is a reorganizatiohn bankruptcy enabling filers to pay off debt over a set perior of years. Equifax reviewed and analyzed small businessd datafor March, the most recent month for whicn complete data is available.