| Tech companies see benefits of being downtown
When Scott Warzecha and Matt Riley looked for a site for their high-tech firm, they quickly narrowed their search to a five-block stretch in downtown St. Cloud. The St. Cloud businessmen wanted to be as close as possible to a communication switch center on Sixth Avenue, built decades ago by Bell South, to ensure their company has the fastest and most reliable network service. Netgain Technology Inc. is among almost 20 tech companies that have clustered around what is now Qwest's central office. "It's almost a high-tech industrial park," said Tom Moore, president of the St. Cloud Area Economic Development Partnership. This tech cluster — or tech village, as some call it — recently grabbed the attention of local economic development and business leaders.
Weak Institutions At The Root Of Political Crisis
"The problem, even 15 years after the demise of the Soviet Union, is to bring the leading politicians into a situation where they obey the rules of the game, which they obviously don't do," Rahr says. "And second, the problem is the mentality of the elites and the broader population, which also favor leaders and not law." Personality And Politics Following the 2004 Orange Revolution, Ukraine tried to move away from the powerful executives that have been prevalent in the former Soviet Union and build a true parliamentary system. The presidency's powers were trimmed and parliament's were strengthened. At the time, many observers hailed the changes as the revolution's most important legacy. But Yushchenko's decision to dissolve parliament represents the end of this experiment.
Penn Treaty American Files Audited 2005 Financials & Form 10K - Final
OPERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Penn Treaty investor's update conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. Instructions will be given at that time. [OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to our host, Mr. Cameron Waite. Please go ahead. CAMERON WAITE, EVP STRATEGIC OPERATIONS, PENN TREATY AMERICAN CORP: Thank you very much. Welcome, everyone. We are very happy to have you join us this afternoon. I'm here with Bill Hunt, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Mark Cloutier, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin today with Mr. Hunt's remarks and then questions and answers following, I'd like to read a brief forward-looking language statement.
Insider trading accused faces court
A SHARE trader appeared in a Melbourne court today charged with insider trading relating to a West Australian mining company. Peter Woodland, 45, of Frankston, in Melbourne's southeast, is charged with 17 counts of insider trading, and is facing a committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court. He is contesting the charges. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) alleges Mr Woodland traded securities in Kanowna Consolidated Gold Mines, now known as Andean Resources Ltd, on five occasions between November 28 and December 5, 2003. ASIC alleges he had insider knowledge of the company's acquisition of the Cerro Negro gold mining project in Argentina before it was made public on December 10, 2003. After the acquisition was announced to the Australian Stock Exchange, the company's shares closed at 9.1 cents, up 2.5 cents from when it requested a trading halt on December 8, because of concerns information had been leaked about the deal.
Yacht Harbor Construction to Be Started This Autumn in Byala, Bulgaria
10-04-07, 14:13, (Property Xpress) - Because of procedure difficulties and complication of the design, the construction of a yacht harbor Northern to the Bulgarian town of Byala has been ...This article contains 130 words. The rest of this article is for Property Xpress subscribers only. You could sign in from the upper right corner. Not subscriber yet? Start your subscription here. .
Zimbabwe: Best Performing Stock Market in 2007?
CNBC and other stock market tabloids are notorious for making simplistic linkages between the stock market and gross domestic product (GDP). They tell us that any event that stimulates GDP growth inevitably drives stock prices up, and any event that hurts GDP growth pushes stocks down. Since the largest share of GDP is consumption, consumer demand becomes the all-important figure driving growth. When the consumer gets too excited, the Fed must step in to cool them down with interest-rate hikes. When the consumer isn't spending, Fed interest-rate cuts stimulate demand. The tragedy currently occurring in Zimbabwe completely contradicts this sort of logic. Zimbabwe is in the middle of an economic disintegration, with GDP declining for the seventh consecutive year, half what it was in 2000.
Aloca Rises in Late Trading After Reporting Higher 1Q Profit ...
NEW YORK (AP) - Alcoa Inc., the first Dow Jones Industrial Average component to report first-quarter results, rose in late trading Tuesday after posting a higher profit. The Pittsburgh-based aluminum producer's first-quarter profit rose 9 percent as favorable metal prices and strong sales lifted results. Shares of the company gained 61 cents, or 2 percent, to $35.51 in aftermarket electronic trading, from their close at $34.90 on the New York Stock Exchange. .
China paying in euro for Iranian oil
There was this Reuters story published by the International Herald Tribune before Holy Week that China has started to pay for its Iranian oil imports in euro. In a story datelined Beijing, Reuters reports "Iran is pressuring its oil customers to start paying in currencies other than US dollars and many have begun to comply, people in the oil industry here with knowledge of the practice said." According to Reuters, Zhuhai Zhenrong Trading, a Chinese state-run company that is the biggest buyer of Iranian crude oil worldwide, began paying for its oil in euros late last year as Tehran moved to diversify its foreign exchange reserves away from US dollars. "Most of China's purchases have shifted to euro," a Chinese state oil trader told Reuters. Iranian officials have said for months that more than half their customers have switched their payment currency away from the dollar as Tehran attempted to diversify its reserves, but news of the change by Zhenrong is the first outside confirmation.
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