Rantoul's population has continued to decline
Jerry Zachary remembers being in awe of the huge crowds that filled the Rantoul Township High School gym when he played for the Eagles in the 1950s.
"We packed the gym for every game," remembers Zachary, who's now superintendent of Ludlow grade school. "It was a great feeling playing before 1,600 people.
.BT criticised by Court for failing customers
British Telecom faced heavy criticism by a London Judge today (25/04/2007) for failing its customers and not responding efficiently enough when it had power to do so. In a terse judgment, BT were ordered to pay costs to Capital Fortune Mortgage Advisers and the national telecoms provider were held to be in clear breach of contract. The battle began some 10 days ago when incompetent BT engineers mistakenly cut off the award winning www.capitalfortune.com' target='_blank'>Mortgage Brokers Internet connection at its London based service centre. The action caused the loss of thousands of pounds and left homeowners across the capital unable to complete their mortgages. There were fears that BTs actions could push the Company to the brink of bankruptcy threatening legal action and costs if the London mortgage brokers did not back down.
Payless hopes Tailwind line of shoes pushes it to victory
Payless ShoeSource Inc. has paired with a subsidiary of Nike Inc. to market a high-performance $34.99 running sneaker, a move that both companies hope will tap a lucrative market.
Under the terms of the multiyear deal, Exeter Brands Group LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nike, will design and produce the shoes under the Tailwind collection, while Topeka-based Payless will serve as the exclusive retailer.
Marshal Cohen, chief analyst at NPD Group Inc., a Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research company, said that the Tailwind shoe will break new ground in the $3.5 billion mass-market athletic shoe industry because of the footwear's technology.
"This takes the low end to a new extreme," said Cohen, who noted that what is being offered in the high-performance athletic footwear sold at mass chains is not high-tech.
Chinese plant rolls out first MG
Nanjing Automobile, which bought the MG brand in July 2005, has rolled out the first Chinese-built MG sports cars from its production line in the eastern city of Nanjing.
These are the MG7 saloon and the MG-TF sports car, which, Nanajing officials say would be priced between $23,300 (approximately Rs10 lakh) and $51,700.
According to reports, the models are a replica of the British version and even sport the Union flag on their bodywork. The Chinese company has retained the acronym of the popular auto brand, MG, marketing it in China as "modern gentleman".
Nanjing Auto, which had acquired the bankrupt MG Rover's models and assets for £53 million in 2005, outbidding China's biggest carmaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), built a massive new factory and installed robots and assembly lines it bought from MG Rover within six month.
3 Questions to Ask Before Selling
Here's a mystery straight from the "odd things that investors do" vault: Why do investors continue to follow a stock's performance after they've already sold it? If price gyrations in the stock have no impact on a portfolio, why bother?
Good question. In my case, I sometimes watch a stock much more closely after it has no part in my portfolio than I did when I actually owned it.
Why? Because I want to feel good about my sell decision. I want to know that I made the right choice. A stock that tanks after I sell crowns me as a market seer, and one that shoots higher goes in the "just kick me" file.
Aside from my own delusions, though, I've learned that my post-sale paranoia is evidence that I sold a stock with more emotion than reason. If I were selling for the right reasons, I'd show much more confidence in the decision and have little need to validate the choice.
Rants, raves and random thoughts 03 12 2007
Greetings, one and all, and welcome! Thanks much for joining me. As has been the case for about as long as I can remember, there's plenty of mail to consider. One quick thought from Your Humble Narrator (that's me) and we'll check it out. Rants, raves and random thoughts 03 12 2007 Kevin L. Green Greetings, one and all, and welcome! Thanks much for joining me. As has been the case for about as long as I can remember, there's plenty of mail to consider. One quick thought from Your Humble Narrator (that's me) and we'll check it out.
.Are these stocks in your portfolio?
Jigar Shah of KR Choksey Securities gives some of his value picks in mid and smallcap stocks that he feels could outperform the broader market over the next 6-12 months.
Jigar Shah of KR Choksey Securities picks Sundram Fasteners, 3i Infotech and Sterlite Optical among stocks
Excerpts from CNBC TV18s exclusive interview with Jigar Shah:
Q: Couple of stocks that you like, the first is Sundram Fasteners, what is the business rationale behind it?
A: Sundram Fasteners is one of the top fastener companies in the world with global presence at many locations including China and is likely to get the biggest advantage of the outsourcing of the auto components from India.
The company has taken lot of steps to basically de-risk itself and get into several other auto components as well.
Barricade erected on Hwy 17 in Garden River, car hits it
GARDEN RIVER FIRST NATION - Sault Ste. Marie OPP and Anishinabek Police Service were called to the 300 area of Highway 17 in Garden River this morning. At about 2 a.m officers were called to that area of the highway after a report of a large number of people, possibly under the influence, on and alongside the highway. Officers discovered that a large number of teens had left a party and were congregating alongside the roadway. Two teens were charged with being intoxicated in a public place and the others were asked to make their way home. The two charged people were given transportation to their respective residences. Shortly after the officers left the area with the two drunks, the remainder of the group pulled smaller logs onto the roadway. As the group made their way down the highway they took the plywood garbage boxes at the end of driveways and also put the garbage boxes on the roadway.
San Diego to refinance ballpark bonds
SAN DIEGO - A deal has been reached to refinance the bonds used to build downtown San Diego's ballpark that will save the city about $93 million over the next 25 years, it was announced Tuesday.The $156.6 million bond issuance with Bank of America N.A. will save the city about $3.7 million annually over the 25-year financing schedule, according to Mayor Jerry Sanders' office.
San Diego will pay back the bonds at a fixed rate of 4.8 percent, compared to the 7.5 percent previously being charged the city.
.Growing US home loan defaults could be contagious
Pretoria - The increase in home loan defaults in the US could affect the South African housing market and economy, Standard Bank warned in its latest residential property gauge yesterday. It said slower US growth might hamper local exports and commodity prices, which in turn might slow house prices through reduced economic and income growth. In addition, there may be contagion to global housing markets to the extent that investors regard residential property as a single asset class and equity prices may soften if the mortgage lenders and buyers of their securitised assets experienced a further deterioration in their earnings and loss experiences. However, the bank said in the final analysis the fallout in the US subprime mortgage loan market "as it has occurred so far" had little effect on local house prices.
GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing - Grand Prix Of Miami Review
VICTORIOUS! Round two of the 2007 Grand Am Series, the Mexico City 400k will be remembered as the most important race in the teams history. Gurney and Fogarty scored the teams long-awaited maiden victory, bringing home the win in one of the most thrilling finishes in Grand-Am history.
OFF TO A STRONG START: Bob Stallings and his GAINSCO team have one goal in mind: they are committed to winning the 2007 Grand Am Championship. Theyre off to a strong start, since Alex Gurney shattered the Daytona track record, scoring the pole position for the 2007 Rolex 24 and he and his teammate followed that up with their first victory at Mexico City. The team jumped from 22nd to sixth in the championship point standings.
HOME RUN FOR GAINSCO: GAINSCO Auto Insurance is one of the fastest growing auto insurers in the country, and Miami is a leading market for the Dallas, Texas-based company.
Philippine Condotel Properties being snap up by agile UK ...
"Rents which we thought we would get in two years we're getting now," said Beth Collingz, a managing director in Metro Manila of the Condotel Marketing arm of PLC Global Pinoy, the International marketing partner of Pacific Concord Properties Lancaster Brand of Condo Hotels in the Philippines.
Collingz expects rental income to rise 15 percent in the coming 12 months after gains of as much as 30 percent since January 2006, when Pacific Concord Properties Inc are set to launch Condo Hotel operations of their flagship Lancaster Suites located in the Ortigas business district in Metro Manila.
UK Private equity units of banks and investment clubs, driven in part by the current strength of the Pound Sterling in international trading, are being attracted by returns in the Philippines as much as double those in the United States and Europe, are purchasing significant blocks of real estate for investment trusts for Asian commercial property.
AMB Generali, BMW, Deutsche Boerse, Thiel: German Stock Preview
March 14 (Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall in German markets today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after the company names and prices are from the Xetra close today unless otherwise stated.
DAX futures expiring in March tumbled 103.50, or 1.6 percent, 6527.50 as of 8:17 a.m. in Frankfurt. The DAX declined 91.5, or 1.4 percent, to 6623.99 on the Xetra electronic-trading system yesterday.
AMB Generali Holding AG (AMB2 GY): Germany's fourth-biggest insurer will present fourth-quarter and 2006 earnings. Chief Executive Officer Walter Thiessen said in a Feb. 6 newspaper interview that premium income rose 4.7 percent last year. The shares lost 22 cents, or 0.2 percent, to 113.51 euros.
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW GY): The world's largest maker of luxury cars will release its 2006 annual report.
Car buying not on the agenda (for some)?
Latest findings from the Sainsbury's Bank Car Buying Index, which tracks (on a six-monthly basis) the number of people planning to purchase a car, indicates a decrease in those planning to buy a car. The research suggests that 7.65 million people intend buying a car between March 2007 and August 2007, a decrease of 430,000 people from the previous index, which covered the period September 2006 to February 2007. Expectations are that 53.2 billion will be spent on purchasing cars within the next six months, 16.2 billion less than the previous six months stated in the previous index.
Steven Baillie, loans manager, Sainsbury's Bank, makes the point that for the first time in two years there has been a fall in the total anticipated spend on new cars. He adds that over the past four years, since the bank started the car buying index, there have been occasional dips in planned spend on cars, but this fall by 16.2 billion represents by far the biggest drop witnessed to date.
Proper running shoe is crucial for success, comfort
If you're bewildered by racks of athletic shoes lining store walls, it's not surprising. But the right shoe is a must for those training for marathons or playing a sport, running or just walking for exercise.
"If you have a shoe that fits improperly or is worn out, you put yourself at risk for fatigue-type injuries," says Dr. Michael Shea, orthopedic surgeon at Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital.
.
NSE index, capitalisation drop by 0.8%
The performance indicators of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the All-share index and market capitalisation, both dropped, last week, by 0.8 per cent each. The index, which opened at 47,422.51 points, closed at 47,059.63 points, while market capitalisation closed at 6.73 trillion from N6.6.79 trillion at which it opened the week.
Okomu Oil Palm Plc recorded the highest share price loss for the week under review, dropping by N16.97 to close at N35.28 per share from N52.25 per share at which it opened, followed by Total Nigeria Plc with a loss of N12.97 to close at N171.00 per share and Chevron Oil Nigeria Plc depreciated by N11.40 to close at N159.60 per share.
Other share price losers include: Guinness Nigeria Plc N6.99, Cappa & D'Alberto Plc N4.08, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc N3.96, Cadbury Nigeria Plc N3.80, GT Bank Plc N3.61, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated N3.00, May & Baker Nigeria Plc N3.00 among others.
Yen Falls Versus Euro, Dollar on Increased Appetite for Risk
March 15 (Bloomberg) -- The yen fell against the euro and the dollar on speculation investors resumed borrowing in the Japanese currency to invest in higher-yielding countries.
The yen dropped against all of the 16 most active currencies including the Australian and New Zealand dollars on expectations investors will resume what is known as the carry trade. U.S. stocks advanced for a second straight day.
``Equities are the leading indicator of investors' risk appetite right now and their willingness to re-establish the carry trade,'' said C.J. Gavsie, managing director for foreign- exchange trading in Toronto at BMO Capital Markets.
The yen fell 0.53 percent to 155.64 per euro and dropped 0.40 percent to 117.56 per dollar at 4:49 p.m. in New York.
KU's Collins escapes Chicago's mean streets
CHICAGO | Some say Sherron Collins' neighborhood is getting safer, but a few weeks ago, on North Leavitt Street, a girl was stabbed in the temple with a scalpel.
Happened just down the sidewalk from the Chicago Boys and Girls Club, where tonight members of the Kings and Deuces linger on the porch, smoking cigarettes while rehashing the gang fight that erupted a short time ago in the gymnasium.
"You missed it by 10 minutes," says program coordinator Nick Sanchez, still somewhat out of breath from breaking up the fracas. "This one was pretty bad."
A block away, on the corner of Damen and Diversey, a middle-aged man paces back and forth, almost to a cadence, never taking more than three steps before reversing his course. He's babbling to himself and flailing his arms in unpredictable directions, a sign that he may be on crack.
Need car insurance? Check out some ways to save money before ...
My insurance agent called me today and said my policy was up for renewal. She wanted to update my contact information and see if there were any discounts available on my policy. The call was from my agent, who happens to be in the family, and she actually cares to see me save money. However, some insurance agents might not be so kind, as your insurance premium usually impacts their commission rate. The tips she provided me might not work with every insurance company, and each discount rate varies, but knowing your options always helps. Before you actually get a car, check the insurance rate. Many people believe that insurance for giant gas guzzling SUVs are expensive and that an old Yugo would be cheaper. Some companies increase the liability based on the damage they could inflict on a car, how often they are stolen, and how much damage the car can withstand in an accident.
Catch 22 dilemma for hybrid cars: aggressive price vs high volume
LONDON: Battery makers and suppliers of other key parts for hybrid, energy-saving vehicles have one overriding question: when will the market be big enough to justify their costs?
A hybrid vehicle, which combines an internal combustion engine and an electric motor powered by batteries that can recapture energy normally lost, costs $4,500 to $6,000 more to build than a conventional vehicle, a recent report by the Sanford C Bernstein investment management firm said.
The upfront cost and load capacity are the main challenges for hybrids due to the expensive electrical motor and battery.
"It is a chicken-and-egg problem – the car makers say to us we want an aggressive price from the beginning and we say to them we can give them an aggressive price when we have the volume," Franck Cecchi, chief operation officer of battery maker Johnson Controls-Saft, said.
Man ShoeThe apparent confessions of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to planning the September 11 attacks were today met with shock and scepticism in almost equal measure.
The alleged No 3 in al-Qaida has long been suspected of being the mastermind behind the 2001 attacks in America but, if true, Mr Mohammed's most recent admissions would confirm his as a man the US has described as "one of history's most infamous terrorists".
Mr Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and spent time in secret CIA prisons before being moved with 13 others to a maximum security compound at Guantnamo Bay last year.
His list of confessions, in which he places himself at the centre of al-Qaida plots spanning a decade, are contained in the transcript of a tribunal held behind closed doors at the Cuban camp.basketball nike presented shoes
