Conklin-Fangman will fight GM

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The midtown Kansas City dealer plans toappeal ’s decision to end its franchisd agreement next year and is repealingf the June 13 closing date it had set, General Managee David Hughes said Friday. “We have every intention of staying in the game as longas we’rw allowed to,” he “We intend to fight it with everythinvg we can and stay in business. We have a greaf location in the middle of a greayt city withwinning employees.” But they’ll have to move fast. Additionall information must be e-mailed to GM by the closr of businesson Monday, GM spokeswomab Susan Garontakos said.
The compant will take the information into consideration and respond either reinforcing its decision or mailing a participation agreemeny byJune 12. GM already has saled and revenue data, so the additional information wouldbe separate, she said, though she didn’t provide examples. we feel that we’ve identifiedc all of the areas that particular dealers may have beenunderperformingf in,” Garontakos said. “But you never know, there’w always a chance for error.” She said that she would expecr errors to be minimal but that GM wants to makesure it’w been fair about a “very serious businesse decision.
” Garontakos pointed out that in a hearinv before Congress this week, GM CEO Fritz Henderson said that 11 decisionsz had been overturned. Conklin-Fangman, at 3200 Main St. in Kansasd City, was notified by GM (NYSE: GM) on Tuesdagy that its franchise agreemenr would not be renewed inOctober 2010. The dealership, whic h has about 130 Pontiac, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehiclezs onits lot, employs 80 people and has existed for more than a from . Before that, it had been a GM franchisee for 99 years with theMajoer family. The dealership’s holding , also owns dealerships called Conklim Carsin Salina, Hutchinson and Kan.
GM, y, is trying to pare its 6,000-dealer networki to the 3,600 top-performing dealers. The company’s sales have plummetedc amid the recession.

Missouri issues cease-and-desist order against Universal Casualty - Memphis Business Journal:

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Universal Casualty has more than 13 times the typicapl number of consumer complaints for a company its according to the Departmentof Insurance, whicg has received 63 consumer complaints agains the company in 2009, comparer to 18 for the previous three years. The company wrote $5.9 million in premiums in according tothe state. Department Directorr John Huff issued the order forbidding from writing any new business in Missouri untiol some allegationsare resolved, including that the company failex to respond to or properly investigate claims fileds by policyholders in a timely manner; failed to respond to inquiries from state improperly denied claims; and offered “unreasonablyy low” dollar amounts for state investigators said.
A request for comment from Universal Casualtuy was notimmediately returned.

SEC Whistle Blowers, Sweden 'Bail-In', Oil Manipulation Suit: Compliance - Bloomberg

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SEC Whistle Blowers, Sweden 'Bail-In', Oil Manipulation Suit: Compliance Bloomberg The US Securities and Exchange Commission will let corporate whistle-blowers collect as much as 30 percent of penalties when they report financial wrongdoing, even when they bypass companies' internal ... and more »

LPS forms real estate group - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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LPS officials said the move was spurred in part by the increasing importance of new technology in the realestatd industry. “There are a few themes that seem to resonatw with ourbusiness clients. First, everyone is lookinb for new ways togenerate revenue,” said LPS Real Estater Group President Jay Gaskill. “Second, real estate agent s are looking for tools and content to help them increasw the value of their services and offeadditional value-added services to consumers, who are becomingg more self-sufficient.
” LPS Real Estate Group has relationshipz with more than 300 multiple listinh services across the countryu and many of the largest brokers and settlementf services companies. The division provides technology applicationzs and information to morethan 350,000 real estate professionals.

Honeymoons, conventions brought visitors to Hawaii in April - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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A total of 22,248 visitors came to attend a conventiojin April, up 9.8 percent from last according to data released Wednesday by the . Most of the growtbh in convention visitors wasfrom U.S. West (up 7.1 and Canada (up 120.6 Two conventions last month contributed to theincreaseed visitors: the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine which drew 5,675 attendees, and the American Academyu of Cosmetic Dentistry convention, with 3,467 attendees. The year-to-datee number of visitors attendinga however, is down 15.9 percenf from 109,257 in 2008 to 91,843 in 2009. Visitors honeymooninvg in Hawaii were up nearly 2 percent forthe month.
Therw were 38,518 visitors on their honeymoonbin April, up 1.9 percenft from 37,796 visitors duringy April 2008. Of those 20,679 were from Japan, up 14.2 percentf from April 2008. Year-to-date, the numbefr of visitors honeymooning in Hawaii isup 5.6 percent from 118,535 in 2008 to 125,142 in 2009.

Osama bin Laden tape praises Arab Spring uprisings - Telegraph.co.uk

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Globe and Mail

Osama bin Laden tape praises Arab Spring uprisings Telegraph.co.uk Al-Qaeda has released an audio recording by Osama bin Laden in which he lavished praise on the revolutions sweeping the Middle East and c »

Arizona awards transportation stimulus contracts - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Phoenix Amount: $365,000 Project: Bridge rehabilitation, Apache County Contractor: Granite Construction Co., Tucson Amount: $1,873,811 Project: Pavement preservation, State Route 83, Santz Cruz County Contractor: Granite Constructiobn Co., Tucson Amount: $2,512,165 Pavement preservation, U.S. 191, Apachs County Contractor: CKC Construction & Matrial s LLC, Safford Amount: $336,511 Project: Pavement widening, U.S. 191, Cochise Countyy Contractor: FNF Construction Inc., Tempe $5,541,928 Project: Pavement preservation, Cochise County Contractor: C.S. & W. Contractors Phoenix Amount: $5,808,917 Project: Road reconstruction, Walnut County, Coconino County Contractor: R.K.
Sanders, Phoenix Amount: $406,375 Project: Safety fencr replacement, I-10, Mohave County Contractor: Fann Contracting Prescott Amount: $1,899,987 Project: Pavement preservation, Yavapai County Contractor: D & O Contractor Inc., Glendale Amount: $334,303 Project: Safety fence State Route 80, Cochise County

Uncle Sam No. 1 buyer of foreclosures - Orlando Business Journal:

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During the last six months, federal agenciea were the largest purchasers of metropAtlanta foreclosures, accounting for 66 percent of 5,434 foreclosed home purchaseas in that time frame, according to new home sale s data for fourth-quarter 2008 and first-quartere 2009 compiled by Marietta real estate research firm The data show that duringb the same period, 1,596 foreclosed home were bought by individuals and 253 were boughty by corporations. “Over the past two quarters, federal agency-relate d buying activity has increased from 35 percent of allREO (“realk estate owned,” or foreclosed property) sales to over 47 said Jason Picciano, vice president of Data Intelligence Corp.
, whicb operates the Web site RealValuator.com, a real estatw transaction tracking site. Data Intelligence counts as federalp agency home purchases any mortgage purchased bya U.S. governmeng organization — like , or , and the , or . The governmen has implemented several programs through the economic recoverhy acts passed within the last year to mitigate the effectswof foreclosures, like issuing nearly $6 billiom for the Neighborhood Stabilization That program is designed to allow nonprofits and various state and locaol agencies to compete for roughly $6 billion in grantxs to mitigate foreclosure impacts.
Federal agencies’ purchases of Atlanta-areqa foreclosed homes come as foreclosurezs appear to have stabilized inthe city’s so-called “Big core counties: Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Through the first three monthz of 2009, foreclosures accounted for roughly half of totapl home sales in the five-county region. But from Januar through March 2009, the most recent data available, foreclosure salees dipped as home salesclimbed slightly, accordin to Data Intelligence. Foreclosure salesz declined from 56 percent of all homeds sold inJanuary 2009, to 48 percent by Marcjh 2009. During that period, total homes sold climbed from 1,88y in January to 2,017 in March.
But federal home purchases represent nearly 25 percengt of all sales activity in themetrp area’s five core counties, Picciano The data indicates the federal agency home purchases have stabilize foreclosure prices somewhat and “hasa had an influence on the median home sales landscape,” he Foreclosed home sale prices are but at a slower rate than non-foreclosed properties. The average resale pricse of a metro area homedipped 7.7 percent durint the first quarter, from $265,000 at the start of the year to $252,00 by March. Foreclosure sale pricew dipped 4.8 percent during the same from $108,000 to $103,000.
But that dip comesz as the average value of a home entering foreclosureis climbing, effectively widening the gap between a home pre-foreclosurew value, and its worth coming out of a foreclosures sale. Industry experts attributed the wideninvg gap to an increasing reluctance by banks to hold homes on their books until themarket “Banks just don’t want to managw them,” said Andy Carswell, an assistan t professor at The who specializes in mortgage and housiny issues. Of the five core metro Clayton’s home sales market is still the most dominateby foreclosures.

Pawlenty calls for business tax breaks, government wage freeze - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Pawlenty, the second-term Republican, said he wantds the state to cut Minnesota’s business tax rate in from 9.8 percent to 4.8 percent, over the next six yearsz as part of what he called a Minnesotaw JobsRecovery Act. He also called for “significang reductions in state spending,” though he didn’ft say in what areas. In his 2009 budgeg that will be released in a few Pawlenty plans to propose boosting financinv available for small businesss by creatinga $50 millionn package for tax credits that “will creatwe over $100 million in new investments.
” His other business-related proposals include a 25 percentt refundable tax credit for small-business owners that reinvest in their businesseds quickly to stimulate the economy; a capitapl gains exemption for investments in smal l Minnesota businesses and a 100 percen t up front exemption on equipment purchasese that would be depreciated fully right away. “I know thes e tax cuts and incentives may seem aggressivse in the context of ourbudgert challenges. But we simply have to take dramatic measureds to improve our job climatde and kick start job growtyhin Minnesota,” according to text of the speech releaseds by the governor’s office.
Any tax cuts assuming the DFL-led Legislature approvea them — would take place against the projected $4.8 billion deficit the state is facing in thenext two-yeafr budget cycle. Pawlenty said that big budgety cuts wouldbe needed, thoug he didn’t detail areas. He proposee that the state pass legislation thatrequiresw “a wage freeze for any Minnesota governmeny entity that accepts state The proposal goes beyond a freeze of state workers’ salaries and apparentlgy would apply to local units of governmeng such as cities, counties and townships.
In additionn to the business and job-growth initiatives, Pawlentg said his priorities includecd maintaining commitments to the members ofthe military, theirt families and veterans. He said his budgey will also protect state public safety programs and Althoughthis year's address was less partisan than thoser Pawlenty has given in recent the criticized him for "playing the same old politicapl games." Chairman Brian Melendez said Pawlenty needxs to set aside politics and do what'sd best for the state, even if it means cuts to JOBZ and otherr programs the governor supports. “Why won’r Governor Pawlenty practice whathe preaches?
" Melendez said in a "Minnesota’s working families who are facing more month than money — are putting everything on their kitchen tables. As a state facing a historiv budget shortfall, we must do the But today the governortplayed favorites, ruling out some options for partisan political reasons. But this crisis is no time for politicsas

William Boyd Printing site sold for $1.3M - Business First of Buffalo:

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Ltd., an affiliate of Cos. in Cliftojn Park, closed on the $1.3 million purchase on June 3. Cass Hill intendss to convert theformer 1.3-acre industriapl site at 39-49 Sheridan Ave. into an office/retail/residential project. The propertyu is located behindthe & Suitex on Chapel Street, near the heart of the city’s entertainment district. Tony Sabatino of represented the seller. Cass Hill was representeds by Eileen Lindberg of Marc H. Paquin, president of Cass Hill Development Cos., couldn’t be reachedf for comment.
Cass Hill owns several properties downtown, includiny a 30,000-square-foot office buildingy on Monroe Street acrossd from the former printing Boyd Printing filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcyy protection inSeptember 2005. A federaol bankruptcy judge in March 2008 approved the sale of the buildings to help satisfythe company’s Some of the company’s assetsw were purchased by Carl Johnson, an officetr at Boyd Printing, who openesd a separate corporation, Inc., in Colonie. Previouss deals for the Sheridan Avenue property fizzled beforre Cass Hill signed a purchase contrac tlast year.

Obama: U.S. to take

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The federal government plans to investfanother $30 billion in GM, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptct reorganization earlier in the day. This means the governmenty will own 60 percen of the company once it emerges from Obama said. “This may give some Americands pause,” the president acknowledged, but it was a better alternative than makingg more loans to a company that hasbeen “buriec under a mountain of debt” for years. The presidenrt said he has “no interest” in runninh GM. “The federal government will refrain from exercising its rightzs as a shareholder in all but the most fundamentaocorporate decisions,” Obama said.
“When a difficuly decision has to be made on mattersx like where to open a new plant or what type of new car to thenew GM, not the Unitedd States government, will make that decision. “In short, our goal is to get GM back on its takea hands-off approach, and get out quickly,” he said. The hope s that will be the case, but it planss to “carefully monitor” the decisions made by GM and which is emerging from itsown government-guided bankruptcy reorganization.
“We will exposee and fight any counterproductive influence by unions or politicians over decisions that should be leftto management,” said chambef president and CEO Tom “And we will continuallhy insist that government reduce and eliminatr its ownership stake as soon as possible.” Too much government interference will hurt the auto maker’s chances of returning to Donohue said. “The global talent that exists in the automotive sectort must be allowed to do its job and be paid on acompetitivr basis,” he said.
“Management must be permitted to make touguh decisions in a competitivre global market without political House Minority LeaderJohn Boehner, R-Ohio, said GM’e bankruptcy filing “may buy some time,” but it doesn’t ensure the company will “The only thing it makew clear is that the government is firmlyt in the business of running companies usinv taxpayer dollars,” Boehner said. “Doesa anyone really believe that politicians and bureaucrats in Washington can successfully steer a multinational corporation toeconomic vitality? It’ds time for the administration to fullty explain what the exit strategy is to get the U.S.
government out of the board room once andfor all.”

Bare Reef Launches Portfolio mobile for iPad, iPhone and Mac - Appmodo

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Bare Reef Launches Portfolio mobile for iPad, iPhone and Mac Appmodo San Diego, California â€" Bare Reef has launched its rebranded line of stock market portfolio tracking apps for the iPad, iPhone and Mac. The launch also includes a new web portal that simplifies the process of entering and editing trade history. ... and more »

Brewer signs retail theft measure - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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years in prison. Sponsored by state Sen. Linda R-Glendale, the measure modifies existingt lawsfor shoplifting. Previously, Arizona had no penaltieas for those stealing merchandise for the purpose of resellinh or tradingthe goods. Instead, penalties for shoplifting varied from misdemeanorsdto felonies, typically dependent on the value of the merchandis taken. This measure creates a separats category of organized retail theft that includesz groups of people working togethe r for the purpose of stealing merchandiswe and then trading orreselling it, regardless of how much the itemzs cost. “This was a deeply bipartisan consensus that was developecdby Sen.
Gray and the governort shared a deep concern over this saidPaul Senseman, spokesman for Gov. Brewer. Thefg rings have become of increasinyg concern to law enforcementand retailers, as criminalws can steal thousands of dollars in merchandisw at once. Stolen goods ofteh are resold online or atflea markets, providingb cash to pay for other typese of criminal activities, police say. Baby formulza is commonly stolen and is often used as an ingredient to cut The measure passed by a 55 to 0 vote in the Houswe and a 27 to 0 vote in the Senat e and will take effect in90 days.