Business

April 20, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - NASA has modified its contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. of Littleton, Colo., to design, test and build the Orion crew exploration vehicle.

The updated contract contains three significant changes. Two years have been added to the design phase. Two test flights of Orion's launch abort system have been added. And production of a pressurized cargo carrier for the International Space Station has been deleted from the initial design phase.    » read more »

April 20, 2007 -- EDWARDS, Calif. - NASA has awarded a contract to The Boeing Company, St. Louis, for engineering and technical support of several specialized research aircraft at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.

The sole-source, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract may be worth up to $28 million during its five-year performance period now through April 2012.    » read more »

April 20, 2007 -- BOSTON – Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today that California-based Dey, Inc., a manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals, has paid the Commonwealth of Massachusetts $2.9 million to settle litigation pending in the Federal District Court in Boston. The Commonwealth sued Dey for allegedly inflating the "wholesale acquisition cost" (WAC) it reported to national price reporting services.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- March 7, 2007 -- More than 200 business leaders, policymakers, and members of the nonprofit community met at the National Press Club today to discuss how investments in children can improve America's workforce and future economic standing in the global community.

The Partnership for America's Economic Success, a consortium of economists, philanthropists and business leaders, convened the annual Building the Economic Case for Investments in Children conference to assess the emerging evidence on the economic impact of investments in children and to discuss business involvement in disseminating this information across the country. The Partnership is managed and partially funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

The conference is also supported by the Committee for Economic Development (CED), and The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC).    » read more »

DALLAS, TX - 02.27.07 - TXU Corp. (NYSE: TXU) today reported consolidated results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2006.

* TXU reported net income available to common shareholders of $475 million, $1.03 per share, in the fourth quarter 2006 compared to $356 million, $0.74 per share, in the fourth quarter 2005.
* Operational earnings, which exclude special items and income or losses not related to continuing operations were $556 million, $1.20 per share, in the fourth quarter 2006 compared to $427 million, $0.88 per share, in the fourth quarter 2005.
* For the full year 2006, TXU reported net income available to common shareholders of $2,552 million, $5.46 per share, compared to $1,712 million, $2.50 per share, for full year 2005.
* Full year 2006 operational earnings were $2,592 million, $5.55 per share, compared to $1,628 million, $3.35 per share, for full year 2005.

Source: TXU

DALLAS, TX - 02.26.07 -- TXU Corp. (NYSE: TXU), a Dallas-based energy company, together with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Texas Pacific Group (TPG), two of the nation’s leading private equity firms, and Goldman Sachs & Co., a leading global investment bank, announced today the execution of a definitive merger agreement under which an investor group led by KKR and TPG will acquire TXU in a transaction valued at $45 billion. GS Capital Partners, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley intend to be equity investors at closing. Under the terms of the merger agreement, shareholders will be offered $69.25 per share at closing, which represents a 25 percent premium to the average closing share price over the 20 days ending February 22, 2007.

As a result of this transaction, the newly privatized company will deliver price cuts and price protection benefits to electric customers, strengthen environmental policies, make significant investments in alternative energy and institute corporate policies tied to climate stewardship.    » read more »

Mainstream customers to benefit from end-to-end offerings.

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At the Gartner Business Process Management Summit, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) today announced the formation of the Microsoft Business Process Alliance (BPA), which extends the benefits of business process management (BPM) to an array of companies and offers enhanced functionality to existing Microsoft customers. The Business Process Alliance is a group of 10 industry-leading software vendors focused on making BPM solutions more broadly accessible and helping companies take advantage of BPM tools based on the Microsoft(R) platform. Through this alliance, a broad range of customers will benefit from a powerful set of end- to-end tools for automating and optimizing business processes. The initial members of the BPA are AmberPoint, Ascentn, IDS Scheer, Fair Isaac, Global360, InRule, Metastorm, PNMsoft, RuleBurst and SourceCode Technology Holdings Inc. Microsoft also announced enhancements to its Windows(R) Workflow Foundation technology in the .NET Framework 3.0, adding support for the upcoming BPEL 2.0 standard and further providing capabilities and tools for developers and independent software vendors building BPEL-enabled workflow applications.

"The business process management space has become a classic case of the haves and have-nots between very large enterprises and the rest of the industry," said Steven Martin, director of product management in the Connected Systems Division at Microsoft. "The formation of the Business Process Alliance serves as a great opportunity for a wider range of customers to adopt game- changing business process management technologies that drive efficiency through automation."    » read more »

PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Next Inning Technology Research (http://www.nextinning.com/), a subscription service focused on semiconductor and technology stocks, announced it has published updated outlooks for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Brocade Communications Systems (NASDAQ:BRCD), and Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ:MRVL).    » read more »

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- National Geographic today announces the launch of the National Geographic Talk Abroad Travel Phone, designed specifically for the needs of the traveling public, allowing for affordable calls from over 100 countries, with no contracts to sign and free incoming calls in most international markets.

GSM cell phone technology experts at Cellular Abroad, Playa del Rey, Calif., collaborated with National Geographic in a licensing partnership to provide this service that works seamlessly across international borders, picking up local cellular networks and providing consumers with the best coverage available. Unlike other services, the phone number stays the same, no matter where the consumer travels. As an added benefit, the National Geographic Talk Abroad Travel Phone features a dedicated toll-free number to reach Cellular Abroad's 24/7 customer support service.    » read more »

SAN JOSE, Calif. and CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cisco and Apple(R) today announced that they have resolved their dispute involving the "iPhone" trademark. Under the agreement, both companies are free to use the "iPhone" trademark on their products throughout the world. Both companies acknowledge the trademark ownership rights that have been granted, and each side will dismiss any pending actions regarding the trademark. In addition, Cisco and Apple will explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security, and consumer and enterprise communications. Other terms of the agreement are confidential.    » read more »

NEW YORK, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's will make the following changes to the S&P SmallCap 600 and S&P REIT Composite indices:

* Monarch Casino & Resort Inc. (NASD: MCRI) will replace ADVO Inc. (NYSE:AD) in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on a date to be announced. ADVO Inc. is being acquired by S&P MidCap 400 constituent Valassis Communications Inc. (NYSE:VCI) in a deal that is still pending final approvals.

* American Campus Communities Inc. (NYSE:ACC) will replace Trustreet Properties, Inc. (NYSE:TSY) in the S&P REIT Composite after the close of trading on Monday, February 26, 2007. Trustreet is being acquired by General Electric Capital Corporation in a deal expected to close on or about that date, pending final approvals.

* S&P 500 constituent Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE:WY) is in the process of combining its fine paper business with S&P/TSX 60 constituent Domtar Inc. in an exchange offer scheduled to expire at midnight, New York time, on March 2. The new Domtar will be considered a U.S. company for S&P index purposes, but will not be added to the S&P Composite 1500 at this time.    » read more »

DALLAS, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- While the Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects workers aged 40 and over from being discriminated against on the basis of age, "subtle" age discrimination is becoming a problem for employers according to two noted employment lawyers at Epstein Becker Green Wickliff & Hall, P.C.

Even companies not intending to discriminate, and who are only trying to improve their bottom line, may have policies and procedures that are evidence of age bias.

As the population continues to age, employment lawyers are seeing a dramatic increase in age bias lawsuits on the horizon. In 2005, the EEOC received more than 16,500 age discrimination charges, and the numbers will only go up: by 2015, twenty-percent of the workforce will be aged 55 or older. In addition, we continue to hear of massive layoffs at companies around the country.    » read more »

- Provides Consumers with Enhanced Content, Greater Choices and Accelerated Technological Innovation
- Enables Satellite Radio to Better Compete in Rapidly Evolving Audio Entertainment Industry
- Extraordinary Value Creation for Shareholders
- Mel Karmazin to Serve as Chief Executive Officer and Gary Parsons to Serve as Chairman of Combined Company

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) and SIRIUS Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement, under which the companies will be combined in a tax-free, all-stock merger of equals with a combined enterprise value of approximately $13 billion, which includes net debt of approximately $1.6 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, XM shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 4.6 shares of SIRIUS common stock for each share of XM they own. XM and SIRIUS shareholders will each own approximately 50 percent of the combined company.

Mel Karmazin, currently Chief Executive Officer of SIRIUS, will become Chief Executive Officer of the combined company and Gary Parsons, currently Chairman of XM, will become Chairman of the combined company. The new company's board of directors will consist of 12 directors, including Messrs. Karmazin and Parsons, four independent members designated by each company, as well as one representative from each of General Motors and American Honda. Hugh Panero, the Chief Executive Officer of XM, will continue in his current role until the anticipated close of the merger.    » read more »

15 February 2007, Ethiopia - The U.S. coffee chain Starbucks says it will double its purchases of coffee from East Africa over the next two years. Starbucks' senior vice president of coffee procurement, Dub Hay, made the announcement during a regional coffee growers' conference in Ethiopia Thursday.

The chain now buys a little more than eight million kilograms of coffee from East Africa each year. Starbucks also announced it will help small East African coffee growers by providing $1 million in loans through non-government organizations. The company says it also plans to open a farmer advice center.    » read more »

Auburn Hills, Feb 14, 2007 -- DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group today announced a three-year Recovery and Transformation Plan that seeks a return to profitability by 2008 while also taking steps to change its business model for the long run. The plan will result in an employee reduction of 13,000 people from 2007 to 2009.

Chrysler Group President and CEO Tom LaSorda outlined the plan at the DaimlerChrysler AG Annual Press Conference, held in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler: “The Chrysler Team worked out a comprehensive Recovery and Transformation Plan using all resources within DaimlerChrysler. In addition to that and in order to optimize and accelerate the presented plan we are looking into further strategic options with partners beyond the business cooperation partners mentioned. In this regard, we do not exclude any option in order to find the best solution for both the Chrysler Group and DaimlerChrysler.”    » read more »