Business

Increased demand for restructuring finance expected to continue through 2010

NORWALK, Conn. -- November 12, 2009 -- GE Capital, Restructuring Finance ended 3Q as one of the most active providers of debtor-in-possession (DIP) and plan-of-reorganization (POR) financing in the U.S. and Canada, arranging or deploying approximately $2 billion throughout the first nine months of the year.

DIP financing is used by borrowers to fund ongoing working capital needs as they restructure under Chapter 11. POR, or exit financing, is utilized to support working capital needs upon emergence from bankruptcy.    » read more »

ExxonMobil CEO Addresses APEC CEO Summit in Singapore

November 13, 2009 -- SINGAPORE -- Affordable and reliable energy supplies necessary to rebuild the global economy require polices that encourage investment, expand international trade and promote technological innovation, Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation2 (NYSE:XOM), said today.

Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO’s Summit3, Tillerson said energy is critical to economic development, and despite the current downturn, demand is expected to grow4 in the years ahead, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.    » read more »

Q3 EPS of $0.84 Exceeds First Call Consensus of $0.81

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Nov. 12 -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) today reported diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for the third quarter of fiscal year 2010 of $0.84, exceeding the company's guidance of $0.78 to $0.82. Walmart earned $0.77 per share from continuing operations in the third quarter last year.    » read more »

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Nov. 11, 2009 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that 70 U.S. trade organizations received more than $234 million in Fiscal Year 2009 to help promote American food and agricultural products overseas. Vilsack made this announcement at the annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters.

"Agricultural trade is absolutely crucial to the U.S. economy and by providing this funding to U.S. organizations during these difficult economic times will help open new global markets for American food products," said Vilsack.

The funding announced today was allocated under the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) Cooperator Program, both administered by USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service.    » read more »

Bill is needed to protect consumers and investors and to provide appropriate oversight of the financial marketplace.

November 10, 2009 -- Washington, DC -- The Consumer Federation of America today released the following statements on the introduction of Senator Dodd’s Financial Reform proposal.    » read more »

The Indian government is stepping up investment in infrastructure

New Delhi, India, 10 November 2009 – Not only is India an IT superpower but it is also looking to find its place on the world stage in manufacturing, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry of India, told participants at one of the final sessions of the World Economic Forum’s Indian Economic Summit.

“A lot is happening on the manufacturing side,” he said. “The key impediment to becoming a global hub is not infrastructure bottlenecks, but entrepreneurship and leadership capability. Any country that has these two elements can overcome the hurdles.”    » read more »

Nov 09, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal applauded the grand opening of Northrop Grumman’s new 20,000-square-foot facility in Slidell, La. The new facility combined Northrop Grumman’s Slidell office and Stennis Space Center operations, representing a $4 million capital investment.

This project retained 35 jobs from the Slidell office, created 40 new high-tech jobs at an average annual salary of $47,000 plus benefits and will generate approximately 31 indirect jobs. In addition, this project is expected to generate nearly $1.7 million in new state tax revenues and nearly $1.2 million in new local tax revenues from 2009 to 2018.    » read more »

Highlights Severe Impact on Oyster Industry

Nov 10, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE - Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal issued the following letter to the Food and Drug Administration urging officials to reconsider new shellfish policy changes, highlighting the severe impact the new policy would have on the oyster industry.

The Honorable Margaret Hamburg, M.D.
Commissioner

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002

Dear Commissioner Hamburg:    » read more »

Governor’s recent trip to Japan leads to investment, more than 100 new jobs in Kentucky

November 10, 2009 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. – Joined by officials from Hitachi Automotive Products (USA), Inc. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear today announced the company will expand its Harrodsburg operation, adding a new advanced fuel system production line to the plant. Furthermore, the expansion could also result in an additional product line for hybrid electric products in the near future.    » read more »

Addresses Emerging Online Reputation And Privacy Exposures

HARTFORD, Conn., Nov 10, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- User-generated content is taking many forms on today's Internet. Whether consumers are posting product reviews to a company's Web site, providing personally identifiable information to receive a special offer, or uploading photos to a social networking site, they're sharing more information about themselves online, which creates both opportunities and liabilities for companies with access to this content. To help midsize and larger businesses address these emerging areas of risk, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has enhanced its flagship cyber liability policy.    » read more »

Study shows lack of liquidity leads to forced selling in distressed markets

BOSTON, November 10, 2009 — Long-term investors must plan for the short and medium term in order to avoid forced selling in distressed markets, according to a recent analysis by BNY Mellon Asset Management.

"This is exactly what happened to many university endowments during the 2008 market meltdown," said Robert A. Jaeger, senior market strategist for BNY Mellon Asset Management and co-author of the study. "Every long-term investor is also a short-term investor and a medium-term investor. We believe that endowments and other long-term investors would be well-served to explicitly divide their portfolios into long-term, medium-term, and short-term components."    » read more »

RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 10 -- Dominion Virginia Power is working with Virginia Tech to make the "smart grid" smarter by developing and testing innovative technology that will improve the electric grid's efficiency and reliability. This technology, known as "synchrophasors," does this by providing dynamic real-time information about conditions on the transmission grid.

The research project, funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Energy, also involves Quanta Technology of Raleigh, N.C.    » read more »

November 11, 2009 -- JUNO BEACH, Fla. – Some of America’s most well known and respected companies have selected Florida Power & Light Company as a nationwide winner in the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI) 2009 National Key Accounts Customer Service Awards program for outstanding service in energy efficiency.

FPL was one of six utilities to receive the recognition from businesses that include national chain and multi-site brands such as Walgreens, Target, Staples, McDonald’s, HealthSouth and Wal-Mart.    » read more »

Five Main Research Centers Will Drive Scientific Innovation

November 09, 2009 -- NEW YORK -- Pfizer Inc today announced its global research and development network, marking an important step in implementing a new R&D model as part of the integration of Pfizer and Wyeth. This global network brings together scientific strengths from both companies, continues efforts to increase research productivity, focuses disease-area research in single locations and more efficiently uses the company’s real estate.    » read more »

Collaboration goal is to advance 4 to 5 antibodies per year into clinical development

Paris, France – November 10, 2009 – Sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: REGN) announced today that they have entered into agreements to expand and extend their existing global collaboration to discover, develop, and commercialize fully-human therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.    » read more »