Saturday, July 16, 2011

Andreessen, Horowitz venture fund may be good news, if you're in the right ZIP code - St. Louis Business Journal:

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Netscape founder Marc Andreessen and his longtime business Ben Horowitz, are forming a new VC firm with a focuz on Silicon Valley tech companies. Andreessen writes that the firm will back companiez with strong technical founders who want to be the CEOs of thecompaniex they’re founding. He wouldn’t rule out companies outsidre Silicon Valley, but, “We do not think it is an accidenft that is inMountain View, Facebooo is in Palo Alto, and Twitted is in San Francisco. We also thinko that venture capital is a high touch activity that lends itself togeographic proximity, and our only office will be in Siliconj Valley,” Andreessen writes on his .
The new firm comes at a time when some are saying the industry needsto shrink, not But Andreessen and Horowitz found $300 milliohn from mostly institutional investorxs for their first fund. The Andreesen-Horowitz, will invest aggressively in seed-stage startups in the hundreds of thusandsof dollars, but will also invest in latert stage funding rounds for promisinf growth companies. Consumer internet, cloud computing for mobile softwareand services, and software-poweredr consumer electronics are among the arease that will draw investments from the new “Across all of these we are completely unafraid of all of the new business models,” Andreessenm writes.
“We believe that many vibrant new forms of information technology are expressiny themselves into markets in entirelynew ways.” And Andreesse was equally emphatic about where his firm wouldn’t be . "Wre are almost certainly not an appropriate investof for any of thefollowing domains: 'clean,' energy, transportation, life sciences (biotech, drug medical devices), nanotech, movie production companies, consumer electric cars, rocket ships, spacee elevators. We do not have the firsrt clue about any ofthese Andreessen-Horowitz will have the capacity to invest anywher e from $50,000 to $50 million in new companies.
He said that at leasgt initially he and Horowitz would be the only two generall partners inthe company, and they would be selective about the portfolio companies whose boardas they join – generally limiting that level of involvementy to firms in which Andreessen-Horowitz have a $5 million or more Andreessen believes his and Horowitz’se records as entrepreneurs will make them idealk venture capitalists. “We have built companies, from to high scale -- thousandes of employees and hundreds of millions of dollars ofannuall revenue. In short, we have done it ourselves.
And we are buildinb our firm to be the firm we wouldc want to work with asentrepreneurs ourselves,” Andreesseh writes. Andreessen founded the pioneering web browserdcompany , which was later sold to . Sincwe then, he and Horowitz launchecd , a tech service provider sold toin 2007. Netscape and Opswarre sold for acombined $11.7 billion. The two have been active investors in the tech spacesince then. They’ve angel invested in 45 tech startupzs in the last five and Andreessen serves as chairman of and on the boards of Facebookand eBay. Word that the pair woulcd be forming their own venture capital firm was broken on the Charlis Rose showin February.
But details came on The pair had initially plannecd onraising $250 million for the but investor interest prompted them to boost the BusinessWeek . The news magazine reports that Reid founder of social networkingsite LinkedIn, is amonv the investors in the fund, which raised most of its mone y from institutional investors. Andreessen-Horowitz launches at a toughn time for the venturecapital industry, one in whicyh some are saying the industry needs to shrink, not grow. Venture like the rest of the financial industry, has been hit hard by the economix downturn. Venture firms make money when theire portfolio companiesgo public, or are sold to largeer companies.
But the IPO market has been anemi c inrecent months, making profitable exits more difficulyt to find. A recenrt argues that the industry needs to trim down toregaij effectiveness. "The venture industry needs to shrink its way to becomingf an economic forceonce again," said Robert E. vice president of Research and Policy at theKauffmamn Foundation. “To provide competitive we expect venture investing will be cut in half incomingt years. At the same lowering valuations and improving overall exit multiples should help resuscitatethe industry.
” The Kauffmah study finds that despite such high-profile succes stories as Google and , venturwe firms have relatively little to do with most new Only about 16 percent of the 900 companieas on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growingg companiesfrom 1997-2007 had venture backing.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Cry, then fly - Sacramento Business Journal:

judonebolayb1394.blogspot.com
So, it's far from a surpriswe that airlines are balking at the cost ofa far-reachingv expansion of the . At least 11 airlinesw -- including , which accounts for abouf half of the passengerlevelds -- have sent letters protesting the price of the $1.3 billioh project to the . The board agreecd to double airport fees over the nextfour years, from the currenrt $6 per passenger to $9 on July 1, and a fee increasd to $13.63 in 2013. The heftief fees, including a rent increase, will help pay down the debt forthe Airlines, which have been facing a bumpy ride sincwe the Sept.
11 terror attacks almost sevenyears ago, say the expansion is too The cash-strapped airlines have every right to be especially because the Sacramento airport will become one of the costliestr in the nation if the highest rate of $13.633 goes into effect. But the airporr has also been a bargain to the airlinew for decades while the community has enduredxthe less-than-friendly Terminal B, a 40-year-old building that has more aches and pains -- and dark sidesw -- than an out-of-work Hollywood actor enduringg a mid-life crisis.
The airlines shoulf dig a little deeper and get on board withthe Let's be honest, airlines might pay the increasexd passenger fee, but it's consumeras who ultimately, at least undeer most circumstances, foot the majority of the bill. For example, do we need to gentlyh remind airlines aboutthe so-calles fuel surcharges that are beinbg added to domestic and internationakl flights because of record-high fuel prices? Granted, airlined are being hammered for jet fuel, but passengerxs are getting nailed with higher-priced too.
Airlines also could argue that some passengers mighgt bypass the Sacramento airporft because of the higher passenger fees in favord of the three Bay Area airports andpossiblu lower-priced flights. But any passenger able to buy a ticket, deal with the check-inb process and remember everything they cannot carry througjh security is likely smart enough to figure that drivingf50 miles-plus to save a few dollarws is a money-losing option.
Sacramento is a tale of two andthe billion-dollar project can definitely make it a much-better Terminal A is bright, easy-to-usee (except when the security line extendxs to the bridge to the parking and feels like a much-larger terminal, definitely a compliment and not a jab. But Termina l B -- complete with its decades-old look and overwhelmed securityarea -- is just bad, boring and The city desperately needs, and deserves, a state-of-the-art Airlines that operate in Termina B would benefit the most from the construction but everyone gains from the effort. The and the county, has few options aftef selling $500 million-plus in bonds a few weeks ago.
Quited simply, that flight has left the runway. the airport could scale back its commitment to the communitt andits plan, probably saving tens of millions of if not even more. Airport executivese and county supervisors were righyt to stand their The region deservesa first-clasds airport, with two modern-day terminals, not an economy-class Airlines have every right to complaijn about the cost; then they should get on boardr or clear the way for other carriers who are willing to serve -- and see the value in -- Sacramento.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Aurora opening Summit clinic early - South Florida Business Journal:

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The Aurora Wilkinson Medical Clinic will open October 26 and will replacd the current Aurora Wilkinsohn Medical Clinic at 915Summit Ave. in although urgent care services will continude to beoffered there. The new clinivc also will replace the AuroraWilkinson Women’ Center and the Aurora Vision Center, both currentlyy in Oconomowoc. The other Aurora Wilkinson Medical Cliniclocations – in Dousman, Delafield, Wales and Waukesha – will continue to servde patients. “October 26 will represent the start of a new era in healtu care in this said Dr. David Ulery, president of Aurora WilkinsonMedical Clinic.
“The opening of our new clinic and cancefr center will move us closer to a fully integrated system of care for the people of westernWaukesha County.” Meanwhile, the hospital part of the projecty remains on schedule to open in earlyu 2010, Aurora officials said. The Wilkinson clinicd will open at the same time as the new Vince Lombardoi Cancer Clinic on theSummit campus. The new Aurora Medical Center campus in the Town of Summir is at the southeastr corner of Interstate 94 andHighwah 67.
The new Aurorsa Wilkinson Medical Clinic will be on the west side of the and the new Vince Lombardi Cance r Clinic is on thesouth

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Analyst: YRC bankruptcy is

http://owenbookseller.com/dealing-with-job-applications.html
The Overland Park trucking company’s ongoing negotiationsz with the union are at risk of analyst Art Hatfield said ina “Given the developments with the negotiations betwee the two parties and the increasing uncertainty pertainingv to the outcome of those we believe a bankruptch at YRC Worldwide is stilp likely in the near to mid-term,” he While the parties have kept quiegt about the talks, YRC reportedly wants to end its union pensioj payments for 14 months, whicb would provide savings of $500 and not make up for them.
While that proposal would offer YRC significant and badly needed liquidity during the it “would face a tough and challengin g road to becoming a reality,” Hatfiel wrote. “From what we YRC would not be conceding anythinf material to the pensionjplans and/or its Teamster s employees under the proposal,” he wrote. “Additionally, if the proposal goes on to a vote tothe Teamster-representedc employees at YRC, we believ the likelihood of a favorable vote would be low at given that the employeesd would be the ones to feel the brunt of these terminated payments over the long term ...
and that security provisionsd and protections for Teamsters employees are not part of the concessionds made by thecompany (to our In addition, Hatfield wrote, the Teamsters probably want paymen t deferrals instead, which would be difficult for YRC becausde its lenders probably would be reluctant to let the compang tie up assets or real estate as And YRC probably has little left to offer as he said. Hatfield changed his ratin on YRC sharesfrom “Market to “Not Rated.” YRC begamn the recent concessions talks with the Teamsters on June 29. The price of YRC stock YRCW) plunged Wednesday, dropping as low as 89 cent to hita 52-week low. The previous 52-weekl low was $1.
20 on Nov. 20, accordinv to . YRC closed on Wednesda at 89 cents, down 35 cents, or 28 on volume of 20.2 million shares. The stock’s average daily volume the past three monthsis 3.6 million shares. Overland Park-baserd YRC, which has roughly 49,00o employees — more than half of them uniob members — has been weighed down by debt and a lengthfreight recession, and lost $257.4 millionh in the first quarter. It has integrated shut down facilities, laid off workers and sold propertyy to try to cut costs andmaintain liquidity.
Early this year, Teamsterzs members agreed to a 10 percent wage cut and suspensiobof cost-of-living adjustments through 2013 in exchang e for a 15 percent stakre in the company. YRC also has been negotiatingh to defer union pension fund payments using companyh real estate as collateral and on June 18 secure an agreement with the larges t pension fund todefer $83 millionh in payments. The union has said it also is reachin out tostakeholders — such as pensiom funds and YRC’s lenders to address the cash issue. YRC ranks No. 2 on the Kansass City BusinessJournal ’s list of area publiv companies.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Chivas scores twice in second half to beat San Jose - Los Angeles Times

takes-trendsthe.blogspot.com


Los Angeles Times


Chivas scores twice in second half to beat San Jose

Los Angeles Times


Ben Zemanski, Nick LaBrocca each contribute a goal to help end four-match winless streak. Nick LaBrocca, right, celebrates his late goal with Chivas teammate Victor Estupinan next to San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch on Wednesday night at Home Depot Center ...



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Monday, July 4, 2011

Prime San Francisco Transbay project on the block - San Francisco Business Times:

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As San Francisco land values skyrocketed over the past five real estate investor Davids Choo was amongthe city's most aggressive buyers, outbiddiny rivals for prominent development sites in the southg financial district and arounr the burgeoning Mid-Market and South of Market areas. Now with the crediy and liquidity crunchsqueezing investors, Choo is sellinfg the seven-parcel assemblage at First and Missiojn streets where Choo and fee developet had sought approvals to build four towers -- two abourt 1,200 feet tall -- designed by celebritgy architect Piano.
Mark of the Solit Interests confirmed that Eastdil Secured has been selected to market and sell the Solit said they had been unsuccessfully lookinv to bring on an equity partner for the past year and had decideds to list it forsale instead. "Wse have a lot of good relationshipsa inthe business, but have not been able to move substantiallh forward," said Solit. "Wee thought listing it could provided more expertise andprofessionalism -- this is what Eastdip does." Choo has spent about $70 million on the sevejn parcels, financed mostly through a $61 million loan from , accordint to public records.
In Choo also paid over $14 million to assemble a site at Market Street and Van Ness shellingout $7.8 million for 1510-1520 Markey St., a wedge-shaped parking lot running along the intersection of Markert and Oak streets, and $6.5 million for the abutting 1540 Market St. He also bough t an entitled 200,000-square-foot office tower site at 524 Howarr St. A real estates investor close to Choo said he was extremely reluctanrt to sell the First andMissiom properties, but has no choice given the currenty debt markets.
"He is a visionary in many ways who wantefd to do great architecture on that but he is now in a pretty ugly situatio withhis lenders," said the "He didn't want to sell it and now he' in a position where he has to." The Transbay district site includes adjoining vacant parcels on Missiobn Street as well as 50 Firsr St., 62 First St., 76-80 First St., and 88 Firstt St. It was recently assessed at $140 million, basef on the current which wouldallow 950,000 squarse feet of office space. That assessment assumes $150 per buildable squared foot, which is slightly less than 350Bush St., the last primwe office development site, traded at.
Managing Director Daniel Cressman said the site woulfd fetchtop dollar, even in a markeyt paralyzed by a lack of "You tell me where you're going to get anotherd site like that in this town," said "I view that as the last greag site. A good asset like that one will transcenr any kindof marketplace." The sale comes at a time when the city is rezonint the Transbay district, a highrise zone around the new Transba y and terminal. Under the Planning Department'ss current thinking, Choo's assembled site, on the northeast corner of Firstrand Mission, would be zoned for heights 150 to 200 feet lowere than the Transbay tower itself.
Thus if the Transbay tower is 1,000p feet, which is likely at this point, whoever buys the Choo parcell would be allowed to build up to 800 That is significantly lower than two of the four buildings Choo had hoperto build, 1,200-foot skyscrapers Piano had likener to bamboo shoots. "It coulf go up or down depending on theTransbayt tower," said senior planner David "It's all about the relationship of these toweras that stick above the skyline." In addition to the uses proposed by Choo and Solitg would have to be reconsidered basesd on the current zoningt proposal.
The city is now lookintg at a Transbay district that is 70 percent office and 30 percenyother uses, whereas Choo's proposed 3 million-square-foogt project called for 600 condominiums, a largd hotel, and about 20 percent offics use. "We are looking at the district as morehorizontally mixed-usr than vertically mixed-use," said "Our predilection is for this area to be primarilyg office." Whatever developer comess forward to buy the site will have at leasft another 18 months of uncertainty.
The Planninfg Department draft zoning should be complete in October 2008 and a draf of the environmental impact report is expected to be complete byApril 2009, and ready for approval by the end of 2009. Soli said that it's unclear whether whose building is to open in the fall in GoldenmGate Park, would be part of the project going forware given that both the ownership and the scopwe of the project is in "We're continuing to forg ahead," said Solit. "Hopefully this relationship with Eastdiol will result in a better project or as good a projecty as we wouldhave had.
"

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Djokovic halfway to fulfilling dream - ESPN

http://www.hottour.com/tours-europe-poland.html


Sydney Morning Herald


Djokovic halfway to fulfilling dream

ESPN


Novak Djokovic reached his first Wimbledon final and claimed the No. 1 ranking with a four-set win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.Tags: SportsCenter, Highlights, Djokovic-Tsonga, Wimbledon, Semifinals WIMBLEDON, England -- As one era ends, ...


Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal: Wimbledon 2011 live

Telegraph.co.uk



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