budimirukaovyril.blogspot.com
Online buyers purchased thousandsof Kantor’sz super-reflective Pop Bands (armbands and legbands), pet collars and leashews made by her company, Vedante “When everybody was saying holiday sale were down, ours just exploded,” said Kantor, a veteranb fashion designer who started Boulder-baser Vedante nearly three years ago. The success of Vedante’s Pop Bandw and pet products prompted giant online retailer Amazon.com to buy most of her inventory for and triggered inquiries from largw pet-store chains about licensing the productse or buying her Kantor focused more on onlinwe sales for the holidays than traditional brick-and-morta sales of Vedante products.
That was because as the recessiob deepened, retail sales slowed more thanonline shopping. The emphasiss paid off, but it presented Kantod with the problem of managingunexpected demand. . “It wasn’t even in my game plan to havea break-eveb month for another year,” she said. Vedantr products for pets, pedestriansa and cyclists can reflect brightly from 500to 1,5090 feet, depending on their color. Kanto formed the business with the mission of improvingnighttimew safety. Cars injure or kill a pedestriajn every seven minutes in theUnitedr States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationh (NHTSA).
That amounts to nearly 75,000 people annually, with aboutt 50,000 of the accidents occurring at NHTSAstatistics show. Kantor takesd walks at dusk and, havinv survived a car crash with a drunok driveryears ago, she always wondered abou her safety crossing streets at Then she saw a Boulderr pedestrian hit in a crosswalk in broad and she decided to make a produc to improve pedestrian She drew on her experience in textiles and designinhg women’s apparel in Los Angeles. She choser 3M’s reflective materials for Vedante’s products, and it co-branda the Pop Bands with 3M.
She uses the 3M fabri c in collars and leashes for McGuckin Hardware Store in Boulder carries both the Pop Bandszand Vedante’s cat collars. The Pop Bands , costing between $12.98 and $13.98 depending on sell comparably tothe battery-powered safetuy lights McGuckin sells for outdooer recreation, said Rik Isakson, the store’s sportinfg goods manager and buyer. “They do very well,,” he “What appeals is their ease of use, and the noveltyh of them popping onand off.” Vedante’ws pet collars range between $13.98 and $16.98, and its leashesa between $29.98 and $45.98.
Kantor’s biggest challenge is managingf a surge in retailer interest withougt taking on debt that couldcrimp Vedante’ long-term health. Kantor maxed out Vedante’xs existing lines of credi from banks after her saleasstarted growing, and she put that money in the She feared her banks would reduce her credi t lines without warning, thus starving the company of money at a crucial time. “I realized that they’rew pulling back, at a time when I’m she said.
Kantor said she’s negotiating with a nationalk TV shopping network interested in carrying Vedante Kantor is working with private investors rather than look to bankse for credit on termsz she considerstoo steep. Approaching growth with such cautiojn is a new twist in her experience managing Kantor said. She twice owned clothing labelws in Los Angeles thatmade women’s appare for department store chains. Unlik now, the ease of credit in the past meant nevert worrying about whether affordables debt could be found to meet growing Kantor said. She’s also kept Vedante lean and is theonly full-time employee.
She uses offshores contract manufacturersfor Vedante’s producta and temporary labor — usually about a half-dozej part-time workers — brought in as
Monday, January 30, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Local Real Estate Agent Collecting Short Sale Horror Stories
omagyvoham.wordpress.com
The new rules of the FAP program as designed to streamlinwe the short sale process for distressed homeowners by setting service standardds for banks and mortgage companies undefr the control of the OCCand FDIC. While the program promises to make life easier for homeownersz and the realtors helping Hamzey claims that big banks have alreadh found ways to circumvent the rulews for theirown gain. "The banks have been transferring their equity lines of credig in the middle of the short sale process toaffiliatee companies," said Mr. "These affiliates are not under the auspices of the OCC or obliged to follow the rule set up underthe president's new program.
In essence, they are almos free to be as uncooperative asthey please. " Hamzey claims that by not signing off on the shorftsale package, the affiliate companies may force the firsg mortgage to foreclose. "In front of the camera, bank executives smile and explain how they are cooperatinf with the government and working withdistressed homeowners,"" said Hamzey. "In the back they transfer their assets to affiliater companies that practically operate free ofgovernmenyt regulations. Hamzey is on a mission to spread the word about big bank abusre of theFAP program. He is askingv others to send him their personal stories of gettinvg caught up in shortsale abuse.
Hamzehy intends to send thesr stories to federal regulators in an efforr to encourage the Obama administration to develop a system that is fair and responsiblew for the people they were designe dto help. , visit his website at or emaik Robertat .
The new rules of the FAP program as designed to streamlinwe the short sale process for distressed homeowners by setting service standardds for banks and mortgage companies undefr the control of the OCCand FDIC. While the program promises to make life easier for homeownersz and the realtors helping Hamzey claims that big banks have alreadh found ways to circumvent the rulews for theirown gain. "The banks have been transferring their equity lines of credig in the middle of the short sale process toaffiliatee companies," said Mr. "These affiliates are not under the auspices of the OCC or obliged to follow the rule set up underthe president's new program.
In essence, they are almos free to be as uncooperative asthey please. " Hamzey claims that by not signing off on the shorftsale package, the affiliate companies may force the firsg mortgage to foreclose. "In front of the camera, bank executives smile and explain how they are cooperatinf with the government and working withdistressed homeowners,"" said Hamzey. "In the back they transfer their assets to affiliater companies that practically operate free ofgovernmenyt regulations. Hamzey is on a mission to spread the word about big bank abusre of theFAP program. He is askingv others to send him their personal stories of gettinvg caught up in shortsale abuse.
Hamzehy intends to send thesr stories to federal regulators in an efforr to encourage the Obama administration to develop a system that is fair and responsiblew for the people they were designe dto help. , visit his website at or emaik Robertat .
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Crime and Courts: Criminal complaint reveals Walker email - Capital Times (blog)
rmerujopi.blogspot.com
Chicago Tribune | Crime and Courts: Criminal complaint reveals Walker email Capital Times (blog) "We cannot afford another story like this one," reads the email, documented in a criminal complaint made public today. "No one can give them any reason to do another story. That means no laptops, no websites, no time away during the work day, etc. Two Former Walker Aides Charged with Political Fundraising While on County Clock Ex-Walker aides charged for doing campaign work on county time 2 former Walker aides charged in Milwaukee Co. corruption probe |
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Health Care: Whether rural or urban, upstate a hard sell for new doctors - The Business Review (Albany):
budimirukaovyril.blogspot.com
“We don’t have a lot of physician groups in said Kelly, CEO of Littauer. “Most are in solo So when one retiresor moves, it is almosyt impossible to get a new one to come here unlesw we hire them and take over administrative As a result, the Fulto County hospital went from eight employee physicianz five years ago to 25 today. It has adde d seven this year. Littauer may have been fortunates inits timing. It has been well publicize d that the nation is facing adoctor deficit. The has predicted the country will beshory 124,000 full-time physicians by 2025. Already, new doctors have their pick of several offers.
Health care providers say upstate New York, where pay scales tend to be lower, has a hardedr time attracting physicians than some othere parts of the country. This is particularly true in rural but city hospitals say recruitment is an issuefor too. , for example, has been searching for a pediatrid surgeon for thepast year. Now comes a down economy, which could make the situatioheven worse. Not only mightg pay be a bigger factor inphysicianb decision-making, providers may find it harder to come up with the thousands of dollars it can take to recruit a What’s more, they may be forced to delay projectsx that could make their facilities more The impact will be felt beyond the hospitakl itself.
“Success, or lack of success, in recruitinfg really affects thewhole community,” said Dr. Ferdinand vice dean for clinical affairat , an affiliate of the medicapl center. Each year, the at the University at Albanyt asks residents completing their trainint in the state if they expect topractice here. In the Decembee 2007 survey, half did. The others were asked why not, and 21 percenr said “inadequate pay.” Physiciand generally make less here becausre salariesare determined, in part, by the federa l Medicare wage index. The Albany-area index is one of the nation’s lowest.
“Doctors find they can do the same thing in Houstohn that they cando here, and make 40 percen t more,” said Scott St. George, chief financial officer of , parent of St. Mary’s Hospitao in Troy. “Why would they come But the top answer had nothing to do with A quarter of residentssaid “proximity to played a role in theire choice of practice location. “Thatf kind of makes you scratch your head andsay ‘canm we recruit in New York, so that when they want to be near the family is here?’” said Jean Moore, director of the Center for Health Workforce Studies.
Vendittu said Albany Med does try to recruitstudentxs locally, but enrollment is highly competitivse and class sizes are limited. The schookl had 8,000 applicants for the fall semester. Of thosew accepted, 149 enrolled, including 59 from New York. Familyu plays a role in how long physicians stay inthe too. Providers say they have seen doctors leave aftefr a few years because their spousesz dislikeit here.
This is why Roger Gans, creativwe director for , a Troy firm that works with a numbefr of healthcare concerns, tailors his physician recruitment advertisinh to the entire family, stressing the quality of neighborhoods, recreation and There are concerted efforts underway to bring more physicianas upstate. , a Cliftob Park-based group of 55 hospitals, is working on a videl that features several doctors urginf their peersto “take a look” at the area. The alliance also took 20 recruitersd to NewYork City, to host an open housr for residents in the city’s teaching hospitals. “It’ s a full-court press for us,” said Gary Fitzgerald, CEO of Iroquois.
“We’rw being much more aggressive.” Iroquoids also is helping hospitalss apply for grants underthe state’s Doctors Across NY program. The firstf round of funding, totaling $6.9 is now up for grabs. DANY has two The first is to entic e physicians to practicein “under-served,” areas, those with fewer than one doctor for every 3,500 residents. DANY will providwe up to $150,000 in educationak loan repayment for doctors who work in such an area for at leasgtfive years. “This is a wonderfu l opportunity to recruit doctors to practice in partsd of the state where they might not otherwise want to Moore said.
“It is a way to help peoplew develop roots in an The second DANY initiative offers upto $100,000 in practiced support funding, over two years, for providers in under-servec areas. Funds may be used for salary sign-on bonuses, or other direcf payments to doctors. This could help offsegt some of the costs of hiring new Gans said the typical cost of recruiting a doctor isbetweeh $30,000 and $40,000, and rurak hospitals pay even more. This coulxd be much harder to come by in atight economy, but Gans said recruitmenyt is not a budgey item that providers should cut.
“Hospitals make theier money from relationshipswith physicians,” he “Doctors refer patients to them and work withib their systems. If they can’t get they can’t get revenue.”
“We don’t have a lot of physician groups in said Kelly, CEO of Littauer. “Most are in solo So when one retiresor moves, it is almosyt impossible to get a new one to come here unlesw we hire them and take over administrative As a result, the Fulto County hospital went from eight employee physicianz five years ago to 25 today. It has adde d seven this year. Littauer may have been fortunates inits timing. It has been well publicize d that the nation is facing adoctor deficit. The has predicted the country will beshory 124,000 full-time physicians by 2025. Already, new doctors have their pick of several offers.
Health care providers say upstate New York, where pay scales tend to be lower, has a hardedr time attracting physicians than some othere parts of the country. This is particularly true in rural but city hospitals say recruitment is an issuefor too. , for example, has been searching for a pediatrid surgeon for thepast year. Now comes a down economy, which could make the situatioheven worse. Not only mightg pay be a bigger factor inphysicianb decision-making, providers may find it harder to come up with the thousands of dollars it can take to recruit a What’s more, they may be forced to delay projectsx that could make their facilities more The impact will be felt beyond the hospitakl itself.
“Success, or lack of success, in recruitinfg really affects thewhole community,” said Dr. Ferdinand vice dean for clinical affairat , an affiliate of the medicapl center. Each year, the at the University at Albanyt asks residents completing their trainint in the state if they expect topractice here. In the Decembee 2007 survey, half did. The others were asked why not, and 21 percenr said “inadequate pay.” Physiciand generally make less here becausre salariesare determined, in part, by the federa l Medicare wage index. The Albany-area index is one of the nation’s lowest.
“Doctors find they can do the same thing in Houstohn that they cando here, and make 40 percen t more,” said Scott St. George, chief financial officer of , parent of St. Mary’s Hospitao in Troy. “Why would they come But the top answer had nothing to do with A quarter of residentssaid “proximity to played a role in theire choice of practice location. “Thatf kind of makes you scratch your head andsay ‘canm we recruit in New York, so that when they want to be near the family is here?’” said Jean Moore, director of the Center for Health Workforce Studies.
Vendittu said Albany Med does try to recruitstudentxs locally, but enrollment is highly competitivse and class sizes are limited. The schookl had 8,000 applicants for the fall semester. Of thosew accepted, 149 enrolled, including 59 from New York. Familyu plays a role in how long physicians stay inthe too. Providers say they have seen doctors leave aftefr a few years because their spousesz dislikeit here.
This is why Roger Gans, creativwe director for , a Troy firm that works with a numbefr of healthcare concerns, tailors his physician recruitment advertisinh to the entire family, stressing the quality of neighborhoods, recreation and There are concerted efforts underway to bring more physicianas upstate. , a Cliftob Park-based group of 55 hospitals, is working on a videl that features several doctors urginf their peersto “take a look” at the area. The alliance also took 20 recruitersd to NewYork City, to host an open housr for residents in the city’s teaching hospitals. “It’ s a full-court press for us,” said Gary Fitzgerald, CEO of Iroquois.
“We’rw being much more aggressive.” Iroquoids also is helping hospitalss apply for grants underthe state’s Doctors Across NY program. The firstf round of funding, totaling $6.9 is now up for grabs. DANY has two The first is to entic e physicians to practicein “under-served,” areas, those with fewer than one doctor for every 3,500 residents. DANY will providwe up to $150,000 in educationak loan repayment for doctors who work in such an area for at leasgtfive years. “This is a wonderfu l opportunity to recruit doctors to practice in partsd of the state where they might not otherwise want to Moore said.
“It is a way to help peoplew develop roots in an The second DANY initiative offers upto $100,000 in practiced support funding, over two years, for providers in under-servec areas. Funds may be used for salary sign-on bonuses, or other direcf payments to doctors. This could help offsegt some of the costs of hiring new Gans said the typical cost of recruiting a doctor isbetweeh $30,000 and $40,000, and rurak hospitals pay even more. This coulxd be much harder to come by in atight economy, but Gans said recruitmenyt is not a budgey item that providers should cut.
“Hospitals make theier money from relationshipswith physicians,” he “Doctors refer patients to them and work withib their systems. If they can’t get they can’t get revenue.”
Sunday, January 22, 2012
United credit card policy could foul corporate travel - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:
yjanebixe.wordpress.com
San Francisco’s dominant airlinee informed some travel agenciez that as of July 20 it will no longer let them proceses credit and debit card purchase s for airline ticketsusing United’sd merchant-processing services. Instead, such agencies would have to requiree travelers to paywith cash, proces s card payments with the agency’s own merchant processinv service and forward the cash to United or book the ticket on United’s web site usiny the traveler’s credit or debit card issuesd by , (NYSE: V) , (NYSE: MA) AXP) and others.
An agenf using United’s web site, bypassinyg such travel systems as Apollpoand Sabre, would not allow companies to capture the discounts they have negotiatedf with United nor would it allowq their travel agent to survey severak carriers on a route to find the lowest “Several Bay Area companies have deals with Unitee Airlines for discounts,” said Marc Casto, president of Castp Travel, which isn’t among the agencies that Unitee has cut off from its merchant-processing Casto says he’s reached out to some of the firm’w corporate clients to express concern over United’s new card acceptance policy, but declined to discuss what was said in those conversations.
Unitedr Airlines (NASDAQ: UAUA) did not respond to requests for United is hoping to shift the cost of acceptingf credit and debit card onto selectedtravel agencies. Thosre agencies say the airline’d move shifts to them the risk for paying out refunds if the carrieergoes bankrupt. While it’s also likely to reducer the amount of money that United has to keep in the bank to guarcdagainst charge-backs, it would increase thos requirements for the travel agents. That’s a nonstartee for most agencies — and thei r banks, which would have to honor charge-back requestse that could total billions of dollars in the event of anairline bankruptcy.
“I don’t thin k there’s any travel agency, including American Express that could shoulderthat liability,” Casto
San Francisco’s dominant airlinee informed some travel agenciez that as of July 20 it will no longer let them proceses credit and debit card purchase s for airline ticketsusing United’sd merchant-processing services. Instead, such agencies would have to requiree travelers to paywith cash, proces s card payments with the agency’s own merchant processinv service and forward the cash to United or book the ticket on United’s web site usiny the traveler’s credit or debit card issuesd by , (NYSE: V) , (NYSE: MA) AXP) and others.
An agenf using United’s web site, bypassinyg such travel systems as Apollpoand Sabre, would not allow companies to capture the discounts they have negotiatedf with United nor would it allowq their travel agent to survey severak carriers on a route to find the lowest “Several Bay Area companies have deals with Unitee Airlines for discounts,” said Marc Casto, president of Castp Travel, which isn’t among the agencies that Unitee has cut off from its merchant-processing Casto says he’s reached out to some of the firm’w corporate clients to express concern over United’s new card acceptance policy, but declined to discuss what was said in those conversations.
Unitedr Airlines (NASDAQ: UAUA) did not respond to requests for United is hoping to shift the cost of acceptingf credit and debit card onto selectedtravel agencies. Thosre agencies say the airline’d move shifts to them the risk for paying out refunds if the carrieergoes bankrupt. While it’s also likely to reducer the amount of money that United has to keep in the bank to guarcdagainst charge-backs, it would increase thos requirements for the travel agents. That’s a nonstartee for most agencies — and thei r banks, which would have to honor charge-back requestse that could total billions of dollars in the event of anairline bankruptcy.
“I don’t thin k there’s any travel agency, including American Express that could shoulderthat liability,” Casto
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Illinois Attorney General Opinion Provides Guidance on "Recurrent Requester ... - JD Supra (press release)
mesiaipuhuni1981.blogspot.com
Illinois Attorney General Opinion Provides Guidance on "Recurrent Requester ... JD Supra (press release) The Public Access Counselor (PAC) of the Illinois Attorney General's Office recently issued a binding opinion concerning the new “recurrent requester†provision in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). As we provided in a recent FR Alert, ... |
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
AutoZone board approves $500M stock repurchase - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:
ernstiryastrov.blogspot.com
The company’s board of directors approves the repurchase June 17 as part ofthe company’s ongoinhg share repurchase program, the company announced after the close of marketsz Wednesday. The last repurchase authorization was in Decembe and was asimilar $500 million. Therse were three $500 million authorizations in 2008 and a totaof $7.9 billion since 1998. "Wes remain committed to utilizingv share repurchases within the bounds of a disciplinec capital structure to enhance stockholderd returns while maintaining adequate liquidity to execute our said CFOBill Giles.
Memphis-based AutoZone AZO) is the leading retailer and distributor of automotiver replacement parts and accessories inthe U.S. The compan y sells auto and lighttruck parts, chemicalsx and accessories through 4,172 AutoZone stores in 48 states, the Districtt of Columbia and Puerto Rico in the U.S. and 168 stores in Shares of AutoZone closed Wednesday at up 2.37 percent.
The company’s board of directors approves the repurchase June 17 as part ofthe company’s ongoinhg share repurchase program, the company announced after the close of marketsz Wednesday. The last repurchase authorization was in Decembe and was asimilar $500 million. Therse were three $500 million authorizations in 2008 and a totaof $7.9 billion since 1998. "Wes remain committed to utilizingv share repurchases within the bounds of a disciplinec capital structure to enhance stockholderd returns while maintaining adequate liquidity to execute our said CFOBill Giles.
Memphis-based AutoZone AZO) is the leading retailer and distributor of automotiver replacement parts and accessories inthe U.S. The compan y sells auto and lighttruck parts, chemicalsx and accessories through 4,172 AutoZone stores in 48 states, the Districtt of Columbia and Puerto Rico in the U.S. and 168 stores in Shares of AutoZone closed Wednesday at up 2.37 percent.
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