| US banks 'likely' to cut dividends
MORE US banks are likely to reduce their dividends in 2008 to shore up capital, as they boost reserves for a growing number of soured loans, a banking analyst said overnight. Sanford C. Bernstein & Co analyst, Kevin St Pierre, wrote that the Tier-1 capital ratio, which measures the ability to cover losses, declined at nearly 90 per cent of large US banks in the second half of 2007. Many banks also temporarily stopped share buybacks to boost capital. "After freezing share repurchases, the next step for banks with higher than desired payout ratios would be to supplement Tier-1 capital with preferred stock issuances," he wrote. "Beyond that, dividend cuts are likely." Mr St Pierre wrote that among banks with "the potential for high payout ratios and thin capital cushions," those at higher risk for dividend cuts include Bank of America, Fifth Third Bancorp, First Horizon National, Huntington Bancshares, National City, Regions Financial, SunTrust Banks and Wachovia.
ESP Announces Appointment of CFO
NEW YORK, Nov. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- ESP Holdings Corp., parent of Electronic Securities Processing (ESP) LLC, the buy-side solution, providing seamless, global execution, neutral routing and centralized settlement announced today the appointment of Michael L. Charland as Chief Financial Officer. For over 22 years, Charland has held various senior management rolls in Fortune 500 companies such as General Electric Company and E*TRADE Financial. Most recently, he held the CFO position at Capital Access Network. Charland's addition to the ESP team strongly reinforces the company's commitment to expansion in the marketplace. His knowledge and experience in large and small companies alike will enable ESP to focus even more on becoming the industry leader. "ESP is in a unique position to deliver powerful solutions for the buy- side client," said Charland.
Multigrain Announces Production, Processing Acquisition
SAO PAULO, Brazil, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The owners of Multigrain, a leading Brazil-based agricultural commodity business, announced today the company has acquired 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of farmland and related processing operations intended to strengthen its ability to serve customers around the world. CHS Inc. of St. Paul, Minn., PMG Trading of Brazil, and Mitsui & Co. Ltd of Japan are owners of Multigrain AG, the holding company for Multigrain. The purchase consists of land in the western Bahia, western Minas Gerais and southern Maranhao. The operations, known as XinguAgri farms, include production of soybeans, corn, cotton and sugarcane, as well as cotton processing in four locations. Multigrain currently is exploring opportunities for ethanol manufacturing in conjunction with its sugarcane production.
Nevada: Best and worst place to live
Economic development officials are very aggressively working to encourage businesses to relocate to Nevada," said Karen Kerrigan, CEO and president of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, a nonprofit group in Washington, D.C. "Economic development officials are very aggressively working to encourage businesses to relocate to Nevada. (But) Nevada may face problems accommodating its growing population, especially given the increasing scarcity of water and other resources."
environment
The best and worst environmental work are also exemplified in Nevada:
First the good: In 2007, Nevada was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its work making enforcement of the Clean Air Act a "top priority."
"(Nevada took) legal action against two Las Vegas-area power plants for air emissions violations," an EPA report released in October said.
SNP criticises Alexander’s month of ‘self-imposed silence’
If Brown is serious about keeping the Union then Wendy has to be thrown to the wolves as, coupled with all the rest of Labour in Scotland's Tammany Hall practices, this is the one that will break the the Unionist back. Then again the old saw; There's none so blind as those who will not see, applies in this case. .
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