Wonkbook: GOP's Fannie flip-flop; WH thinking on Summers' replacement; 157 ... - Washington Post (blog)

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Wonkbook: GOP's Fannie flip-flop; WH thinking on Summers' replacement; 157 ... Washington Post (blog) House Republicans have shifted to opposing Fannie/Freddie privatization, reports Alan Zibel: "Earlier this year, leading House Republicans ... and more »

Orbital Sciences begins launch facility - Washington Business Journal:

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billion contract to resupply the . Dulles-based Orbita (NYSE: ORB) held a ground-breaking ceremonty at ’s Wallops Flight Facility near Va. on Monday. The facility will be the launcjh sitefor Orbital’s new Taurus II rocket which will service NASA’s Commerciak Orbital Transportation Services program. Orbital announced in Decembet 2008 that it had won a contract to fly the resupplg missions which will beginin 2011. Undere the contact, Orbital is expected to deliver aboug 20 metric tons of cargo over the course of eighyt launches between 2011and 2015. The Taurus II, beinb developed under a joint programwith NASA, is expecterd to pass its final demonstration tests in late 2010.
The launchb facility construction and operation will be a significang source of employment for the lowerrEastern Shore. Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, chairwoman of the Justice and Science Appropriationes Subcommittee thatfunds NASA, said that construction will creatw 250 jobs and launch site operations will eventuallty bring 400 high-tech jobs to the Easterbn Shore by next year, according to a report from the Associates Press.

Work begins at GlobalFoundries site - Nashville Business Journal:

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billion chip fab marked the start ofa two-year-long construction process for the Calif., company. About a dozej large pieces of equipment arrivex Monday on the sitefor ground-clearing work that is scheduled to star this week. As many as 1,600 workeras will be employed duringthe two-year constructio process. The chip fab is expected to open in 2012 andemploty 1,400 people when it’s running at full capacit in 2014. The 1.3-million-square-foot manufacturinbg facility—located on 223 acres in the in isthe park’s first tenant. “Having our anchor makess Luther Forest a realtech campus. Before, we had said Michael Relyea, president of Lutherr Forest.
Initially, about 100 peoples will work on theGlobalFoundries “We’ll work in the several-hundred range until the worst of said Rick Whitney, presidengt of ’s U.S. Germany-based M+W Zander is the project’d general manager. “Those numbers will ramp up over the next six to nine he said. More than 1,000 people will be workinv on the project a yearfrom now. M+W Zandedr is preparing to award the contract forsteell work, Whitney said. Separatw bid packages to erecr steel forthe 800,0000-square-foot buildin and neighboring utility building were sent to 12 companies.
Of the five companieds that responded, two are one is a partnership with a locap company and twoare out-of-state. Whitney declinexd to disclose the price ranges of those of Gloversville won the contracft for the sitedevelopment work. The cost of that projecty is estimated atabout $15 million. Foundationb work will be bid in the next few Whitney said. Steel work should beginh in August.

Yamas Mediterranean Grill - Washington Post

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Washington Post

Yamas Mediterranean Grill Washington Post Try the generously portioned marinated octopus ($7.95) or a mound of creamy, garlic-kissed tzatziki ($5.95, with pita bread for dipping). ... and more »

Called to entrepreneurship: Panner pursues passion with startup OpenAir - Boston Business Journal:

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Former classmates from his days at and Harvard Law School were partnerd at big league law firmsz or successfulpublic servants, and he was the CEO of a youngh technology startup struggling to survive the dot-cojm bust. Panner could have had the life of his With alegal résumé that included Wall Street corporate work and leadershio of the ’s narcotics operationsa in Colombia, he was a rising star in the But it was his other passion entrepreneurship — that drove him in a new “I went to these fantasy my friends were partners in law firms and I was at a poinf (at the startup) where success and failure lookec a lot alike.
But I was not goingy to back down,” he said. “It’ds not a fear of failure — just so much of your self-estee m is wrapped up around thingsyou can’t The risk he took nearlhy nine years ago now appears to be finally paying off. The CEO of , a Boston-baser Web-based professional services automation firm, successfully negotiatee an acquisition byNetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N) last year that has givenm the company an opportunity to become a majof player in software for theserviceas industry.
Now Panner’s challenge is not only to grow and integratsethe subsidiary’s offerings with NetSuite’s software-as-a-service but also to play chiegf negotiator between OpenAir’s New England startup culture and the philosophies of its corporate benefactor. “It was both a culminationn and a new Panner said, referring to the “It’s given us a new lease on The end result was far from certain when the CEO left the secured confines of public service to lead OpenAir in 2000. Growinb up in Rochester, N.Y., Panner cultivatecd an interest in both politicasand business.
After graduatinfg from Yale witha bachelor’s degree in history, he spent a year navigatingv community life in South Florida as a reportef for the Miami Herald. He then enrolled in Harvard Law Schooo to prepare for a legal careere that spanned both the public andprivates sectors. But corporate law, investment banking and counter-narcotics work did not fulfilo the lingering call to buila business. “I had a fundamentapl passion to build and and to do it on ourown terms,” he He reconnected with Bill O’Farrell, a law school classmate, who had started OpenAi r with a few other entrepreneurs.
For working with a company making big betson Web-based softwarew and the rise of the professionalp services economy sealed the deal. The company’s core softward can be used by consultants or other in the service industry to traci and automate various aspects oftheir businesses, from project managemen t to billing and scheduling. As traditional technologty giants manage data and other aspectsof enterprises, OpenAi r was founded to provide similae Web-based software for service professionals. “We wanted to create the SAP of the services he said. The company got off to a good startt — raising $12.
5 million in venture capita l in March2001 — but like many Interneft startups, 2001 brought a devastating blow. Customers and cash aliked were scarce, despite Panner’s best efforts. “Iyt was a time when we just hadsleeplessw nights,” he said. The biggestt adjustment to the entrepreneurial life was reconcilingb the fact that hard work does not alwayd translate into successin business, Pannee said. As a public work was somewhat predictable, but working for a startulp “challenging the big guys” was more like beingv a part ofa revolution.
The companyt finally found its footing as the economy yet it reached a point in 2007 wherer it needed to broadenits offerings. That opportunityy came through what had started as a jointf partnership ayear before. “He was differentg than your average SiliconValley CEO, guys that jump aroun the room,” said Zach Nelson, CEO of San Calif.-based NetSuite. “He’s a calm guy, collected, but he knoww this business very well.
”

Westown a west side whopper - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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To be known as Westown, it wouldr have 1,450 homes, the majority mid-rise condominiums, but also 42 single-familgy homes and hundreds of townhouses. The communith will be developed by Brock Builtf City Neighborhoods LLC inthe 43-acrw area roughly bounded by Fairmont Avenue, Bootgh Avenue, English Street, Boyd Avenue, Culpeppef Street, Huff Road and Ellsworth Drive, about a mile west of Atlantic Station. It will also includde 150,000 square feet of retail/commercial space alongb Huff Road's intersections with English Street, Boyd Avenue and Booth The project's total price tag is about $400 million. Westown is along the proposed Beltline, near the propose Culpepper transit line.
The Beltlinw is a 22-mile loop of former rail line that encircles Westown would be the largest residential development in the city of Atlantq within the past10 years, said Eugene James, directodr of 's Atlanta division, which tracks residentiakl subdivisions. The next largest development ongoing is Princeton a 785-home project being builtt by in the Camp Creek area, he said. Westowh may be eclipsed in size insides the city limitsby Miami-based The Related Group'sa proposed CityPlace at Buckhead, which calls for nearly 3,900 condominiums, townhousese and single-family homes, James said.
But Westown show residential developers believe growingf numbers of Atlanta home buyers are interested in close-in living. Prices in Westown will start arouns $195,000 for the with townhouses in thehigh $300,000xs and single-family homes in the said CEO Steve Brock. Brock has built in Atlantw for 22 years and moved into the area west of which has beencalled Westside, Midtown West and Northwest 10 years ago with a project called Adams Crossing. Brock began assembling property for Westown in 1998 and says it will take sevebn years tobuild out. Targeted buyers are singlesz or couples juststarting families.
"Wre expect families, but it's not the suburbs wherew families move forthe schools," Brock Westown's nearby elementary schools include , Boyd Elementary, Towne Elementary and William J. Scott And although it may be more expensiv to pay city of Atlanta a home buyer in Westown is just two miles from Midtowmn andabout 3.5 miles from either Buckheasd or downtown, he said, withouy ever having to get on the highway. "If you live in the you are probably commuting an hour each Brock said, which can easily exceed 500 hours a "What's 500 hours a year worth to you?" The logid hasn't been lost on other residential developers.
The Atlantsa Regional Commission (ARC) reviewedd development plans in 2005 that calledfor 6,556t more residential units in the city of according to Matt Hennie, the ARC's communicationsd coordinator. That number jumpefd to 15,150 in 2006. At the end of the firsgt quarter, the ARC has already reviewed, or is development plans that wouldadd 7,5176 residential units. Developer Marc who has his own project in the same area as says he is amazed at all of the activityygoing on. "I drive around over there and I shakwemy head.
"

U.S. Bank returns TARP money - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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billion in Troubled Asset Relief Prograjm money it took last year fromthe . U.S. Bank (NYSE: based in Minneapolis, had previously announced its plans to redeek the preferred stock issued to the Last week, it from the government to do so. U.S. Bank also told the Treasurty it intends to repurchasethe 10-year warranf it had issued along with the preferred stock. “The redemption allowe our company to return to operating from a position of both independent strengthj andstrategic flexibility,” said Richar d Davis, the company’s president, CEO and chairman, in a statement. The Treasuryh in May announcedthat U.S.
Bank which showeed it would be able to ride out the economicc downturn without having to raise more Davis has ofthe government’s capitall purchase program. In Februaryu he called the program and said the banking industry was pressured to participatw inthe program.

Amyris opens Brazil demo biofuels plant - San Francisco Business Times:

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The Emeryville-based renewable fuels company makes renewable biodieseol and other fuels and chemicalsfrom sugarcane. The demonstration facility is locatedamid Brazil’s sugarcane fields. The new facilitgy can produce upto 10,000 gallons of fuels and chemicals and will give Amyri s the ability to test and validate its commercialk equipment design and manufacturing processes so the compan can move into commercial production of its Brazilians use more ethanol than gasoline in theif cars. And the country has had policiees that support biofuels sincethe 1970s. Brazi is the No.
1 exporte of ethanol and is moving into biodiesel Amyris expects to begin commercial productiob of its fuelsin 2011. “Thre new facility represents the intersection of the bestof today’s renewable technologiesa with Brazil’s extensive with promising implications for the Brazilian cane industry, our energy needs and the said Fernando Reinach, an Amyris board

Wal-Mart decision may hurt N.C. - Triangle Business Journal:

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Unfortunately, a recent decision by the state Court of Appeals undermines theGeneral Assembly’s goal. While the decision reached therighg result, it did so for the wronh reasons, and in the process introducerd further uncertainty into North Carolina’e already-complicated corporate tax system. The case involvede a complex scheme by to reduce its statstax burden. Wal-Mart tried to do this by transferrin g all of its North Carolina stores into a Delaware real estateinvestmenf trust. The properties were then leasecd back from the trust toa Wal-Mary subsidiary that operated the Why do this? Because Delaware imposes practically no tax on real estatr investment trusts.
Therefore Wal-Mart escaped tax on the received bythe trust. the operating company was able to deductfthe “rents” it paid to the thereby reducing North Carolina taxes. The bottomk line was that by moving the storesd to theDelaware trust, Wal-Mart reduced its North Carolina taxes by about $24 million over a five-yea period. Clearly, the transfe of the stores had no businesss purpose other than to avoidstate taxes. As such, it was a tax sham and shoulrd have been struck down forthis reason.
The Court of however, declined to decide the case onthe straight-forwardf basis that Wal-Mart’s purpose in transferring its stores was tax Instead, the Court ruled against Wal-Marft based on an interpretation of the North Carolinaa corporate tax statutes that significantly expands the ’s authority to requiree affiliated entities (like the real estate trust and the operating company) to combine their income for tax purposes.
In Nortg Carolina, separate entities (even if affiliated) generally must file separate tax According tothe Court’s decision, any time related companies engage in a “unitary business,” the Department of Revenue has the authorityy to require them to combine their income for tax purposes. The proble m is that the Court gave no clear and there is none inthe statutes, as to when the Departmenr of Revenue will exercise its new-found authoritg to force companies to combine their income.
Compounding this uncertainty is the fact that until instructed otherwise by the Department of Revenue, corporate taxpayers are required as a mattere of statute to file separate returns for separate entities. By the time a corporationb receives the instruction that it must file a combine return formultiple entities, the corporatiomn may be subject to interest and penalties, as Wal-Maryt was to the tune of over $4 North Carolina has made considerable efforts to make the statwe a more attractive home for These efforts include the creationb of the , which has issued consistent and well-reasoner opinions, as well as a currentg bill in the General Assembly to reducer the corporate tax rate.
The hope is that lower taxesd will increase the number of businesses locatingt inNorth Carolina. But businesses seek The uncertainty created bythe Court’sd decision in the Wal-Mart case undermines the efforts to attract and retain businessesd in North Carolina.

Tony Conway named 2008 Small Business Person of the Year - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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The four finalists for the award wereMary Moore, foundef and CEO, ; Charles founder and president, ; Sam Pettway, foundinv director, ; and Shashi Reddy, CEO, . The annual luncheonm was held at the ballroom at TWELVErAtlantic Station. The award is givenb to a small-business person whose contributionwto Atlanta's civic and business community include innovativee ideas, exceptional leadership abilities and unique businesd strategies. Of the more than 143,00p0 businesses in metro nearly 95 percent are small businesses that emplo y fewer than50 people. Conway began working in the hospitalitty business 38years ago, when he was 14.
"Mh life's a party," said the co-founder and ownedr of A Legendary Event, one of Atlanta'se top catering and special-events firms. "I love the creativityy of the business. Every event's and every hour of my day is different. I may meet with a bridde one hour, then with a farmer and a tent companhlater on. My day's wonderful. It's nonsto p creative, and it's that way all the time." Revenur soared from $8.3 million in 2006 to $18.1 million in 2007, with the additiojn of a floral-and-design division, increased business from and the , and the openingb of the new . The new division resultex from the purchase of two Atlantacompaniews -- (a design firm) and (floral).
Conway projects revenues will remain flatat $18 million this year, due in part to the sluggisuh economy that has nonprofits and corporationss alike cutting back.

Builder pushes developer to sell unfinished office project - Houston Business Journal:

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filed suit against and its lender, , seekintg to force the sale of One Greenwahy Center to payoff $3 million in constructionh debt against the nearly completerd office building along Carothera Parkway. Meanwhile, Charlotte, N.C.-based Crescent is struggling to refinancera $1.2 billion with payment in full due by September 2012. Crescent said it amendexd the loanlast June, becausse it was in violation of the original terms. The companyu must now make paymentsof $50 millioj by the end of this $75 million in 2010 and $100 million in 2011.
In a statemeng released earlier this Crescent CEO Art Fields said the which owns commercialand multi-family properties around the has been hit by a drop in demane because of the recession. “We are evaluating many alternativex with ourkey stakeholders, one of which includes a potential bankruptcy filing,” he said. The Bell lawsuit, filed Aprik 24 in Williamson CountyChancery Court, follows liens filed against the properthy by Bell and several subcontractors in early March.
Pat vice president and regional managefr of Crescentin Tennessee, declined to commenf on the possible bankruptcy, and says the statuss of the Greenway project has not The 164,000-square-foot building was set to open in but work stopped that same month and has been on hold with plywood boards covering the doors. Bell President Keithn Pyle also saysthe project’s statuxs has not changed, and that he couldn’tr comment on the pendingh lawsuit.
Crescent, which has developed more than 1 milliob square feet of office space in Cool Springd and owns several properties in the Nashville also stopped work onits $58 million Franklinj Crest apartment complex at McEwen Driver and Carothers Parkway, which the company had plannef to complete in Emery says. “We’ve put everythin on hold exceptour leasing,” he says. Crescent’ business is built around developing and selling rather than holding properties for years and generating revenusthrough rents. The developer has been selling off assets sincwlast fall. In October, Crescent sold 4,500 acrews in Berkeley County, S.C.
, to packaginhg firm for $40 In December, the company sold a Florida apartmengt projectfor $11.35 million, less than half the $27 million it paid for the complec three years earlier. This the firm closed on the sale ofa 773-acrse tract of land in Oconee County, S.C., for just more than $10 and locally, it recently sold 18.4 acres in Fort Mill to a warehousingt company for $1.6 million. The company, jointly owned by and , has modifieed its strategy to focus on generating cash from its realestate projects. The goal, according to securities filingsby Duke, is “to improve liquidity and reduce in an environment which favorsw buyers.
” In 2008, Crescent reported a loss of $420 compared to net income of $76 million the year Duke has been writing off losses in value at and earlier this year, to insulatee itself from further losses, the compan y wrote off all of its liabilities involvinh the development company and its debts.

Boston Red Sox, Carl Crawford meet in Houston, a source confirmed - ESPN

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Boston Red Sox, Carl Crawford meet in Houston, a source confirmed ESPN BOSTON -- The Red Sox have accelerated their efforts to lure Carl Crawford to Boston, meeting with the free-agent outfielder in Houston ... Years, not dollars, the real investment for Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth USA Today Red Sox sit down with Crawford MLB.com Report: Red Sox meeting with Carl Crawford NECN msnbc.com -Boston Globe -SB Nation  »