IOWA CITY — MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. has received preliminary approval from the U.S. Treasury Department to participate in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Capital Purchase Program, a voluntary program designed to increase the flow of credit to support the economy.
MidWestOne Financial is the parent company of MidWestOne Bank. MidWestOne Financial has been preliminarily approved to sell to the Treasury $34.925 million of senior preferred stock and warrants to acquire shares of its common stock.
The Capital Purchase Program, announced in October, is a voluntary program that encourages financial institutions to build capital to help increase the flow of financing to businesses and consumers in order to support the economy. Under the program, Treasury will purchase, on standardized terms, up to $250 billion of senior preferred stock and warrants in U.S. financial institutions.
“We are pleased that MidWestOne has been selected to participate in this voluntary program. In addition to our strong capital position, which is evidenced by the fact that our capital ratios currently exceed those required to be considered well-capitalized, this new equity investment will increase our capacity to lend and enhance our ability to support economic activity in the local communities we serve,” said Charlie Funk, President and CEO, in a written statement.
“We believe that participating in this program presents us with an attractive opportunity during this uncertain economic environment, as it will provide us with capital to be used in implementing our strategy of supporting growth in our communities through smart, responsible lending,” said Funk.
The company intends to hold a special meeting of shareholders in mid to late January, 2009, at which shareholders will vote on proposed amendments to the company’s articles of incorporation to authorize preferred stock that may be issued to Treasury pursuant to the Capital Purchase Program and to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock. The company has filed preliminary proxy materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the special meeting of shareholders, and intends to file definitive proxy materials in the near future. Upon filing of definitive proxy materials, such materials will be mailed to the Company’s shareholders. The materials will contain specific information regarding the date, time and place of the special meeting and voting procedures.
26 December 2008
Midwestone to receive $35 million from bailout program
28 October 2008
Protect our belonging
GPS tracking if I heard that words I always remember about one of my favorite film, the title is “Enemy of the state” maybe you all already watch this movie and so many question will come up, we feel that the personal live will no longer belong to us, every single movement always still can be track.
Understand that GPS tracking will help us to track our belonging or to track our family, our pets or anything that we need to know. Now days this technology already used worldwide since it was found and really help for mankind. Although so many pro contra with this stuff, but still mostly said that this is a wonderful tools that can help the world with all their consequent
If we talk about GPS tracking 4 year ago it seems that this is the high end stuff and only limited off people that really need this, military the one that always using this stuff, they can put at car, airplane, etc. Also it can track people without realizing it, for me this kind of stuff we need it as long as we used it as in good purposed.
05 October 2008
Web Hosting Service
Everyone knows the Internet. Adult, Elder, Kids, Teenage, and everyone using internet to find information and knowledge for daily purposes. Some might say that Internet has a great wisdom. But do you know about the process…? About the internet? Or even about web hosting service?
First of all, a website needs webhosting service to store files and programming language. So webhosting is a vital for a webmaster. A webhosting service provides a service that allows webmaster to store web pages. Many webhosting providers sell or giving a free service, they provide the technology and servers to view and store website on the internet. They store website (also called web pages) on a dedicated computer called a server. The server is a small part of a huge network of computers on the World Wide Web that allows internet users from around the world to access your site at anywhere and anytime. The internet is never sleep, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and you’ve got the idea.
Most hosting companies require that you buy your own domain name before purchasing hosting service. But worry not because many webhosting providers also includes free domain on their packages. You can buy the domain name and hosting at the same time. Internet is easy, if you know how to use it. Host computers are configured so that when your URL or domain name is typed in, the address will use a pointer routine (look for the address from terminal to terminal) until it reaches the computer that hosts your web-site. Then, if all is okay, your web site should display itself on the users screen.
Next, let’s talk about the domain name. A domain is a unique name that identifies IP addresses on the World Internet. For example, the domain name Google.com represents about 15 IP address. If you are planning to use a web hosting provider service, you can always check on webmaster customer review to help you decide on which one you will use.
Happy playing Internet.
04 October 2008
Confusing me, which one to buy
I’ve been walking under the street this afternoon, they called it kapas krampung street and try to find my shopping list for my new server project link which is already 2 hours I put in my pocket, and by chance my eyes is stand out to a small store that selling several type of digital camera, well actually my destination is not really want to buying a digital camera.
Follow my instinct I asked a several question about Canon EOS Rebel XSi, Nikon D40 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A200 well as a person that has a limited budget I try grab all the information in details. Although the answer was not really satisfied me still I try to asked the brochure and manufacturer description and I decide not to buy the camera right away.
Back to my house and comparing all the detail information that I got still not really understand and I am still not yet decide whether want to buy Canon which has a good image quality, or Nikon which is the seller said “natural color” or just to buy Sony which I had no information clearly about this. Well still confusing me …..or maybe you just need to browse here, so hopefully your decision will not wrong.
24 September 2008
Five ways to lose a proxy fight
A proxy fight is akin to a political campaign and getting the message out and the votes in are tantamount to shoring up a win, says Stuart Morrow, senior partner at the law firm Davis LLP in Vancouver, who specializes in disputed shareholder meetings and proxy campaigns.
"Proxy contests are ultimately won and lost at the ballot box:Whoever has the most shareholder support gets the prize at the end of the day.
"It is very much an exercise in persuading shareholders that the dissidents have a more effective plan for maximizing shareholder value than do incumbent management."
Or visa-versa.
Mr. Morrow wrote a paper outlining the fine points of conduct and related case law surrounding proxy contests and shareholder meetings and offers up the following five, sure-fire ways that can see an otherwise worthy proxy challenge go off the rails:
1. Fail to sell your vision and message A message needs to be clear, forward-thinking in its outlook and disseminated to as many shareholders as possible.
2. Lack of financial resources The formalities associated with a proxy battle can be very expensive, Mr. Morrow said. Parties rarely want a protracted battle so most proxy campaigns are settled prior to the shareholders' meeting, when the parties either reach a compromise or a negotiated settlement.
3. Underes timate your opponent Never underestimate the dissidents and don't take major shareholder loyalty for granted. Your opponents may be more credible than you anticipate. Parties rarely want a protracted battle so most proxy campaigns are settled prior to the shareholders' meeting, when the parties either reach a compromise or a negotiated settlement.
4. Distress, distraction and disorganization A sudden challenge to the incumbent management and board can result in shock, panic and an inability to mount a rapid and credible counter-attack, contributing to a market perception of weakness, adding momentum to the dissidents' campaign.
5 . Ignore the technical details The devil is in the detail. Slip up and you can be on the wrong end of a proxy fight. Count on rigorous scrutiny of technical details related to your campaign and shareholders' meeting, including the overlay of applicable corporate and securities laws, stock exchange rules, company bylaws, articles. Overlook one little detail and you will create a compliance minefield for opposing counsel to exploit and undermine your campaign.
23 September 2008
CSX Capitulates In TCI Proxy Fight
Ending a long-running and ugly battle, U.S. railroad CSX Corp. will seat two director nominees whose victory over management candidates it had disputed.
The move to add the second pair of nominees proffered by activist hedge funds The Children’s Investment Fund and 3G Capital Partners comes after a federal appeals court upheld a lower court decision allowing the two funds to vote their 6.4% stake in CSX. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals refused to overturn the June decision which found that late disclosures by the hedge funds did not cause the irreparable harm to CSX shareholders necessary to strip them of their rights.
CSX said TCI chief Christopher Hohn and London Underground managing director Timothy O’Toole will join the company’s 12-member board on Sept. 24. Two other hedge fund nominees, including 3G’s Alexandre Behring, were seated in July. The Jacksonville-based company refused to seat Hohn and O’Toole at the time because their margin of victory was small enough that a CSX court victory could have kept them off the board.
22 September 2008
Miner Gets Proxy Nod in HF Battle
Proxy advisory firm PROXY Governance Inc. (PGI) is siding with the management of mining company Cleveland-Cliffs in its battle with hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners.
Harbinger, which owns about 15.6 percent of Cleveland-Cliffs, has sought permission to increase its stake to more than 20 percent of the company. Even if the fund does get approval, it will still not be allowed to hold more than a third of the company.
Last month, however, Cleveland-Cliffs asked shareholders to reject the proposal. Management has clashed with Harbinger over the company's bid to acquire Alpha Natural Resources, a move Harbinger opposes. Instead, the fund has suggested Cleveland-Cliffs should consider putting itself up for sale.
On Friday, PGI backed management, issuing an 11-page report on the matter. The proxy advisor noted Harbinger has not proposed to pay any control premium as part of its acquisition of more shares, and yet the fund would effectively gain the ability to block the Alpha deal.
"Because the proposed control share acquisition could give Harbinger effective veto power over certain corporate strategies and strategic transactions, but offers shareholders neither a control premium not a discernable economic or strategic advantage they would not otherwise realize, we recommend shareholders reject the proposal," the PGI report concluded.
In its own letter to shareholders on Friday, Harbinger in essence agreed with the idea that its proposal is about the Alpha takeover. Harbinger called the deal with Alpha "too much, too fast." The issue will be resolved at the company's shareholders meeting on Oct. 3.
Legendary investor Philip Falcone founded Harbinger in 2001. The fund has more than $21 billion in assets under management. It has recently disclosed stakes in RTI International, AK Steel Holding Corp. and Media General Inc.
13 August 2008
Internet as primary demands
Are we live on a small world? No we don’t, the earth is as big as we know it contains 5 continent and 7 seas. Is it hard to communicate over the seas? No, it is not, because of advance communication technology we have, communication between 2 person no matter how far they are, can be established as they are facing each other. Maybe most of you know this and maybe each of you have been surfing the Internet via mobile broadband, and maybe you have a cell phone on each of your pocket. For a personal need cell phone or communication gadget main function is to communication, but as businessman communication is a vital that can be denied at any cost.
When money is involved, a businessman will fulfill any requirements to enhance their performance and of course their credibility. Fast service, minimum claims and good marketing can be achieved through good communication. But today, a businessman doesn’t have to stay in the office to do their work. Just take the laptop, plug the mobile broadband, finding the hotspot that provides 3G signal and voila…they have the world in front of their vey eyes. Conduct a speed test to make sure your connection is stable and trustworthy.
Having a sophisticated gadgets make our lives easy. Download or stream a movie is just like playing from local computer. Broadband connection is providing us a high speed connection, that won’t make you wait any longer to open some web site. If you are dial-up users, migrating to broadband is recommended. Faster connection potential will stands out when:
- Playing game Online
- Upload or download a big file
- Streaming a video online
- Chatting and using a real time webcam
- And still many more…
Labels: Review
09 August 2008
Broadband connection advantages
People are getting used with Internet today, as communication technology is advancing more beyond that our can imagine. High speed Internet is more common for every house. Internet Service Provider is growing rapidly, and we can choose the one that fit us well. When choosing broadband connection you should really consider about the reliability, connection speed and the pricing. You can do your broadband speed test to know how fast your connection now. Broadband is faster than dial up connection, making surfing become more comfortable, cutting the waiting time loading picture and webpage. Reduce the possibilities your download progress being cut off.
Peoples who work from home may only need some reliable internet access, if they just sending documents, graphics or letters for their clients. But for high density factory or companies, high speed internet is one of crucial aspect for transporting large amount data from affiliates, selling report or even having a teleconference between branch and main office. They will need bigger bandwidth to upload and download purpose, and broadband speed is perfect for fulfilling this condition.
Personally I too have been using broadband connection for 2 years. Because I need high speed and constant connection to make me business to roll. About the pricing, I think even broadband is more expensive than dial up, but the advantages is unquestionable. This is the benefits of using a broadband:
- Fast download
- 4.5 to 140 times faster than dial up connection
- Always on connection
- Telephone and Internet access can be used together.
- No telephone charges
What kind of PC do I need to run broadband?
- The following minimum is, however, recommended:
- Processor 200 MHz (or better)
- Operating System Windows 98SE (or higher)
- RAM (memory) 32 MB RAM
- Free Disk Space 125MB
- SVGA monitor
- CD-ROM Drive
- Network Interface Card(NIC) with 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port with RJ45 socket
Labels: Review
31 July 2008
Tips for starting you home page
Home page is very common in these days. Lot of people stared to think to create their own website. I want to write about how to start a homepage from the very beginning.
How do you choose a hosting provider when there are thousands of hosting companies available online? There are lots of them. You must consider few things to choose. The higher the downtime of a server, the lower the potential for traffic at your web site. You can find any article that cover about web hosting on the net. Another consideration is how much space is provided for the files that will make up your web site. How much bandwidth is in your package? Monthly bandwidth is the amount of data transfer allowed for visitors to view and use your web site. More bandwidth equal more visitor, that sure a good news. But please remember if many programs such as proxy server is making your bandwidth exhausted but you only have few unique visitor. Proxy is a service to cache some ip addresses to display on another ip that request the same page. This is making your unique visitor counted as 1 even you have dozens reader. Proxy is like a coin, having 2 sides. On one side it may proven useful, but on the other side it cause bad result, unavoidable.
It is important to get as much server space and bandwidth as you can. This will allow for necessary updates and increased traffic to your site as it becomes more popular. Because of this issue you have to find a perfect web hosting that meet your criteria, and of course suit you perfectly. Refer to this page to find your upcoming web hosting. You can have your question answered there.
Obtain a domain name that will help you in your marketing niche and strategy. If your business name is already taken by someone else then get a URL name close to what you are doing. Purchasing a business name domain name isn’t the only way to go, and when a keyword domain name could do just fine. If you experiencing trouble for finding one you can always refer the Internet for additional information about domain names. Keep it Short & Memorable – Don’t get a URL that uses all 26 letters of the alphabet. Remember, your domain name is an extension of your business and your brand of product or service.
Labels: Review
25 July 2008
Proxy firms disjointed in support of Yahoo's board
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Investor advisory firms are split on whether to partially furtherance the re-choice of Yahoo Inc's (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) refreshment of employers ahead of its every twelve months encounter, but their reviews have less authority since Yahoo struck a deal to avert a proxy battle.
Proxy adviser Glass Lewis & Co has recommended that Yahoo shareholders vote against Chairman Roy Bostock and two extra directors in rally over the company's road record on policymaking pay, and the firm expressed fretfulness over a deal to site militant investor Carl Icahn on its panel.
Glass Lewis noted that Bostock, Ron Burkle and Arthur Kern were on Yahoo's compensation committee in 2007, when the company increased pay for executives even as it performed poorer than rivals, according to a July 23 report obtained by Reuters on Thursday.
Separately, ISS Governance Services, a unit of RiskMetrics (RMG.N: Quote, Profile, Research), recommended in its own report this week that investors vote to re-designate all remaining Yahoo timber associates, including one, Robert Kotick, who asked to step down on Sunday from the boarding.
ISS differed with Yahoo management on a non-binding proposal to be put reticent at the August 1 twelve-monthly consultation, recommending its base of institutional investors vote in favor of a "pay for recital" proposal that Yahoo management has opposed.
"We suppose that Yahoo's compensation practices, in unique the freshly-adopted severance pay plans, as well as the way the sustenance handled negotiations with Microsoft at the first rostrum, are concerning," the ISS report concludes.
Yahoo reached a deal with Icahn earlier this week to make bigger its slat to 11 supporters, agreeing to let him and two of his nominees join to avert a proxy battle at the once yearly engagement. The pact takes drift after the business meeting.
ISS recommends that Yahoo investors desist from voting for Icahn's alternative slate of nominees, but struck a confident note about the force Icahn and his outside nominees can have on the plank in the wake of the proxy settlement with Yahoo.
"We have faith in the settlement appointing Mr. Icahn as a paltry owner representative as well as two of his selected nominees with pertinent industry experience have achieved what most shareholders known as for," ISS said.
But Glass Lewis said the fact that Icahn by this time serves on seven civic company boards was a cause for unease.
"We imagine shareholders would television Mr. Icahn's capacity to offer adequate time and attention to the company," the report advised Yahoo investors.
Icahn launched a proxy battle against Yahoo in May to take along it back to the negotiating slab with Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research).
At minimum one minor Yahoo stockholder, Legg Mason fund leader Bill Miller, declined to back Icahn.
While many Yahoo shareholders sought a deal, Microsoft has cast off interest in obtaining all of Yahoo since talks over a $47.5 billion bid collapsed in May.
"It (a merger deal) didn't work out," Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said at the company's annual meeting for Wall Street analysts on Thursday. "Fine, we're done. We can move on," he said. But he also said parley could restart later.
10 July 2008
Pakistan's proxy war
For the country, and the Congress-led Regime especially, it was a Disgraceful Weekday: Its Governance in Jammu & Kashmir vanish; the Tract withdrew its connection; it mislaid a few legislators in Mysore to the BJP; and horror of horrors, Pakistan official its proxy war against India in Afghanistan through a slayer knock targeting the Indian Embassy in Kabul. The car bomb suicide flack, the deadliest in Kabul since 9/11, marks the closing of the decade-long India-Pakistan surreptitious tweezer war in Afghanistan. The Pakistan ISI-sponsored excise is the clearest sign that the handwear are off: Islamabad is reasserting the construct of strategic depth in Afghanistan and difficult trespasser Metropolis's incursion into its authorized domain of work.
After the dismantlement of the Taliban programme in Kabul, Pakistan has constantly feared encirclement by Bharat especially after the Amerindic Air Cause's new air compound at Farkhor in Tadzhik and through its small force: Economic and benefactor aid which has prefab a scholarly incurvation on Afghans. If the theory of strategic action is a viable one, Bharat deserves ascribe for it conferred it does not mortal close borders with Afghanistan. India's strategic objectives in Afghanistan are superior met with a pro-India Regime in Kabul possession an eye on Pakistan and operation to resource-rich Work Asia.
Islamabad's whimsey of strategic depth in Afghanistan is a keenly debated somebody in Pakistan. Few experts, including previous Blue Supervisor Gen Jehangir Karamat, say it is an superannuated thought, a relic of the Wintry War. Others, including the new Government, dissent. It has, thus, reinvented a author combative variant of countering India's development persuade in Afghanistan which it believes has been encouraged by the Karzai Government to wheel Pakistan.
The Amerind presence in Afghanistan, through its old and new Consulates at Metropolis, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad and City, has stoked Pakistan's fears that India's R&AW had set up these outposts, especially the net two, bordering Pakistan for functioning backstair dealing against Islamabad. It has supposed that R&AW is assisting the Baluchistan Accomplishment Blue with accumulation and funds to stimulate the ongoing rebellion.
The logic and theory of the India-Pakistan disagreement in Afghanistan is contained in a past document publicized by the US Displace for Strategic and Worldwide Studies, entitled Bharat and Pakistan in Afghanistan: Opposing Sports. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan person never been worsened than now with Kabul accusing Islamabad of cross-border terrorism in the comparable music as Metropolis has been doing for decades. That makes both India and Afghanistan victims of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
It is not retributive in Afghanistan where Pakistan is search strategic depth but also in Jammu & Cashmere, though the strategic think has shifted from easternmost to westernmost with nearly 100,000 troops deployed on the Pakistan-Afghan border. Bulk of these forces were affected low US persuasion after 9/11 and included key strategic force earmarked against Bharat. One of the reasons the Pakistan Grey is reluctant to fisticuffs the soul war in the westward is to acquire the effective equilibrise against Amerind forces in the eastbound.
Other cerebrate is to see the warmth of the killer attacks off Pakistan and learning it to Afghanistan. That is the explanation of the peace deals with the old and new Taleban. That the initiate for the new proxy war between Bharat and Pakistan is to be Afghanistan is confirmed by the Writer House's new interrogatory by Man Linksman, Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. He makes the aggressive right that ISI and Frontier Corps are aiding the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan with the direct aim of equalisation India.
The slayer move, attractive out the defence attaché , the semipolitical counsellor and ITBP guards comes after ternion booming strikes against Butt Anchorage System department this period in north-west Afghanistan. The square assault on the Asian Embassy was unsurprising any case now. It represents a big use to Hesperian efforts to cobble together limited way of cooperation between Bharat and Pakistan rather than outright showdown in Afghanistan.
The India-Pakistan United Anti Threat Mechanism, which has prefab no find in providing clues to any of the recent mortal attacks, could now ruin descending. As the convener of the India-Pakistan Track II, I jazz been trying for the high two life without any modicum of success to stronghold the JATM afloat patch urging old Pakistani Generals and scholars on the seminar circuit to look beyond the fatigued notion of strategic depth. We had agreed to include cooperation in Afghanistan as the ordinal part on the India-Pakistan flower talks and were also exploring new options for cooperation under the SAARC charter.
As all cardinal countries were victims of terrorism, besides the bipartite JATMs, a multilateral frame could be examined, it was agreed. Despite Asiatic requests through the Jirgah, Pakistan has obdurately refused to support India with a craft journeying corridor. Islamabad fears that surpass and cheaper Indian goods would outclass its products. Pakistan feels that India, finished its $ 800 meg bipartite aid schedule - the fifth largest - has low Islamabad to a fringe participant in Afghanistan.
About 4,000 Indians are employed in Afghanistan on projects which also involve 25 confidential companies. The shove areas are structure developing, humanitarian assistance and uninteresting and hominal imagination employment. The age projects are korea by the Asiatic Governance. Nearly 600 ITBP and CISF organisation are deployed for the certificate of these projects. In substance of the latest killer flak, both the warranty structures and surveillance faculty hit to be strong.
June was the bloodiest month in Afghanistan since the war on mortal began in 2001. Regularise Irak was tame by scrutiny. Most worrying is the path of the suicide sandwich which is streaming from Bagdad to Kabul to Islamabad with venomous lethality. The archetypical kill aggress in Afghanistan was in 2004 and nakedness digit that gathering. Incoming twelvemonth, the ascertain augmented to 17. In 2006 and 2007, the image catapulted to 123 and 117. This assemblage, already the score is 66, not to cite the nearly 100 attacks in Pakistan subterminal year.
The killing scenario is scarey as there is no cure to those willing to die. India has so far not fallen on the jihadi slayer itinerary, but the slayer hero has reached our doorstep. The suave cover is credible to crumble in the run up to the Installation election in Jammu & Cashmere afterward this period. Our tidings and counter-terrorism agencies human to fortify up for the new war which must be fought in Afghanistan - and if requisite in Pakistan. If the terrorist danger emanating from Pakistan is not met conjointly by the trey SAARC countries, it faculty get to be fought on India's damage.
09 July 2008
Microsoft Joins Icahn in Yahoo Proxy Battle
Icahn's proxy push to succeed Character's inhabit got a new perversion of clean this forenoon, as Microsoft declared that "after the shareowner election Microsoft would be fascinated in discussing with a new inhabit a leading transaction with Yahoo!, specified as either a dealings to get the "Hunt" role with colossal financial guarantees or, in the choice, purchase the unit affiliate."
Microsoft's abbreviated evidence, available via Character Economics news (yes, I apprise the witticism) follows a statement this forenoon from Icahn to Yahoo shareholders. In it, he writes that if his fight succeeds, "I strongly believe that in real low organization the new table would, matter to its property duties, be presenting to shareholders either a purchase engage for the entire circle or a real winning furnish to purchase "Hunt" with feature had visit conversations, several of which "tally lasted as monthlong as an distance."
Yahoo's greeting? "If Microsoft and Mr. Ballmer really poverty to acquire Character!, we again invite them to work a proposition instantly. And if Mr. Icahn has an very idea for Character! beyond hoping that Microsoft power actually masterly a transaction which they hump repeatedly walked away from, we would be rattling interested in hearing it.”
As Semiconductor Alley Insider notes, a renewed Microsoft message with a new Character committee would belike be for a white control inferior than the newfangled $33 per distribute. Microsoft isn't providing any specifics on what a muckle mightiness face suchlike, let solo a new live or CEO (which the Insider says would be a operative next propose.
As of 1:54pm oriental, Character shares are up 9.84 pct after this current brouhaha.
28 June 2008
Three Dollar Tree proxy
A proposal for annual elections for directors at Dollar Tree Inc. Stores by the California Public Employees' Retirement System has been endorsed by three proxy advisers.
The proposal is on the proxy card for the discount chain's annual shareholders meeting June 19. Supporting the CalPERS decision are proxy advisers Egan-Jones Ratings Co., Glass Lewis & Co. and RiskMetrics Goup.
Dollar Tree (Nasdaq; DLTR), based in Chesapeake Va., has three classes of directors, with each class of director serving three-year terms. CalPERS' proposal seeks annual elections for all board members.
CalPERS owns 377,600 shares of Dollar Tree.
As of April 30, Dollar Tree's financial results have underperformed the Russell 3000 index by 47.4 percent and the Russell Peer Index by 13.9 percent over the past five years.
Over the years, CalPERS has been critical of public companies whose directors have long and staggered terms because it reduces accountability of directors to shareholders.
The pension fund last year put Dollar Tree on its "focus list" of underperfoming companies, primarily for its board structure. With its board structure, the company can entrench management and stymie takeover bids or proxy contests, RiskMetrics said in a prepared statement.
With more than $243 billion in assets, CalPERS is the nation's largest public pension fund.
26 June 2008
Investment Group Vows Proxy Fight
Three investors has disclosed in a long storage with SEC that they play to step? phase a proxy struggles to get three Napster (CARD GAME) board seats. Trio enters in it Perry Rod, what elaborates himself as one self-supporting investors and president from Market Rap LLC, a bevy developing one investor public locations, like also leader The Paradise Project, “ an nonprofit religion organization;” Thomas Sailors, from investment company Cloverdale Investments, and a former managing director in Bank from American Securities; and Kavan Singh, who owns 10 Cold Stone Creamery franchises and other business interests.
Where's Carl Icahn when you requires him?
Trio makes points some interesting, what summarizes to the fact that Napster trades at one particular market cap from $707 million, or almost exactly number of from cashes above of balance. Equally, market ascribes duck's egg to business Napster. “We believe this discrepancy is a result of negative sentiment surrounding almost all music content businesses due to the unresolved effects of piracy, but also due to a lack of confidence in the way the company is governed,” they give voice by writing name of storage of their SEC. They refer that In May 2007, CBS pays $280 million for LastFM; investors quarrels Napster “ may hold considerably more value.”
The three men together hold 648,100 Napster shares, or about a 1.4% stake.
Napster today unchanged close at $148.
08 May 2008
Proxy war in Red zone
ELPAHARI (WEST MIDNAPORE): Ripples of Nepal politics seem to have reached the shores of this “not-so-developed’ district of South Bengal. Even as the Indian Maoists have repudiated Prachanda’s tryst with multi-party democracy, persons having strong Maoist links are contesting the panchayat elections on various party tickets. And this, despite the Maoists’ vote boycott call like in the earlier elections.
Kajal Sardar is a case in point. Sardar’s name was on the West Bengal Police’s “list of most wanted” till a few days ago for her Maoist activities. The same is true for Kalachand Kisku, who served a seven-month jail term for his Maoist links. They are contesting the panchayat elections on Congress ticket. Kisku is fighting from the Bhulabheda gram panchayat.
Instances are galore. Ananda Mura of Banspahari was put behind the bars for nine months for his involvement in violence triggered by the Maoists. Dipak Sardar — another known Maoist activist now out on bail — is the Congress candidate from Banspahari.
There are at least three suspected Maoists on the Jharkhand Party (Naren)’s list of candidates. Even CPM, the worst victim of Maoist actions in the district, has fielded a woman from a family with Maoist links from the the Velaidiha panchayat samiti seat.
According to intelligence sources, the sudden surge in the number of Independent candidates also explains the phenomenon. In Bhulabheda block alone, there are 48 candidates contesting for 10 seats — nine from CPM, 10 from Jharkhand Party, nine from Congress, one from Socialist Party and 19 Independents. PCC member and Belpahari block Congress president Subrata Bhattacharya said, “This is the first election where several victims of state terrorism are contesting. We are giving them full support. They should protest and tell the world how they are living. We are trying to keep them in the mainstream.’
Amiya Sengupta, CPM’s Binpur zonal committee member, said, “We have checked the profiles our candidates. If some family is recorded to have Maoist links, that is police’s fault.’
The Binpur MLA, who is a leader of Jharkhand party (Naren), said, “I have said earlier that it is a joint conspiracy by CPM and police to label our workers as Maoists only to weaken our party.”
Proxy Voting
A new website helps individual investors better understand proxy voting.
SocialFunds.com -- For many people who own mutual funds and stocks, the proxy voting season seems like a party they were politely invited to, held on the moon and conducted in the Klingon language. In other words, proxy voting can seem confusing, hard to understand, and not worth the drive. The newly launched website www.ProxyDemocracy.org was created to let people quickly and easily learn about proposals and people in front of companies they own shares in so they cast their proxy votes.
Large institutional investors have the resources to pay for proxy voting services and/or have staff members to research the proposals and directors to be voted on at annual shareholder meetings. However, most individual investors don't have the time or money to learn about all the proposals at the companies they own stocks in.
ProxyDemocracy creator and president Andy Eggers-a current PhD candidate in political science at Harvard University-saw a way shareholders could benefit from the research done for institutional investors. Some of these institutional investors like the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) publish online how they plan to vote before the annual meetings, in a move to increase their own transparency and accountability.
"ProxyDemocracy helps individual shareowners see how to vote their shares in ways consistent with their goals, and which mutual funds and pension funds vote in ways consistent with the goals of the individuals who invest through them," said Mark Latham, founder of VoterMedia.org and on the board of directors at ProxyDemocracy.
Latham continued, "The ProxyDemocracy.org website's new Focus List capability lets you compare funds' voting records on any chosen proxy issue (environmental, social, governance, etc.). You can then choose to receive (by email before the voting deadline) future voting decisions of funds you respect, and use that as a guide to voting your own shares."
"Over 50 million households in the US own stocks or mutual funds, and in the great majority the proxy statements go straight to the trash (or recycling, let's hope)," said Eggers. "Our tools are designed to make it easy as possible for people to be represented in this process, whether it's by quickly figuring out whether there's anything worth paying attention to at an upcoming meeting or by buying a mutual fund that has a voting record they can get behind."
Beyond individual investors, Eggers also sees the site as destination for money managers, particularly those catering to SRI-inclined clients, and for some small institutions without a big budget for proxy voting analysis.
The site uses the agendas and votes found on the websites of CalPERS, Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS), Domini Social Investments, and Calvert Socially Responsible Mutual Funds for all meetings after July 1, 2007. The agendas and votes for all meetings before July 1, 2007 were collected from SEC filings submitted by mutual funds. Since 2004, the SEC has required investment companies to report all of their proxy votes in an annual filing.
Eggers wrote the computer programs to extract the votes from the SEC filings and from the institutions' websites, and created a single unified database on which ProxyDemocracy.com is built.
A 2006 survey released by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) found that fewer than half of investors reported voting their proxies some or most of the time, and actual voting results suggest that less than half shareholders vote.
Eggers told SocialFunds.com, "I see the site helping investors navigate this process with minimal hassle. It is not worth your time to read the proxy materials or look up mutual fund voting records on the SEC website. We're trying to spare individuals the trouble of going through that, with the hope that broader and more informed participation will not only help investors safeguard their own investments, but also bring about economically and socially beneficial change."
Investors in mutual funds will also find the new site useful to examine how mutual funds vote on the companies they own in their portfolios. Because of the relative ease that some people can change their 401(k) funds, Eggers believes that there is no reason for people to have their money with a fund that doesn't vote the way they want.
"Many funds have very similar portfolios and risk profiles but very different voting records," said Eggers. "For example, Vanguard and Schwab both offer low-cost S&P 500 Index Funds (i.e., their portfolio and investment strategy is identical), but Schwab's fund is much more active on both social and corporate governance issues."
Although most proposals and shareholder annual meetings support a status quo at companies, shareholder activists are finding that proposals-even when they don't receive a majority vote-can be vehicles for change:
Eggers added, "In recent years, shareholder revolts at Disney, Home Depot, and Yahoo were immediately followed by changes in corporate management. Proxy campaigns in the last few years have brought about increased disclosure of corporate political donations at dozens of firms. And behind the scenes, shareholder activists rely on the threat of an embarrassing vote result to extract concessions from recalcitrant executives on a variety of environmental, social, and governance issues."
Proxy Fight againt
Despite last-ditch efforts to avoid a proxy fight, Charming Shoppes Inc. and a dissident group of investors appeared headed for a showdown over control of the board of directors at the retailer's annual shareholders meeting on Thursday.
The shareholders group, which includes hedge funds Crescendo Partners II and III and Myca Partners Inc., has been unhappy about the retailer's slumping stock. The group has criticized the way executives have managed the company and has taken issue with CEO Dorrit Bern's compensation package.
In a nasty fight that has included the unusual step of a company suing its shareholders, the two sides this week accused each other of inflexibility.
Charming Shoppes said late Monday that the shareholders group had rejected its offer to avoid a proxy contest. Under the proposal, the retailer would appoint one of the group's representatives to its board and also add two other industry veterans of its own choosing.
On Tuesday, the shareholders group accused the retailer of "mischaracterization" of settlement talks. The group said it had countered with a "good faith" offer for two of its representatives to join the board, but the retailer ignored the offer and left it out of the company's announcement.
Such an action "calls into question whether Charming Shoppes ever had a genuine interest in settling this matter," Eric Rosenfeld, chief executive of Crescendo Partners, said in a statement.
The retailer declined to comment beyond its Monday announcement.
Rosenfeld also criticized the retailer's last-minute corporate governance changes, saying that "while corporate governance is important, operational performance is paramount."
The group, which collectively own 9.3 million shares or 7.9 percent of the company, also questioned why the retailer's proposal to end its classified board structure would not take place immediately but in a year. The current setup, in which only a few directors are up for election each year, makes it tougher for outsiders to oust the entire board.
"This board is only willing to do the bare minimum it takes to sway shareholders' votes at the last minute," Rosenfeld said.
The retailer also said it will let its "poison pill" plan expire. Under the plan, a hostile offer leads to a flooding of shares in the market, making it harder to accumulate a controlling interest. Charming Shoppes will also strip Bern of the title of chairman and appoint a non-executive director to the post, leaving Bern president and CEO.
01 April 2008
How to hide IP your address
The most common method to hide your IP address is to use a proxy server in one form or another. A proxy server is a computer that offers a computer network service to allow clients to make indirect network connections to other network services. A client connects to the proxy server, then requests a connection, file, or other resource available on a different server. The proxy provides the resource either by connecting to the specified server or by serving it from a cache. In some cases, the proxy may alter the client's request or the server's response for various purposes.
26 March 2008
Proxt Fight
If Microsoft decides to establish a proxy battle, it would appoint a slate of directors to go command of Yahoo's panel and back the party's proposition. The nominees would be voted on at Yahoo's yearly stockholder encounter in June. A Yahoo-Microsoft proxy battle would be the largest joint proxy battle in the eight years FactSet SharkWatch has been tracking statistics on this, it said.
Microsoft would too risk alienating Yahoo's rank-and-file by taking an unfriendly maneuver. Unlike manufacturing companies with stationary assets, an important Yahoo asset is its technology gift, and an unfriendly access by Microsoft could head to an exodus of Yahoo gift to Google Inc or new Web rivals. Later on Tuesday, Yahoo announced that it had place in spot severance benefits that would be given to all employees who might be laid away if the party was sold.
In a securities filing, Yahoo said if an employee is dismissed without better cause within two years of difference of command in the party, employees would remain to obtain their yearly home wage and sure benefits for at least four months and up to 24 months depending on their stance. "It's just national posturing," said Brenon Daly, an analyst at the 451 Group. A party targeted for acquisition will frequently offer "gilded parachutes" to go maintenance of their employees when the party is in drama, according to Daly.
Microsoft has said it can squeeze away $1 billion in price savings and revenue benefits from the Yahoo acquisition. Analysts require some of the savings to go from a decrease in overlapping areas between the two companies. Microsoft shares drop 14 cents, or 0. 5 percentage, to end at $28. 17 on the Nasdaq. The fund is downward 14 percentage since the offering for Yahoo went national.
Yahoo shed 65 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $29.01. The value of Microsoft's cash-and-stock offer now stands at $28.90.
06 February 2008
MySQL Proxy
What is MySQL Proxy?
MySQL Proxy is an easy plan that sits between your client and MySQL server(s) that can supervise, examine or translate their communication. Its flexibility allows for limitless uses; popular ones include: burden balancing; failover; question analysis; question filtering and alteration; and many much.
Coming Soon!
MySQL Proxy is released under a GPL Licence; in addition, MySQL Enterprise will include several products based on the MySQL Proxy heart engineering. More data coming shortly.
Getting started with MySQL Proxy.
The launching of MySQL Proxy has caused rather a ruckus in the community. And with reason. For characteristic thirsty folk, this is undeniably the almost interesting addition to MySQL lot of tools. If the last assertion has left you baffled, because you wear't view the added value, wear't concern. This clause aims at giving you the feel of what the Proxy can make. Get willing for a fantastic journey to Proxyland.
MySQL Proxy overview.
mysql-proxy is a lightweight binary application standing between one or much MySQL clients and a waiter. The clients link to the proxy with the customary credential, instead of connecting to the waiter. The proxy acts as man-in-the-middle between client and server.
In its basic form, the proxy is just a redirector. It gets an empty bucket from the client (a query), takes it to the server, fills the bucket with data, and passes it back to the client.
If that was all, the proxy would just be useless overhead. There is a little more I haven't told you yet. The proxy ships with an embedded Lua interpreter. Using Lua, you can define what to do with a query or a result set before the proxy passes them along.
23 January 2008
Capital Gold Corporation
NEW YORK, Capital Gold released a statement today regarding the current proxy statement, specifically referencing proposal no. 4.
It has come to attention of Capital Gold Corporation that there is misinformation and a general misunderstanding about proposal no. 4 to be voted on at the Company's annual stockholders' meeting this coming Thursday. That proposal is to amend the Company's certificate of incorporation to permit stockholder action to be taken only at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and eliminate stockholder action by written consent.
If this proposal is passed, it will not, as some people believe, eliminate stockholders' right to vote by proxy and require stockholders to physically show up at stockholders' meetings. Stockholders would still have the right to vote at any meeting of stockholders by submitting a written proxy.
We urge all stockholders who have yet to vote, to do so today. If you have any questions, please call MacKenzie Partners, Inc. at 1-800-322-2885.
About Capital Gold
Capital Gold Corporation (CGLD:CGC) is a gold production and exploration company. Through its Mexican subsidiaries and affiliates, it owns 100% of the El Chanate gold property in Sonora, Mexico. The proven and probable reserve is now 832,000 ounces of gold. Further information about Capital Gold and the El Chanate Gold Mine is available on the Company's website, www.capitalgoldcorp.com.
Statements in this press release, other than statements of historical information, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Actual performance and results may differ materially from those projected or suggested due to certain risks and uncertainties, some of which are described below. Such forward-looking statements include comments regarding the establishment and estimates of mineral reserves and non-reserve mineralized material, future increases in mineral reserves, the recovery of any mineral reserves, grade, processing rates and capacity, estimated future gold production, potential mine life and future growth of the company. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include timing of and unexpected events during construction, expansion and start-up; variations in ore grade, tonnes mined, crushed or milled; delay or failure to receive board or government approvals; the availability of adequate water supplies; mining or processing issues, and fluctuations in gold price and costs. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management.
Any forecasts contained in this press release constitute management's current estimates, as of the date of this press release, with respect to the matters covered thereby. We expect that these estimates will change as new information is received and that actual results will vary from these estimates, possibly by material amounts. While we may elect to update these estimates at any time, we do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event. Investors and others should not assume that any forecasts in this press release represent management's estimate as of any date other than the date of this press release. Additional information concerning certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual, results to differ materially from that projected or suggested is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the past 12 months, copies of which are available from the SEC or may be obtained upon request from the Company.
Proxy Issue
Shareholder advocates are not holding their breather waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission to go upward and give proxy approach this year, particularly in light of last year’s 3-1 SEC voting to refuse approach.
However, one marriage is pushing forward to have shareholder-nominated directors onto boards by threatening a tribunal battle over the matter. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has filed four proposals calling for proxy approach—a voting to okay party bylaws that would subsequently permit shareholders to appoint their own directors to that party’s panel—and one proposition to recoup stockholder expenses related to running a slate of directors, if at least one is elected. Rich Ferlauto, manager of joint administration and pension investment at AFSCME, said two or three extra proposals are in the works. “This will be a current tale on the destiny of proxy approach,” he said.
The marriage has been in talks with the four companies—J. P. Morgan Chase, Bear Stearns, Countrywide Financial and E-Trade—to have them to voluntarily concur to permit shareholders a voting on proxy approach. If the companies try to exclude proxy approach proposals from their ballots via SEC no-action letters, “they could be involved in litigation,” Mr. Ferlauto said.
In November, after months of haggling and minus one Democratic commissioner, the SEC voted to remain issuing no-action letters to companies that bar proxy approach proposals from their ballots. That same day, AFSCME filed the proxy approach proposals with J. P. Morgan and Bear Stearns. A few weeks subsequently, the marriage followed upward with proposals at Countrywide and E-Trade.
SEC spokesman John Nester said the authority will not suggest an original proxy approach regulation, which SEC chairwoman Christopher Cox has promised this year, until it has a complete complement of commissioners.
A lawful fight may so be coming. One of the companies, Bear Stearns, has already filed a petition with the SEC for a no-action letter. A spokeswoman for J. P. Morgan said the bank too newly filed a no-action petition, but she declined to offer a transcript of the petition. If the SEC grants those requests—Mr. Nester says it hasn’t still—so it’s backwards to conversant lawful sod: the 2nd U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
From Mr. Ferlauto’s view, the 2nd Circuit is a better spot for proxy approach lawful battles because it is mostly seen as empathetic to stockholder concerns. In 2006, AFSCME brought lawsuit against American International Group in the 2nd Circuit, which ruled that the SEC could not randomly overturn its past stance and forbid proxy approach. Until 1990, the SEC had prohibited companies from excluding proxy approach proposals from their ballots.
The Countrywide proposition may be nixed by Bank of America’s pending acquisition of the mortgage lender. Mr. Ferlauto said he missed B of A’s filing deadline, then if the Countrywide buyout is approved, the party will flee proxy approach for at least one year.
One new option AFSCME is pursuing involves an expense reimbursement proposition it submitted to Apache Corp. That proposition would need the vitality party to recoup the solicitation expenses for a shareholder-nominated brief slate, or half the amount of directors on Apache’s panel, in the case that at least one of those nominees wins.
While some believe the expense proposition is a better backup for proxy approach because it allows shareholders to vie to a level with party ballots, Mr. Ferlauto calls it at better favorable to proxy approach, which he will remain to drive for from the SEC. He anticipates that some firms, including powerful investment investigation firm RiskMetrics, will go away in backing of the expense proposition.
In the meantime, though, other federal agencies are taking a hard line on proxy proposals. Last month, the Department of Labor issued an advisory opinion that said pension plan fiduciaries should vote proxies only on “issues that affect the value of the plan’s investment.” The opinion was written in response to a letter from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which opposes greater proxy access on the grounds that it allows political manipulation of public companies by unions and others.
The DOL expressed worry about proxies being used by pension funds and others as a manner to “encourage specific legislative, restrictive or national policy positions that have no link to the payment of benefits or program management expenses. ” For instance, the DOL advisory view specifically prohibits proxy proposals that ask for joint officers to reveal private political contributions, because the expense involved in soliciting proxy votes would develop no clear-cut welfare to shareholders. Corporate lobbyists lauded the letter. U. S. Chamber president Thomas Donohue said it “sends a clear-cut content that marriage pension trustees need to place workers’ retirement protection first, instead of any political schedule,” adding that “theoretical beliefs” would no longer be satisfactory as justifications for proxy proposals. “This letter gets downward to dollars and cents; either your actions will demonstrably increase pension program returns for workers or they won’t. ”
17 January 2008
Proxy firm
Proxy Governance Inc. has recommended that shareholders withhold their support for the board of directors at Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), in light of excessive executive compensation in the face of operational underperformance.
Tyson has underperformed its peer group over the past few years, and Proxy argues that the company's management has not done enough to respond to industry challenges including increased feed costs and export restrictions on beef.
In 2007, Tyson stock declined in value while Richard Bond was paid $24.6 million. Tyson says that "it's apparent they haven't done all their homework." But I think that a CEO getting paid $24.6 million while presiding over the destruction of shareholder value is indicative of a compensation committee that hasn't done its homework: Proxy estimated that Tyson chief executives have been paid 82% more than CEOs at other companies in the peer group.
Executive pay is, as a whole, so out of touch with reality that any company that is overpaying so egregiously that it gets the attention of a proxy advisory firm really doesn't have a leg to stand on. Hopefully Tyson shareholder will send a message to the board.
Proxy Battle
New York hedge fund Ramius Capital Group has been stymied in battle for representation on the board of Luby’s Inc.
Preliminary results indicate that shareholders have reelected four members of the Houston-based cafeteria operator’s panel, rejecting a slate of Ramius-nominated candidates. Luby’s said closing results won’t be accessible for an amount of days.
The hedge stock had blasted the existing panel for an allegedly sweetie trade for its CEO and head operating policeman, the brothers Christopher and Harris Pappas, arguing a debt-for-stock trade they made was overly favourable. Ramius, which owns 7% 0f Luby’s, too complained that the panel and administration have not done enough to encourage its fund cost. The defeat for Ramius comes in spite of backing for several of its candidates from several proxy services. The hedging stock said it may operate another slate of panel candidates next year.
