Finance news. My opinion.

Four real estate teams are bidding to be named master developer of the 67-acre Hill East project, formerly known as Reservation 13, which would connect Capitol Hill to the Anacostia River waterfront just south of RFK Stadium with 5 million square feet of new development.

The respondents are:

• EastBanc Inc., which remade the West End and Georgetown with luxury retail, housing and hospitality, including two Ritz-Carlton hotels.

• Franklin L. Haney Co., which developed more than 15 million square feet of space made a failed bid to buy the Washington Nationals. The company has partnered with Bethesda-based Donatelli Development, Chapman Development, Combined Properties Inc., Banneker Ventures LLC and Tudor Holdings.

• Hunt Development Group. is partnering with Mosaic Urban Partners. The team also includes four D.C.-based developers, which have all worked on mixed-use projects in partnership with the city: William C. Smith & Co., Abdo Development LLC, EYA Development and the Jair Lynch Cos.

• Urban Atlantic leads another team that also includes nine other partners: Vornado/Charles E loans until payday. Smith, Trammell Crow Co., Elm Street Development, Blue Skye Development LLC, Brickstone Development, Eagle Vision Ventures LLC, Dynamis Advisors, Sun Edison and Ellis Denning Development.

The 67-acre project has been pegged as a chance to create a model neighborhood for environmentally responsible development, one that would minimize stormwater runoff — the source of 75 percent to 90 percent of pollutants entering the Anacostia River — and possible include a source of renewable energy.

D.C. officials in the office of Neil Albert, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, hoped to lure teams with a “track record of developing projects at the forefront of sustainable design initiatives,” according to the request for expressions of interest the city issued in May.

Source

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is seeking information from the nine largest banks, including Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp, regarding their plans for paying bonuses.

The banks have agreed to accept $125 billion as part of a $700 billion financial bailout package approved by the U.S. Congress. Under the plan, the federal government will buy shares in the banks in a move designed to unfreeze the credit markets.

An additional $125 billion of the $700 billion has been set aside for other financial institutions creditreports.

In a letter sent to the nine banks, Cuomo also asks the boards to explain what mechanisms they have in place to protect taxpayer funds.

Cuomo also requested the information from New York-based Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MER), which BofA (NYSE:BAC) is buying in a $50 billion deal. The purchase is expected to close in the first quarter, pending shareholder approval.

Source

Belgium and Luxembourg raced to find a buyer for troubled financial group Fortis (FOR.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) before markets opened on Monday and an industry source said BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was negotiating for control.

In a second weekend of crisis talks, Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme told broadcasters on Sunday he hoped to keep the Belgian and Luxembourg operations of the group together after the Dutch nationalized most of Fortis’s Dutch units on Friday.

“There are contacts with private groups, several private groups. We are not going to decide in this situation with our backs to the wall,” he said. “The only thing certain is that we are going to send a clear and strong signal to the markets before they open tomorrow.

An industry source close to the situation confirmed reports in several Belgian media that BNP Paribas was negotiating to take up to 80 percent of Fortis banks in both countries, but said nothing had been agreed yet (fast cash).

Belgium and Luxembourg, which took 49 percent stakes in the Fortis banks in their countries last Sunday, would keep a 20 percent stake in each. BNP declined comment.

Luxembourg Budget Minister Luc Frieden told RTL television the governments were close to a solution for Fortis involving one of the Europe’s most solid banks.

“We are very close to an agreement for a clever combination of a strong state, taking responsibility in the bank, and one of the biggest international banking groups,” Frieden said.

He declined to name the group but said it would involve a public-private partnership in which the state would keep a veto right over strategic decisions. 

Read more

Overnight money market stress eased in Europe on Thursday but lending rates remained above central bank targets, reflecting banks’ firmly entrenched aversion to counterparty risk.

Rates have remained elevated despite massive liquidity injections by central banks around the world as the ongoing crisis in the financial system has prompted banks to hoard cash and refuse to lend to each other.

The European Central Bank kept key rates unchanged as expected at 4.25 percent but some in the market expect the central bank to cut rates in the coming months to deal with economic weakness that could result from the banking crisis.

Interbank overnight dollar rates fell for a second day running in London, after a record surge earlier this week as quarter end funding pressure eased and the U.S. Senate passed a revamped $700 billion bank bailout plan.

Overnight dollar Libor rates fell more than a full point to 2.68125 percent from 3.79375 percent on Wednesday while euro overnight rates also eased.

Rates further out jumped, with benchmark three-month rates — which now cover the year-end period — fixed higher in dollars and euros.

Three-month dollar Libor rose to 5.31750 percent, their highest since January, up from 4.15000 percent on Wednesday payday loans online. The euro-zone equivalent for euros hit its highest since the launch of the single currency, at 5.31750 percent.

“The liquidity provisioning which central banks have made has effectively drawn a line under how bad things can get but not addressed underlying problems over the value of assets that are held by counterparties,” said Richard McGuire, fixed income strategist at RBC Capital Markets in London. 

Read more

Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser and Mayor Pro Tem Bill Skaggs lost another round in an attempt to hire a new city manager in place of Wayne Cauthen.

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, ruled Tuesday that a city manager can be removed only with the mayor’s approval and the ratifying vote of six other council members, or, absent the mayor’s approval, with nine council members in favor of removing the city manager.

The city can’t remove a city manager merely by allowing the specific time period of the contract to expire, as Funkhouser tried to do in 2007.

“The expiration of the employment agreements did not serve to remove the city manager from office but merely signaled the end of the time period during which the compensation, management goals and performance guidelines set forth in the agreement were applicable,” the opinion stated.

Skaggs couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

On Oct faxless payday loans. 18, the Kansas City Council passed an ordinance to begin negotiating a new contract for Cauthen. On Dec. 10, Funkhouser said in a memo that he wouldn’t sponsor a resolution for a new contract for Cauthen and wanted instead to find another city manager.

Three days later, the council passed an ordinance that authorized a new contract with Cauthen anyway.

Skaggs then sued the city on the claim that the council didn’t have the authority to enact ordinances for new contracts for city managers.

A trial court judge dismissed that case on summary judgement in favor of the city, leading to the appellate court ruling.

Source

Florida’s technology exports grew by almost $1 billion last year, according to the Trade in the Cyberstates 2008 report, released Tuesday by AeA, a national technology trade association.

Florida was the third-largest tech exporter in the nation, with a $13.4 billion share of the U.S.’s $214 billion total.

Florida trailed only California, which led the country with $48.2 billion, and Texas, the nation’s second leading high-tech exporter, with $35.9 million. New York ($8.9 billion) and Massachusetts ($8.7 billion) rounded out the top five.

"When many people think of Florida exports, they probably think only of citrus fruits,” said Maryann Fiala, executive director of AeA’s Florida Council. “But, nearly a third of all exports from the Sunshine State are high-tech products. State public policy officials need to see trade as a great job creator for Florida. High-tech exports support nearly 70,000 jobs in the state.”

While Florida’s tech exports rose, they declined by 3 percent domestically.

The largest single tech sector was computers and peripherals, which accounted for $5.1 billion of exports.

The overviews also provided the top five leading high-tech export destinations for individual states.

For example, Massachusetts’ leading export destination was Japan, followed by Germany and Canada fast cash advance. In contrast, Florida’s leading high-tech export destinations were Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico.

High-tech exports supported hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs. In Florida, nearly 70,000 jobs were supported by tech exports. Other leading states included Texas (183,900 jobs), California (183,000 jobs), Arizona (36,400 jobs) and Oregon (33,900 jobs).

What does high-tech trade mean for Florida?

· $13.4 billion in high-tech exports (ranked third in U.S.)

· Up $989 million in tech exports between 2006 and 2007

· 30 percent of exports from Florida are tech exports (ranked 12th)

· 69,900 jobs in Florida are supported by tech exports

Florida’s leading tech export destinations:

· Brazil ($2 billion)

· Venezuela ($1.3 billion)

· Mexico ($1 billion)

Florida’s leading tech export sectors:

· Computers and peripheral equipment ($5.1 billion, ranked third in U.S.)

· Communications equipment ($3.3 billion, ranked third)

· Photonics ($529 million, ranked second)

Source: Trade in the Cyberstates 2008

Source

Glen Terry, president and CEO of Tri-Valley Bank, resigned abruptly to take the president and CEO role at struggling Vineyard National Bancorp in Corona, the parent of Vineyard Bank N.A.

Terry left Tri-Valley Bank after just four months on the job.

John Rockwell, chief operating officer, and Eugene Jeanne, chief financial officer, will oversee Tri-Valley Bank during a transitional period as it undertakes a search for a new CEO. Rockwell served as interim chief financial officer after founding CEO Bill Nethercott left the bank earlier this year to help start another bank in San Francisco.

Having just gone through a CEO search several months ago, Tri-Valley already has a search firm and a list of potential candidates for the CEO position, said Jim Snell, chairman of Tri-Valley Bank, who added that Terry’s resignation, which he received via e-mail on Sept, 15, came as a surprise.

“I’m upset by it, but it’s not a devastating blow,” Snell said.

Three-year old Tri-Valley in August said its total assets topped $100 million. Near the end of the third quarter, the bank had $82 million in deposits and $78 million in loans, with a substantial amount of new loans in the pipeline, Snell said. The bank’s ratio of noncurrent loans to total loans stood at 0.63 percent at the end of the second quarter. While the bank has reported a net loss of $680,000 this year through June 30, Snell said that a noncash stock option expense that has hurt earnings goes away effective this month.

Vineyard announced Terry’s appointment, and the appointment of Lucilio Couto as executive vice president and chief credit officer, on Sept payday loan. 18. Terry's appointment was effective Sept. 12, according to Vineyard.

Terry, a Vineyard shareholder, was elected to Vineyard’s board of director at the bank’s annual meeting on Aug. 5. He was part of a alternate slate of directors proposed by the bank’s previous CEO, who was mounting a proxy fight.

Vineyard, with $2.2 billion in assets, has struggled amid huge losses from soured real estate loans. It is operating under a consent decree with the office of the Comptroller of the Currency, its regulator, that required the bank to establish a compliance committee, and name a new president and CEO and chief credit officer by Oct. 31. It must also maintain appropriate regulatory capital levels; just Friday it proposed raising as much as $250 million through a private placement of convertible debt and common stock in an effort to raise capital. Vineyard has offices in Los Angeles, Marin, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Clara and Ventura counties.

Source

An obscure U.S. Treasury Department fund that Robert Rubin once used to save the Mexican economy may provide cash to preserve the savings of investors in U.S. money-market mutual funds.

The Treasury will use the $50 billion Exchange Stabilization Fund to insure publicly offered retail and institutional funds, the department said in a statement. The move comes after the Reserve Primary Fund this week became the first in 14 years to break the buck, or drop below $1 a share, exposing investors to losses.

The ESF — a mix of U.S. dollars, euros and yen — was created in 1934. It enables the department to buy and sell currencies to stabilize the dollar. Because it is outside congressional control, Treasury secretaries have been able to tap it for a number of other purposes, including the 1995 bailout of the Mexican economy orchestrated by then-Treasury Secretary Rubin.

The use of the fund in the past “has been very controversial,'' said Peterson Institute fellow Edwin Truman, former head of the Federal Reserve's international-finance division. “It is, on the basis of its prior use, a stretch to use the Exchange Stabilization Fund for domestic financial- stability purposes.''

Record Redemptions

Nevertheless, Truman said it's “appropriate'' for the Treasury to consider all options. Interest rates on the shortest-maturity Treasury securities fell to almost zero this week as money-market funds, fearing redemptions, rushed to raise cash. Investors pulled a record $89.2 billion from the funds on Sept. 17, according to data compiled by the Money Fund Report, a newsletter based in Westborough, Massachusetts.

The Treasury's use of the ESF doesn't always attract headlines payday advance low fees. Late last year and early this year, Secretary Henry Paulson authorized a bridge loan to Liberia to address some technical issues with the African nation's debt-relief transactions at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

In 1995, however, Rubin's move drew heavy criticism on Capitol Hill, including calls for his impeachment.

The peso was plunging as Mexico appeared close to defaulting on billions of dollars in short-term borrowings. After Congress refused a direct loan, Rubin persuaded former President Bill Clinton to send Mexico $20 billion from the fund, then talked the IMF into lending another $17.8 billion. Mexico later paid back all the money, with interest.

End Run

This time, an end run around Congress isn't likely to create a huge outcry, said Paul McCulley, a portfolio manager at Pacific Investment Management Co.

“You never can legislate the nature of crisis or how it may unfold,'' he said.

The ESF held $49.97 billion as of the end of August. Treasury officials told reporters they don't expect to use the entire amount, since strict rules that require money-market funds to invest in safe assets will likely prevent widespread failures.

Given that some of the fund is in foreign currencies, using it all domestically would require selling euros and yen, which might be tricky, said Wrightson ICAP chief economist Louis Crandall. However, “it could probably be arranged'' with other central banks, he said.

Source

The good news for recent college graduates is that, despite the slumping economy, there are still several industries that are hiring young graduates at a brisk pace, according to a new study by MonsterTrak, the student division of Monster Worldwide Inc.

The top five industries for entry-level workers are sales and business development, which accounts for almost a quarter of all postings for entry-level workers and includes jobs in account management, real estate and advertising; accounting and finance; training and instruction; information technology and software development; and medical and health pay day advance.

Maynard, Mass.-based Monster (Nasdaq: MNST) also found that there was a 200 percent increase in entry-level postings related to the health care and medical fields.

Also, white collar entry-level jobs in sales and business development, as well as accounting and finance, still account for a large percentage of entry-level postings.

Source

China may cut interest rates again, ease limits on bank lending and boost spending to spur economic growth after lowering borrowing costs for the first time in six years.

“Policy makers will consider further interest-rate cuts in the coming month, in conjunction with a more proactive fiscal policy,'' said Jing Ulrich, chairwoman of China equities at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Hong Kong. The central bank yesterday reduced the one-year lending rate and lowered the proportion of deposits that the nation's smaller banks must set aside.

The slowest inflation in 14 months gave China room to lower borrowing costs and protect jobs as the outlook for exports dims and the credit crisis deepens. The rate cut came as stock markets slumped globally after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy and Bank of America Corp. agreed to buy Merrill Lynch & Co. for $50 billion.

“A gradual easing cycle has probably begun,'' said Alec Young, an international equity strategist at Standard & Poor's in New York. “The focus is no longer on inflation and is more on China's growth. The rest of the world is flirting with a recession and China's growth is slowing too.''

The People's Bank of China reduced the one-year lending rate to 7.20 percent from 7.47 percent, effective today. It lowered the reserve-requirement ratio for smaller banks to 16.5 percent from 17.5 percent.

`Important Problems'

The rate cut is “to help solve important problems in our economy for its continued stable and fast development,'' the central bank said in a statement on its Web site yesterday, when markets were closed for a holiday.

In July, the central bank reduced restrictions on how much banks can lend by raising 2008 loan quotas for national banks by 5 percent and regional lenders by 10 percent, according to reports by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., BNP Paribas SA, and China Merchants Bank Co.

It's likely those quotas, the main constraint on borrowers, will be eased again, said Mark Williams, a London- based economist with Capital Economics Ltd. The rate cut will have a limited impact on the economy because bank lending financed just 15 percent of fixed investment last year, Williams said.

The Shanghai Composite Index of stocks has fallen 60 percent this year, closing on Sept. 12 at 2,079.67, on concern that measures to tame inflation will erode company profits.

Stock Market's Drop

It's “suspicious'' that the central bank acted when the index seemed set to drop below 2,000, Williams said, adding that some people thought that level “was a floor at which the government would intervene to shore up the market.''

China last week released data indicating that the economy has slowed no fax payday loans.

Inflation cooled to 4.9 percent in August, export growth slowed and industrial production expanded by the least in six years. China's economy expanded 10.1 percent in the three months to June 30 from a year earlier, the fourth straight quarter of slower growth.

The weakness in China's asset markets is not just in stocks. Property could be headed for a “meltdown'' as home prices and sales decline, Morgan Stanley said Sept. 12.

“This is the beginning of an easing cycle in China,'' said Darius Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist at CFC Seymour Ltd. in Hong Kong.

China has already slowed gains by the yuan against the dollar to protect jobs at exporters of shoes, toys and clothes and raised export-tax rebates for garments and textiles.

Infrastructure Spending

Infrastructure spending is a possible tool for stimulating economic growth. Officials are working on a plan for as much as 400 billion yuan ($58 billion) of spending and tax cuts, according to economists and reports in domestic news media.

China's central bank pushed the reserve requirement for lenders to a record 17.5 percent in June. The biggest banks are excluded from the reduction. Those exempted are: Bank of China Ltd., Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corp., Bank of Communications Co. and Postal Savings Bank of China.

The requirement for smaller banks drops by 1 percentage point from Sept. 25. In areas affected by the Sichuan earthquake, the reduction is 2 percentage points.

The central bank left the key deposit rate unchanged at 4.14 percent, narrowing banks' margins on loans.

Zhu Baoliang, the chief economist at the State Information Center, a government research agency, said August's economic data probably prompted yesterday's moves, rather than events in the U.S.

In the U.S., banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. formed a $70 billion fund to ensure market liquidity as Lehman filed for bankruptcy and Bank of America Corp. agreed to acquire Merrill. The Federal Reserve may reduce the benchmark interest rate today to 1.75 percent from 2 percent, according to the futures market.

Source