Salvador Imaging, Inc. Company Profile | Company Information

ogarawo.wordpress.com
The staff of Salvador Imaging has been pioneeringnew CCD, CMOS and EMCCeD imaging systems for over 15 years. Durinbg that time, the individuals on our stafrf have been recognized by numerous agencieswincluding NASA, the US Small Businesss Administration and the White House for our contributions to high-performance imaging. Our offering of low- noise digital camera products is frequently accomplishec withsophisticated multi-output designs which, in some cases, providr composite video rates in excess of Salvador's cameras continually define new industruy standards in speed, resolution and scientifi c image quality.
While Salvador's succesw has always hinged upon ourtechnical leadership, we feel that an equallgy critical aspect is our unwavering commitment to ethicalo business practices and unparalleled customedr support. Salvador offers standard cameras as well as fullyu custom designs to meet the needds of a broad range of scientific and machinevisiob markets. Applications for Salvadoer cameras rangefrom semiconductor, printed circuit-boarc and flat-panel inspection to medical laser-beam profiling and ballistic imaging. All camera products incorporatelow noise, precision analog design coupled with proprietary thermal stabilization to provide unrivaled imagingf performance.
Features such as area-of-interest and external synchronization are standarcd in manySalvador cameras...

After buyout, union workers get a lesson in modern economics - NBCNews.com (blog)

ogarawo.wordpress.com

NBCNews.com (blog)

After buyout, union workers get a lesson in modern economics NBCNews.com (blog) Apollo cut the wages for most of the production and maintenance workers at its Waterford plant. The National Labor Relations Board investigated and tentatively concluded that the company had violated the contract. But with other locals rallying behind ...

Broker Ross Sinclaire expands in Columbus - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

sucujovide.wordpress.com
The Cincinnati-based firm, whicuh started out with one employee workinhgin Columbus, recently brought on the four-employee municipal finance team from Youngstown-based Butler Wick Co. and moved into a new locationm at375 N. Fronrt St. Butler Wick, which operatex 23 offices in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, was acquired by for $12 milliohn in January. Stifel maintains an office in Columbus. Omar now the managing director atRoss Sinclaire’s Columbusz office, said he and thred other employees were let go from Butler Wick when the deal Ganoom said the finance team’s move to Ross Sinclairre was a good match. “It was a natural fit for us to come to Ross he said.
One of the benefits of workinvg for a smaller firm like Ross Sinclaire is the greater opportunityt for growth and the abilityto “react to markert environment on a regulard basis,” Ganoom said. Ross Sinclaire CEO Murray Sinclairwe Jr. said employees had a “smooth transition” betweenh the two firms. Ross Sinclaird operates 10 offices, including three in and specializes inmunicipal bonds, stocks and publi c finance. “We’ve been relatively aggressive at expanding our presencrein Ohio,” Sinclaire “We’ve opened up several new offices throughout Ohio.
” Ganoomj said that Ohio is currently suffering from a loss of investmenyt banking firms and hopes Ross Sinclaire will be able to servwe more clients in the Columbus area. “It’s important to me to supporg Ohio,” he said. Ross Sinclaire was ranked the No. 6 municipalo financial advisory firm in the country for transaction lessthan $10 million for 2008 by Thomson Reuterds .

Iridium earnings fall 42%; revenue up - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

ogarawo.wordpress.com
The Bethesda-based provider of satellitre telephone services, which expects to become publicly traded this summer througjan acquisition, posted a 42 percenrt decline in net income in the first quartefr ended March 31, to $9.7 million from $16.7 million a year ago. Th compan y attributed the decline to costs relates toits next-generation satellite program. “Iridium continued to although the pace slowed given the currenteconomiv climate,” said CEO Matt Desch.
“Inj addition to the impactr of phasing outequipment amortization, we believ e the economic climate is affectinyg equipment sales, as is the transition of newlg introduced products into the distribution channel as our partners move existinv inventory to make way for new product.” Companty officials say either Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin or Thales Alenia Spacse will be selected as the program’a lead contractor this summer. The program’s new network of satellites called Iridium NEXT is expected to be deployein 2014. Iridium NEXT will provide highetdata speeds, greater bandwidth and the potentialp to deliver new data services and applicationx to customers.
The company says its EBITDA, or earningzs before interest, taxes, depreciation and increased 4.9 percent to $27.6 million in the firsft quarter, up from $26.3 million a year ago, thougbh most analysts do not use that as a reliablrfinancial measure. Iridium’s revenue rose 2 percent to $75.8 millionn for the quarter, compared to $74.32 million for the first quartert 2008. The slightly higher revenude came from increased commercial servicesx revenueof $36.8 million but was offset by a declins in subscriber equipment revenue to $20.5 million for the Iridium’s commercial markets include maritime, aviation and land mobilse customers, which grew by 11.
5 percent for the The company’s sales to government customers, including the Department of Defense, grew 31 Despite a 31 percent increase in subscribers to compared to 250,000 in the first quarter of 2008, a $2 milliob amortization of equipment relater to prior year equipment sales, adde to the decline in subscriber equipment revenue. The company is planninbg to go publicthis summer, but it is not takinvg the initial public offering It is acquiring a publicly traded investment (NYX: GHQ), an affiliate of Greenhill Co. Iridium has retained Deutschr Bank as its financial adviser forthe transaction.

Distressed assets taking center stage among apartment investors - San Antonio Business Journal:

caloloary.blogspot.com
Now, buyers are looking for somethint abit uglier. Of the handful of investmenft opportunities that exist in the local apartment those assets moving to the top of list these days arethe so-callesd distressed assets, industry brokers say. Specifically, the cream of that crop are bank-owned assets, or REO (real estate owned) assets foreclosed properties that have gone back to the Also falling intothe “distressed” categorg are apartment properties put on the market due to the financial dire straits. Phoenix and Miami have seen a delugde of REO deals over the past18 months, accordinfg to Casey Fry, an associate with the San Antonio/Austin officse of Atlanta-based (ARA).
The first wave of thesr properties have now surfaced in San Antoniooas well, Fry says. The city’xs relatively stable economy makes it unlikelyu that the local market will see as many of these REOs and distressed property salesa asother metros, but as Fry pointsz out: “There will be more to While transaction velocity in San Antonilo has slowed considerably over the past two years, there is the likelihood that more apartment communities will come to market as more owners find themselves needing to sell, adds Will a member of the Balthrope Group of the . Balthrope’s partner is Ryan Epstein, who is base d in San Antonio. Balthrope’s office is located in Dallas.
Lookinb back over the past year athis team’s property assignmentws — including those that have already changed as well as those still for sale about 90 percent of these propertie s were being sold by owners who had found themselves in financial trouble. Or as Balthrope puts it, thess were owners who had “compelling reasons to sell.” What’s the attraction of distressedc assets? Sums up Balthrope: “The opportunity to profit in a time of value Wordslike “distressed” and “REO” are like big signs on the asseft that say, “Come look at me!” Balthrope says.
And for everhy owner that has a compellinv reasonto sell, there are myriad buyers anxiously waitinyg to take advantage of a good observes Patton K. managing director of ARA’z Austin office. So who are the buyers now? According to it’s all private money thesse days — or what he calls “country club money.” “Thd institutional investors are gone,” says Jones, addingy that most of these players — namesw like and — have fallenh on tough financial times. “Nosw it’s the private investors who are goingb to theircountry clubs, to their friends and family and raising equity.” It’s a lot of new blood cominb in, Fry says.
“The buyers out they are not on ourregularr Rolodex,” he adds. Some of those back in the game includer buyers from the last bad downturn in the Texas market the S&L crisis of the late 1980s and earlyu 1990s, which led to the creation of the (RTC). “Aq lot of (the buyers) from the RTC now they’re back at the table,” Fry In a given sale, there usuallyu exists what is known asthe ask-bid gap — the difference between what the ownert thinks a property is worth versus what buyers are williny to spend. An REO “fully closes the Fry says. “There is no longetr a stand-off. The lender (or ultimately wants the property off their he adds.
“The buyer knowa the property will sell.” And an eager selle r means a bargain deal, brokers say. Adds Jones: “Everyond wants a bargain.” As for what makes for a distressed it could be that the property itself may be in need of some or it may be simply that the ownee is in a financial pinch and needs to raissecapital quickly, Fry says. Case in poingt is the Oaks of MarymontApartments — a 16-acre community located off of Loop 410 and Starcrest Drive in Northeast San Antonio that is being marketedx by ARA. “There’s nothing wrong with the the (owner) is just ... over-leveraged,” Jones says.
All in all, the Texass apartment market has held up better than many in otheer parts ofthe country. The vast majorith of owners here are in a position to be able to hold onto theirt properties a whilelonger — and wait for the market to pick back up and get a better price for their assets. What that means is that in citiee likeSan Antonio, the market has a lot more moneyu in search of apartmentr properties than there are properties to meet that demancd — making for a very competitivew buyer’s market, Marcus & Millichap’s Epstein “You don’t have a lot of sellerse out there today — unless they need to Fry says.
And when that happens, therse is a good deal to be found. Adds Balthrope: “Thise is the best time to buy in20

Pupil-service provider ratios - Wichita Business Journal:

dyakonostrlin.blogspot.com
pupils per provider 2. Wellsville, 66.4 pupils per provider • 3. Nort Collins, 74.8 pupils per providefr • 4. Dunkirk, 75.1 pupils per provider • 5. 84.5 pupils per provider • 6. Cattaraugus-Little Valley, 85.5 pupilsa per provider • 7. Pavilion, 85.6 pupils per providef • 8. Friendship, 85.7 pupils per provider • 9. Salamanca, 87.2 pupils per providefr • 10. Clymer, 88.8 pupilds per provider • 11. West Valley, 89.1 pupilse per provider • 12. Gowanda, 90.4 pupild per provider • 13. Brocton, 91.0 pupilsa per provider • 14. Byron-Bergen, 93.9 pupils per provided • 15. Olean, 94.2 pupils per provider 16. Perry, 99.
1 pupils per provider 17. Chautauqua Lake, 99.3 pupils per provider • 18. 101.0 pupils per provider • 18. Forestville, 101.0 pupils per provided

Bay Area pension funds hammered - San Francisco Business Times:

ogarawo.wordpress.com
On Oct. 1, after watching investmentg results for the funderode “substantially,” Reed said the Sacramento-basec hospital chain injected $150 million. It put in anothedr $90 million later last With further lossesin November, it is considerintg an additional $100 million contribution. Sutter’s board has authorized managemen t tocommit $160 million more, if to keep the plan fully funded, bringing this year’ potential contributions to as much as half a billionm dollars. Sutter has plenty of company in battlinbg the rising tide of pensionfund losses.
The market’d downturn has put pensionm funds under pressure at a numbef of BayArea institutions, public and private, largse and small, at giants like and the Universitt of California and at much smaller organizations like in San Francisco, wher e pension liabilities helped drivde it out of the new-car Ellis Brooks cut 45 jobs as a result, and it’s unclear how many more Bay Area jobs will be lost due to the pension funding crisis. The nation’s largest public pension the Sacramento-based California Public Retirement System, said it lost 20 percent of its valur from July 1through Oct. 10.
It, too, expectss that losses have risen since then and recentlyg announced it will require highert paymentsfrom California’s public employers if those lossexs don’t reverse. At the Universituy of California, 122,000 employees will be requirede to start contributing to pensiobn accounts for the first time in 19 As a tidal wave of losses has rolled downWall Street, $900 billion was wiped off the valuew of pension funds across the country in the 12 monthsa to Oct. 9, says Boston College’z Center for Retirement Research. Pensiobn plans across the country were about 85 percent fundedon Oct. 9, accordin g to the center.
That’s down from 120 percent in and 98 percentat year-en 2007. A pension fund is considered 100 percentf funded if its assets cover the projected costes ofits retirees. At 60 percenty or below, funds are frozenn — meaning existing fund members can’t accrue more benefits, and new memberd can’t join. “It’s important to remember that pension fund obligationxs arelong term,” said Christinw Tozzi, San Francisco retirement practicd leader for .
“Employers have time to get the funds fundes up and allow for the possibility for some recovery in the Even so, many are hoping Congress will tweakl recent regulations, to give them more leeway in dealinh with unprecedented stock market declines. Still, with the economyu turning down and a wave of babyboomeres retiring, the need to find tens or hundredds of millions of dollars to prop up pensiom funds couldn’t come at a worse time for many In the last two decades, 401(k) plans have overtakenj pension plans as the retirement accounyt of choice in the private 401(k) plans are “defined contribution,” where employeeds shoulder investment gains and losses.
Pension pland are “defined benefit,” in which the pension fund is responsibl e for providing retired workers with benefitse based on years of service and Asof 2006, 8 percent of the U.S. workforce was coveresd by a company-run pension compared to 70 percent who hada plan. But 20 million U.S. workers are still coveredx by pension plans, including relatively largd numbers in the heavily unionizedBay Area.
Most workers employed by state, local or federalk governments are still covered by traditional as are many universityand health-care workers Most pensionj funds have about 70 percent of total assets tied to stockw and about 30 percent in more conservativd investments like bonds. That strategyt worked well as the stock market continue to turn in steady gains for most of the last two with good years far outnumberingtbad years. Traditionally, organizations that offere pension plans have been able to balance out good years and bad sometimes overfunding and sometimesz underfundingtheir plans. But the recent which began inlate 2007, has played havocx with investment results.
Some Bay Area companies said their pensionj plans were underfunded even at the startrof 2008, before the worst stagesw of the recent multi-stage stock market collapse. Chevron, for said its pension plan was underfunded byabout $1.7 billio n at the beginning of this The company said it expected to contribute $500 million to employee pension funds in 2008 — a goal that has “noy changed as a result of market said spokesman Lloyd Avram. Volatility is a politw way of sayingthe S&P 500 had lost more than 40 percent of its value this year, as of Nov. 24.
“This is happening so quickly that I doubt the market has completelyu absorbed the ramifications of the said Sutter’s Reed. His system operates , , , and Peninsula Medicap Center, among other hospitals in the Bay Area. meanwhile, has tightened most notably in the Pension Protectiom Actof 2006. It requirezs pension plans to eliminate any underfunding overa seven-yeatr period starting this year. A number of the nation’sd biggest businesses are pushing Congress to change those sayingthey shouldn’t have to put more money into theire pension funds at such an inopportune time. , and are among those signing a letter asking for the rulesa tobe relaxed.
Unless such a changes is made, the current law requires companies to meet tougher funding requirements this yearand next, whicnh could put some Northern California companies on the hot “Absent reform, they would have to put more cash in, becausew of the situation we have with asset losses,” said Watsobn Wyatt’s Tozzi. The exacg amounts won’t be known until the year is complete. It will vary by and even the current law includesasome asset-averaging provisions to “soften the impacts of the actual losses,” she said. Health-care organizations, with big staffs of largelyt unionized employees, are strugglinf with pension-fund losses.
has a hole estimatecd at $30 million to $40 due to 2008 investment losses. ’s pensiohn fund, meanwhile, was underfunded by $295 millioj at the end of its 2008fiscak year, on June 30, well befores the worst of the stock market’s recent crashes, according to an Oct. 17 report by . Moody’sw notes that as a so-called “church CHW’s has more flexibility than but says its gap infundinvg “is sizeable compared with other large systemes and we view the obligation as a