The Denver law firm of Fife and Associates now is called Fife, Charles, Mangall & Mossinghoff, the company reported Monday.
The names of attorneys Christ Charles, Darin Mangnall and Dan Mossinghoff were added to the firm's name.
The firm focuses on criminal law and DUI defenses.
Charles has been with the firm since 2004, and Mangnall and Mossinghoff have been with it since 2005.
Japan's credit rating was raised one level to Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service, which said the government will keep trying to restrain spending to reduce debt.
The increase on long-term, local-currency debt from A1 “was prompted by expectations of continued fiscal restraint and consolidation, coupled with an easing-out of the debilitating effects of deflation,'' Thomas Byrne, senior vice president of Moody's, said in a statement. “The government and ruling party is firmly committed to fiscal consolidation.''
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda last week reaffirmed his pledge to balance the budget by 2011 so that the government can cut the world's largest public debt. Economists say Japan hasn't done enough to pare its borrowings, which the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates stand at 182 percent of gross domestic product.
“I wonder why Moody's is upgrading now while Japan still faces a harsh fiscal environment,'' said Seiji Adachi, a senior economist at Deutsche Securities Inc. in Tokyo. “On the top of that, they probably downgraded too far before.''
The increase to the fourth-highest investment grade brings Moody's assessment in line with Fitch Ratings' AA- and one notch below Standard & Poor's AA, and puts Japan on a par with Taiwan and Cyprus. Moody's raised the rating to A1 eight months ago.
Moody's assigned Japan the top Aaa rating in 1993, and since 1998 made four cuts as the nation's borrowings swelled. Even with today's upgrade, Japan is still the lowest among the Group of Seven industrialized nations by Moody's measurement. Within the G-7 only Italy and Japan have ratings below Aaa.
Four Cuts
The yen traded at 106.01 per dollar at 2:04 p.m. in Tokyo from 106.28 before the announcement. The yield on Japan's 10- year bond fell 1.5 basis points to 1.595 percent.
“News on Moody's upgrade was a big surprise,'' said Yuji Saito, head of foreign-exchange sales at Societe Generale SA in Tokyo. “This is all because we Japanese think the Fukuda administration is reluctant to cut spending and the Japanese economy is slowing.''
Japan's budget deficit is set to widen for the first time in five years as social-security costs rise in one of the world's most rapidly aging societies.
Investors have purchased more default protection on Japan's debt this year to guard against the risk that the government will become unable to repay it. Credit-default swaps on Japanese government debt were at 16.5 basis points on June 27 compared with 8.5 at the end of 2007, according to CMA Datavision prices.
By comparison, contracts on South Korea were quoted at 106 basis points on June 27, indicating a higher risk of default.
Bank of Japan
Moody's said Japan's economy is “resilient'' to a global slowdown and added that it didn't expect any “preemptive'' interest-rate increases by the Bank of Japan because inflation in the world's second-largest economy is still lower than in other countries.
The central bank's benchmark overnight lending rate is 0.5 percent, the lowest in the industrialized world. Consumer prices excluding fresh food climbed 1.5 percent in May, the fastest pace in a decade.
Further improvement in the nation's debt rating hinges on government efforts toward “sustained fiscal consolidation'' and debt reduction, and a falling birthrate and rising welfare costs will be headwinds for Japan, Moody's added.
Japan's banks are “in a relatively favorable position,'' having avoided the worst of the subprime mortgage collapse that made financial institutions less willing to lend money in the U.S. and Europe, Moody's said.
Stable Financial System
“The Japanese financial system is stable, especially compared to U.S. and European markets,'' said Hidetoshi Ohashi, a credit analyst with Morgan Stanley in Tokyo. He said the higher rating may lead to upgrades at banks and public entities.
Moody's was criticized by the government and summoned to parliament in 2002, when it cuts its rating to A2, the sixth highest. Masajuro Shiokawa, then the nation's finance minister, called Moody's “out of touch with reality.''
Overseas investors held only 5.1 percent of outstanding government bonds as of the end of September 2006, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Cappellino Towne Buick Saab Hummer has acquired the Pontiac GMC franchise in a transaction that brings most of GM's best-known brands together under one roof.
The purchase, for an undisclosed price, involves the Pontiac and GMC businesses from James Culligan, but not the Volvo franchise, which Culligan retained.
The dealerships involved are both in Clarence — Cappellino's at 5411 Transit Road and Culligan's at 8129 Main St.
The Pontiac and GMC sales and service operation will be merged next week into Cappellino's Transit Road location.
President Steve Cappellino said the acquisition gives him more new GM brands — Cappellino Buick Pontiac GMC and Cappellino Hummer Saab — at one location than any other area dealer.
"This was a purchase, yes, but more than that it had to do with GM's consolidation of brands to create one channel for Buick, Pontiac and GMC," he said.
In buying the two nameplates, Cappellino said he acquired a $4 million to $5 million inventory of about 200 new cars and trucks.
In 2007 revenue, the Cappellino and Culligan figures total an estimated $115 million to $120 million. The figure includes Cappellino's Niagara Nissan in Lockport.
About 40 Culligan managers, sales people and certified technicians will relocate to Cappellino's Transit Road site, where the expanded workforce will exceed 100.
The Culligan acquisition is Cappellino's fourth in less than seven years. The family of dealerships added Hummer of Buffalo in 2001, Niagara Nissan on South Transit Road in Lockport in 2003 and Saab in 2006.
The original Towne Buick, established in Buffalo by Cappellino's father, Frank, in 1969, moved from its first location at Delaware and Hertel avenues to the current site 18 years ago.
A brother of Steve, Gary Cappellino, is vice president of the business.
Culligan Pontiac GMC traces its roots to 1932 when Cas Culligan founded Culligan Motors as a Pontiac dealership.
His nephew, Jim Culligan, later assumed ownership and operated the business as Jim Culligan Pontiac GMC Volvo.
Culligan, who was a Pontiac dealer for 40 years and a Volvo dealer since 1982, said he is not retiring and plans to continue operating the Volvo dealership at its present location. The business has 40 employees.
European confidence dropped more than economists forecast this month and retail sales plunged, signaling that economic growth is continuing to cool even as the European Central Bank prepares to lift interest rates to a seven-year high to tackle inflation.
An index measuring sentiment in the euro area fell to 94.9, the lowest since May 2005, from 97.6 the previous month, the European Commission in Brussels said today. Separate reports showed European retail sales plummeted, while inflation accelerated in Germany and Spain.
Stocks fell in Europe today as oil climbed to a record above $140 a barrel and Carrefour SA, Europe's biggest retailer, scaled back its earnings forecast. With soaring food and energy prices boosting inflation, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet has said the bank may raise the benchmark rate next week by a quarter point to 4.25 percent.
“The economy has hit the wall,'' said Ken Wattret, senior economist at BNP Paribas SA in London. ECB officials “run the risk of tipping the euro area into a recession'' as the inflation outlook increases the risk that the central bank “may need to go beyond one rate rise.''
Confidence among the manufacturing, construction and retail industries across the 15 nations that share the euro declined this month, as did consumer sentiment, according to today's commission report.
The Bloomberg retail index, based on a survey of more than 1,000 executives compiled by Markit Economics, fell to 44 this month from 53.1 in May. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. Europe's manufacturing and services industries also contracted this month.
Export Growth
The euro has increased 17 percent against the dollar in the last 12 months, threatening export growth, and was at $1.5770 today. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index fell 1.3 percent to 284.67 as of 11:29 a.m. in Brussels.
Separate figures today showed France's economy expanded less than initially estimated in the first quarter as household spending, the driving force of growth, stagnated. U.K. first- quarter growth was revised lower today.
ECB council member Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said today a July rate increase is not a certainty.
“Nothing is inevitable in life,'' Ordonez told reporters in Rome today. “What we said was that the increase is not certain, but possible.''
Still, the ECB remains focused on consumer-price growth, according to ECB Executive Board member Juergen Stark. He said yesterday the bank sees its primary aim as being to “firmly anchor inflation expectations.''
16-Year High
Euro-area inflation reached a 16-year high of 3.7 percent in May. In Spain, inflation accelerated to 5.1 percent this month, the fastest on record, according to data today. Inflation in four German states also accelerated this month.
Oil prices have doubled in a year and Libyan National Oil Corp. Chairman Shokri Ghanem said yesterday that $150 a barrel may be “around the corner.''
Companies expect to raise prices more than previously anticipated to recover soaring costs, the commission report showed. A gauge of companies' selling-price expectations rose to 18 in June from 16 in May, which compares with an average reading of 6 over the last 18 years. Consumers also expect prices to rise more sharply than they did last month.
The “worrying combination'' of falling confidence and rising price expectations, “will add to fears of stagflation in the euro zone,'' said Martin van Vliet, an economist at ING Group in Amsterdam.
`Remain Elevated'
“Inflation is likely to remain elevated for a longer period than we initially expected,'' EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in London today. It “should only begin to show a significant deceleration around the end of this year, although further possible rises in the price of oil and agricultural products cannot be ruled out.''
Europe's largest companies are feeling the pressure. Paris- based Carrefour SA, Europe's biggest retailer, yesterday scaled back its earnings forecast, saying operating profit will increase at about the same pace as sales this year. In May, it said profit would exceed the pace of revenue growth.
Ryanair Holdings Plc, the region's biggest discount airline, on June 3 said it expects to break even this year, having previously predicted net income of as much as 500 million euros ($788 million).
Recent data show few signs of a recovery yet. A gauge of manufacturing orders within a monthly survey of purchasing managers fell in June, dropping further below a 50-point level that signals contraction. In the services industry, new business also declined this month.
The jobs outlook may also be deteriorating after unemployment fell to a record low 7.1 percent this year. UniCredit SpA, Italy's biggest bank, yesterday said it plans to cut 9,000 jobs, or 5 percent of its workforce. Aviva Plc's Irish unit and Belgium's Bekaert NV also announced plans to shed jobs this week.
Acknowledging the impact of higher gas prices on businesses and individuals, the Internal Revenue Service this week said it will raise its automobile mileage deduction rate for the second half of 2008.
The agency will boost the optional standard rate, used to compute deductible operating costs for vehicles, to 58.5 cents a mile, beginning July 1, up from 50.5 cents, the rate used since January.
The IRS normally updates the mileage rates once a year in the fall, but it has come under pressure to adjust rates sooner.
Regular gasoline prices on Tuesday averaged $4.07 a gallon nationwide, according to information from AAA. In Fort Lauderdale, it averaged $4.13; in Miami, it was $4.12; and in West Palm Beach/Boca Raton, it was $4.14.
Ontario's retail sector continues to grow, despite the loss of cross-border shoppers to Western New York.
A new Statistics Canada report says that Ontario's retail sales grew by 0.7 percent between March and April. That was slightly better than the nationwide increase of 0.6 percent.
It marked the second straight increase in retail activity in Ontario, essentially wiping out February's sharp decline. Ontario's retail sales have generally been on the upswing since hitting a low point in mid-2007.
That coincides with the period in which the Canadian dollar reached parity with the American dollar, inspiring Ontario bargain hunters to do more of their shopping on the New York side of the Niagara River.
Total retail sales amounted to $12.7 billion (Canadian) in Ontario in April — and $35.6 billion (Canadian) in all of Canada.
The Green Bay Packers recorded net income of $23.3 million in its 2008 fiscal year, a 5.9 percent increase from 2007, but it was not as much as team officials had hoped for.
In fact, the team saw its profits from operations fall to $21.4 million in 2008, a drop of 37 percent from $34.2 million in 2007, mostly due to rising player costs. Total operating expenses jumped from $184 million to $220 million during the past fiscal year, which ended March 31.
With the team going 13-3 and hosting two playoff games, including the NFC Championship Game, at Lambeau Field, team officials had hoped for better financial results.
"We had a good year, but not as strong as you might have anticipated," said Mark Murphy, Packers president. "There are some trends that are really concerning us."
Most notably, player costs rose from $110 million in 2007 to $124 million in 2008, which Murphy said was caused by bonus payments paid to veteran players.
Revenue increased 10 percent to $241 million, with national revenue making up $135 million of that total. Included in that figure is $87.5 million from the National Football League’s national television contract, which is split among the 32 teams.
Packers vice president of finance Vicki Vannieuwenhoven said the team ranked 11th among NFL teams in local revenue last season, and expects to remain in the same range when the league calculates new rankings later this year. In 2006, the Packers ranked seventh in team revenue.
Larry Weyers, Packers treasurer, said local revenue totaled $105 million. About $50 million in revenue came from a record year in the Packers Pro Shop, marketing and other corporate sponsorships.
Weyers said the $295 million renovation of Lambeau Field, which was completed in 2004, was still paying off for the Packers. With national revenue being evenly divided among the teams, local revenue is very important, he said.
"In order to be successful in this league, you have to depend on local revenue," he said "That is a way to gain an advantage."
NFL owners voted in May to opt out of their collective bargaining agreement with the players union. The current agreement remains in effect through the 2010 season, but owners are hoping to negotiate a new deal that would allow them to keep a bigger share of the money the league and teams make.
Murphy said a new collective bargaining agreement was very important to the Packers, who play in the smallest market in the NFL.
"It is extremely important that we protect the mechanisms the NFL has in place today," he said. "The salary cap is very important and it allows us to compete against team in much larger markets. The system does need to be tweaked a bit and that is what we are working on."
Weyers said the team was able to add $2 million to the Packers Preservation Fund, putting the total in the corporate reserve that was set up in 2005 at $127.5 million.
In addition, the team purchased 15 acres around Lambeau Field this past year. The Packers have not determined how the land will be used, but Murphy said they are talking to municipalities about development possibilities, including retail, entertainment or a mixed-use project.
"We’re looking at ways to generate additional revenue," he said. "We knew (buying the land) would be a good investment as we look to the future."
A new state law establishes fines for unlicensed health care facilities that defy court orders to close and for health care providers who knowingly refer patients to unlicensed facilities.
The new law gives the Alabama Department of Human Resources authority to protect and represent residents of an unlicensed facility that is closed by court order. Fines collected will be used to create a fund to pay for the expense of relocating residents to a licensed health care facility.
"The health, welfare and safety of Alabama’s vulnerable seniors and disabled citizens have always been our number one concern," Alabama Nursing Home Association Executive Director Louis Cottrell said.
The state Department of Housing and Community Development on Friday released its recommendation for the first round of funding under the $850 million Proposition 1C grant program that targets funds for infill projects.
Although the city of Sacramento placed another project as its first priority for these funds, the department is recommending that The Railyards receive the full $30 million it has requested under this program.
Thomas Enterprises Inc., which is trying to redevelop the downtown railyard, applied for the funds on its own behalf.
The competing project, Township 9, a mixed-use project that sits between Richards Bouelvard and the River, is recommended to receive $19.1 million funding only if the Legislature increases the amount of money awarded under this program. A bill to that effect goes before the state Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday.
Also recommended for funding: West Sacramento's Triangle development area, which staff is suggesting should receive $16.7 million under the current funding level and $23 million if the programs is augmented by legislative action.
Three other area projects that applied have not been recommended for funding, but Broadway Lofts, a multi-story condo plan at Broadway and 19th Street, could receive funding under the augmentation scenario.
Those not recommended for funding are:
In all, 117 projects were in contention for the funds after staff weeded out those projects that did not qualify. Micha
An advocacy group for Hawaii physicians and patients is suing the state, seeking to overturn a $1.5 billion Medicaid contract awarded to two Mainland health plans instead of to a Hawaii health maintenance organization earlier this year.
The Hawaii Coalition for Health, led by physician and attorney Arleen Jouxson-Meyers and her law partner, Rafael del Castillo, is suing the state Department of Human Services for awarding the three-year contract to Tampa, Fla.-based WellCare Health Plans Inc. and an affiliate of Minneapolis-based UnitedHealth Group, instead of to Honolulu nonprofit AlohaCare.
The coalition is suing on behalf of patients — primarily the aged, blind and disabled — that it says will be put at "significant risk" by the new contract, which they’re calling a scheme.
"The Hawaii Coalition for Health finds it disturbing that instead, the state would choose to award this contract to two Mainland companies with no track record in Hawaii and no existing relationships with Hawaii’s aged, blind and disabled population nor the physicians who provide care to these patients," Jouxson-Meyers said in a prepared statement Thursday.
State Department of Human Services Director Lillian Koller, who is named in the lawsuit, told PBN that she was reviewing it Thursday.
"We have yet to thoroughly review the lawsuit filed by HCFH or discuss it with counsel," Koller said in a prepared statement. "We believe the claims of AlohaCare and HCFH are without legal or factual merit."
The coalition’s lawsuit, filed in Honolulu federal court Tuesday, is the second against the state over the contract award.
It is separate from AlohaCare’s own lawsuit, which was filed May 8, but the coalition makes many of the same allegations.
AlohaCare sued the state claiming it violated federal Medicaid law by awarding the contract to two companies that had no provider networks already established in Hawaii. AlohaCare argued that it was unfairly shut out of the bidding and that the state’s request for proposal process "was skewed to benefit large, for-profit, out-of-state health plans at the expense of nonprofit Hawaii plans like AlohaCare."
In addition to the lawsuit, AlohaCare filed a formal bid protest in February with the State Procurement Office but that complaint was rejected last month.
While AlohaCare’s lawsuit is pending, its request for a temporary restraining order to stop the implementation of the contract is scheduled for a June 18 hearing in Honolulu federal court.
Powered by WordPress