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Count World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. among those wanting to draw a crowd to the new KFC Yum! Center.

Stamford, Conn.-based WWE (NYSE: WWE) announced Tuesday it will bring its nationally televised Monday Night Raw program to the 22,000-seat arena on Monday, Dec. 6.

Monday Night Raw is broadcast live each week on the USA Network.

A ticket presale will be held for Wednesday, Sept. 29, at 10 a.m., for Kentucky Future Club Events members, according to an e-mail announcement from the Kentucky State Fair Board no fax payday loans. They will go on sale to the general public Saturday, Oct. 2, at 10 a.m.

Tickets for the show are $63, $48, $37, $27 and 16. They will be available at all Ticketmaster outlets, at the Kentucky Exposition Center and Kentucky International Convention Center box offices, and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

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MDM Development Group, developer of downtown Miami’s Wells Fargo Center, took it upon itself Friday to increase access to its new office high rise by having a crew break up a street median without a permit.

Currently, the only legal access into the high-rise garage is via an Interstate 95 off ramp that morphs into Northeast Third Street on the north side of the building.

The median separates the two eastbound lanes of Southeast Third Street and prevents motorists from turning off of Southeast Second Avenue (U.S. 1), a one-way southbound street, and making a quick lane change to go into the garage entrance.

The median appears like it would prevent accidents by not permitting the quick lane change.

A foreman for the workers doing the work on Friday confirmed the crew was hired by the building's owner.

Some nearby stakeholders were upset.

“The improvements the developer is undertaking without a permit from the city is like doing heart surgery on a patient without his consent,” said Akerman Senterfitt attorney Javier Fernandez, who represents Wachovia Financial Center, which already has access to Southeast Third Street.

Representatives of the Wachovia property were supposed to meet with MDM, and officials from the Florida Department of Transportation, the county and the city a few days ago, but the meeting was abruptly canceled.

A call to a representative of MDM Development and city officials was not immediately returned.

Fernandez sent an email to the city Friday asking it to not issue any permits and to “exercise all available remedies to have the project sponsor cease and desist from further modifying the right-of-way.”

“This intersection is the most critical point of access to downtown Miami. It is possible that the improvements requested could adversely impact access to downtown for tens of thousands of office workers, visitors, and residents,” wrote Fernandez in an email to city officials. “We have had recent conversations with other downtown stakeholders and they share our concerns regarding the improvements as currently proposed.”

MDM has submitted new plans to get a permit for the road changes and a light but they have not been approved, according to an email from the city to Fernandez.

“Given that the applicant has proceeded in a fashion that flouts applicable government regulations exclusively for their own benefit, we hope that the city administration will stay any action on the pending permits until the proposed improvements can be visited in a public discussion with all interested parties,” Fernandez wrote.

A new meeting with Wachovia, MDM and others has been set for Oct. 7.

This isn’t the first time MDM Development has been in the spotlight.

MDM partner Ricardo Glas allegedly participated in a payment given to former Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones related to a proposal to change the name of Second Avenue to Brickell Avenue, according to charges in a case filed against Spence-Jones.

Glas was allegedly asked to make the payment by Armando Codina, whose company was hired to lease the Wells Fargo Center.

Spence-Jones was charged with bribery earlier this year and Gov. Charlie Crist suspended her as a result of that and another case involving alleged illegal activity. Both cases are still open. Neither Glas nor Codina were charged.

Wells Fargo Center is one of three new office buildings in the downtown area. It has Greenberg Traurig and Wells Fargo as its largest tenants.

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Gold prices climbed to yet another record Friday, continuing a week-long rally fueled by uncertainty over the global economy.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $3.70 to settle at an all-time high of $1,277.50 an ounce. It was the latest in a series of record highs this week. On Thursday, gold closed at $1,273.80 an ounce — the previous high.

Earlier Friday, gold rose to an intraday record of $1,284.40 per ounce. That eclipsed the intraday mark of $1,279.50 an ounce in the previous session.

The surge in gold prices is being partly driven by a "complete lack of confidence in the governments of the world being able to sort out their financial mess," said Gary Mead, senior commodity analyst with VM Group, a London-based commodity strategist firm.

The value of the precious metal has been recognized for thousands of years, so gold is viewed as a safe haven during tough times. It’s considered a low risk commodity that enjoys peak prices during times of volatility, when traders feel queasy about stocks and currencies.

Over the past week or so, Mead said that gold is being fueled by volatility with the U.S. dollar, perceptions about the U.S. economy, fears of inflation, and the possibility of more quantitative easing — referring to the buying of bonds by the U.S. government.

Jono Remington-Hobbs, a precious metals analyst with TheBullionDesk.com in London, said the possibility that the Federal Open Market Committee might make statements about quantitative easing at its November meeting is partly responsible for the rising tide in gold prices.

"The more we’re going to hear talk about the quantitative easing, that’s going to be real beneficial for gold," he said.

Gold isn’t the only metal to ride the wave of economic jitters. Silver continued its upward march, edging up 4 cents per ounce to settle at $20.79. Earlier this month, silver rose above the $20 mark for the first time since 2008.

Remington-Hobbs said that silver was flirting with its 30-month target of $21.36 per ounce, an intraday spike that was hit on March 17, 2008.

But he noted that silver is still far short of its all-time high of $49.45 per ounce, reached in January 1980. Adjusted for inflation, that would be even higher in 2010 dollars: $131.01 an ounce.

Gold hit its true peak on Jan. 21, 1980, when it rose to $825.50 an ounce. Adjusted for inflation in 1980 dollars, that translates to an all-time record of $2,184.08 an ounce, in 2010 dollars. 

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Centerpoint Medical Center is adding 2,500 square feet to house a new, high-powered MRI.

The Independence hospital will break ground Monday on the $1 million addition to its radiology department and expects to end construction by early 2011, according to the release. The center has yet to hire a general contractor.

Centerpoint is part of HCA Midwest’s 10-hospital system. Parent HCA Inc. will finance the project. Also on Friday, the system announced a $39.1 million expansion at Research Belton Hospital. The story is available in the Kansas City Business Journal’s print edition.

The Centerpoint addition will house the imaging system along with the support and waiting space required for the new technology, Centerpoint COO Phil Buttell said payday loans direct lenders.

The MRI machine, valued around $2 million, is in the final stages of purchasing and will see its first patient toward the beginning of March, Buttell said.

“This technology will allow us to better serve our patients and our community,” he said. “Our current magnet is near capacity.”

Buttell said the technology has applications for diagnoses in neuroscience as well as orthopedics and cardiology.

He said the 3-telsa MRI scans patients faster and with more precision.

The University of Kansas Medical Center’s Hoglund Brain Imaging Center won a $2.88 million stimulus grant in August to buy the same technology.

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The cloud computing company Joyent Inc. has raised $15 million in Series C funding led by Intel Capital, the company said Tuesday.

Also participating in the round were Greycroft Partners, an existing investor and Liberty Global, a new investor.

The San Francisco company will use the funds to expand its international operations and to build its cloud computing technologies.

Joyent said it has recently expanded operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa fast cash.

Founded in 2004, Joyent provides cloud computing services and infrastructure for customers ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies, including companies such as LinkedIn and Gilt Group.

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The United States continues to lose its edge in international competitiveness, according to a report released Thursday by the World Economic Forum.

The U.S. was overtaken by Sweden and Singapore, according to the Global Competitiveness Report for 2010-2011, partly because of the sluggish economy and political uncertainly that have weakened the private sector. Switzerland tops the list, with Sweden notching up to second place and Singapore moving up to third, knocking the U.S. down to fourth.

The U.S. has been incrementally moving down the ladder. In the prior release of the Global Competitiveness Report, the U.S. held second place. But even then, it had been knocked out of the top slot by Switzerland.

"Switzerland retains its first-place position, characterized by an excellent capacity for innovation and a very sophisticated business culture," read the report, co-authored by chief advisor Xavier Sala-i-Martin of Columbia University in New York.

The report pointed to the United States’ innovative companies, supported by a strong university system, as a strong driver of business competition.

But the nation was hampered by some weaknesses that caused it to lose ground in the ranking. They included the decline of private institutions, particularly in the weakening of auditing and reporting standards as well as corporate ethics, the report said.

The report also said the United States is hamstrung by its distrust of politicians.

"The business community remains concerned about the government’s ability to maintain arms-length relationships with the private sector and considers that the government spends its resources relatively wastefully," read the report guaranteed high risk personal loans.

Furthermore, the report said "a lack of macroeconomic stability continues to be the United States’ greatest area of weakness." The study pointed to "repeated fiscal deficits leading to burgeoning levels of public indebtedness" and said "this has been exacerbated by significant stimulus spending."

The remaining countries in the top 10 list of international competitiveness were Germany, Japan, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Canada.

The Scandinavian countries performed well as a group. In addition to Sweden, Finland and Denmark all landed in the top 10, while Norway placed 14th.

Germany and the United Kingdom also showed signs of improvement. Germany moved up two notches to place fifth and the U.K. climbed one notch to place 12th.

Even though the People’s Republic of China lagged far behind the top 10, placing 27th on the list, it still managed to edge up two places. The report said that China "continues to lead the way among large developing economies."

The rankings were based on publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey of 13,500 businesses in 139 economies, which was conducted by the World Economic Forum. 

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$275 - That's the price difference between the Toyota Camry hybrid and the equivalent model with an all-gas 4-cylinder engine.

That's a small premium for hybrids, which usually out-price comparable gas models by a thousand or two even after government incentives are applied. And all the Toyota tax credits were used by 2007. So let's tick off the other differences:

• Fuel use for the hybrid is estimated at 31 around town and 35 on the highway compared with 22/32 for the traditional Camry XLE.
• The hybrid boasts a combined 187 horsepower (a 147-hp gasoline motor and 40-hp electric) and is quicker off the line than the XLE, which is rated at 169 hp.
• The hybrid comes with a continuously variable transmission, while the XLE gets a six-speed automatic.
• Both sedans are quiet, but the hybrid is absolutely silent at startup and at other times when the electric motor is the only power source.
• The battery pack cuts into some of the trunk space on the hybrid reducing total volume to 10.6 cubic feet compared with 14.5 on the XLE.
• The 2011 Camry hybrids start at $27,335, including the destination charge, a leap over the base model at $20,480, but only a few hundred more than the loaded XLE. The hybrid also has a long list of standards, but is missing some of the XLE features, such as the moonroof, rear sunshade, fog lamps, and trunk pass-through to the backseat. However, the XLE does not come with a standard push-button starter like the hybrid.

Both the hybrid and its all-gas companion benefit from last year's tweaks updating the sixth-generation Camry, which made its bow in the 2007 model year. That includes a new front grille, bumper and headlamps, an improved powertrain for 4-cylinder models, and standard stability and traction control across the line.

And in Camry tradition, both versions of the sedan are easy driving, comfortable sedans, well suited to family or business travel. Large gauges with reasonably sized print also make for easy reading and handling.

It's not a head-turner, or sporty driving vehicle, but the Camry is handsome with neat fit and finish. The blue backlighting on the gauges is cool. Leather is among options.

On the safety front, the Camry comes with a full complement of equipment: antilock brakes with assist and regenerative features, the latter helping recharge the battery; traction and stability control; side airbags and curtains and knee airbags; plus excellent federal crash test results.

The Camry hybrid is priced similar to the Ford Fusion and Nissan Altima, the latter available only in California and a few other states. The Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima hybrids, new for the 2011 model year, are priced a little less. Fusion is a top competitor with estimated mileage of 41 in the city and 36 on the highway. Perennial rival Honda offers its smaller Civic as a hybrid, but not the midsize Accord.

Hybrid-related components on the Camry are covered for eight years or 100,000 miles, 15 years and 150,000 miles in California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The hybrid battery warranty runs 10 years or 150,000 miles. Figuring out what a replacement pack might cost at that point is tough. Carmakers have been trying to reduce costs, and Toyota says current cost for a Camry battery is $3,541, with labor costs considerably less than those for an engine overhaul.

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Two Albany, N.Y. area hospitals are among 17 in the state to receive grants from the state Health Department.

The grants, which totaled $49.9 million, are intended to assist hospitals that incurred operating losses as a result of Medicaid reimbursement changes.

In the Albany area, Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson received $1.8 million and Samaritan Hospital, in Troy, received $1.4 million.

The Health Department’s release, with a full list of hospitals receiving grants, can be found here, http://www.health.state.ny.us/press/releases/2010/2010-09-02_healny_phase15_awards.htm.

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