CORPORATE FINANCE

The following corporate finance-related stories involving U.S. and European companies were reported by media on Thursday:

** The Government Investment Corp of Singapore, a sovereign wealth fund of the city state, is to be the lead investor in a $6 billion fund set up by private equity firm TPG [TPG.UL] to invest in troubled financial firms, the Financial Times reported.

** Over a third of London's City staff received higher bonus payments than last year, and 70 percent said payouts exceeded or matched expectations, the Financial Times cited a study by Morgan McKinley.

London Asia Capital PLC said it has appointed Diana Chen as corporate finance director to be based in its new office in the finance district of Beijing, China.

The Asia focused merchant banking group said it has shifted its China business model away from investment of funds into 'an already highly liquid' Chinese market, to providing advisory services, primarily within the clean technology sector.Covidien International directly owns all of the operating subsidiaries of Bermuda-based Covidien Ltd (NYSE:COV) and is the primary debt-issuing entity within the Covidien corporate family and performs treasury operations.

The ratings agency also affirmed the 'A-' corporate credit rating and stable outlook on healthcare products firm Covidien Ltd, formerly known as Tyco Healthcare (NYSE:TYC) , a unit of Bermuda-based manufacturing conglomerate Tyco International Ltd.

S&P said the ratings on Covidien reflect a satisfactory business profile, as evidenced by a diverse portfolio of medical products, stable positions within the company's healthcare segments, and the large contribution of disposable products to its revenue base.

However, these strengths are somewhat offset by the commodity-like nature of certain products and by competitive pressures, the ratings agency said.

CORPORATE FINANCE

US FINANCE

For good policy, and good governance, it is necessary to provide full independence to the RBI.

Budget 2008 will be here in two weeks and pink newspapers and news channels are looking forward in anticipation of — higher profits from more ads. It is likely that the Budget this year, in a process that started a few years back, will be of little consequence to the economy, or the stock market. Policy is no longer made exclusively on the 28th of February and that is a good thing. In that context, can any investor or pink journalist point to any major country in the world where Budget day is a tamasha day?

Does this mean India does not need any more economic reforms? God knows that is patently untrue. Worse, the sector most in need of reforms is assumed to be, again especially by the pink journalists, to be least in need. I am talking about the financial sector.

The two most important economic variables in any economy on Planet Earth are the interest rate and the exchange rate. Both are set by the Reserve Bank of India with more than an occasional input from the finance ministry. That is a major problem. Apart from the fact that the emerging policy is a hodge-podge of different interests and analysis, this fraternal approach leads to the undesirable situation of zero accountability — when the economy is good, both sides claim credit and when bad, each blames the other. With this match-up, the politician (the finance minister) is the ultimate loser, because she has to face the public in periodic elections. The FM, and her party, can be booted out, on grounds of non-performance. But the person occupying the RBI chair cannot, and should not (on grounds of technocratic independence), face any such consequence. FOR a new Chancellor, the first Budget is always daunting. But for Alistair Darling, the prospect of the Budget, now less than a month away on March 12, must seem akin to trial by fire. Rarely has there been a time in the past 20 years when the country needs a credible, authoritative and reassuring Chancellor at the helm. But less a year into the job and Darling has been dogged by ill fortune and charges of incompetence. To his critics he has managed to combine in this short period the finesse of Geoffrey Howe and all the luck of Norman Lamont. The economy looks set for its worst slowdown since 1991-92. The public finances look on course to break his predecessor's 'Golden Rule'. He has been forced to backtrack on two proposals announced in the Pre-Budget Report – Capital Gains Tax and the treatment of 'non-doms'. His claim to be "a safe pair of hands" has been severely tested by the debacle of Northern Rock. And overshadowing his every move is his predecessor and now Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who gives the impression of having taken most of the job with him when he formally moved into No 10. Indeed, there is even a sense of a macabre calculus by the Prime Minister that it is better to leave the carcass of his successor twisting in the wind as a foil than to risk cutting him down – and drawing the bullets to himself.

FINANCE USES

Cayman Islands Monetary Authority Chairman Tim Ridley stressed the importance of Cayman’s financial services industry during a speech last Thursday made to the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman.

Making it clear from the onset that his remarks were personal and not the official views of CIMA, Mr. Ridley noted there have been expressions of dissatisfaction with the financial services industry and questions about its contributions to the Cayman Islands.

“I consider these criticisms to be broadly unwarranted and unjustified,” he said. “One only has to look at other small islands in the Caribbean and elsewhere to see the value of the financial services industry. It is that industry, not tourism, that has given the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Channel Islands and the Cayman Islands such high per capita [Gross Domestic Product].

“After all, places such as the Dominican Republic and Jamaica dwarf us in terms of its total tourism activity; not so in per capita GDP.”

Mr. Ridley said there were a number of things that could be done to make sure the broader community understands and remains convinced that the financial services industry is critical to the well–being of the Cayman Islands.

Penn State is near the middle of a new Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine report ranking the 100 best values in public education.

The university ranked 45th for best value for in-state students, down one spot from last year, and 46th for out-of-state students.

Penn State spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said the report, which was released last month, affirmed truths already known about the university.

"We know that Penn State is a good value, and you get an excellent education when you come to Penn State," Mountz said.

Penn State is the most expensive public university in the Big Ten conference. Northwestern University has higher tuition costs, but is a private institution.

Students had mixed reactions to the report's findings.

Christine Branigan (sophomore-journalism) said she uses loans to pay for her Penn State tuition but said "the overall experience" is worth the cost.

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Above all, it will set back the all-important fight against global warming, in which the Indian government is at best a reluctant partner, refusing to accept any time-bound commitment to reduce its greenhouse emissions, now growing three times faster than the world average.

All the same, according to management experts, the car has created a new paradigm of "frugal engineering" and will trigger breathtaking innovations in manufacturing technology in the global automobile industry based on severe cost-cutting.

Yet, despite stripping the Nano down to its most rudimentary dimensions to produce what a United States media presenter termed as "a golf cart crossed with a jelly bean", Tata Motors is unlikely to be able to fulfill its $2,500 price promise for long.

"In fact, the figure is an introductory offer excluding taxes and local duties; on the road, the car will actually cost between $3,310 to $3,819,'' says Dinesh Mohan, a transportation expert and professor of biomedical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. "And that's the initial cost of the bare-bones model. Other versions, including an air-conditioned model, will cost more."

TYPES OF FINANCE

Finance are different types. There are very important types like short time finance, medium term finance, long term finance. These finance are very important in the world. The short time finance is gives the loans to persons which are like to open the small cs hops like general stores and etc. Secured home improvement loans are there to help you out in your wishes to improve your home. With these funds, you can do any renovation you want in your home, be it buying a sofa, an improvement in the kitchen or drawing room. You may want to have a new swimming pool; all comes within the preview of these loans. To avail these loans you are required to pledge your home as the security. However, this does not mean that you are placing your property at stake.
Weak credit markets have forced privately held newspaper publisher Freedom Communications Inc. to postpone a planned buy-out of two minority private equity partners, Blackstone Group LP and Providence Equity Partners, the Wall Street Journal reported.
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A new energy department will unify coal mining, crude oil, electricity and renewable energy bodies, while the regulatory commissions on securities, banking and insurance will also be merged, the newspaper said, citing Henge.
Naming Khalil's, the Insurance Supervision Department’s chief, said that with purpose to develop mediation system at the insurance market the Ministry is ready to come forward with an initiative to cut state duty rate for licensing of insurance agents and brokers.
“Today only rate of AZ 22,000 is applied for insurance and re-insurance companies. After the Law on Insurance Activities is put into force we are going to submit a proposal for duty for licensing for insurance agents and individual brokers at much lower level,” Khalil said.
A DEPARTMENT of Finance ruling for all teachers’ to travel to and from recreational leave by air is “ridiculous and must be reviewed immediately”.It has been blamed for the rut that teachers are stuck in at the end of every year.Where they could travel by land or sea transport, the Finance Department said they must go by air, Mo robe administrator and chairman of the provincial education board Manse Irenic said on Monday.“It is out of touch with reality,” Mr Irenic said, emphasising the strain on meagre resources.“In the case of Mo robe, for 2007 leave fares we requested about K2.6 million. We were allocated K878,900, which is clearly insufficient.“The Mo robe provincial government, realising the shortfall, allocated through its budget a further K550,000, bringing to a total of K1.4 million.”Teachers’ leave fares was the responsibility of the Papa New Guinea Teaching Service Commission, he said. “Teachers are employed by the NEGATES and it is responsible for all personal matters for teachers which include salaries, promotions, terminations and leave fares.”Mr Irenic’s comments came in the wake of a newspaper report on Monday claiming more than 300 teachers had marched to the provincial headquarters at Top town.He dismissed it as “an outright lie”.
the challenges of rational wealth accumulation at retirement through the metaphor of a drunk gambler he once witnessed who exhibited a rather curious roulette wagering and waitress tipping strategy. Here is not the place to reveal the parallels he draws between the drunk gambler and the retiree facing investment and consumption decisions, but suffice it to say that they rivet the reader's attention and impel her to turn the next page. Next, he presents the demographics and economics of what has been termed the central policy concern of our time-providing retirement security for our aging populations.

Finance is one way of taking money from banks or other organisations. The Finance Minister, Ms Clo tilde Nazism, will try to explain the draft law governing the annual budget on 27 December 2007 in the national assembly.Most of the growth would come from Islamic term loans to businesses and hire purchase and mortgages, the bank said as it unveiled its new Islamic banking subsidiary.The finance ministry's first quarter debt issuance plan said it plans to offer 1.8 Ln zloty's of its two-year bonds at one tender to be held on January 2, and 4.0-6.0 Ln of five-year bonds at two tenders.The Art Institute of Seattle is seeking candidates for the Director of Finance. This position acts as the chief financial and administrative officer for The Art Institute of Seattle. Serve as a member of the Executive Committee. Keep the school President informed of all OAFS activities. The Director of Finance imparts advice and counsel to the President and other Executive Committee members regarding the financial impact of operating decisions. The Director of Finance provides leadership to supervisory personnel of the finance, accounting and financial aid departments. Supports the decisions of the executive committee and utilizes the recommendations made by the Board of Trustees.
Preceding her work with The Bank of New York, Ms. Quin ones-Holmes served as senior legal counsel to Citibank's agency and trust business, primarily located in North America and Europe, for nearly a decade. During her tenure at Citibank, she rendered legal advice to internal and external clients for the structured finance, project finance, conventional debt and escrow product lines. Ms. Quin ones-Holmes developed considerable experience in fiduciary principles under New York common law, the Trust Indenture Act and 12 CF Part 9, and has interfaced with regulators for both state-chartered banks and nationally chartered banks. She was also lead counsel on strategic partnerships and acquisition initiatives for the agency and trust business.Qualified applicants will have a master's degree, significant (5 to 7 yrs) financial management & leadership experience, a strong background in accounting, budgeting & financial aid. Must have the ability to motivate a group of professionals, have excellent communication skills and a team philosophy. Salary is commensurate with experience.
"We were absolutely stoked. We had a very strong response in terms of the proxies."
Mr Queen said stock holders with about $68 million, or 85 per cent, of the $79 million in debentures voted at the meeting. About 99 per cent of those holders voted in favour.
He expected the company to be removed from receivership early next month.
Property finance Securities owes about 4000 retail investors $79 million in debentures. Separately, it has issued $550 million of mortgage-backed debt securities to investors.
Property finance Group expected that the first distribution to debenture holders could be made shortly after settlement took place, Mr Queen said.
Property finance Group had agreed to pay $15 million of the $79 million in the first year of the three-year term, a further $15 million in the second year, and the remainder in the third year.
The interest and bonus interest rate - accrued in segments - would be paid at the end of the three-year repayment term on or before December 10, 2010.
After those payments, Property finance Securities would still have "considerable shareholders funds", based on combined assets valued at more than $8 million