| Giants Send Letter to Fans About Bonds | | Posted Tuesday, February 06, 2007 12:52:48 PM by Blog57 Team | | SAN FRANCISCO - Giants owner Peter Magowan sent a letter to about 27,000 season-ticket holders this week explaining why the club decided to re-sign free agent slugger Barry Bonds for another season."The process of negotiating this contract was complex, lengthy and highly unconventional," Magowan wrote Monday in his letter, obtained by The Associated Press on Friday. "This decision was not taken lightly and we spent significant time evaluating all of the elements and circumstances surrounding the negotiations before we made a final determination to move forward."Magowan and executive vice president Larry Baer have repeatedly said they have a strong understanding of the organization's fan base, and these periodic letters are one way they communicate with that group. The team had heard a variety of opinions from many of its fans during recent months regarding Bonds, who will begin the 2007 season 22 homers shy of breaking Hank Aaron's career record of 755.The 42-year-old Bonds' $15.8 million, one-year contract had been completed Monday night, but the sides then had differing views of certain language in the deal and Bonds had yet to sign a revised version as of Friday.... | |
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| | | Omega Women's Constellation Watch #1282.30 | | Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2007 12:36:28 PM by Blog57 Team | | Blending classic timepiece design with refined European style, this Omega Constellation women's watch offers graceful lines and a slender width for even the more delicate of wrists. This two-tone watch offers an appealing balance of luxury, durability, and precision (with its Swiss quartz watch movement). Its highly polished silver stainless steel case is topped by a brushed gold-tone bezel that features engraved Roman numerals in black and curved claw accents at 3 and 9 o'clock. The stainless steel bracelet band flows seamlessly from the case and is slightly tapered. It's composed of alternating wide links in silver and contrasting gold-tone thin bands, and is joined by a secure push-button safety clasp. The silvery white dial background also includes gold-tone Dauphine hands, thin baton markers, and small minute indexes. Other features include a date function at 3 o'clock, scratch-resistant and glare-proofed domed sapphire crystal, a distinctive Cabochon crown, 20-month power reserve, and water resistance to 30 meters (100 feet) The watch case measures 27.5mm (1.08 inches) across and the adjustable bracelet measures 6 inches in length. The Omega Story The Omega watch story begins in 1848, when founder Louis Brandt began hand assembling key-wound precision pocket watches from parts supplied by local craftsmen in his principality La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the northwest corner of Switzerland. However, the Omega name didn't appear until 1894, after Louis Brandt had passed away and his watchmaking traditions were taken over by his sons, Louis-Paul and Cesar Brandt. Omega watches have long been associated with glamorous screen and sports stars--the Omega Seamaster is famous for being the watch of choice for James Bond--with current ambassadors including Pierce Brosnan, Nicole Kidman, tennis player Anna Kournikova, and swimmers Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe. But Omega is more than just a fashionable watch. In 1965, the Omega Speedmaster chronograph was "flight-qualified by NASA for all manned space missions" as the only wristwatch to have withstood all of the U.S. space agency's severe tests, including passing grades for extreme shocks, vibrations, and temperatures ranging from -18 to +93 degrees Celsius. The greatest moment in the Speedmaster's history was undoubtedly 20 July 1969 at 02:56 GMT, when it recorded man's first steps on the Moon's surface as part of the Apollo 11 mission. Today, Omega is known for its rigorous testing of new movements, cases, and bands. Each new Omega movement is tested on the wrist in existing Omega models, while various laboratory tests are conducted to determine temperature-resistance, shock-resistance and vibration-resistance.... | |
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| | | Japan's Elpida to issue Y30 bln in straight bonds | | Posted Wednesday, January 17, 2007 3:01:13 PM by Blog57 Team | | TOKYO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Japanese computer memory maker Elpida Memory Inc. said on Wednesday it would issue 30 billion yen ($248.3 million) in straight bonds to pay back debt. Elpida, which said last month it would invest up to $15.5 billion on a DRAM chip joint venture with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. , said the latest issue of five-year bonds would be used to pay back business loans and leases to run daily operations through March 2008. Elpida, which has been ramping up capacity to make dynamic random-access memory, has said it will issue up to 100 billion yen worth of bonds through Oct. 19. .... | |
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| | | Home Depot to Sell $5 Billion of Bonds; Ratings Cut (Update5) | | Posted Wednesday, December 13, 2006 12:59:20 PM by Blog57 Team | | Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Home Depot Inc., the world's largest home-improvement retailer, plans to sell $5 billion of bonds to finance the repurchase of shares, prompting Standard & Poor's to slash its credit rating. The securities will be split between floating-rate notes due in 2009, fixed-rate senior notes maturing in 2013 and fixed-rate senior bonds due in 2036, Atlanta-based Home Depot said in a filing today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Home Depot's credit rating was cut two levels to A+ from AA by S&P, which cited the company's plan to buy back $4 billion of stock. The change ``reflects our revised view that the company's financial policy has become somewhat more aggressive,'' S&P said in a statement today. S&P has rated Home Depot AA since November 2000, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.... | |
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| | | Council approves AT&T deal; OKs bonds for sewers; Bonds will finance major improvements to city sewer system | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 10:56:26 PM by Blog57 Team | | Benton City Council on Monday night authorized the issuance of $26.5 million in public utility revenue bonds to finance major improvements to the city's sewer system.There was little discussion at this meeting by aldermen on the ordinance, which has been proposed for some time. The bond proposal has been discussed in numerous committee meetings and at previous council meetings. The ordinance received unanimous approval from the nine aldermen present Monday night. Alderman Ray Freeman was absent, making the vote 9-1.Aldermen suspended the rules and approved the ordinance on all three required readings.Stephens Inc. of Little Rock will issue the bonds, which are scheduled to be repaid in three years.Aldermen approved two related ordinances by similar 9-1 votes. The ordinances confirm existing sewer rates for customers living both outside and inside the city limits.Customers living outside the city limits pay a sewer rate 1.75 times the rate paid by city residents, based on an average monthly usage of 500,000 gallons of water.Customers inside the city limits pay a rate of 85 cents for the first 1,000 gallons of water used.... | |
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| | | Round Rock Voters Approve $268 Million In Bonds | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 6:57:03 PM by Blog57 Team | | In Williamson County, voters were deciding on bonds for roads and schools. What happened? Voters in the Round Rock school district have easily passed a $268 million bond package. It was split into four propositions to try and ease overcrowding in schools throughout the district. Propositions 1 through 3 total more than $258 million to buy land, build new schools, renovate existing schools and buy new buses. Proposition 4 will provide $9 million in new technology in schools. Each proposition passed by more than 60 percent of the vote. In Williamson County, voters approved Proposition 1 by a measure of 66 percent to 34. It will provide $228 million in road bonds for construction, improvements and expansions.... | |
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| | | Japan's Bonds May Gain as Machinery Orders Growth Seen Slowing | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 6:59:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese bonds may rise for a third day on speculation a report today will show slower growth in machinery orders, a signal of corporate investment plans. Benchmark 10-year bonds are headed for a third week of gains after a central bank report yesterday showed bank lending slowed last month and as the Nikkei 225 Stock Average headed for a weekly drop. A report early next week may show growth stalled in the third quarter, according to a Bloomberg News survey. ``Bonds are strong as people are expecting a weak number for machinery orders and a weak GDP number,'' said Shigeru Endo, a fund manager in Tokyo at BlackRock Japan Co., whose parent company has $453 billion in assets under management. The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond due in September 2016 was little changed at 1.695 percent as of 10:44 a.m.... | |
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| | | SBI to sell part of $ 2 bn bonds through foreign offices | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 3:02:06 AM by Blog57 Team | | Mumbai, Nov 10. (PTI): The State Bank of India on Thursday, said it may sell part of its $ two billion bonds through its foreign offices. The bond programme has been updated to include Nassau in the Bahamas or other foreign offices including London, the country's largest commercial bank informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. SBI had earlier raised its medium term note programmes to $ two billion in August 2005, from the earlier proposed amount of Rs one billion dollars. The banks' MTN programme has been updated and its scope enlarged to include raising of funds for capital purposes, SBI said. SBI's MTN programme is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. Business .... | |
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| | | Investing: Buying bonds to finance vaccines for the poor | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 10:59:23 AM by Blog57 Team | | The chief rabbi of Britain, Jonathan Sacks, Pope Benedict XVI and the Irish rock star Bono are among the first in line to buy bonds to help combat disease in the poorest countries. They joined bondholders placing orders for a $1 billion sale of securities promoted by the chancellor of the Exchequer of Britain, Gordon Brown, according to a document circulated by Brown's office. Britain is leading governments, including France and Italy, promising $4 billion over 20 years to the GAVI Alliance, a group set up by the Microsoft founder Bill Gates to vaccinate against diseases like polio, hepatitis B and yellow fever. By selling debt backed by their pledges, the governments allow GAVI to spend the money right away. Brown wants to use the bond market in this way to provide $50 billion a year of aid.... | |
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| | | Indian bonds seen down as inflation worries mount | | Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 7:08:59 AM by Blog57 Team | | MUMBAI, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Indian federal bonds are seen slipping on Monday as inflation worries dog investors, with a drop in U.S. Treasuries and tighter cash supply with banks adding to the subdued sentiment, dealers said. * India's headline inflation was at 5.41 percent in the 12 months to Oct. 21, up from the previous week's 5.26 percent reading and its highest since June 17. * Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said last week controlling inflation expectations was the government's immediate goal, and it would use all measures to rein it in towards 4 percent. * The yield on the benchmark 10-year federal bond ended on Friday at 7.64 percent, up from the previous close of 7.60 percent. * U.S. Treasuries weakened on Friday as data showing unexpected strength in the U.S.... | |
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