| Lehman Bros confident it will prevail
Lehman Brothers is confident that it will be exonerated from charges of colluding to evade tax by citing official guidelines allowing it to set up Global Thai Property Fund. The US financial house yesterday met with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to submit documentary evidence, a source said. The package included the directive from the Financial Sector Restructuring Authority (FRA) giving winners of auctions for the assets of the now-defunct 56 finance companies a month to establish a property fund to manage the assets, he said. The DSI will contact Lehman Brothers about its decision at the beginning of June, he said. Lehman Brothers had signed a purchase agreement with the FRA within seven days of winning the bidding, as required by the FRA, the source added.
Up to seven bids expected for city hall
POULSBO — The hazy picture surrounding Little Norway's city hall project should get clearer once the April 30 deadline for proposals arrives. “We're going to have four for sure, but it could be five or six or possibly seven," Planning Director Barry Berezowsky told the city council's public works committee Wednesday. Earlier in the week, Berezowsky said he received a call from an interested party asking for information about the city hall project, which came as pleasant surprise. Ahead of the April 30 deadline, Berezowsky said the city's long range planning committee will discuss the criteria that will be used to evaluate the potential submittals. “We're not going to be comparing apples to apples or apples to oranges," he said. “We might get brownies." The long range planning committee, which consists of Mayor Kathryn Quade, Councilman Ed Stern, Councilman Dale Rudolph and Councilwoman Connie Lord, will need at least two weeks to review all of the proposals, Berezowsky said.
Gaming for profit: the story of over 4000 Diablo 2 keys
I read the story on digg: someone accumulated over 4,000 Diablo 2 keys and is now selling them for $5 a throw. That price includes a key for Diablo 2 and Lord of Destruction. $5 is not a bad price for games that regularly still go for more at brick-and-mortar stores. Small sales add up though: if he sells them all he stands to make at least $20,000. I caught up with the man who runs this business endeavor, Frank Lau, and of course I had a few questions. His first e-mail was intriguing. "... it all started when I had a small shop and was spamming Diablo 2 (at the time it really worked, in 2003). I had hundreds and hundreds of keys muted and banned (note: I don't sell those). Then I started mass buying them in hoping to spam and spam and spam... And then I got even more.
Bidding process starts for station
SPRINGFIELD - The city is seeking bids for the first phase of renovations to the Massreco Street fire station, where the first floor will be reinforced to handle the weight of fire apparatus. Bids will be opened the second week of April, and construction will be under way in May, city officials said. The station at 16 Massreco St., serving the Pine Point area, has been mostly closed during the past four years due to staffing limitations. The city has set aside $600,000 for a two-phase station renovation project. The second phase will include moving the kitchen area from the basement to the second floor, bathroom renovations, roof repairs, plumbing and electrical work, as well as creating an area to decontaminate gear, said J. Noelle Owens, a facility designer with the Department of Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management.
Bidding war brews for Alliance Boots as rival emerges after offer ...
LONDON (AP) - A bidding war broke out for Alliance Boots PLC on Friday as a second private-equity consortium came forward with an improved proposal after the British-based pharmacy chain accepted a 10.6-billion-pound (US$21.3-billion) bid from a group that includes its deputy chairman and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Boots shares soared nearly eight per cent to 1,132 pence (US$22.68) after the rival consortium including private-equity group Terra Firma Investments, medical charity the Wellcome Trust and banking group HBOS PLC made an "indicative offer" worth 10.8 billion pounds ($21.6 billion). Boots made no immediate comment on the new approach from the Terra consortium. Earlier Friday, the company recommended that its shareholders vote in favour of the sweetened bid from deputy chairman Stefano Pessina and KKR valued at 1,090 pence ($21.87) a share.
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