First quarter was a swell quarter for deals

After a sluggish last half of 2011, investment bankers in Minnesota and around the country delivered nearly 3,A culture af Mizukabi molds.000 mergers and acquisitions in January,This page provides information about 'werkzeugbaus; February and March, the most quarterly deals since the recession took hold in 2008.

Helped by surging equity markets and increased consumer confidence,Stone Source offers a variety of Natural stonemosaic Tiles. more companies also were able to raise capital in public stock offerings in the quarter.

"There's more appetite for risk than the fourth quarter of last year, when everybody thought the world was ending," said Rick Hartfiel,Overview description of rapid tooling processes. chief of investment banking at Craig-Hallum Capital.

The recent private sale by Spell Capital of Arctic Fox, a Delano-based manufacturer heating equipment that tripled operating profits in five years of ownership under the Minneapolis-based private equity firm. Arctic Fox makes equipment used in the booming oil industry from North Dakota to Russia.

Bill Spell, founder and president of Spell Capital, said prices are rising for quality companies with good prospects.

"Private equity firms have a lot of money to invest, and they don't want that money to go stale or to have to give it back to investors," Spell said. "It's becoming a little more challenging to find good manufacturing businesses at a reasonable price."

Spell said he's about to close on two deals for which he will pay about five times the annual cash flow generated by each company, which he considers a reasonable price.

Private equity buyers typically buy all or a controlling share of companies that need expansion or restructuring capital and some expertise. Private equity owners believe they can improve their target's performance and peddle them for a higher price in three to five years.Welcome to polishedtiles.

Meanwhile, the investment banking group at Piper Jaffray & Co. was busy in the first quarter helping to underwrite eight IPOs including Proto Labs. Piper also participated in nine follow-on offerings including the $1.2 billion offering for Michael Kors Holdings Ltd., the Hong Kong-based men's and women's luxury lifestyle brand.

Hartfiel, of Craig-Hallum Capital, recalled that 2011 also got off to a good start for deals, but capital markets stalled in the second half over fears of a slowing economy, the European debt crisis and gridlock in Washington, D.C., on reducing the deficit. This year feels different, he said.

"The market is not frothy yet. But the window is open and the financing environment feels a lot better than in the third and fourth quarters of last year,'' he said. He predicted more companies will go to the markets to raise capital.

"You'll see companies raising money after reporting good first-quarter earnings this month," he said. "This is a good environment, and investors are willing to take a look at new companies and lot of existing companies are trading around 52-week highs. And that's when companies want to finance."

Of the 39 initial public offerings that priced in the first quarter, 33 had positive returns, including Proto Labs.

As of March 31, there were 164 IPOs registered to go public on U.S. exchanges seeking more than $32 billion, according to Ernst & Young.

About 70 percent of IPOs in the first quarter raised less than $250 million. Ernst & Young said that reflects two trends: strong interest from private equity and venture capital firms in rolling out their holdings of small-capitalization companies; and renewed investor appetite for growth companies -- especially in the United States.

Making the machines that make solar cells

The machine looks like a square spaceship with a round hatch or a giant oven with a convection fan. Its designer jokingly calls the contraption the “world’s most expensive bug zapper.”

In fact it’s a wafer tool, developed by San Jose startup Twin Creeks Technologies as a better, cheaper way to make solar cells.

Given the collapse in solar panel ASPs over the past year or so, reducing solar cell manufacturing costs is critical to competitiveness. It isn’t clear whether Western manufacturers can still compete with their Chinese rivals, which are believed to have leveraged ample government funding to shore up their business as they slashed prices and grabbed market share.

But Twin Creeks is betting there’s still a business in making the machines that make solar cells. By adding value in the manufacturing process, company executives claim, the third-generation Hyperion wafer tool could put the United States back in the solar business, or at least one segment of it.

Siva Sivaram, Twin Creeks’ voluble CEO, knows a lot about electronics manufacturing.3rd minigame series of magiccube! A 14-year veteran of Intel, where he oversaw the chip giant’s external manufacturing, Sivaram literally wrote the book on chemical vapor deposition; his 1995 text is still used in college engineering courses. Sivaram eventually joined his idol, Intel co-founder Robert Noyce, at the Sematech chip manufacturing consortium. While there, Sivaram worked on another key chip manufacturing technology, chemical-mechanical planarization.

After stints at Matrix Semiconductor (acquired by SanDisk in 2006) and on the board of Nanosolar, Sivaram founded Twin Creeks in 2008. The company kept a low profile until last month, when it introduced its third-generation Hyperion tool, the production version of its solar cell manufacturing technology.Welcome to projectorlamp. The machines are being made in Senatobia, Miss.Diagnosing and Preventing coldsores Fever in the body can often trigger the onset of a cold sore., under terms of an economic development deal with the Magnolia State.

The arrangement keeps the manufacturing technology—and at least a few jobs—in the United States, Sivaram said in an interview. “The know-how stays in the U.S.,” he said.

The problem with current solar manufacturing, Sivaram said, is that “something comes in, something goes out, with no value” added. The company concluded that much thinner wafers could halve the cost of making solar cells. It applied the principles behind a technology called proton-induced exfoliation to develop the Hyperion tool. The technique slices wafers to produce efficient,Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete? flexible solar cells as thin as 20 microns.

“You remove the waste, you make the material more productive, you add more value in your factory instead of just taking [solar] materials and selling it for a few cents more,” Sivaram said in pitching his product. “The value here is in the ability to make those thin” wafers.

The Hyperion 3 can process more than 1.5 million thin wafers annually,Welcome to polishedtiles. or about 6 megawatts’ worth of solar cells. Given the competitive nature of the solar business, Sivaram said, Twin Creeks is already at work on a next-generation tool capable of producing 8 MW per year. “We need to keep improving,” the CEO said.

Competition for Boeing work isn't over yet

Do you hear that sound? That's the bell ringing, summoning us to the next round in the battle to keep aerospace jobs here in Snohomish County.

Yes, we just finished celebrating the Boeing Co.'s decision to build the 737 MAX in Renton -- a decision that secures the future of hundreds of jobs at Boeing's Everett plant, where workers will continue to assemble wiring and build interiors for 737s as long as the MAX flies. That decision also means that scores of Snohomish County aerospace companies that supply goods and services for 737s will continue to have that work for another decade or more.

But within a year, Boeing will make critical decisions on the future of its next big airplane program -- the 777X, which will be an upgrade of the best-selling aircraft built here in Snohomish County. Once again, there are no guarantees that Boeing will keep the work here in Puget Sound.We offer the best ventilationsystem,

If we are to remain the home of the world's largest aerospace cluster, we as a state, region and county are going to have to earn it. Here at Economic Alliance Snohomish County, we've given this a lot of thought, and have outlined a plan we feel gives us the best chance of ensuring that the aerospace industry will remain the basis for our mutual success and prosperity for generations to come.

We're all familiar with the fact that Boeing is the largest aerospace company in the world, and that its largest manufacturing facility is right here in Snohomish County. As a result, our region is enriched with quality jobs,Welcome to polishedtiles. wealth and a strong base.

On the other hand, we often forget that Boeing is just one of 160 aerospace companies in the county. Combined, they provide direct employment for nearly 44,Learn all about solarpanel.000 people, with their paychecks accounting for 28 percent of all wages earned by Snohomish County workers. In 2011,Purelink's realtimelocationsystem simplify emergency evacuations. aerospace created more than 11,000 direct and indirect jobs. To put that into perspective, that is more jobs than the county's next three largest industry sectors produced in the previous five years, combined.

Apart from Boeing, you will find companies performing maintenance repair and overhaul for the airlines' in-service fleet, machine shops, parts finishing, raw materials manufacturing, wire harness fabrication, interior components manufacturing, carpeting and draperies, tooling, electrical and electronic manufacturing, product development design, and engineering and interior redesign for the aftermarket. Large and small -- from the 1,400-strong Aviation Technical Services to Aero Mac Inc. with two employees -- you can find it here.Glass Tile and Glass Mosaics for less at the glassmosaic Outlet.

Economists estimate that each Boeing aircraft program at the Everett plant has a direct annual economic impact of $700 million in wages alone. That results in some $600 million worth of spending at local businesses for things like cars, meals, clothes, homes and financial services. Think of what Main Street in every Snohomish County town would be like if we didn't have this kind of economic engine to support our local stores, banks and restaurants.

Chinese exporters dealing with rising costs

With rapidly rising costs and continuously strengthening local currency, Chinese exporters are under mounting pressure.

Most Chinese exhibitors interviewed at NPE2012 expect their export business to be at least stable,Proxense's advanced handsfreeaccess technology. and many optimistically forecast double-digit growth. They, however, tend to acknowledge the tougher conditions. Some smaller companies argue that the overall market conditions won’t necessarily hinder their growth, as long as their customers are doing well.

Others said the cost hikes are manageable – “the business is still profitable for now,” one said. But they chose to not go into details.

One mold maker, which asked to not be named, said “business is not looking good. It’s much worse this year than last year. ”

“We don’t really know why the business took a fall in the first quarter. But we are trying hard to turn it around,” added the first-time NPE exhibitor. It is hoping to get some business from less established markets in North America, which now only represents less than 10 percent of its business.

The lost cost advantage is taking some manufacturing away from mainland China. Taiwan;s Longzu Plastic Molding Co. Ltd. said it has witnessed Taiwan-based manufacturers across end-market sectors move production from the mainland back to Taiwan.Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings?

“I think the rising cost in China cause some factories to move operations to other developing countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia,” said Lee, the company’s director of marketing and business development of Americas.

“I personally think souring is just one step of the product cycle, and did not represent the whole picture of international trade,” he added.The beddinges sofa bed slipcover is a good ， The company helps U.S. companies find suppliers, customers, workers and either export or sell products domestically.

At the same time,At Blow mouldengineering we specialize in conceptual prototype design. China’s import demand is on the rise, partly because of the rising labor cost and currency exchange rate, said Alibaba U.S. General Manager Annie Xu. This is giving American businesses the opportunity to tap into the China market.

“Bell Performance, a maker of fuel and oil additives based in Florida, is a good example. They were at our meet up [at NPE] yesterday and I learned they have found their first distribution partner in China and are looking for more,” she said.

China has been pushing for the wider use of its currency, the Renminbi, for global trade and investment. But it has not yet made a strong impact for exporters. The vast majority of the trade is still based on U.S. dollars.

As recently reported by the Financial Times, Western Union Business Solutions surveyed 1,000 Chinese companies, and more than a third of them said they would prefer to be paid in their own local currency. Moreover, Western buyers could save up to 3 percent if they paid Chinese suppliers in renminbi.

“Our customers are well aware of the option of paying in renminbi, but they are not doing it,” said general manager Eric Zhang of Shenzhen-based King Tech Mould. “The Chinese currently is becoming more internalized, but not there yet.Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete?”

R&B reaching out to dairy customers

R&B Plastics Machinery LLC (booth 979) is reaching out to their self-manufacturing and dairy customers by expanding their field service offerings and emphasizing their work with reciprocating blow molding machines.

R&B,Our porcelaintiles are perfect for entryways or bigger spaces and can also be used outside, based in Saline, Mich.Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking., offers 24/7 field service and has 18 tech-support specialists in processing plants throughout North America. The expanding reciprocating service covers a variety of areas like screws and barrels, hydraulic system, control upgrades, parison programming and emergency repairs.

R&B has always offered field service work, but many potential customers are unaware of the company’s technical background, said Matt Gifford, technical product manager.Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings?

“Someone who buys a blow molding machine is going to buy it from someone they trust,” he said. “The best way to do that is through technical service.”

R&B specializes in improving equipment through upgrades, retrofits, and repairs, and can work with all makes and models of machines, said Carolyn Reed, sales and market specialist.

The company also manufactures extrusion, blow molding and trimmer/de-flash machinery for a variety of industries.

Earlier this year, R&B announced a new feed screw, the Max-Recip Impact Screw, designed for high-speed bottle production.

The screw offers higher output with a lower melt temperature, allowing customers to use their existing equipment but still increase productivity, Gifford said.

The screw can be used with existing extruder and blow molding machines. R&B displayed three different freed screws at their NPE2012 booth – an Evolution mixing screw, a reciprocating blow mold screw and a general purpose screw.Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking.

The company also displayed their newest rotary wheel eight to 15 clamp system. Designed for large-volume applications, the system features a calibrated neck trim and offers an in machine rotary finish, so users can avoid the need for extensive trimming, said Dave Corson, director of sales and marketing.

The clamp system uses proportional hydraulic controls and X-Y blow pin assemblies, along with controlled motion for the clamp, which gives customers control over the clamping motion.

The eight-station machine has 32-inch wide clamps and caLearn all about solarpanel.n accommodate a wide range of containers sizes and parisons.

R&B shared their NPE2012 booth sister company Monroe Molds. Monroe manufactured the molds used in the new clamp system.

Payment fraud is organised, so what do you do?

When your merchant processor calls to inform you that the card associations have flagged your company as falling within their criteria for a fraudulent operation, the threat of having to close your doors for the very last time can take on awesome proportions. Is this scenario a real possibility, and what can you do to prevent it from ever happening to you?

Seasoned risk management professionals will tell you that payment fraud today is very sophisticated and well organised. Where there is money involved, the criminal element of our society has focused their efforts on various schemes that will conveniently and easily transfer its value to their coffers.

Their primary objective, as if directed from some planning division, is to create a steady flow of income beneath the radar screen of detectability. For this reason, one can never eliminate fraud completely, but you must manage it down to an acceptable and predictable ‘cost-of-doing-business' level.

This frightful call situation happens more frequently than we would like, even under today's highly electronic and terminal-driven payment environment. Card payment fraud can come from many sources, but one prevalent method is to force a number of fraudulent transactions through a single merchant portal, fence the goods and then disappear.

It may take days for consumers to object, but investigators quickly assemble data and look for a common point of purchase (CPP), in card payment parlance. A call follows to notify you that your merchant system has been breached.

How can you prevent this call from ever taking place in your situation? Unfortunately, systems today are extremely complex. Even highly sophisticated and large merchants with ample resources devoted to fraud prevention have suffered from breaches in their networks.

In response, the card associations came together as one to fight crime by developing the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) that has been an ongoing effort for the past five years.

The world of merchant account payment options can be very daunting, especially for smaller merchants, but processors have typically developed a cadre of experts to assist merchants in their respective compliance activities.

Navigating through these turbulent waters requires experience on a daily level with the variety of attacks that can transpire between the point of sale and the eventual posting of a transaction to a consumer account. If your processor does not provide support of this nature, then it may be a good time to switch your allegiances.

After a breach has occurred, the first step is to secure with the assistance of your processor, who should be a capable PCI forensic investigator. This individual will determine where and how your system was breached and recommend changes to prevent any further data compromises from happening down the road.

The changes may be as simple as upgrading your operating software to the next release, or may require a major overhaul of your entire method of doing business. Either way, it is a costly procedure.

To avoid larger costs in the future, the prudent way to go is to review your merchant account payment options and determine where the weaknesses in your present system of controls exist. PCI standards are very specific, especially in their encryption requirements of personal consumer and card data during every step in your internal processing regimen.

Due to its inherent complexity, your processor may require an outside auditor to confirm your PCI compliance before accepting larger volumes of transactions from your merchant network. Compliance levels do vary according to size so you need to be aware of when critical levels are on the horizon.

The card associations continually update merchant processors on their level of PCI compliance and issue fines when the facts warrant. If the processor can justify his position and find fault with your PCI status, he will most likely deduct the fines from your daily deposit stream. The time to act is before the breach, not after.

SEBI bars 7 companies from capital market for violation of IPO norms

SEBI on Wednesday barred seven companies, their directors, merchant bankers and other related entities from participating in the securities market till further order for not complying with the disclosure norms in their IPO prospectus

Cracking whip against seven firms for not complying with the disclosure norms in their initial public offer (IPO) prospectus, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday barred the companies, their directors, merchant bankers and other related entities from participating in the securities market till further order, reports PTI.

The merchant bankers who have been prohibited from participating securities market include “PNB Investment Services, the book running lead manager of IPO of Taksheel Solutions and Almondz Global Securities (PG Electroplast and Bhartiya Global Infomedia)”. Their CEOs too have been barred from participating in the capital market till further order.

“...by not complying with the regulatory obligation of making the disclosures, the company and its directors had not provided the vital information which is detrimental to the interest of investors in securities market,” SEBI order against Taksheel Solutions said.

It said that proceeds of IPO invested by the company in the Indiabulls Mutual Fund-Liquid Fund (amounting to Rs5 crore) be deposited in an escrow account, till further directions.

“Taksheel Solutions is prohibited from raising any further capital, in any manner whatsoever, till further directions,” it added.

Similar orders were passed against the other six firms.

The market regulator has asked them to deposit the proceeds from the IPOs in escrow bank accounts and also call back the IPO proceeds to their cash credit accounts.

Talking about the importance of lead book running mangers in an IPO, SEBI said if the merchant banker fails to act diligently and comply strictly with the letter and spirit of the regulations, the investors are put to grave danger, which may not be in the interest of the capital market.

“This is precisely what has happened in this (Taksheel) particular issue where lack of adequate and independent due diligence by the merchant banker has resulted into shenanigans on the part of the company and its promoters/directors,” the SEBI order said.

In its order against Tijaria Polypipes, SEBI said “the fraudulent, abusive, manipulative and illegal activities committed by the company Tijaria Polypipes and certain entities/persons to the detriment of the genuine investors and adversely affecting the integrity of securities market...SEBI as a regulator should immediately intervene...to stop further harm to investors...”

The other companies against which orders were passed, include, Bhartiya Global Infomedia, RDB Rasayans, Brooks Laboratories and PG Electroplast. Similar order too has been passed against Onelife Capital Advisors.

SEC revises merchant banker, portfolio manager rules

The securities regulator has revised the Merchant Banker and Portfolio Manager Rules 1996, incorporating some provisions concerning, among others, appointment, termination and suspension of chief executives of the merchant banks.

The move comes after surfacing of some allegations about chief executives of some merchant banks playing 'controversial' roles during the recent stock market debacle.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a gazette notification on December 20 on the revised merchant banker and portfolio manager rules.

The revised rules have imposed restrictions on the direct or indirect connections of managing directors (MDs) or chief executive officers (CEOs) of the merchant banks with any securities-related business.

At the same time, their involvement with any stock exchange, its members or issuer companies will also not be allowed under the new rules.

The tenure of the chief executives will be a three-year period and this tenure can be extended only after approval by the securities regulator. But no CEO will be allowed to continue his job, if his age reaches 65.

The revised rules have empowered the board of directors of the merchant banks to terminate or suspend the chief executives, if they fail to discharge their responsibilities or they are found guilty of any misconduct or for reasons of moral turpitude or degradation.

However, two-third members of the board of directors of a merchant bank will have to approve such a decision and the accused CEO must be provided a reasonable period of time to put forward his written and verbal opinions in response to the allegation(s).

About the vacancy of the posts of CEOs, the revised rules said the next seniormost executive of a merchant bank will carry out the responsibility of its CEO until the next one is appointed.

The SEC will appoint the chief executive for a merchant bank, if its board of directors fails to appoint its CEO within three months following the departure of the erstwhile chief executive. In that case, the merchant bank concerned will have to bear the salary and other financial costs on account of other facilities that are allowed for the newly-appointed CEOs.

Under the revised rules, the securities regulator will also issue directives from time to time about the qualifications required for becoming a CEO. But the appointment of chief executives in the subsidiary merchant banks of ICB and other state-owned banks will not come within the purview of such rules, the gazette notification added.

The SEC executive director and spokesman Mohammad Saifur Rahman said the securities regulator has incorporated the new conditions in the revised rules, after a careful consideration of the overall situation in the country's capital market.

"The stock exchanges have to take the consent of the regulator while appointing their chief executives. That is why the approval by the regulatory body is also necessary for the merchant banks in appointing their CEOs, as these institutions are also important stakeholders," Rahman told the FE.

He said the SEC has already formed a committee for making recommendations to help bring about overall changes to the merchant banker and portfolio manager rules to ensure proper transparency and accountability of the merchant banks.

Earlier, experts and investors made allegations against the merchant banks, as they are most engaged in lending operations and do hardly offer any portfolio management services, upon proper exercise of their due diligence and discretionary power, to their clients which, according to them, are also responsible for exposure of a vast majority of investors in the stock market to some unwarranted risks and also market manipulations by the vested interests.

Sweden's Seamless Eyes Mobile-Pay Plan To Bypass Cards

Stockholm, Sweden-based Seamless awaits patent approval for its SEQR mobile-pay application, which enables clerks to scan a barcode displayed on a mobile-phone screen to authorize payment drawn from the customer's bank account, the company stated in a press release.

Cash registers supplied with the Seamless software send the sale total directly to the customer's mobile phone. The customer enters a four-digit PIN on the phone to authorize the account withdraw through the application, the press release stated.

Seamless officials could not be reached to comment about the software initiative or to provide details about which mobile phones could accept the software after its patent approval.

The entire process of paying through the mobile phone takes half the time of a standard credit card payment, Seamless CEO Peter Fredell stated in the press release.

In that process, merchants send the consumer's item list and sale amount to the "transaction switch" of the SEQR software.

After the consumer scans a barcode sticker merchants attach to each cash register, identifying that register with a mobile phone, he is prompted to tap a button on the phone to send the information to the SEQR software, which confirms the cash register and sends the sale information to the consumer's phone for authorization. Banks verify the information, confirm funds are available, and process the transaction, the Seamless website states.

"If we imagine that all retailers in the U.S. started using SEQR, the total savings could be as high as $24 billion each year, and this demonstrates the massive potential of SEQR," Fredell said. The release did not say how much merchants would pay for Seamless' transactions.

The mobile-pay system would provide significant savings for retail and grocery businesses because they pay high fees to credit card companies and often have to invest in new payment terminals each time a new standard is introduced, Fredell said.

Seamless' mobile-pay plan is not the first, nor will it be the last, trying to replace a card account with a bank account for retail payments, Zil Bareisis, a London-based senior analyst for research firm Celent, tells PaymentsSource.

Seamless is likely to face many challenges once the software is on the market, Bareisis suggests.

"One of the challenges faced by many such mobile-payment plans in the past was payment guarantee to the merchant who takes on the risk of funds not being available during settlement," Bareisis suggests.

Starbucks Corp. this week expanded into Europe its closed-loop mobile-pay service, which also relies on barcode scans.

Seamless' software supports a multimerchant scheme, and that will present a significant task for mass acceptance, Bareisis contends.

Unlike four-party networks, such as Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide, which rely on their member issuing and acquiring banks to attract cardholders and merchants into the system, Seamless would have to build its own network, Bareisis says.

Bareisis wonders how Seamless will convince banks to participate in the system "if the premise is built around cannibalizing the banks' revenues from cards."

Anger mounts as MF Global clients see $3 billion still stuck

While authorities have touted the fact that they are returning 60 percent of the collateral and cash that had been frozen in the wake of the broker's October 31 bankruptcy, a closer look shows that in fact only about 40 percent of customers' total funds have been authorized for release so far.

The remainder, more than $3 billion, ostensibly remains on hand to cover a shortfall originally estimated by MF Global to regulators at just $600 million.

Because the bankruptcy trustee, regulators and exchanges have made no comment on the missing funds in weeks -- and have given no information as to how much cash they are retaining -- customers are left guessing exactly how much might end up in the creditors' process of the bankruptcy.

After weeks of intense lobbying by customers and exchanges, trustee James Giddens last week won court approval to release another $520 million in funds from MF Global accounts that contained only cash as of October 31.

But that has still left thousands of customers in an uproar. Clients who had a mix of cash and trading positions have yet to see a dime of their excess funds, they say. The trustee is planning a third cash transfer to cover these clients, but no timing for that tranche has been announced.

"The whole process is a mess," said Jason Skole, a private investor who had invested $200,000 at the start of this year in a small hedge fund who traded through MF Global.

"Those who had just cash positions will get some of their money. All I've got is 60 percent of the small amount of collateral I had backing trades," he said. He says around $185,000 of his money is still frozen at the bankrupt firm.

Giddens said late last week that they were working on a third bulk transfer to "true up" the value of distributions so that all former customers get the total 60 percent of their net equity, but they weren't yet confident enough in MF Global's bookkeeping and cash on hand to go beyond that.

"We've seen enough (money) to make the 60 percent distributions but we can't distribute money we don't have," Giddens' spokesman Kent Jarrell told Reuters on Sunday.

"As soon as we identify assets under our control, we are trying to distribute them. And we can't get ahead of that because then we can run out of assets.... We have to find the assets and we have to make sure we have to control those assets. It's a time consuming, complex task and we have hundreds of people working on it on our end now."

CME Group referred all questions to the trustee.

The tale of the customer's funds goes like this. On October 31, exchange operator CME Group estimated in a court filing that there was a "requirement" of some $5.5 billion in segregated customer funds -- including, presumably, the missing funds that could not be immediately located.

Over the following weeks, while authorities poured over sloppy and haphazard records, the trustee identified two pools of money that could be partly returned to customers.

The first was $2.5 billion in collateral that was being used as margin to cover existing trades. Those trading positions were transferred to new brokers along with 60 percent of the value of the collateral, or about $1.55 billion.

The second was $869 million that was left in MF Global accounts that contained nothing but cash -- either because customers had liquidated all their trades before October 31, or because they simply had no positions open as it failed. The bankruptcy court ruled last week that those account holders would also get back 60 percent, or about $520 million.

Those two pools of funds only account for about $3.4 billion of the original total $5.5 billion. The customers whose accounts hold that remaining $2-plus billion have never been explicitly identified, or told when they will get their funds.

"We have the $520 million to do distribution of cash accounts. And we knew we had the assets to distribute on the first one around. Now we also feel confident we have enough to true up. What we don't know is what we'll have beyond that," said Jarrell.

It's clear that some cash is being held back in order to cover the missing money that regulators say MF Global may have taken from customer accounts, an unprecedented violation of one of the fundamental tenets of commodity brokers.

Newspaper Briefing, including 'ECB stymied on debt crisis without fiscal union'

U.K. government bonds were in demand among nervous investors as Italys embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a crucial budget vote but did nothing to quieten calls for his resignation. December gilt futures settled 24 ticks higher at 130.24, while in the cash market yields on ten-year gilts dipped one basis point to 2.26%.

Bet of the day: The yield on a countrys bonds is a sign of the confidence in its finances. Italys have pushed into danger territory, above the 6.5%, deepening concerns that it would be forced to seek a European bailout.
Deal of the day: Triple Plate Junction, which is prospecting in Papua New Guinea, rose 2.4% to 51/4p, after one of its partners there, Americas Newmont Mining, spent enough to earn a 70% stake in their Morobe joint venture. Newmont committed a further $5 million (3.1 million) to exploration there over the next six months.

Lloyds suffers as families stop paying the mortgage: Britains biggest mortgage lender reported a surprise fourfold increase in losses from families defaulting on their home loans. Lloyds Banking Group, which provides mortgages to one in five British homebuyers, revealed mortgage loan impairments of 416 million for the first nine months, compared with 108 million in the same period of last year.

Asda finally fights back with Netto stores added firepower: Asda is growing more quickly than its rivals for the first time in nearly two years, figures revealed. Britains second-largest supermarket chain has lagged in recent years, but buying Netto stores has helped to make up lost ground, according to Kantar World panel. Its market share grew by 5.1% in the 12 weeks to 30 October, leaving it at 17.2%. That compared with growth of 4.6% in the overall market.

Spain standing by to run trains in Britain: The Spanish national rail company has unveiled ambitious plans to crack the British train market by launching bids for several franchises. Renfe also admitted that it had looked at buying its way into Britain by potentially offering to acquire one of the incumbent operators an admission that indicates it has taken a look at Go-Ahead Group.

Socit Gnrale scraps dividend to meet requirements: Socit Gnrale has scrapped its annual dividend and cut bankers bonuses as it scrambles to raise capital in line with new regulatory requirements. Frances second biggest bank by market capitalisation will also continue to sell assets and slash bonuses in the race to reach a 9% capital ratio by the middle of next year. The announcement came as Socit Gnrale reported a 31% fall in third quarter profits to 622 million (533 million).

Segro sees its future in Europes big cities: Segro is to sell some of its property interests to refocus on areas of higher profit growth. The industrial developer, which specialises in light industrial, logistics and office space, said that it planned to sell more than 1.6 billion of assets in Britain and continental Europe, including the 100 million Farnborough Business Park, within the next three to four years.

Yell debt worries grow as digital division takes off: Yell Groups debt has again caused unease after revenue declined by 12% in the first half of the year. The directories publisher hopes to offset the fall in sales by growing its digital assets but analysts said the company may need to renegotiate the terms of its 2.6 billion debt if its main business continues to decline.

Dublins loss is Londons listing gain: Irelands largest quoted company has quit its main listing in Dublin for London. CRH, which is among Americas biggest building products groups, accounts for about a fifth of the Irish stock exchange and, with a market capitalisation of about 7.7 billion, should go straight into the FTSE 100 at next months reshuffle.

Greek unity government fights over sharing power: Greeces new power-sharing government stalled before it had started as the two main parties struggled to agree to written guarantees demanded by the EU in return for loans needed to avoid bankruptcy.

Vodafone denies deals with taxman: Vodafone launched a robust defence denying claims the taxman let it off a multibillion pound tax bill, saying that it was a good corporate citizen. Andy Halford said: There has not now and never has been a tax bill for 6 billion or 8 billion. There was no sweetheart deal. The deal struck with HM Revenue and Customs was for a bill of about 1.2 billion.

Confidence slumps as economic woes spook businesses: The confidence of businesses has collapsed, according to a new survey of accountants. The U.K. Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) index has fallen from plus 8.1 in the third quarter of this year to minus 9.7 in recent weeks.

DTZ hopes for Aussie buyer: The real estate services firm DTZ said it has selected giant Australian outsourcing group UGL as its preferred buyer, in a move that would create one of the biggest real estate firms in the world.

Nord Stream opens gas tap: After 13 years of planning and two years of construction, the gas started flowing along the Nord Stream pipeline that will deliver Russian gas to an estimated 26 million EU homes.

Hugo Boss raises earnings outlook: Hugo Boss, the German fashion house best known for its mens suits, sharply raised its earnings outlook as it expands its store network and eyes strong growth in China.

Water, water everywhere

In addition to high winds, the water that accompanies hurricanes can overwhelm a region. Geology

professor Dr. Venkat Lakshmi, a hydrometeorology expert, can discuss the impact of intense precipitation.

After Hurricane Katrina, Lakshmi conducted a study on flooding along the Gulf Coast and its impact. He

can discuss flash floods and the seriousness of flash-flood advisories, coastal erosion when sediment is

washed away and how the horizontal movement of wind and water changes the landscape.

How a storm changes marine organism health; pollution impacts of hurricanes
Dr. Pamela Morris is a marine microbial ecologist and research professor of the Belle W. Baruch Institute

for Marine and Coastal Sciences near Georgetown, S.C. She can address questions relating to the impact of

coastal storms on microbial community shifts related to changes in marine organism health status, the

identification of human and marine pathogen reservoirs and pollution impacts.

Coastal storm impacts on fish, shellfish and marsh animals
Dr. Dennis Allen is a research professor and resident director of the USC Baruch Marine Field Laboratory

on the coast in Georgetown, S.C. With more than 30 years of experience on the S.C. coast, and

professional interests in the ecology of fishes, shrimps, crabs, and less familiar animals of salt

marshes, estuaries, and the coastal ocean, he is available to discuss issues including threats and

impacts of coastal storms.

Storm impacts on water quality
Dr. Dianne Greenfield is a coastal marine scientist and an assistant professor with the Belle W. Baruch

Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences near Georgetown, S.C, and she holds a joint appointment with

the Marine Resources Research Institute in Charleston. She can address questions relating to the effect

of storms on our coast and its ecology, especially water quality, algal blooms and nutrients.

Impact of storms on coastal ecology, salt marshes
Dr. Jim Morris is a coastal marine scientist and director of the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and

Coastal Sciences near Georgetown, S.C. He can address questions relating to the effect of sea-level rise

and storms on our coast and its ecology, especially its salt marshes.

Impact of storm surge, flooding
Dr. George Voulgaris,a coastal oceanographer researcher, studies the wind-driven and tidal currents as

well as wave patterns along the South Carolina coast. He can discuss the effect of hurricanes on coastal

erosion and how a hurricane’s storm surge affects land. Since Hurricane Katrina, Voulgaris has been

studying the resilience of barrier islands along the Gulf Coast. In 2004, Voulgaris and his team of

researchers launched technology off the S.C. coast that provides real-time waves, currents and water

level information. This technology will enable marine scientists and state agencies to determine the

severity of a hurricane’s impact as the storm occurs. He also can talk about the dangers of flooding

during and after a hurricane.