Saturday, September 1, 2012

Shaw Completes Sale of Energy & Chemicals Business to Technip

BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) today completed its previously announced divestiture of substantially all of its Energy & Chemicals business to Technip (NYSE Euronext Paris: TEC), effective Aug. 31, 2012. Proceeds from the transaction were approximately $290 million in cash.

The completion of this transaction also satisfies one of the conditions of the recently announced agreement for CB&I (NYSE: CBI) to acquire Shaw.

The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE:SHAW) is a leading global provider of engineering, construction, technology, fabrication, remediation and support services for clients in the energy, chemicals, environmental, infrastructure and emergency response industries. A Fortune 500 company with fiscal year 2011 annual revenues of $5.9 billion, Shaw has approximately 25,000 employees around the world and is a power sector industry leader according to Engineering News-Record?s list of Top 500 Design Firms. For more information, please visit Shaw?s website at www.shawgrp.com.

Important Information For Investors And Shareholders

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (?CB&I?) will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (?SEC?) a registration statement on Form S-4 that will include a proxy statement of The Shaw Group Inc. (?Shaw?) that also constitutes a prospectus of CB&I. CB&I and Shaw also plan to file other documents with the SEC regarding the proposed agreement. A definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to shareholders of Shaw. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF SHAW ARE URGED TO READ THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors and shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents containing important information about CB&I and Shaw, once such documents are filed with the SEC, through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by CB&I will be available free of charge on CB&I?s internet website at www.cbi.com under the tab ?Investor Relations? and then under the tab ?SEC Documents? or by contacting CB&I?s Investor Relations Department at 832-513-1200. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Shaw will be available free of charge on Shaw?s internet website at www.shawgrp.com under the tab ?Investor Relations? and then under the tab ?SEC Filings? or by contacting Shaw?s Investor Relations Department at 225-987-7372.

Participants in the Solicitation

CB&I, Shaw, their respective directors and certain of their executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Shaw in connection with the proposed transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of Shaw is set forth in Shaw?s proxy statement for its 2012 annual meeting of shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on December 15, 2011. Information about the directors and executive officers of CB&I is set forth in CB&I?s proxy statement for its 2012 annual meeting of shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 22, 2012. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements set forth in this communication that are not historical facts, including statements regarding future financial performance, future competitive positioning and business synergies, future acquisition cost savings, future accretion to earnings per share, future market demand, future benefits to shareholders, future economic and industry conditions, the proposed merger (including its benefits, results, effects and timing), the attributes of Shaw as a subsidiary of CB&I and whether and when the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement will be consummated, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. The words ?believe,? ?expect,? ?anticipate,? ?plan,? ?intend,? ?foresee,? ?should,? ?would,? ?could? or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which are generally not historical in nature. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the companies' control, which could cause actual benefits, results, effects and timing to differ materially from the results predicted or implied by the statements.

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the failure of the shareholders of CB&I or the shareholders of Shaw to approve the merger; the risk that the conditions to the closing of the merger are not satisfied; the risk that regulatory approvals required for the merger are not obtained or are obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated; potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the merger; uncertainties as to the timing of the merger; competitive responses to the proposed merger; costs and difficulties related to the integration of Shaw?s businesses and operations with CB&I?s business and operations; the inability to or delay in obtaining cost savings and synergies from the merger; unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from the merger; litigation relating to the merger; the inability to retain key personnel; and any changes in general economic and/or industry specific conditions.

Shaw and CB&I caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors is contained in Shaw?s and CB&I?s most recently filed Annual Reports on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other SEC filings. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning Shaw, CB&I, the proposed transaction or other matters and attributable to Shaw or CB&I or any person acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. Neither Shaw nor CB&I undertakes any obligation to publicly update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date hereof.

Source: http://feeds.businesswire.com/click.phdo?i=409176a7326ea3a7c71dd3818627e593

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Unexpected finding shows climate change complexities in soil

Friday, August 31, 2012

In a surprising finding, North Carolina State University researchers have shown that certain underground organisms thought to promote chemical interactions that make the soil a carbon sink actually play a more complex, dual role when atmospheric carbon levels rise.

In a paper published in the Aug. 31 edition of Science, North Carolina State University researchers show that important and common soil microscopic organisms, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), play a role in sequestering carbon below ground, trapping it from escaping into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas.

Yet at the same time, the study shows, elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide also increase a number of underground decomposing interactions that cause carbon to be released back into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. This greenhouse gas release essentially offsets any carbon sink benefits, the researchers found.

AMF have a win-win relationship with plants. The fungi take carbon from plants and provide nitrogen and other useful soil nutrients that plants need in order to grow and develop. Present in the roots of about 80 percent of plants that grow on land, AMF help hold this carbon in the ground by putting the brakes on the decomposition of soil organic matter, which prevents the carbon in the decomposing material from escaping into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas.

But in four independent experiments described in the paper, the researchers show that plants increase their demand for soil nitrogen in the form of ammonia when atmospheric carbon levels rise. Sensing this need, AMF spur other soil micro-organisms to help fill the plant's need for ammonia. To do so, soil micro-organisms decompose soil organic matter, which allows the carbon to escape into the atmosphere.

"We showed that the fungi previously thought to control carbon in the soil can increase carbon decomposition when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are elevated," says Dr. Shuijin Hu, associate professor of plant pathology at NC State and the corresponding author of the paper. "But if we effectively manage the nitrogen transformation process in the soil, we have a chance to manage carbon sequestration in the soil."

The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Drs. H. David Shew and Thomas Rufty co-authored the paper, as did Drs. Fitz Booker and Kent Burkey, who work at NC State and the USDA's Agriculture Research Service. The paper's first author is former NC State graduate student Lei Cheng; postdoctoral researchers Cong Tu and Lishi Zhou also co-authored the paper.

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North Carolina State University: http://www.ncsu.edu

Thanks to North Carolina State University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/123145/Unexpected_finding_shows_climate_change_complexities_in_soil

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Friday, August 31, 2012

In-house and the Business - 'Change is coming' - totallylegal

Nicojansen?????By Nico Jansen?


Nico A. Jansen graduated in private law at the?University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and has a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Edinburgh Business School/ Heriot Watt University in Scotland. He holds the professional qualifications in marketing (A and B) of? the Dutch
Institute of Marketing (NIMA) and the Diploma in Marketing of the?British Chartered Institute of Marketing?of which he is a?Member?and admitted as a?Chartered Marketer.?
In his capacity as managing consultant of?www.legalmarketing.nl?he operates as an interim lawyer and marketer and holds a lecturing position in (European) Business Law at the?Faculty of Economics and Business Administration?of the?VU University?in Amsterdam. In 2011 he published ?Law & Self-Regulation. A legal and business perspective?.

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A legal department?s business functions?

In-house lawyers are rarely involved in decision-making at the corporate level and their involvement in key strategic decisions remains limited. This can probably, at least partially,? be explained by the professional and cultural differences between business managers and lawyers. The fundamental question in this respect is what the legal department can contribute to the business?

The answers to this questions can be used to structure a legal audit and set specific objectives, by top management and or the general counsel, to manage the company?s regulatory function. The potential contributions are in this blog evaluated for five business areas: strategic input, testing and contributing to strategies, reputation management, risk management and change management.?

Strategic Input

For strategic input the analytical and legal research skills in which lawyers are well trained can be used to identify regulatory developments and risks. However, managers should ensure, by giving lawyers a proper briefing, that the analysis is not just focused on legal matters, but translates the legal findings into practical business input.

The legal function can support the business in its strategy development process by a continuous process of analysing the relevant national and international regulatory environments. This involves monitoring of the relevant developments in the sources of law and self-regulation. Those who are interested in a model to do so should not hesitate to contact me.

The legal function can perform an internal analysis on the extent to which other functions identify and use regulatory opportunities, or are confronted with regulatory threats that interfere with achieving the function?s objectives. The results of analyses can be submitted to the company?s management as input into the strategy development process. They will evaluate the information to decide which points should be included in a SWOT analysis, which is used for corporate planning purposes.

Testing and Contributing?

Strategic options must be evaluated form a regulatory perspective to assess their feasibility and risks. However, lawyers in this planning phase should not focus primarily on the potential regulatory risks and problems, but also on the opportunities the regulatory environment offers for example to improve competitiveness and specifically the firm?s marketing mix. For testing and contributing, creativity and innovative thinking are needed. Lawyers will have no problems in developing legal options for legal problems. Whether they can contribute effectively to the process of developing creative business options is less obvious, since they are not by nature and education ?out-of-the-box? thinkers.

Reputation Management?

It is the legal department that protects the company from negative publicity by realising compliance, proper corporate governance, proper contracts and effective dispute resolution processes. The legal function can make contributions to the 6 C?s of reputation ( see my previous blog on this topic)

The drafting skills of lawyers can for example be used to write and update codes.? It is also the legal department that can point out the specific regulatory risks involved in doing business with counties with a poor reputation. An effective? role in protecting reputation requires the management of the company and the general counsel to set specific objectives related to reputation management for the regulatory function.

?Risk Management?

The mind set of lawyers is focused on identifying future legal problems in order to take legal measures to avoid legal risks. Lawyers tend to be risk-averse where managers operate in a setting where some risks cannot be avoided and are therefore considered acceptable. The two different mind sets need to be reconciled to make the cooperation with respect to risk management effective. It requires lawyers to consider legal opportunities such as reservation of ownership and contract clauses from a risk management perspective.

Change Management?

In case top management or the general counsel wants to change the role of ?legal? it will initially encounter, as always with change, resistance. It would, however, be beyond the scope of this text to devote detailed attention to the business theories on ?change management?.?

Change can be initiated by setting specific performance targets. Managing a legal department by performance management requires objectives to be set for all department?s employees. By introducing performance measurement, the legal function can align itself better with the wider business strategies.

Involving the legal function in strategy also requires other typical management tools such as job descriptions and policies for motivation, staff development, performance appraisal, remuneration structures and communication and reporting systems. Job descriptions, for example, can facilitate the alignment of legal with the company objectives and strategies by including the responsibility of analysing the legal environment and providing strategic input.? In general, agreed-upon structures and defined responsibilities are required for commitment and accountability.?

A more effective cooperation of legal and business functions can also be realised by forming teams in which business managers and lawyers work together. The Dutch multinational Akzo Nobel is an example of a company where drafting and finalising contracts are managed by multidisciplinary teams of which, as a principle, one or more in-house counsels are members. Every business unit has a legal account manager, who is responsible for ensuring that the business strategies and legal activities are aligned.

Conclusion

To increase the effective involvement of lawyers in business planning, the company and functional culture need to be aligned to their new role. Lawyers should be stimulated and trained to learn about the company and its strategies and to develop an extensive internal and external network enabling, them to increase the business focus in their work. The challenge for lawyers is to overcome their ?natural conservatism and self-reliance?, which does not contribute to being an effective management advisor.

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Feel free to leave your comments and questions below.

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To find a new legal opportunity, search and apply on TotallyLegal

Source: http://blog.totallylegal.com/2012/08/in-house-and-the-business-change-is-coming-.html

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What are the tax implications of investing in the stock market? What ...

I?m am 20 and in college, and thought I would invest some money in the stock market. I am new to stock investing and am planning to invest a $ 200 first. How do taxes come into play with stock investing? What companies should I invest in currently?

This entry was posted in Investing and tagged implications, investing, market, risks, stock by what39s up. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://www.bnr.co/business/investing/what-are-the-tax-implications-of-investing-in-the-stock-market-what-are-the-risks/

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Back-to-school gives retailers a good August

Anthony Bolante / Reuters

A shopper at Central Market in Shoreline, north of Seattle, Washington. Retailers posted better-than-expected sales in August, helped by back-to-school shopping.

By Reuters

Most retailers, including Costco Wholesale Corp and Limited Brands Inc , posted better-than-expected sales gains at existing stores in August, in what is expected to be a healthy month as parents and students wrapped up back-to-school purchases.

Analysts expected 19 retail chains to report a 2 percent rise in August sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Excluding drugstores, which do not put out their numbers until next week, same-store sales are expected to rise 4.1 percent.

Same-store sales are an important measure of retailer performance because they strip out the effects from store openings and closures.

Limited, which owns the Victoria's Secret, Pink and Bath & Body Works chains, saw same-store sales rise 8 percent, well above analysts' average view of 4.2 percent.

Related story: Jobless claims unchanged, but spending rises

Stage Stores Inc's same-store sales rose 6.5 percent. Led by back-to-school merchandise, women's clothing and strong selling of items at full price, the department store operator posted its highest August same-store sales increase since 2004, Chief Executive Michael Glazer said in a statement.

Costco posted a 6 percent gain in comparable sales as higher fuel prices offset a stronger dollar.

Teen retailer The Buckle Inc also did well, with a comparable sales rise of 4.5 percent. However, rival The Wet Seal Inc said comparable sales were down 18.3 percent, a steeper decline than analysts anticipated.

"August same store sales estimates have crept upward throughout the month coupled with generally positive reports from retailers on initial back-to-school sales," Ken Perkins, analyst at Retail Metrics, said before results began to trickle in.

Retail Metrics expected sales to rise 1.8 percent. Leaving aside drugstores, it said sales were expected to rise 4.2 percent.

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Source: http://economywatch.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/30/13567926-back-to-school-gives-retailers-a-good-august?lite

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New York City Apartments | Flood Insurance | FEMA

Manhattan floods during Hurricane Irene

Flood insurance is no longer a concern solely for New Yorkers shopping for second homes in Florida; it?s for residents of Manhattan apartments, too. According to the Wall Street Journal, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency has updated its flood-zone maps to designate some New York City locales high-risk zones, banks have begun demanding that purchasers of pricey Manhattan condos buy flood insurance.

New Yorkers in Queens, Staten Island and, of course, the Hamptons were the first to be affected, but Manhattanites and residents in nearby Jersey City are joining the pack. The Journal pointed to a prospective buyer of a fifth-floor unit in a Tribeca condominium who couldn?t secure a mortgage from Bank of America even though the building was already insured for natural hazards by Lloyd?s of London. BofA required a policy underwritten by FEMA?s National Flood Insurance Program. Real estate agent Terrence LeRay said he?encountered a similar situation at his 10th-floor condo unit in Dumbo.

?What we see is a map from FEMA,? a BofA spokesperson told the Journal. ?If a property shows up to be in a flood plain, and there?s no reason to believe the FEMA map is wrong, we require flood insurance.?

The Journal said National Flood Insurance Program policies have increased 41 percent in the city since 2007. [WSJ] ??Adam Fusfeld

Source: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2012/08/30/flood-insurance-becomes-necessity-in-nyc/

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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Antelope Valley Coach Charged With Molestation

A longtime Antelope Valley youth soccer coach has been charged with sexually molesting 13 young boys, including five whom he coached, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Renior Vincent Valenti, 50, of Lancaster, pleaded not guilty Thursday to five felony counts of continuous sexual abuse and eight misdemeanor counts of child molesting.

His arraignment in Antelope Valley Superior Court came more than two weeks after the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced investigators were looking for additional victims to come forward.

Detectives from the sheriff's Special Victim's Bureau interviewed more alleged victims and prosecutors added the additional charges.

A Thursday's hearing, Judge Chris Estes raised Valenti's bail from $1 million to $2.25 million.

An American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) coach for 15 years, Valenti was arrested in July after a mother alleged that her 9-year-son had been molested by him, according to an Aug. 15 press release from the Sheriff's Department.

The molestation allegations that led to an investigation into Valenti were not related to him being a coach, but investigators "believe that the suspect used his position as a soccer coach as a method to meet and befriend children," the Aug. 15 press release said.

Valenti was first charged Aug. 8 with crimes related to five boys. Those crimes occurred between 1994 and 2004 for one victim, and in 2010, 2011 and 2012 for the other victims.

The investigation is continuing, the DA's office said.

Renior's name was originally released as "Renoir" in the earlier press release from the Sheriff's Department.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48851235/ns/local_news-los_angeles_ca/

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