Auto dealership groups post larger adjusted profit

(Reuters) - U.S. auto dealership groups Sonic Automotive Inc and Asbury Automotive Group Inc posted higher third-quarter adjusted earnings as vehicle sales rose and costs stayed about flat.

Sonic, the third-largest U.S. dealership group, reported a smaller-than-expected profit. Sonic reported adjusted earnings of 40 cents per share, compared with the 42 cents per share predicted by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Meanwhile, Asbury, the No. 7 dealer, beat estimates with a 72-cent-per-share profit, excluding one-time items, while analysts on average expected a profit of 64 cents.

Both companies took actions during the quarter to revamp their capital structure. Sonic bought back debt, which led to a pretax charge of about $18.5 million or 19 cents per share, while Asbury repurchased $6 million of its common stock.

Sonic said the move simplified its capital structure and delayed its earliest debt maturity to 2018.

Asbury CEO Craig Monaghan said in a telephone interview that the company plans to spend $25 million to $30 million per year over the next three years to repurchase shares, which he said was like a dividend to shareholders.

He said Asbury has come back from near-death during the U.S. auto industry downturn in 2009 to a point where "our balance sheet is stronger than it's ever been."

"We are a very different company than we were just three years ago," Monaghan said.

Sonic shares were up 2.9 percent at $18.70 and Asbury shares were up 1.5 percent at $30.49 at midday Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

LOWER COSTS

Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker said that Asbury's performance on its selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses was a major reason the company beat estimates.

Asbury revamped itself dramatically after the financial crisis by cutting labor and other costs and saved millions by moving its headquarters to suburban Atlanta from New York.

Asbury's third-quarter SG&A expenses as a percentage of gross profit fell to 72.3 percent from 77.1 percent a year ago. Sonic's SG&A expenses during the quarter were 77.6 percent of gross profit, down from 77.9 percent a year ago.

Both companies were helped by higher U.S. auto sales this year, which are up 14.5 percent through September. Sonic's new vehicle retail sales were 19.5 percent higher and Asbury saw a 14 percent jump.

Sonic said net income during the third quarter fell to $10 million, or 21 cents per share, from $21.3 million or 34 cents per share a year before. Sonic revenue rose 11.7 percent to nearly $2.2 billion.

Excluding one-time items, Sonic reported adjusted earnings of $21.3 million, or 40 cents per share, up from $19.4 million or 34 cents per share a year earlier.

Asbury, based in suburban Atlanta, reported net income for the quarter of $20.7 million, or 66 cents per diluted share, compared with $12.3 million, or 38 cents per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue was up 14 percent to $1.2 billion.

ASBURY ADDING DEALERS

About half of Sonic's new vehicle revenue comes from luxury nameplates including BMW , Daimler AG's Mercedes and General Motors Co's Cadillac brand.

Asbury's is more reliant on mainstream brands. Honda Motor Co accounted for 26 percent of new vehicle sales in the first nine months, followed by Nissan Motor Co and Toyota Motor Co , each at 18 percent.

Asbury is looking to expand, Monaghan said. The company plans to buy dealerships that have combined revenue of between $400 million and $600 million in the next three years, he said.

Asbury currently has 77 auto stores representing 97 franchises.

Asbury will concentrate on acquiring dealers that are already in its primary Southeast U.S. area, but also may expand beyond its current U.S. footprint, Monaghan said.

Monaghan also said that Asbury wants to buy more of the land on which its dealers are located in the next three years, to 75 percent from the current 60 percent.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman and Bernie Woodall in Detroit; editing by Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/auto-dealership-groups-post-larger-adjusted-profit-161247768--finance.html

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Strategist: Romney?s Florida Latino outreach may be all he needs [VIDEO]

Video package by Gillian Roberts

Mitt Romney?s campaign says it expects to receive 38 percent of the Latino vote ? a number that past Republican records indicate the Republican nominee is unlikely to meet. But some strategists are saying that the former Massachusetts governor may not need that level of support nationally if he can win a majority of votes from Hispanic Floridians.

?I don?t think he?s going to get that, and I don?t know that he?s going to need to,? Republican strategist Ana Navarro said. ?He can win with much less than the 38 percent.?

In Florida, Romney leads President Barack Obama 49 percent to 46 percent among Latino voters. The state?s Hispanic community is diverse, with Navarro listing Colombians, Venezuelans and Puerto Ricans among the subgroups that have joined the reliably Republican Cuban Hispanic demographic as influential in this election.

?Candidates today have to do a lot more micro-targeting with Hispanic groups,? Navarro said. ?With what we see today, I would say that President Obama is just off enough with enough groups where the lead he enjoyed with John McCain has gone away.?

Navarro was speaking at a briefing hosted by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials at the National Press Club Tuesday morning. The briefing focused on both Latino politicians and the Latino vote in the 2012 presidential race.

Obama leads Romney 70 percent to 25 percent among Latino likely voters nationally, according to an NBC/WSJ/Telemundo poll released before Monday night?s presidential debate. This is an improvement for Obama over his 67 percent to 31 percent lead among Latinos in the 2008 election against Sen. John McCain.

Romney, however, seems to have flipped the script in Florida. Obama led McCain 57 percent to 42 percent among Hispanics in the Sunshine State in 2008. It was the first time a majority of Latino voters in Florida voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since at least 1988, when exit polls were first conducted in the state.

Democratic strategist Maria Cardona thinks Obama could regain an edge among Latino voters in Florida because of the increasing youthfulness of the Hispanic population there.

?A lot of the Cubans there are a lot younger, so the [Cuban dictator] Fidel [Catro] issue is not the only issue,? Cardona said. ?The race today is absolutely incredibly tight. In Florida, specifically, if President Obama can focus on the Hispanic vote successfully, I think he can take Florida.?

Outside of Florida, Cardona said the Latino vote would deliver electoral results for Obama, particularly in southwest states such as Nevada and New Mexico.

?President Obama today enjoys a lead in the battleground states due to the Latino vote,? Cardona said.

In the eight battleground states where Obama leads according to the Real Clear Politics polling average, only one of them, Nevada, has a more than 6 percent Latino population.

Real Clear Politics has Romney leading Obama among all voters nationally by less than one percentage point.

With the electoral implications of the Latino vote unclear, Navarro had a suggestion for how Latino voters could make their voices heard: ?Some of those are going to have to bite the bullet and move to Ohio and New Hampshire,? she said to laughter.

Navarro also blamed Romney?s deficit among Latinos on Republican outreach efforts not peaking until after the Republican National Convention.

?The lesson learned here is that Hispanic outreach and efforts have to be long term, continuous and strenuous,? Navarro said.

National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Executive Director Arturo Vargas articulated the No. 1 reason both Republicans and Democrats need to stay focused on Latino outreach, saying, ?Every 30 seconds, a Latino turns 18.?

Follow David and follow Gillian on Twitter

Source: http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/23/strategist-romneys-florida-latino-outreach-may-be-all-he-needs/

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Augusta's Darrell & Co. to expand salon services in new Washington Road location

A west Augusta salon is expanding services and moving to a larger location later this month.

Darrell & Co. will move from its Hudson Trace home for more than six years to 3241 Washington Road, next door to Tuesday Morning, manager Michael Hartley said.

?We think it is going to be a wonderful location and an awesome move,? he said. The new salon will open its doors Oct. 30.

Hartley said salon owner Darrell Dennis has been a stylist for 35 years. The salon will be adding a massage therapist certified in reflexology and hopes to add manicure and pedicure services in the near future, he said.

Source: http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/business/2012-10-23/augustas-darrell-co-expand-salon-services-new-washington-road-location

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AP Exclusive: France sends drones for Mali crisis

PARIS (AP) ? France is moving surveillance drones to west Africa and holding secretive talks with U.S. officials in Paris on Monday, as France seeks to steer international military action to help Mali's feeble government win back the northern part of the country from al-Qaida-linked rebels, The Associated Press has learned.

France and the United Nations insist any invasion of Mali's north must be led by African troops. But France, which has six hostages in Mali and is said to have citizens who have joined al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, is playing an increasing role behind the scenes.

Many in the West fear that northeast Mali and the arid Sahel region could become the new Afghanistan, a no-man's-land where Islamists can train, impose shariah law and plot terror attacks.

"This is actually a major threat ? to French interests in the region, and to France itself," said Francois Heisbourg, an expert at the Foundation for Strategic Research, a partially state-funded think tank in Paris. "This is like Afghanistan 1996. This is like when Bin Laden found a place that was larger than France in which he could organize training camps, in which he could provide stable preparations for organizing far-flung terror attacks."

France has been turning more attention to the Sahel just as it is accelerating its pullout of combat troops from Afghanistan ahead of other NATO allies.

A French defense official said Monday that France plans to move two surveillance drones to western Africa from Afghanistan by year-end, though he did not provide details.

Top-level American and French military leaders and diplomats, including U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs Johnnie Carson, began two days of talks in Paris on Monday on intelligence-gathering and security in Mali and the rest of the Sahel region, officials from both sides told the AP.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk publicly about the activities.

The Paris meetings follow a U.N. Security Council resolution that gives Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about a month to help Malian authorities devise a plan to regain control of the north. And on Friday, African leaders met in Bamako, Mali's capital, to prepare a plan for a military intervention in the north ? seized under the cover of a coup d'etat there six months ago.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-exclusive-france-sends-drones-mali-crisis-163338139.html

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Ham Radio Classes Being Offered

Dale Hummel (KL2BO), Contributing Writer

When a storm, forest fire, flood, or earthquake happens do you ever wish you could do something to help? When you see events on the TV, or read about natural disasters in the paper do you wish you could do something? Would you like to give something back to your community?

Amateur, (Ham) radio is a great way to do your part in either a disaster or community service.

Today?s ham radio is not the hobby of your uncle or grandfather who may have sat in his little room or in that corner of that basement with his headphones on and sent Morse code. Today?s radio includes Internet radio linking project, (IRLP), echo link, digital communications, voice, moon bounce, satellite reflection, and even Space Station communication.

Worldwide communication is a very common thing. The ham radio of today is very exciting and new advances in the hobby means the sky is limit. Go to http://youtu.be/varHL752Odk see more on ham radio.

The common misconception is that citizen?s band, (CB) and ham radio is the same thing. The only common link between the two groups is that both groups talk on a radio, but that?s about where the similarities end. Anyone can buy and use a CB radio and, unfortunately, some of the people who use these high frequency devices do not have the training to use them properly.

Many of those who use CBs speak poorly, cuss and operate their equipment illegally. Ham radio goes beyond just training and mature conversation. With ham radio, training is required to obtain a license that is mandatory by the Federal Communications Commission, (FCC). This kind of training and licensing puts hams on a higher level of operation and mature communication.

LBCC is hosting classes for FCC ham radio licensing. Starting on October 23 the K7LBC Ham Radio Club will be co-sponsoring ham radio licensing classes with the Linn County Amateur Radio Emergency Services group. The classes will be held in room RCH 116 at 7 to 9 pm for 8 weeks. The cost will be $15 for the test at the end of the class and $30 for the text book. The classes are open to any age. The books are also available from the Amateur Radio Relay League at www.arrl.org/shop/Ham-Radio-License-Manual-Revised-2nd-Edition/?page=1.

The classes are subject to cancellation as a result of lack of participation. The classes are taught by experienced licensed operators in the area and are completely unpaid volunteers. $15 is for the processing of the testing and licensing, and $30 is the price of the text. To attend the class please contact Roger Emery at 541-924-9262

For more on ham radio, go to http://youtu.be/WnynwMAw03k , and http://youtu.be/5Z9136_Nhh4 to see what you can accomplish and how much fun you can have as an amateur radio operator.

Commuter Staff (625 Posts)

The Commuter is a weekly student-run newspaper for LBCC, financed by student fees and advertising. Opinions expressed in the Commuter do not necessarily reflect those of the LBCC administration, faculty, and associated students of LBCC. Editorials, columns, letters, and cartoons reflect the opinions of the authors. Learn more about the Commuter?s staff of contributing writers here.

Source: http://lbcommuter.com/2012/10/22/ham-radio-classes-being-offered/

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Nanofibrillar cellulose film to ease performing medical tests

Public release date: 23-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Hannes Orelma
hannes.orelma@aalto.fi
358-503-441-074
Aalto University

Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have succeeded in developing a durable and affordable nanofibrillar cellulose film platform to support medical testing. New environmentally friendly, reliable nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) platforms are more diverse than plastic films. New film can be made, for instance, hydrophobic, hydrophilic and the electric charge can be changed. This will enhance the possibility of conducting thousands of different medical tests at home or in physicians' receptions instead of waiting for results from laboratories.

A platform is coated with the new film in the factory. The film is injected with substances that will react to the tested substance. At the place of testing, blood, water or another test material will be applied on to the film. The antibody injected onto the film will absorb the sample, depending on whether it contains substances causing allergic reactions, or bacteria, for example. Then the test result is visualised with the help of colour changing chemistry, for example.

Thanks to the new film, various tests can be conducted faster without compromising reliability. It will now be easier to detect microbes that cause illnesses in the physician's reception, or to monitor allergens at home. In addition to medical diagnostics, the film can be utilised to study water purity, for example, says doctoral candidate Hannes Orelma at Aalto University.

Previous attempts to produce a nanofibrillar cellulose platform have failed when the porous plate absorbed part of the sample. Now researchers have developed a method of producing a water proof nanofibrillar cellulose gel that will not absorb samples. They have also made great efforts to ensure sufficient film durability.

###

Aalto University, Finland is a new multidisciplinary science and art community in the fields of science, economics, and art and design. The University is founded on Finnish strengths, and its goal is to develop as a unique entity to become one of the world's top universities. Aalto University's cornerstones are its strengths in education and research. At the new University, there are 20,000 basic degree and graduate students as well as a staff of 5,000 of which 350 are professors.

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 23-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Hannes Orelma
hannes.orelma@aalto.fi
358-503-441-074
Aalto University

Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have succeeded in developing a durable and affordable nanofibrillar cellulose film platform to support medical testing. New environmentally friendly, reliable nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) platforms are more diverse than plastic films. New film can be made, for instance, hydrophobic, hydrophilic and the electric charge can be changed. This will enhance the possibility of conducting thousands of different medical tests at home or in physicians' receptions instead of waiting for results from laboratories.

A platform is coated with the new film in the factory. The film is injected with substances that will react to the tested substance. At the place of testing, blood, water or another test material will be applied on to the film. The antibody injected onto the film will absorb the sample, depending on whether it contains substances causing allergic reactions, or bacteria, for example. Then the test result is visualised with the help of colour changing chemistry, for example.

Thanks to the new film, various tests can be conducted faster without compromising reliability. It will now be easier to detect microbes that cause illnesses in the physician's reception, or to monitor allergens at home. In addition to medical diagnostics, the film can be utilised to study water purity, for example, says doctoral candidate Hannes Orelma at Aalto University.

Previous attempts to produce a nanofibrillar cellulose platform have failed when the porous plate absorbed part of the sample. Now researchers have developed a method of producing a water proof nanofibrillar cellulose gel that will not absorb samples. They have also made great efforts to ensure sufficient film durability.

###

Aalto University, Finland is a new multidisciplinary science and art community in the fields of science, economics, and art and design. The University is founded on Finnish strengths, and its goal is to develop as a unique entity to become one of the world's top universities. Aalto University's cornerstones are its strengths in education and research. At the new University, there are 20,000 basic degree and graduate students as well as a staff of 5,000 of which 350 are professors.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-10/au-ncf102312.php

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Two Months 'Til Doomsday? Mayan Apocalypse Set for Dec. 21

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