Source: www.examiner.co.uk
FBI are not worried by London 2012 security, insists NYPD chief - Daily Mail
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New York's police chief says he is impressed with security planning for this summer's London Olympics, rejecting suggestions that US officials were concerned about arrangements for the Games.
Commissioner Raymond Kelly said London's police and security planning was far more comprehensive and organised than had been the case for the Atlanta games in 1996, when he was personally involved in a federal government role.
'It seems they really have a handle on just about any contingency that might take place,' Kelly said in London during a trip to meet Olympic security chiefs, senior London police and officials at MI5 domestic security agency.
'We've been universally very much impressed with everything we've seen. As far as I can see they have done an excellent job preparing all of their forces.'
No concerns: Raymond Kelly has dismissed security fears
Last November, the United States denied that there had been a diplomatic row over the Olympic security planning, following a newspaper claim that 1,000 agents including some 500 from the FBI, would be sent to protect US athletes and officials.
Chris Allison, Britain's national Olympic security coordinator, said the claim was 'rubbish' and that the reported FBI contingent had been grossly exaggerated.
'I think the FBI role is a supportive one. I don't think they're here with specific concerns,' Kelly said, dismissing the idea that the London police needed their assistance.
He added than rather than lecturing the British, his visit had been a learning one.
'We were takers rather than givers, put it that way,' he commented.
Allison and other senior British security figures have said protests and public order issues rather than al-Qaeda and international terrorism were the most likely threats to the Games.
Last year, Britain suffered its worst rioting in decades and there have been high-profile anti-capitalist protests in London, some inspired by New York's Occupy Wall Street moment.
Kelly said he had discussed the riots with his London counterparts and it was an issue that they had factored in, with plans for a rapid mobilisation to deal with any unexpected events.
'Will there be demonstrations, will there be protests of some sort? Sure. That's a given in this day and age. It's something that happens in New York and London literally everyday,' Kelly said.
'But the Met is well experienced. They're well prepared to handle it.'
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
London Mining remains on track to hit 2012 production target at Marampa - proactiveinvestors.co.uk
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Source: www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk
London mayor announces housing board members - InsideHousing
Homes for London board members:
• Nick Salisbury, former head of structured finance for the Barclays corporate bank property
• Mike Youkee, former head of housing at Quintain and former joint chief executive of the Greenwich Peninsula project
• Charmaine Young CBE, outgoing director of developer St George
• Sir Steve Bullock, London Councils’ executive member for housing
• Councillor Stephen Carr, leader of Bromley Council
• Councillor Chris Roberts, leader of Greenwich Council
Source: www.insidehousing.co.uk
London close: Stocks sink on Greek exit speculation - Life Style Extra
- BoE policy makers 'finely balanced' on more QE
- CBO warns of US recession
The FTSE 100 sunk to its lowest levels of the day by the end of trade on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to this evening's EU summit with caution as speculation increases over a Greek exit from the Eurozone.
International pressure has been mounting on Eurozone leaders to take quick action to stave off the recession that threatens the region. The European Council is holding an informal dinner Wednesday evening at 18:00 London time, where the members are expected to discuss both the situation in Greece and measures to increase growth.
Former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has said that although a Greek exit is unlikely, "it cannot be excluded that preparations are being made to contain the potential consequences" of such a scenario. He later clarified that he has no specific knowledge of any countries of institutions making contingency plans but could not "exclude the possibility".
According to an article by Reuters this afternoon, three officials of the Eurogroup Working Group (EWG) have said that countries should be planning for a Greek exit. "The EWG agreed that each Eurozone country should prepare a contingency plan, individually, for the potential consequences of a Greek exit from the euro," one official said. Germany's Bundesbank has said that a withdrawal from the single currency would be "considerable but manageable".
Gloomy comments from the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) were also dampening the mood today. The CBO warned of a risk of recession for the world's largest economy in 2013 if the Bush-era tax reductions were allowed to expire at the same time as spending cuts come into effect. It said that the US economy could contract by 1.3% in the first half of next year as the government falls off a "fiscal cliff".
UK economy
In domestic news, the Bank of England's top decision makers indicated that more of them were on the verge of voting to increase stimulus measures at their lasting meeting. While the Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-to-1 to keep the Bank's quantitative easing programme steady at 325bn, the minutes of the meeting showed that "for several members, the decision not to expand the asset purchase programme at this meeting was finely balanced".
UK retail sales registered their biggest monthly fall in April, with fuel sales tailing off dramatically after the panic buying in March, when motorists were encouraged by the government to stock up on petrol.
FTSE 100: Miners bear the brunt of risk aversion
The blue-chip miners were dominating the fallers list on the Footsie as metals prices dropped on concerns that the Chinese economy may be affected greatly by Greece leaving the euro: investment bank China International Capital Corp said today that the world's second-largest economy could see its lowest levels of growth in more than two decades in this scenario. Mining peers Vedanta Resources, Kazakhmys, Polymetal, Xstrata, Glencore, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, and Antofagasta were all suffering heavy losses.
Financials were also unwanted due to risk aversion. Barclays was out of favour after it announced the pricing details of the open offer part of its recently announced sale of its stake in US wealth management giant Blackrock. Meanwhile, there were rumours that the lender could be thinking about a shake-up in Italy, which could involve the sale of branches or a restructuring. Sector peers RBS, Lloyds and HSBC also finished lower.
Iconic British luxury brand Burberry dropped despite reporting solid profit growth in the year ended March 31st. Adjusted profit before tax increased by 26% from 298m to 376m, broadly in line with estimates. Analysts at Investec said this morning that bears make "take issue" today given the lack of upgrades following the results.
There were only a few stocks that finished with their head above water today: British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) rose after the Competition Commission announced that it was no longer concerned that 'Sky Movies' has an unfair advantage over its competitors; while Smith & Nephew was benefiting from renewed bid speculation.
FTSE 250: LSE falls after Italian banks sell up
Italian banks UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo have announced that they have sold their combined 11.5% stake of market operator London Stock Exchange (LSE), causing shares to take a tumble today. The banks made the transaction via an "accelerated bookbuild" at 960p per share, a discount to Tuesday's closing price.
Second-tier miners were firmly lower, like their FTSE 100 counterparts - Ferrexpo, Petropavlovsk and Avocet registered significant losses by the close. Aquarius Platinum was also under pressure due to the news of a fire at its Mimosa mine in Zimbabwe. "At this stage, the extent of the damage and impact on production cannot be ascertained," Aquarius said.
Buses and trains operator FirstGroup was a high riser after saying that it is to shake up its UK bus operations to focus on those areas that offer the greatest potential for growth. The group announced full-year results for the year to the end of March that were slightly ahead of expectations.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 594.50p +0.42%
British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 693.00p +0.36%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 241.30p +0.04%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Vedanta Resources (VED) 951.50p -9.12%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 679.50p -7.86%
Man Group (EMG) 73.10p -5.86%
Polymetal International (POLY) 794.00p -5.42%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,312.00p -5.41%
Aviva (AV.) 263.90p -5.14%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,337.00p -5.04%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,790.50p -4.97%
Glencore International (GLEN) 343.65p -4.96%
Xstrata (XTA) 926.20p -4.80%
FTSE 250 - Risers
FirstGroup (FGP) 220.10p +7.42%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 107.80p +5.89%
COLT Group SA (COLT) 118.70p +5.14%
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 392.90p +2.80%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 128.80p +2.79%
Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 160.80p +2.42%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 157.30p +2.28%
KCOM Group (KCOM) 69.00p +2.22%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,725.00p +2.14%
Lamprell (LAM) 103.00p +1.98%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 204.40p -10.82%
Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 74.80p -10.10%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 380.50p -9.10%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 947.00p -7.25%
Essar Energy (ESSR) 112.80p -6.70%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 41.39p -6.48%
Avocet Mining (AVM) 143.50p -6.45%
New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 316.30p -6.42%
Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 146.90p -6.25%
Lonmin (LMI) 736.00p -6.18%
BC
Source: www.lse.co.uk
London 2012 Olympics: Call to ban sponsors from Olympic lanes - Daily Telegraph
The lanes were created to avoid the chaos which beset the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, where competitors struggling to reach events on time after being stuck in heavy traffic.
Critics of the London arrangements fear that motorists will be caught in gridlock, although the restrictions have been watered down by Boris Johnson, the mayor.
The changes will see the lanes suspended between the Olympics and Paralympics, ditching the original proposals which would have seen them in force for three months over the summer.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Developers have big plans for growing Watford - McKenzie County Farmer
Developers have big plans for growing Watford
Posted 5/23/12 (Wed)
By Lauren Billing
Farmer Staff Writer
The American dream has always been rooted in the ability to own a home. But with very few homes available in and around Watford City, many have not been able to buy homes here, and therefore, are not establishing roots in North Dakota.
However, the rapid growth of residential developments to come this summer and fall and the next few years will drastically change that, allowing Watford City to fulfill the American dream of home ownership for more people.
There are currently nine different development plans in the immediate vicinity of Watford City. In total, they encompass well over 800 acres.
The largest development plans are residential subdivisions that include commercial lots, things like shops, restaurants and office space, to serve the immediate neighborhoods.
Fox Hills Village is being developed by Bakken Housing Partners. The subdivision will sit on the south side of Highway 23, just across from the Fox Hills Golf & Country Club.
Mark Bragg is leading the Bakken Housing Partners on the Fox Hills project, which is a master plan community.
The entire community will have 1,104 individual dwelling units, spanning 320 acres. It will include apartments, town homes, single-family homes, offices, retail, a hotel and open space, along with a community center that will also have day care and the possibility of a bowling alley.
Phase One of the project will cover 40 acres at the very northwest of the development and includes 470 apartment units, two office buildings, which will be available to rent, and 100 town homes available for purchase. Bragg expects that parts of Phase One will be completed this fall.
Bragg and Bakken Housing Partners are very committed to seeing that the Watford City community is getting exactly what it needs with Fox Hills Village. That means that the first 50 town home units will first be available to civil servants, which includes professionals like police officers, teachers or healthcare providers.
They are also allowing local business owners or locals trying to start businesses to have first option for any of the retail or commercial space they build within the subdivision.
“We really want to create a quality community that people can afford to live in,” says Bragg.
Construction on Phase One of Fox Hills Village is set to begin in June, with building to begin as early as July. A process that, according to Bragg, has never gone faster.
“The process normally begins with planning what to do with the land, then getting permits and then going under contract which can take months or years,” explains Bragg. “But we’ve gotten it all done in three months. I’ve never seen this process move so fast.”
Pheasant Hills is another large residential subdivision, covering more than 230 acres. It will be located northwest of Watford City off Highway 85. Steve Bryan, president of MRC Development, has been working on the project for six months and is close to final authorization. He plans to begin work as soon as possible.
“We have been hearing about the boom in the Bakken and the need for housing,” says Bryan. “We would like to be part of providing that for the area.”
Pheasant Hills will include multi-family units, single-family units and commercial lots.
Bryan and MRC plan to build and sell 500 multi-family units, with the possibility of some single-family units as well. There will also be approximately 300 lots that MRC will not build on, but will have available for sale to builders or individuals who would like to build within the development.
Pheasant Hills will have covenants and certain restrictions to maintain quality living for all of its residents.
“We are looking forward to developing in Watford City,” says Bryan. “The city has been very helpful and we have enjoyed working here so far.”
Cherry Ridge will be located southwest of Watford City off of 14th Avenue Southwest. Dan Fitzpatrick, president of Wild West Investments, is looking to build every type of housing unit within Cherry Ridge.
The subdivision will include apartments, single and multi-family houses, as well as commercial and retail lots.
Fitzpatrick and Wild West Investments plan to begin work in June, pending final approval from planning and zoning and the city council. Phase One of their project will include nine 10-unit row houses and seven 24-unit apartment buildings.
Fitzpatrick also plans to develop some single-family home lots, twin lots and four-plex lots for other builders to purchase and build on. In all there will be nearly 300 lots available to other builders or individuals for a total of 1,100 dwelling units in the entire subdivision.
“We came to the Bakken looking for somewhere to do some building,” says Fitzpatrick. “We picked Watford City because of the people. It took us less than half a day to realize that this was where we wanted to work.”
Watford City city officials are excited to see the incredible amount of building about to commence in the area, but also are keeping in mind what they want those developments to look like.
“The city is continuing its efforts to plan the transportation corridors, commercial zones and all types of residential zones to keep in step with the development activity,” says Brent Sanford, Watford City mayor. “The city council is also constantly working with other community groups to keep community infrastructure needs in mind such as daycare and affordable housing for essential personnel.”
Curt Moen, Watford City city planner, is currently addressing the city’s need for an updated comprehensive plan that will include all the new developments.
“The task of keeping up with all the growth seems daunting at times,” says Moen. “But the developers we are working with are all great and make my job a lot easier.”
Developments like Fox Hills Village, Pheasant Hills and Cherry Ridge, along with six others, will open the door for many of those working in the area to bring their families to Watford City and establish roots in the community.
The accompanying amenities, like hotels, restaurants and shopping, community centers, day cares and parks and trails, will add variety for residents, new and old. Enriching the community and providing much needed residential housing and services, will allow Watford City to again be a warm, inviting and permanent place to live.
Anyone interested in more information on Fox Hills can call Bakken Housing Partners at 1-888-958-3447. For Pheasant Hills and MRC Development visit www.mrcdevelopment.com.
Source: watfordcitynd.com
Blues announce Watford friendly (From Bucks Free Press) - Bucks Free Press
Blues announce Watford friendly
11:26am Wednesday 23rd May 2012 in Wanderers By Andy Carswell
CHAMPIONSHIP club Watford will pay Wycombe Wanderers a visit in the latest pre-season friendly to be announced by the Chairboys.
The Hertfordshire club come to Adams Park on Tuesday July 31, with the match kicking off at 7.30pm.
Blues players Marvin McCoy and Joel Grant both started their careers at the Vicarage Road club, who could include former Wanderers loanee Matty Whichelow in their squad.
It’s the fifth friendly to be confirmed by Wanderers, who also announced this week they will face Staines Town for the second successive pre-season campaign.
Last year they won 5-0 against the Conference South side in their first friendly, which saw teenage starlet Jordon Ibe announce himself to the world with a wonderstrike.
Blues go to Wheatsheaf Park on Saturday July 21 and also face away friendlies at Farnborough on July 14 and Forest Green Rovers on Wednesday July 18.
League One club Brentford will also face Wanderers in pre-season, arriving at Adams Park on Tuesday August 7.
Source: www.bucksfreepress.co.uk
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