The telecommunications contractor plans to fund the repurchase program, which will expire after 18 months, using cash on hand. It said it used the remainder of its previous buyback program, which held about $10.9 million in January, during its current quarter. As of Wednesday, the company said it had 33.5 million outstanding shares. Its market value is about $786 million, according to FactSet.

Dycom provides engineering, construction, installation and maintenance services to telecom companies and utilities. It has reported revenue growth for more than a year and seen its sales momentum accelerate.

The company last month said it swung to a better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter profit, after it had been hurt by debt and acquisition-related costs in the year-earlier period.

Shares were up 19 cents at $23.15. The stock is up 18% over the past three months.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dycom-board-approves-40-million-buyback-program-2012-03-15

Hirtler-Garvey has been a member of the youth-focused apparel retailer’s board since August 2005 and has served as chairman of the board’s audit committee as well as the company’s lead independent director. She most recently served as the chief risk executive for Ally Financial Inc. and has held several management positions at Bank of America Corp. (BAC).

Geiger, who also resigned as a member of the board, became the president and chief executive officer of Crumbs Bake Shop Inc. in November. Prior to that, Geiger served as Aeropostale’s chairman and chief executive from August 1998 until February 2010.

Aeropostale, which operates children’s and teen retail chains, saw its stock slump last year as its girls’ business failed to resonate with shoppers and it saw stiffer competition from its teen rivals, including Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF), which has become more promotional.

In November, Aeropostale Inc. reported its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 59% as the company booked sharply higher input costs, though earnings topped the its raised forecast.

Shares closed at $16.64 and were unchanged after hours. The stock is up 9.1% year to date.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/aeropostale-taps-hirtler-garvey-to-chair-board-2012-02-03

Google disclosed in a regulatory filing that Greene, 56, will serve on the audit committee of the board, and will be granted an initial equity award of $1 million.

Greene replaces venture capitalist John Doerr on the board’s audit committee, Google said, though Doerr remains a Google board member.

Doerr’s firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers was an early backer of Google.

Greene has been a board member at tax software developer Intuit Inc. INTU +0.71% since 2006, where she serves on the audit and risk committee, Google said in the filing.

Previously, Greene served as chief executive at VMware, which provides so-called virtualization software used to run multiple operating systems within computers, from 1998 to 2008.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/google-names-vmware-co-founder-greene-to-board-2012-01-12

The management board of the Italian lender is currently meeting in Turin to discuss Cucchiani’s nomination.

The supervisory board of the bank met earlier today.

A decision on the successor to Corrado Passera, the former chief executive of Intesa Sanpaolo who was named Italian industry minister last week, is expected later Thursday.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/intesa-sanpaolo-board-proposes-cucchiani-as-ceo-2011-11-24

At a press conference in London, Woodford said he was planning to challenge the board to push hard in the investigation of the coverup by Olympus executives of what’s thought to be billions of dollars in losses stretching back two decades.

In an effort to reassure creditors and investors, Olympus executives have said they believe those losses have already largely been written off by the company, and that none of the money has flowed to organized crime groups. Woodford has said it’s too early in the investigation to rule anything out.

“I want the truth to come out,” Woodford said at Monday’s press conference. The 51-year-old U.K. citizen remains a director of the company.

Olympus shares were up 16% to Y842 in morning trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday.

The board meeting comes as Woodford visits Japan on Thursday to talk to Japanese securities regulators and police investigating Olympus’s coverup. It marks a remarkable turnaround for the former chief executive, who was fired by that board on Oct. 14 after raising concerns about suspicious deals the Japanese camera maker had made before he became CEO. The board has now admitted those deals were part of the coverup.

After leaving Japan, Woodford will travel to the U.S. to meet with authorities investigating Olympus there as well.

One concern of investigators in both Japan and overseas is who received the $1 billion-plus in payments that Olympus made as it continued to hide its losses, and whether any of the money went to organized crime groups.

A six-person independent panel that the Olympus board has tapped to investigate the deals said Monday that it hadn’t yet found any evidence of organized-crime involvement, despite some reports in the foreign and domestic media that payments may have gone to such groups. The panel is scheduled to file a report on its findings in early December.

An Olympus spokesman said he is still confirming whether Woodford will attend the board meeting on Friday.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/olympus-ex-ceo-woodford-to-meet-firms-board-2011-11-21

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Sep 08, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Green Automotive Company Corporation (OTC:GACR:PK) announced today that Mr. Ben Rainwater has agreed to re-join the Company’s Board of Directors, and take the helm of the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, GAC Automotive Services Inc. “It’s great to have Ben back on the Board,” said Fred Luke, President Green Automotive. “Even after stepping off in January during the Company’s re-structuring, as our Chief Automotive Consultant for the past nine months he has continued to lead us, from vehicle homologation to long-term corporate planning.”

“Ben is a recognized industry expert, with a long, impeccable and envious successful history in building U.S. automotive import and distribution companies from the ground up’, said Mr. Luke. “Beginning with Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America where he was recruited to bring the Mitsubishi brand and vehicle line-up to the U.S., designing and implementing the brand introduction and promotion, and the U.S. support network, Ben has been at the forefront of the launch and development of foreign-made vehicles in the U.S. Daihatsu America, Inc., watching him build Mitsubishi’s U.S organization, recruited him to be part of their team that introduced the Daihatsu brand and vehicle line-up to the U.S. market. Following Ben’s successful ground-up development of Daihatsu’s U.S. operations, Ben was recruited by Kia Motors America, Inc., where he assisted in the hugely successful introduction of their brand and vehicle lineup to the American market. Most recently, Ben served as Vice President, National Parts & Service Division, Director for Daewoo Motor America, Inc. where, once again, he was successful in bringing the Daewoo brand and vehicle line-up to the U.S. market. Ben’s employment with Daewoo led to him becoming President & CEO of StartPoint USA, the company created to support 185,000+ Daewoo vehicles and more than 300 Daewoo retail dealers with Daewoo Parts and Warranty Administration and, in the roll-out period of about 30 months sold almost 200,000 Daewoo vehicles.”

About Green Automotive Company: Green Automotive Company Corporation is a U.S. public company involved in the import and distribution of Eco-friendly vehicles. The Company is presently planning to bring to the United States market late this year an All-Electric SUV and, in 2012, an all-electric MPV. The Company maintains its Corporate Office in Newport Beach, California and its Dealership Services Office in Lewisville, Texas. Green Automotive Company shares are traded on the OTC Market Tier–OTC Pink Current under the symbol “GACR”. For more information visit www.usaelectricauto.com or write to info@usaelectricauto.com

“I’m personally determined to put things right when it comes to the News of the World,” which was shuttered last month, Murdoch said. “But make no mistake, [Chief Operating Officer] Chase Carey and I run this company as a team, and the strength of that partnership is reflected in our improved results.”

Murdoch said that if something were to happen to him, he hoped Carey would get the top job. “Chase is my partner,” Murdoch said.

The comments came on the media company’s fiscal fourth-quarter conference call with analysts and reporters Wednesday. On the call, Chief Financial Officer David DeVoe projected that the company’s fiscal 2012 segment operating income would grow by a percentage in the low to mid teens.

Meanwhile, Carey said the company plans to use its enlarged balance sheet for disciplined investments, both internally and externally, and maybe additional stock buybacks. News Corp. now has $12.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents after dropping its bid to buy the rest of pay-TV operator British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSY.LN, BSYBY).

News Corp. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newswire and The Wall Street Journal.

On the call, Murdoch said the company’s board has retained independent outside counsel to advise on corporate governance issues. He again expressed regrets at the scandal.

Murdoch also said he has “full confidence” in his son, James, who is the company’s deputy chief operating officer and has received criticism for his handling of the phone-hacking scandal.

News Corp’s stock has been under pressure, down 23% since earlier July, a move that prompted the company to increase its share-buyback program to $5 billion from the $1.8 billion that was remaining.

Carey said the company plans to carry $2 billion to $3 billion in cash on its balance sheet. The company had been accumulating cash for the BskyB deal, and Carey said it would likely take two to three years to whittle down the reserves.

The company will use the money for acquisitions, Carey said, but will be disciplined about it. He said the priority targets are developing markets and unique content. “These investments should generate mid-teen returns on capital at a minimum,” Carey said.

In addition, News Corp. will look to invest internally. “We strongly prefer to build rather than buy businesses,” Carey said. He said those investments also will be “disciplined” and in the “tens or hundreds of millions, not billions.”

Finally, Carey said, the company also will look at additional stock repurchases, calling the stock “woefully undervalued.”

Earlier Wednesday, the company reported a 22% drop in earnings that stemmed from losses on the sale of social network Myspace, but revenue rose a better-than-expected 11% on growth at the cable network and TV segments. The company also raised its annual dividend.

News Corp.’s Class A shares added 2 cents to $13.73 in after-hours trading. The stock fell 5.8% during the regular session amid a broad market selloff.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/news-corp-ceo-murdoch-gets-board-backing-2011-08-10

Yesterday, TECO had an extremely good session, which made a lot of investors exstatic. The price surged 58.97% on approximately 9.1 million shares and closed at $0.062. Less than a month ago, it was a sub-penny stock.

It seems the factor that caused the $0.015 resistance to break was the press release published by TECO on Apr. 12. In it, the company announced it had signed a “definitive letter of intent” to purchase producing oil and gas leases in the Texas 7B Oil District. The PR said the acquisition was projected to close on Apr. 14.

The 8-K that was supposed to reveal the details of the acquisition is still to come.[BANNER]

This didn’t seem to dampen the spirits. On Apr. 14, the company announced Bruce Gwyn had been appointed to the Board of Directors, effective Apr. 15. This gave extra confidence to investors and the run continued.

TECO is based in Houston Texas. The company is engaged in the process of adding oil and gas properties to its assets. That’s part of what is said on the company website. At this time, the news section there is not updated for some reason and the latest release is from December 22, 2010.

The latest financial report is the annual report filed on Apr. 15. According to the 10-K, TECO was not in the most favorable financial state as of December 31, 2010:

• $148 cash to account for the company’s total current assets
• $1,485,699 liabilities, all of which current
• $1,570 in revenue and $769,679 net loss for the year

Statements like “we may have difficulty financing our planned growth” and “… at December 31, 2010… we had no proved oil and gas reserves…” may not sound too promising.

This, however, doesn’t seem to bother traders and today’s session is starting very well for TECO. The company provided another PR to inform potential investors that it had acquired a drilling rig.

While there are still no details about the previously announced acquisitions, it seems the run will go on for the time being. For how long, and how far it will take TECO, remains to be seen.

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Since the beginning March this year and as of yesterday the share price of 3DIcon Corp. (OTC:TDCP) has increased four times. After the announced new Vice President of Technology Development and new Facilities Use Agreement with Oklahoma State University, investors could be now expecting a possible reverse stock split.

TDCP got above the average trading activity yesterday with 9.02 million shares traded. Yet, the increase in the closing price was only 6.58% and the stock closed the market at $0.081. Today’s session could be hot, at least in terms of trading volume, for one more reason: TDCP filed its annual report after market close yesterday.

At first sight, the 10-k contains no surprises and the company is still in the development stage, still placing all hopes on its Sponsored Research Agreement with the University of Oklahoma to deliver a marketable product that could generate sales on the market. TDCP financial reserves as of December 31, 2010 amounted $367,101 and the company had working capital deficit, which makes the funding agreements on place insufficient to cover the ongoing expenses.

What the 10-K also suggests, is that the company has not yet conducted the planned reverse stock spit, the expectation of which could be among the reasons for the appreciation of TDCP share price this month. At the end of December last year, 3DIcon approved the increase of the number of authorized shares of the company’s common stock from 750,000,000 to 1,500,000,000, as well as a reverse split of the company’s common stock in a ratio between 1 for 10 and 1 for 25 at the discretion of the Board of Directors. If the Board elects to implement the reverse stock split, it is authorized to so until June 1, 2011.

Last week 3DIcon announced to have signed a Facilities Use Agreement with Oklahoma State University-Tulsa’s (OSU-Tulsa) Helmerich Research Center, under which the company would use the facilities for creating the next generation image space for its Cspace(R) 3D volumetric technology for the creation of an image space with enhanced brightness and resolution.

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This month has been devoted to raising market awareness for ASPA Gold Corp. (OTC:RENS) stock. After the new investor relations firm and the two new members to the Board of Directors, today the company will also get an extensive promotion for its stock. As next the raising of some funds will be required to fill RENS significant financial gap.

RENS closed the last tradings session at $0.0382 and with a 27.33% jump in the share price. The stock has recently accumulated volume for another and even larger increase in the value. For some additional support, promotional e-mails for RENS have been sent yesterday evening, providing extensive research on the company and its gold mining properties. The e-mails contain no disclaimer and the promoter’s compensation, if there is any, remains undisclosed by now.

The promoter presents ASPA Gold has a junior company mining for gold and having prospective properties. What he fails to mention is that this is RENS third known business model and that it might be too early for building any revenue expectations among traders.

Initially, ASPA Gold business plan was to sell coffee at drive-through establishments in North Carolina, though none of the locations was ever completed. RENS next initiative to acquire or construct a plant to process liquid waste into ethanol failed on the inability to raise the needed capital. A present, the company actually holds interests in several mining claims in Arizona known as the Oatman Gold Project. The region is known for its historical gold production, which does not mean that RENS new business holds no risks and is this time bound to succeed.

While other companies pay salaries to their employees, last year RENS survived mostly on borrowing money from its officers and directors, that borrowings being after that partially converted into stock. Apart from a line of credit with a related party, which was as of end November 2010 in the process of acquiring a majority interest in RENS common stock, no other sources of funds have been secured so far.

Nothing has been mentioned also about the way RENS will pay to the investor relation firm that it hired at the beginning of the month. On the other hand, each of the two new directors of the company will get his compensation in the form of 300,000 restricted shares of common stock. Both have also agreed not to sell or lend these shares for a period of at least two year, which is basically a positive signal to the market.

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