University of Minnesota: Fairview agrees to pay U medical school $90M over 10 years

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Increased funding from Fairview Health Services would allow the University of Minnesota's medical school to invest more money in research at a time when federal support has been diminished, university officials said Thursday, May 9.

With the new financial support, the U could better develop information technology systems that allow researchers to analyze large volumes of data for studies on health care quality and patient outcomes, said Dr. Aaron Friedman, vice president for health sciences at the U, during a news conference.

The funds also could allow the university to better train doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and public health experts to work together for better patient care, Friedman said.

"It will make a difference in how effective we can be as a medical school," he said.

The U's Board of Regents is expected Friday to approve an agreement in which the Minneapolis-based Fairview network of hospitals and clinics would provide $90 million in financial support to the U's medical school over a 10-year period.

Since 1997, Minneapolis-based Fairview has owned and operated the U's teaching hospitals through an affiliation agreement that also involves University of Minnesota Physicians (UMP).

Last year, Fairview made a $5 million payment to support the U's academic health center.

But previously, the health system's financial performance was not strong enough to trigger such payments.

Some at the U feel the lack of financial support

"It was a balancing act," said Chuck Mooty, the interim chief executive officer at Fairview, of the new annual payment figures. "It really became both what was a significant boost ... (in) contributions from Fairview to the academic mission of the university, and yet what was at a level that was affordable."

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University of Minnesota: Fairview agrees to pay U medical school $90M over 10 years

UT Regents approve plans for medical school in Austin

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Thursday, the UT System Board of Regents approved plans to build a $334 million medical school at UT Austin.

"It's going to prepare a generation of physicians and health officials that will be second to none," said UT System Chancellor Dr. Francisco Cigarroa.

Phase 1 of the 'Dell Medical School' will include an academic building, research facility and a parking garage. Also, the Board of Regents have partnered with Seton Healthcare Family and Central Health to build a teaching hospital.

"The opportunity to really develop breakthrough discoveries that will help us solve some of the mortality of certain diseases that we still don't have answers to cure. That is within the realm of possibility for this school of medicine," said Cigarroa.

The campus will be built on land already owned by UT and would be boarded by I-35, Trinity, MLK and 15th Street. According to UT officials, the first two phases of construction on the medical school and teaching hospital do not include getting rid of the Frank Erwin Center, but that would likely be part of the long-term master plan.

"At some point in the future we want to have the capacity for growth of this medical complex," said UT President Bill Powers.

In the meant time, the focus is on starting construction. The goal is to have the first class of 50 students enrolled in the medical school in the fall of 2016.

Also on Thursday, the Board of Regents approved $62 million in improvements to DKR Memorial Stadium. The renovations would not add seats, but include improvements to Bellmont Hall, the academic facility within the stadium.

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UT Regents approve plans for medical school in Austin

UT Regents approve $334M medical school plan

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"It isn't everyday that a premiere research university gets a medical school, Bill Powers, U.T. Austin president, said. In fact, it has not happened in about 35 years."

And it's a first for the Austin school.

The $334 million complex will transform about eight blocks of downtown Austin.

"This is really a very forward-thinking effort to make sure that we're taking care of the health of our community for the next coming decades," Patricia Young Brown with Central Health said.

The Dell Medical School partners U.T. with the Seton Healthcare Family and the county's Central Health District.

"These are monumental efforts, but at the end of the day, these efforts, they're going to save lives, Francisco Cigarroa, U.T. System Chancellor, said. It's going to prepare a generation of physicians and health professionals that will be second to none."

One primary mission of the teaching hospital will be to serve uninsured patients.

"Adding the medical school with the four-year students, that will also increase the number and types of services that can be made available to our patients," Young Brown said. "This new medical school is an effort and an opportunity to train physicians to provide care in ways we have not done so in the past."

But most of all, prepare students for the future of healthcare.

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UT Regents approve $334M medical school plan

Liberty Tax Service Increases U.S. Customers Served by 3% Through April 17th

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VIRGINIA BEACH, VA--(Marketwired - May 9, 2013) - JTH Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ: TAX), parent company of Liberty Tax Service, announced today that it prepared 1.74 million U.S. tax returns in its offices during the 2013 tax season through April 17, versus 1.72 million during the same period in the 2012 tax season.Additionally, the company processed 151,000 returns online, a 43.8% increase over the 2012 tax season.Overall, the Company served 3.3% more customers this tax season than last tax season.

The 2013 tax season was challenging for both consumers and companies in the tax industry.A number of one-time events contributed to the extraordinary amount of change and confusion experienced this year.These events included the impact from the fiscal cliff legislation, which not only delayed the start of the tax season, but also resulted in an inability to file a number of forms even later into the season, the majority of states converting to modernized efiling for the first time, and changes the IRS implemented with regard to the Earned Income Tax Credit.

"On our third quarter conference call, we reduced our expectation for growth in total U.S. returns to flat to up 1%, lower than what the rest of the industry was expecting.As it turns out, the IRS actually saw a 0.7% decrease in overall returns filed through April 19th," said John Hewitt, CEO."In my 44 years in the tax industry, this is the first time I have seen a decrease in a non-recessionary year.While we are disappointed with the volume of returns in the industry and its impact on our offices, we have gained market share in a very difficult year.We have made some organizational changes and we continue to execute on our growth plans.We are looking forward to a more typical tax season next year.In addition, we are preparing for and continue to be excited about the potential opportunities that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and possible immigration reform will provide."

Tax Season 2013 Results

About JTH Holding, Inc.Founded in 1997 by CEO John T. Hewitt, JTH Holding, Inc. is the parent company of Liberty Tax Service.As the fastest-growing tax preparation franchise ever, Liberty Tax Service has prepared over 12 million individual income tax returns.Liberty also offers an online tax service, eSmart Tax, which enables customers to do their own taxes wherever there's a computer.eSmart Tax is backed by the tax professionals at Liberty Tax Service and its nationwide network of over 30,000 tax preparers, ready to offer their assistance at any time. For a more in-depth look at Liberty Tax Service, visit http://www.libertytax.com.

Forward Looking StatementsIn addition to historical information, this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including implied and express statements regarding the Company's anticipated growth and expansion of its business.These forward-looking statements, as well as the Company's guidance, are based upon the Company's current expectations and there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Because forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date on which they are made, the Company's actual results could differ materially from these statements. These risks and uncertainties relate to, among other things, uncertainties regarding the Company's ability to attract and retain clients; meet its prepared returns targets; competitive factors; the Company's effective income tax rate; litigation defense expenses and costs of judgments or settlements; and changes in market, economic, political or regulatory conditions. Information concerning these risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and in other filings by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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Liberty Tax Service Increases U.S. Customers Served by 3% Through April 17th

Liberty Mines Reports Financial Results for First Quarter 2013

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TSX: LBE

TORONTO , May 9, 2013 /CNW/ - Liberty Mines Inc. (LBE.TO) ("Liberty" or the "Company") today reported its financial results for the 3-month period ended March 31, 2013 . All amounts are in Canadian currency.

During Q1 the Company focused its efforts on reducing its ongoing cash requirements to maintain the business in a care and maintenance mode. Given the current suppressed nickel price, the Company expects the Timmins operations will remain shut down for at least the balance of 2013 if not longer. The Company has elected to allow the McWatters Mine to flood but pumping continues at the Redstone Mine. As part of the cost savings initiatives, a further reduction in personnel has been made across the organization including some members from the executive team.

Further to the Company's press releases dated January 23, 2013 and March 27, 2013 the Company continues its internal review of the identification of chrysotile at the McWatters Mine. The Company has been working with the Ministry of Labour to address all applicable health and safety issues with respect to the Timmins site and is in communication with all applicable regulatory authorities. It has been determined that the Company's Mill will need to be decontaminated before any activities can be resumed.

Selected financial highlights

Review of Q1 Financial Performance Revenue for Q1 2013 was $29,372 up from $19,240 for Q1 2012. The increase was a result of revenue received for PGM credits from the concentrate Xstrata processed during operations in 2012.

Net loss for Q1 2013 was $6.1 million or $0.03 per basic and fully diluted share. The loss included amortization expenses of $2.1 million , interest on long-term debt of $2.5 million and dividends on preferred shares of $0.3 million . In the same period of 2012, Liberty recorded a net loss of $7.9 million or $0.04 per basic and fully diluted share. Liberty's mining and milling operations were partially functional in Q1 of 2012.

At March 31, 2013 , Liberty had cash and cash equivalents of $404,740 . This compares to $0.54 million at year end 2012.

Liberty's financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2013 are available at http://www.libertymines.com and http://www.sedar.com. The financial statements should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes and management's discussion and analysis.

About Liberty Mines Inc. Liberty Mines Inc. is focused on the exploration, development and production of nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals from its properties in Ontario, Canada . It owns the only nickel concentrator in the Shaw Dome area, a prospective nickel belt region near Timmins, Ontario. Liberty is looking to expand its business through growth initiatives not only through a more aggressive exploration program on its current properties but also through potential acquisition or partnership opportunities beyond its core Timmins area projects.

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Liberty Mines Reports Financial Results for First Quarter 2013

Liberty Property Hits New 52-Week High

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Shares of Liberty Property Trust (LRY) crafted a new 52-week high, touching $44.03 in the middle of the trading session on May 7, 2013. The closing price of this office real estate investment trust (:REIT) on May 7 was $43.95, representing a solid year-to-date return of 23.4%. The average trading volume of the session was 0.76 million shares.

Despite hitting its 52-week high, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock may not sustain this momentum going forward based on its current estimates revision trends.

Factors to Consider

Better-than-expected first-quarter results including an earnings surprise of 3.17% and consistent performance of the overall portfolio as well as strong portfolio repositioning activity were the key growth drivers for Liberty Property.

However, Liberty Property generates a significant amount of revenue from its office portfolio. Office demand is highly correlated to job growth. Given the current economic environment and the volatility in the job market, demands for the Liberty Propertys office portfolio are likely to suffer. This could adversely affect the top-line growth of the company.

On Apr 23, Liberty Property reported first-quarter 2013 FFO (funds from operations) of 65 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents. However, this compared unfavorably with the prior-year quarter figure of 68 cents. The result was attributable to a consistent performance of the overall portfolio as well as strong leasing and development activities. However, an increase in operating expenses acted as a headwind.

Liberty Property has now delivered positive earnings surprises in 3 of the last 4 quarters with an average beat of 2.12%.

Estimate Revisions

Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year 2013 FFO remained unchanged at $2.65 per share. On the other hand, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2014 FFO has moved down 1.4% to $2.75 per share.

On May 7, a number of other REITs also touched 52-week highs. These include DDR Corp. (DDR), HCP Inc. (HCP) and Highwoods Properties Inc. (HIW).

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Liberty Property Hits New 52-Week High