Daily Archives: July 26, 2012

Liberty Mutual Announces Realignment; Names 4 Unit Executives

Posted: July 26, 2012 at 3:18 pm

Boston-headquartered insurance giant Liberty Mutual said it is realigning its strategic business units.

The company which reported $139 million profit for its 2012 second-quarter earlier Wednesday also named executives that will lead each of its four new strategic business units (SBUs).

The changes include: bringing together its regional company and commercial markets group; combining domestic personal lines business; and creating a global specialty unit combining Liberty International Underwriters, Liberty Mutual Reinsurance and Liberty Mutual Surety.

The insurer emphasized, however, that this is not a consolidation or reorganization.

This change is designed to make it easier for agents and customers to do business with us. It also will allow us to better leverage our scale and expertise by spreading best practices and investments in products, services and innovation across the global enterprise, Liberty Mutual spokesman John Cusolito told Insurance Journal.

We are realigning our strategic business units into four new SBUs effective immediately.

The company has informed its employees about the newly formed business units. Agents were to receive the communication regarding the change from the company on Wednesday, July 25.

The four newly realigned business units and the top executive for each unit are as follows:

Commercial Insurance, which will serve standard lines accounts of all sizes by providing one face to the agent and broker community. This business unit will offer commercial products and services from Liberty Mutuals commercial markets as well as Liberty Mutual Agency Corp.s regional companies.

The company said agents and brokers will benefit from continued regional focus and authority enhanced by greater national capabilities and resources.

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Liberty Mutual Announces Realignment; Names 4 Unit Executives

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Liberty Silver Corp. Open Letter to Sennen Shareholders

Posted: at 3:17 pm

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -07/26/12)- Liberty Silver Corp. (LSL.TO)(LBSV) issued an open letter to the Sennen Resources Ltd. shareholders regarding the Company's offer to acquire Sennen. The letter follows.

Dear Sennen Shareholder -

We at Liberty are focused on concluding a friendly deal with Sennen that is in the best interest of both Sennen and Liberty shareholders. I'd like to tell you why.

The rationale for a combination of our two companies could not be more compelling at this time. As you are no doubt aware, the capital markets have been very challenging. This is especially true for junior mining companies. Some believe that these difficulties are a part of the normal business cycle and that the junior mining public markets will return to their former health in due course. We are less sure.

Since the mid 1990's, the number of publicly-traded junior mining companies has expanded from the hundreds to the thousands. As a result of this huge increase:

In Liberty's view, the junior mining sector is going through a fundamental transformation.

Consolidation will result in fewer junior miners, each with a multitude of projects guided by the highest quality talent in every aspect of their business, including: governance, risk assessment, capital markets, regulatory requirements, communications, finance, geology, drilling, engineering, quality control, consultants, permitting, environmental, and assaying.

Junior mining companies that rely on traditional financings from the high risk/reward venture markets as a way to drive from exploration to production will be severely challenged. Many will not survive.

The bottom line is that only a small number of high-quality miners with a disciplined approach to risk will benefit from the consolidation. Liberty falls into this category.

I invite you to look closely at our team's resumes on our website. Their experience and capabilities cover a broad spectrum that will allow us the means and credibility to fulfill our mandate.

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Liberty Silver Corp. Open Letter to Sennen Shareholders

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McCartney found freedom in Scotland

Posted: at 7:15 am

Sir Paul McCartney found freedom when he, his wife Linda and their young family moved to Scotland after the break-up of The Beatles.

The legendary musician took his wife Linda and their young children - Heather, Linda's child from a previous relationship, and Mary - to their farm on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland, in the wake of the dissolution of The Beatles to avoid dealing with all the legal problems that arose with the end of the group.

Paul said: "It was a good relief from everything that was going on, after The Beatles had broken up. For me, from the early days in Liverpool right through to the Ed Sullivan show to the big American tours, that had been my life, so when it suddenly ended in disarray, over business things, it was very unpleasant.

"So my thought at the time was, 'Just get away, don't' just sit in all these meetings with people saying, 'You've got to do that, oh no, no...' and it was really miserable and it was the opposite of what The Beatles had been.

"We just got away, Linda and I and took the kids and went to Scotland and found freedom. Freedom to raise our young family. And we suddenly realised how important that was. Otherwise I was, 'See you later love, you raise the kids, I've got to go to some heavy meeting, talk about business,' so we got away."

While they stayed on the farm, Paul and Linda worked on their musical collaboration 'Ram' which he says reflected the peaceful and idyllic background they found themselves in.

He added to BBC Radio6 music: "That was the spirit that 'Ram' was written in, I could go up, over the hills with my guitar, just write a little song, come back and stick it down in my notebook, then go off and record, and we went off to New York and later Los Angeles.

"It was great, it was freedom, so that album sums up the freedom that we were feeling at the time and it think it is reflected in the music."

'Ram' was re-released in May with a number of extra tracks and exclusive content, as well as in a Deluxe Edition Box Set.

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McCartney found freedom in Scotland

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Freedom Fall in Extra Innings to Crushers

Posted: at 7:15 am

July 25, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom Florence, KY-The Florence Freedom (32-28) couldn't hang onto a 6-1 lead entering the 9th inning on Tuesday night as the Lake Erie Crushers(33-27)stormed back for a 6 run 9th inning to tie the game, and eventually won it in extra innings. The Crushers defeated the Freedom 8-7 in 12 innings to avoid the three game sweep by the Freedom.

Florence led the entire ballgame as they struck for four runs in the 1st inning against Crusher All-Star Paul Fagan. Junior Arrojo reached base on an infield single and later scored on an RBI double by Peter Fatse. Several batters later, David Harris took Fagan deep over the left field wall for a three run homer. It was Harris's fourth long ball of the season and it gave the Freedom a 4-0 lead.

Brent Choban a rookie left hander made his professional debut on the mound for the Freedom and pitched very well through the first 5 innings of the contest. He gave up his only run of the game in the 4th on a sacrifice fly by Daniel Bowman scoring Andrew Davis. The former Ohio Bobacat went five innings allowing 4 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. The Freedom padded their lead in the 4th, as Arrojo hit a bases loaded two run single scoring Kyle Bluestein and Edwin Padua to give them a 6-1 cushion.

The Crushers would give the Freedom a taste of their own medicine a day after Florence came back from a 5 run deficit, as the Crushers rallied against the Freedom bullpen by sending ten men to the plate against Matt Kline, and Brennan Flick. Kline struck out pinch hitter Kyle Weldon to begin the frame, but after that the game swung in the direction of Lake Erie. Adrian Ortiz got one of his four hits in the 9th, and then Robby Kuzdale drew a walk with the next batter Jason Taylor being hit by a pitch. With the bases loaded, Kline then walked Russell Moldenhauer forcing home Ortiz to make it a 6-2 game. Flick was then summoned out of the bullpen, however he gave up an RBI single to Andrew Davis to cut the lead in half. Then it was Bowman striking for a two run single to make it 6-5. Davis would later score in the inning on a wild pitch to tie the game at 6-6. J.C. Figueroa who entered the game as a defensive replacement then lined a single into center field to give the Crushers a 7-6 lead. John Mallloy threw out Kellen Kulbacki who was attempting to score on the play as well.

The Freedom tied the game in the bottom of the 9th, as Peter Fatse led off the inning with a solo shot, his sixth of the season. The homer came against Crusher closer Jonathan Kountis who then retired the next three batters to send the game into extra innings.

The decision to insert Figueroa into the game proved to be the difference in this game, as the Lake Erie second baseman proved to be the hero on this night. Facing Jorge Marban with one out, Figueroa hit a solo homer, his first of the season into the Freedom bullpen to give the Crushers an 8-7 lead. Despite giving up the homer and taking the loss, Marban(1-4) pitched well in 3 innings, striking out 5. Crusher reliever Mickey Janis also went deep out of the bullpen covering the last 3 innings. The Freedom had the tying runner at 2nd base in the 12, but Janis struck out Pierre LePage to end the game.

The Freedom will travel to Washington, PA Wednesday night for a three game series with the Wild Things. LHP Andres Caceris (5-2, 4.55) will start for the Freedom while RHP Gary Lee(4-3, 2.61) starts for Washington. Wednesday's game can be heard with Steve Jarnicki starting at 6:50 pm on Real Talk 1160 and realtalk1160.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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Freedom Fall in Extra Innings to Crushers

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Freedom's sale of Register complete

Posted: at 7:15 am

Freedom Communications Inc. in Irvine, parent of The Orange County Register, today completed the sale of the paper and six other remaining properties to 2100 Trust LLC, an investment group headed by a Massachusetts businessman. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The other Freedom properties include The Gazette in Colorado Springs, The Sun in Yuma, Ariz., and four California papers, the Barstow Dispatch, Appeal-Democrat in Marysville, The Porterville Recorder and the Daily Press in Victorville.

The Orange County Register headquarters building is on Grand Avenue in Santa Ana.

FILE PHOTO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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As part of the deal, Freedom Communications will make an additional one-time contribution to the company's retirement plan. The amount of the contribution was not disclosed.

The new owner will also continue to operate the company under the Freedom Communications name.

Mitch Stern, Freedom's chief executive, praised Freedom's excellence in journalism and commitment to engaging with the community.

"We're very pleased that the name is being passed to new ownership that firmly believes newspapers continue to play an essential role in providing the news and information that is vital in the lives of the communities they serve," Stern said.

Aaron Kushner, chief executive of 2100 Trust, also cited Freedom's journalistic excellence and community involvement.

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Freedom's sale of Register complete

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CORRECTING and REPLACING Acquisition of Freedom Communications By 2100 Trust, LLC Is Completed

Posted: at 7:15 am

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Publication name in fourth graph should read The Porterville Recorder (sted The Porterville Record).

The corrected release reads:

ACQUISITION OF FREEDOM COMMUNICATIONS BY 2100 TRUST, LLC IS COMPLETED

Freedom Communications, which grew from R. C. Hoiles 1935 acquisition of what was then the Santa Ana Register to become, at one time, one of the largest media companies in the country, today came under new ownership with the completion of the transaction by which it agreed to be acquired by media company 2100 Trust, LLC, Freedom and 2100 Trust, LLC jointly announced.

It was also announced that the company, under its new ownership, would continue to operate as Freedom Communications.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed. In conjunction with the completion of the merger, Freedom Communications has elected to make an additional one-time contribution to the Retirement Plan of Freedom Communications, Inc.

The businesses coming under the new ownership include the flagship Orange County Register, the Barstow, CA Desert Dispatch, The Gazette in Colorado Springs, CO, the Marysville, CA Appeal-Democrat, The Porterville Recorder in Porterville, CA, the Victorville, CA Daily Press and The Sun in Yuma, AZ along with their associated non-daily publications, and specialty publications and digital properties.

Over the past several months Freedom completed the sale of its other newspaper assets and broadcast properties.

Over many decades Freedom Communications has been a name recognized for the excellence of its journalism as well as the depth of its commitment to engagement with its communities, said Mitch Stern, the outgoing Freedom Chief Executive Officer. Were very pleased that the name is being passed to new ownership that firmly believes newspapers continue to play an essential role in providing the news and information that is so vital in the lives of the communities they serve.

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CORRECTING and REPLACING Acquisition of Freedom Communications By 2100 Trust, LLC Is Completed

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Liberty Property Reports In Line – Analyst Blog

Posted: at 7:15 am

Referenced Stocks: DRE, LRY

Liberty Property Trust ( LRY ), a real estate investment trust (REIT), reported second quarter 2012 FFO (funds from operations) of 63 cents per share compared with 69 cents in the year-earlier quarter. Reported FFO in the quarter was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Funds from operations, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, are obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.

Total revenue for second quarter 2012 stood at $169.2 million compared with $164.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Total revenue for the reported quarter exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $168 million.

At the end of the reported quarter, the in-service portfolio of Liberty Property, spanning 77.0 million square feet, had occupancy of 90.7% compared with 90.5% in the previous quarter. Liberty Property witnessed strong leasing activities in the quarter with about 5.5 million square feet of leased space. Operating income from same-store properties slipped 0.6% on a cash basis and 1.0% on a straight line basis year over year.

Liberty Property continues to reposition its portfolio by selling suburban office and high-finish flex properties.The company also intends to enhance its cash reserves through significant divestiture of commodity office space. During the reported quarter, Liberty Property sold 54 properties (82.3% leased), spanning 2.7 million square feet in Wisconsin, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey, for approximately $208.6 million.Additionally, Liberty Property acquired four properties (58% leased) spanning 603,000 square feet of leasable space for $29.3 million.

During second quarter 2012, Liberty Property began development of three properties, spanning 246,000 square feet, for an estimated investment of $23.5 million. Also, the company brought into service one development property spanning 128,000 square feet for $6.6 million.

During the reported quarter, Liberty property redeemed $100 million worth of its outstanding 7.40% Series F Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units at par. Also the company issued $400 million of 4.125% senior unsecured notes to increase its liquidity. At the end of second quarter 2012, the company had $154.1 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Liberty Property currently retains a Zacks #2 Rank, which translates into a short-term Buy rating. We are also maintaining our long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock. One of its competitors, Duke Realty Corp. ( DRE ) carries a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

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Liberty Property Reports In Line - Analyst Blog

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Liberty Mutual Insurance Reports Second Quarter 2012 Results

Posted: at 7:15 am

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively LMHC or the Company) today reported net income of $139 million and $598 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, increases of $318 million and $413 million over the same periods in 2011.

Second quarter premium growth of 8% was driven by continued momentum in U.S. personal lines, rate increases in U.S. commercial lines, and robust international results despite significant strengthening of the dollar, said David H. Long, President and CEO of Liberty Mutual Insurance. Additionally our profitability improved significantly in the quarter despite catastrophe losses continuing to run at an elevated level. The quarter was a busy one, including a significant debt restructuring, the sale of our Argentina workers compensation company, assimilation of KIT in Russia, and gaining approval to begin writing business in India.

Second Quarter Highlights

Year-to-Date Highlights

Financial Condition as of June 30, 2012

Consolidated Results of Operations for the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 and 2011:

PTOI before catastrophes, net incurred losses attributable to prior years, current accident year re-estimation and LP and LLC income

Net incurred losses attributable to prior years:

Pre-tax operating income (loss) before LP and LLC income

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Liberty Mutual Insurance Reports Second Quarter 2012 Results

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