Articles and rumors abound regarding where big time college sports programs are headed. By big time, I mean members of the five largest revenue producing conferences: ACC, Big 10, Big 12, PAC 12, and SEC. The facts are that leaders from these conferences have met regarding redesigning their own governance. What exactly that will mean is where speculation and rumor abounds. The one clear message is that change is coming. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Shares of India’s Ambuja Cements and ACC slumped Thursday after their parent company, Swiss cement giant Holcim, announced a restructuring of Indian operations aimed at lowering costs. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
At the bottom of this post I’ve reprinted an email cardiologists are receiving from the American College of Cardiology. See the bottom of the message for the disclosure that Coca Cola is paying for this educational program. I don’t have much to say about this though I wonder what the faculty of this program will say about the role of sugared soda and obesity. I also wonder what position the ACC will take on public health efforts to curb sugar consumption. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
American Campus Communities Interim Leasing Update for Fall 2013-2014
AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)– American Campus Communities, Inc. (NYS: ACC) , the largest owner, manager and developer of high-quality student housing properties in the U.S., today released an interim leasing update for the 2013-2014 academic year in connection with the Interface Student Housing Conference held in Austin, TX April 11 – 12, 2013.
As of April 9, 2013, the company’s same store wholly-owned portfolio was 70.6 percent applied for and 64.5 percent leased compared to 75.9 percent applied for and 68.7 percent leased for the same date prior year, with a 1.73 percent current rental rate increase projected over the in-place rent.
“In the eight weeks since our last leasing disclosure, we’ve increased our same store applications by nearly 23 percent,” said Bill Bayless, American Campus CEO. “We’re pleased with our progress given there are 18-20 weeks remaining in the leasing season and our velocity relative to our public company peers. In addition, we are adjusting our rental rates in an effort to maximize rental revenue through the proper combination of occupancy and rate.”
About American Campus Communities
American Campus Communities, Inc. is the largest developer, owner and manager of high-quality student housing communities in the United States. The company is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered equity real estate investment trust (REIT) with expertise in the design, finance, development, construction management, and operational management of student housing properties. American Campus Communities owns 160 student housing properties containing approximately 98,800 beds. Including its owned and third-party managed properties, ACC‘s total managed portfolio consists of 191 properties with approximately 122,800 beds. Visit americancampus.com or studenthousing.com.
American Campus Communities, Inc., Austin
Gina Cowart, 512-732-1000
KEYWORDS: United States North America Texas
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
American Campus Achieves Forbes’ Top 100 Most Trustworthy Companies
AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)– For a second year in a row, American Campus Communities (NYS: ACC) has been named one of America’s Top 100 Most Trustworthy Companies by Forbes based on results from their annual survey.
This select designation is reserved for qualifying companies with market caps of $250 million or more and have maintained GMI Ratings’ (GMI) Accounting and Governance Risk (AGR®) ratings of “conservative” or “average,” no amended filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), no SEC enforcement actions, and no material restatements, for the past year.
“It is a great honor to receive this designation and be recognized for our core values and guiding principles of integrity, honesty and openness in serving the needs of students, parents and our university partners while creating value for our shareholders,” stated Bill Bayless, American Campus CEO.
American Campus received a high ranking through GMI’s Equity Risk Ranking contributing to the achievement of Most Trustworthy Company through a financial assessment indicating equity returns and potential of fiscal distress and bankruptcy. Additional factors include transparent accounting and management practices.
For more information on the Forbes article visit: forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/03/18/americas-100-most-trustworthy-companies
To learn more about GMI Ratings, visit: gmiratings.com
About American Campus Communities
American Campus Communities, Inc. is the largest developer, owner and manager of high-quality student housing communities in the United States. The company is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered equity real estate investment trust (REIT) with expertise in the design, finance, development, construction management, and operational management of student housing properties. American Campus Communities owns 160 student housing properties containing approximately 98,800 beds. Including its owned and third-party managed properties, ACC‘s total managed portfolio consists of 191 properties with approximately 122,800 beds. Visit americancampus.com or studenthousing.com.
American Campus Communities, Inc., Austin
Gina Cowart, 512-732-1000
Public Relations
KEYWORDS: United States North America Texas
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
The article American Campus Achieves Forbes’ Top 100 Most Trustworthy Companies originally appeared on Fool.com.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Larry Husten, Contributor A new initiative involving a wide variety of stakeholders– the FDA, the ACC, STS, industry, medical journals, and others– could lead to an enormous international cooperative effort to make device registries a standard part of the practice of cardiology. This will be a “huge step,” said David Holmes, a former president of the ACC and one of the initiative’s leaders. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Filed under: JC Penney, Nokia, Investing Basics, Investing
It’s March Madness, that happy time of year when hoops fans are distracted and brackets are falling apart: Do you know where your top seeds are?
In a valiant attempt to stick to advancing the cause of financial education (at a time when my alma mater University of Miami Hurricanes have a chance of actually making some noise this tournament) I figured I would tie the two together by showing how March Madness can enrich you, even if you don’t have any skin in the game.
So, as the NCAA basketball tourney plays on, here are three takeaways for investors.
1. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
There will always be upsets as the top 64 teams vie to run the table and win the tournament. The first round has already seen 14-seed Harvard upset 3-seed New Mexico, and top seed Gonzaga almost lose to Southern University.
The same thing holds true for investments.
Mutual fund ads always feature the disclaimer that past performance is no guarantee of future results. Believe it. Sure, odds are good that a market-thumping fund manager will continue to beat the market, just as the top seeds will always be the favorites to advance. But there’s a reason the games are played.
Take Apple (AAPL), for example. You won’t find too many companies as dynamic. It breathed new life into portable media players in 2001. It went on to define the smartphone movement with the first iPhone in 2007. Two years later it rolled out the iPad at a time when consumers didn’t think they needed a tablet.
Today? Things haven’t been as rosy for Apple, as margins have shrunk and global market tastes have shifted to cheaper alternatives. The stock has surrendered 35 percent of its value since the iPhone 5 hit the market. After years of growth, analysts see flat earnings at Apple this fiscal year.
Bottom line: There’s no such thing as a sure thing. For years it seemed like Apple could do no wrong. But global market tastes have shifted to cheaper alternatives. Apple’s margins are shrinking and the competition is getting fierce. Remember, when you’re No. 1 the game is always on. It’s never safe to put your guard down and get complacent.
2. Seasoned leadership is a vital asset.
How about those Hurricanes? By the time you read this, “the U” may already be out of the tournament, but it was a pretty remarkable season for the University of Miami.
The team has never been a basketball powerhouse, yet it emerged this year to win the ACC for the first time. It had to defeat Duke and UNC to make it happen — a pretty impressive feat. And there’s one big reason behind that success. Four …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
TORONTO – Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cory Conacher knows the Air Canada Centre well but he saw it from an entirely new perspective Wednesday.
In his younger years, Conacher, a native of Burlington, Ont., would visit the home of the Toronto M… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at NHL
TORONTO – Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cory Conacher knows the Air Canada Centre well but he saw it from an entirely new perspective Wednesday.
In his younger years, Conacher, a native of Burlington, Ont., would visit the home of the Toronto M… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at NHL
By ESPN.com news services Atlantic Coast Conference coaches are still reeling from the league’s poor representation in the NCAA tournament. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at ESPN Headlines
The biggest story at the American College of Cardiology meeting last week was the missing story. As reported here and just about everywhere else, the PREVAIL trial, probably the most-anticipated late-breaker of the meeting, was pulled from the program at the last minute by the ACC leadership after Boston Scientific broke the embargo by issuing a press release several hours before the scheduled presentation. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Associated Press Shane Larkin scored a career-high 28 points, eight in the final 2 1/2 minutes, to help No. 9 Miami pull away late and beat North Carolina 87-77 in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship Sunday. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at ESPN Headlines
By Robbi Pickeral Third-seeded North Carolina beat Florida State 83-62 on Friday night to advance to the ACC tournament semifinals against Maryland. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at ESPN Headlines
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Cardiovascular Systems Completes PMA Submission of Orbital Atherectomy System for Coronary Artery Disease Treatment
Modular Application Includes ORBIT II Data that Surpassed the Trial’s Primary Endpoints
ST. PAUL, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI) (NAS: CSII) , announced today that it has submitted its Premarket Approval (PMA) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its orbital atherectomy system, used to treat calcified coronary arteries.
The completed PMA application marks another major coronary milestone for CSI, following the release of ORBIT II pivotal trial results at the recent 2013 American College of Cardiology (ACC) conference. CSI‘s technology produced clinical outcomes that exceeded the trial’s two primary safety and efficacy endpoints by a significant margin—within one of the most challenging patient populations.
“Coronary arterial calcium is a vastly underestimated problem in medicine today, and there is a pressing need for a solution,” said David L. Martin, president and CEO of Cardiovascular Systems. “The ORBIT II results we shared at ACC show that our orbital atherectomy technology may be a viable treatment option for calcified coronary arteries. We look forward to working with the FDA on a potential coronary indication for this most challenging, underserved patient population.”
The company completed ORBIT II enrollment of 443 patients at 49 U.S. medical centers in November 2012. ORBIT II is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the company’s orbital atherectomy technology in treating patients with severely calcified coronary lesions. This is the first Investigational Device Exemption study in history to evaluate this problematic subset of patients. At ACC, Dr. Jeffrey Chambers of Metropolitan Heart and Vascular Institute, Minneapolis, presented data that showed a 30-day freedom from MACE (major adverse cardiac events) rate of 89.8 percent and procedural success of 89.1 percent (including in-hospital MACE).
According to estimates, moderate to severe arterial calcium is present in nearly 40 percent of patients undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention. Moderate-to-severe calcium contributes to poor outcomes and higher treatment costs in coronary interventions when traditional therapies are used, including a significantly higher occurrence of death and MACE. Coronary approval would open up a large, underserved market opportunity for CSI, estimated to exceed $1.5 billion annually in the United States.
The FDA agreed to a modular PMA process that allowed CSI to submit the first two modules covering preclinical data and manufacturing/quality systems, while still collecting, compiling and analyzing the clinical data. CSI has now …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By The Huffington Post News Editors
Olivier Hanlan’s one shining moment came earlier in March than he may have liked but it was still quite dazzling. The Boston College freshman exploded for 41 points in the opening round of the ACC Tournament, lifting the Eagles to a come-from-behind win and setting an ACC record.
At 15-16 (7-11 ACC) when they arrived in Greensboro, N.C. for the ACC Tournament, the Eagles will not be heading for the NCAA Tournament and will need a few major upsets (No. 9 Miami is up next) to even garner consideration for the NIT bubble. After they quickly fell behind Georgia Tech, 15-0, early on Thursday, it looked like the Eagles’ season would come to a quiet close.
Then Hanlan made a whole lot of noise. BC went on to win 84-64.
By Brett McMurphy and Andy Katz Notre Dame and the Big East have reached an agreement allowing the Fighting Irish to leave the league two years early and join the ACC on July 1, sources told ESPN. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at ESPN Headlines
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Cardiovascular Systems’ Orbital Atherectomy Technology Highlighted at ACC Innovations Forum
ST. PAUL, Minn., & SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI) (NAS: CSII) , was featured as part of the “Innovation and Technology Adoption” presentation during the Innovations Educational Forum at the 2013 American College of Cardiology (ACC) conference in San Francisco. Dr. Glen Nelson, CSI‘s Chairman of the Board, moderated the session.
Data presented by Dr. William Gray, Director of Endovascular Services, Columbia University, New York, N.Y., illustrated that calcified lesions are underestimated, challenging to treat and lead to increased complications. The presentation demonstrated the effectiveness of CSI‘s peripheral orbital atherectomy system (OAS) in treating calcified lesions and its ability to change vessel compliance—minimizing vascular injury that may lead to restenosis.
Additionally, follow-up on prior CSI studies shared during the forum showed that CSI‘s OAS has consistent procedural outcomes, low complications and long-term durability in treating calcified lesions.
Click here to see the full abstract.
Also presented at ACC were pivotal trial results from CSI‘s ORBIT II study of patients with severely calcified coronary arteries. ORBIT II is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the company’s OAS in treating one of the most challenging patient populations. At 30 days, patient outcomes exceeded the study’s primary safety and efficacy endpoint targets by a significant margin. Moderate to severe arterial calcium is present in nearly 40 percent of patients undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention, according to estimates.
Additionally, moderate to severe calcium contributes to poor outcomes and higher treatment costs in coronary interventions when traditional therapies are used, including a significantly higher occurrence of death and major adverse coronary events (MACE). A coronary approval would open up a large, underserved market opportunity for CSI, estimated to exceed $1.5 billion annually in the United States.
CSI completed ORBIT II enrollment of 443 patients at 49 U.S. medical centers in November 2012. CSI is targeting the end of March 2013 to submit its Premarket Approval application to the Food and Drug Administration.
Click here to see CSI‘s ORBIT II Pivotal Trial results.
About Coronary Artery Disease
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is a life-threatening condition and leading cause of death in men and women in the United States. CAD occurs when a fatty material called plaque builds up on the walls of arteries that supply blood to …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
New Data Further Links Lipoprotein Particles to Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Findings Presented at the ACC Annual Scientific Sessions
RALEIGH, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– LipoScience, Inc. (NAS: LPDX) an in vitro diagnostic company committed to advancing patient care in cardiovascular, metabolic and other diseases, today announced the presentation of data from two studies, at the Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in San Francisco, highlighting the importance of low density lipoprotein particle (LDL-P) measurements in identifying cardiovascular disease risk for patients.
Previous studies have indicated that many patients with relatively normal levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) have increased LDL-P, illustrating discordance between the two measures of LDL. The medical community is increasingly aware of the critical role utilizing LDL-P as measured by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to help manage a patient’s cardiovascular disease risk. The data presented at ACC further validates the need for increased awareness of LDL-P as an indicator of cardiovascular disease, and the value of NMR as a differentiated platform technology.
Discordance in Low-Density Lipoprotein Particle Number (LDL-P) and Apolipoprotein B (Apo B) Level
On Saturday, March 9, Dr. Pamela Morris, M.D., FACC of the Medical University of South Carolina, presented data from the study “Discordance in Low-Density Lipoprotein Particle Number (LDL-P) and Apolipoprotein B (Apo B) Level” highlighting the relationship between these two biomarkers in assessing cardiovascular risk. The study examined the Apo B and LDL-P values of 1,196 subjects. Ultimately, it was found that a considerable percentage of patients had much higher LDL-P levels despite attaining normal levels of Apo B.
“In some cases, LDL cholesterol and LDL particle numbers do not agree, leaving seemingly healthy patients with hidden risk for cardiovascular events,” said Dr. Morris, an author of this study. “The data presented shows that the same is true for Apo B and LDL-P. Discordance is a potential concern amongst these biomarkers, illuminating the need for a complete picture of heart health. Physicians should not rely solely on one diagnostic measure—it is necessary to examine both LDL-C and LDL-P to manage patient care.”
From a growing evidence base of mummies, researchers are now concluding that atherosclerosis may have been common in people who lived in premodern times. A new study presented at the ACC in San Francisco and published simultaneously in the Lancet appears likely to challenge the common belief that atherosclerosis is largely a phenomenon of the modern era. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
