Tag Archives: PE

College And The Cancer Of Political Correctness

By Coach Kevin Collins

globe 300x200 College and the Cancer of Political Correctness

Former Obama czar and now Harvard genius Cass Sunstein is lamenting over the lack of American students’ interest in science and math. Sunstein is right in noting that kids arrive in college with poor preparation in the sciences – I might add in bad physical shape because their high school PE programs were cut, their corpus collosi challenged because their right brain development in music and art programs were cut to make room for the political correctness of phony racial diversity, gender equality, sexual proclivity and hate America themes. And they expect kids to be motivated to subject themselves to real disciplines?

I think what Sunstein and the rest of the “progressive” crowd miss is the attitude base of today’s education process. Students are hammered with all the evils of American hegemony and destroying the earth with our technology. Schools under guidance from DC promote Godless political correctness in all its evil forms, including youthful guilt trips. The clergy-discoverers were likely motivated by God’s command in Genesis – “subdue the earth – be fruitful and multiply…” That doesn’t mean beat it to death, it means search, discover, refine, apply and bring forth the fruit of products, processes and opportunities for all to expand their horizons by creativity and service – giving glory to God – the only entity that can handle it! That’s called Stewardship – the opposite of EPA regulations written by ignoramuses!

These are the “progressive solutions” – see a challenge – centralize it. See it isn’t working, throw money at it. See it still isn’t working – throw more money and write new draconian rules and regulations, ad nauseum.  If that isn’t insanity for the sake of power, just what is? Of course, its also job security for non-performers expecting cushy perks for the rest of their lives – until their idiot-run cities like Detroit and Stockton go bankrupt.

Why would a student become fired up about science and technology when his education process has laid a guilt trip on him for even thinking about it? At the world famous Bakersfield Relay For Life, I fell in to walk with a young black woman and her son. She, like me was a cancer survivor. I asked her son what he wanted to be when he grew up. A nice, well-mannered kid, his answer shocked me. He said, “I want to become a lawyer so I can sue corporations!”

As an engineer, I’m a lousy structural designer, but a pretty good innovator currently holding forth some very fine “green” technologies for water, energy and environmentally pure applications. These are “very fine” because they actually reduce costs and eliminate the kind of chemical hazards that require a safety shower nearby in case a worker gets soaked with iodine or acid. Do we get an ounce of encouragement from the environmental gurus on government payrolls? No way! It falls right back to good old free enterprise, salesmanship and problem solving.

When President George H. W. Bush promised to shut down the Department of …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism

Science, Mathematics, Education, Religion, And “Progressivism”

By Gerald Todd

Cass Sunstein SC Science, Mathematics, Education, Religion, and “Progressivism”

Christianity – the faith of 85% of Americans — is under attack from all sides, especially the Federal Government and its array of misinformed propagandists in academia, media, and the bureaucracies. I thought this list of Catholic priests who were the fathers of various mathematics and scientific disciplines might be interesting.

These Catholic clergy didn’t get their motivation by belonging to a Church that was anti-science. In fact, the scientific method was devised in the 12th Century at the Cathedral School at Chartres. Then the science and technology ball started rolling! The Church does stand against anything that devalues the sanctity and value of human life from conception to natural death. “Progressives” whine and complain when they are stymied from imposing their culture of death, claiming that the Church is against scientific endeavor.

Former Obama czar and now Harvard genius Cass Sunstein is lamenting over the lack of American students’ interest in science and math. (I have some bragging rights here – my Grandson Gerald II recently graduated in Math at the top of his class at U/Alaska-Anchorage. He is a product of the Carden School – the antithesis of public education as currently practiced from the totalitarian level.) Sunsteen is right in noting the kids arrive in college with poor preparation in the sciences – I might add in bad physical shape because their high school PE programs were cut, and their corpus collosi challenged because their right brain development in music and art programs were cut to make room for the political correctness of phony racial diversity, gender equality, sexual proclivity, and “hate America” themes. And they expect kids to be motivated to subject themselves to real disciplines?

I think what Sunsteen and the rest of the “progressive” crowd miss is the attitude base of today’s education process. The students are hammered with all the evils of American hegemony and destroying the earth with our technology. Schools under guidance from DC promote Godless political correctness in all its evil forms, including youthful guilt trips. The clergy-discoverers were likely motivated by God’s command in Genesis – “subdue the earth – be fruitful and multiply…” That doesn’t mean beat it to death; it means search, discover, refine, apply, and bring forth the fruit of products, processes, and opportunities for all to expand their horizons by creativity and service – giving glory to God, the only entity that can handle it!

These are the “progressive solutions” – see a challenge, centralize it. See it isn’t working, throw money at it. See it still isn’t working – throw more money and write new draconian rules and regulations, ad nauseum. If that isn’t insanity for the sake of power, just what is? Of course, it’s also job security for nonperformers expecting cushy perks for the rest of their lives – until their idiot-run cities like Detroit and Stockton go bankrupt. “California here I come…”

Why would a student become fired up about science and technology when his education process has laid a guilt trip on him …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism

A 'New Normal' for Private Equity

By Knowledge@Wharton on Forbes, Contributor The following post was published on the Knowledge@Wharton Today blog on July 11, 2013. Some $200 billion of new capital went to private equity and venture capital management partnerships (collectively referred to here as PE) throughout the world in 2012. For the first time, 20% of that total, some $40 billion, went to fund managers in emerging market countries. Surprisingly, of that $40 billion, only $15 billion went to the subset of emerging economies known as the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China). That leaves $25 billion that went into the non-BRIC emerging markets. So where did the rest of it go? Countries like Columbia, Chile, Peru and Mexico have seen remarkable growth. Several African countries, such as South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria — indeed, the whole of sub-Saharan Africa — have witnessed growth in the number of fund managers and the capital under management. Turkey also has emerged as a destination, as have Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and now Indonesia. These new players still have work to do in improving their PE ecosystems. Management capacity building is high on the list, as are appropriate laws and regulations, tax treatment and acceptance of contractual provisions. These countries’ governments have recognized the role of PE in their industries and are motivated to make the needed changes. There is a discernible transfer of knowledge from mature economies to the emerged and emerging market PE players. These trends are reflected in two of the articles included in this year’s Wharton Private Equity Review. One offers coverage of a panel discussion titled, “Private Equity Survival Guide: How to Survive and Thrive in Emerging Markets,” which took place at the 2013 Wharton Private Equity & Venture Capital Conference. The second, written by a team of five Wharton MBA students, focuses on the impact of the Arab Spring on private equity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Beyond emerging markets, this year’s review includes a piece by a Wharton MBA student that looks at how the regulatory scrutiny of the PE industry in the United States has evolved dramatically over recent years. The industry has moved from a lightly regulated, self-governing asset class to one that is coming under increasing scrutiny and reporting requirements. The author speculates on what is in store for the industry as regulators continue their investigations. An example of international activity is presented in a case study by another Wharton MBA student, titled “Investing in Times of Distress: the Bank of Ireland and WL Ross,” which provides a detailed overview of how PE investors have played a role in the recapitalization and restructuring of troubled financial institutions. Knowledge@Wharton then reports on another panel from the conference that addressed how PE firms create value and questioned some of the common wisdom surrounding the roles and actions of PE firms once they have acquired a company. Finally, a piece on venture capital from another conference panel then looks at the challenge of generating consistent returns and the growing allure of New York …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Private Equity: Heading For The Exits?

By Bain Insights, Contributor

Exit activity has sputtered over the past three years, and PE funds are feeling the heat to sell aging portfolio holdings and return capital to their limited partners. But as we explain in Bain & Company’s Global Private Equity Report 2013, they may soon get that opportunity amid unmistakable signs that exit opportunities finally appear to be moving into higher gear. M&A is poised to accelerate, bringing critical strategic buyers of PE-owned companies back into the markets. Sponsor-to-sponsor transactions should continue strong in all major PE markets. And strengthening public equity markets have rebounded to pre-downturn valuations, a crucial precondition for the possible long-awaited sale of the mega buyouts through IPOs.

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/baininsights/2013/04/18/private-equity-heading-for-the-exits/

New Private Equity Fund-raising Is Picking Up—But So Is The Competition

By Bain Insights, Contributor

There is a hint of something new and unfamiliar in the air on the fund-raising front this year. It’s a scent of optimism, and it’s coming from private equity fund limited partners (LPs) that are giving off signals that they may be ready to increase new PE commitments enough to jolt fund-raising out of the flat trend it has been in since 2009 (see chart). As we describe in Bain & Company’s Global Private Equity Report 2013, much of that larger appetite for private equity reflects LPs’ desperate hunger for yield that will help boost their overall portfolio returns at a time when bond yields have been at historic lows. Facing rising obligations to the retirees and institutions they were formed to help support, pension funds, endowments and other LPs are increasing their diet of PE as the asset class that will remain the likeliest to serve up supersized returns going forward.

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/baininsights/2013/04/16/new-private-equity-fund-raising-is-picking-upbut-so-is-the-competition/

Will Public-To-Private Deals Take Off In 2013?

By Bain Insights, Contributor

Prospects for private equity investment activity in 2013 look better than they have since the global financial crisis. But a major breakout in PE deal making hinges on a comeback of the public-to-private deals that dominated PE’s last cyclical peak and have been so notably absent since then. Between 2004 and 2007, public-to-private buyouts accounted for 90% of the increase in total buyout deal value. Since 2007, the end of “take private” deals contributed to 83% of the drop in deal value (see Figure). Bain & Company’s Global Private Equity Report 2013 describes how recent industry and market changes are making public-to-private deals harder to pull off today. Because PE fund sizes are smaller than they were in the boom years, fewer funds have the wherewithal to absorb a mega deal on their own. PE dealmakers will need to join forces with other funds or seek partnerships with large LPs to do big deals. Rising public equity markets make it more difficult for PE funds to identify good companies they can buy at a low enough price to make the math work. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Private Equity Is Back In Business

By Bain Insights, Contributor

PE investment activity began 2013 much as it ended 2012—directionless and lacking any clear sense of forward momentum. The failure of deal activity to gain traction globally since the financial crisis has raised concerns among many industry observers that PE may be suffering from more than a cyclical slide. But as we point out in Bain & Company’s Global Private Equity Report 2013 those who assert that the experience of recent years defines a scaled-down “new normal” for the PE industry need to contend with several inconvenient facts. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Apollo Delivers High Yields With Chunky Dividends, Attractive Valuations

By Zacks.com, Contributor

Ready to plunk down some money with a private equity firm? If you are an accredited high net worth investor with at least $1 million to risk with the firm on whatever their latest deal is, you have many quality outfits to choose from. But if you’re not in “the 1%,” there is another path. Many private equity (PE) firms are also public companies, including Blackstone Group (BX) and the infamous KKR. As an industry group, together with traditional investment management firms like BlackRock (BLK) and Franklin Resources (BEN), the PE “alternative” asset managers currently rank in the top 10% of Zacks Industries. Today we are going to focus on the remarkable Apollo Global Management, L.P. (APO) , a $3 billion company that grew its total assets under management (AUM) in 2012 from $75 billion to $113 billion. What’s so remarkable about Apollo? Three things stand out right away. 1) Earnings Surprise After Surprise Apollo operates in three business segments: private equity, capital markets and real estate. It raises, invests and manages funds on behalf of pension and endowment funds, as well as other institutional and individual investors. After a rough year following its March 2011 IPO, the firm started firing on all rockets, boosting fourth-quarter GAAP earnings an astronomical 1,564% higher than a year earlier. This represented a 120% surprise over analyst expectations. And it gets better: for the last four quarters, Apollo has beat consensus EPS estimates by an average of 99%. Granted, PE earnings can be volatile as big investments and turnarounds can take many quarters to develop leaving dry patches in between. But if it’s one thing Apollo has shown consistently in the past year it is its ability to deliver new profits from its investing harvests as it continues to find attractive deal values. And this explains the 60% rise in share price in the past six months. Special Offer: This special report zeroes in on some huge money-making opportunities as well as some urgent sell alerts that could save you from devastating losses in the year ahead. Get nearly 100 buy and sell calls from almost four dozen of the world’s most successful investing experts all in one place in Forbes’ Best Ideas for 2013. 2) A Valuation to Envy Below is a timeline of annual earnings estimates plotted against price since the firm’s IPO. 2013 estimates are clearly going in the right direction–up and to the right–with first quarter results due next month lifted from $0.71 to $1.18 since its fourth quarter report in February.   …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Furiex Pharmaceuticals to Receive Milestone Payment for Priligy® Launch in France

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Furiex Pharmaceuticals to Receive Milestone Payment for Priligy® Launch in France

MORRISVILLE, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NAS: FURX) , a drug development collaboration company, today announced it will receive a $5.0 million milestone payment from the Menarini Group for the launch of Priligy in France. Currently, Priligy is marketed for on-demand treatment of premature ejaculation in 16 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America, and is approved for that indication in 56 countries worldwide.

In May 2012, Furiex entered into a license agreement with Menarini to commercialize Priligy in Europe, most of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Under the terms of the License Agreement, Furiex is eligible to receive an additional $5.0 million launch milestone and up to $40.0 million in sales-based milestones, plus tiered royalties ranging from the mid-teens to mid-twenties in percentage terms.

“This launch will make Priligy, the only approved medication for premature ejaculation, available to a wider market in the EU,” said June Almenoff, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief medical officer of Furiex. “We look forward to additional worldwide Priligy launches as Menarini continues to build this franchise.”

About Premature Ejaculation

Premature ejaculation (PE) is a distressing sexual dysfunction that can be present from the first sexual encounter or can develop later in life. It is the most common male sexual dysfunction, affecting about 30 percent of the male adult population at some point during their lives. The condition consists of three major components: a short time to ejaculation, lack of ejaculatory control and negative personal impact, including distress related to rapid ejaculation. A combination of physiological and psychological factors is believed to influence the mechanism of ejaculation. Research suggests serotonin plays a central role in the timing of ejaculation.

About Priligy

Priligy (dapoxetine) is the first oral medication approved for “on-demand” treatment of PE. It is a unique, short-acting, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor designed to be taken only when needed – one to three hours before sexual intercourse is anticipated – rather than every day. Priligy was evaluated in five randomized, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trials involving more than 6,000 men with PE and their partners. This is the largest and most comprehensive clinical trial program to date for a drug therapy to treat PE. Priligy is approved for on-demand treatment of PE in 56 …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Apple Reporting on April 23. Key Numbers to Look For.

By Chuck Jones, Contributor Apple will announce its March quarter results after the close of the market on Tuesday, April 23.  As always this quarter is very important due to: Apple changing its guidance from a single data point to a range of numbers for revenue, gross margin and operating expenses Will the numbers be inside the ranges provided? Will they beat some of the guided numbers? Will they fall short as some analysts are predicting? iPhone results How much did competition impact sales, especially Samsung’s Galaxy S4? China started sales of the iPhone 5 in December vs. March 2012 for the iPhone 4S.  This will impact the ability to project how many iPhones were sold in the March quarter. iPad results The iPad Mini was a strong seller in the December quarter.  How much did its sales fall off in the March quarter. How strong are iPad sales to consumers and how much traction is it seeing in business environments? Mac results The new iMacs were constrained through the quarter (now at 24 hour availability in the US).  How much did this impact sales? Gross Margin Guidance is for 37.5% to 38.5%.  This compares to 38.6% in the December quarter and 47.4% a year ago (the highest it has ever been). Will Apple start to reap some of the benefits of lower manufacturing and shipping costs for the new products that were available in the December quarter? Below is a table of Apple’s guidance, sell-side Street analyst estimates and my estimates. Estimates Guidance Street C. Jones Revenue ($ bil) $41 – $43 $42.8 $42.5 Gross margin 37.5% – 38.5% 37.8% EPS $9.24 – $10.24 $10.15 $9.90 The shares are trading at about 10x my calendar 2013 EPS estimate of $44 which is very reasonable when you also take into account that the company will have about $100 per share in excess cash at the end of the year (this takes into account paying US taxes if the cash was brought back to the US and $20 billion was set aside).  However EPS would be flat from calendar 2012’s $44.10 so until the company can start to show growth in earnings the PE multiple will probably be depressed. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Can This Retailer Correct Its Wardrobe Malfunction?

By Caroline Bennett, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

It’s great for a company to be transparent, but lululemon athletica has taken it to a whole new level. Last week, the yogawear retailer recalled more than $60 million worth of pants that were deemed too see-through to be sold in stores. The reason for the problem was a super-sheer fabric called luon, which is found in 17% of the retailer’s yoga pants.

CEO Christine Day bluntly addressed the situation by saying “the truth of the matter is that the only way that you can actually test for the issue is to put the pants on and bend over.” It might sound funny, but this joke might majorly dent the company’s income. Can Lulu redeem itself, or is it stuck in “downward facing dog” for good?

Namaste will never be the same
Day’s comment was a quotable sound-bite for the news media to gobble up, but it also proved that Lululemon has glaring issues in its quality-control practices. If the company’s chief seller is yoga apparel, then why shouldn’t it be putting the pants on and bending over? This kind of inspection — testing the product for errors before putting it up for sale — is vital for a quality brand, whether it’s a computer, a hamburger, or a pair of stretchy pants.

According to Lululemon’s recent 10-K, the apparel business partners with a leading independent product testing company that checks for “pilling, shrinkage, abrasion resistance, and colorfastness.” After what could be a $60 million error, Lulu might add “sheerness” to that list.

The damage is so clear, it’s see-through
When news broke of the recall, Lululemon’s stock took a 5% nosedive from just over $65 to just under $62. Before that, the company’s finances had performed pretty well — in 2012, its annual revenue jumped 37%, passing the $1.3 billion mark.

Retailers generally struggle to keep up margins, but Lulu still managed a net profit margin of 19.7% last year, and an operating margin of 28%. On top of larger revenue, the company was able to boost the efficiency of its production.

As for PE, Lulu rings in at 33.5, which is close to the industry average of 33.7 and squarely in between the ratios of its peers. The much larger Nike clocks in at a much smaller 23.1, while the smaller Under Armour has the largest at 41.5.

Less-than-flattering results
Now for the cold light of day: In 2012, Lululemon brought in a net income of $271 million. If the sheerness glitch had happened that year, it would have eaten away 22% of its total net profit. This is a mistake that simply can’t happen again for Lulu, and investors can only hope that the expense and negative publicity will make the company tighten up its inspection guidelines. 

Can Lululemon fight off larger retailers such as Gap and Nordstrom, and ultimately deliver huge profits? The Motley Fool answers these questions and more in our most in-depth Lululemon research available for smart investors like …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Why Hartford Financial Is Poised to Keep Popping

By Brian D. Pacampara, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool’s free investing community, insurance and financial services specialist Hartford Financial Services Group has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at Hartford Financial and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Hartford Financial facts

Headquarters (founded)

Hartford, Conn. (1810)

Market Cap

$11.4 billion

Industry

Multi-line insurance

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$26.4 billion

Management

Chairman/CEO Liam McGee
CFO Christopher Swift

Trailing-12-Month Return on Equity

3.9%

Cash / Debt

$36.2 billion / $7.3 billion

Dividend Yield

1.5%

Competitors

AIG
Berkshire Hathaway
Liberty Mutual Holding

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 84% of the 800 members who have rated Hartford Financial believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just yesterday, one of those Fools, rlbeard6734, succinctly summed up the Hartford Financial bull case for our community:

[O]ne half of BV, low PE, decent dividend, lots of cash on hand, good earnings prospects, working through previous year’s problems well. [N]ot rated highly by analysts yet so upgrades will be coming after this quarter when YOY comparisons will be great. Not often you can buy a company that is at such a low PE for one half of its book value.

If you want market-thumping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Of course, despite a strong four-star rating, Hartford Financial may not be your top choice.

If that’s the case, we’ve compiled a special free report for investors called “The 3 Dow Stocks Dividend Investors Need,” which uncovers a few other juicy income opportunities. The report is 100% free, but it won’t be around forever, so click here to access it now.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.

The article Why Hartford Financial Is Poised to Keep Popping originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends American International Group. The Motley Fool owns shares of American International Group and has the following options: Long Jan 2014 $25 Calls on American International Group. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

1 of These 3 Stocks Won't Hold Its Gains

By Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The decision by the European Union over the weekend to force Cypriot bank account holders to have their savings taxed in exchange for giving the nation’s government a bailout — and the resulting vote by Cyprus‘ parliament rejecting the deal — had a chilling impact on the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average barely moved on Tuesday, inching up just 3 points, as all eyes wondered how the financial mess would sort itself out.

If Cyprus is allowed to leave the EU, the entire structure crumbles, but taxing the bank accounts of individuals is an unprecedented maneuver that could cause bank runs in other financial unstable countries because the camel put its nose under the tent.

The three following stocks, however, were far removed from the scene of international intrigue, rising on their own merits. Yet resist the urge to high-five everyone in the cubicles next to you. Smart investors won’t celebrate until they know why their stock surged, because without a fundamental basis for the bounce, these stocks could just as quickly make the return trip down.

Company

% Gain

Pacific Biosciences

15.4%

NPS Pharmaceuticals

9.3%

8.2%

What a life!
With a potential bidding war looming for Life Technologies as possible buyers from Roche to Thermo Fisher Scientific and Danaher join a slew of PE firms weighing bids, investors looked about to see what else might be on the table and found Pacific BioSciences of California a possible target.

Life is a genetic testing company whose advanced diagnostics and consistent cash flows are considered jewels worthy of owning. PacBio is a similarly situated DNA sequencing company whose tools for biological research, including its RS system, might also suddenly be of interest to buyers if they’re eventually shut out of Life Technologies.

Roche, for example, previously considered taking over Illumina but ultimately declined, noting there were alternatives on the market for gene-sequencing technology. Presumably one of those is Life Technologies, and certainly another would be PacBio, but until bids are received for the former, a possible valuation for the latter isn’t really possible.

Take two; they’re cheap
It wasn’t a possible buyout that had shares of NPS Pharmaceuticals rocketing higher yesterday, but rather the buying back of global rights to its short-bowel syndrome drug, Gattex, and the recombinant human parathyroid hormone 1-84 that had investors bidding up its shares.

For just $50 million, NPS bought out its European distribution partner Takeda Pharmaceuticals for something that is expected to have peak sales of $350 million in the U.S. alone, in addition to what it can garner abroad. Short-bowel syndrome occurs when much of the small intestine has to be removed and the body is unable to absorb as much water and nutrients as it did previously.

NPS will pay Takeda an additional $30 million in cash or stock when sales of Gattex and 1-84 exceed $750 million annually.

Feeling sick
The …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Just a Little Bit Rich? This Company Wants to Talk to You

By Amanda Alix, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Have you ever felt the urge to throw in your chips with the big boys, but aren’t quite affluent enough to invest with the well-heeled set? Well, worry not. Now, you don’t have to be a member of the 1% to invest in certain funds held by private equity firms like the Carlyle Group  — but you do have to be within the top 2% of wage earners.

Private equity opening up
The Wall Street Journal notes that, until recently, investors needed to fork over between $5 million and $20 million to become members of the Carlyle elite. But times have changed, and the P/E firm is looking to appeal to a wider audience, which it estimates to be worth around $10 trillion in the aggregate.

That’s not chicken feed, and Carlyle isn’t the only asset manager to see that lowering the bar a little might be a profitable move. Individuals are being seen in a new, more flattering light since the future of the old-fashioned pension plan is shaky at best.

Peers like KKR and the Blackstone Group have also added funds with lower barriers to entry. KKR now has a mutual fund that requires a mere $2,500 buy-in minimum, and Blackstone has recently begun allowing individuals to invest in specific hedge funds. Apollo Global Management also offers mutual funds for retail investors in addition to those being offered by KKR and Blackstone.

The Carlyle offering, however, is a buyout fund, and there are other parameters that must be met for admission: Net worth of at least $1 million, exclusive of one’s primary residence, or more than $200,000 in income for the two years previous.

Making a comeback
PE firms seem to be making a comeback, and fourth-quarter earnings were outstanding for Apollo, which saw revenue jump almost 80% from the same time the previous year. KKR is no slouch either, and recently reported a huge net income hike due to big gains in investment activities and dividend income. Blackstone’s performance fees went through the roof, and though Carlyle’s earnings per share number was a tad disappointing, revenues increased by 14% year over year. The firm’s founders did fine last year, too — each of the three took approximately $135 million out of the company last year, despite eschewing a bonus.

Currently, Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the only firm selling the fund, but that may change in the future. So if you’ve always dreamed of becoming a takeover artist — and you’ve got the deep pockets to buy in — here’s your chance. Just don’t forget to bring your paystubs.

Not quite up to the requirements set by this type of investment? If you’re part of the 98%, there are still loads of opportunities awaiting you. The Motley Fool’s new free report highlights three less-than-luxurious stocks the uber-rich may be overlooking. Just click here to read it now.

The article Just a Little Bit Rich? This Company …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Fetch entries with specific pattern

By kareena

Hi all,

I have following sample input file which is a part of big file:

Code:

ID AINX_HUMAN Reviewed; 499 AA.
AC Q16352; B1AQK0; Q9BRC5;
DT 30-MAY-2000, integrated into UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot.
DT 23-JAN-2002, sequence version 2.
DT 28-NOV-2012, entry version 123.
DE RecName: Full=Alpha-internexin;
DE Short=Alpha-Inx;
DE AltName: Full=66 kDa neurofilament protein;
DE Short=NF-66;
DE Short=Neurofilament-66;
DE AltName: Full=Neurofilament 5;
GN Name=INA; Synonyms=NEF5;
OS Homo sapiens (Human).
OC Eukaryota; Metazoa; Chordata; Craniata; Vertebrata; Euteleostomi;
OC Mammalia; Eutheria; Euarchontoglires; Primates; Haplorrhini;
OC Catarrhini; Hominidae; Homo.
OX NCBI_TaxID=9606;
RN [1]
RP NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [MRNA], AND VARIANT SER-92.
RC TISSUE=Fetal brain;
RX MEDLINE=95287809; PubMed=7769995;
RA Chan S.-O., Chiu F.-C.;
RT "Cloning and developmental expression of human 66 kd neurofilament
RT protein.";
RL Brain Res. Mol. Brain Res. 29:177-184(1995).
RN [2]
RP NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE GENOMIC DNA].
RX PubMed=15164054; DOI=10.1038/nature02462;
RA Deloukas P., Earthrowl M.E., Grafham D.V., Rubenfield M., French L.,
RA Steward C.A., Sims S.K., Jones M.C., Searle S., Scott C., Howe K.,
RA Hunt S.E., Andrews T.D., Gilbert J.G.R., Swarbreck D., Ashurst J.L.,
RA Taylor A., Battles J., Bird C.P., Ainscough R., Almeida J.P.,
RA Ashwell R.I.S., Ambrose K.D., Babbage A.K., Bagguley C.L., Bailey J.,
RA Banerjee R., Bates K., Beasley H., Bray-Allen S., Brown A.J.,
RA Brown J.Y., Burford D.C., Burrill W., Burton J., Cahill P., Camire D.,
RA Carter N.P., Chapman J.C., Clark S.Y., Clarke G., Clee C.M., Clegg S.,
RA Corby N., Coulson A., Dhami P., Dutta I., Dunn M., Faulkner L.,
RA Frankish A., Frankland J.A., Garner P., Garnett J., Gribble S.,
RA Griffiths C., Grocock R., Gustafson E., Hammond S., Harley J.L.,
RA Hart E., Heath P.D., Ho T.P., Hopkins B., Horne J., Howden P.J.,
RA Huckle E., Hynds C., Johnson C., Johnson D., Kana A., Kay M.,
RA Kimberley A.M., Kershaw J.K., Kokkinaki M., Laird G.K., Lawlor S.,
RA Lee H.M., Leongamornlert D.A., Laird G., Lloyd C., Lloyd D.M.,
RA Loveland J., Lovell J., McLaren S., McLay K.E., McMurray A.,
RA Mashreghi-Mohammadi M., Matthews L., Milne S., Nickerson T.,
RA Nguyen M., Overton-Larty E., Palmer S.A., Pearce A.V., Peck A.I.,
RA Pelan S., Phillimore B., Porter K., Rice C.M., Rogosin A., Ross M.T.,
RA Sarafidou T., Sehra H.K., Shownkeen R., Skuce C.D., Smith M.,
RA Standring L., Sycamore N., Tester J., Thorpe A., Torcasso W.,
RA Tracey A., Tromans A., Tsolas J., Wall M., Walsh J., Wang H.,
RA Weinstock K., West A.P., Willey D.L., Whitehead S.L., Wilming L.,
RA Wray P.W., Young L., Chen Y., Lovering R.C., Moschonas N.K.,
RA Siebert R., Fechtel K., Bentley D., Durbin R.M., Hubbard T.,
RA Doucette-Stamm L., Beck S., Smith D.R., Rogers J.;
RT "The DNA sequence and comparative analysis of human chromosome 10.";
RL Nature 429:375-381(2004).
RN [3]
RP NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE GENOMIC DNA].
RA Mural R.J., Istrail S., Sutton G.G., Florea L., Halpern A.L.,
RA Mobarry C.M., Lippert R., Walenz B., Shatkay H., Dew I., Miller J.R.,
RA Flanigan M.J., Edwards N.J., Bolanos R., Fasulo D., Halldorsson B.V.,
RA Hannenhalli S., Turner R., Yooseph S., Lu F., Nusskern D.R.,
RA Shue B.C., Zheng X.H., Zhong F., Delcher A.L., Huson D.H.,
RA Kravitz S.A., Mouchard L., Reinert K., Remington K.A., Clark A.G.,
RA Waterman M.S., Eichler E.E., Adams M.D., Hunkapiller M.W., Myers E.W.,
RA Venter J.C.;
RL Submitted (SEP-2005) to the EMBL/GenBank/DDBJ databases.
RN [4]
RP NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE MRNA].
RC TISSUE=Brain;
RX PubMed=15489334;
RG The MGC Project Team;
RT "The status, quality, and expansion of the NIH full-length cDNA
RT project: the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC).";
RL Genome Res. 14:2121-2127(2004).
RN [5]
RP PROTEIN SEQUENCE OF 46-83; 105-111; 121-130; 139-145; 216-228;
RP 279-288; 323-330; 339-367; 378-397 AND 407-430, AND MASS SPECTROMETRY.
RC TISSUE=Brain, Cajal-Retzius cell, and Fetal brain cortex;
RA Lubec G., Afjehi-Sadat L., Chen W.-Q., Sun Y.;
RL Submitted (DEC-2008) to UniProtKB.
RN [6]
RP PHOSPHORYLATION [LARGE SCALE ANALYSIS] AT SER-496, AND MASS
RP SPECTROMETRY.
RC TISSUE=Embryonic kidney;
RX PubMed=17525332;
RA Matsuoka S., Ballif B.A., Smogorzewska A., McDonald E.R. III,
RA Hurov K.E., Luo J., Bakalarski C.E., Zhao Z., Solimini N.,
RA Lerenthal Y., Shiloh Y., Gygi S.P., Elledge S.J.;
RT "ATM and ATR substrate analysis reveals extensive protein networks
RT responsive to DNA damage.";
RL Science 316:1160-1166(2007).
RN [7]
RP ACETYLATION [LARGE SCALE ANALYSIS] AT LYS-290, AND MASS SPECTROMETRY.
RX PubMed=19608861; DOI=10.1126/science.1175371;
RA Choudhary C., Kumar C., Gnad F., Nielsen M.L., Rehman M., Walther T.,
RA Olsen J.V., Mann M.;
RT "Lysine acetylation targets protein complexes and co-regulates major
RT cellular functions.";
RL Science 325:834-840(2009).
RN [8]
RP VARIANT [LARGE SCALE ANALYSIS] GLN-110.
RX PubMed=16959974; DOI=10.1126/science.1133427;
RA Sjoeblom T., Jones S., Wood L.D., Parsons D.W., Lin J., Barber T.D.,
RA Mandelker D., Leary R.J., Ptak J., Silliman N., Szabo S.,
RA Buckhaults P., Farrell C., Meeh P., Markowitz S.D., Willis J.,
RA Dawson D., Willson J.K.V., Gazdar A.F., Hartigan J., Wu L., Liu C.,
RA Parmigiani G., Park B.H., Bachman K.E., Papadopoulos N.,
RA Vogelstein B., Kinzler K.W., Velculescu V.E.;
RT "The consensus coding sequences of human breast and colorectal
RT cancers.";
RL Science 314:268-274(2006).
CC -!- FUNCTION: Class-IV neuronal intermediate filament that is able to
CC self-assemble. It is involved in the morphogenesis of neurons. It
CC may form an independent structural network without the involvement
CC of other neurofilaments or it may cooperate with NF-L to form the
CC filamentous backbone to which NF-M and NF-H attach to form the
CC cross-bridges.
CC -!- TISSUE SPECIFICITY: Found predominantly in adult CNS.
CC -!- DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: Expressed in brain as early as the 16th week
CC of gestation, and increased rapidly and reached a steady state
CC level by the 18th week of gestation.
CC -!- PTM: O-glycosylated (By similarity).
CC -!- PTM: Phosphorylated upon DNA damage, probably by ATM or ATR.
CC -!- SIMILARITY: Belongs to the intermediate filament family.
CC -----------------------------------------------------------------------
CC Copyrighted by the UniProt Consortium, see
CC Distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs License
CC -----------------------------------------------------------------------
DR EMBL; S78296; AAB34482.1; -; mRNA.
DR EMBL; AL591408; CAI16744.1; -; Genomic_DNA.
DR EMBL; CH471066; EAW49653.1; -; Genomic_DNA.
DR EMBL; BC006359; AAH06359.1; -; mRNA.
DR IPI; IPI00001453; -.
DR PIR; I52658; I52658.
DR RefSeq; NP_116116.1; NM_032727.3.
DR UniGene; Hs.500916; -.
DR ProteinModelPortal; Q16352; -.
DR SMR; Q16352; 90-241, 259-329, 333-402.
DR IntAct; Q16352; 3.
DR STRING; Q16352; -.
DR PhosphoSite; Q16352; -.
DR DMDM; 20141266; -.
DR PaxDb; Q16352; -.
DR PeptideAtlas; Q16352; -.
DR PRIDE; Q16352; -.
DR DNASU; 9118; -.
DR Ensembl; ENST00000369849; ENSP00000358865; ENSG00000148798.
DR GeneID; 9118; -.
DR KEGG; hsa:9118; -.
DR UCSC; uc001kws.3; human.
DR CTD; 9118; -.
DR GeneCards; GC10P105026; -.
DR HGNC; HGNC:6057; INA.
DR HPA; CAB002059; -.
DR HPA; HPA008057; -.
DR MIM; 605338; gene.
DR neXtProt; NX_Q16352; -.
DR PharmGKB; PA29867; -.
DR eggNOG; NOG149366; -.
DR HOGENOM; HOG000230977; -.
DR HOVERGEN; HBG013015; -.
DR InParanoid; Q16352; -.
DR KO; K07608; -.
DR OMA; ASSYRKV; -.
DR OrthoDB; EOG4R5031; -.
DR PhylomeDB; Q16352; -.
DR GenomeRNAi; 9118; -.
DR NextBio; 34171; -.
DR ArrayExpress; Q16352; -.
DR Bgee; Q16352; -.
DR CleanEx; HS_INA; -.
DR Genevestigator; Q16352; -.
DR GermOnline; ENSG00000148798; Homo sapiens.
DR GO; GO:0005883; C:neurofilament; TAS:ProtInc.
DR GO; GO:0005200; F:structural constituent of cytoskeleton; TAS:ProtInc.
DR GO; GO:0030154; P:cell differentiation; IEA:UniProtKB-KW.
DR GO; GO:0007399; P:nervous system development; IEA:UniProtKB-KW.
DR GO; GO:0060052; P:neurofilament cytoskeleton organization; IEA:Compara.
DR GO; GO:0042246; P:tissue regeneration; IEA:Compara.
DR InterPro; IPR016044; F.
DR InterPro; IPR001664; IF.
DR InterPro; IPR006821; Intermed_filament_DNA-bd.
DR InterPro; IPR018039; Intermediate_filament_CS.
DR PANTHER; PTHR23239; PTHR23239; 1.
DR Pfam; PF00038; Filament; 1.
DR Pfam; PF04732; Filament_head; 1.
DR PROSITE; PS00226; IF; 1.
PE 1: Evidence at protein level;
KW Acetylation; Coiled coil; Complete proteome; Developmental protein;
KW Differentiation; Direct protein sequencing; Glycoprotein;
KW Intermediate filament; Neurogenesis; Phosphoprotein; Polymorphism;
KW Reference proteome.
FT CHAIN 1 499 Alpha-internexin.
FT /FTId=PRO_0000063783.
FT REGION 1 87 Head.
FT REGION 88 408 Rod.
FT REGION 88 129 Coil 1A.
FT REGION 130 142 Linker 1.
FT REGION 143 238 Coil 1B.
FT REGION 239 262 Linker 2.
FT REGION 263 408 Coil 2.
FT REGION 409 499 Tail.
FT COMPBIAS 449 454 Poly-Glu.
FT MOD_RES 72 72 Phosphoserine (By similarity).
FT MOD_RES 290 290 N6-acetyllysine.
FT MOD_RES 335 335 Phosphoserine (By similarity).
FT MOD_RES 496 496 Phosphoserine.
FT VARIANT 92 92 T -> S (in dbSNP:rs1063455).
FT /FTId=VAR_049808.
FT VARIANT 110 110 E -> Q (in a breast cancer sample;
FT somatic mutation).
FT /FTId=VAR_036369.
FT VARIANT 149 149 D -> H (in dbSNP:rs1063456).
FT /FTId=VAR_033497.
FT CONFLICT 37 41 GFRSQ -> ASVE (in Ref. 1; AAB34482).
FT CONFLICT 67 67 R -> A (in Ref. 1; AAB34482).
FT CONFLICT 128 132 ALRQR -> RCDT (in Ref. 1; AAB34482).
FT CONFLICT 141 141 E -> Q (in Ref. 1; AAB34482).
FT CONFLICT 147 152 LRDLRA -> PRHLP (in Ref. 1; AAB34482).
FT CONFLICT 191 198 GAERALKA -> RRARLKR (in Ref. 1;
FT AAB34482).
FT CONFLICT 244 244 A -> R (in Ref. 1; AAB34482).
FT CONFLICT 263 263 S -> A (in Ref. 1; AAB34482).
FT CONFLICT 301 301 S -> T (in Ref. 1; AAB34482).
FT CONFLICT 310 311 EE -> DQ (in Ref. 1; AAB34482).
FT CONFLICT 318 318 Missing (in Ref. 1; AAB34482).
SQ SEQUENCE 499 AA; 55391 MW; 4C972764E9E68D3E CRC64;
MSFGSEHYLC SSSSYRKVFG DGSRLSARLS GAGGAGGFRS QSLSRSNVAS SAACSSASSL
GLGLAYRRPP ASDGLDLSQA AARTNEYKII RTNEKEQLQG LNDRFAVFIE KVHQLETQNR
ALEAELAALR QRHAEPSRVG ELFQRELRDL RAQLEEASSA RSQALLERDG LAEEVQRLRA
RCEEESRGRE GAERALKAQQ RDVDGATLAR LDLEKKVESL LDELAFVRQV HDEEVAELLA
TLQASSQAAA EVDVTVAKPD LTSALREIRA QYESLAAKNL QSAEEWYKSK FANLNEQAAR
STEAIRASRE EIHEYRRQLQ ARTIEIEGLR GANESLERQI LELEERHSAE VAGYQDSIGQ
LENDLRNTKS EMARHLREYQ DLLNVKMALD IEIAAYRKLL EGEETRFSTS GLSISGLNPL
PNPSYLLPPR ILSATTSKVS STGLSLKKEE EEEEASKVAS KKTSQIGESF EEILEETVIS
TKKTEKSNIE ETTISSQKI


the expected output is to fetch entries: AC entries and CC entries infront of which -!- is present with FUNCTION. It should print only the sentences in FUNCTION before the next -!- entries come.

Code:

AC Q16352; B1AQK0; Q9BRC5;
CC -!- FUNCTION: Class-IV neuronal intermediate filament that is able to self-assemble. It is involved in the morphogenesis of neurons. It may form an independent structural network without the involvement of other euro filaments or it may cooperate with NF-L to form the filamentous backbone to which NF-M and NF-H attach to form the cross-bridges.


Please let me know relevant shell scripting. I tried awk and sed it doesnt work.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at The UNIX and Linux Forums

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