| Will bitterness be winner in S.C.?
Did Obama cross the line in claiming Hillary Clinton will "say anything" to get elected? Maybe. But that's for the voters to decide. It's hard to see how any of this is outside the parameters of past campaigns. Maybe that's not a high standard, but again we're talking about politics and grasping for power. What about Bill Clinton's role? Some observers noted that former President George H.W. Bush never jumped in feet first when his son, the current president, was running for the White House. But the emotional bonds of a marriage work differently from parent-child ties. Which one is stronger? Maybe you should ask Chicago Ald. Dick Mell, who found himself estranged from his daughter in his very ugly, very public dispute with his son-in-law, Gov. Blagojevich. Bill Clinton is not just any political spouse.
Rudy Giuliani (R)
Management & Training Corp. was awarded a contract from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice this week for an additional 1,300 beds at its East Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility located on Industrial Drive in Henderson.The five-and-a-half year contract is valued at about $120 million and goes into effect March 1, MTC warden Michael Bell said. The increase in beds is expected to add 367 jobs at the facility that opened last year and increase the facility's annual budget to around $25 million, said Bell. Currently, MTC is housing probation and parole violators at its Henderson facility. Bell said the additional 1,300 beds would be for treatment of substance abuse. "It's all related to treatment," he said. .
Oil giants' barrels gushing over with profit
But the figures still left one trader somewhat underwhelmed: "As much as the figures are good, they're not amazing." Still, with Royal Dutch Shell (RDS), ExxonMobile and ConocoPhillips all due to announce fat profits before the end of the week, the creaking door-frame could be reduced to matchwood by Friday night. The figures relating to oil industry profits are staggering. According to a report earlier this year from Merrill Lynch, the world's 70 biggest oil groups are on course to report a total net income of almost £132.5bn for 2005 - which, if looked at on a profit-per second basis, works out at just under £7300, or about one-third of the UK average annual wage. To put another perspective on that, the total is almost as much as the entire Polish economy, according to Bloomberg. Tomorrow, RDS is expected to detail interim profits of about £3.1bn, while brokers at Credit Suisse First Boston see BP's main rival for the oil industry crown (based on revenues), ExxonMobile, weighing in with a hefty rise in half-year earnings to £4.6bn.
Commerce Bank's profit slips 47%
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (AP) -- Commerce Bancorp's profit tumbled 47 percent in the fourth quarter as a book of loans to real estate developers soured amid flagging property values, the bank said. Commerce Bank earned $33.4 million, or 17 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $62.8 million, or 32 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2006. Analysts expected profit of 30 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial survey. Profit from lending climbed 14 percent to $370.7 million. The bank's portfolio also grew 14 percent, to $17.64 billion. However, Commerce said the credit quality in its portfolio weakened, forcing the bank to set aside $55 million to cover bad loans. The provision is more than five times bigger than the reserve established in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Nuclear Power Gets Boost from Candidates
Though they have voted for legislation that includes loan guarantees for the nuclear industry, both say that federal subsidies have been tilted for too long toward fossil fuels and nuclear power and should focus on renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Yet both say that new nuclear power cannot be ruled out. At a South Carolina rally, Clinton said: "I think nuclear power has to be part of our energy solution. . . . I don't have any preconceived opposition; I just want to be sure that we do it right, as carefully as we can." Obama, whose home state has 11 nuclear power plants, the biggest concentration in the country, said while campaigning in New Hampshire: "I don't think we can take nuclear power off the table." If the nation can resolve the waste and safety issues, he said, "then we should pursue it, and if we can't, we should not." The three top Democratic candidates all oppose creating a repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas in the early-caucus state of Nevada.
Year had highs and lows
Watch for a summary in the Monday newspaper of some of the more interesting items on that week's agenda. The complete agenda is available at topeka.org. Meetings are in the city council chamber, 214 S.E. 7th, They are open to the public and are shown live on Cox Cable channel 4 and reshown throughout the week. If you wish to speak at the council meeting, sign up by 5 p.m. Tuesday at the city clerk's office at 215 S.E. 7th or by calling that office at (785) 368-3940. .
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