Juhl Wind Inc., an established leader in community-based wind power development and management, specializing on wind farm projects throughout the United States and Canada, recently announced that the company has secured a 20-year, 19.8 MW power purchase agreement between Adams Wind Generations, LLC and Xcel Energy. Located in Meeker County in West Central Minnesota, the Adams Wind Generations project will utilize 12 large wind turbines at an estimated cost of approximately $46 million.

Juhl Wind Inc. has been assisting local owners with the project development since the spring of 2008 and also spearheaded the team to win a competitive request-for-proposal issued by Xcel Energy. Serving as the project’s developer and contractor, Juhl is forecasting that the Adams Wind Farm will commence initial operations in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Dan Juhl, CEO of Juhl Wind, Inc., stated, “The establishment of the Adams Wind Farm project continues to reinforce our belief

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By Cees Bruggemans, Chief Economist FNB

It can be very unsettling when hitting an air sack, and only natural to assume things won’t quickly return to normal as trouble has a way of coming in multiples.

The South African building industry certainly has reason to be suspicious of any early suggestions of recovery, given the exuberant times that lasted for several years after which the plunging descent into deep recession last year was one of the most abrupt in decades.

Yet the deeper it falls, the more likely a bottom is reached, provided shock absorbers are fully extended.

The peaking of interest rates late last year, since then shedding 500 points, certainly provided important support for the building sector.

This evidence is also starting to shine through in opinion surveys. The FNB/BER building confidence index for 3Q2009 released last week offered a series of data points all suggesting a

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Moody’s Investor Services (MCO) has downgraded Boeing Co.’s (BA) rating outlook to "negative" from "stable". The major reason for the downgrade was the delay in the airplane maker's new 787 series, besides other setbacks that had hurt its financial flexibility.   Pitted against Airbus’s A319 aircraft, Boeing’s 787 series is plagued by delays. The inaugural test flight at the end of fiscal 2009 is more than two years behind the original delivery schedule. The company has already deferred the inaugural delivery of the 787 series aircraft five times.   Boeing has witnessed falling orders in the recent times for its commercial planes on account of tepid demand for air travel and cargo services. Already, a slew of commercial airlines have cancelled or deferred their fleet additions. Boeing has cut costs and announced reduction in its workforce along with scaling back production of some aircrafts. Moody's estimates a 20%

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Recently, Humana Military Healthcare Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Humana Inc. (HUM), announced the availability of an additional benefit for the beneficiaries of the TRICARE program (a medical program under the Department of Defense) in the South Region.  Humana Military Healthcare Services offers health insurance coverage under the TRICARE program to the dependents of active duty military personnel and retired military personnel coupled with their dependents. Humana Military has been a contractor of the Department of Defense for the administration of the TRICARE program since Jul 1, 1996.  The new benefit provides the families of soldiers enrolled in the TRICARE program access to a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Management Program. They will be able to call a dedicated registered nurse and receive education and coaching on how to deal with this lung disease which blocks airflow thereby resulting in breathing difficulties.  Humana started ...

The Boeing Company (BA) yesterday announced that it will record a $1 billion charge in the third quarter of fiscal 2009. The company attributed the charge from a delay in producing a new version of the 747-8 series freighter jet, leading to slow sales and late design changes. The aircraft competes with Airbus' A380 series aircraft. The goliath of commercial aerospace, Boeing has witnessed falling orders for its commercial planes in the recent times on account of tepid demand for air travel and cargo services. Already, a slew of commercial airlines have cancelled or deferred their fleet additions. Boeing has cut costs, reduced workforce and scaled back production of some aircrafts to cope with the changing market dynamics.   The $1 billion charge includes $640 million for higher estimated production costs consisting of late engineering design changes. This is besides the $360 million stemming from Boeing's decision ...

China Architectural Engineering Inc. (CAEI) provided updates on its Nine Dragon and Dubai Metro System projects. The company said that the Nine Dragon Project successfully passed evaluation and assessment by China's national experts, paving the way for new, large projects to commence by the end of this year and the beginning of next year.  Management is confident that a number of large Nine Dragon projects will launch by the end of this year providing CAEI with substantial new revenue sources for the next several years. The company had entered into an agreement with Shanghai Nine Dragon Co. Ltd. In June 2009, to undertake major projects located in the Nine Dragon Resort, Zhejiang , including a seven-star hotel, a marine park and luxurious villas. The projects are expected to be completed within three years.  In addition, the company said that the first phase of the Dubai Metro ...

First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) - September 18, 2009 - today announced that it has been selected by Colorado-based developer and EPC contractor juwi solar Inc., a subsidiary of juwi Holding AG, to supply solar modules for two U.S. projects.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. has been gaining national recognition as a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies. Today, the company announced a major strategic agreement with Harlan Biotech Israel Ltd. (HBI) in order to complete pre-clinical safety experiments for the company’s innovative therapy for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), which is famously known as Lou Gehrig’s disease because it claimed the life of the famed baseball player.

This agreement will add to another agreement entered with PPS which was announced on August 31, 2009. Together, these agreements will allow the young company to complete the experiments required to submit an application to the Lelsinki Committee with the Israeli Ministry of Health for starting clinical trials for Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) in Israel.

Under the terms of the agreement with HBI, Harlan will perform pre-clinical safety experiments using the company’s cGMP compliant stem cells. The experiment will be performed immediately following production

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Standard & Poor's said on Friday that it is apprehensive about The Boeing Company’s (BA) risk in terms of order cancellations and deferrals for its commercial aircrafts. Pitted against Airbus’s A319 aircraft, Boeing’s 787 series is plagued by delays. The inaugural test flight at the end of fiscal 2009 is more than two years behind the original delivery schedule. The company has already deferred the inaugural delivery of the 787 series aircraft five times. Standard & Poor's is apprehensive this may force Boeing to scale back production of models 737, 747, 767 and 777 -- virtually everything other than its new 787 series in fiscal 2010. This viewpoint is shared by Fitch Ratings as well. As of now, Standard & Poor's has a Buy rating on Boeing’s shares while Fitch has an "A+" rating. The goliath of the commercial aerospace, Boeing has witnessed falling orders in ...

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is a company developing adult stem cell therapeutic products, derived from autologous (self) bone marrow cells, for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The technology allows for the differentiation of bone marrow-derived stem cells into functional neurons and astrocytes.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is currently focusing its technology on two diseases – Parkinson’s and ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The company announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Protein Production Services Ltd., a leading manufacturing contractor, in order to start “good manufacturing practice” production of its stem cell therapeutic product.

The clinical-grade product will be used in a pre-clinical safety trial for the company’s innovative therapy for Lou Gehrig’s disease. BrainStorm’s proprietary adult stem cell technologies have already been successfully tested on various animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. Neuro-protective and neuro-regenerative applications of the technology have been published in more than a dozen

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