Muara Teweh!

AJO, Ariz., May 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following is being issued by Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco:

Who: — Rep. Raul Grijalva, (D-AZ) U.S. Congressman, 7th District — Jim Yacenda, Vice President, Community Investment, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco — Kevin Blackburn, Regional Manager, Legislative and Regulatory
Affairs, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco — Sharon Bronson, Pima County Board of Supervisors, District 3 — Sheila Harris, Director, Arizona Department of Housing — Local and state housing leaders What: Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, in conjunction with the International Sonoran Desert Alliance, host a ribbon-cutting celebration marking the completion of the Curley School Artisan Lofts. The conversion of the historic Curley School to artisan lofts is a key component the $8.9 million restoration project » Read more after the jump →

One of the ongoing scandals of the current U.S. health care system is its relative isolation from the information technology revolution that has transformed so many other industries, from financial institutions to travel and hospitality. With some exceptions, most health care providers still keep records, order prescriptions, and make medical decisions based on fragmented paper documents; and most Americans have no real-time access to or control over these documents. This isn’t just a matter of convenience: the current health information system contributes significantly to life-threatening medical errors, unnecessary tests and procedures, and delays in treatment, lowering health care quality and boosting costs. Indeed, just yesterday Sen. Hillary Clinton identified health information technology as one of the keys to any effort to rein in skyrocketing health care costs, reinforcing her long record of leadership on this issue. » Read more after the jump →

The Committee held threadbare discussion on various assurances made in reply to various questions by Members. The committee expressed satisfaction on the action taken report of the department. However, the Committee directed the department to implements all pending assurances at the earliest.

The officers apprised the Committee that the Department has already initiated action on all the assurances and these would be implemented in letter and spirit at the earliest due to certain » Read more after the jump →

PLANO, Texas, May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — ViewPoint Financial Group (the ” Company ” ), the holding company for ViewPoint Bank, announced its intention today to repurchase up to 464,198 shares of its outstanding common stock in the open market in order to fund the restricted stock portion of its Equity Incentive Plan, which was approved by the shareholders at the Company’s May 22 annual meeting. These shares will be purchased at prevailing market prices from time to time over a twelve-month period depending upon the market conditions. Garold R. Base, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, indicated that the Board of Directors approved the repurchase program in view of the strong capital position of the Company’s subsidiary, ViewPoint Bank. Mr. Base stated: “We believe that funding the restricted stock portion of our Equity Incentive Plan through the repurchase of our shares will benefit the Company and our shareholders.” » Read more after the jump →

Gap Inc.’s management has changed, but the troubled clothing retailer’s financial trends remain distressingly familiar with both profits and sales still evaporating.

Although it wasn’t quite as bad as analysts feared, Gap’s first-quarter profit fell by 26 percent as the San Francisco-based company struggled to win back shoppers after several years of fashion missteps.

Meanwhile, comparable-store sales – a key gauge of a merchant’s health – crumbled by another 4 percent.

It marked Gap’s seventh straight quarter of earnings erosion and 11th consecutive quarter of declining sales, measured by the yardstick that tracks the performance of stores open for at least a year. » Read more after the jump →

Shares of Hurray! Holding Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: HRAY) are rising on news after Thursday’s close that the Chinese provider of music and music-related products reported an increase in profit. The net income for the first quarter ended March 31 was $1.0 million, a rise of 3.8% compared with $0.9 million for the first quarter of 2006. Earnings stayed constant at $0.04 per share, just above analyst expectations of $0.03 per share. The stock is up $0.02, or 0.41%, to $4.85.

Shares of Lancaster, Pa.-based Sterling Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: SLFI) announced after Thursday’s close that an ongoing investigation has shown that previously reported irregularities in certain financing contracts in one of Sterling’s financial services affiliates are a direct result of collusion by company employees. Shares have added $0.80, or 5%, to $16.16. » Read more after the jump →

MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Fiat SpA’s car brand Lancia is aiming to reach a 1 pct share of the European market by the end of the year, from 0.8 in April, said CEO of Lancia Automobiles Olivier Francois.

Last week, Lancia launched in Ukraine, while in November Lancia will launch in Turkey, ahead of the UK in 2009, he said, noting market entry is also planned in Scandinavia, Romania, Czech Republic and Japan. » Read more after the jump →