Texas Senior Manzano Eyes Ncaas, Olympic Games

Leonel Manzano received his initiation into world-class running last summer. The 5-5, 125-pound senior at Texas was about 30 meters into a first-round heat in the 1,500 meters at the world championships in Osaka, Japan, when an elbow was planted in his chest. Welcome to the big time, kid.

“Running against the best people in the world, they’re not going to let you get an inch,” says Manzano, who finished 13th and did not advance. “I went in there with no experience at that level. I’m trying to fight these guys, and they’re like, ‘What are you doing?’ It seemed like I was thrown in the back.

“In high school and college, you don’t see that kind of aggression. It was an awesome experience. What better timing, the year before the Olympics and trials. It was something I really needed.”

Manzano, 23, who was born in Mexico, arrived in the USA at age 4 and became a citizen in 2004, will be a favorite in the 1,500 at the NCAA championships June 11-14 in Des Moines. The surprise winner as a freshman in 2005, he’s seeking bookend titles.

“That would be a great way to finish my career at UT,” he says.
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He might also be one of the few collegians to make the U.S. Olympic team when he runs the 1,500 at the trials June 27-July 6 in Eugene, Ore. He was second at the USA Championships last year and third in 2006.

Manzano ran his 1,500 best of 3 minutes, 35.29 seconds, equivalent to a 3:52 mile, in last year’s U.S. final. “He’s quite gifted in the sense of racing,” says Jason Vigilante, an assistant to Texas coach Bubba Thornton, the 2008 U.S. men’s Olympic coach, and Manzano’s coach for four years. “Winning is most important to him. Times don’t mean a lot to him. He will always give 100% to complete the race as well as he can regardless of his physical condition. Coupled with that, the pace never seems to bother him.”

Manzano is known for his ability to kick off a fast or slow pace. He came from the back of the pack to win his NCAA 1,500 title. He blew away competitors with his finishes on anchor legs in the Texas and Penn relays.

“He’s got natural foot speed and the ability to change paces,” Vigilante says. “There’s so much to him. Everything about him is a delight. He’s such a nice young man, respectful and honest. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to work with him every day.”

Manzano, who ran a 4:06 mile as a high school junior, began running in middle school. His father, Jesus, operates a rock-crushing machine at a road materials plant. His mother, Maria, is a part-time maid. They weren’t initially enthused with his new activity.

“My parents came here to have a better life and give us more opportunities to succeed,” says Manzano, the oldest of four children, who has done landscaping work for a relative. “They were and still are all about hard work: Go out, get yourself a job. I had a job at 12.

“My parents probably had a third- or fourth-grade education back in Mexico. They had no idea what going to college or playing a sport was. To this day I have a lot of family in the same situation. With me running, they’ve figured out there’s more than just breaking your back with hard labor all the time.”

His parents are now fans. Their biggest contribution to his success is the way they raised him.

“Leo takes pride in everything he does,” Vigilante says. “Here’s a guy who didn’t start learning English until he was 4, and his GPA is important to him. All his professors will tell you how conscientious he is. He doesn’t like to be known just as, the running competitor.”

Manzano, who needs nine credits to graduate and is scheduled to get them in the fall, wants to continue running and plans to stay in Austin to be coached by Vigilante.

“I love this town,” Manzano says. “The group of guys I’m with here can take my training to the next level. We have great facilities. Coach Vigilante is very knowledgeable and always has something prepared. What better place.”

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Thursday, May 15th, 2008

Landscaping Rock No Comments

Spiritual Tour to Visit England’s Sacred Pilgrimage Sites In the land of the Grail

(Vancouver, BC)—Stonehenge, Glastonbury and Avebury are some of England’s most famous ancient pilgrimage sites to be visited on a spiritually-orient! ed group tour this spring, offered by Sacred Earth Journeys of Vancouver, Canada.

Magdalene, the Grail, and a full moon ceremony amidst the ancient stones of what once was Camelot are all part of the backdrop for “Return to Avalon” a 10-day tour designed to honor the feminine, inspire personal evolution and connect the personal to becoming a change agent for planetary peace. The tour includes a private evening entrance to Stonehenge during the Wesak full moon for a special ceremony dedicated to creating harmony and healing for our Mother Earth.

Tour leader, Karen Rae Wilson, a Celtic singer and visionary, is the founder of Wisdom Culture Consulting - a leading edge company dedicated to inspiring personal leadership and social change. Wilson has worked with traditional knowledge and with many indigenous elders around the world. Ms. Wilson has sung internationally for many prestigious events including the United Nations Conference for Women in Beijing, The State of the World Forum in Belfast, and the Future Visions Conference for the Millennium Summit in New York. An accomplished writer and composer in her own right, she has performed an original one woman show, “Many Women, One Voice,” for captivated audiences in the USA.

Celtic women were renowned for their passionate spirits and feminine leadership and Wilson is no exception. Throughout the tour, she will offer songs, stories, ceremonies and insights on how the knowledge and power of these sacred places can ignite both our personal sense of purpose and planetary change.

The tour will include visiting Glastonbury Abbey and Chalice Wells - long associated with King Arthur, Gueneviere and the Grail. Other tour itinerary features include the Aveb! ury stone circle, Silbury Hill, Salisbury Cathedral, Stourhead Gardens , Bath, London’s Temple Church of the Knights Templar, Westminster Abbey and a final cruise on the Thames.

“This tour is a journey of initiation that will inspire the sacred feminine,” said Helen Tomei, president of Sacred Earth Journeys. “Wilson invites other visionary leaders, storytellers, peacemakers, and individuals who want to experience the beauty of the stones to take part in weaving a new legend for the Earth. In these times of global warming and planetary discord I think that perhaps the high priestesses of ancient Avalon will be looking on with interest.”

In addition to group activities, the tour will also give participants free time for individual exploration and shopping – in the countryside near Wells, and in the heart of London.

Sacred Earth Journeys was honored twice with the “Inspiration Entrepreneur of the Year” award, presented by the BC Urban Entrepreneurial Development Association in 2004 and 2005, and was recently featured in the new book Waking up the West Coast: Healers %26 Visionaries published by Catalyst Publications (www.cataly! stpublications.com).

For more booking information please contact Helen Tomei at (604) 874-7922, toll-free 1-877-874-7922, email Helen@SacredEarthJourneys.ca or visit www.SacredEarthJourneys.ca

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Thursday, February 21st, 2008

Backyard Landscaping No Comments

Fraud Alerts Combat Id Theft! is That your Final Answer?

Okay so you’re feeling smug and savvy because you know all about Fraud Alerts. Despite the fact you accomplished it for free and only had to actually contact one of the major credit reporting agencies you want everyone to know who to call. You tell them the following places need to be called to put a Fraud Alert on your credit report; Equifax at number 1-800-525-6285, Experian at their number 1-888-397-3742 and the final place, TransUnion at number 1-800-680-7289. You further explain that these initial 90 day fraud alerts entitle them to free copies of their credit reports. All your friends should be sure to check those credit reports for debts on their accounts that are unexplainable, company inquiries from businesses they haven’t actually contacted and/or accounts they haven’t actually opened. That’s good proactive initiative.

Did you happen to mention that fraud alerts aren’t actually the solution to every possible means of identity theft? Did you know that a Fraud Alert does nothing to detour an identity thief from opening new credit accounts in someone else’s name that don’t require a credit check? You know, things like a wireless telephone account, wall mounted phone or even a bank account! Are you beginning to realize that too little information can be dangerous? Additionally, an ID Thief can still use someone’s existing credit cards or other accounts. Not only that, if there is an identity crime already happening when a fraud alert is placed, this alert alone does nothing to stop the crime. You can however take solace in the fact that you were partially correct as fraud alerts are in fact useful in thwarting the thief in opening a new line of credit.

The initial fraud alert stays on a credit report for only 90 days and if someone remembers, they have to renew this alert every three months. It is good to place this type of alert on one’s credit if they suspect they are (or are about to be) a victim of identity theft. These alerts are a good course of action should one say, realize they are a victim of a “Phishing” scam or their wallet or purse has been stolen. This is basically an alert to creditors while considering someone for credit for the business to enforce reasonably policies that implement procedures that require identity verification prior to issuing credit in a person’s name. Businesses may make an effort to verify however, their reports aren’t always a guarantee that applicant sitting before them is who they say they are.

A person has the option as well to place an extended fraud alert of their credit report that actually remains in place for a period of seven years. This can be done if you are a victim of identity theft. You must however supply the consumer reporting agency an identity theft report. The report procedure is the subject of another article as it is a lengthy process. Anyway, this extended alert requires potential or pending creditors to actually contact you or, meet with you face-to-face before they actually approve the credit request. Yes, this can cause delays when you are trying to get credit but to enhance the processing requirements one can simply provide a current and viable cell phone number to be reached at easily in their efforts to have their identity verified.

When a person undertakes the initiation of an extended fraud alert, they are entitled to two free credit reports annually from each of the three national consumer credit reporting agencies. These companies will at the same time remove a person’s name from pre-screened credit offers that marketing lists maintain. The credit reporting agencies will make sure a name stays off marketing lists for a period not less than five years unless, a person specifically requests to be put back onto marketing offer listings.

I’d just like to say initial or extended fraud alerts are great measures in anyone’s effort to wage war against the identity thief but, are just the tip of an iceberg when it comes to efforts needed to combat this ever increasing crime. Don’t get over confident with too little information. Consider looking into the professional services of a credit watch service. A credit watch service has the whole picture of what it takes to catch a thief and protect your good name and/or credit. Some are better than others so do what the Federal Trade Commission recommends on all contracts for a service or product: read the small print. If you’d like to enlist a highly proficient credit watch service used and trusted by the author check out his resource bio following this article. This service offers more then all others and stands behind their professionalism with a million dollar per individual guarantee.

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Thursday, January 17th, 2008

Landscaping Idea No Comments

Stocks to buy PNB BHEL Reliance Comm

Company:

Reliance Petroleum

Research:

CLSA

Rating:

Underperform

CMP: Rs

221

CLSA downgrades Reliance Petroleum’s rating to

‘underperform’ with a target price of Rs 195 per share based on an

average of the earnings multiples and replacement cost benchmarks. Reliance

Petroleum has quadrupled since the initiation in April ’07 and now implies

an asset value of $4,129/complex-bpd – 2.4x those of its US peers and a

50-70% premium to even the most expensive refinery new-build quotes in the

market ($2,500). Its premium valuations ($57,800/bpd) are justified to an

extent, however, given its higher earnings potential because of (a) lower

capital costs ($740/complex-bpd, reflected in lower interest, depreciation), (b)

tax savings due to SEZ-unit status and (c) savings from substitution of liquid

fuels with lower-priced natural gas. In hindsight, CLSA’s April ’07

earnings estimates now appear too low and is upgrading FY09-12CL EPS by 52-71%.

The refinery remains well-ahead of schedule as well and the FY09CL estimate

builds a phased start-up from 2QFY09 (60% overall utilisation). CLSA’s

fair value estimate for RPL is Rs158/share but the market is likely to look at

alternative methods like earnings multiples, replacement costs, asset valuations

and M%26amp;A benchmarks.

Company:

PNB

Research: ABN

Amro

Rating:

Buy

CMP: Rs

534

ABN Amro retains its ‘Buy’ recommendation on

Punjab National Bank. However, it has lowered the target price despite the

rollover of valuations to FY09F. PNB’s stock has underperformed the BSE

Sensex by 32% in the past one year. This underperformance has been due to

declining NIMs and an increase in bad loans over the past two quarters. The

decline in NIMs was partly due to a decline in low-cost deposits as a proportion

of total deposits, an increase in the cost of funds and a reversal of interest

income on the increased bad loans. ABN now forecasts a dip in the ratio of

low-cost deposits from 46.1% for FY07 to 45.4% in FY08, and further to 43.4% by

FY10 and expects NIMs to fall from 3.47% in FY07 to 3.27% in FY08, before rising

marginally to 3.29% in FY09-10. PNB’s low-cost deposit ratio, at about

44%, is still among the highest for an Indian stateowned bank, which makes it

better placed relative to peers in terms of ability to protect declining net

interest margins. PNB’s low funding costs also compensate for the

bank’s higher intermediation costs relative to peers. At 2.2% of average

working funds in FY08F, the bank’s operating expenses are higher than

those of many of its peers. At a revised target price of Rs 605, the stock would

trade at 9.2x earnings and 1.6x adjusted book value for FY09F after writing off

100% pre-tax net NPLs.

Company:

Reliance Comm

Research: Morgan

Stanley

Rating:

Overweight

CMP: Rs

705

Morgan Stanley maintains its ‘Overweight’

rating on Reliance Communications and revises upward the ’08/09 estimates

by 1-3% based on F2Q08 results. They introduce ’10 estimates, increase net

adds, raise their longer-term ARPU estimates by 7-8%, incorporate revised

exchange rate estimates, and lift their price target to Rs 891. FY’07-10E

operating and net profit growth are 40.2% and 42.0% p.a. respectively. Key

positives include strong net adds and quarterly results, RCom’s unlocking

of value in the tower business and its international operations through Flag

Telecom, and Rcom’s getting the GSM spectrum for its new circles.

RCom’s overall margins expanded 69 bps, to 42.8%, due to lower sales and

distribution costs, as well as lower interconnect costs, despite higher network

costs. Absolute EBITDA missed the estimate by 2.8%, even as RCom accounted for

Rs 170 crore worth of income from the government pertaining to previous years.

Still, lower depreciation charges, as well as lower tax rate and interest costs,

led to net profits coming in 5.2% above the estimate. Aggressive rollout plans

for ’08: RCOM invested $1.3 bn in 2Q ’08 and plans to invest $4-5

billion in ’08, the highest capex by any private operator in the country.

This should enable it to enhance its passive infrastructure to 40,000 towers

covering 23,000 towns and 600,000 villages and reaching 90% of India’s

population.

Company:

BHEL

Research: Merrill

Lynch

Rating:

Buy

CMP: Rs 2,

794

Merrill Lynch maintains BHEL as its top pick with a target

price of Rs 3,000. On October 31, BHEL emerged as the sole bidder for yet

another super-critical order – the 2×800-MW Krishnapatnam power plant of

APGenco in a global competitive bid. This not only demonstrates BHEL’s

ability to win supercritical orders in a competitive bid; but also takes it

closer to reach a threshold level of 10 sets to achieve 90% indigenisation. BHEL

is now the lowest bidder tied up for a total of six supercritical sets totalling

to 4,520 MW in the last two months. Merrill Lynch expects solid new order

inflows from supercritical technology to be the core driver of surprises ahead.

It’s raining super-critical orders at BHEL.. The response to the global

tender indicates tightness of the quality supply of super-critical power

equipment. Merrill Lynch expects BHEL to outperform as the company a) addresses

Chinese competition, b) gets super-critical orders in ’07, and c) looks to

improve competitiveness through operating leverage - ~50% capacity expansion

with less than 10% rise in

labour.

Company: HDFC

Research: Deutsche Bank

Rating: Buy

CMP: Rs

2,562

Deutsche Bank maintains the `Buy’ rating on HDFC

with an increased target price of Rs. 2,925 from Rs 2,200. HDFC remains one of

the finest examples of steadiness - the mortgage business volume growth has

stayed above 25% in the last four quarters when the rest of the sector has

clearly decelerated. Asset quality is intact and spreads have actually broken

out of the 2.15-2.2% band and moved closer to 2.3%. Life insurance is back to

aggressive growth after the rapid increase in distribution investments. Two

distinct upside possibilities to the assumption of tempered growth are real

estate prices coming off and commercial banks competing less intensely than

before. Dynamic resource-raising, no duration mismatch on the balance sheet and

increased access to deposits should help HDFC maintain loan spreads. Asset

quality is expected to remain under control, due to the rapid rise in individual

income and HDFC’s historically low ticket size. Deutsche estimates gross

NPLs to remain at the current level of ~1% and values HDFC on a sum-of-parts, at

Rs 2,925. The core business is valued at 24x Mar ‘09E EPS. The life

business is valued on appraisal value; the asset management business on AUM, the

stake in HDFC Bank at the latter’s target price and the rest on

earnings.

Company: Suzlon

Energy

Research:

Citigroup

Rating:

Buy

CMP: Rs

1,888

Citigroup increases its target price on Suzlon Energy to

Rs 2,227 from Rs 1,700 as they factor in: (1) A higher P/E multiple of 26x (from

23x earlier) in line with the multiple for BHEL on FY07-10E earnings CAGR of 49%

(from 44% earlier); and (2) Roll forward of our multiple to Sep ’09.

Citigroup also accorded Rs 43 per fully diluted share of Suzlon for REPower and

change thier risk rating to Low from Medium as (1) Uncertainties on the REPower

acquisition are a thing of the past; (2) Confidence of EBITDA margins being in

the 15–17% band over the medium term; (3) Reduced component shocks as

Suzlon backward integrates. ~16.1% EBITDA margins look achievable — Suzlon

delivered 1,000MW in 1HFY08 and is set to deliver 1,500+MW volumes in

2HFY08.

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Sunday, January 6th, 2008

Yard Landscaping No Comments


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