Triumph to buy Vought for $1.44 billion; shares burst

BANGALORE Tue Mar 23, 2010 11:24am EDT Related News UPDATE 3-Triumph to buy Vought for $1.44 bln; shares jumpTue, Mar 23 2010 Stocks & &

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Aircraft components maker Triumph Group Inc (TGI.N) agreed to acquire Vought Aircraft Industries from D.C.-based private equity giant Carlyle Group in a $1.44 billion cash-and-stock deal, sending its shares up as much as 14 percent to a new year high.

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The acquisition of Vought, whose customers include Boeing Co (BA.N) and EADS-owned (EAD.PA) Airbus as well as the U.S. Air Force, will help Triumph broaden its market presence in the commercial, military and business jet aircraft segments.

Vought, which makes fuselages, wings, empennages, nacelles and helicopter cabins, has companies such as Hawker Beechcraft, Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) and Northrop Grumman (NOC.N) also among its key customers.

Carlyle had bought Vought from Northrop Grumman in 2000 in a deal valued at $1.2 billion, which included $400 million debt, according to a Flight International magazine report at the time.

Triumph said it expects the deal, which will be about 7.5 million shares and $525 million of cash, to add in excess of $1.00 per share to earnings on a full-year run-rate basis.

The deal also includes the assumption of debt Vought has on their books, Triumph said.

"The integration of Vought with Triumph will create a leading tier one capable supplier with strong positions in commercial and military platforms," Triumph Chief Executive Richard Ill said in a statement.

The company said it expects to fund the deal with a combination of current and new credit facilities and has obtained certain financing commitments subject to customary conditions.

Triumph shares were trading up 14 percent at $69.81 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Bijoy Koyitty in Bangalore and Megan Davies in New York; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Deals

West Ham United endorse seductiveness in Olympic Stadium West Ham

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West Ham United will confirm today their interest in moving to the Olympic Stadium after the Games in 2012.

The club are keen to rent the stadium in East London when it is redeveloped and have said that they are aware of the pledges made by the Government and Lord Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, that the athletics track should remain.

The clubs move comes after the Olympic Park Legacy Company began accepting registrations of interest this week. West Ham"s bid is expected to be opposed by Leyton Orient, the Coca-Cola League One club, based close by. West Ham last week met UK Athletics officials, who also insist that the track should remain, although David Sullivan, the West Ham joint-chairman, has previously been against it.

There are other problems, such as the question of who pays for the redevelopment of the stadium. The cost of reducing the 80,000-seat capacity to about 50,000 seats after the Games could be 100 million, although about 38 million of that will come from the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

Related LinksWest Ham agree 2.2m Curbishley payoutBrady risks good name with West Ham Olympic

West Ham believe that their case is strengthened by the possibility that the stadium could become an embarrassing white elephant. They also cite the precedent of Manchester Citys move to the City of Manchester Stadium after the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

"We are very excited to be working with Newham and are already bursting with some fantastic and innovative ideas," Karren Brady, the West Ham vice-chairman, said. "West Ham United is a people"s club at the heart of its community and, like the Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales and the council, we want to grab this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a real, life-changing legacy - not just for this part of London, but for the wider area as well.

"It"s about realising the full potential of the Olympic Park. As well-established local organisations, Newham Council and West Ham United are best placed to make it happen. If achievable it is the ideal answer for those who, rightly, demand a sustainable legacy from the 2012 Games and not a white elephant.

"We acknowledge the need for the stadium to host world-class athletics and so it should. But it can accommodate football, too - and a whole lot more. There has to be a way of achieving that."

Upton Park is likely to be sold for a mixture of retail and housing development and the club have received some support for their plans from Newham Council. Sir Robin Wales, the Newham Mayor, is a season ticket-holder.

"The last thing anyone wants is for the Olympic Stadium to become a ghost of Olympics past," Sir Robin said. "We were concerned about this when London successfully won the bid to host the 2012 Games and we continue to be concerned.

"The only realistic solution is to make the stadium work for a Premier League football team and that should be West Ham United. We have never understood why that wasn"t obvious. Look at what Manchester did after the Commonwealth Games. Why can"t we do that here? West Ham understands the community. It will mean there is a tenant that will look after the place, rather than let it go to ruin."

Yemen sappers come in Shiite insurgent building

Mohammed Ghobari SANAA Sat Feb 27, 2010 11:55am EST Related News Yemen declares state of emergency in southern citySat, Feb 27 2010Top Yemen al Qaeda leader threatens U.S. attacksTue, Feb 23 2010Yemen arrests 80 separatists over southern unrestMon, Feb 22 2010Yemen holds separatists in south, U.N. urges aidSat, Feb 20 2010Yemen rebels hand over two Saudi soldiersThu, Feb 18 2010

SANAA (Reuters) - Yemeni army sappers entered a northern Shi"ite rebel stronghold to clear mines after rebels quit the city of Saada as part of a truce to end a war that has drawn in Saudi Arabia, the defense ministry said on Saturday.

World&&&&Saudi Arabia

But tension flared in southern Yemen where authorities imposed heightened security measures in a provincial capital to guard against attacks by separatists.

Yemen, the poorest Arab country, struck a truce on February 11 with rebels who have been fighting the state since 2004 over religious, economic and social grievances in the mountainous north.

The two-week-old northern truce has largely held, while a conflict with southern separatists has simmered.

The rebels left their Saada stronghold, some 240 km (150 miles) north of the capital Sanaa, on Thursday on condition they were masked, and that they were not followed by security.

"After the evacuation, special military engineering teams moved to survey the city and a number of roads and buildings to remove any mines," the defense ministry said in its online newspaper.

The engineers were also removing unexploded ordnance.

A number of displaced residents of the city had also begun to return to inspect their houses in Saada, the website said. The conflict in north Yemen has displaced 250,000 people.

Yemen has shot to the forefront of Western security concerns after the Yemeni arm of al Qaeda claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in December.

Western governments and neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world"s biggest oil exporter, fear al Qaeda is exploiting instability on several fronts in Yemen to recruit and train militants to launch attacks in the region and beyond.

Saudi Arabia was drawn into the conflict with northern rebels in November after the insurgents seized Saudi border territory and accused Riyadh of letting Yemeni troops attack them from Saudi ground.

PROTEST IN SOUTH

In Riyadh, where Western and Arab donors were meeting to discuss economic aid for Yemen, a Yemeni official said Sanaa wanted "a faster march" to membership in the wealthier six-member Gulf Cooperation Council.

"Yemen is convinced that its integration within the GCC represents one of the most important means...to enable Yemen to contribute in consolidating regional and international security," said Abdulkareem al-Arhabi, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, Planning and International Cooperation.

Yemen has previously said it wanted GCC membership by 2015.

In south Yemen on Saturday, authorities said they would toughen security measures in the provincial capital of Dalea, including a ban on carrying weapons in public, citing the possibility of separatist violence two days after a policeman was shot dead in an ambush in a nearby province.

An official earlier said a state of emergency was called in the city but the defense ministry website later denied this.

Hundreds demonstrating in Dalea on Saturday against recent arrests, some carrying the flag of the former South Yemen, which united with the North in 1990, residents and pro-southern websites said.

A southern leader called in a speech on the donors meeting in Riyadh to address the unresolved conflict in the south.

"The marches today ... carry a message to the Riyadh meeting and to the world (toward) the fulfillment of the just demands of the people of the south," Shalal Ali Shayeh told protesters.

People in south Yemen, home to most Yemeni oil facilities, complain that northerners have abused a 1990 agreement uniting the country to grab resources and discriminate against them.

Demonstrations were also held in several other cities, some shut by a strike call by southern activists, websites said. In Abyan province two people were wounded as security forces opened fire to disperse protesters blocking a road.

The policeman"s death on Thursday brought to four the number of people killed in attacks on southern security men in a week as authorities also mounted arrest sweeps targeting separatists.

Tension flared after a protester was killed on February 13 by police. This ignited a week of unrest in which separatists burned northern-owned shops and tried to block a key road.

Security officials have since launched sweeps that netted at least 130 arrests in four southern provinces including Dalea.

(Additional reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaff in Aden, and Ulf Laessing and Souhail Karam in Riyadh; Writing by Cynthia Johnston and Firouz Sedarat; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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Deere considers sale of $1 billion breeze portfolio

BOSTON Thu Feb 25, 2010 11:50am EST Related News Enel green unit adds 60 MW wind parks in ItalyTue, Feb 9 2010Is clean tech China"s moon shot?Thu, Jan 28 2010

BOSTON (Reuters) - Deere Co has retained Goldman Sachs Group Inc to help review options for its $1 billion wind energy portfolio, including a possible sale, the U.S. agricultural equipment maker said on Thursday.

Deals

The world"s largest maker of tractors and harvesters said it owns 34 wind farms in seven U.S. states that are capable of generating 706 megawatts of power, in addition to owning some wind farms that are still in development.

The Moline, Illinois-based company"s wind energy arm is an outgrowth of its credit business, which also helps farmers and other customers to finance purchases of Deere equipment.

While the turbines can tower hundreds of feet above the ground, they have a relatively small footprint, which has encouraged some small-scale U.S. farmers to allow turbines to be installed on their land as an additional source of income.

At the end of 2009, the United States had about 35,000 megawatts of installed wind capacity, enough to power 9.7 million typical American homes, according to data from the American Wind Energy Association.

Other major investors in U.S. wind farms include Florida utility FPL Group Inc and conglomerate General Electric Co.

(Reporting by Scott Malone, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

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Nigerian boss returning from Saudi: sources

ABUJA Tue Feb 23, 2010 6:48pm EST

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Umaru Yar"Adua was being flown back to the capital Abuja on Tuesday, three months after he left for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, Nigerian government sources and a Saudi airport official said.

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"The president left at 10:22 p.m. (1922 GMT) alone in a plane and another plane carried Nigerian government envoys," the official at Jeddah airport told Reuters.

There was no word on the state of his health.

Nigerian government and presidency officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Soldiers and armed police arrived at the presidential wing of the airport in Abuja, a Reuters witness.

The 58-year-old leader left Nigeria in late November to receive medical treatment at a clinic in Jeddah for pericarditis, an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart that can restrict normal beating.

His absence brought Africa"s most populous nation to the brink of constitutional crisis and threatened to paralyze the business of government, until Vice President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as acting leader two weeks ago.

Neither the presidency, the ruling party nor the cabinet has given any details on his health since shortly after he left, fuelling speculation about his true condition.

A delegation of Nigerian ministers travelled to Saudi Arabia on Monday for an update on his health and had been expected to report back to a weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

(For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: af.reuters.com/ )

(Reporting by Nick Tattersall and Felix Onuah in Abuja, Asma Alsharif in Jeddah)

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Cheryl Cole dumps Ashley by content

Cheryl Cole has sent a text message to husband Ashley telling him their relationship is over.

The betrayed singer sent the message after reading of her footballer husband"s five mistresses, according to reports.

Cheryl intends to return to the UK this week to announce the split, with a draft statement regarding the divorce already drawn up.

It"s over: Cheryl Cole, arriving at a recording studio in Hollywood yesterday, has sent a text message to husband Ashley telling him their marriage is over

A close friend of the star told the Sun that when she headed to Los Angeles following her performance at the Brits she was still deciding her future.

But she is now clear that the marriage is over and, as the Daily Mail reported last week, is said to have consulted divorce lawyers. More...I don"t want to live if I lose my wife: What Ashley Cole told fourth secret lover... as FIFTH girl says she slept with himEXCLUSIVE: D-Day for Cole! Roman fury could see Ashley axed over scandalsJAN MOIR: Why Ashley Cole"s lucky it"s only his assets Cheryl will chop in halfKerry Katona back to face the music after married fitness instructor admits to swapping texts

"The time for any more excuses or promises is over. She wants tohave put a statement out by the end of the week so she can start movingon," the friend said.

"She has no desire to humiliate Ashley further and wishes to proceed in a dignified manner."

Even bookmakers were last night declaring it was "inevitable" Mrs Cole would soon be filing for divorce.

A spokesman for William Hill said: "In our opinion, it is a done deal and we are happy to hand over winnings now."

Brave face: Cheryl has been hard at work while in the U.S.

Close: Cheryl"s friend Derek Hough, who has been comforting her in LA

Yesterday one of Cole"s alleged one-night stands - the fourth to come forward - claimed he had sobbed down the phone to her that he would die if he lost his wife over their fling.

He is said to have pleaded with U.S. political aide Ann Corbitt to keep quiet about twice having unprotected sex with her in a Seattle hotel last July when Chelsea was on a pre-season tour.

A fifth alleged flame, Alexandra Taylor, also came forward to say she had sex with Cole on the night he "went public" with Cheryl in 2004.

Yesterday, Miss Corbitt told the News of the World she had no idea Cole was married until she looked him up on the internet.

Meanwhile, Miss Taylor, a 27-year-old glamour model, claimed in the Sunday Mirror that she bedded the player just hours after he and Mrs Cole danced at the National Television Awards in 2004.

Cole was exposed as a love rat in 2008 for sleeping with hairdresser Aimee Walton.

Last week, it was revealed X-rated pictures of him were sent from his phone to Page Three girl Sonia Wild.

Just days later, Mrs Cole was again devastated by claims he had slept with Vicki Gough, a 30-year-old secretary.

The news comes as Cole faces a fight for his future at Chelsea Football Club in the light of the scandal.

He faces a suspension or "meaningful" fine from Chelsea after claims he hoodwinked the club into covering up his philandering.

In trouble: Ashley Cole"s future at Chelsea football club is in doubt

Yesterday, it was revealed that Steve Atkins, Chelsea"s head of media, told Cole and his lover Ann Corbitt how to silence allegations of a tryst.

However, he insists the pair misled him, saying claims of an affair were "false".

Sportsmail has learned Cole is to be hauled before Chelsea"s board as early as Friday to explain himself.

The club decided to act because the defender"s alleged affair occurred while he was "on duty" during a tour.

Billionaire Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has already threatenedplayers with disciplinary action, telling them to stop dragging theclub"s reputation through the mud.

Hidden message? Cheryl Cole wearing a top at the weekend saying "I left My Heart in Beverly Hills" as she visits a studio in Los Angeles

One insider said: "Ashley might be the best left back in the worldbut the players were told on Wednesday that nobody is above the law. Aline has been drawn in the sand and the owner has had enough."

Last night a club spokesman said: "This is a private matter for Ashley Cole.

"Where anything is alleged to have happened on Chelsea FC time is an internal club matter and will be dealt with internally."

But Chelsea are taking a very dim view of Cole"s actions, not leastbecause of the embarrassment caused to their highly regarded head ofcommunications Steve Atkins.

The "other women": Ashley has been linked to Alexandra Taylor (left) and Ann Corbitt, who claims she slept with Cole while he was on tour in the US...

...and he has also allegedly had liaisons with hairdresser Aimee Walton, glamour model Sonia Wild and Liverpool club secretary Vicki Gough

Atkins was embroiled in the saga when Cole asked him to give advice to Ann Corbitt.

Cole is said to have claimed that he had not had an affair with the girl, but she now alleges that a liason took place.

While in LA, Mrs Cole has spent time with Derek Hough, a24-year-old U.S. dancer. The pair have watched a romantic film togetherand dined at upmarket restaurant Katsuya.

However, Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli - whointroduced the pair last October - said: "Cheryl is going throughhell. Derek is a gentleman and he"s being a good friend to her. She isnot the type who would do tit-for-tat."

Cole"s solicitor said the player had no comment to make. A spokesman for Mrs Cole also declined to comment.

TV&Showbiz>A-Z Star Search>Cheryl Cole

Cure for peanut allergy: Technique could be used to plunge into alternative reactions

Michael Frost aged 9 has been nut allergy de-sensitized

A permanent cure for deadly nut allergies could be less than three years away, British doctors said yesterday.

In a breakthrough that offers hope to hundreds of thousands of sufferers, researchers say they have "effectively cured" 21 children of the dangerous condition.

They are so confident of the treatment - which uses tiny doses of peanut flour to build up a child"s resistance to the food - they are starting a 1million clinical trial on more than 100 children.

The researchers also say the same therapy could be used on other allergies - such as milk and egg.

One child in 50 in Britain suffers from peanut allergy and the numbers are rising fast. Reactions can range from mild itching and rashes to dangerous swelling of the airways, breathing problems and severe asthma.

On average seven children die from it each every year. It is the most common serious allergic reaction, affecting around 450,000 people.

The pioneering treatment was developed at Addenbrooke"s Hospital, Cambridge, where it was tested on 23 children between seven and 17. All but two have been "cured".

The children were given a daily dose of peanut flour, mixed with yoghurt, to build up their tolerance.

At the start of the trial, they were given the equivalent of one 400th of a peanut each day - far below the level needed to spark an allergic reaction.

Every day the dose was increased until they were able to consume the equivalent of five peanuts. Some children were able to safely eat 12 nuts.

Dr Andrew Clark, leading the research, said the peanut flour was "retraining" the children"s faulty immune systems.

He said: "The families say that it"s changed their lives. That"s our real motivation - to try to develop that as a clinical treatment that we could spread to the rest of the country.

Researchers say they have "effectively cured" 21 children of the dangerous condition

"And It"s not going to stop at peanuts. There"s no scientific reason why it won"t work with other foods."

Although the children were effectively cured, many suffered mild side effects, including itches and stomach aches. A few also had rashes and wheezing. The side effects were treated with antihistamine drugs.

The new trial, being funded by the Department of Health, will compare the effects of peanut flour to a harmless placebo in 104 allergic children.

Dr Clark said: "This is going to be the largest trial of its kind in the world and it should give us a definitive idea of whether it works and whether it"s safe."

The children have already been recruited and treatment starts next month, he told the American Association for the Advancement of Science"s conference in San Diego, California.

Dr Clark added: "I think in two or three years time we will be in a position where we have a treatment that works, but we are still working on a long-term cure."

He warned parents of nut allergy children not to try retraining their immune systems at home, however. Giving them peanut flour could be dangerous outside a hospital.

Doctors are baffled by the rise in peanut and other allergies. Some experts believe the cleanliness of modern homes - and the fact that children spend little time outside being exposed to dirt and germs - means immune systems are not developing properly.

For Michael Frost"s parents, every day brought the terrible fear that peanuts could claim their son"s life.

He had a severe form of the nut allergy and doctors warned that just a tiny amount in his diet could have serious consequences.

But thanks to the Cambridge trial, the tenyearold can now eat the equivalent of 12 peanuts without any reaction at all.

His mother Kate, 45, said: "A peanut allergy affects the whole family.

"You can"t go to a restaurant because it"s just a minefield. If your child goes to a birthday party, he has to takes a packed tea.

"For so many years, I"ve had a permanent knot of anxiety in my stomach.

"It felt like I was playing Russian roulette with my son"s life.

"But suddenly, those feelings of fear are gone."

Michael, from Flitwick, Bedfordshire, said: "I can eat lots of Chinese now, which is my favourite, and chocolate."

He was one of the children helped by doctors at Addenbrooke"s hospital.

At the start of the trial, Michael was fed just one 16th of a peanut.

Even such a tiny amount left him with itchy patches all over his body. He also suffered acute sickness.

But he can now lead a relatively normal childhood.