Auction by Calif. firm hits snag again - The Boston Globe
Alexandria MacKinnon and her husband made the high bid on a Brockton house at a Real Estate Disposition auction in March at the Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center. The company told them to prepare for a closing by May 8, so the couple gave notice to their landlord and qualified for a mortgage loan. Then the closing was postponed indefinitely.
The mortgage company told the MacKinnons it couldn't make the loan because the seller did not yet own the home. Real Estate Disposition was warned by state regulators before the March auction against including any properties it did not have the right to sell. The company has said it auctioned several such properties at a previous event in November.
The lease on the MacKinnons' Brock ton apartment ends May 27, and the landlord already has a new tenant. We have a three-month-old daughter, and now we have nowhere to move," MacKinnon said. California-based Real Estate Disposition did not return calls or an e-mail asking for comment. In several cases, the closings were delayed because properties had been auctioned before the foreclosure process was complete. Mortgage firms had Real Estate Disposition auction off properties that they didn't yet own.
In response, Massachusetts regulators sent a letter to the auctioneers warning against including any property in the March auction where the foreclosure process was not complete. The auctioneers could lose their state licenses if they violated the rule. Regulators said yesterday they had not yet received the MacKinnons' complaint, but as soon as they do, they will ask the company to respond.
The Division of Standards, which oversees auctioneers, said its investigation of the November sale was ongoing. The MacKinnons originally were interested in a different foreclosed home in Brockton. They made an offer, but the lender never responded. Instead, it asked Real Estate Disposition to auction the home.
On the weekend before the March auction, the MacKinnons decided the first home would require too much renovation. Then they saw the house on North Cary Street. It was a good home, nice and solid," Alexandria MacKinnon said. So we went to the auction to bid on it." Their winning bid of $195,000 was the most they were willing to pay. The auctioneer dropped the gavel as a rival bidder raised his hand once more.
The MacKinnons thought they had just bought their first home. Binyamin Appelbaum can be reached at bappelbaum globe.com. Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
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TechFaith and Epic Games China Sign Licensing Agreement
Defu Dong, CEO of TechFaith, said, "We are excited about our collaboration with EPIC, as this license agreement will enable us to produce high-quality games to meet the demands and requirements of Chinese gaming consumers. TechFaith is rolling out its plan to get into the gaming market and is off to a great start with such a strong partner as EPIC. As we commence with our gaming strategy, we continue to believe this sector has strong growth potential.
Mobile phone games should serve as an excellent springboard to begin penetrating the broader mobile content sector. EPIC's Unreal Engine 3 is one of the most highly acclaimed engines in the market, broadly used by the top game developers. Our progress in this space will help us to capture the potential for our future in the mobile phone gaming space."
Epic Games China is honored to be providing TechFaith with the core development infrastructure, tools, and technology for its upcoming projects," said Paul Meegan, CEO of Epic Games China. We're excited that TechFaith has chosen Unreal Engine 3 and look forward to seeing the great games they'll produce with it." About TechFaith TechFaith (NASDAQ: CNTF) is an original developed product provider focused on research and development of cell phone solutions.
Based in China, TechFaith employs approximately 1,300 professionals, of whom approximately 90% are engineers. TechFaith engages in the development and production of middle to high end handsets and tailor made handsets.
TechFaith's original developed products include: (1) multimedia phones and dual mode dual card handsets of multiple wireless technology combination such as GSM GSM, GSM CDMA, GSM WCDMA, GSM TD-SCDMA and UMTS CDMA; (2) Window based smartphone and Pocket PC phone; and (3) handsets with interactive online gaming and professional game terminals with phone functionality.
With the capability of developing MMI UI software on 2G 2.5G(GSM GPRS, CDMA1X), 3G(EV-DO, WCDMA UMTS, TD-SCDMA) and 3.5G(HSDPA) communication technologies, TechFaith is able to provide MMI UI software packages that fulfill the specifications of handset brand owners and carriers in the global market.
For more information, please visit www.techfaithwireless.com About Unreal Engine 3 The award-winning Unreal Engine is known for cutting-edge graphics and a best-of-breed toolset. Unreal Engine 3 is expected to maintain those features while adding massive world support, multi-processor support, next-generation console optimizations, and one of the most mature tool pipelines in the industry.
Unreal Engine 3's new toolset is designed specifically to accelerate developers' productivity for ultra-complex, next-generation content. Additional information on Unreal Engine can be obtained at http: www.unrealtechnology.com About Epic Games Epic Games, Inc., Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology.
The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its Unreal series, recently shipping Unreal Tournament 3 for PC and PlayStation 3. Epic's breakthrough game, Gears of War, sold over 4 million copies and was awarded overall Game of the Year for 2006 by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Game Developers Choice Awards, GameSpot, GamePro and many others.
Epic is also responsible for the Unreal Engine, which is the underlying technology for a wide range of games, including the Game Critics Awards' Best Console Game and Spike TV's 2007 RPG of the Year Mass Effect by BioWare and the 2007 BAFTA Best Game and Spike TV Game of the Year BioShock by 2K Games.
Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder, and three-time consecutive winner, of Game Developer magazine's Front Line award for Best Game Engine. Epic was also recognized as 2006 Studio of the Year by Spike TV, 2006 Developer of the Year by Official Xbox Magazine and 2007 Large Company of the Year by the North Carolina Technology Association. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through the Epic Games Web site at www.epicgames.com.
About Epic Games China Epic Games China, based in Shanghai, licenses Epic Games' Unreal Engine 2 and Unreal Engine 3 in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South East Asia. The company provides local technology support and professional training services in Mandarin and English. Epic Games China also offers AAA quality content production outsourcing and game development services to developers and publishers worldwide.
Additional information is available at http: www.epicgameschina.com Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements.
Among other things, the business outlook and strategic and operational plans of TechFaith contain forward-looking statements. TechFaith may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S.
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China set used by Adolf Hitler’s bodyguard is up for auction - Telegraph
Nazi guards would eat their meals served on the 30-piece set as they travelled incognito on the Hamburg-American shipping line, protecting Hitler against communist attack. All the plates and dishes carry the symbol of the "Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler" (LAH), the name of the elite guard, in elaborate gold lettering.
They would only be used in the guard’s private quarters. The Leibstandarte-SS lived in comfort on board the ships, which were partly owned by George W Bush’s great grandfather, Prescott Bush, often posing as passengers or crew.
Article continues advertisement The china set was made by Hutschenreuther, a family firm, in a classic 1930s flo-blue style with gold edging, Nordic signs and a north-star pattern. It was believed to have been used on board the SS Albert Ballin, built by Blohm and Voss, Hamburg, in 1922 for the Hamburg-American Line. The items are being sold at Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wilts, on May 17, for an estimated £1,000.
Andrew Aldridge said: "They turned up just a few miles from us here and the vendor has no idea how he came by them. Hitler’s personal guards - the best of the best - travelled incognito on the ships in case there were any attacks by communists or subversive elements. They had the best of everything including their china that included the items we have for sale.
Some would have posed as crew and others as passengers - they were the equivalent of air marshalls. And they would have used these items in their own quarters, so no one would have seen them. Collectors of marine memorabilia and second world war memorabilia will be interested so there is a cross over which will help them sell." Nazi memorabilia The family man in a murderer's uniform German neo-Nazis 'live out their SS fantasies' in the Czech Republic The cruel things that sometimes happen "They had the best of everything including their china that included the items we have for sale."
The brick Ray Winstone on life from the East End to Hollywood. My kind of town Relaxed locals and tasty cuisine in Trivandrum, Kerala. Woman in love Cynthia Nixon talks about the dramas in her real life.
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Trade Arabia - Middle East business information Trade news portal
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Economy hurts golf tourney's sponsorship chances ajc.com
We didn't realize how important you were." The end result, recalled Steve Jackson, who also worked for G-P at the time, was tens of millions of dollars in new pulp sales. There are," Jackson notes, "those kinds of stories."
Jackson, who's now on the search committee looking for a new title sponsor for the tournament, hopes corporate America takes the point: Being title sponsor of a PGA Tour event like the one in Atlanta can pay off in many ways.
Now, if only someone would seize the opportunity to spend about $7 million a year for five years, plus related marketing costs, to put their name on the event. The tournament's effort to land a title sponsor has been hampered by the downturn in the economy and by the reversal of fortunes of many companies that might otherwise jump at the chance to put their name on the event. We are the victim of the timing of business economics," Jackson said.
People are saying, 'We're not going to increase our spending this year.' When the 2008 tournament concludes Sunday afternoon at the TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, AT&T will drop off as the event's title sponsor, leaving a vacuum that no other company has yet filled. When AT&T merged with BellSouth, it inherited the tournament, but with two other PGA Tour title sponsorships, plus two on the Champions Tour, the company gave notice last November it would trim the Atlanta event.
If no title sponsor is found soon, the tournament, after 40 years and essentially just two title sponsors (G-P and BellSouth AT&T), could disappear.
There is no single drop-dead date to find a sponsor, but the PGA Tour releases its 2009 schedule in November, and a company must be found before then, preferably well before then. Since January, Jackson, tournament director Dave Kaplan and other officials have contacted 149 companies and made presentations to 23 and formal proposals to seven.
Five of those prospects are still classified as "active," meaning that one might agree to serve as title sponsor. Every Atlanta-area company that could legitimately serve as a title sponsor has been contacted, they said. Gov. Sonny Perdue and U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson have helped the search committee make contact with possible sponsors, as has as the Atlanta Sports Council, Jackson said.
If this had been 18 months ago, or 18 months from now, we'd probably have had a sponsor," Kaplan said. Technically, a would-be sponsor wouldn't have to spend any dollars until 2009.
But for many corporations, including a list of top Atlanta companies that have cut back through staff reductions and other cost paring, the idea of committing tens of millions of dollars to sponsor a golf tournament is unseemly. Several major local corporations called by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution are not interested in taking over the event's title sponsorship, including Coca-Cola, UPS and Georgia-Pacific. It's not something we will be doing," said Susan Stribling, spokesperson for Coca-Cola North America.
Jackson, Kaplan and company tout PGA Tour title sponsorship as a way to introduce a new product or brand, boost name recognition, and build or cement relationships with customers and partners. The PGA Tour, they say, reaches "influentials" - key corporate decision makers. For its money, a title sponsor gets extensive TV commercial air time, spots in the tournament pro-am event, signage throughout the course, hospitality opportunities during the week, and privileges at other TPC clubs. Plus, the sponsor gets the public relations value of backing a local charity.
Since 1989, the tournament, through the non-profit Atlanta Classic Foundation host organization, has donated more than $13 million to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Still, there are many alternatives if a company wants to spend money on sports. It's always competitive," said PGA Tour executive Tom Wade.
Companies have a lot of options how to spend their marketing and community dollars, and in this economic environment it's more challenging than normal." Vote for this story!
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