Crisis In Nuclear Medicine

In recent years,the quantity of medical isotopes has fallen short of demand.In 2008,the shortage of this radioactive material was 3%.Last year,the shortfall rose to 9%.An increasing number of patients need radiological diagnosis and treatment for conditions such as cancer and heart disease,yet only a limited number of facilities exist to meet the demand,and these are older reactors that may experience shutdowns at a moment's notice.Shortages of isotopes result in postponements and cancellation of procedures,as well as usage of more expensive and less effective ones.
The five main reactors for medical isotope production are in Canada,France,the Netherlands,Belgium and South Africa,yielding 95% of the world supply.About 12,000 curie units of radioactivity are produced weekly for medical use.Last year,Canada's National Research University reactor in Ontario experienced a prolonged shutdown.It was also offline in 2007 for a shorter period.The NRU reactor produces 33% of the world supply;so does the High Flux Reactor in the Netherlands.The Osiris reactor in France produces 7%,as does the BR2 in Belgium,while SAFARI-1 in South Africa yields 15%.Another 5% is produced by smaller reactors globally.There are plans to convert a research reactor in Missouri to medical use as well.
The strict nonproliferation regime,and the difficulty of providing adequate security for the isotopes,which could be used by terrorists to make dirty bombs,complicate the response to the growing need.In 2004,the U.S. secreted medical isotopes,among other nuclear materials,out of Iraq,for fear they would be used in a weapon.

Real Estate Branding Part 2:Inside Realogy

Realogy is a vast conglomerate of real estate-related franchises,comprising Century 21,the TRG Title Resource Group,ERA,Sotheby's International Realty,Coldwell Banker,Coldwell Banker Commercial,Oncor International,Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate,NRT Residential Brokerage,Cartus and The Corcoran Group.Based in Parsipanny,New Jersey,Realogy has 14,500 offices in 93 countries,employing 268,000 sales asociates.About half of Realogy's franchises are Century 21 offices.
Realogy's business model is called the "Value Circle."This circle of franchises provides excellent cross-selling opportunities,Realogy says,while enabling customers to enjoy the convenience of a single-source solution for all their real estate needs:franchising,settlement,relocation,brokerage,mortgage.
Richard A. Smith is President and CEO of Realogy.Without question,it is a dominant force in the real estate markets today.At some point,Realogy may well be spun off back to public ownership again,as is the habit of private equity holders such as Apollo Management Group L.P.It could possibly be broken up into its constituent units at that time.

Real Estate Branding:Century 21

One of the first businessmen to perceive the power of branding and franchising,Arthur E. Bartlett,died in Coronado,California recently.Mr.Bartlett,76,co-founded Century 21,a real estate franchiser,with Marshall Fisher in 1971.Bartlett and Fisher encouraged local agents to come under the Century 21 brand,in order to build and participate in the prestige of a big name brand.Consumers have more confidence in the big brands,Mr.Bartlett observed.That applies as much to real estate as anything else.Franchising gives the small businessman a way to survive in our brand-conscious world.
Century 21 established itself by franchising to experienced agents,rather than recruiting novices.This gave it a considerable edge in the marketplace.The company was sold to TransWorld Corporation in 1978.Eventually,it was folded into Realogy,which is a multi-national,diversified real estate enterprise within a private equity portfolio.Realogy traded briefly on the NYSE,but was quickly acquired by Apollo Management Group,L.P.,a leading private equity firm.

Dick Vermeil On Stress

Retired football coach Dick Vermeil,73,has been offering some advice to Type A personalities.The leave of absence of Florida coach Urban Meyer on account of stress-induced chest pains has highlighted the effects of stress in a very bold way,making Coach Vermeil's insights especially relevant:
1.Don't let your passion become your obsession.
2.You have to delegate.
3.You have to let others do what you do well.
4.Realize when you can get away,even if only for 25-30 minutes,to regroup.Many times,under pressure you're not making the right decisions.
5.You have to be yourself.If I'm offensive,they have to live with it.People appreciate you most if you're yourself.
6.I'd coach tomorrow if I were younger.It doesn't mean you can't be a good parent or grandparent.As I got older,I did a better job of balancing.You only have one chance,Dick Vermeil observed.
Coach Vermeil said he was glad Coach Meyer was taking a leave of absence,rather than resigning.Stress can be managed,the former coach of the Philadelphia Eagles,St.Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs explained.Mr.Vermeil has been married to Carolyn White since 1956.They are the parents of three and grandparents of eleven.Coach Vermeil was the first coach in the history of football to win both the Rose Bowl(1976)and Super Bowl(2000).He was portrayed in the 2006 film "Invincible" by Gary Kinnear.

Canada Approves Nortel Deal

The Canadian Ministry of Industry has signed off on Ciena Corporation's acquisition of Nortel's Metro Ethernet Networks business.Nortel is undergoing a major restructuring.The Toronto telecom firm has been shedding a number of businesses,selling assets to Hitachi,Avaya and GENBAND.Nortel's business spans more than 150 countries,bringing in 2008 revenue of more than 10 billion dollars U.S.It is currently in bankruptcy proceedings.Nortel shares are traded on the OTC pink sheets.
Ciena had already obtained U.S. approval of the deal.Ciena CEO Gary Smith said they have always believed that the transaction provided a substantial benefit to Canada and the Canadian marketplace.The deal could roughly double Ciena's revenue and workforce over time.The company,headquartered in Linthicum,Maryland,employs around 2100 workers and posted revenue of 176.3 million dollars in its last fiscal quarter.It specializes in fiber optic technologies,communications networking equipment,software,services,processing systems and products.Ciena is listed on the NASDAQ exchange.

Ford As An Investment

Michael Ward,auto analyst with Soleil Securities,says 2010 should be a good year for Ford Motor Company.They positioned themselves to benefit from a higher revenue environment.Ford is in a good position to capitalize on the restructuring measures they put in place.They are giving up a very strong name in Volvo,but the sale will net about two billion dollars in proceeds,helping Ford focus on their "One Ford" strategy.
Over the next few years,Mr.Ward believes,Ford will focus on global products such as the Fiesta hatchback.Another global model Ford will be promoting is the Transit Connect,a compact van just now being introduced to the U.S.It had been marketed in 55 countries and saw success as a small business vehicle,and even as an ambulance.It has good fuel economy for a van,and comes in both 5-passenger and cargo versions.
Ford shares closed 2009 at 10 dollars even,just 37 cents off their high for the year,and well off their low of 1.50.They don't yield a dividend,and were down .13 for the week.In this morning's trading,Ford was up as high as 10.17.

Coke Aims For Responsibility

As part of its overall image makeover,Coca-Cola is positioning itself as an ally of parents in their commitment to their children's welfare.The company says that is why it aims to have a responsible and helpful presence in schools.Beginning in 2006,Coke points out,it helped institute national school beverage guidelines in the U.S. by voluntarily removing its full-calorie beverages from schools.Since then,their industry has reduced calories provided to U.S. schools by 58%,Coke claims.
Coca-Cola cites its more than 60-year partnership with Boys&Girls Clubs of America as evidence of its commitment to children.The relationship has produced programs such as Triple Play,which has encouraged more than 4,000,000 children to increase their level of physical activity and educated them about proper nutrition.The beverage maker also notes the My Coke Rewards for Schools Program,through which it has outfitted schools with the sports equipment and teaching materials they badly need,registering more than 5,000 schools to date.Coke maintains a website about its activities and motives at livepositively.com.