The UK Debt Management Office has announced it will on July 29 auction 2.5 billion pounds of Tresury gilts maturing in 2018.

SIV the 4.4bn Euro troubled structured investment vehicle previously managed by London based-hedge fund Cheyne Capital Management is preparing to auction assets as part of a restructuring, which strategists say will give the market new guidance on the pricing of structured credit and an indication of the size of further writedowns at banks.

Freddie Mac attracted more intrest on Monday for an auction of $3 billion in short-term securities than it had nearly all year, a day after the US government provided support for the mortgage giant.

Shares of Freddie Mac fell 64 cents, or 8.3 percent, to close at $7.11 in Monday.

The US Treasury is working on plans to inject up to $15 billion (£7.5 billion) of capital into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stem the crisis at America’s biggest mortgage firms.

The two companies lost almost half their market value last week as rumours of a government bail-out swept the stock markets, hammering share prices around the world.

RAPID CITY, S.D., - Black Hills Corp. today announced it has completed the $840 million sale of seven independent power production gas-fired plants to affiliates of Hastings Funds Management and IIF BH Investment, a subsidiary of an investment entity advised by JPMorgan Asset Management.

The net proceeds from this IPP sale are expected to eliminate Black Hills’ need to issue equity to finance the pending acquisition of Aquila’s electric utility in Colorado and four natural gas utilities in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

“Our sale process was comprehensive, and we believe this sale of select IPP assets produced excellent value for our shareholders,” said David R. Emery, chairman, president and chief executive officer for Black Hills Corp.

“We will remain an active participant in the IPP business. We excel in planning, permitting, constructing and operating reliable and efficient power plants. The latest demonstration of our capabilities is the Valencia facility, a 149 megawatt gas-fired power plant in New Mexico, which went into operation ahead of schedule and below budget on May 30.

“In addition, our expert power generation staff will focus on the ongoing construction of the Wygen III power plant near Gillette, Wyo., for our regulated electric utility, Black Hills Power. After the close of the Aquila utility acquisition, and with Colorado Public Utilities Commission approval, we also intend to pursue the permitting and construction of generating facilities to serve our Colorado electric utility customers.”

The IPP sale received regulatory approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, antitrust clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, and completion of a federal review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

This sale completed a process that began when the company announced in October 2007 that its board of directors had approved a strategic review, including potential divestiture, of some of its independent power production plants located throughout the western United States. Following a multi-month strategic review and auction process, the company announced in April 2008 it had entered into a definitive agreement with affiliates of Hastings and IIF to sell the seven IPPs with a total capacity of 974 megawatts.

The following power plants were included in the sale: Asset (State) Capacity (net megawatts) Fountain Valley (Colorado) 240 Las Vegas II (Nevada) 224 Valencia (New Mexico) 149 Arapahoe (Colorado) 130 Harbor Cogeneration (California) 98 Valmont (Colorado) 80 Las Vegas I (Nevada) 53 Total 974

The following power plants remain with the company in the power generation business segment of our non-regulated energy business unit after the sale:

Asset (State) Capacity (net megawatts) Wygen I (Wyoming)* 90 Gillette Combustion Turbine (Wyoming) 40 Ontario Cogeneration (California) 12 Rupert and Glenns Ferry Cogeneration (Idaho)** 11 Power fund investments (various locations) 5 Total 158 * Mine-mouth coal-fired baseload generation ** Capacity represents the Company’s 50 percent interest in the two power plants

A fund controlled by Abu Dhabi has acquired the Chrysler building, an Art Deco icon of the New York City skyline, for $800 million. The New York Times reported that the Abu Dhabi fund purchased a 90% stake of the building, but the property will still be controlled by Tishman Speyer Properties. The Chrysler Building was designed by architect William Van Alen to house the Chrysler Corporation. When the ground breaking occurred on September 19, 1928, there was an intense competition in New York City to build the world’s tallest skyscraper

London, U.K. - Palo Alto Software Ltd today announced that its flagship product Business Plan Pro 11.0 has received a ‘highly recommended’ rating from Wokingham-based Company Partners.

Company Partners provides an online service to put people who are looking for business partners in touch with each other, serving both those starting a business, and those growing an existing business. They also enable business angels and those looking for business investment to contact each other directly.

Company Partners also undertakes an annual review of the best business plan applications available and reports on their findings through their Company Partners website. This is the first time that anyone has achieved a highly-recommended rating.

Describing Business Plan Pro, Lawrence Gilbert, Director of Company Partners states Business Plan Pro was “a joy to use, with its easy-to-follow guidance and clear descriptions at each step.” He went on to say it produced, “a polished and professional looking result [and is] highly recommended for any business.”

The review goes on to praise the “easy” setup and installation, and describes the financial section as being based on UK requirements which included “excellent guidance”.

“We are delighted we have received such a ringing endorsement for our latest version from Company Partners,” says Alan Gleeson, Managing Director of Palo Alto Software Ltd. “It is especially pleasing when the independent review covers many of our competitors in the U.K., and we are delighted to be the only business-planning application to receive a ‘highly recommended’ status by Company Partners.” Gleeson goes on to say that “this latest version got a complete overhaul, and is now faster and easier to use than ever before. We are naturally thrilled with this endorsement which justifies our efforts in making Business Plan Pro the fastest and easiest way to write a business plan.”

BUSINESS PLAN PRO the fastest and easiest way to write a business plan
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To read the product review in full, please visit the Company Partners website.

Business Plan Pro 11.0 is available immediately at Palo Alto.co.uk, from Amazon and also from Borders, Oxford Street, London.

About Palo Alto Software Ltd
Palo Alto Software Limited is a privately held company with offices in London, England. Palo Alto Software Limited sells, markets, and distributes international versions of the award-winning software developed by Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Palo Alto Software’s products include Business Plan Pro®, Marketing Plan Pro®, and Email Center Pro®. The company website http://www.paloalto.co.uk , provides product information, product support, and online registration and updates.

Additional information on business planning can be found at http://www.bplans.co.uk.
Click here to access high-resolution images of Business Plan Pro® .

BizzEnergy, the UK’s leading independent energy provider, today announces that it is just one stage away from giving power back to its customers by providing them with them full online control over their electricity bills.

At a time of rising energy prices, BizzEnergy’s new online accounting system will give users greater visibility and control of their bills and energy usage. Customers can now submit meter readings with one click of a mouse, and the information is then immediately updated onto their account, making estimated bills a thing of the past. Secondly, businesses who receive half-hourly meter readings can analyse this data online and download it onto their own systems. This development means that customers will be able to identify high usage periods where they can look to make reductions, and potentially save them money and improve their carbon footprint.

This announcement means that the company has completed the penultimate stage of its ambitious four stage e-commerce programme enabling BizzEnergy to be the first to allow businesses to fully manage their accounts online. With the latest work complete, customers no longer have to sit on hold in a phone queue to get an answer to an account query. Instead BizzEnergy’s customer support team can view the online account with the customer and solve the problem there and then. Businesses can also set up and edit their direct debit details on the site, saving yet more phone calls.

BizzEnergy’s e-commerce programme started in October 2007. This latest stage adds to online facilities set up in the first two stages which enabled businesses to get a quote and account summary via the website as well as sign up to BizzEnergy and pay their bills online. All three phases have been rolled out within a short time frame and work on delivering the final stage is already underway.

“Rising prices mean businesses are demanding and valuing greater transparency and control over their energy bills as they look for ways to reduce consumption. We have recognised this and rolled out our e-commerce programme within a few months to ensure businesses benefit sooner rather than later. Thousands of our customers have already chosen this option and the latest phase will give them even more benefit and flexibility,” said James Constant, COO at BizzEnergy. “These applications are all intuitive and easy to use and mean small businesses can access information in seconds and at a time that suits them. With three phases now complete customers can undertake the bulk of their regular transactions online and we are already well on the way to completing the final stages of this ambitious plan.”

About BizzEnergy
BizzEnergy is a market innovator in energy. Set up in 2000, BizzEnergy is now the largest independent electricity supplier for businesses in Great Britain. BizzEnergy offers small and medium sized businesses a range of competitive energy tariffs, including several green options, as well as smart metering products to improve energy efficiency. BizzEnergy will be the first business supplier to allow its customers to fully serve and control their accounts online.

Fortis has sold International Asset Management Limited (IAM) to its management team, supported by certain third party investors.
IAM is a London-based fund-of-hedge-funds manager, originally established in 1989. As at 31 March 2008 it had USD 4.3 billion in assets under management. IAM is one of the former subsidiaries of ABN AMRO Asset Management acquired by Fortis in the consortium bid launched with RBS and Santander for ABN AMRO in 2007.
Lex Kloosterman, member of the Fortis Group Executive Committee and responsible for Asset Management comments: “Following a strategic review of our investment in IAM, we concluded that an MBO would be the best solution, reflecting the interests of all stakeholders, including our shareholders, and IAM’s customers and employees. We wish management every future success. Fortis remains fully committed to further developing our presence in the fund-of-hedge fund sector, through Fortis Investments’ existing majority interest in Cadogan Management.”
Morten Spenner, CEO of IAM adds: “We feel this MBO is the optimal solution for IAM clients and employees. Over time, we have developed a strong and cohesive team which is committed to being amongst the very best in the industry. Our future as an independent specialist is an exciting opportunity for us all. IAM’s new ownership structure generates a strong alignment of interests within the firm plus great depth of experience from our two new external shareholders.”
The transaction will not have a material impact on the Fortis net profit per share. Some solvency relief will accrue to Fortis.

Fortis is an international provider of banking and insurance services to personal, business and institutional customers. We deliver a total package of financial products and services through our own high-performance channels and via intermediaries and other partners. With a market capitalisation of EUR 23.9 billion (30/06/2008), Fortis ranks among Europe’s top 20 financial institutions,. Together with ABN AMRO, we have a presence in over 50 countries and a dedicated, professional workforce of more than 85,000. All this makes us a leader in financial services in Europe, a top 3 private banker and a top tier asset manager. More information is available at www.fortis.com.
International Asset Management (IAM) is one of the oldest specialist hedge fund portfolio managers in Europe. IAM was founded in 1989 and has offices in London and New York. Assets under Management are approximately US$4.3 billion as of end March 2008. IAM continues to specialise in tailor-making portfolios of hedge funds for discerning institutional and individual clients.

NeoSaej, a leader in online auction marketplaces and developer of MoneyAisle.com, the first and only Web site where banks competitively bid for customers through live secure auctions, today announced a strategic alliance with the Michigan Bankers Association (MBA). The alliance is expected to increase the number of banks in MoneyAisle’s growing network and benefit consumers shopping for the best rates on certificates of deposits and high-yield savings accounts.

“MoneyAisle is one of the first major banking innovations we have seen in a long time. From the moment I saw MoneyAisle’s capabilities I knew this was a tool that our banks needed to immediately hear about,” said Larry Sauter, President and CEO of the MBA Service Corporation. “With today’s challenging economy, both banks and customers need tools to help get a leg up and make the most of investments.”