Minute Chances to Move Merger Vote - NYSE CEO - Galaxy Stocks

The leader of NYSE Euronext announced Tuesday that the company had little room to repel an intended July 7 shareholder vote on its planned merger with Deutsche Boerse AG.

Duncan Niederauer, NYSE Euronext’s chief executive, informed shareholders in the Big Board operator didn’t feel “rushed” by the timeline, refusing criticism from Nasdaq OMX Group and IntercontinentalExchange, which have made their own hostile counter-bid.

Niederauer told an investor conference that German law required NYSE shareholders to vote first, with its German partner having until mid-July to conduct its own poll or risk having to run a fresh tender proposal.

It is about as delayed as we can go, he commented of the July 7 vote.

NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) opened the day at 40.53 then added +0.91 points or +2.24% and closed the day at 41.55, however its 52 week range was 26.42 - 41.18. It had traded an overall volume of 3.27 million shares below its average volume of 4.91 million.

Covering the high profile stories at NYSE, Dean Foods Company (NYSE:DF) shares jumped 11.5% after the dairy company announced a higher-than-expected profit for the first quarter and upgraded its 2011 earnings outlook.

Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) shares advanced nearly 18% after the diet-products company late Monday announced quarterly results that went beyond estimates.

Triumph Group, Inc. (NYSE:TGI) shares enhanced nearly 11% after the aerospace company announced that fourth-quarter net income added to $2.04 per share, surpassing Wall Street approximations.

Zale Corporation (NYSE:ZLC) shares enhanced 12.6% after the jewelry retailer informed that it gave its chief financial officer the added responsibility of chief administrative officer.

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) shares dropped 9% after the medical-device manufacturer announced that Ray Elliott would retire as president and chief executive at the end of the year.

DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX) shares slipped 5.5% a day following the operator of online technology-jobs sites announced that “certain stockholders” would sell 8 million shares.

Sotheby’s (NYSE:BID) shares sank 6% following the New York auctioneer late Monday posted a first-quarter profit under anticipations.

USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NYSE:USNA) shares lost 12.5% after the manufacturer of nutritional supplements announced that three top executives had resigned.

During Tuesday business oil prices moved above $103 a barrel helping the energy stocks to pare their early losses. As a result the energy sector saw a significant growth of +0.72%.

The prominent companies conducting their business in the energy sector include Cleantech Transit, CLNO stock price increased 1.25% Tuesday and settled $0.122. However GreenHouse Holdings, GRHU decreased 3.45% to close at $1.40.

In general, GreenHouse Holdings, Inc is a supplier of energy efficiency offerings and sustainable infrastructure products. The company designs, engineers and installs diverse technologies and products that help to create persistent technical and financial results, by enabling clients to monitor and control their energy costs in the most efficient manner possible. The target markets for GreenHouse Holdings for its energy efficiency solutions slot in residential, commercial and industrial, as well as government and military markets.

Although aquaponics (the simplest definition being “the symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment”) has been around in various forms for thousands of years, Aquaponics from GreenHouse contain proprietary ways to produce yields that fall well within established production parameters for existing aquaponics systems, but with a much more stable system requiring less intervention and maintenance, featuring much greater environmental sustainability, when compared to competing technology.

The second energy sector company is Cleantech Transit Inc that successfully makes use of the benefits of technology progressions and manufacturing opportunities in the expanding clean energy public transportation sector.

Company manages on a direct investment approach in demanding green energy projects that are expected to maximize shareholder profits.

After having recognition for the many economic and operational processes of converting wood waste into renewable sources of energy, Cleantech chosen to place its significant investments in Phoenix Energy (www.phoenixenergy.net). This clean energy project is expected to bump up shareholder returns as well benefit the Company’s manufacturing clients worldwide.

Biomass is a renewable, low carbon fuel that is already widely available throughout the globe. Its production and use also brings supplementary environmental and social benefits. Correctly managed, biomass is a sustainable fuel that can deliver a noteworthy reduction in net carbon emissions when compared with fossil fuels.

To cut the story short, total 3,487 stocks are listed on NYSE out of which 2,775 remained in positive zone and 630 remained in negative zone rest experienced no change for the day, however 107 marked their New Highs and 13 set their New Lows.

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Tags: BID, Boston Scientific, BSX, Cleantech Transit, CLNO, CLNO.OB, Dean Foods, Deutsche Boerse, DF, DHX, DICE HOLDINGS, Duncan Niederauer, German law, GreenHouse Holdings, GRHU, GRHU.OB, high profile Stories at NYSE, IntercontinentalExchange, MED, Medifast, NASDAQ OMX Group, New Highs, New Lows, New York, NYSE, NYSE Euronext, NYSE:BID, NYSE:BSX, NYSE:DF, NYSE:DHX, NYSE:MED, NYSE:NYX, NYSE:TGI, NYSE:USNA, NYSE:ZLC, NYX, Ray Elliott, Sotheby's, TGI, Triumph Group, USANA Health, USNA, Wall Street, Zale, ZLC

Aquaponics redefines 'locally grown' while aiming for profit - Medill Reports: Chicago

From the exterior it looks like another boarded-up building on Chicago’s South Side. But within the small brick structure are rows of lush basil floating in water, thriving beneath the white glow of low-hanging fluorescent lights. In the corner, hundreds of tilapia swim aimlessly in a large 300-gallon tank.

If the founders of City Micro Farms LLC are successful in their business plan, this scene may become a significant part of the future of urban food production.

“We are going after old agriculture, is what we are doing,” said Alan Rose, chief marketing director and co-founder of City Micro Farms.

In its testing facility, the Chicago startup grows a variety of vegetables and herbs, meticulously controlling every environmental input, including temperature, lighting, humidity and water.

At the heart of this operation is a growing technique known as aquaponics. It is a process of raising fish and plants together in a manmade ecosystem, creating a symbiotic relationship. The fish fertilize the water used to feed the plants. In turn, the plants filter the water, making it habitable for the fish.

This, proponents say, constitutes an efficient system for food production.

From Hawaii to upstate New York, aquaponic farms are popping up across the country.

Using less than 1 percent of the water required by traditional agriculture, aquaponics can yield more than 10 times the produce in the same amount of grow space, said Myles Harston, one of the early pioneers of aquaponics and a co-founder of City Micro Farms.

While neither hydroponics (growing plants in nutrient-rich water) nor aquaculture (raising fish in a controlled environment) is new, the synthesis of the two techniques gained adherents amidst a crippling recession and soaring fuel prices.

“Just in the last five years there has been a serious awareness of aquaponics,” said Rebecca Nelson, president of an aquaponics systems manufacturer. “That comes from the demand for local food and concerns for food safety.”

Nelson’s Wisconsin-based company, Nelson and Pade Inc., has been selling systems since the early ‘90s, but in the past four years the company has experienced significant growth. In 2010 the company sold 22 systems. This year it's on pace to sell 30 or more.

This boom is due in part to the flexibility of where one can set up operations: outdoors, in greenhouses or inside buildings. But more importantly, the aquaponics industry is growing because it is proving to be a profitable venture.

Friendly Aquaponics Inc., a family-run operation in Hawaii, offers classes on how to set up and run a commercial aquaponics business. According to the owner, Tim Mann, Friendly was able to generate an operating profit margin of 72 percent, excluding labor. This is a best-case scenario as the farm avoids typical heating, cooling and lighting costs growing outside in a tropical climate.

When Mann compiled these numbers he generated $9,700 a month on $13,400 of revenue from a farm comprising 3,600 square feet of grow space and 2,700 fish. Since then, he has expanded the farm to over 6,400 square feet.

Mann also points out that aquaponics is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

“You are a primary producer and you are doing real work,” he said.

According to Rose, farmers who use aquaponics but who are not organically certified typically price their goods in a soft spot between organics, which command top dollar, and traditionally farmed products, which are often shipped from hundreds, if not thousands of miles away.

“If a package of lettuce costs $3.99 a bag, we’ll sell ours for $3.50,” Rose said.

Nelson said her pre-packaged aquaponics systems have a typical payback period of three to four years. The price for these setups range from $4,000 for a personal system to just under $60,000 for a full-scale commercial operation that can produce approximately 3,500 pounds of fish and 48,000 heads of lettuce a year.

Chicago-based startup 312 Aquaponics LLC sell aquaponic systems that are modeled for a payback period of less than three years.

“Not bad considering the equipment payoff term for an outdoor farm is at least 10 years, often more like 15 years,” Andrew Fernitz, co-founder of 312 Aquaponics, wrote in an email last week.

Fernitz added that his team plans “to develop a growing system in the near future that can be paid back in a year, is scalable and stackable, for organic production of food year round."

Acquaponically-produced food, still only a fraction of the food market, is enjoying a surge in popularity.

Sweet Water Organics in Milwaukee produces a variety of lettuce, herbs and fish using aquaponics. Since opening in 2008, the company has had a steady increase in sales.

“Right now we are in a situation where we can’t grow enough to meet demand,” said Todd Leech, Sweet Water Organics’ sales manager.

Chris Smith, a former construction worker in Hawaii who turned to aquaponics in 2009 after he could not find work amid the recession, has expanded his growing area from 52 square feet to more than 1,000 square feet. While he and his wife were the only ones working at first, he now uses interns who want to learn the craft.

Three days a week Smith sells an array of leafy greens to his neighborhood.

“Ninety percent of our food is imported, so anyone who sells locally has a huge advantage,” Smith said of his community in Kona, Hawaii.

Now companies like City Micro Farms are attempting to bring this commercial enterprise to Chicago.

But before the seven-month old venture is crowned a success, it must pass two major hurdles: energy costs and Chicago zoning laws.

Because the four entrepreneurs grow indoors, they face extra expenses. To date, most commercial aquaponics facilities operate in greenhouses where growers capitalize on the use of free sunlight, or outdoors in warm climates where heating, cooling and lighting are not needed.

Referring to indoor aquaponics systems, Nelson said, “that scenario has not proven economically viable.”

Still, City Micro Farms is modeled for an operating profit margin greater than 20 percent, citing some technical advantages.

Harston, who has been designing systems since 1992, said growing indoors is actually a boon compared to greenhouse or outdoor operations.

Growing indoors will allow City Micro Farms to produce consistently year round without environmental disruptions such as heavy winds or insects, said Harston. He added that advances in LED and fluorescent lighting have driven down energy costs. Finally, for Midwest climates, buildings are able to control heating and cooling costs better than greenhouses during the harshest winter and summer months.

The other immediate challenge is the Chicago zoning code, which currently classifies fish as livestock. This is a problem since raising commercial livestock is prohibited within city limits. While an amendment is under consideration by the City Council, it is not expected to pass anytime soon.

Because sale of its fish represents only 10 percent of revenue, Rose said the restriction is not a major problem in the short term.

However, City Micro Farms wants to expand to 30,000 square feet of growing space by this fall. Because of the ordinance, Rose and his team are looking for a facility in Bedford Park.

If City Micro Farms can successfully navigate the zoning laws and its expenses, the founders expect a healthy profit, while providing a locally grown product to Chicagoans.

When calculating its potential profit, City Micro Farm used a model of $13.50 per pound of basil and an annual yield of 10 pounds per square foot, both figures the founders consider conservative.

This suggests that if City Micro Farm were to grow only basil on its expected 30,000 square feet of production space, it can achieve annual revenues of $4.1 million and estimated operating profits of $810,000.

Aquaponics System-What Are The Benefits Of An Aquaponics Gardening System

Aquaponics System-What Are The Benefits Of An Aquaponics Gardening System

The aquaponics system has recently become “famous” because of it’s appearance on a TV documentery. This does not mean the system is new, on the contrary aquaponics has been around for many, many years now. If you are in any way interested in indoor or outdoor gardening then this could give your efforts a much needed boost in crops and make your hobby much more interesting.

The aquaponics system is a natural cycle that uses fish (of any kind) to feed your plants and vegetables with all the food and nutrition that they need to prosper. The fish produce waste which is sent from the tank to your plant beds which are specially designed to allow the water to flow through them, at the same time feeding the plants and cleaning the water before returning it to the fish tank.

There are many benefits to an aquaponics system.

1. It takes away a lot of the back breaking work of a typical vegetable garden because the plants can be harvested above ground level and there is no need for any weeding. The watering can will also become a tool of the past as the system waters itself.

2. Unlike normal gardens you will need any fertilizers or plant foods to aid the growth of your crop. Plus there is no need for slug pellets and other repelants because your plants are not at ground level.

3. Because of the lack of extra chemicals and other such things it means that the cost of running an aquaponics system is very low indeed. In fact the most expensive item once you are set up is the fish food, which is dirt cheap.

4. Being as this is a totally natural cycle the vegetables taste so much better than ones from the shops. The saving on your grocery bill is generic levitra buy online also huge.

As well as the benefits to an aquaponics gardening system there is a big downfall and that is the initial cost of buying a new set up in kit form or ready made. The way around this problem is to build your own, this is not at all a daunting task and you can have one up and running in penicillin and ampicillin three weeks flat. The three weeks is the time needed for your aquaponic fish tank to be ready for the fish, the rest of the aquaponics system can be built very cheaply in a couple of days.

http://www.diyaquaponics.org/

Take a look and see how easy it is to create a DIY Aquaponics System

Tagged with: Aquaponics • Benefits • Gardening • System • SystemWhat

Filed under: Easy Aquaponics Articles

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St. Rose teen sells his award-winning produce at Gretna Farmers Market - NOLA.com

What began as a ninth-grade science fair project has turned into an all-consuming father and son enterprise in the Frazier household.

KARI DEQUINEBrad Frazier inspects the roots of his sweet basil plants grown hydroponically in a raised bed in a greenhouse in his back yard. He sells them at the Gretna Farmers Market.

Last fall, Brad Frazier, 14, set out to prove that tomatoes grown using a hydroponic (cultivating plants in water) system would out-perform tomatoes grown in soil.

Six months later, the experiment, which won third place at the regional science fair, has expanded into an innovative and impressive growing operation at their St. Rose home and a subsequent stand at the Gretna Farmers Market.

A 20-by-40-foot greenhouse, built by the duo during the Christmas holiday, sits in the corner of their yard, bursting with leafy vegetables and herbs. Brad Frazier and father, Lonnie, built everything themselves -- from the elevated water beds to the water circulating system using automatic timers, 55-gallon drums, water bottles and PVC pipe.

While they occasionally top it off, the water is recycled through the system.

Brad Frazier's first gleam of inspiration into the world of hydroponics and aquaponics began with a newspaper article about two culinary students who built a small aquaponic setup in their backyard.

It was his introduction into the world of aquaponics, a symbiotic system that links hydroponics with aquaculture (raising aquatic animals in tanks).

Brad Frazier sells his home-grown hydroponic lettuce and herbs at the Gretna Farmers Market.

Instead of adding nutrients to the water, the plants are able to derive the necessary nutrients from fish waste, which is pumped from the fish tank through the hydroponic system. The water, cleansed of toxins by the plants, is circulated back to the fish.

Brad Frazier was intrigued by the idea.

"It's as organic as you can get," he said. If anything is out of balance, he said, either the plants or the fish will die.

Visits to the Land Pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center also helped in the Fraziers' inspiration and education. Ideas and information can be found in the attraction's large gardens and accompanying demonstrations.

Another source of vital information for the construction process was a manual called "Barrel-ponics," a how-to guidebook by the concept's inventor, Travis Hughey, on using common household plumbing fixtures and plastic barrels.

For about $50, the Fraziers were able to build a mister that would have cost $500, said Lonnie Frazier, and a raised bed for about $400, that would have cost close to $5,000. "It's not as nice looking, but it's functional," he said. To build the frame of greenhouse, they found a "pipe-bender" on eBay.

The Fraziers successfully found sources for obtaining the barrels from local businesses -- the clear ones once held soap, while the blue ones were filled with hot sauce. The vendors at the Gretna Farmers Market, Lonnie Frazier said, have been another much-appreciated resource

The plants in the Frazier greenhouse use a variety of material for stability in the water, from burlap for the microgreens and rocks for the bell peppers, to a specially designed foam for the lettuce and coconut shells for the tomatoes.

To battle the pests without pesticides, the Fraziers are experimenting with an idea gathered at Epcot Center: ladybugs. So far, they said, the results are promising, and the plants have fared much better since introducing the ladybugs to the problem areas. Without bees, Brad Frazier demonstrated his technique: pollination via electric toothbrush.

Already, Brad Frazier said he has plans for expansion. They want to build a new greenhouse, he said, at twice the size, and a pond for goldfish, coy and perch. So far, Brad Frazier said his lettuce is his "prized-possession" and hopes to devote an entire greenhouse to it. He grows butterhead, oakleaf and baby romaine. He's found the "baby" or miniature varieties -- like his baby cucumbers, are popular among buyers.

For Brad Frazier, part of the driving force is simple. "I need money," he said. "I need a car."

But looking at the bigger picture, he is becoming increasingly interested in the field and science of agriculture. He foresees a need for a new generation of farmers and recognizes the current popularity in urban and community gardening. He said he is pushing for his school, John Curtis High School, to develop an agricultural department.

"I've learned as much as he has," Lonnie Frazier said, adding that a lot of the fun comes from the trial-and-error process.

They've had their share of challenges to overcome, like the right timing for planting, the aphids on the eggplants, the winter freezes, a flooded yard that displaced the fish tank and the two pet Springer spaniels who like to steal tomatoes. But both Brad and his father are eager to continue their quest on figuring out what works best.

"I feel if people found out how easy it is you'd find more people doing it," Lonnie Frazier said. "It's not as expensive as people believe. It just takes a little time and a little ingenuity."

As for the science fair project: "Fish, Dirt, or Water: Which grows tomatoes best," Brad's hypothesis that aquaponics would come out on top was close to correct.

His dad's bet was on the hydroponics, which did emerge victorious, but the aquaponic set-up was close behind. Using graphs that tracked plant height and fruit productivity, Brad's experiment showed that the hydroponic plants produced 30 tomatoes, the aquaponic produced 23 and the soil-grown plants produced six.