LOCAL BUSINESS
International trade event
Area companies can learn about certifications that are needed for global trade at an International Standards Update seminar Nov. 15 at Corporate College East in Warrensville Heights in suburban Cleveland.
Topics will include what certifications are needed and how companies obtain certification, the product conformance (CE mark) used in the European Union, the Underwriters Laboratories certification (UL mark) on products, as well as the Canadian Standards Association certification (CSA mark), product certification for China and the regulatory environment in China.
The seminar is being presented by groups including the Northeast Ohio Trade & Economic Consortium, headquartered at Kent State University.
Sign-in for the seminar begins at 8 a.m., with the program running from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $95 and includes continental breakfast, lunch, and a seminar booklet.
For details or to register, go online to www.neotec.org and click on Upcoming Events.
Philanthropy awards Nov. 9
The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) North Central Chapter will present seven philanthropy awards at an event Nov. 9. The organization will also celebrate its 20th anniversary that day.
Here are businesses and individuals who will be honored:
Sugar Bush Golf Club, Small Business Leadership Award, nominated by Hattie Larlham; Aultman Hospital, Corporate Leadership Award, nominated by Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank; the Dominion Foundation, Foundation Leadership Award, nominated by the Akron Zoo and University Park Alliance; Tom and Ginny Knoll and Tom and Sue Strauss (Tom Strauss is president and chief executive officer of Summa Health System and Tom Knoll is an attorney who co-founded Stark & Knoll), Outstanding Fundraiser Award; Joseph and Joanne LaRose, Outstanding Philanthropist Award, nominated by Girl Scouts of North East Ohio; and Steve and Jeannine Marks/Akron Marathon (Steve Marks is the marathon’s founder), Special Recognition, nominated by CommonGood Consulting.
ENERGY
Big loss at Chesapeake Energy
Chesapeake Energy Corp., the Oklahoma drilling company with operations in eastern Ohio, reported its biggest net financial loss in more than three years after a plunge in natural gas prices prompted a $2 billion asset write-down.
Chesapeake reported a net loss of $2.01 billion, or $3.19 a share, compared with profit of $922 million, or $1.23, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items such as the asset write-down, Chesapeake earned 10 cents a share, one cent more than the average of 34 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.
Chesapeake is selling assets to raise as much as $14 billion this year to plug a funding shortfall aggravated by the plunge in gas prices. The company said last month it will have $2.3 billion in surplus cash-flow when 2012 ends, a turn-around from its May 1 warning to investors that it was in danger of running out of cash as early as 2013.
Earlier in the day, Chesapeake said it obtained a $2 billion, five-year term loan. Proceeds will be used to refinance a credit pact Chesapeake Energy got in May. Chesapeake shares have lost 9.1 percent this year
ELECTRONICS
Sharp Corp. faces closure
Sharp Corp., the world’s worst-performing major stock, said there was “material doubt” about its ability to survive after forecasting a record $5.6 billion full-year loss on falling demand for its display panels.
Sharp has failed to win a planned investment from Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group and has had difficulty raising money through debt offerings as it burns through cash. The company said its loss for the six months ended Sept. 30 was “huge,” stemming from falling prices for liquid-crystal-display panels, delays at an LCD factory and declining sales in Japan and China.
Compiled from staff and wire reports