ANN ARBOR, Mich – May 04, 2011

Con-way Inc. (NYSE:CNW) today reported net income for the first quarter of 2011 of $6.9 million, or 12 cents per diluted share. The results compare to a first quarter 2010 net loss of $4.0 million, or 8 cents per share.

On a non-GAAP basis, net income in the 2011 first quarter was $13.2 million, or 24 cents per diluted share compared to a loss of $0.8 million, or 2 cents per share in 2010, excluding the following:

2011: $6.3 million of increased tax expense from adjustments for discrete and other tax items.
2010: A $2.8 million charge for the write-off of a customer-relationship intangible asset and $1.2 million of increased tax expense from adjustments for discrete and other tax items.

Revenue for the 2011 first quarter was $1.25 billion, a 7.2 percent increase from last year’s first quarter. Operating income in the 2011 first quarter was $36.7 million compared to $14.4 million in the first quarter a year ago.

Douglas W. Stotlar, Con-way’s president and CEO, noted that despite severe winter weather, both Con-way Freight and Con-way Truckload achieved increased profits, while Menlo Worldwide Logistics posted a good quarter against a record performance last year.

“Con-way Freight’s employees are doing a commendable job executing our strategy,” said Stotlar. “The improvement initiatives that we launched last year at our less-than-truckload (LTL) company are beginning to influence bottom-line results. The network is operating with high levels of efficiency and consistency as we continue to improve the fundamentals of the business.”

Menlo Worldwide Logistics delivered a solid performance in the 2011 first quarter. “Facing a tough comparison from a record first quarter last year, Menlo generated consistent results, growing net revenue and operating income sequentially over the fourth quarter of 2010,”Stotlar noted. “Menlo is well positioned, particularly with its growing international business and a strengthening sales pipeline in North America.”

Con-way Truckload continued to improve, recording increases in revenue, profits and operating efficiencies compared to last year’s first quarter. “Strong operating discipline, tighter capacity and improved pricing led to a good quarter for Con-way Truckload,” said Stotlar. “Empty miles are declining and revenue per loaded mile is rising. Results from the first quarter bid cycle were encouraging. Con-way Truckload continues to increase productivity and asset utilization while maintaining its position as a premium service carrier.”

In the 2011 first quarter, Con-way Inc. recognized income tax expense of $14.4 million, including the earlier-mentioned adjustments, on $21.4 million of income before taxes. In the 2010 first quarter, income tax expense of $1.1 million, including the earlier-mentioned adjustments, was reported on a $2.9 million loss before taxes.

Segment results in the 2011 first quarter for Con-way’s principal operations were as follows:

FREIGHT

For the 2011 first quarter, Con-way Freight, the company’s less-than-truckload operation, reported:

Revenue of $767.7 million, a 5.9 percent increase over last year’s first-quarter revenue of $725.0 million. Improved yield and higher fuel surcharge revenue contributed to revenue growth.
Operating income of $20.3 million compared to an operating loss of $3.2 million in the year-ago period. The quarter benefited from effective cost controls, lower health care expense, improved balance in network tonnages, strong operating efficiencies and improved yield.
Revenue per hundredweight, or yield, increased 9.7 percent from the previous-year first quarter. Excluding the fuel surcharge, yield rose 5.6 percent.
Tonnage per day declined 4.7 percent compared to the previous-year first quarter, reflecting efforts over the past year to moderate tonnage to improve network efficiency.
Operating ratio was 97.4 in the 2011 first quarter compared to 100.4 in the previous-year period.

LOGISTICS

For the first quarter of 2011, Menlo Worldwide Logistics, the company’s global logistics and supply chain management operations, reported:

Revenue of $370.0 million, an increase of 4.2 percent from the prior year first-quarter revenue of $355.2 million, due to increased revenue from transportation-management services, partially offset by lower revenue from warehouse-management services.
Net revenue of $142.3 million, a 1.3 percent decline from $144.2 million in the previous year first quarter, which benefited primarily from higher performance-based revenue compared to the current quarter.
Operating income of $8.6 million, a 32.7 percent decline from last year’s first-quarter operating income of $12.9 million, which benefited from higher performance-based revenue. Lower operating income in the 2011 period also was affected by lower margins on both warehouse- and transportation-management services. First quarter 2010 included the previously mentioned $2.8 million impairment charge.

TRUCKLOAD

For the first quarter of 2011, Con-way Truckload, the company’s full-truckload transportation operation, reported:

Revenue of $145.2 million compared to prior-year first-quarter revenue of $140.6 million, reflecting the positive effect of higher fuel surcharges and improved revenue per loaded mile (excluding fuel surcharges).
Operating income of $7.1 million compared to $3.0 million in the previous-year period. The increase in first-quarter operating income resulted largely from improved pricing and operating costs that declined as a percentage of revenue.
Revenue per loaded mile (excluding fuel surcharges) increased 3.8 percent from the previous-year first quarter.
Empty miles were 9.6 percent of total miles compared to 10.1 percent in the previous-year first quarter.
Operating ratio exclusive of fuel surcharges was 93.8, compared to 97.5 in the first quarter of 2010.

CON-WAY OTHER

Con-way Other includes the company’s Road Systems, Inc. trailer manufacturing unit as well as other corporate activities. These activities produced first-quarter operating income of $0.6 million and $1.7 million in 2011 and 2010, respectively.

INVESTOR CONFERENCE CALL

Con-way will host a conference call for the investment community tomorrow, Thursday, May 5, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (5:30 a.m. Pacific).

The call can be accessed by dialing (866) 264-3634 or (706) 643-3632 (for international callers) and is expected to last approximately one hour. The call will also be available through a live internet webcast at www.con-way.com, in the investor relations section.

An audio replay will be available for two weeks following the call dialing (800) 642-1687 or (706) 645-9291 (for international callers) and using access code 57077418. An Internet replay of the presentation will also be available at the Con-way website.

About Con-way
Con-way Inc. (NYSE:CNW) is a $5.0 billion freight transportation and logistics services company headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich. A diversified transportation company, Con-way delivers industry-leading services through three primary operating companies: Con-way Freight, Con-way Truckload and Menlo Worldwide Logistics. These operating units provide high-performance, day-definite less-than-truckload and full truckload freight transportation, as well as logistics, warehousing, multimodal and supply chain management services, and trailer manufacturing. Con-way Inc. and its subsidiaries operate from more than 500 locations across North America and in 20 countries. For more information about Con-way, visit us on the Web at www.con-way.com.

ANN ARBOR, MI — United Bank & Trust is pleased to announce two new appointments to its
Lenawee community board of directors: James D. Kapnick, president of Kapnick Insurance
Group, and David Martin, owner of Martin’s Home Center. Joe Williams, Lenawee community
president, states: “We are excited to have these exceptionally talented individuals join our
community board of directors. We are honored to have people with their professional experience
and commitment to the local community join the United team. Their entrepreneurial spirit and
leadership go hand-in-hand with United’s philosophy of delivering the best client experience on
Planet Earth.”

Jim Kapnick joined Kapnick Insurance Group in 1991, working in various positions within the
commercial lines department, and was appointed president in 2003. Mr. Kapnick is the third
generation of family to run the business, which was founded in 1946. He is also involved with
various civic organizations, is a regular speaker at conferences and has been published in several
magazines and journals. Kapnick is a continual learner and has attained the designations of
Certified Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and
Licensed Insurance Counselor (LIC). Kapnick resides in Adrian with his wife, Susie, and
children, Andrew, Kaity and Emily.

David Martin began working in his family’s business, Martin’s Home Center, at the age of
twelve and has been a part of the business his entire life, starting at the bottom and working his
way up. Martin’s Home Center has been and continues to be a vital part of the downtown
Tecumseh business community since opening its doors in 1947. Martin is a member of
Tecumseh United Methodist Church. A life-long resident, he lives in Tecumseh with his wife,
Linda, and children, Britney and Derek.

About United Bank & Trust – United Bank & Trust is a local financial services company that
operates 16 banking offices in Lenawee, Washtenaw, and Monroe counties. United Bank & Trust
also maintains an active Wealth Management Group, residential mortgage company and is a
leader in developing solutions for small businesses in the Company’s market area with their
United Structured Finance Company division. For more information, visit the company’s website
at www.ubat.com.

Borders Group Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in New York on Wednesday, a month after the operator of the Borders and Waldenbooks chains said it may have to restructure in bankruptcy court.

Borders Group Inc. is in the final stages of preparing a bankruptcy filing. Kelsey Hubbard talks with the WSJ’s Mike Spector about the book retailer’s long decline and how they fell behind in the e-reader race and digital space.

Document: Borders’s bankruptcy petition
Deal Journal: Blow to Bill Ackman, Bennett LeBow
Earlier: New Chapter for Books
Earlier: Deal Journal: Borders Bankruptcy: Everything You Need to Know

On its petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the Ann Arbor, Mich., company said it had assets of $1.28 billion and liabilities of $1.29 billion as Dec. 25.

The company plans to close about 30%, or roughly 200, stores over the next few weeks.

Borders’ five largest unsecured creditors are the book publishers Penguin Putnam Inc., Hatchette Book Group, Simon & Schuster Inc., Random House and Harper Collins Publishers.

Borders had sought to avoid bankruptcy by striking a tentative deal with General Electric Co.’s GE Capital over a new $550 million secured line of credit. But the retailer first had to hit certain benchmarks, such as negotiating more favorable store leases with its landlords and finding other lenders to take on $175 million of the credit line.

The deal also required Borders to raise another $125 million in junior debt, which the retailer sought to do by asking the publishers whose books stock its shelves to forgive unpaid bills in exchange for debt that Borders could then repay. But most publishers haven’t welcomed the overture.

To boost its liquidity, Borders last month announced it would delay payments to its vendors, landlords and other creditors. But the retailer acknowledged that and other cost-cutting moves might not be enough to keep it out of Chapter 11, so it also announced that it was exploring an "in-court restructuring."

Booksellers like Borders and Barnes & Noble Inc. have struggled to compete with Internet-only retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. and the advent of digital books and e-readers.

In the past year, Borders has tried to shift its focus away from its physical presence by halting expansion plans and identifying unproductive stores for closure. At the same time, the company reworked its customer-loyalty program, overhauled its website and introduced a digital bookstore.

In March, Borders and its lenders struck a deal to amend its debt. Lenders led by Bank of America Corp. agreed to provide a $970.5 million secured revolving credit facility, while an affiliate of liquidation firm Great American Group led another lender group behind a $90 million secured term loan.

The retailer in July sold off its Paperchase line of stationery, cards and gifts for $31.2 million, the bulk of which—$25 million—it was required to put toward reducing its debt under a $90 million term loan facility.

—Jacqueline Palank and Mike Spector contributed to this article.

By MIKE SPECTOR And JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG

Borders Group Inc. is in the final stages of preparing a bankruptcy filing after failing to persuade publishers and others to go along with a plan to refinance the troubled bookstore chain’s debt.

The Ann Arbor, Mich., bookseller could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as soon as Monday or Tuesday, said people familiar with the matter, paving the way for the closure of about 200 stores and thousands of job losses.

The people cautioned the filing could be delayed a few days. But Borders has pivoted from focusing on refinancing efforts and is preparing bankruptcy papers and seeking financing agreements that would keep it afloat during the Chapter 11 reorganization process, those people said.

"There have been constant inquiries by reporters, and stories written, regarding whether Borders is considering a Chapter 11 filing," a Borders spokesman said. "Borders is not prepared at this time to report on the course of action it will pursue."

Borders initially plans to close about 200 of its 674 stores, the people said. Liquidators have been bidding for the right to run the store closures, with an option to close an additional 50 stores or so under similar terms, the people said.

Borders has spent recent days finalizing a deal for so-called debtor-in-possession financing that would keep the company operating while under bankruptcy-court protection, the people said. The company is hearing pitches from Bank of America Corp. and General Electric Co.’s finance arm for $450 million in financing, the people said.

Borders is also negotiating a separate piece of bankruptcy financing.

The company in talks with GA Capital LLC about converting roughly $50 million in Borders’ current junior debt to bankruptcy financing and providing about $10 million in new capital, one of these people said. The company is also negotiating with other potential investors about a separate alternative piece of junior debt financing that would repay Borders’ existing junior debt, one of these people said.

Borders has been struggling amid a digital transformation rocking the publishing and book-retailing industries. Without a meaningful Internet presence or electronic-book reader, Borders has had trouble competing with rivals Amazon.com Inc. and its popular Kindle and Barnes & Noble Inc., the largest bookstore chain that has its own e-reader, the Nook.

Its stock currently trades at around 31 cents a share, giving it a public market capitalization of $22 million.

Borders warned of looming cash problems in December and stopped paying certain bills, leaving publishers, landlords and others in the lurch. The company reached a tentative deal with GE Capital for a new $550 million secured credit line that came with several tough conditions.

To get the financing and avoid bankruptcy, Borders needed to persuaded publishers or others to convert unpaid bills to $125 million in loans.

Publishers balked at the request and told Borders it wanted the company to use bankruptcy proceedings to close stores and become more viable, said a person familiar with the situation.

Borders in recent days hired turnaround firm AlixPartners to advise on the company’s restructuring, said people familiar with the matter.

Advisers at law firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman and investment bank Jefferies & Co. have been finalizing Borders’ bankruptcy plans this week, those people said.

Copyright 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

UBT posted results for fourth quarter and year-end 2010. 

To view the entire UBT press release click on this link, United Bancorp, Inc. Announces Unaudited Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2010 Results.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – JANUARY 5, 2011 – ANN ARBOR, MICH. – Several Michigan companies recently received investments from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, pushing the total investments made through the Fund to over $11.6 million.  To date, 52 Michigan companies have received seed funding from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, a collaborative effort of Michigan’s SmartZones.  

“The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund proves that innovation is thriving throughout the state,” said Skip Simms, administrator of the fund programs and interim CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK.  “Companies that received support from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund are currently employing 285 people throughout the state and have attracted outside investment.  Matching support from other funding sources totaled $16.4 million for these Michigan companies.”  

In 2010, Advanced Battery Concepts, Armune BioScience, Inc., Current Motor Company, Downstream, LLC, Intervention Insights, Innovative Surgical Solutions, InfoReady Corporation, InPore Technologies, Inventure Enterprises, NextCAT, Inc. and Tangent Medical Technologies received $2.575 million from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund.  These companies will use the funding to support commercialization efforts.  Specific innovations include:

o   Advanced Battery Concepts, LLC, Lansing: Advanced Battery Concepts is driving innovative technology, branded GreenSeal™, into the large-format, battery industry enabling smaller, lighter and longer life batteries.  GreenSeal™ batteries are cost-effective for storage applications and have lower impact on the environment than traditional large-format batteries.

o   Armune BioScience, Inc., Kalamazoo: Armune BioScience was formed to develop and commercialize high value, protein signature-based diagnostic tests for prostate, lung and breast cancers that will allow physicians and patients to make better treatment decisions.

o   Current Motor Company, Ypsilanti: Current Motor has developed a line of electric motorcycles and mopeds designed to provide urban and suburban commuters with practical, affordable, zero-emissions electric vehicles (EVs) that do not use oil. Current Motor’s scooters have a range of up to 80 miles and a top speed of 70 mph.

o   Downstream, LLC, Zeeland: Web application that can help an individual, business, group or community retrieve and backup their digital life, deliver it back to them, share it with others and provide trends to help better understand them.

o   Intervention Insights, Grand Rapids: Diagnostic software that delivers personalized cancer information to physicians with insight into patient specific treatment options.

o   Innovative Surgical Solutions, Royal Oak: The medical device startup, founded by Chris Wybo and Stephen Bartol, created a monitoring system for spinal surgeries. NeuralMAS monitors nerve location during invasive spinal procedures, helping surgeons save time and avoid complications. The product is now fully developed and made Innovative Surgical Solutions a semi-finalist at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition.

o   InfoReady Corporation, Ann Arbor: InfoReady offers SaaS model software to help companies find and access grants, and collaborate.

o   InPore Technologies, East Lansing: Silapore particles were developed and patented by Michigan State University by Dr. Thomas Pinnavaia. Tom then founded InPore Technologies, Inc. for the purpose of providing Silapore particles to the plastics industry, obtained an exclusive license to the MSU technology, and built a team to take the product to market.

o   Inventure Enterprises, Inc., East Lansing: Its idView product raises the standard for securing and streamlining workforce screening and background checks for states.

o   NextCAT, Inc., Detroit: NextCAT is commercializing a series of heterogenous catalysts developed by the National Biofuels Energy Lab at Wayne State University, for use in biodiesel production. These new catalysts allow producers to use less expensive raw materials in the production of biodiesel, and simplify the production process. Today, over 80% of the U.S. biodiesel producers sit idle due primarily to very high feedstock costs. NextCAT has a world-class team of catalysis experts, an experienced management team, and strategic partners.

o   Tangent Medical Technologies, Ann Arbor: Tangent Medical Technologies, Inc., is a seed stage medical device development company formed in 2009 as a spinout from the University of Michigan’s Medical Innovation Center (MIC) fellowship program. Tangent’s patent-pending Novacath™ was created to address health and safety shortcomings of existing catheter stabilization products for peripheral intravenous (PIV) fluid/medication delivery systems.
The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, a collaborative effort of Michigan’s SmartZones, is an equity fund that invests in technology-based companies to support business formation and acceleration.  Ann Arbor SPARK serves as the Fund’s administrator.

To qualify for the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, start-up companies must be based on a technology in one of the state’s identified competitive technologies and have the sponsorship of a local SmartZone.  In addition to SmartZone sponsorship, companies must have received grant, angel or venture capital funding as a match to the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund investment. 
 
The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is an equity investment fund that receives the same returns as the third party investor.  The returns the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund receives from its investments will be redeployed by the Fund to continue its mission of helping start ups with their first round of capital.

By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG of the Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com)

The fallout from Borders Group Inc.’s decision to halt payments to some publishers began over the weekend, as a leading distributor said it would temporarily stop shipping books to the retail chain.

The chief executive of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Inc., which publishes its own titles and distributes books for several hundred publishers through its National Book Network, said in an interview the company was taking the step to look out for its clients.

"When a customer of that size calls you up and says you aren’t getting a check, that’s a piece of information you have to act on," said Jed Lyons, CEO of Rowman & Littlefield.

Mr. Lyons said he wanted more information from Borders and expected to learn more from the bookseller this week. "Up until now they’d been paying us like clockwork," he said.

Late last week, Borders announced that it was halting payments to some vendors as it attempts to refinance its debt. The retailer also noted that it couldn’t guarantee that its refinancing efforts will be successful. The company earlier disclosed that without refinancing, it could violate its credit agreement in the first quarter and "experience a liquidity shortfall."

Mr. Lyons said that about a year ago, National Book Network approached its clients and said that if they wanted their books distributed to Borders, they would have to assume the risk associated with that business. Most clients, he added, responded by saying they wanted to continue shipping to Borders.

Top sellers distributed by National Book Network include Jeffrey Gitomer’s "Little Red Book of Selling" published by Bard Press and Tosca Reno’s "Eat-Clean Diet" series published by Robert Kennedy Publishing.

The decision by Borders to stop paying some publishers and vendors caught many in the book industry by surprise and capped the year on a dismal note. Until then, many in publishing were feeling upbeat about the holiday season.

Lagardère SCA’s Hachette Book Group, one of the largest publishers in the U.S., said last week it would decide whether to ship new books to Borders shortly. A second publisher, Sourcebooks Inc., said it too was considering its options.

Another publishing executive, who asked not to be identified, said that Borders this week may ask the publishers and distributors who didn’t receive payments last week to convert a portion of those payments to debt. Such a move might help Borders in its wider refinancing efforts.

Borders declined to comment.

Borders, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., operates 676 stores, including 507 superstores.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Gold Star Mortgage is pleased to announce that Steve Kapp has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. He will be responsible for the strategic management of Gold Star’s accounting and finance operations. Kapp’s expertise in mortgage pricing, financial analysis and secondary marketing will allow Gold Star to increase fluidity in a constantly changing marketplace.

“By leveraging Gold Star’s solid reputation across the United States, we will be able to dynamically drive growth well into the future”

“Gold Star is well positioned for growth and success in the coming years, and I am excited to be able to add a new dimension to a well regarded company,” said Kapp when asked about joining the Gold Star team. “By leveraging Gold Star’s solid reputation across the United States, we will be able to dynamically drive growth well into the future,” Kapp added.

Gold Star CEO Dan Milstein and COO Dave Prichard indicated their excitement as well in a joint statement to employees, saying, “Steve is a consummate professional and we are pleased to welcome him to the team. In light of Gold Star’s major expansion over the last 3 years, Steve’s extensive knowledge and expertise in mortgage banking will help Gold Star expand and diversify its product line."

Kapp is a veteran of the mortgage banking industry with over 20 years of experience. Prior to joining Gold Star he was the Business Analysis Director for Flagstar Bank where he was responsible for pricing margin management for all mortgage origination channels. He also served as Director of Pricing and Profitability for CitiMortgage and InterFirst Wholesale Lending, where he coordinated and implemented business development initiatives.

ABOUT GOLD STAR FINANCIAL

Gold Star lays claim to a first-rate reputation as a full service, cutting-edge firm. The mortgage lending division, the largest and oldest part of Gold Star, has originated billions of dollars throughout its storied history and serves tens of thousands of clients in over 20 states. The company has been recognized for two consecutive years as one of the 500 fastest-growing companies in America by Inc. Magazine and as a Detroit Free Press Top Workplace. Gold Star also benefits from knowledgeable product experts – Milstein is ranked as the #1 Loan Officer in the United States.

by Bank of Ann Arbor May 14, 2010 6:05

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, MAY 14, 2010 – Bank of Ann Arbor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arbor Bancorp, Inc, announced today that it assumed the deposits and acquired substantially all of assets of Plymouth, Michigan-based New Liberty Bank at the close of business today in a transaction facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase and Assumption Agreement entered into with the FDIC, Bank of Ann Arbor assumed approximately $101.8 million in deposits and approximately $95.2 million in loans which are subject to a loss-share agreement with the FDIC.

“I want to assure all New Liberty Bank customers and the Plymouth, Canton and Northville communities that the deposits and business affairs of the former New Liberty Bank are in safe and secure hands,” said Timothy G. Marshall, President & CEO, Bank of Ann Arbor. “Bank of Ann Arbor is a strong, stable institution that understands the needs and concerns of the communities we serve.  Our top priority is to assure New Liberty customers that their deposits are safe and remain readily available.  We welcome the New Liberty employees to the Bank of Ann Arbor team.  It seems only fitting that we would open our newest location in Plymouth on Ann Arbor Road, as it befits our status as Ann Arbor’s premier locally-owned bank.”

The New Liberty office location at 1333 W. Ann Arbor Road, Plymouth, Michigan will reopen during normal business hours beginning Saturday, May 15, 2010 as a branch of Bank of Ann Arbor.  New Liberty depositors will automatically become customers of Bank of Ann Arbor and will have uninterrupted access to their funds, all of which will continue to be insured by the FDIC up to the maximum allowable.  Former New Liberty Bank customers should continue to bank as usual.

Customers who have questions about today’s transaction can call the FDIC toll-free at (800)894-6992.  The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m.; on Saturday, May 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; on Sunday, May 16, from Noon to 6:00 p.m.; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.  Interested parties can also visit the FDIC’s website at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/newlibertymi.html.