| Japan's 30-Year Bonds Climb; Auction Demand Highest Since 2002
April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese bonds gained after a sale of 30-year government debt drew the highest demand since May 2002 and stocks declined. The spread between yields on two- and 30-year debt reached the widest in almost seven weeks yesterday, signaling longer- dated debt offers more value relative to shorter-term notes. Demand at the debt auction rose on speculation consumer prices excluding fresh food will drop further after falling in February for the first time in 10 months. ``Thirty-year bonds are cheap given that there's little threat of faster inflation and shorter notes aren't pricing in chances for an interest-rate increase in the months ahead,'' said Naruki Nakamura, who helps manage the equivalent of about $3.3 billion of bonds in Tokyo at Fischer Francis Trees & Watts, which is partly owned by BNP Paribas SA, France's largest bank.
City reviewing law firm bids
WEST COVINA - The City Council plans to review proposals from several law firms seeking to represent the city in areas ranging from code enforcement to workers' compensation. City officials are paging through 28 separate proposals covering four specific areas of legal expertise. "In essence it's good to have the city go through this every so often," said Chris Freeland, assistant to the city manager. "It's an opportunity to make sure we are getting value for these services." The review of the law firms' plans began Monday and will conclude in a public meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Three proposals deal with city prosecutions, including code enforcement, environmental law and the filing of some criminal complaints, such as traffic infractions and misdemeanors. Seven proposals offer legal services in the area of personnel and labor law; 10 deal with defending the city against liability lawsuits; seven offer services defending the city in workers' compensation cases; and one proposal offers to cover the city's legal needs in both general liability cases and workers' compensation.
Historic Century Farms not immune to struggle
For more than 100 years, Windy Bluff Farm was a tranquil 250-acre cattle, horse and hay farm in Greene County near the South River and the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. "It was my great-great-grandfather's farm," said Tommy Shelton, the farm's owner. "It goes way on back." Yet when Shelton's father passed away in 2001, tracts of the farm were sold off. The bulk of the land became another family's goat farm, another cattle farm and South River Vineyards. All that remains today of the historic Windy Bluff Farm is a 5-acre sliver of farmland. "The way this real estate is getting more and more valuable, it's kind of foolish to hold on to it," Shelton said. Windy Bluff is one of 59 farms in the Charlottesville region that has been in continuous operation by the same family for more than 100 years.
Maine fishing industry and its fish auction in jeopardy
PORTLAND, Me. (AP) - The forklifts zig and zag through the chilled warehouse, their forks balancing plastic crates filled with cod, haddock, pollock, flounder and other catch hauled from the North Atlantic. The smell of fresh fish hangs heavy in the air on a recent Sunday as more than a dozen buyers for seafood processors and wholesalers slide into their seats at the Portland Fish Exchange, a commercial fish auction that's been around for 21 years. Spread on the tables before them are sheets listing the types and amounts of fish to be sold. Telephones are pressed to their ears. They've already inspected the catch so auctioneer Paul Dewey begins the bidding. "I have 88 cents, looking for nine. I'm looking for nine," Dewey says in rapid-fire fashion as he auctions off a batch of pollock.
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