Firemans Contractors Lands Major Client ... - Franchising.com

Board approves share structure increase to support growth and expanding franchise development plans.

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 25, 2012 // PRNewswire // -- Firemans Contractors, Inc. (OTCBB: FRCN) (OTCQB: FRCN) announced today the signing of significant parking maintenance contracts with a company that has led the industry nationally in the acquisition of parking facilities over the last five years. The major new client also manages more than $2 billion worth of parking garages, lots, and meters for businesses, airports, hotels, college and university campuses, and government and municipal agencies.

"This important new business relationship will help us expand our franchise development program," said Renee Gilmore, chief executive officer and director of Firemans Contractors. "This industry-leading company operates more than 180,000 parking spaces for government agencies from large and complex public garages and surface lots to some of the biggest on-street parking systems in the world.

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to provide quality services to this new client and add them to our base of valued customers," Gilmore said.

Firemans Contractors recently provided bids totaling $294,805.88 to the new client on several properties, with $70,281.59 awarded so far. The franchising company, which successfully launched its first franchise in July, is projecting another $76,000 in contracts from the new client by late November.

"We have been awarded nearly a fourth of the bid estimates we have made so far," said Aaron Gilmore, founder and chief operating officer of Firemans Contractors, which provides parking lot, road, and pavement improvement, maintenance, and repair services to commercial and government clients in Texas and across the country. "We expect a strong relationship with this important strategic client, and we will continue providing quality services for them."

Board approves increase to authorized common shares to support growth and expanding franchise development plans.

To support this new business growth and facilitate franchise development plans, the board of directors of Firemans Contractors has decided that it is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders to increase authorized capital, said CEO Renee Gilmore. On Oct. 12, 2012, the company filed a Schedule PRE14C Information Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) notifying shareholders of an amendment to its Articles of Incorporation to increase the number of shares of common stock.

"This strategic step forward will help focus the company for a new phase of growth and increase shareholder value," said CEO Gilmore.

About Firemans Contractors ? "Contractors You Can Trust"

Founded in 2009 by COO Aaron Gilmore, a firefighter and director of the company, Firemans Contractors is recognized for its integrity, strong customer relationships, and high-quality performance at competitive prices. The company, which recently began its franchise development, is a member of the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative and donates a percentage of its profits to local Firefighters' Associations.

Firemans Contractors' professional services include road improvements, pavement maintenance, seal coating, parking lot striping, pavement marking, asphalt maintenance and repair, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance services.

Among the company's commercial and government clients are schools and universities, hotel, restaurant, and retail chains; banks, clinics, food and chemical companies, and major corporations across Texas.

To learn more about the Firemans Contractors franchise program, visit Firemans Contractors Franchise Opportunities.

Contact:

Renee Gilmore
Chief Executive Officer
Firemans Contractors, Inc.
http://www.firemanscontractors.com/
1 (800) 475-1479
1 (888) 899-5957 Fax
Media@FiremansContractors.com

SOURCE Firemans Contractors, Inc.

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Source: http://www.franchising.com/news/20121025_firemans_contractors_lands_major_client_managing_2.html

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UK, Japan scientists win Nobel for adult stem cell discovery

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Scientists from Britain and Japan shared a Nobel Prize on Monday for the discovery that adult cells can be transformed back into embryo-like stem cells that may one day regrow tissue in damaged brains, hearts or other organs.

John Gurdon, 79, of the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge, Britain and Shinya Yamanaka, 50, of Kyoto University in Japan, discovered ways to create tissue that would act like embryonic cells, without the need to collect the cells from embryos.

They share the $1.2 million Nobel Prize for Medicine, for work Gurdon began 50 years ago and Yamanaka capped with a 2006 experiment that transformed the field of "regenerative medicine" - the search for ways to cure disease by growing healthy tissue.

"These groundbreaking discoveries have completely changed our view of the development and specialisation of cells," the Nobel Assembly at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute said.

All of the body starts as stem cells, before developing into tissue like skin, blood, nerves, muscle and bone. The big hope is that stem cells can grow to replace damaged tissue in cases from spinal cord injuries to Parkinson's disease.

Scientists once thought it was impossible to turn adult tissue back into stem cells. That meant new stem cells could only be created by taking them from embryos, which raised ethical objections that led to research bans in some countries.

As far back as 1962 Gurdon became the first scientist to clone an animal, making a healthy tadpole from the egg of a frog with DNA from another tadpole's intestinal cell. That showed that developed cells carry the information to make every cell in the body - decades before other scientists made world headlines by cloning the first mammal from adult DNA, Dolly the sheep.

More than 40 years later, Yamanaka produced mouse stem cells from adult mouse skin cells by inserting a small number of genes. His breakthrough effectively showed that the development that takes place in adult tissue could be reversed, turning adult tissue back into cells that behave like embryos.

Stem cells created from adult tissue are known as "induced pluripotency stem cells", or iPS cells. Because patients may one day be treated with stem cells from their own tissue, their bodies might be less likely to reject them.

"The eventual aim is to provide replacement cells of all kinds," Gurdon's institute explains on its website.

"We would like to be able to find a way of obtaining spare heart or brain cells from skin or blood cells. The important point is that the replacement cells need to be from the same individual, to avoid problems of rejection and hence of the need for immunosuppression."

In just six years, Yamanaka's paper has already been cited more than 4,000 times in other scientists' work.

In a news conference in Japan, he thanked his team of young researchers: "My joy is very great. But I feel a grave sense of responsibility as well."

Gurdon spoke of his own unlikely career as a young man who loved science but was steered away from it at school, only to take it up again at university.

He still keeps an old school report in a frame on his desk: "I believe he has ideas about becoming a scientist... This is quite ridiculous," his teacher wrote. "It would be a sheer waste of time, both on his part and of those who have to teach him."

EARLY STAGES

The science of iPS cells is still in early stages. Among concerns is the fear that implanted cells could grow out of control and develop into tumours.

Some scientists say stem cells from embryos may prove more useful against disease than iPS cells, and the ethics of working with embryos should be defended.

Nevertheless, since Yamanaka published his findings the discoveries have already produced advances. The techniques are being used to grow cells in laboratories to study disease, the chairman of the awards committee, Urban Lendahl, told Reuters.

"You can't take out a large part of the heart or the brain or so to study this, but now you can take a cell from, for example, the skin of the patient, reprogramme it, return it to a pluripotent state, and then grow it in a laboratory," he said.

"The second thing is for further ahead. If you can grow different cell types from a cell from a human, you might - in theory for now but in future hopefully - be able to return cells where cells have been lost."

Thomas Perlmann, Nobel Committee member and professor of Molecular Development Biology at the Karolinska Institute said: "Thanks to these two scientists, we know now that development is not strictly a one-way street."

"There is lot of promise and excitement, and difficult disorders such as neurodegenerative disorders, like perhaps Alzheimer's and, more likely, Parkinson's disease, are very interesting targets."

For now, both men said their scientific work continues.

Asked why he still keeps his schoolteacher's discouraging report, Gurdon said: "When you're having problems, like when an experiment doesn't work - which often happens - it's nice to remind yourself that perhaps after all you're not so good at this job and the schoolmaster may have been right."

(Reporting by Patrick Lannin, Alistair Scrutton, Ben Hirschler, Kate Kelland, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Chris Wickham and Peter Graff; writing by Peter Graff; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gurdon-yamanaka-win-nobel-prize-medicine-095714871.html

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Still finding things to declutter.

People often say to me ?I am surprised you are still finding things to declutter!? Actually even I am surprised at some of the things I find at times. Especially those?odd things that appear that make me think ?~ How did that escape my notice for so long?! The egg timer I decluttered last week would be a good example of this.

I think what most people don?t realise is the sheer number of individual items that make up an average?modern household. Heaven forbid they should start to divide out and add up all those individual items that really aren?t utilised enough to warrant the space they occupy. Items that although definitely have a use in the household could really be lived without. Which is a part of what keeps me finding one more thing each day to declutter.

Lets add up how many Items of the Day I have decluttered so far since I pledged to remove a thing a day for the year of 2010. At one a day for the first year that?s 365 items. Then one thing every Monday to Friday in the second year is another 260 items. Then there has been one thing every Monday to Friday so far this years which makes about another 212 items. Giving me a total of 837 items so far. That may sound like a lot of stuff and it is especially when you consider there are often daily ?items? that are actually?multiple?items which would increase the number greatly. That is also a big number considering most of these items were sitting unused and unloved. I should imagine, that when I am finally done with my declutter mission, there will still be plenty of individual items left in my home. Though, I would hope, a lot less than the average home.

All that being said I have no idea how many more items I will send out the door before I am finished. I know I still have barely skimmed the surface of photos that need sorting. I have several items I still intend to list on ebay. In my opinion the baseball souvenirs could still do with some more serious culling. I am on a continuous mission to use up craft supplies. As mentioned many times, I have boxes of my daughters things that will leave once she is settled into a more?permanent home. And as I have said from the start, I get more ruthless as I go along and that ruthlessness is the main thing that has me finding that next item to declutter every day.?

I have no immediate need to minimise any faster than I am. I am also satisfied that very little enters the house so I am staying well ahead of the game. I experiment as I go alone to see if I can do without certain things and if so they are out of here. And I have to say I am actually enjoying the process. I have learned so much about myself along the ways and also made improvement to the person I was before I began. I am certainly more environmentally conscious that?s for sure.

Sure I could ramp up the pace if I wanted to and be done decluttering but then I would run out of things to write about here at 365 Less Things. Then where would I be without my wonderful community to chat with everyday.

Today?s Mini Mission

Declutter something you have been considering for removal for some time.

Today?s Declutter Item

My husband found these three belts that no longer fit or are just excess to his needs. After all one really only need ?one brown leather belt.

Belts

Eco Tip for the Day

Save on note paper by using a whiteboard to leave messages for family members, room mates or yourself for that matter. I have discovered that the front of my stainless steel fridge works just like a whiteboard. Now if I could just stop my wise guy son from leaving cheeky messages.?Scoundrel!!

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I?m slow

Tagged as: little by little, unclutter

This post was written by...

Colleen Madsen ? who has written 746 posts on 365 Less Things.

Colleen is the founder of 365 Less Things, and lives in Newcastle Australia.

Source: http://www.365lessthings.com/still-finding-things-to-declutter/

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Cambodian broadcaster sentenced to 20 years

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) ? A Cambodian court on Monday sentenced a dissident radio station owner to 20 years in prison on insurrection charges that critics claim are part of a political vendetta by the government.

Judge Chaing Sinat of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court said 71-year-old Mam Sonando was convicted and sentenced on four counts related to an alleged secessionist movement in eastern Cambodia. He was charged with instigating an alleged insurrection in Kratie province in May this year and inciting armed rebellion.

Mam Sonando's Beehive Radio is one of the country's few radio stations broadcasting criticism of Prime Minister Hun Sen's government.

Din Sophanara, the wife of Mam Sonando, told reporters that the verdict will be appealed. She said her husband was not involved in the alleged rebellion and had done nothing wrong.

"There is no real democracy in Cambodia. There is no justice," she said. Mam Sonando also was fined 10 million riel ($2,500).

The human rights group Amnesty International called the conviction "shocking and baseless" and said it "reflects the deteriorating situation of freedom of expression in Cambodia."

Three other people said to have been part of a political movement with Mam Sonando and accused of being major instigators of the insurrection were also sentenced in absentia. One received a 30-year prison term and the others 15 years each.

Several dozen armed security personnel kept the road in front of the court complex closed as a few hundred supporters of Mam Sonando demonstrated nearby.

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights condemned the verdict.

"Today's events represent a gross travesty of justice ? an outrageous violation of Mam Sonando's right to freedom of expression and fair trial rights, including the fundamental right to be deemed innocent until proven guilty," it said in a prepared statement.

It said no evidence was presented at the trial linking Mam Sonando to unrest involving a land dispute in Kratie province that the government alleged amounted to a rebellion. The statement also echoed widespread concerns among rights groups that Cambodia's courts act under the pressure of political influence.

The land dispute involved a 15,000-hectare (58-square-mile) tract of land that had been awarded as a concession to a Russian company but that was being farmed by villagers. The farmers resisted eviction, and in May, a 15-year-old girl was shot dead when hundreds of armed police stormed the settlement.

Land disputes have become a critical social and political issue, as powerful companies with influential connections take over land that has been worked by villagers, who receive little or no compensation. It is not rare for deadly force to be employed in evictions.

A month before Mam Sonando was detained in July, Hun Sen had called for his arrest, charging that he was leading a plot to overthrow the government and establish a state within a state.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists had called on the government to drop the case. Shawn Crispin, the group's Southeast Asia representative, said Hun Sen "has a well-worn history of leveling unsubstantiated anti-state charges against journalists to stifle criticism of the administration."

Mam Sonando had twice before been jailed for his reporting. Before he was pushed into a prison van Monday, he said he had no comment on the verdict but he was happy that he was "able to help the nation."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cambodian-broadcaster-sentenced-20-years-115938360.html

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Testy debate in Massachusetts for key U.S. Senate seat

BOSTON (Reuters) - Democrat Elizabeth Warren's claim of Native American heritage was once again in the spotlight as she sparred with Republican rival Scott Brown on Monday in the second debate of the pair's contest for the U.S. Senate seat from traditionally Democratic Massachusetts.

Recent polls show Warren, 63, a Harvard Law School professor and former official in President Barack Obama's administration, maintains a slim lead over Brown, who swept into the Senate in a special election in 2010 after the death of revered Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy.

The debate at the University of Massachusetts Lowell before a sometimes raucous crowd of over 5,000, was combative. The candidates staked out opposite positions on issues ranging from how to create jobs to the timetable for bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan.

Brown, 53, repeated his call for Warren to release her personnel records to prove that she had received no unfair advantage by claiming to be Native American. He said the issue was one of "integrity and character."

"I have never used that information ... to get any kind of advantage," said Warren, whose campaign has said she is 1/32 Native American.

Warren said she was told about her heritage by her mother and never saw any reason to question it. "To try to turn this into something bigger is just wrong," she said.

For his part, Brown said he was not guilty of exaggeration when he remarked this summer that he had had "secret meetings with kings and queens" in his role as senator.

INDEPENDENT

Brown termed himself an "independent" several times, citing his moderate voting record and saying that Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell "will have to work very hard to earn my vote" in the next Congress.

He slammed Warren for not being able to name a Republican senator who she would be able to work with. She finally named Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, who lost his primary fight in the spring to a more conservative Republican.

When Brown lauded "the beauty of being independent," Warren said that "he's sure not saying the same thing when he goes around the country raising money" for his campaign.

Brown's overall record might be centrist but he is "in lockstep" with his party's leadership on key votes involving taxes and economic policy, Warren said.

"On economic issues, I absolutely do" believe that Brown's role is to obstruct Obama's policies, Warren said, citing his votes against various job and unemployment measures.

Her campaign has made Brown's candidacy a national issue and the Massachusetts election critical to which party has control of the Senate after the November 6 election.

Democrats have a 51-47 advantage over Republicans in the 100-seat U.S. Senate, with two independents. However, they are defending more than 20 seats against Republican challengers, while Republicans are defending only half that many.

In Massachusetts only 29 percent of likely voters in a recent survey taken for WBUR, Boston's National Public Radio station, said they would prefer to see Republicans in control; 58 percent say they would prefer to see Democrats continue to run the Senate.

Brown avoided a question on whether he would be "a reliable ally" of Mitt Romney, should the Republican presidential candidate be elected, and whether he was distancing himself from Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, who is forecast to lose the state by a wide margin.

During the testy one-hour debate, moderator David Gregory of NBC asked the Democrat if she felt Brown was "needling" her by routinely referring to her as "Professor Warren."

"It doesn't bother me. I worked hard for this," said Warren, who grew up in Oklahoma, the daughter of a janitor.

Still, Brown drew boos from the audience when at one point he interrupted Warren, saying, "Excuse me, I'm not a student in your classroom. Please let me respond."

Two more debates are scheduled before the election.

(Editing by Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/testy-debate-massachusetts-key-u-senate-seat-022821143.html

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Sunflowers and Dogs | The Ranch Wife Chronicles

I took these pictures on my way to work last week.? I have been wanting to stop and capture the big flower heads for a while.??These?sunflowers are?farmed and?raised as a crop in our area.

The sunflowers are still yellow, but are?close to?getting ready for harvest.

It was a bright and pretty morning when I took these shots.

The teeny tiny sunflower seeds are filling and will soon be harvested.? The?crop will be?sold and processed into?sunflower seeds, bird?food?or pressed for oil.

The connections we have with our pets is unique.? The?relationship our pets have with eachother is also distinctive.

When we are getting ready?to start?a bright new day, may our connections bring happiness to our lives.? May we?conquer the teeny tiny problems we face and not let them?become?more than what they really are.? Let us see the big yellow sun and be thankful for the light that spreads upon the earth.

Linking Up With:

Scavenger Hunt Sunday at Ramblings and Photos

Weekly Top Shot #50?at The View From Right Here

Your Sunday Best #37?with Nancy at A Rural Journal and co-host Danielle,
?of Bloom Where You Are Planted.

Source: http://theranchwifechronicles.com/sunflowers-and-dogs/

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Smartphone technology acceptable for telemedicine

ScienceDaily (Oct. 1, 2012) ? A new Mayo Clinic study confirms the use of smartphones medical images to evaluate stroke patients in remote locations through telemedicine. The study, the first to test the effectiveness of smartphone teleradiology applications in a real-world telestroke network, was recently published in Stroke, a journal of the American Heart Association.

"Essentially what this means is that telemedicine can fit in our pockets," says Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., professor of Neurology, and medical director of Mayo Clinic Telestroke. "For patients this means access to expertise in a timely fashion when they need it most, no matter what emergency room they may find themselves."

Mayo Clinic was the first medical center in Arizona to do pioneering clinical research to study telemedicine to serve patients with stroke in non-urban settings. Today, Mayo Clinic is the hub in a network of 12 other spoke centers, all but one in Arizona. In telestroke care, the use of telemedicine platforms or robots located in a rural hospital lets a stroke patient be seen in real time by a neurology specialist who typically is working from a desktop or laptop computer in Phoenix. The Mayo Clinic stroke neurologist, whose face appears on a computer screen, consults with emergency room physicians at the rural sites and evaluates the patient.

Patients showing signs of stroke can be examined by the neurologist who can also view scans of the patient's brain to detect possible damage from a hemorrhage or blocked artery. If necessary patients can be administered clot-busting medications within the narrow window of time necessary to minimize permanent injury to the brain. The study compared the quality of medical images using a particular smartphone application to the same types of information and images typically viewed via desktop computers. Mayo Clinic neurologists worked with emergency physicians and radiologists at Yuma Regional Medical Center to compare brain scan images from 53 patients who came to that medical center with stroke.

The scans were reviewed by radiologists in Yuma and a separate adjudication panel of stroke neurologists to determine the level of agreement between these traditional interpretation routes and new images and scans on smartphones interpreted by telestroke doctors. The study shows there was a high level of agreement (92 to 100 percent) among all the reviewers over the most important radiological features.

"Smartphones are ubiquitous, they are everywhere," Dr. Demaerschalk says. "If we can transmit health information securely and simultaneously use the video conferencing capabilities for clinical assessments, we can have telemedicine anywhere, which is essential in a state like Arizona where more than 40 percent of the population doesn't have access to immediate neurologic care."

The study was funded by the Arizona Department of Health Services and the technology and technical assistance was provided by Calgary Scientific, the maker of ResolutionMD. The Mayo Clinic Telestroke Network includes hospitals in Kingman, Flagstaff, Parker, Cottonwood, Show Low, Globe, Yuma, Bisbee, Casa Grande, Tuba City and Phoenix, all in Arizona; and a hospital in St. Joseph, Mo. To date, more than 1,000 emergency consultations have taken place for stroke between Mayo Clinic stroke neurologists and physicians at the spoke centers. Such comprehensive evaluation techniques lead to appropriate life-saving treatment for stroke, and have resulted in significant cost reductions by not requiring ground or air ambulance transfer of the patient to another medical center.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Mayo Clinic, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. B. M. Demaerschalk, J. E. Vargas, D. D. Channer, B. N. Noble, T.-E. J. Kiernan, E. A. Gleason, B. B. Vargas, T. J. Ingall, M. I. Aguilar, D. W. Dodick, B. J. Bobrow. Smartphone Teleradiology Application Is Successfully Incorporated Into a Telestroke Network Environment. Stroke, 2012; DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.112.669325

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/opfy2lGKgR8/121001140959.htm

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Coldwell Banker Commercial Benchmark: Thought for the Day

Coldwell Banker Commercial Benchmark is committed to providing exceptional commercial real estate services across all commercial property types and service lines. Our associates provide well-informed guidance in every aspect of the commercial real estate transaction, including: sales, leasing, development, acquisition, disposition, construction and project management, site analysis, relocation, as well as property and facilities management.

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Source: http://cbcbenchmark.blogspot.com/2012/10/thought-for-day.html

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Qatar says worried about value of dollar, euro: CNBC

RIYADH (Reuters) - Wealthy Qatar, a major investor in U.S. and European assets, worries that haphazard attempts by countries to shore up their economies could weaken the dollar and the euro, its prime minister said.

"What should happen is we should have a full package with a full strategy to solve the problems," Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who also heads the country's sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), told U.S. financial broadcaster CNBC in an interview aired on Friday.

This month the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a program of heavy purchases of mortgage-backed securities in an effort to boost employment, but the U.S. government has so far failed to reassure financial markets that it has an effective plan to cut its budget deficit and boost economic growth.

The European Central Bank has also said it will buy bonds to protect economies from the euro zone debt crisis, but governments of weak countries such as Greece and Spain have not persuaded investors their debts can be cut to safe levels.

Sheikh Hamad said the central banks were right to act to prevent worse crises, but added: "With more printing money, without having a strategy, I believe the value of the money will go down very soon."

He did not give details of the economic measures which he believed Western countries should be taking, but said the risk of further volatility in markets was making investors such as Qatar cautious. Analysts have estimated the size of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund at around $100 billion.

"There are some questions with no answer up to now," he told CNBC.

However, Sheikh Hamad added that Qatar would retain holdings of strategic stocks and buy when prices dropped, and that it would continue to make new investments in promising assets.

He said he was optimistic about the longer-term future of the banking industry, since better regulation and capital-raising would strengthen banks after some years. He noted that QIA had a strategic stake in Credit Suisse , and owned about 1 percent of Bank of America and 5 percent of Santander Brasil among other banks.

The gas-rich Gulf state has bought more than $5 billion or $6 billion of real estate assets over the last four to five months, mostly in the United States and Europe, Sheikh Hamad said. "If there is some good opportunity, why not," he said of investing in crisis-hit Europe.

XSTRATA BID

Qatar, which owns just over 12 percent of Xstrata , will help to determine the success or failure of Glencore's $32 billion offer for the miner.

Glencore was forced earlier this month to raise its bid price, offering 3.05 new shares for every Xstrata share instead of 2.8, after Qatari pressure. As a condition, however, Glencore imposed its own chief executive and largest single shareholder, Ivan Glasenberg, at the head of the combined group.

Xstrata's directors face a Monday deadline to decide their position on Glencore's higher offer.

Sheikh Hamad told CNBC: "We have no problem with the new price," but added, "Other aspects (of the proposed deal) have to be studied." He declined to elaborate.

AUX

Earlier this week Reuters quoted banking sources as saying Qatar Holding, one of the country's investment vehicles, was in advanced talks to buy a 49-percent stake in Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista's gold firm AUX for about $2 billion.

Qatar Holding subsequently issued a statement denying that such talks had taken place.

However, asked about Qatar's intentions towards AUX, Sheikh Hamad told CNBC: "We're studying it. Still there is no commitment from our side." Details of the proposal need to be presented to the board, he added without elaborating.

(Reporting by Angus McDowall; Editing by Andrew Torchia)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/qatar-says-worried-value-dollar-euro-cnbc-171402774--sector.html

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