Press Releases

EUFAULA, Ala., May 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Pro Randy Haynes of Counce, Tenn., displayed why he is known as one of the best deep-water ledge fisherman in the country as he targeted the Lake Eufaula ledges to win convincingly Sunday at the Walmart FLW Tour at Lake Eufaula presented by Straight Talk Wireless. Haynes' five bass weighing 16 pounds, 1 ounce gave him a four-day weight of 73 pounds, 1 ounce – 11 pounds heavier than second place – as well as the championship trophy and the $125,000 purse.

Link to photo of pro winner Randy Haynes

"There are an awful lot of good fisherman out here," said Haynes, who was fishing only his third event as a pro at the sport's highest level, the Walmart FLW Tour. "Everything has to go just right for you in order to win a tournament of this size. I've really been blessed this entire week."

Haynes said that he had five or six different areas that he fished throughout the week, but that he really only concentrated on three today.

"Today, I was just trying to catch a limit and get by," Haynes said. "I had three main spots where I was fishing, and I was rotating through them, giving them a few hours of rest before I would go back. I figured out that they were setting up in different ways. In the early morning, they would suspend in front of the bars. I'd fish a swimbait, and they really started eating."

Haynes said that most of his fish this week came from throwing a mixture of swimbaits and cranking Strike King 5XD and 6XD crankbaits. His go-to rod-and-reel combination for the week was a Kistler Mark Rose Signature Series Z-Bone crankbait rod paired with a Lew's BB1 reel.

"That rod and reel is just an unbelievable combination," Haynes said. "I was using 14- to 20-pound-test line when I was fishing the swimbait, and 14-pound-test line when I was cranking.

"I'm real lucky that I have been able to stay on the road with Mark Rose and Greg Bohannan," Haynes continued. "It's nice to be with two great guys like that, and I've learned a lot. They are definitely one of the reasons that I am up here.

"This is pretty awesome," said Haynes of his win. "I'm so happy for my family and friends. There are so many people back home that I compete for, and against. This is just special for me to do this for them."

Chevy pro Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., finished in second place with a four-day total of 19 bass weighing 62 pounds, 1 ounce. He earned $35,000 for his efforts.

The top 10 pros finished the tournament in:

            1st:     Randy Haynes, Counce, Tenn., 20 bass, 73-1, $125,000             2nd:    Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 19 bass, 62-1, $35,000             3rd:     Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 18 bass, 61-0, $30,000             4th:     Castrol pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 20 bass, 60-12, $25,000             5th:     Stetson Blaylock, Benton, Ark., 20 bass, 59-9, $20,000             6th:     Kelley Jaye, Dadeville, Ala., 20 bass, 59-6, $17,000             7th:     Straight Talk pro J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 17 bass, 52-15, $16,000             8th:     John Devere, Berea, Ky., 15 bass, 51-7, $15,000             9th:     David Fritts, Lexington, N.C., 18 bass, 51-2, $14,000             10th:   Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 16 bass, 47-12, $13,500

A complete list of results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.

Overall there were 38 bass weighing 109 pounds, 15 ounces caught by pros Sunday. The catch included six five-bass limits.

Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., won the co-angler division and $20,000 Saturday with a three-day total of 11 bass weighing 27 pounds, 7 ounces, followed by Jason Johnson of Gainesville, Ga., in second place with 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 13 ounces worth $7,500.

Pros competed for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. The top 35 anglers in the point standings from the six events on the 2013 Walmart FLW Tour will qualify. The 2013 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Shreveport, La., Aug. 15-18 on the Red River.

The Tour stop on Lake Eufaula presented by Straight Talk Wireless was hosted by the Eufaula Barbour Chamber of Commerce and was the fourth of six events on the Walmart FLW Tour's 2013 season. The next Walmart FLW Tour event will be held at Grand Lake June 6-9 in Grove, Okla., and is presented by Castrol. The event will be hosted by the Grand Lake Association and boats will launch from Wolf Creek Park in Grove. For a complete schedule, visit FLWOutdoors.com.

Coverage of the Lake Eufaula tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network when "FLW" airs June 23 from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show is hosted by Jason Harper and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

ABOUT FLW FLW is the industry's premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport's richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the "Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water." For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.

FLWOutdoors.com

SOURCE FLW

SINGAPORE and CHICAGO, May 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced it has expanded its centrally cleared, over-the-counter (OTC) agricultural swap offering through the introduction of a new U.S. dollar (USD)-denominated palm oil swap. Pending CFTC review, the new USD Malaysian Crude Palm Oil Calendar Swap will be available for clearing on CME ClearPort on June 3, and will be listed with and subject to the rules and regulations of the CBOT.

"Unlike other agricultural commodities that are harvested once a year, palm oil and its associated refined products are produced continuously here in Asia, ensuring the need for ongoing risk management against price swings associated with demand and supply fundamentals," said Nelson Low, Executive Director, Commodity Products, CME Group. "We're introducing these calendar swaps in response to customers in Singapore, Malaysia and around the world, who are looking for additional tools to manage counterparty risk in their underlying cash positions in crude palm oil."

The USD Malaysian Crude Palm Oil Calendar Swap is based on prices from Bursa Malaysia Derivatives' ("BMD") Crude Palm Oil futures contract ("FCPO").  

"BMD's FCPO is the global price benchmark for palm oil, and together with crude palm oil options contract listed last year, BMD has provided a comprehensive suite of exchange-traded crude palm oil products. The OTC clearing for the new USD Malaysian Crude Palm Oil Calendar Swap contract complements the palm products offered by BMD and we expect greater palm liquidity for both exchanges arising from this CME Group initiative," said Jeffrey Tan, Product and Market Development General Manager, BMD.

As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage risk.  CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, weather and real estate.  CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex® electronic trading platform and its trading facilities in New York and Chicago.  CME Group also operates CME Clearing, one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, which offers clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded contracts and over-the-counter derivatives transactions. These products and services ensure that businesses everywhere can substantially mitigate counterparty credit risk.

CME Group is a trademark of CME Group Inc. The Globe Logo, CME, Globex and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  CBOT and the Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are registered trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.  COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc.  KCBOT, KCBT and Kansas City Board of Trade are trademarks of The Board of Trade of Kansas City, Missouri, Inc.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Further information about CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) and its products can be found at www.cmegroup.com.

CME-G

SOURCE CME Group

NEW YORK, May 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ContourGlobal announced today that it has acquired 100% of the shares of the company holding the wind and diesel power generation assets on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire from the administrator of the company's shareholder.  The assets are the sole power generation facilities on the island of Bonaire and integrate renewable and conventional energy production sources to provide reliable power to the island's 16,500 inhabitants.

The Bonaire generation facilities, which integrate wind power, diesel generation and battery storage technology, provide all of the power needs of the island's distribution company, Water en Energie Bedrijf Bonaire (WEB), under a long-term supply contract.  WEB is the state-owned utility responsible for water and electricity transmission and distribution on the island.  The acquisition adds to ContourGlobal's growing presence in the Caribbean, where it owns power generation facilities in St. Martin, Guadeloupe and Colombia, as well as increases Contour's renewable energy portfolio, which currently comprises approximately 600 MW of wind, solar, biogas and biomass production in the Americas, Europe and Africa.

Mr. Joseph C. Brandt, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "Our acquisition in Bonaire culminates nearly one year of fruitful collaboration with the Government of the Netherlands and the Public Entity of Bonaire to ensure that the existing facilities were acquired by a company committed to meet the island's growing electricity needs in a sustainable way.  We have been greatly impressed by the caring professionalism of the Dutch and Bonaire authorities as well as from Mr. Deterink, the administrator of the Company's shareholder and look forward to working with the Dutch and Bonaire authorities and WEB to add additional wind and solar powered generation to Bonaire's energy matrix." 

The Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs states, "We congratulate ContourGlobal and the seller of Ecopower on the successful transaction.  We are confident that under new ownership, ContourGlobal Bonaire will continue to develop the island's generation in a way that maximizes the share of wind and other renewables.   The Ministry looks forward to cooperating with Contour Global and WEB Bonaire to find new ways to put the elements, both wind and sun, to optimal use in energy production, while simultaneously guaranteeing a reliable energy supply."

Mr. Burney El Hage, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Energy, said, "The Public Entity Bonaire welcomes Contour Global to the island, is delighted that Contour Global has taken over the power production on Bonaire and is certain that Contour Global will offer us a reliable and affordable renewable based power production. We are happy to be part of the Contour Global network as we believe the company can benefit from Bonaire as a stepping stone into the Caribbean market. We are looking forward to a long-lasting mutually rewarding relationship."

About ContourGlobal

ContourGlobal is a New York based international power-generation company with approximately 3000 MW in operations or under construction in 17 countries and on four continents. ContourGlobal's 1650 employees manage, own and operate a portfolio of 33 power plants utilizing a wide range of fuel types and technologies including renewable energy production based upon wind, solar and biomass.  In the Caribbean and South America, ContourGlobal operates approximately 800 MW of power generation businesses in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, St. Martin, Guadaloupe and now Bonaire. 

SOURCE ContourGlobal

NEW YORK, May 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC welcomed a new Israeli government report on Muhammad al-Durrah as an important contribution to understanding the events that transpired in Gaza in September 2000. The 12-year-old Palestinian boy reportedly died during a gun battle between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100816/AJCLOGO)

"We have long harbored questions about the al-Durrah affair, and have welcomed efforts in France, Israel and the United States to examine all the available evidence," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The report issued today by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu provides much needed and long overdue clarity, and significantly refutes the charges against the IDF that have lingered and been exploited by Israel's adversaries for more than a dozen years."

Al-Durrah became an instant icon for Palestinians during the second intifada as France 2 broadcast only partial footage of the tragedy.

The Israeli government report noted that the France 2 report, first aired on September 30, 2000, "had the immediate effect of harming Israel's international standing and fanning the flames of terror and hate." The report was quickly aired around the world.

The Israeli government report is based on an examination of available France 2 video footage. In 2007, responding to a legal action initiated by Philippe Karsenty, a French judge ordered the television station to release the raw footage. Karsenty has tenaciously challenged France 2 in an effort to expose the truth. At the time AJC called the French judge's ruling a "critical contribution to the search for truth" about the events surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian exchange of fire and reported death of al-Durrah.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee