All-Time Record High Gas Prices With Higher Prices Ahead

Gas Prices Hit New All-Time Record High - $3.50 Per Gallon With Higher Prices Ahead

On Sunday the national average price for regular unleaded gasoline broke through the $3.50 per gallon barrier for the first time ever. Just one month ago the price was $3.27 and compared to one year ago the average price is up from $2.86. That is a painful 64 cents per gallon price increase. The reasons for the high gas prices are high crude oil prices, increased seasonal demand, and a transition by refineries to summer fuel blends. Gas prices in the next few weeks and months are now expected to reach $3.65 per gallon.

Minneapolis, MN  -  April 20, 2008 -- On Sunday the national average price for regular unleaded gasoline broke through the $3.50 per gallon barrier for the first time ever. Just one month ago the price was $3.27 and compared to one year ago the average price is up from $2.86. That is a painful 64 cents per gallon price increase.

The primary reason for record gas prices is that crude oil is trading at all time highs of $117 per barrel which is nearly double the price of $63 per barrel one year ago. With crude oil accounting for 72% of the cost of a gallon of gas, the high oil prices translate into higher pump prices for consumers. In addition to high oil prices, other seasonal factors are also helping to drive gas prices higher. As we approach the start of summer driving season, gasoline demand typically increases by 100,000 barrels per day compared to winter consumption levels. Refineries are also making the seasonal switch to summer fuel blends which reduce smog, but are more costly to produce. These seasonal effects are worsened by the stronger than ever worldwide demand for gasoline and oil, most notably by developing nations such as China and India.

According to Jason Toews, gasoline price analyst with GasBuddy.com, the skyrocketing gas prices are not expected to end soon. Toews says that, "Gas prices will likely increase to $3.65 per gallon within the next month. If there are any major supply disruptions the national average price could easily reach $4.00 per gallon."

San Francisco drivers are suffering more than anywhere else in the nation. The average price for regular unleaded gasoline in San Francisco is currently $3.95. As of Sunday, some stations surveyed in Michigan were found to be charging as much as $4.99 per gallon for regular unleaded.

About GasBuddy.com
GasBuddy.com collects retail gasoline and diesel prices for up to 130,000 gas stations across the United States each day. GasBuddy.com is able to provide the most timely, comprehensive and accurate pump prices in the industry through its network of 700,000 fuel price spotters, direct station surveys and relationships with credit card companies. The GasBuddy.com data is relied on by some of the top companies in the country such as Google, Yahoo, Expedia, and over 1000 major media outlets.

Press Contact: Jason Toews
Company Name: GasBuddy.com
Phone: (612)875-2766
Website: www.GasBuddy.com

Device Designed to Lower High Blood Pressure May Offer Hope

New Implantable Device Designed to Lower High Blood Pressure May Offer Hope for Millions of Patients

Early Hypertension Clinical Trial Results Show Significant Reduction in High Blood Pressure

May - Hypertension Awareness Month - Recognizes High Blood Pressure as a Top Risk Factor for Stroke, Heart and Kidney Disease

-- April 28, 2008 --CVRx:

WHAT: May is Hypertension Awareness Month, and a new device for high blood pressure now in clinical trials is showing promise for treating U.S. hypertension (high blood pressure) patients whose condition is not controlled by drugs. Rheos® Hypertension (HT) Therapy is the only implantable device designed to lower high blood pressure. It uses the body's natural blood pressure sensor (the baroreflex) to reduce blood pressure. Early hypertension clinical trial results showed a 39 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure at one year of use. High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for stroke, heart and kidney disease.

The Rheos HT Therapy is designed to electrically activate the carotid baroreceptors, the body's natural pressure sensors. When the baroreceptors are activated, signals are sent through the neural pathways to the brain and interpreted as a rise in blood pressure. The brain works to counteract this perceived rise in blood pressure by sending signals to various parts of the body-including the blood vessels, heart and kidneys. The Rheos HT System was developed by Minneapolis-based CVRx, Inc. (www.cvrx.com). The Rheos pivotal trial is currently under way. To learn more about the trial, patients can call 1-(888) 8BP-RISK (1-888-827-7475) or visit www.bloodpressuretrial.com.

WHY: Hypertension affects approximately 73 million people in the United States alone. High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for stroke and causes an estimated one in eight deaths worldwide. Each incremental increase of 20 mmHg in systolic blood pressure or 10 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure above normal levels is associated with a two-fold increase in death rates from stroke, coronary heart disease and other vascular causes.

According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 25 percent of people with hypertension cannot control their high blood pressure, despite the use of multiple medications. These patients may not respond to drugs, or they may not be able to maintain their complex medication regimens. Early Rheos HT clinical results have shown the device has the potential to significantly reduce blood pressure in patients who cannot control their blood pressure with medications. One-year results from 13 patients showed a 39 mmHg average decrease in systolic blood pressure and a 26 mmHg average decrease in diastolic blood pressure.

HYPERTENSION STROKE FACTS:

May is Hypertension Awareness Month, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In the United States:

    * High blood pressure is the number one stroke risk factor and accounts for an estimated 70 percent of all strokes. It is also one of the most important controllable risk factors for stroke prevention.
    * Stroke is the number three cause of death.
    * Twice as many women die from stroke each year than from breast cancer.
    * Approximately 750,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year and 80 percent of strokes are considered preventable, according to the National Stroke Association.

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:

    * Rheos study physicians
    * Nadim Yared, president and CEO of CVRx

ADDITIONAL EVENTS DURING HYPERTENSION AWARENESS MONTH:

    * May 4: ISHIB Worship Site Health Education Program (WSHEP)
    * May 17: World Hypertension Day

CVRx BACKGROUND AND MEDIA KIT: CVRx is a private company founded in 2001 and headquartered in Minneapolis. For more information and a media kit, visit www.cvrx.com.

* CAUTION: The CVRx Rheos System is an investigational device and is limited by Federal law to investigational use only.

CVRx, Rheos, Baroreflex Activation Therapy, and BAT are registered trademarks of CVRx, Inc. © CVRx, Inc. 2008.

Contacts

CVRx
John Brintnall, 763-416-2853
Chief Financial Officer
jbrintnall@cvrx.com
Mary McGrory-Usset, 651-308-8225
Corporate Communications
mmcgroryusset@comcast.net
or
Padilla Speer Beardsley
Nancy Johnson, 612-455-1745
njohnson@psbpr.com
Nick Banovetz, 612-455-1705
nbanovetz@psbpr.com

Supply Chain Advantage Suite Offers Low Total Cost of Ownership and Simple Upgrades

HighJump Software Helps Clients Maintain Low Total Cost of Ownership and Simplify Upgrades With Launch of HighJump Supply Chain Advantage Suite 10.0

Newest Release Delivers Continued Innovation in Adaptability and Increased Support for Global Supply Chain Operations

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.--April 22, 2008--HighJump Software, a 3M company, a global provider of adaptable supply chain execution solutions, today announced the release of HighJump Supply Chain Advantage suite 10.0. The release combines extended functionality in the HighJump product suite and a high level of adaptability to help clients better manage material flows throughout their operations and expedite upgrades. Expanded internationalization supports increasing supply chain globalization.

"Our clients require extensive functionality and a means to easily manage business processes which change due to regulations, continuous improvement initiatives, or new approaches to manufacturing and distribution models," said Chad Collins, vice president of global strategy, HighJump Software. "HighJump Software's key value proposition is our adaptable architecture and fast upgrades, which considerably drives down our clients' total cost of ownership."

"We're pleased with the enhancements in the release as well as our ability to quickly and easily upgrade our HighJump solution and maintain low total cost of system ownership," said Becky Randelin, systems analyst, maurices, inc. "Because each new release is included in our maintenance agreement, we receive tremendous value from our continued relationship with HighJump Software."

"Most HighJump Software clients are able to perform their own upgrades without requiring a paid consulting engagement," said Steve Banker, service director, Supply Chain Management, ARC Advisory Group. "For those clients that do elect to have a HighJump consultant involved, the services fees are typically around $10,000, a figure significantly below upgrade fees for other leading best-of-breed vendors."

HighJump Supply Chain Advantage 10.0 includes numerous advances across the supply chain suite:

Warehouse Management

The flagship HighJump Warehouse Advantage system now includes a warehouse wizard to support a user-friendly, streamlined approach to warehouse set-up. The system is fully internationalized and includes translations in nine languages, including Japanese. To support optimized outbound fulfillment processes, load and wave planning tools were enhanced and utilize a new Web-based user interface. The 10.0 release also includes a flexible approach for defining and tracking unique inventory attributes without limiting the number of attributes that can be tracked for a given item.

Adaptability Tools

HighJump Software's service-oriented architecture now provides more features that allow clients to optimize and modify supply chain business processes without changing underlying product source code and impacting their ability to perform fast upgrades. HighJump Software's supply chain process modeling tool, Advantage Architect, features broader revision tracking and the addition of an enterprise application repository. This helps HighJump solutions fit within clients' enterprise IT environments. HighJump Software's Web-based, common user interface framework, WebWise, also provides a more user-friendly experience and allows product screens to be run on handheld computers and cell phones.

Billing Management for Logistics Services Providers (LSP)

A new, comprehensive solution for managing and optimizing the billing process, HighJump Billing Management enables providers of logistics services and third-party logistics to support the complex contractual requirements that often exist with their clients. With this product release, billing can be based on material handling transactions, storage capacity utilization, and client-specific billing requirements. The solution gives companies visibility into actual costs with comparisons to what was invoiced to replace the oversimplified practice of spreading client costs evenly across all accounts.

HighJump Billing Management creates a single billing platform for all systems. This is possible by accepting data imports from other applications, such as those for transportation management, time and attendance, and parcel manifesting.

Labor Management

HighJump Software's labor management solution, HighJump Labor Advantage, provides a comprehensive performance management tool to plan and manage the distribution center workforce. In addition to being fully internationalized to support various languages and regions without engineering changes, the latest release includes the ability to forecast and plan for labor within all major fulfillment functions of a facility, such as picking, packing, loading and shipping. These features allow distribution center management to ensure the proper capacity in the workforce and assign employees to the appropriate functional areas.

Warehouse Management for Small and Mid-sized Businesses

HighJump Software recently launched HighJump Warehouse Advantage-45, a warehouse management system targeted at small and mid-sized businesses. The product is designed to be implemented in 45 business days with a well-defined scope of business processes. The solution speeds the setup of data in the warehouse, including an implementation playbook that guides the client through the implementation process and detailed user guides that help clients learn to use the system.

The solution is built upon the same world-class technology as the tier one HighJump Warehouse Advantage solution. This allows companies to support growth by adding more complex warehouse management capabilities as business demands warrant.

Manufacturing Execution

HighJump Manufacturing Advantage, HighJump Software's manufacturing execution system, has been fully internationalized and features translation in Japanese. Additionally, the release includes user interface improvements to the shop floor data entry touch screen to increase the efficiency and accuracy of an operator's data entry. The new version also reduces a company's reliance on paper-based lean inventory methodologies by providing enhanced support for lean manufacturing environments, including electronic kanban integrated with warehouse management.

About HighJump Software, a 3M Company

Forward-thinking companies entrust HighJump Software to power their supply chains. HighJump Software simplifies the art and business of creating, selling and moving products across global networks. Building upon 3M's history of innovation, HighJump Software helps more than 1,300 clients worldwide drive growth and manage change. www.highjump.com

About 3M

A recognized leader in research and development, 3M produces thousands of innovative products for dozens of diverse markets. 3M's core strength is applying its more than 40 distinct technology platforms - often in combination - to a wide array of customer needs. With $24 billion in sales, 3M employs 75,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 60 countries.

HighJump is a trademark of 3M. Other names and trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.

Contacts

HighJump Software LLC
Cara Strohack, 519-746-3736 ext. 5010
cara.strohack@mmm.com
http://www.3m.com/PressContact
or
LaBreche
Mark Holterhaus, 612-392-7616
mholterhaus@labrechereputations.com

FICO 08 Won't Stop Scammers Targeting Companies Seeking Business Credit Services

Business Credit Services Company Business-Tradlines.com Says FICO 08 Won't Stop Scammers

Business credit services company Business-Tradlines.com comments on business owners seeking investment capital and corporate credit under FICO 08.

Little Rock, AR  -  April 15, 2008 -- Business-Tradlines.com, an online business credit services company, fears FICO 08 will not stop scammers from preying on businesses seeking investment capital. Corporate credit seekers will still face tradeline fraud, despite the good intentions of FICO 08, according to Business-Tradelines.com.
 
"What you should understand about scammers is they prey on desperation. And they are very creative, too. If it's not one form of scam, it's another," says Adam Stevens, Managing Director of Business-Tradelines.com.

The major challenge to small business owners is lack of credit history and thus, a low credit score, if any. This prevents them from taking out a loan or a line of credit. Corporate credit lenders typically only lend large amounts to businesses with good personal credit scores. Business-Tradelines.com offers a program that will allow small business owners to bypass the FICO credit scoring system and leverage business credit scores into maximum funding.

Scammers who purport to offer business tradelines often guarantee a business credit score of 80 almost instantly. Stevens says the key to knowing if a business tradeline is a scam is the sense of urgency presented on its Web site.

FICO 08, as an updated credit scoring system, completely disregards authorized user accounts in calculating credit scores, Stevens says. This slight adjustment in scoring is expected to affect millions of Americans who are banking on authorized user accounts to boost credit scores. Stevens fears FICO 08 might just give birth to a new form of scam.

"Aside from tradelines, the only other option for small businessmen is to personally guarantee the loans of their businesses. Now there is a growing awareness of how dangerous this is. We can really expect new business owners to seek out options other than personal loans and, as I said, scammers can be creative," Stevens said.

About Business-Tradelines.com
Business Tradelines helps take companies to the next level by providing the tradeline resources and business credit services necessary for business financing. New and existing business owners can learn about the next generation in corporate credit strategies by visiting http://business-tradelines.com/.

Press Contact: Adam Stevens
Company Name: Investor Technologies
Phone: 866-628-5187
Website: http://business-tradelines.com/