SYDNEY--4 Mar--AsiaNet/InfoQuest TALENT MANAGEMENT... SINGAPORE: More than half of senior leaders anticipate their companies'performance will soon suffer because they don't have the right talent in place,according to a recent report from Development Dimensions International (DDI)written in co-operation with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). http://www.ddiworld.com/aboutddi TRANSPORT FORUM... PARIS: "The International Transport Forum offers a unique opportunity forthe transport sector to say how it will deal with global warming," said JackShort, Secretary General of the International Transport Forum in Paris onTuesday, while introducing the programme of the Forum 2008. http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/forum2008.html BAIRD EXPANDS... CHICAGO, IL.: Baird Private Equity, the global private equity groupaffiliated with Robert W. Baird & Co., Tuesday announced the establishment ofBaird Capital Partners Asia (BCPA), an investment team focused on providinggrowth equity capital to smaller, high potential companies in China or withsubstantial operations and growth opportunities in Greater China. http://www.bairdprivateequity.com COFFEY ACQUIRES... SYDNEY: Coffey International Limited Monday announced it has acquiredCanadian geotechnical firm Shaheen and Peaker Limited and its subsidiarycompanies S&P Geo Engineering and Geo Canada for approximately C$11.0 millionin a mixture of C$8.8 million in cash and C$2.2 million in shares. EMERGENCY SERVICES... UTRECHT: With bushfires in WA's Goldfields region and floods in Mackay,Australia's emergency services are needed more than ever but many areunreachable, according to WatchMouse, a leader in website performance monitoring. WatchMouse Tuesdaysaid it tested the sites belonging to Australian Emergency Servicesorganisations for errors, availability & performance and found only one of the26 monitored sites to have 'good' uptime while seven sites had 'serious userissues'. http://www.watchmouse.com SOFTWARE UPGRADE... ST. PETERSBURG: Spb Software House, the world's leading Windows Mobilesoftware vendor, Tuesday said it has upgraded its outstanding Spb Mobile Shellsoftware to version 2.0. http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/mobileshell http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com BENCHMARK NOTES... WASHINGTON: Fannie Mae Tuesday said it will issue US$3 billion of 3-YearBenchmark Notes which will mature on April 11, 2011. http://www.fanniemae.com STARTECH REPORTS... WILTON, Conn.: Startech Environmental Corp., a fully reporting company andthe internationally recognized, award-winning environment and energy companyannounced Monday that its 2007 year end report, filed on schedule with the SEC,shows shareholders' equity in excess of $4.4 million with approximately $11.6million in cash on hand, along with plasma converter sales bookings ofapproximately $25 million. http://www.startech.net JAPANESE APPROVAL... MEMPHIS, Tenn.: Smith & Nephew, Inc.'s orthopaedic reconstruction businessMonday announced Japanese regulatory approval of its award winning OXINIUMoxidized zirconium technology. http://www.smith-nephew.com FANNIE MAE... WASHINGTON, D.C.: Fannie Mae will redeem the principal amount of 26securities issues on March 13, 2008 at a redemption price equal to 100 percentof the principal amount redeemed plus accrued interest. http://www.fanniemae.com CROSS LICENSING... SACRAMENTO, Calif.: ROBODOC, a Curexo Technology Company, and IBM announcedMonday that they have entered into a major patent cross licensing agreement. http://www.robodoc.com http://www.ibm.com CLINICAL TRIAL... SAN FRANCISCO: IBC Conference -- HUYA Bioscience International (HUYA), theleader in U.S./China pharmaceutical co-development, Monday announced thecompletion of three Phase I clinical trial protocols in China of a promisinganti-arrhythmic compound, HBI-3000 (Sulcardine sulphate). http://www.huyabio.com COMPUTERSHARE EXPANDS... CANTON, Mass.: Computershare Ltd. (ASX: CPU) Monday announced its continuedinternational expansion of IML, a Computershare company, with the acquisitionof Machine Dreams Inc.'s business. http://www.computershare.com http://www.imlworldwide.com LICENSE AGREEMENT... PRINCETON, N.J.: BioWa, Inc. Monday announced that it has expanded thelicense agreement with Genentech, Inc. providing Genentech additional access toBioWa's POTELLIGENT Technology for the research and development of selectantibodies for potential therapeutic applications that require enhancement ofantibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). http://www.biowa.com GLOBAL SUMMIT... NEW YORK: Avon and the United NationsDevelopment Fund for Women (UNIFEM) will hold the Global Summit for a BetterTomorrow on March 4, 2008 to raise awareness of International Women's Day,which will be recognized globally on March 8, 2008. At a UN press conferenceprior to the Summit, Avon and UNIFEM will announce a new public-privatepartnership that represents the largest corporate one-year grant made to the UNTrust Fund to End Violence against Women. http://www.avon.com GERMANY'S SOLUTIONS... WASHINGTON: With oil prices exceeding US$100 a barrel, the United States,and the world, is being forced to recognize that fossil fuels may not only bedamaging the environment, but also losing their competitive edge regardingprice. Germany, which is pioneering solutions to this problem, will presentresults and how to benefit from them at WIREC 2008, the WashingtonInternational Renewable Energy Congress from March 4-6.. http://www.invest-in-germany.com INCREASED SURVIVAL... BASEL, Switzerland: Physicians from countries worst-affected by the deadlybird flu (H5N1 influenza virus) have reported an increased survival rate inpatients treated with the oral antiviral Tamiflu (oseltamivir). http://www.roche.com MEIJI UNIVERSITY... PHILADELPHIA and LONDON: Thomson Scientific, part of The Thomson Corporationand leading provider of information solutions to the worldwide research andbusiness communities, Monday announced that Century of Science has beenpurchased by Meiji University in Japan, expanding its subscription to Web ofScience earlier this year. http://www.scientific.thomson.com http://isiwebofknowledge.com http://www.thomson.com THOMSON LAUNCHES... PHILADELPHIA and LONDON: Thomson Scientific, part of The Thomson Corporationand leading provider of information solutions to the worldwide research andbusiness communities, Monday announced the launch of ScienceWatch.com, a free,open Web resource for science metrics and analysis. http://www.scientific.thomson.com http://www.thomson.com http://ScienceWatch.com HIGHER REVENUE... SYDNEY: Heidrick & Struggles Monday said it increased its net revenue by58.8 per cent in the Asia Pacific region last year, driven by continuing highdemand for leadership advisory and executive search services. http://www.heidrick.com PATENT INFRINGEMENT... SCHAUMBURG, Ill.: Motorola, Inc. Sunday announced that in 2007 it filed alawsuit against a Chinese company known as Guangzhou Weierwei ElectronicScience and Technology Co. Ltd. http://www.motorola.com AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited,translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net forfull-text versions.