Friday, March 1, 2013
Lewis testifies before Congress - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:
In prepared testimony before Congressional committees, Lewis said BofA contacted officialss atthe U.S. Treasur and Federal Reserve in mid-December to informk them that thebank “had serious concerns about closing the transaction.” he said, was considerinfg declaring a “material adverse change,” whicu can allow an acquirer to back out of a proposefd deal. “Treasury and Federal Reserve representatives asked us to delah anysuch action, and expressed significant concernds about the systemic consequences and risk to Bank of Americqa of pursuing such a course,” Lewis said.
“We commenced discussions to determinde whether governmental support could limit the risk of proceedingg withthe transaction. Both the government and Bank America were awarw that the global financial system was infragile condition, and that a collapsde of Merrill Lynch could hasten a Charlotte-based BofA (NYSE:BAC) bought Merrilpl on Jan. 1 for $29.1 billion. The deal resulted in BofA’s receivinfg an additional $20 billion in federal funds under the Troubled AssetRelief Program. BofA has received a totak of $45 billion in TARP funds.
Lewis has been under intense pressurse from BofA shareholders for not disclosing the depthof Merrill’sd financial difficulties before the merger. Merrilk lost $15.3 billion in the fourth quarter. In Lewis testified under oath before New York Attornety General Andrew Cuomo that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernankeand then-Treasurt Secretary Henry Paulson pressured the bank not to discuss its increasingly troubled plan to buy Merrill. Lewias said he believed Paulson and Bernank were instructing him to keep silentabout Merrill’s financial problems. His testimont was part of an investigation launched by Cuomo intothe $3.6 billio in bonuses Merrill paid out in December.
Click to follosw Lewis' testimony on Twitter.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Metro plans to build new bus facility - Denver Business Journal:
The facility will house 114 Metro but if the land is fully up to 250 buses will be able to live The newbus facility, expected to be readyh as early as 2012, will be built at a site known as D.C. Metro wants the facility to meet environmental standards that woulc enable it to receive a Silve rating underthe U.S. Green Building Council’zs program for Leadership in Energy andEnvironmentak Design. The new facility will replace the Southeasternbus garage, whic h was sold for $69.25 million and vacated last year becauss of its closeness to Nationals Park. The land at D.C. situated at Shepherd Parkwayg and BluePlains Drive, was appraised at $8.0r million. The sale's $6.
45 million price tag represents the appraisal value minua the additional operating costsof $1.6 million incurreds by Metro for moving the Buses that had been running out of the Southeastern bus garagre have been dispersed to other garageds in the region at an additional operating cost. Until the new facility is the additional operating costs for the buses will be fundedfrom Metro’e operating reserve account, which was createdd from the proceeds of the Southeaster bus garage sale. The final sale of propertty must first be approved bythe D.C. which will consider it at a June2 meeting.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Business working behind scenes to shape health care reform - Business First of Columbus:
President Obama has mobilized the grass-roots supporters that helped electy him to lobby for his vision of healtbcare reform, which includes offering Americans a government-run healthj plan as an alternative to privatre insurance. A coalition of labor union s and progressive organizations plans tospend $82 millio on organizing efforts, advertising, research and lobbyintg to support the Obama plan. Business meanwhile, mostly are working behind the scenes to shapwethe legislation.
Although they have serioux concerns about some of theproposalds — including the public plan optiomn and a mandate for employers to provid insurance — few are trying to block healtuh care reform at this The cost of health insurance has becomse so burdensome that something needs to be they agree. “Nobody supports the status saidJames Gelfand, the ’s senior manager of healthh policy. “We absolutely have to have reform.” For most business that means reining in health care costs and reforminfg insurance markets so that employers have more choices in the types ofplans available.
To achieve those goals, businesses might have to swallow some bitter An employer mandate tops the list of concernws for manybusiness groups, just as it did when Bill Clintojn pushed his health care reform plan in the The Senate bill might include a provisioj that would require employers to either providew health insurance to their employees or pay a fee to the federall government. Some small-business owners don’t have a problem with including members of the MainStreey Alliance, which is part of the coalition lobbyinfg for the Obama “The way our system workxs now, where responsible employers offefr coverage and others don’t, leaves us in a situation with an unlevelo playing field,” 11 alliance members said in a statemenr submitted to the Senat Finance Committee.
“If we’re contributin g but other employers that gives them a financial advantage over us,” the statement said. “We need to level the playingh field through a system where everyonse pitches in areasonable amount.” But most business lobbyistx contend that employers who can afford to provide healthy insurance do so already because it helps them attrac t and keep good Businesses that don’t provide health insurances tend to be “marginally profitable,” said Denny senior research fellow at the NFIB Research Foundation. Imposinfg a “play-or-pay” insurance requirement on these businesses would cost the economy morethan 1.
6 milliojn jobs, according to a study. Tax creditsw could offset some of the costs for providingvthis coverage, but Gelfand said the creditas that are under discussion are “extremely Congress also could exempt some smal businesses — such as firmz with less than $500,000 in annual payrolo — from the employer mandate. But many business groupes see this proposal as an attempt to split thebusiness community, not as meaningfu relief. “We oppose small-business carve-outs becaused they make it easier for Congress to apply mandates against larger saidNeil Trautwein, vice president and employee benefits policy counseol of the National Retail Federation.
“It’d also easy for Congress to come back and try to apply the mandatagainst ever-smaller employers. “No mattedr how good the surrounding healthcare reform, a bill containinf an employer mandate would be too high a pric e to pay for reform,” Trautweimn said. Public plan or marke t reforms?
Sunday, February 3, 2013
RealtyTrac: Fla. has third-highest foreclosure rate - South Florida Business Journal:
Default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessionas in Florida were all down from thepreviouws month, but the statse still posted 58,931 foreclosure filings, up 50 percent from May 2008. Only with one in every 64 housing units in and California, with one in everu 144 housing units in foreclosure, had highef rates. In the tri-county area, Broward County saw the most foreclosureesin May, with 11,325, or one in everyu 71 housing units – a nearluy 10 percent increase over April. Miami-Dad e ranked second, with 7,773 filings, or one out of everh 125 units – down 31.2 percent from Palm Beach Countyhad 3,782 or one out of everu 169 units – up 32.8 percenyt over April.
Nationwide, there were 321,480 foreclosure filings, one out of every 398 units – down 6 percent from April, but up 18 percenyt from May 2008. “May foreclosure activituy was the third-highest month on and marked the third straight month where the totao number of properties with foreclosure filingasexceeded 300,000 – a first in the historgy of our report,” RealtyTrac CEO Jamesz J. Saccacio said in a news release. Othee states with foreclosure rates ranking amongthe nation’es 10 highest were Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Colorado, Idah o and Ohio.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Trucking company quickly builds customer base after adding key personnel - bizjournals:
But rather than put the brakeson , whicuh he founded in 1996, Rice, 64, broughgt in longtime friend Gary Watsomn as an investor last July to help him expands the business. In early May, the pair movedd the company’s operations from an apartment complexz Rice owns to leased space at954 E. Kentucky St. in Germantown. They also hireds office manager Kim Barnett to handle accountinb andmarketing duties. Watson, through face-to-face visits, and through telephone marketing, have continued to add Now Rice envisions a day whenhe won’tt have to handle administratived duties or drive trucks to Ohio, or Washington, D.C.
Rice said he’ss at the point in his career where he’dx rather sit on his boat in the middles of a lake and think aboutExpedited Trucking’se success while casting another “Being in this business for 13 yeare is remarkable, but I couldn’g do it by myself anymore because it was just getting too said Rice, who left a 34-yea career with Fetter Printing Co. in 1997 to begi n the business. “Gary is youngerr than I am, and I know he and Kim can do a greatg job buildingthis business.” Expedited Trucking has found a niche in takin some of the smalpl business that the largef companies don’t have time for, Rice said.
The company got its start hauling pallets of materials primarilty for printing companies but has branchesd out to serveother industries. It will haul most typew of dry cargo, with the exception of hazardouws materials, Watson said. Ratherr than owning a fleet of vehicles, the company leases vans and straightg trucks on demand from Penske and EnterprisewCommercial Trucks. The approach removes the cost of preventativemaintenanc work, oil changes, license platew and other expenses that come with ownin g a truck fleet, Watson said.
“When I got here, I was amazerd at the rates (Rice) was getting for said Watson, 59, who has more than 30 years of sales experience in thetrucking “This is such a smarft way to go for a business our size.” Bein g a small business also allows Expeditedc Trucking to offer a personal Watson said. “The business has changed so much. Now the big companies do everythinby computer, and the persona level is gone,” Watsonb said. “Our customers know they can pick up the phone and talk to one ofus directly. That meansd a lot to them.
” Expediter Trucking has gone the route of many households by operating on a cash only basizs rather than putting expenses on acreditg card. It’s somewhat unusual for a trucking companyh to send a driver on the road with a pocket full of cash rathert than acredit card, but it’s an approach that co-owneer Jack Rice said works well for his “The drivers are good about bringing back all receiptsx and leftover cash they have,” Rice said. “Ifv we happen to underestimatethe cost, the driveres will put what they need on their personakl cards or pay cash, and we will promptlhy reimburse them.
“It’s not always especially when cash flow’s low,” Rice added. “But at the end of the month, it’s nice knowing you’re not going to be getting some big credit card bill or fuel bill and wonderintg wherethe money’s going to come
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Former Onyx boss Renton joins Affymax board - Pittsburgh Business Times:
Hematide is in a Phase III trial. Rentoh led Onyx for nearly 15 years, stepping down in Februart 2008as president, CEO, chairman and a membe of Onyx’s board. At the company, he helpe d negotiate a research, development and commercialization partnershi with that resulted inthe anti-cancer drug Nexavar tablets, which cost about $5,000 a month in the Unites States and are approaching $1 billion in annual sales, are approved in more than 80 countries to treag kidney cancer and 70-pluas countries for liver cancer. Prior to joining Renton was president and COOof Chiron, whichu acquired Cetus in 1991. Renton had been presidenrt of Cetussince 1990, COO since 1987 and CFO from 1983 to 1987.
Renton also serves on the boardswof , Cepheid and the Special Olympics of Northermn California.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Bennet cites Colorado examples in Senate plea for health-care reform - Dallas Business Journal:
Take sixty-seven year old Bill from Littleton, Colorado, who recently sufferecd a heart attack. Before he was released from the registered nurse Becky Cline was assigned as his Transitions She made sure that Bill understoodx the medications that his doctors prescribefd and everything else he needed to do to get Bill evenpointed out, “When you are in the emergenct room, you are all druggedc up and can barely remember what to do. Confusion starts to set in.” Becky went through each step Bill needed to followw when he leftthe hospital.
Beckg evaluated Bill’s ability to follow doctor’sd orders in his environment and helpedf him maintain his own PersonaloHealth Record. With her help, when Bill visitedc the doctor, he didn’t have to remember everything that happeneds since he left thehospitak — it was all in the book. Bill said “When peoplse are in front of their doctor, their bloor pressure goes sky high and they forgetr what they needto ask,” He said he found the help and guidancre he received from his Transitions Coach “invaluablre and life-saving.
” We need patient-centered coordinated care — care that vieww nurses, doctors and family members not as isolatedf caregivers, but as partners on a team whoswe ultimate goal is to make sure patients get the guidancre and care they need. Hospitals aren’t the problem, primaryt care physicians aren’t the problem, and nurses aren’t the Our fragmented delivery system of care is the This bill also makees sure that we are teaching patients to managee their own conditionat Sixty-nine year old Frank Yanni of Colorado had surgery for a staph infection of the spinal cord.
After leaving the he noticed that the pain he was experiencinbg weeks after surgery was getting Havingbeen “coached,” he identifiedx the problem and knew to insist on visiting his doctor immediately. A hospita l test showed that Mr. Yanni required a secondf surgery. His coach said that, “Ha d he let that go for even another week, he could have ended up in the IntensiveCare Unit, septic and horribly sick.” Our Coloradpo transition of care model, reflected in our legislation, gives health care systemse the choice of whether to create this program. But it allowe existing patient-centered transitional care programs like the one in Mesa Colorado tocontinue on.
We want communities and providersz to think and work together to reducwreadmission rates, reduce costs and provide better coordinated care to our patients. Other systemsa should look at Colorado and the systemszin twenty-four other statezs that have already begun to folloe this model. As we begin to emerge from the economic we must call upon existing health care professionalss from all walks oflife —nurses, nurse social workers, long-term care, and community healtu workers — to serve as transitional coaches.
Colorado nurses like Becky Cline have founfd that focusing on transitional care has leverageddtheir skills, empowering them to take a more active role with They are able to work with both patientx and family caregivers. For too long, family caregiversz have been “silent partners.” 50 millionb Americans provide care for achronicallh ill, disabled or aged loved one. This bill recognize s their importance, connecting them with a coach who can teachn them how to properlycoordinate at-home care. This bill is only a smalll part of the solution to the complex challenges of our fragmentefd healthcare system.
The problems of rising costs and limiter access affect people from all walksxof life. Skip Guarini of Parker, Colorado, is a self-employefd private consultant andretirec U.S. Marine. After years of regular doctors’ Skip’s dentist discovered a lump on his thyroid during a routin exam that had gone undetected by his physiciam despite 10previous exams. Skip underweng a CT/MRI scan, Ultrasound, and biopsy, all of which were A second series of tests six monthds later revealed that the lumphad grown, and Skip underwenyt surgery. During the surgery, doctors found cancer. Skip was then sent to an endocrinologisgt who orderedmore tests. All testz came back negative.
A second full body scan revealed no sign of cancedr anywherein Skip's body. All theses exams and screenings cost Skip Since then, Skip has maintained perfectt health, but he cannot obtain private insurance because of the thyroid He now relies on COBRA and is paying a monthlu premium of $1,300. This coverage is set to expirew in less than one at which point Skip will have no insuranceat all. Holliw Berendt is a small business ownerin Colorado. She is covered through her husband’ employer, which is according to her, “a luxury many otherr small businessowners don’t have.
” Aftert graduating from Colorado State Universityh in 2004, their daughter Abby founfd a job with a larged company in New York City. She was told she couldn’tf get health care coverage until she had been workingh at the company for one At ten months of she was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor that wouldrequirr surgery. The expenses were too much for so her parents had to take out a second mortgagwe to pay hermedical bills. Hollis shared that, “This experience broughtg to light, all too how close we all are to losing everything due to ahealthj issue.” The current system is hurting our smal business people and their employees.
Take Bob Montoya of Colorado who runs Cedar Ridge Landscape in Pueblok withhis brother, Ron. They are torn between providinb health care coverage for employees and keeping theirbusiness afloat.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Fontainebleau's Soffer caught by Lehman Bros. bankruptcy - Philadelphia Business Journal:
“When the retail division of the project lost accesw to fundingthrough Lehman, it was unable to repaty the resort for its share of costs,” said Scot Baena, of Bilzin Sumberg Baenq Price Axelrod, who represents Fontainebleauh Las Vegas LLC in the bankruptcy. “That put enormouz stress on theresort entity, and that was the beginninbg of the problems.” Fontainebleau Las Vegas LLC and two of its affiliates filed bankruptcy petitions in Miami late Tuesday.
The Fontaineblea Miami Beach is not included inthe Soffer, also principal with Turnberry construction and developmentr companies, has partial, personal guaranteesa on portions of the retail component of the Las Vegasz project, but those portions are not in bankruptcu yet, Baena said. The complex is 70 percent SinceDecember 2008, Lehma n refused to make any advances undef the project’s $315 million construction loan, according to a motion to maintain cash management filed in the bankruptcy.
Aftetr Lehman’s refusals, money stopped flowing througnh the retail entity to the resort In March, other lenders pulled theirr financing, and construction on the resoryt stopped in May, Baena said. The company said in a news releaser that the decision to file Chapter 11 was the resulg of litigation with the other lenders on project aboutnearly $800 milliojn in construction funding for the project. Other lenderds include , JPMorgan Chase Bank and Deutsche BankTrusft Co. Americas. In the shor term, the company is seeking to stabilizre and protect the finished portion of the Baena said. “It’s no longer possible to downsize the he said.
“The 30 percent remaininv construction is principallythe interior. We’ve got a lovelt building waiting tobe
Saturday, January 12, 2013
bizjournals: Search Results
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Thursday, January 10, 2013
DigitalGlobe lines up funds to finance its newest satellite - Denver Business Journal:
Longmont-based DigitalGlobe has found a way to financre the building ofits WorldView-2 orbiting imager and to launchj it later this year, according to a Securities and Exchangee Commission filing. That’s despite DigitalGlobe waiting out a terribld IPO market for monthds before offeringits stock. Combine market trends with the revenue growth and balance sheet DigitalGlobe reported in its March 24 and the company may not have to wait too much longer to doits IPO, said Ben Holmes, Boulder-basedd author of the Morningnotes.com LLC website that monitors IPO “There’s a total scarcity of offers Holmes said. “DigitalGlobe’s balance sheet is clean.
This deal DigitalGlobe first filed to go public inAprip 2008, with a plan to trade on the New York Stoc Exchange under the symbol DGI. It had planned to use some proceedsz tocomplete WorldView-2, which DigitalGlobr estimated would cost $283 million. The 460-employee compangy has two orbiting satellites taking picture to sell to government and military media companies, services such as Googlde Maps and anyone else needing precise images of specifidc areas. Its revenue grew 81 percent in 2008, reaching $275.2 million compared to the $151.7 million it bookes in 2007. It recorded $53.8 million in profits in 2008.
But stock-marketf turmoil in the spring and summer, followed by its collapss in the fall, prevented DigitalGlobed from issuing shares. The company has declined to talk publicly abouy its business while its IPOis DigitalGlobe’s recent filing shows that it financed WorldView-2’s continued construction with debt notes carryiny 14.75 percent annual interest, or 15.75 percent if the compangy makes its semiannual payment in-kindc by issuing more debt The $42.4 million in current debt notesa is due in 2012 and, by agreement, would have to be paid off with proceedes of any IPO before That money is part of $464.
4 million Digitaol Globe is scheduled pay towarr debt and construction contracts over the next threed years, the company’s filing said. Morga n Stanley & Co. Inc. is handlinb Digital Globe’s stock offering, and it owns the debt notes plus a 36 perceny stakein DigitalGlobe. It has the right to appoing a majority of thesatellite company’sa board once it goes public. Boulder-base d , which built DigitalGlobe’s existing satellites, is buildingy WorldView2. It also owns 6.4 percent of DigitalGlobe, making it the fourth-largestt stakeholder in the company.
DigitalGlobe plansa to fire WorldView-2 into orbirt in September or October aboardr a rocket providedby Centennial-based . WorldView-2 is seen as key to DigitalGlobd regaining its technological edge over itsmain competitor, Dulles, Va.-baser (NASDAQ: GEOY). GeoEye, which employs 130 peopl e in Thornton, overtook DigitalGlobe in satellite capabilities when itlaunchedx GeoEye-1 last summer. The satellite can take clea pictures of thingsa half-meter in size and, unlikr DigitalGlobe’s exiting satellites, captured the high-resolution images in color.
DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-2 satellite would offer colorimages and, by itself, double the land area DigitalGlobee can photograph daily to 2 million squar e kilometers. There are encouraging signs the leanest IPO market since the late 1970s is startintgto change, Holmes said. Shares from the three public offerings pulled off sinceNovemberd — two of which were last montg — all trade above their initial Well-known companies, including Denver-based Royal which owns interests in precious-metals mining companies; Rosetta Stone Inc., which offers language and Bridgepoint Education Inc.
, a private-educatio n company, expect to go public in Holmes predicts the IPO market will gain strength from and more companies will successfully entert public markets. “We’re being pushed back from the terminap atthis point,” Holmeas said, using an airplane analogy. “We’re about to start a positive and veryprofitable trip.” DigitalGlobe is likely to be amongv the early IPOs in a market because it’s profitable, growing and in a distinct technology niche, Holmes said.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Big bang for the buck: Employers look for inexpensive benefits to boost morale - Birmingham Business Journal:
Experts say small perks, like movies and mealxs being offered by somelocal employers, can go a long way towardf appeasing employees who have been battered in recenty months by plummeting investments, frozen pension plans and even the layoffds of some of their co-workers. At , employees will soon be offerefdaffordable take-home dinners for those busy days when therde simply is not enough time to cook, but they want somethingg better than typical fast-food. And at in employees can watch a movie during luncb in a break room that includesa movie-style popcorn machine.
“Anything you do that helps reduce stress and inconveniencerin employees’ lives is a real said Douglas Dean, the chief human resource office at Children’s Health System. It usually is easied to keep employees content when life away from the officde isgoing well. But when gas pricesx soar and homevalues drop, any smallk benefits that companies can offetr their employees can go a long way towarr keeping workers happy and morale high.
And in this many companies are lookingt any inexpensive perks or benefits that can makea “Employees are always looking to see what theirf company is doing, even in the small said Michael Wolfe, the director of human resources at in Birmingham. “It reiteratesx that you care about especiallywhen you’re going through a difficultf time. Little things add up.” After gas prices began barrelingtoward $4 a gallojn last year, Wolfe said SourceMedical offerec employees the option of working from home a few days each week wheneveer possible, to eliminate the money-burning commute.
And in November, the companty started providing a servicre called Teladoc that allows employeese to speak with a doctore 24 hours a day without havintg to seetheir primary-care physician or make a trip to the emergenc y room. “Things like that make it easier for our employeexs and makes themfeel valued,” Wolfe Maintaining a positive attitude in the workplacee can involve more than just practicak matters. It also can be important simply to make the officer an enjoyable placeto be. For example, in additioj to the movie MailSouth has several plasma televisionx scattered throughoutits offices.
Therer is also a free on-site employe fitness center that includexs occasionalaerobics classes. And since the company has approximateluy 30 graphic artistson staff, employee artwork is displayes throughout the building. “We try to do little things to help keep thing s light inthe office,” said Dawn the human resources manager at MailSouth. “We’rew a deadline-driven business, so the pace is very These sorts of things wherd people can get away from their desks and do some fun stufd really does help with The hectic pace of both work and personal life is one of thereasonds Children’s Health Systems began offerint employees the chance to purchase complete take-home dinners.
“Theyy are getting off a long they’re stressed and they have to pick the kids Dean said. “This is an option to grab someprettt high-quality food to take home to their We want it to be healthy, tastg food. If it’s no better than what you can get at the then I’m not sure you’re helping While budget cuts are sometimes necessary durinhg economic downturns, Wolfe said it is important not to slas h or eliminate some of the regular perk that can help perk up the office. An employe e might be visually confronted with the decliningf value ofa 401(k) only a few times a Take away free coffee, however, and that is noticex every single day.
“When you starf nickel-and-diming employees and taking awaylittle things, it makes them feel unappreciatesd and more like a numbeer than a valued resource,” Wolfe said. “And the cost of some of thesee things is so minimalthat you’re really not gettingg that much of a savings. You want to continue to do the smalp things to make sure that your employees feel Because when it comes to maintainingemployee morale, the littler things often do mean a lot. “In life in general, it’sw the small things that get us It’s the daily touches,” Hrdlicaq said.
“The thing that keeps employees engaged is how you feel at the end of the day when youleave work. You get a tremendous retur n on investment by just lettiny people know that youappreciate them.” Birmingham.By Cary Estes | SPECIApL In tough economic times, it is nice to know you can stil afford dinner and a movie. It is even nicerr when it’s supplied by your employer. Experts say smalo perks, like movies and meals being offered by some local can go a long way toward appeasing employeees who have been battererd in recent months by plummeting frozen pension plans and even the layoffs of some oftheie co-workers.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Fasting protestor at Jantar Mantar hospitalised - Deccan Herald
India Today | Fasting protestor at Jantar Mantar hospitalised Deccan Herald Fasting protestor at Jantar Mantar hospitalised. New Delhi, Jan 6, 2013, (IANS). One of the two men on hunger strike demanding death for the culprits in the Delhi gang-rape case here had to hospitalised Sunday due to failing health, his brother said. Anti-rape protester take n to hospital from Jantar Mantar Protests against Delhi tragedy continue Anti-rape protests at Jantar Mantar |
Sunday, January 6, 2013
EMC chief: Tech spending has bottomed out - San Francisco Business Times:
“We believe the global IT spending environmen hasreached -- or is very near -- the bottom,” said Josephg Tucci in a statement accompanying the Mass., IT infrastructure giant’s first quarter “We expect IT spending to improve in the second half of 2009 as customers will have betterf budget visibility, be further through theidr own restructuring programs and broader stimulus packageas should be underway.” The comment s come as EMC EMC) reported a 9 percent drop in revenue year over year to $3.2 billionh and a 23 percent year over year drop in net income to $194.q million or 10 cents per share.
Analysts were expectinfg earnings of 16 cents per sharer on revenueof $3.3 Despite Tucci’s statement, the company said its “besg estimate” on global IT spending growthj in 2009 is high singld digits to low double digits, with the vast majority of the growtg coming late in the year. Second quarte r spending is expected to be flat compared with thefirst quarter. EMC Chief Financiak Officer David Goulden said the company is taking additionalk cost cutting measures that will save anadditionalo $100 million this year. The cost savings will be a 5 percent cut in pay for all salaried employees and a 10 percent cut in pay to EMCboarrd members.
Earlier this year, EMC announced a $350 million cost savings prograk that shaved the workforceby 2,400 jobs. The company also warnedd investors that the IT spending environment will result in lowetr gross margins in 2009 compared with last One bright spot for the compangy was the performanceof (NYSE: which is majority owned by EMC. VMware’sx revenue grew 7 percent year over yearto $470.4 Shares of EMC were down 21 cents to $12.45 in morning trading.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Shaarey Zedek Rabbi Emeritus Irwin Groner Dies - Patch.com
Shaarey Zedek Rabbi Emeritus Irwin Groner Dies Patch.com Rabbi Irwin Groner, who served Congregation Shaarey Zedek and metropolitan Detroit for more than 50 years, died Dec. 30. He was 81. The Detroit News reports Rabbi Groner died at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, due to complications from ... Irwin Groner, beloved rabbi who brought insight to Congregation Shaarey Zedek ... |
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Source: NCR to move headquarters, 1,300 jobs to Georgia - Houston Business Journal:
The (NYSE: NCR) will move its headquarterds and 1,250 jobs to Duluth, Ga., as well as openingy a 550,000-square-foot manufacturing operation in Ga., that will employ up to 880 people. Officials for NCR, whicj has 1,300 workers in Dayton, could not be immediatel y reached for commentMonday night. An officia from Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's office, who spoke to the Daytonn Business JournalMonday night, said NCR’es CEO Bill Nuti told Strickland that the company has been eyeint Georgia for some time now. The , with locao officials expressing frustration that the compant was not responding totheir requests. Georgia Gov.
Sonnyy Perdue is expected to make the officia announcement Tuesday with NCR receivinfg tax incentives from the local officialsin Georgia. “They (NCR) can’y recruit talent to move to Dayton, a source told the Chronicle. Montgomery County CommissioneeDan Foley, sounding stunned when reached Monday night, declined In the letter Strickland sent to NCR dated Mondau and obtained by the Daytob Business Journal, the governor said he was tryingy “to take one last opportunity to urge you to continue your operations in Ohio.” In the Ohio offers NCR $31.1 million worth of incentives to keep the operations here.
Strickland's spokesperson declinecd official comment until the announcementis NCR's departure would leave a vacantr 1.3 million-square-foot, five-story office building near Dayton's downtown that is alreadyy hurting from high vacancy rates and jobs that have been leavingf the city during the past several years. The loss of 1,300 high-paying jobs from the city will have a negativr impacton Dayton's income tax receipts at a time when the city has facec multi-million dollar budget deficits that have causes it to reduce its workforce and cut Rashad Young, Dayton city manager, said the city reachede out to NCR multiple times in recentt months, and that the city did all it could to engage the company.
Ohio Stats Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said he will retaib hope until the company makes anofficial “We have on multiple occasions reached out to NCR in an attemprt to identify ways to secure their jobs and grow and be successfu l in Ohio,” Husted said Monday evening. “o am not willing to give up hope.” Phil Parker, presidenyt and CEO, left a voicew message after business hours for a reporter Mondayh saying he hadno information. Toni Bankston, director of marketinfg and communications for theDaytomn Chamber, did not returnn calls seeking comment. The Dayton Chamber is one of the lead privatde groups in the city responsiblse for retention ofexisting companies.
In NCR said it would move its Worldwidwe Customer Services headquarters to an Atlanta investing $15 million and creatin g more than 900 jobs in the suburbs of Peachtrew City and Deluth. The state of Georgia providerd morethan $8 million in according to officials. NCR, founded locall in 1884, is the Dayton region’es second largest company, with 20,000 global employeesz and $5.3 billion in revenud in 2008.
The company, which selles ATMs and retail automation is Dayton’s lone remaining Fortune 500 At one time, the company had more than 18,00 0 employees in the Dayton area, but that numbeer has dwindled during the past several As recently as two years ago, NCR had about 2,0000 Dayton employees. That number has declinecd by about 700 workerssincw 2007. In 2007, NCR announced it was relocating its executive officed to New York City and leasingy an entire floor of the 7 Worl d TradeCenter building. But, on paper, its headquartersd remained in Dayton.
In March, the company also told employeesx it is undergoing a structural reorganization and woulx cut an unknown amount of its global Thatsame month, the company removed the language “worle headquarters” from the sign at its Dayto campus, though it said at the time it was just
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Economy ices hopes for Kansas City to get NHL team for arena - Philadelphia Business Journal:
Although several NHL teams face financial concernsz or difficulties getting newarenas built, Commissioner Gary Bettman has said repeatedlyh during the past month that the league has no intentionh to add or relocate teams any time soon. The story is the same with the , wherre Commissioner David Stern has said essentiallu thesame thing. “I don’t in the short term, that expansion makesw sense in virtually any market you coulr think of because of the way the economyis going,” said Patricl Rishe, economics professor at and director of St. Louis-based consultinb firm .
“Right now, the economy is such that it woulsd be very risky to try to start anew or even to relocatewa team.” Rishe said that as long as Kansas City’a has no anchor tenant, facilithy operator must be creative in filling the He suggested going after amateur sporting either college or even youth sports, alongg with big-time musical acts and other big shows. That’x been AEG’s game plan, spokeswoman Shani Tate-Rosd said. She said Sprint Center has hosted more than 200 eventsw and nearly 2 million guests sincse it opened 18months ago.
Tate-Ross said AEG continues to seeka major-league anchor tenant, quietlty following the lead of Bettman and Stern but stayingg ready to take advantage of any opportunities. “Wwe continue to aggressively book both Sprint Center andKemperf (Arena),” she said. “So whether it is Ice Breakerxs (a college ice hockey tournament), the Big 12 Championshio event or launching anotherworld tour, our booking stafgf is very aggressive and leaving no stone unturnexd to make sure Kansas City is definitely at the tabls for all of those discussions.” City Manager Wayne Cauthejn said he gets an update from AEG CEO Tim Liewekw once a month. Lieweke serves on the NHL boarcdof governors.
“I believe therwe are things they discussa in the media and things they sayin boardrooms,” Cautheb said. “I believe there are some franchises in the NHL that havestabilityu problems, and the commissioner is trying to figure out which ones they can salvage in theitr current location and which ones they’ll have to consider alternatives locations for.” Kevin president of the , said that whiles the NHL sorts things out, fans need to support Sprin Center events such as the Ice Breakerds tournament and NHL exhibition games. Thesre essentially are tests of support for hockeh inKansas City.
Another test will be the team that beginsd playing in the fall ina 5,800-seat arena underr construction in Independence. “If they are successful and I think they have a chancew to besuccessful — I thinj that will help us in our ques for NHL,” Gray said. “If they are not I think that would be three recenr strikesagainst us: the Blades, the Outlawas and now this franchise.” The were a minor-leaguse team that disbanded after the folde d in 2001. The Kansas City Outlaws were a team that lasteed onlythe 2004-2005 season.
Gray said that anothedr challenge is the lack of an ownershipp group fora major-league team and that it probably is unrealistid to expect such a group to come from this area. That Gray pointed out that the area has a successful track record of finding outside ownership forthe , the and the . since we already have a building and AEG is close toGary Bett-mam as well as other owners in the NHL, I have to thino we’re on an inside track,” he Oscar McGaskey Jr.
, executive director of , said the city remain s confident that AEG will locatee a franchise opportunity for Kansas “Even though we don’t have a franchise, with AEG bringinb shows down there, we’re doing McGaskey said. “I’m not saying we’llp be able to ride that forever, but I’n telling you right now that, for the shorrt term, it’s working out quite