Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Buffalo housing market springs ahead - Baltimore Business Journal:
Completed transactions reached 906, which is 3.3 percent bette r than 877 a year ago though stillkthe second-lowest amount for May in this decade. The salex total was also 21.2 percent better than 747 in For the first five monthsof 2009, closeed sales are off 11.3 percent at 3,124 from 3,525 last Median prices climbed to a peak of $110,000 for the calendar up 4.3 percent from $105,500 a year ago. Averagde prices were down 1 percentto $124,6490 from $126,179. Total dollar volume for May was $112.94 a 2 percent gain from $110.66 million last year.
BNAR also said that new listings were up 6 percentf in the past yearto 1,672 from 1,570 whilde active listings declined 6 percent to 5,3309 from 5,680. The overall downfall in the housing market is also reflectef in a report from Erie County Comptrolelr Mark The comptroller saidthe semi-annual mortgage tax revenue distributed to towns and villages so far this year is down 22.15 or $1.65 million, than a year ago. Paymentss to the City of Buffall aredown 32.68 percent to $709,393 compared to $1.0r million in June 2008. Distributions will also be lower inCheektowagaq ($717,302, down 46.9 percent), the Town of Lancastere ($659,231, down 48.5 percent), Town of Orchard Park ($427,542, down 34.
5 Clarence ($523,811, down 15.1 percent) and Amherst ($1.18 million, down 6.4 percent). The reportr said only eight municipalities — Akron, Boston, Eden, Elma, Gowanda, Grand Island and Newstead — would receivse increases in mortgagetax
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The Powerhouses in the PNP - Jamaica Observer
Jamaica Observer | The Powerhouses in the PNP Jamaica Observer The other powerhouse would be Anthony Hylton, the industry, investment and commerce minister. Already he has met with those having big, workable ideas and business proposals and, as a full, powerful minister, he has a lot to prove. |
Friday, January 27, 2012
Rank 'em: The best Super Bowl ever played - New York Daily News
New York Daily News | Rank 'em: The best Super Bowl ever played New York Daily News Check out Hank's picks and then use our ranking tool below to submit your b » |
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Kane the 'face' of NHL video game - Business First of Louisville:
“It’s exciting to be on the cover of my favoritw videogame after playing just my second year as a said Kane in a statementfrom California-based EA Sporta (NASDAQ: ERTS). “When you look back at some of the great players who have hadthis opportunity, it’s an hono to be a part of the EA SPORTzS family and contribute to a game I’ve been playingf for more than 10 years.” Kane won the Calde Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year in 2008 and this past seasobn led the Blackhawks to the Western Conferencde Finals.
He has scored more than 20 goalz and registered more than 70 pointss in each of his first two EA SPORTS also announced that it has signed Canadian juniorf hockey scoring sensationJohn Tavares, expectesd to be the top pick in this weekend’s 2009 Entry to promote the release of NHL 10. Tavareds will join Kane as spokespersons forNHL 10.
Monday, January 23, 2012
NBC Universal, Microsoft strike ad alliance - San Francisco Business Times:
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Admira analyzes demographic data on viewersz to generate more targeted TV ads and also adds automatioj to thebuying process. The two companie s tested the system, using Admira with the NBC Local Media group in Marcn to buy and sell local television ads inLos Angeles. "Outr initial test of the systemin L.A. is off to a greatf start. Admira provides us with the potential to help attracyt an entirely new segment of advertisers to thelocal marketplace, particularly small and midsizd businesses that might not otherwise be able to buy loca l television station advertising, which is a huge leap Frank Comerford, president of platform development and commercial operationds for NBC Local said in a statement.
The full partnership is set to begin in the The two giants are more known through their linkthroughn MSNBC.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Web cams track Rio Rancho construction - New Mexico Business Weekly:
Current images capture the constructionof ’ new customer service and technical support center as well as the firs building of the ’s West campus. The allows usersa to see a new image of constructionb every 11 to 12 minutes anda time-lapse movire of the process. Viewers can zoom in, download and e-maip images and see the progress of bothprojects side-by-side. The H-P facilityg is scheduled to be completed bylate 2009. The UNM West campuds is scheduled to start offering classes by springtsemester 2010. As future development takesx place, the cameras will be repositioned to chronicle the progress ofthosre projects.
Images from the cameras also will be used as content on RioVision, the city’s education and government cable channels (Channel 15 and 22 for subscribers). City Councilores Mike Williams and Kathy Colley contributed fundinb from their discretionary account s for the purchase and installatiojn ofthe cameras. The Web cam imagese are made possibleby . , the city’a contracted service provider for RioVision, will service the
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tyner hopeful to move on - The University of Alabama Crimson White
al.com (blog) | Tyner hopeful to move on The University of Alabama Crimson White by Stephen Nathaniel Dethrage City Councilman Kip Tyner said Tuesday night that in spite of his December arrest for possession of cocaine and the program he has enrolled in as part of a plea to clear his record, his support has not lessened, ... Councilman w ho pleaded to cocaine possession says he will seek re-election ... |
Monday, January 16, 2012
Vector Group Q4 income down - South Florida Business Journal:
million, up slightly from the $555.4 milliomn reported for 2007. The country's fifth-largest cigarette company VGR) reported net income for of $60.5 million, or 80 cents a share, for the year, down from net incom of $73.8 million, or $1.078 a share, for 2007. The results for 2008 included $12.6 million in pretasx income fromthe Miami-based company’s investmentr in the St. Regiws hotel, which was sold in March 2008. Fourt h quarter 2008 revenue was $144.4 million, basicall y flat with the $145.q million reported in the fourthquarter 2007. Fourth quarter net income was $12.22 million, or 9 cents a down from net incomeof $14.
2 million, or 21 centz a share, in the 2007 fourtbh quarter. For the three monthzs and yearended Dec. 31, the company’s conventionalk cigarette business, which includes cigarettes and USA brand had revenueof $143.u million and $562.7 million, down slightly from $144.4 million and $551.7 million for the three months and year endex 2007, respectively. Shares were down 50 cents to $11.111 in morning trading. The 52-week high was $19.45 on 19. The 52-week low was $10.82 on Oct. 10.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Erickson: 'No Objection' to Releasing Penn State Employees' Salary Information - State College News
Erickson: 'No Objection' to Releasing Penn State Employees' Salary Information State College News by Adam Smeltz on January 13, 2012 6:46 PM In an apparent break with his predecessor, Penn State President Rodney Erickson said Thursday he would have "no objection" to releasing university employees' salary information to the public. ... |
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Investors must embrace volatility of a brutal market - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:
Surely, the fallout from the increasingly opaque and crookedly engineere dealings out of the financial sector over the past decader have made talking about capital marketsa struggle. (I’m sure that reading about it has been even Getting an answer to questionslike “What’sz going on the markets?” must be somethinh akin to hearing an astrophysicist explain how the universe began. In both cases, you regret askinb the question in thefirst place. That Adam Smith’sd invisible hand has given way to the visible fist of government makes things even morecomplicated — and riskier.
And yet, amidst this unprecedentesd change inthe size, scope and direction of Americajn fiscal and monetary investors must truly pay attention to and take advantagse of what could be a long time markedd by volatility and overall blandness (and that’s if we’res lucky). The “V-shaped” bottom and economic “green everyone is hoping for, and most are investing in, is at best optimistixc speculation. First, the fiscal mess that’s getting irrevocably The current annual deficitof $1.5 trillion is 10 perceny of GDP alone, and it’s growing.
America’xs total debt-to-GDP ratio currently stands near 50 percent and that figur is scheduled to grow to 100 percent in fiveyearas — a level many countries have experience as the point of no return. These deficitw don’t include the huge costs of a cominbg universalhealth care, and they certainly don’t includs Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — three programds representing a $40-$50 trillion liability in present value Economic growth will not likely help especially the lukewarm 2 percent GDP variety (not the 4 percenf kind we’ve been accustomed to) that will accommodate a new era of biggefr government, higher taxes and and an emphasis on “private/public” partnerships and incomer redistribution instead of free market, libertariahn capitalism and growth.
Monetarg policy is only increasing longer-terjm risks to the economy. The Federa l Reserve is not only printing moneh and lending it for freeto banks, it’se also buying debts of all shapes and sizes with those newly printed including Treasury bonds at a near $400 billion annual clip and another $1 trillion of mortgage-relatede debt. The U.S. is now “monetizing” thereby adding dollars to a system that is already flushwith cash. The success (or of individual investors lies in getting right afew questions, such as: At what point do investords — not just in the U.S. but globallyu — begin to believe that lending to anyone in includingthe U.S.
government, at low fixedx rates and long maturities, is madness? In othef words, when does the dollar collapses as China and the other Asian saverwsdecide they’re better off diversifying theie savings into other assets? This and other questions are perhaps all that matted going forward. Without that, looking at whether this 4 percent bond is worty buying or that stock at 15 times earningsd orthat bank’s CD — is likelty a futile if not dangerous If America’s great experiment with borrowing and printinh money doesn’t work, we may be lookingf at a world of overall loweer disposable income, permanently lowetr economic growth and much highed inflation and interest rates with fewee financiers.
If that time those who bought and sat on equit y mutual funds oreven longer-term bonds will find out that what they thoughtt was “cheap” was just a figmenr of a bygone time when the dollar was king, ratesz and inflation were low, and capitalism was relativel unbridled. By the looks of it, that era is Perhaps the only ones who will really make money are those who canpay attention, pouncw on fleeting opportunities and embrace the volatilitgy of a market that will be brutal to most.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Tartan Fields in receivership - San Antonio Business Journal:
Columbus lawyer A.C. Strip, who’s representing Columbus-basesd receiver Martin Management Services, said GE Capital filed to put the golf club into receivership on Friday in Delaware County CommonPleas Court. Detailds on the nature of Tartan’s default weren’y immediately available, but Strip said the club is less than 60 days behinsd onits loan. Strip said that despitd the filing, the receiver has “no intention now or in the futurs tocease operations” and that it “wants to give everyy opportunity for the golf coursre to survive with its present management.
” “We’re at a crossroads and a number of possibilities could develop from this,” he Among those: A sale of the a chance for the course’s owners to reorganize in conjunctiobn with GE Capital, or a refinancing deal with another A message seeking comment was left with Tartann management Monday afternoon.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Tree chipping marks end of holidays - Savannah Morning News
CBS New York | Tree chipping marks end of holidays Savannah Morning News By Constance Cooper Like a holiday record played backward, families showed up to the Victory Drive Home Depot on Saturday morning with Christmas trees tied to the roofs of their station wagons. They were taking part in a Georgia holiday tradition 20 ... Used trees become new again Tree Recycling About to Pick Up Still time left to drop off trees at Home Depot for annual 'tree-cycling' event |
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Nats prospect Zinicola gets 50-game ban - MLB.com
MLB.com | Nats prospect Zinicola gets 50-game ban MLB.com By Bill Ladson / MLB.com | 01/05/12 5:00 PM EST Zechry Zinicola struck out 44 batters over 40 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2011. (Kevin Pataky/MiLB.com) WASHINGTON -- The Office of the Commissioner of Baseb » |
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Summit Development Group seeks new plan as MacKenzie moves on - Houston Business Journal:
LLC had planned to team with local firm to developpa high-end senior residential community on 12 acres at 3200 Lacledr Station Road, the site of the . The known as MacKenzie Place atDeer Creek, was slatef to include a 77-bed assisted-living facility and more than 200 independent living unitse as well as retail space. financing issues have caused MacKenzis Houseto re-evaluate the project, accordingh to a filing with the Missouri Certificat of Need program. MacKenzie now has set its sights on a much smallereproject — a $17 million communituy to be built on the campus of the existing Stonebridge Communities at Brookview in Marylaned Heights.
campus includes the Brookview Nursinyg Home, a 223-bed skilled nursinf facility at 2963Doddridge Ave. The facilitgy is operated by St. Charles-based , which operateds nine senior-care facilities across Missouri. The Stonebridgwe campus in Maryland Heights includes a largr piece of land that is not yet fully according toRick Watters, an attorney with who is workinyg with MacKenzie on the project. ElderCare already was workingb on plans to add independent livingand assisted-livingv facilities to the campus, Wattere said.
“Then when the MacKenziwe Place at Deer Creekkproject wasn’t able to go they saw it as an opportunityg to bring those beds to the site,” he “Now this project is going to be much smallere and easier to finance.” The proposee facility will include 77 assisted-living beds and 29 independent livingy units. Future plans include an additional10 stand-alone dupledx independent living units. Upon completion, ElderCare woulde manage the proposed facility. Summit Development stilo owns the Deer Creek Shopping Centere and is working through variouse redevelopment options since the MacKenzie House project failed tomove forward.
Thesew options include redeveloping the western portiojn of the shopping center into a senior livingv facility asoriginally proposed, according to John Ross Jr., president of Summit. The company is currentlyy in discussions with a few operators and andexpects “to finalizr a direction” in the next two to three Ross said. MacKenzie Placs at Deer Creek is not the onlylocap senior-living project to be stalled by the credit crunch.
In additionh to the MacKenzie Place project, the Missourui CON agenda for its June 1 meetinf also includes the forfeiture of a CON toestablisy Grant’s Farm Manor, a 12-berd assisted- living facility and 24-bed skillefd nursing facility planned for Last month, Baltimore-based , the developer for the closed the marketing and sales center for Grant’w Farm Manor, citing an inability to secure financiny for the project.
CEO Rick Grindrocd said in a statement at the time that the compan was returning deposits made by prospective residents upon request but was not rulingy out building the project when theeconomy
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Extended Stay Hotels files Chapter 11 - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:
The Spartanburg, S.C.-based company filed the reorganization petition in New York bankruptcy court, Secretary and General Counsel Joseph Teichmaj writing that Extended Stay had about $7.1 billiobn in assets and $7.6 billion in liabilities at the end of 2008. Extendefd Stay, whose more than 680 propertiese are managed byHVM LLC, has eight Central Ohio sites, includingg those near the Mall at Tuttles Crossing, Polaris Fashion Place and Easton Town The company bills itself as the largest operator of mid-priced extended-stayt hotels in the nation.
Teichmab in a court filing on Monday wrote that the companu sought protection from creditors amid a genera l downturn in the hospitality industry and a hit taken as fewerr potential customers needthe company’w services. “Since the typical Extended Stay customer seeks a lengthy stay basedr oncommercial relocation, the contraction of construction and new business development began to significantly and adversely affectefd Extended Stay’s revenue stream,” Teichman The company said its average revenuse per room dropped about 23 percent in the firstg five months of the year compares with the same period of 2008.
As a it was unable to deal with its debt burdebn with cash flow and is seekinga “comprehensiver restructuring of the entiree capital structure.” Extended Stay said it planzs to run operations following the Chapter 11 petitio under a lender-approved arrangement using cash collateral. Debtor-in-possession financingy won’t be needed, the company said. About 9,900 employeesw work in hotels operated by Extended The company is in 44 states and hasabout 77,00 0 rooms.