Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Capitol View developer's wife seeks money seized in probe
The wife of the developer of Harrisburg's failed Capitol View Commerce Center has filed a claim in federal court, asking for the $1.2 million the U.S. Attorney's office seized from her home and bank accounts affiliated with Industrial Design and Construction Inc., a company connected to the project.
Source: Central Penn Business Journal
Hampden Twp. leading trend with new consignment stores
Resale is hot and nowhere does the trend seem more evident than in Hampden Township in Cumberland County. Today's economy seems to be pushing the trend. People who once threw away or donated clothes and furniture now see a chance to turn them into cash, said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Association of Retail and Thrift Shops.
Source: The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News
York Symphony Orchestra cancels free concert series
The York Symphony Orchestra has discontinued its summer concert series in Farquhar Park saying the cut is necessary for long-term survival. Barb Blazek, associate director for York Symphony, said executives made the decision in January after completing cost and revenue projections for the year.
Source: The York Dispatch
Job market shows signs of small gains
Two new reports show that the job market continues to make small gains, though employers will have to do a lot more hiring before a dent is made in the nation's 9.7% unemployment rate. There were 2.7 million job openings on the last business day of January, up from 2.5 million a month earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday. More openings mean more opportunities for the jobless to land positions.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Complaints to BBB up 10 percent
Complaints to the Better Business Bureau were up nearly 10 percent last year, with the banking industry seeing the biggest jump in unhappy customers. Complaints about banks spiked 42 percent to 29,920 in 2009, according to the annual report released Monday by the BBB. That made banks the third most complained about industry, after cell phones and cable- and satellite-TV providers.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
China's exports rise 46 percent
China announced Wednesday that its exports climbed 46 percent in February from a year earlier. Economists said the data signaled a rebound in consumer demand from the United States and other Western markets after the financial crisis last year.
Source: The New York Times
Department store perks a thing of the past
The legacy of the department store as an oasis of customer service fell another notch last week when Macy's Inc. disclosed it is shutting down its gift-wrap department. The retailer, like most these days, has been under pressure to cut costs. Staffing stores with clerks to cut paper and fold ribbons doesn't come cheap.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Gray, other Pa. mayors lobby for municipal tax reform
Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray and mayors from 20 other Pennsylvania cities hope speaking with one voice will help them be heard in Harrisburg. Gray joined mayors from across Pennsylvania and 16 borough managers, council members and other municipal officials in the State Capital building Monday afternoon to call for municipal tax reform.
Source: Lancaster New Era/(Lancaster) Intelligencer Journal
House panel swiftly passes Rendell budget
Hoping to make this the first year since 2003 with an on-time budget, the House Appropriations Committee yesterday approved Rendell's proposed spending plan months ahead of the July 1 deadline. The committee vote was along party lines, despite efforts to attract Republican votes after Gov. Rendell's proposed sales-tax expansion and tax on gas drilling were jettisoned.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
IMAX theater coming to Lancaster County
Local movie buffs who've ventured far and wide to witness the spectacular brilliance of giant IMAX screen movies will soon be treated to the experience closer to home. Penn Cinema has signed an agreement with IMAX Corp. to show movies in a new 20,000-square-foot complex in Manheim Township that will feature two restaurants, Penn Ketchum, Penn Cinema managing partner, said Monday.
Source: Lancaster New Era/(Lancaster) Intelligencer Journal
Survey sees uptick in midstate hiring for Q2
A quarterly survey by Manpower points to a slight uptick in hiring by midstate companies from April through June. Manpower said its survey found that 15 percent of companies interviewed in the Harrisburg-Carlisle area plan to hire more workers in the second quarter, compared to 6 percent that plan to cut payroll. Another 75 percent expect to maintain current staff while 4 percent said they don't know.
Source: The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News
Hiring increase possible, midstate work force board says
A recent survey of Central Pennsylvania companies found many companies could start a hiring trend in the next six months, according to the South Central Workforce Investment Board. The survey found that more than 90 percent of companies with open positions expected to fill them within six months. About 60 percent of companies were more interested in filling entry-level and non-management positions in that time, according to the survey.
Source: Central Penn Business Journal
Hollywood Casino plans to hire 439, add 52 table games
Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course expects to offer 52 casino games, including 12 Texas Hold'em and other poker games, and hire 439 people, including 331 full-timers, as part of its plan to offertable games this summer.
Source: The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News
Companies seek to curb cell phone use in cars
More companies are taking steps to curb their employees' hand-held cell phone habits in the car, experts said. "It's getting to be a hot issue," said Phyllis Hartman, founder and president of PGHR Consulting., a human resources firm in the North Hills. "Companies are becoming concerned about the safety of their employees and the liability issues."
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Employers, consumers waiting on each other to move first
To understand why jobs are so scarce, consider John McFarland and Nicole Rosen. The two share something in common: They're reluctant to spend freely. McFarland is CEO of Baldor Electric Co. in Fort Smith, Ark.; Rosen is a consumer in Washington state. Each is earning and saving money. Yet McFarland won't hire until consumers spend more. And Rosen won't spend more until jobs seem secure.
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Public pension funds are adding risk to raise returns
States and companies have started investing very differently when it comes to the billions of dollars they are safeguarding for workers' retirement. Companies are quietly and gradually moving their pension funds out of stocks. They want to reduce their investment risk and are buying more long-term bonds.
Source: The New York Times
Fed launches reverse repurchase agreement program
The Federal Reserve is beginning a program to drain some of the unprecedented liquidity it added to markets during the credit crisis. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday it will begin conducting reverse repurchase agreements. That's when the Fed sells securities from its portfolio with an agreement to buy them back later.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Monday, March 08, 2010
Lebanon rated among top areas by business publication
Lebanon is ranked sixth in the nation for metropolitan areas of its size as a place to locate a business, according to a national publication. Site Selection bills itself as "The Magazine of Corporate Real Estate Strategy and Area Economic Development." The source for the rankings was Conway Data Inc.'s New Plant Database.
Source: Lebanon Daily News
Feds eye much of Lancaster in courthouse site search
The federal government is looking beyond downtown Lancaster for a site to build a $27 million courthouse, new documents reveal. It's also considering the north and northwest parts of the city, an area that includes the vast property being redeveloped by Franklin & Marshall College and Lancaster General Health.
Source: Lancaster New Era/(Lancaster) Intelligencer Journal
Warfel wins contract for Lancaster Central Market
Lancaster city officials announced Friday that Warfel Construction Co. has been awarded the contract to renovate Central Market. Work is expected to start in early April.
Source: Lancaster New Era/(Lancaster) Intelligencer Journal
Study casts positive light on Harrisburg-area homebuilding
New houses in the Harrisburg area generate enough revenue through taxes and jobs to pay for themselves twofold, a recent National Association of Home Builders study suggests. That means tax revenue generated by those houses more than covers the cost local governments and school districts pay to provide services to them, according to the report released Feb. 18.
Source: Central Penn Business Journal
Employers lash out over Pa. unemployment tax spike
After hiring 19 employees in the middle of a recession last year, Jessica Azur can't figure out how Pennsylvania can slap her family's information technology company in Moon with a 60 percent increase in the rate it is taxed for the state's jobless benefits fund.
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Lebanon Valley chamber reorganizes
The Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce has restructured its overall government-affairs program. Among the objectives for the revamped structure are increased involvement by the chamber in local government issues, a continued strong presence in state and federal issues on behalf of its member employers, and an opportunity for expanded membership involvement in its government-affairs program, according to a news release.
Source: Lebanon Daily News
Funds evaporating for county farmland preservation
Lebanon County has a strong record of preserving farmland, but the future is looking rocky as funding disappears. With more than 15,000 acres of preserved farmland, Lebanon County ranks first in the state among counties its size and seventh overall, according to Chuck Wertz, executive director of the Lebanon County Conservation District.
Source: York Daily Record/York Sunday News
Program will pay homeowners to sell at a loss
In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave.
Source: The New York Times
China's bank chief says currency is unlikely to rise
China's central bank governor indicated Saturday that the government was unlikely to detach the value of China's currency from that of the dollar anytime soon, echoing Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's statement on Friday that exchange rates would remain "basically stable" for now.
Source: The New York Times
Friday, March 05, 2010
Down year expected for Harley, but signs of recovery
Harley-Davidson Inc. is expected to have another down year in 2010, but there may be signs of recovery as the iconic motorcycle maker continues its restructuring efforts, an analyst said this week in a research note.
Source: York Daily Record/York Sunday News
State unemployment holds at 8.8 percent
The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held at 8.8 percent in January, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry.
Source: The (Carlisle) Sentinel
Hints of light in dark days of the jobless
In the mid-17th century, Thomas Fuller, a British preacher, sought to comfort sufferers with the reminder that "it is always darkest just before the day dawneth." Investors ought to heed those words Friday morning. The Labor Department's monthly employment report is expected to show a loss of 75,000 jobs in February, according to forecasters polled by Dow Jones, with the unemployment rate rising to 9.8 percent from 9.7 percent in January.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Mortons to lead Pa. Academy of Music board
Frances Veri said last month the embattled Pennsylvania Academy of Music would add some of "Lancaster's superstars" to its board of trustees. It has. The new PAM board chairman is Dr. Holmes Morton, founder of the internationally known Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg.
Source: Lancaster New Era/(Lancaster) Intelligencer Journal
Shoe maker marches to Mount Joy
A Lebanon marching-shoe manufacturer has moved to Lancaster County. Up-Front Footwear was forced to find a new home after its building at 925 Scull St. was taken by eminent domain as part of the Route 72 bridges project over the Norfolk Southern railroad lines.
Source: Lebanon Daily News
Overbilling latest snag for PPL business customers
With the expiration of rate caps in Pennsylvania, problems continue to spring up for businesses buying electricity in a competitive market. The state regulated prices electricity-generation companies could charge until 2009 as part of methods to ease electricity market deregulation. The rate caps expired at the end of 2009 for PPL Electric Utilities Corp. customers and will expire at the end of 2010 for customers of Reading-based Metropolitan-Edison Co.
Source: Central Penn Business Journal
BAE competing for new military vehicle deal
BAE Systems is teaming with another company to compete for a next-generation infantry vehicle in the military's Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program.
Source: York Daily Record/York Sunday News
Companies begin to tap record capital piles for mergers
One year removed from the trough of the recession, American corporations continue to hoard more cash than ever. There are now tentative signs that they are finally comfortable using the money to do some shopping.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Even big oil execs think we're headed to electric future
Within the auto industry, we can attest that attitudes about electric vehicles are radically different than they were just a decade ago. But finding out that a Big Oil executive has predicted electric vehicles (EVs) will become a huge future chunk of the world vehicle market? That still has our hair standing up a little bit.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Park City mall operator given extra time to reorganize
A federal judge on Wednesday granted General Growth Properties four more months of exclusivity to file its bankruptcy reorganization plan, giving the company, a mall operator, some breathing room as it fends off an unsolicited $10 billion takeover bid from the Simon Property Group.
Source: The New York Times
Looking at downtown York from a big-city perspective
Kirby Fowler didn't realize the connection between Baltimore and York until he made a visit on Tuesday. "It really struck me how close York and Baltimore truly are in terms of mentality and geography," said Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore. "I think we can continue to build upon that."
Source: York Daily Record/York Sunday News
Bioscience gets mostly lip service since '01, group says
The bioscience industry in Central Pennsylvania and the state could have developed faster in the last decade if politicians had made a larger investment, the director of a state trade group said.
Source: Central Penn Business Journal
Lititz watch school no longer nonproft
The Lititz Watch Technicum has a new corporate structure but the same mission. The school, which Rolex established in 2001, was created as a nonprofit foundation that got all of its funding from the luxury watchmaker. But recently, the nonprofit status was dissolved and the school is now part of Rolex's educational subsidiary.
Source: Lancaster New Era/(Lancaster) Intelligencer Journal
11 midstate properties valued at $1.5M-plus are on market
Twenty-two properties between $1.5 and $3 million are advertised on the Central Penn Multi-List, which posts homes in Dauphin, Lebanon, Lancaster, Adams, York, Cumberland, Perry and Juniata counties.
Source: The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News
Shoppes at Landis Valley project begins
Demolition of the former Quality Inn on Oregon Pike started this week, to make way for the Shoppes at Landis Valley.
Source: Lancaster New Era/(Lancaster) Intelligencer Journal
Growth in U.S. services sector tops forecast
Growth in the service sector in the United States accelerated in February to its fastest pace in more than two years, but jobs remained hard to find. Gains in the economy have so far been led by a rebound in manufacturing, as companies slowed their inventory draw-downs and exports rose.
Source: The New York Times
Fitch: January credit card defaults up 11 percent
Fitch Ratings said Wednesday the number of credit card defaults surged 1.12 percentage points in January to 11.37 percent, the highest level since a record 11.52 percent in September.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Federal title-check system closes some scammer loopholes
Would you believe that up until now there hasn't been a true database for vehicle titles, supervised by the federal government? It's finally here; by January 1 of this year, all states were required to be fully participating in the Anti-Car Theft Act and associated regulations. The fruits of the effort are on offer at www.vehiclehistory.gov, in a site that's intended as a base for car shoppers, car dealers, insurers, and law enforcement officials.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Trusted adviser or stock pusher? Finance bill may not resolve
You have probably seen the television commercial, the one where you seem to be watching an intimate conversation between family members. But at the end, you learn that the conversation was actually between a broker and his client.
Source: The New York Times
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