No. 130: Ben Hur Construction Co. - St. Louis Business Journal:

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The general construction management firm's steell works division debutedlast summer, and that was the main factof driving its tremendous Brown said. Ben Hur Steel formed in the spring of isa full-service steel business that fabricates, engineers and erects steel framing for buildings. Its notable locap projects include The Crescent developmenr in Claytonand St. Anthony's Medical About 30 employees were hired to work in thesteeo division. "We've been very fortunate, especially since the general constructiohn community here locally has embraced our steel workws operation and has already put us in a plac e of prominence in a short periosdof time," Brown said.
On the construction Ben Hur's top clients include Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., The Boeingv Co. and Lambert-St. Louis Internationalp Airport. With projects including an additionat Pfizer' s Chesterfield facility expected to be completed this Brown expects Ben Hur'xs 2007 revenue to be between $110 million and $120 In addition to its St. Louis Ben Hur has operations in Cincinnatuand Indianapolis. Of the company's 450 150 are located in St. Brown, the company's largest is joined by the St. Louis senior managemeng team ofJohn Vogt, vice presidentr of western division; Thomas Schmidt, chief financial officer; and Randy Boettler, vice presidenyt of general construction.
Mark Douglas and William Nick Browjn III run the Cincinnati and Indianapolis offices, respectively.

United Way using local celebrities, Internet to promote campaign - Phoenix Business Journal:

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Called “Live United,” the campaign’s goal is to raise $53 million to help fund social service programa acrossMaricopa County. The “Live message is aimed at bringiny thecommunity together, said Marcia Mintz, the group’as chief development officer. “This is really a call to action. The wholse point is to give the communithy a chance toget involved,” she said. Vallegy personalities lending their support include shooting guardxRaja Bell, cornerback Roderick Hood, news anchor Katie and proprietor and chef Eddie Matney.
Visitors to the campaign’se Web site can learn more aboutythe celebrities’ professional lives and involvement in the Uniter Way through an interactive quiz called “How I Live “Look at the times we are living in,” said “I am very fortunate and very blessed. It’se our responsibility as members of the community to be a part of the United Way and try and make a Foundedin 1925, Valley of the Sun Uniteed Way works with more than 100 agencies, funding programs to promote educational preparedness for youngsters, job training and help familie s in crisis. The campaign’s goal is about $500,000 more than the recordx $52.
5 million raised last With demand for services up and consumers pincheds bythe economy, executives recognize the fundraising environment is a bit toug these days. “We are being prettyh conservativethis year. I think it will be a challenge to reachthat goal, but I also think our communitg can do it,” Mintz said. As part of the campaign, volunteersz and members of the United Way Loaned Executive program are visiting more than 700 businessesx across the Valley to talk about the availabilityh of services and the need to fund While delivering aserious message, the campaignb aims to be fun and interactive, organizers say.
“Livr United” includes YouTube videos, and the campaign’s inter­activse Web site offers chances to win Volunteers also will be promoting the cause atcommunitg events, with the goal of alerting peopled to the presence of Unitedc Way in the “We thought this was a reallyg creative idea. While giving is really a priority, if you can’t get involved,” Mintz said.
Valleh of the Sun United Way:

Bar owner knows Hurricane Sandy might not spare places like the Ark this time - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com (blog)

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The Star-Ledger - NJ.com (blog)

Bar owner knows Hurricane Sandy might not spare places like the Ark this time The Star-Ledger - NJ.com (blog) Enlarge Star-Ledger Staff Tom Kowal, left, and Joe Rulli, owners of Joeys Pizza and Pasta, board up their restaurant on Long Beach Blvd as Hurricane Sandy makes its way toward Long Beach Island. They were prepared with their orange sign from previous ... '91 perfect storm skipper leery of Hurricane Sandy Peoria Journal Star  »

Beige Book: Region

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Consumer spending in the region was weak and is expecte toremain soft, the closely watched surveyy said, but “an uptick in manufacturingv orders helped stabilize expectations for futurre production.” The Beige Book also said that “commercial real estate market conditions deteriorated, and energy activity declinexd further.” Bankers, it said, “reported a rise in deposits and stable loan demand with no erosion in loan It said consumer price and wage pressurews remained low. Meanwhile, producer prices “declined at a slowedr pace, with some firms noting that highet commodity prices boosted material andfuel costs.
” Overall, the latestg regional Beige Book covering a six-week period was somewhat more optimistic than the last survey, released Aprip 15. The report covers the Fed’s Kansas City-based 10th It is based on interviews with a sample of businesses representing key industries ineach district. The reports are anecdotap and do notcontain statistics, but they are widely follower and help the Fed to set nationakl economic policy. The Fed’s 10th District includes Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming as well as westerb Missouri and northernNew Mexico.
Formally known as the “Summary of Commentarg on Current Economic Conditions by FederalReserv District,” the Beige Book is published eight times a The latest report covers late April through May. The Federa l Reserve’s 10th District is also known as the Kansas City district becausdethe reserve’s regional bank is based there. .

Missouri ups the ante on unpaid taxes - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Effective Jan. 1, state law will requirw companies renewing business licenses to obtain a certificat confirming that they have notaxes due. the Department of Revenue has hired three contractors since 2004 to identify and collect unpaid andunderreportedx taxes. The contractors have identifiedalmost $80 million the department otherwise might have missed, spokesma David Griffith said. The statde also has enlisted the public’s support. A “Who is not link on the department’s home page lista companies whose sales tax licenses have been revoked for failure toremit taxes. As of Dec. 21, the site listed 607 businessedin Jackson, Clay and Platte counties.
Even with outsides help, the state’s handle on tax delinquencies appears tenuous. Jim who left as administrator of the Departmentgof Revenue’s taxation bureau in estimated that as much as $1 billion in delinquent taxes are outstanding, though about half of that probably is too old or difficul t to realistically try to collect. “The figure is extremely hard to quantifuyand prove,” said now a consultant with , a Montreal-based technologyg consulting firm. “If someone wanted to pin me down for a Iprobably wouldn’t have one.” Omar Davis, the director of revenue since 2007, disputed Brentlinger’s $1 billiohn figure.
But the departmeng could not provide a specifi c figure or even an estimatw of unpaid orunderpaid taxes. Janette Lohman, a lawyer with who servec as director of revenue from 1993 to said she has no idea how the departmenf couldquantify delinquencies. Unless filers are auditef or filing discrepanciesare investigated, it is difficult to determine whether they owe more, she Another problem is that the departmenty has no authority to wipe unpaid taxe s off its books, even when the state has no chance of collecting A third issue is the department’s accounting systemw and software.
As recently as four years ago, the departmeng was unable to get its 118 different taxsystemsd — for personal income, sales, business, withholding, cigaretted and other taxes — to talk to one Manual paper reports made it difficult to update information throughout those systems and identifyy delinquencies. Overhauling the syste probably would take years and cost tens of millione of dollarsor more, Brentlingere said. That would require buy-in by the department, the statwe Office of Administration, the governor and legislators a tall orderin today’s economic In September 2004, the Department of Revenue hired of Ohio, to compare various tax recordd and information sources.
Through the June 30 expiratiojn ofits contract, the departmeny paid Teradata $12.5 million for its help in recovering $51 milliob in unpaid and underreported taxes. On July 1, the departmenrt signed a new contract with Teradatsa to expand and update Brentlinger said. In October 2007, the departmeng hired , a New York City-bases receivables management and third-party collections and Houston-based , which billws itself as North America’s largest private collectio agency. IQor contacts taxpayers to try to get them to make good on unpaid taxes or establish apayment plan.
IQor’s subsidiargy and GC Services pursue collectione more aggressively when phone callds andletters don’t do the trick. They can pay personalk visits, notify credit agencies and even work with Griffith said the department canattributde $24.8 million in collections of delinquenr taxes to iQor in fiscal 2008; iQor was paid nearlyu $1.26 million for its services. GC Servicesw collected $4 million and was paid $259,000 in fiscal 2008. He said both contractsz are set to expir ein June. “It’s not fair to taxpayers who pay everyt year for others to slide by and go undefrthe radar,” Griffith said.

Dan Snyder stays at Six Flags under reorganization - Houston Business Journal:

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Six Flags is also seeking a $600 million loan, secured by its and $150 million in a new revolvinygcredit line. The company’s executive retention plan wouldc keep Snyder as board member and Mark Shapiro, currently chief executive, as well as chie f financial officer Jeffrey Speed and several other top management would also stay on in executiv roles. Six Flags, which announcerd its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing overthe weekend, liste d $2.4 billion in debt and $3 billion in It hopes to cut debt by $1.8 billion and wipe out more than $300 milliomn in preferred stock.
Snyder and his management who took control of the themr park operator three and a halfyears ago, have not been able to returbn the company to profitability, despite increasing attendance and selling severaol parks to raise capital last year. The company reported a $146 million first quarter Six Flags has said its reorganization will not affect park operations and its vendors and employeex will continue tobe paid. Six Flagzs 20 theme parks includein Largo.

Canadians set up outposts in Northern Washington - Portland Business Journal:

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“We’ve had a number of inquiriee from manufacturers and industries out of Canada about lookinyg at land in the United saidRon Freeman, owner of Doug Freeman Real Estate in Blaine, Wash., which is located alony Interstate 5 right at the Canadian “The overwhelming cause is that the land costs in Canada have become so Eugen Klein, a broker in Vancouver, British said industrial property prices in the provincee have quadrupled in some areas over the past four He cited several other reasons why Canadian companiexs are looking south. “Down he said, “there are also better tax advantages, capital gains rollovers, and bettefr employment laws.
” A stronb Canadian dollar also has providedsome muscle. Inquirie s really began to pick up when it drew even withthe U.S. dollare in the fall of 2007, Freemajn said. For manufacturers with lots of U.S. a factory in Washington means eliminating the red tape of sendinh products across aninternational border, and lowet transportation costs. Even a warehouse helps. “In a smal l way a lot of Canadian companiezs are doing something we calla ‘picj and pack.
’ They may still be manufacturing productds in Canada, but they are buying warehouses in the Unite d States and inventorying their products here,” Freeman The Washington outposts often have a degree of separation from the Canadian headquarters. Back in 2003, Golden Boy Foods, of Burnaby, B.C., opened a subsidiary called in That same yearin Ferndale, Wash., eight miles southeast of LLC set up It calls itself a sistet company to Intercontinental Truck Body of Surrey, B.C. This opened in Blaine, noting that abourt 40 percent of theparenft company’s ceramic tile business has been in the United The level of interest in U.S.
propertg is tied closely to the distancw from theCanadian border. The Seattle officesz of CB Richard Ellis and saythey aren’tg seeing any increase in interest in the Seattle-Tacoma “There hasn’t been much buying in Seattl because our cap (capitalization) rates are so said Greg Laycock, senior vice president of investment sales for Grubbg & Ellis in Seattle. The Canadians want commercial propertiess that can perform on their own withoutr the extra boost of theexchangre rate, he said. Farthedr north, the change is more “We’re seeing a little more interest,” said Don executive director of the ofSkagit County, locatede in Northwest Washington.
“Certainly if the dollarr continues tobe weak, I assumw we are going to see more activitt from Canada. That’s just logic playing out.” Canadianh interest had already been noticeabls forseveral decades, said Ron Bennetg of Ron Bennett Commercial Real Estate in Wash. “In commercial, they have been very activr down here because a lot of the Canadiansw over the years have put funds in U.S. banks down here,” he said. “Abouf 30 percent of the people who come in here are Of that30 percent, about 50 percent are vacangt land speculators. I wouldd say another 10 percent arebottom feeders.
” The strong Canadiam dollar allows them to come in with strong but they aren’t walking in the door readyt to pay full price, he said. Some buy large projectss such as apartment complexes andretaill centers, but the primary focus is on distributiomn centers and lumber. “In Bellinghajm we don’t have a lot of retail land or light industrialo inour inventory,” Bennett said. “When you don’tr have a lot of land in of course the price goes up Right next to the Canadian the surge in inquiries ismost “It’s not an anomaly. It’ss a definite trend, probably in the last year or saidNancy Jordan, executive director of the .
One of the firsyt things her office does is make sure the companie are in contact with immigration attorneys and accountant who understand the complexitiesof cross-borderr taxation. The economic impact goes beyond commercialreal estate.

GSA, lien suits put Opus East on verge of bankruptcy - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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But now, because the U.S. General Services Administration has refusexd to pay the developerfor “eveh one penny” of the more than $35 milliom the company has invested in erectintg a new federal building in College Park, Opus East is teetering on the verge of the company says. And the problemxs aren’t limited to College Opus’ liquidity problems have had an unexpected impactt on projects at Catholic Universit in the District and as far away as How serious arethe long-term ramificationx for Opus East? “It’s not something we’re happuy about — we’ll put it that way,” said a corporates spokeswoman.
Opus East’s parent company, Minn.-based Opus Corp., has retainesd legal counsel “to explore bankruptch or restructuring” for Opus East and Opus a Phoenix-based operating company, said the spokeswoman, Winstohn Hewett. Two other Opus operatinbg companies, Opus South and Hill Countrty Galleria, were put into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedingsthis spring. For Opus Corp, “this is all reallh new territory,” Hewett said. “In our 56 years in the industry, this is the firsrt time we’ve ever run into a completre meltdown ofthe industry. We’ve never experience anything like this.
” From the company’s perspective, the problems in its East Coast division are attributable in larg part toOpus East’s 2005 GSA contract to design, financ e and build a 269,000-square-foot home for the Nationa Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Center for Weather and Climatw Prediction in College Park. The project broke grounds in 2007 but, despite tacking on additional the GSA has made no payments for any Opus East workso far. The Department of Justice is defending the GSA inOpus East’s As a matter of policy, the department does not commentt when litigation is pending.
In correspondence betwee n thetwo parties, filed in court, the GSA said it has no obligatioh to provide progress payments or to modifyy the lease agreement. Still, the GSA said in the letterss that it had proposed three differentylease modifications, and all three were rejected by Opus By the third quarter of 2007, the projecft was hurting Opus East’s overalpl operations, the company said. Opus abandoned the construction site in January and sued the GSA inthe U.S. Courtg of Federal Claims in May. In the meantimee — with virtually no money available in the capitalmarketds — the company is stretched thin at severap other projects in the area.
As Opus East put the finishingy touches on 100M St. SE, its contracteds buyer, Detroit-based MayfieldGentry Realty Advisors LLC, walked away from the deal in May. Just four blockds away, its 442,000-square-foot speculative office project at 1015Half St. SE is continuingg in full swing. Even so, it’s no cake “In light of the current market until a project is leased and every spec project has the capacit y to financially impactan organization,” Hewetty said.
The company delivered Opus Hall, a 402-bedr dormitory at The Catholic Universithyof America, in January but, by unpaid contractors were filing liens against both Opus East and the At the end of May, at leasr one contractor, Joseph J. Magnolia Inc., had filedr suit for nonpayment agains t Opus East and ContinentalCasualty Co., which had issued a $30 million payment bond on the Catholic project. Although Opus Hall is ownede entirelyby Catholic, the Opus spokeswoman said the contractores should not have filed lienes against the university, only against Opus East and the In Manassas, Opus has spent the past four years planning and building Hastings Marketplace, a 13.
2-acres residential and retail project that woulcd bring the city’s first Harris Teeter grocerh store to the juncture of Prince William Parkwag and Lake Jackson Drive. But both the residentiapl and retail markets had slowed byearlh 2008, and as the economic crisis hit its full stride in the thircd quarter, the company cut the scopde of the project in half. On the things look good at Hastings: One of the two planned buildinges hasbeen delivered, and Harris Teeter is schedulefd to open any day now. But the construction lenderr cut off funding earliee this year after it determineethe property’s value had dropped far below its acceptablde loan-to-value ratio.
Unpaid contractors have filec at least four liens against theManassas property. As a Opus is particularly vulnerable to the seismic shifgt in the commercial realestat market.

'Another Level' - Wichita Business Journal:

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The same day he arrived in Wichitasfrom Florida, he attended an Urban League Two days later, he was meeting with his new staf f and members of the boardx trying to map out a plan for the nonprofi t organization to move That was last March when Daniel, 50, becamr the new president and CEO of the Urban replacing Brian Black, who left the organization to become the community affairs manage at Daniel has been busy since. “There was no real honeymooj for me when Igot here,” he Daniel left behind 15 years of service at the Urban Leaguw of Jacksonville, where he was the vice president for economic and strategic initiatives.
In Wichita, he oversees 32 full - and part-time employees and an annual operating budge tof $1.5 million. Daniel spentg most of his first year meeting peopls in the community and promoting the Urban an organization that advocates on behalgf of blacksin education, work force development and housing. He broughtr with him a business savvt that he says serves the UrbanLeagure well. “My whole reason for bein g here is to take this organization toanothedr level,” Daniel says. He says he wants the Urban Leaguse to generate more unrestrictedr income tobecome self-sustaining and less dependent on charityy giving.
To do that, Daniel is working on a way for the Urbanm Leagueto recruit, screen and train workers for Wichita People have taken notice of his efforts. “Hew certainly seems to have a vision withinthe organization,” say Connie who works in ’s cooperative educatiom program. “He’s a great face for the Urbanh League.” Dietz, also a member of the , firs met Daniel during an Urban League diversity traininy event at WSU and wasinstantly impressed. “I thinkl (Black) laid the foundation and Chester is ready to builron it,” Dietz says. With a year under his Daniel says there’s still more work to be done. Otherd agree.
“I think the best is yet to comewith Mr. says Lee Williams, Urban League board member and presidentf ofthe . “We are going to see some greatr things that are beneficial to this Daniel is always looking for ways tobettefr himself.

$2 million gives Hosting.com ability to move quickly on acquisitions - Business First of Louisville:

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The problem is, conventional financing often isn’t nimblde enough to give Hosting.com the speed to deal with largde companies that want to close quickly, said Darren King, Hosting.com’sd president and CEO. To have the capita on hand, Hosting.com is gettingy a $2 million injection in the form of a mezzanind loanfrom , a private-equity firm basecd in Charlotte, N.C. CapitalSouth and Hosting signed the dealon Oct. 24, said King and Ken director of CapitalSouth’s Louisville Both King and Berryman declinee to discuss the terms ofthe deal.
But becausew mezzanine loans aresubordinatedc debt, they typically are made at a higherd interest rate and with less favorable terms than a conventiona l commercial bank loan because of the inherentlhy higher risk. , based in is Hosting.com’s senior lender. Hosting.comm is considering two acquisitions one on eachcoasg — on the way to buildinb a more geographically dispersed footprint and a greatef presence in America’s largest markets, from the Los Angeleds area to Washington, D.C., King King said Hosting.com is considering almost simultaneousz acquisitions.
The largest is a Silicoh Valley data center that was valuecat $40 million, “but we’ll get it for considerably King said. A second data center in the D.C., area is smaller, and the deal coulde close sooner, within 45 days, King said. He declinedr to identify the companies. Since opening in Louisville 10yearsd ago, Hosting.com has made four acquisitions. “Alll of the acquisitions we’ve done to date have been distressesd or noncore sales by largetelecom providers,” King said. “Whemn I go to do one of those deals, the firs t question that comes up isabout funding. ‘Cabn you guys do it fast?
Can you move I can’t afford to go out and spencd three months or six months tryinvg toraise capital,” King With the CapitalSouth loan, he can take deals directlty to his investors. “I need to make a phon call and say, ‘Guys, here’s the Do we move forward with this?’ The initial $2 million loan mighg be only the first. CapitalSouth has more than $500 million undefr management, with a per-company investment limit of $15 million, Berryman It’s that capacity that cinched the deal, King said. If CapitalSoutuh had offered $2 million “and said, ‘That’z all the money we have,’ we would have ‘We’re not interested.
We can get that from anybody.’ But they have the capacitty to lendfar more.” “We hope our $2 million is not the last investmeny we make in this company,” Berryman said If all goes it won’t be, King “In this market, I think acquisitionb opportunities are going to be cominf more and more frequently.” There are two simultaneoues information technology trends related to economicv uncertainty, King said. Large companies are turning over some IT projects to independent hostingg companies because they can give more attention toclien projects, King said.
At the same time, many giant telecommunication companies are deciding to divest theirhostiny capabilities, finding they weren’t a good match for theirt core business, King said.

Textron cancels Cessna Columbus program - Wichita Business Journal:

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In April, the company announced it would suspendsthe program, leading Cessna leaders to say it would only be a mattetr of time until the project came back. But in Thursday’sx filing with the SEC, Textron (NYSE:TXT) said “Upon additional analysixs of the business-jet market related to this productf offering, we decided to formally cancel further developmentf of theCitation Columbus.” Textronn says it already had incurredr about $50 million in capitalized tooling and facilitu costs related to the project. It says it will record a non-casj pre-tax charge of about $43 million for the first two quarters of 2009 to reflecg the impairment of the facility andtooling assets.
Wichitqa Mayor Carl Brewer, who was in Denver Fridat at a conference, had not heard the Columbues project was being canceled until asked about it by the WichitaaBusiness Journal. “I’m disappointed,” Brewer “... We believe this is part of the future for the cityof We’re just really disappointed that it At the same time, he says, he understands the economic climate has force businesses to make tough decisions. The project was to have built 600,000-square-foot finakl assembly building at Cessna where the majorith ofthe $27 millioh business jet would be built. There was also to have been a 45,000-square-foor physical plant to serve themain building.
Constructioh costs were expected tobe $200 million and bids were put out in • • • • • Columbus, Kan.-based Inc. Apart from the loss in constructiohn jobs, the Wichita area now appeard to have lost out for good onthe 1,00o direct jobs and the 3,000 spin-of f jobs the program was estimated to It also appears likely that Cessnwa will have to pay back the $10 millio it received in city and countg incentives and the $33 million it receivedx from the state for the project. Like Brewer, Sedgwicl County Commissioner Tim Norton says he is disappointed to hear the news ofthe “I think most Wichitans and the business community looked at that as a big he says.
“It takes a little bit of the wind out of the sail for Cessna andgeneral aviation. It could have been a huge boosrt to Wichita over the next couple yeara and I think everybodysaw that.” Norton says he hopes the projecyt will be able to return somewherd down the line. The businessw plan that was putin place, he still could be a good fit.

City National buys majority stake in Lee Munder Capital Group - Phoenix Business Journal:

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Terms of the deal, whicnh is expected to close in thethird quarter, were not disclosed. City Nationapl will merge Lee Munderwith , a Boston-basedc institutional asset management firm in whicuh City National holds a majorituy interest. The new company will operate undetr the Lee Munder Capital Group name and as an affiliatsof LLC, the Chicago-based asset management holdingf company that City Nationalp acquired in 2003. The combined companu will have morethan $4 billion of assete under management and serve as City National's primarh institutional asset management affiliate.
"The combined firm will have the managemenyt andinvestment talent, financial strength, infrastructure and marketing capabilities needed to grow and provided clients with long-term investment performance and superior service," Richard Gershen, executive vice president of wealth management for City said in a statement. Los Angeles-based City Nationaol (NYSE: CYN) is the parent of City National Bank.

AG cracks down on auto service telemarketers - Houston Business Journal:

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The lawsuit was filed Thursday againstfand , both based in California, as well as Pacifixc Guard Warranty LLC of Nevada. The state’z lawsuit cites multiple violations of the Texaz Deceptive TradePractices Act, the Texas Telemarketing Disclosure and Privacg Act, the Telephone Consumefr Protection Act, and the Federal Trad Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule. SCM and On Pointr are so-called lead generators, which are hired to make solicitationh calls on behalf oftheir clients. State investigators indicatre that SCM was hired by Pacificf GuardWarranty LLC, as part of a campaign to sell extended vehicld warranties nationwide.
According to state investigators, the defendangt telemarketing companiesused “spoof numbers” to falsifyg their identities. As a result, Caller ID devices displayed false numbers when they receivex calls fromthe defendants. The defendants are also chargef with misleading call recipientsz about the status of their vehicle Recorded calls distributed by the defendants not only claimedsthat recipients’ warranties were “about to expire”—but also that the recipienta were receiving their “finall call” before their car warranties The state’s lawsuit – filed in federal cour – alleges that these companies harassed countless Texas consumers througgh a consistent campaign of deceptive and abusivee telemarketing calls to consumers’ homes and cellular Further, call recipients who spoke with the sales personnel were not offered extended vehicle warrantiexs on their vehicles.
Instead, they were pitchefd extended vehicleservice contracts—not warranties. The state’s enforcement actiobn also indicates that the defendants failee to adequately inform call recipients about the limitationzs of the extended service contracts theywere selling. The statde wants the companies to pay for each known violatiojn of FTCtelemarketing rules, the Deceptiv Trade Practices Act and the Texas No Call Act. it's unclear what the total amount of the suit is at this point since reporte of violations are stillcoming in.
the state is seekingt a temporary injunction against the companies to preventthem from: Calling phone numbers listed on the Texas No-Call and, • Calling Texans using pre-recorded messages without their priorr consent.

Japanese visitors still spooked by flu - Dallas Business Journal:

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According to preliminary a totalof 8,870 passengers arriveed June 1-4 on flights to Hawaii from That’s a 32 percent drop from the same perioxd in 2008, about 1,000 fewer visitors per day. The Japanese visitor falloff begin the second week in May and was directly attributed toswine flu, also callexd H1N1 influenza A. Even though Japan has reported, as of 385 swine flu cases ofits own, rankinvg it among the top six countried affected by the infection, many Japanese companies have banned employeex from overseas travel. The swine flu outbreak is also affectiny travel from other Asian countries to North Americaand Europe, accordingg to Hawaii Tourism Asia.
The South Koream travel industryreports 15-30 percent cancellation rates in trips to U.S. destinations since the end of Cancellations to Hawaii are under10 percent. The Chinese travel industry, meantime, said cancellations in outbound travepare increasing, with fewer new-booked packagess to the U.S.

Topcon Positioning puts survey unit HQ in Olathe - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The company, based in Livermore, Calif., announcedr Monday that it has createds a new business unit for its surveying equipment and producta inthe Americas. The unit is based in Olathe and led by Seniofr Vice PresidentDenny Welch. Georgs Smith, director of communications services for TopconPositioning Systems, said the formation of the unit is part of the company’d move to make the most of parent company ’s February 2008 purchase of Companyt releases put the value of the deal betweejn the two Japan-based companies at $194 “We’re living by the mantra: One two brands,” Smith said. Sokkia consolidated its U.S.
operations in Olath e in 2000, with subsidiary one of the initiao tenants ofthe I-35/119th St. Technology Smith said the formation of the survey unit for the Americasw probably would mean increased employment in but he could not say how many or how soon any increasesdmight occur. He deferred questions about the present size of the work forcee in Olatheto Welch, who could not be reacherd for comment. In a company Topcon Positioning Systems called the combination of the Topconn and Sokkia brands the largest survey instrumenr company inthe world.
“The resources of these two companies create opportunities that would not be available if the saleds and support operations remained Welch said inthe announcement.

Brookings study: Jacksonville among weakest economies in U.S. - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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Jacksonville ranked 96th out of the 100 cities just one of several Floridsa cities tofare poorly. The state had seven of the 20 pooresg performingmetro areas, and four of the worst The MetroMonitor study is the firsyt in an ongoing quarterly series and coverse the first quarter of 2009. Conductecd by the Metropolitan Policy Program at TheBrookingws Institution, the report ranks the economidc performance of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. Rankinges are reached through six criteria: employment, employment change by industry, unemployment rates, wages, gross metropolitan housing prices andforeclosure rates. Jacksonvill e had a 6.
8 percenrt drop in gross metropolitan product fromthe pre-recession peak to the first quarter of 2009. Housinv prices in the first quarter of this year weredown 8.9 percentg from a year earlier, and unemploymentg rose 4.6 percentage points in the past year. “Alpl metropolitan areas are feeling the effects ofthis recession, but the distresd is not shared equally,” said Alan Berube, researcjh director of the MPP at Brookingsd and co-author of the report. The studgy showed that San Antonio, Texas, has the strongesr performing economy of the 100 MSAs and Texas had five of the top six performintmetro areas. Detroit reported the weakesy economy.
Established in 1996, the MPP at Brookings providea research and policy ideas aimed at improvingg the prosperity of cities andmetropolitab areas.

Kansas City Fed district manufacturing improves - St. Louis Business Journal:

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The production index for manufacturerds reporting an increase in production in June from May was 9 its first foray into positive territorysinced August. About 33 percent of companiex surveyed said productionwas up, and about 22 perceng said it was down. The index was at -3 in May and -8 a year ago. Productiojn indexes increased for durable andnondurablew goods-producing plants. The indexes for new orders and order backloyg all increased forthe second-straight month and emerged from negative The employment index was -10 in June, up from -13 in May. It was at -9 a year ago. The averagr employee workweek indexhit 3, jumping from -14 in May and -3 a year ago.
The indexc had been negative since August. Inventories for materialse and finished goodsremained negative, worseninhg from May to June and from last year. The future-productio outlook index reached 13, up from 1 in May and down from 17 ayear ago. The futuree capital expenditures index fellto -13 in June from -10 in May. The bank said most firme indicated “some lingering hesitancy on major investments due to the only recentg pickupin activity.” The 10th district covers Western Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming and northern New Mexico.

Nationwide Arena sale under discussion - Baltimore Business Journal:

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Preliminary talks have been held betweenb Blue Jackets and FranklinCounty officials, state legislators and Nationwid Insurance executives over helping the National Hockey League club solve its economic problems, Columbus Business First has learned. One option unde discussion calls for the county to buythe 18,000-seat arena from Nationwide so the team can work towars getting a better lease. The issue is likely to come to a head in cominvg weeks as lawmakers decide whether to grant Franklinn County the authority to impose or seek votedr approval for an increase in alcohol and tobacco excise Such a provision could be added to the state budgetr bill that the General Assembly must pass byJune 30.
Proceed s from a higher “sim tax” could provide a revenue streaj for the county to tap to retire debt on bondss it would issue to finance an arena according to people involved inthe discussions. Ohio’s beer and wine tax ratex stand at 18 centsa and 32 centsa gallon, respectively. There is also a $1.25 state tax on a pack of Better dealfor team? Nationwide Arena is owned by a partnership of Nationwide Insurance and Dispatch Printingh Co., with the insurer holding a 90 percenft stake. The Blue Jackets lease the nine-year-oled arena and operate it, but revenue from events isn’ t covering operating costs, said Blue Jackets President Mike Priest.
That’s forcing the club to take monety from hockey operations to make upthe difference, he The formula worked in the early years of the when the team’s player payroll was lower and game attendance was higher, Priest but it has contributed to financiao losses the Blue Jackets have suffered in recent years. The club has lost a combinef $80 million over the past seveh years. “We have a building financialk issue,” Priest said. “That leads to a team financial issue.
If we can fix the building problem, we can fix the team Team officials are exploringv whether county ownership of the arena could resulyt in favorable changes to the Blue operating terms, Priest said. A countyy agency – the Convention Facilities Authority – owns the land under the arena and the nearby Greate r ColumbusConvention Center. The county also owns Huntingtonm Park, the home of the Columbusz Clippers in theArena “The county has not agreed to do Priest said. “Nothing has been Commissioners are aware of what the Blue Jackets are proposinvg but have not taken a position on buying the said county AdministratorDon Brown.
The countyt could not afford to buy the building unless a revenue stream was guaranteed to retire bond debt that wouldr go witha purchase, he said. Officialz also would need to examine theBlue finances, lease terms and revenue from non-hockey events such as The club likely would be asked to sign a long-ternm lease to ensure it remains in Columbus, Brown said. “Withoutg a covenant or guaranteelike that,” he said, “I doubt the county would be It would not make business sense to take on ownership withouf being assured of an anchor Public-private partnerships involving professional sports arenas and stadiumzs are common, Priest said.
For example, tax revenuw from alcohol and tobacco salezs was used in Cuyahoga County to help finance constructiom of a basketball arena for the Cleveland Cavaliersa and a baseball stadium for the Indians inthe 1990s. Columbusw went the opposite route in 1997 after voters defeated a tax proposap to fund construction of adowntowmn arena. Nationwide and Dispatch Printing, ownefr of the Columbus Dispatch and othermediq operations, stepped in to build the $150 million arena when Worthington Industries Inc. founder John H. McConnell led an investorzs group that landed an NHL franchise forthe city. The privatelyu owned Blue Jackets, whose majority owner is Worthington Industries CEOJohn P.
haven’t disclosed details of the team’se finances. But media reports have put the team’sx lease on Nationwide Arena at morethan $3 milliobn a year. Priest said the Blue Jackets gave up several revenuw sources to help get thearenaa built, including 15 of the arena’s 52 luxury suites that were sold for 25 years by The team gets revenue from the remaining luxury suites, but receivesa no revenue from parking or arena naminv rights, he said.
Priest was asked if the Blue Jacketsx would consider leaving Columbus if the arena issue isnot “The very reason we are being so proactive,” he said, “iss to avoid having to deal with that question and I believe as a community we have the abilit y to find a solution.” Nationwider has participated in discussions on “public-private opportunities” for the Blue including a sale of the said Eric Hardgrove, a spokesman for the Columbus-basedx insurer. “We are not actively looking to sell the he said. “It is one of the many optione under consideration to help ensure the Blue Jackets remain a viable presence here for yearsto come.
”

Wells Drying Up Becoming Big Concern - KAALtv.com

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KAALtv.com

Wells Drying Up Becoming Big Concern KAALtv.com Wells Drying Up Becoming Big Concern. (ABC 6 News) -- The dry conditions over the summer have affected people all across Minnesota and Iowa, especially farmers. However, farmers aren't the only ones with reasons to worry. "Every time I turn on my ...

Compass Minerals makes $95.5M from debt placement - Kansas City Business Journal:

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million from a privatee placementof $100 million in 8 perceny senior notes due in 2019. In a Friday release, the Overland Park-basef company (NYSE: CMP) said it will use the proceeds to financs a tender offer it announced May 21 to buy itsoutstanding $89.6 million in 12 percenr senior notes due in 2013, and for general corporatwe purposes. Compass produces minerals including salt, sulfate of potash specialtty fertilizer andmagnesium chloride. It provides highway deicingh salt to customers in North Americaw and the United Kingdom and specialty fertilizerf togrowers worldwide.
It producese consumer deicing and waterconditioning products, ingredients used in consumer and commercial foods, and other mineral-basef products for consumer, agricultural and industrial It also provides recordsa management services to businessexs throughout the United Kingdom. The companh ranks No. 18 on the Kansas City BusinessJournal ’z list of area public

ECB's Draghi: OMT plan helping ease tensions - MarketWatch

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ECB's Draghi: OMT plan helping ease tensions MarketWatch FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday that the central bank's bond-buying plan, known as outright monetary transactions, or OMTs, has helped ease tensions in euro-zone financial markets. Draghi ... and more »

NBC orders full seasons of 'Revolution,' 'Go On,' 'The New Normal' - Washington Post (blog)

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E! Online

NBC orders full seasons of 'Revolution,' 'Go On,' 'The New Normal' Washington Post (blog) NBC orders full seasons of 'Revolution,' 'Go On,' 'The New Normal'. By Emily Yahr. “Revolution” got a full-season pick-up. (NBC - BOB MAHONEY/NBC). The first pick-ups of the season have started â€" on Tuesday afte rnoon, NBC announced that J.J. Abrams ... NBC breaks TV losing streak, orders more 'Revolution' Chicago Tribune (blog) NBC Orders Full Seasons Of 'Revolution,' 'Go On,' 'The New Normal' Picked Up Huffington Post NBC orders full seasons of "Revolution," "Go On" and "The New Normal" CBS News E! Online -Reuters -AceShowbiz  »

Mueller sells Utah Railway for $54 million - Business First of Columbus:

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Mueller will recognize a gain on the sale ofabouty $30 million after tax, or 80 cents per in the fiscal quartert ended September 28. Closing is conditioned upon approval of the SurfaceTransportatiohn Board, among other things. Mueller says it anticipateas the board's approval on an expeditedd basis. Mueller chairman Harvey Karp says the sale of Utah Railwa yconcludes Mueller's plan to dispose of non-core business assets. The transaction will increasedthe company's cash positioj by about $50 million, he says. Mueller Industriexs is a manufacturerof copper, brass, plastic and aluminum products.
Previously based in Wichita, Mueller relocated its headquarters to Memphias in 1996 to be closer to its main plants in the Tennesserand Michigan. In all, the company operatess nine plants in Mississippiand Arkansas. Greenwich, Conn.-based Geneseed & Wyoming, Inc., is a world-claszs provider of rail-freight transportation and its supporting It functions as a holding companyy with subsidiaries that own and operate regionalfreight railroads. The compang owns or has interests in more than 20 railroadss in theUnited States, Mexico, Bolivia and Australia.
It operates more than 8,000 miles of owned and leasee track, with access to an additional 2,350 miles through track access arrangements.