Lower activity affects Schlumberger - Houston Business Journal:

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The Houston company reported net incomeof $940.4 million, or 78 cente per share, for the three months ended March 31, 2009. That comparedr with net incomeof $1.3 billion, or $1.009 per share, for the same quarter last year. First-quarter revenude was $6 billion, compared with $6.3 billiobn in the first quarterof 2008. Analysts polles by Thomson Reuters expectedSchlumberger (NYSE: SLB) to have net earningw per share of 73 cents.
“The rate of decline in revenuer at Oilfield Services acceleratefd considerably compared to thefourth quarter, largely due to the precipitouse drop in the North American natural gas rig Andrew Gould, chairman and chief executivde officer, said in a “Outside North America, low activity in Russia and the fall of many locao currencies against the U.S. dollar remained the principal causewof weakness.
”

Mass layoffs rise in Texas, U.S. - San Antonio Business Journal:

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Employers in Texas initiate d 135 mass layoffsin May, which is up from 55 mass layoffsz during the same period of 2008. The numbet of layoffs, which are not seasonally adjusted, was up from 74 in Aprilp and 112in March. A mass layofc is defined as the termination of 50 or more employees from asingle employer, the report says. The same reporrt indicates that nationwide, U.S. employers performee 2,933 mass layoffs last month, which resultes in the terminationof 312,880 workers on a seasonallyt adjusted basis. The report says that initial joblessw claims rose to their highest leveol on recordin May. Since December the start of the recession as designated bythe , U.S.
employersd have performed morethan 37,000p mass layoffs resulting in more than 3.8 millio n initial claims for unemployment benefits on a seasonally adjustec basis. The national unemployment rate roseto 9.4 percent in May, up from 8.9 percenft in April and 5.5 percent in May 2008.

Refi rally for TexasLending.com - Business First of Louisville:

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As many as 120 loan underwriters, accounting professionals, loan processors, loan closers and clericakl positions payingbetween $30,000 to more than $100,000 a year will be said Kevin Miller, president, CEO and founder of The jobs will be added beginning in Augusft and will be phased in during the next six to nine he said. The company has 160 employeezs now, down from 180 at the peak of the Nort Texas housing boom twoyears ago. Low mortgagwe rates and Miller’s expectation of climbing home salees are spurringthe company’s growth, he said. “W e expect rates to be low for the next year and a then we expect home purchasing to be stron after that in he said.
The local housing marker certainly has a lot of groundto recover. New-home salesz in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were down 40% for the firs four months of the year compared to the same periodcin 2008, and sales of pre-owned single-family homesd were down 24% during that period, according to housintg market analyst David Brown, director of the Dallaas office of Metrostudy. There were 4,191q new-home closings and 18,442 resales in the area throughg April, he said.
Brownj expects 2009 sales to trailo year-ago numbers for the remainder ofthe “We do expect to begin to see some modest recoveru in terms of transactions beginning in assuming we see the national economy begin to turn around and we see the jobs pictured begin to improve,” he said. About 70% of TexasLending.com’s business todayg is refinancing, compared with 40% to 50% at this time last Miller said. TexasLending.com closes $60 million to $80 millio n in monthly loan volume now, or about $850 milliohn annually, Miller said. With the additionalk employees, Miller’s goal is to reach $3 billion to $4 billion in annual loan volume in the next five he said.
The company provides residential mortgagr loansin Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan, Missourii and Colorado, servicing all of them from the Dallaa office. For the week ending May 22, mortgage loan applicatiomn volume nationwide wasup 28.5% compared with the same week one year according to a weekly surveh by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinancings made up 69.3% of the mortgagr activity. Loan volume in Texae was $11.7 billion in the first quarte r ofthis year, down slightly from $12.44 billion in 2008, according to the Texaa Mortgage Bankers Association statistics.
Mortgage industry employment in Texas fell by more thana 30% from 2007 to but has since stabilized, said Scott vice president of the Texaz Mortgage Bankers Association. Norma said he’s heard anecdotally that the surgse in refinancings is prompting mortgagr lenders toadd employees, but he did not have specifid industry employment numbers. To make room for new TexasLending.com has signed a lease for 69,000 squarew feet in its existing location at 4100 Alpha Road in Dallas more than triple the size itcurrently occupies, said Ben Hautft with the commercial real estate firm Streamj Realty Partners LP.
Hautt recently left Stream’s Dallaa office to launch the company’s office in Atlanta, where he is managiny partner. TexasLending.com will begin moving into its expanded spacerin August, after the completion of renovationss that are now under way. Afteer expanding, TexasLending.com will occupy all of the fourth and fifth floor and part of the first flootr inthe 11-story Hautt said. “It’s an expansion, and today that’s not somethingf you see a lot Hautt said. “They’re thriving in the currentr economy.
” The 227,000-square-foot building at 4100 Alphaq Road is part ofThe Centre, an 11-building officw complex north of Interstate 635 off Midway The asking lease rate for the spacw is about $16.50 per square foot. Hautt and Stream Realty colleagues Ben Sumner and Chad Hennings represented TexasLending.com in the lease, and Buddg Tompkins and Seth Thatcher of commercial real estate firm GVA Cawley represented the landlord. Hautt said TexasLending.
com searchee the market before decidingt to expand within itsexisting

Exercise has charms to soothe a savage boss - Medical Xpress

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Exercise has charms to soothe a savage boss Medical Xpress lying, making fun of you in public and generally putting you down, he or she may benefit from some exercise, according to a new study by James Burton from Northern Illinois University in the US and his team. Their work shows that stressed supervisors, ... and more »

General Electric approved for $10M in tax rebates - Business First of Louisville:

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The company has taken other measures this year to save About 100 hourly employees took a voluntarhy buyout package onMarcgh 1. They were selected basee on age and service time withthe company. Two days GE closed its second-shift dishwashed production atAppliance Park, eliminating 185 jobs through a voluntaryu retirement option. There currently are 2,100 hourlyh and 2,000 salaried employees at Appliance compared withabout 23,000 at the height of the appliancw business’ success, Freeman Despite GE’s efforts, the appliance business has struggled during the past few yearas as it faced stiff competition from foreign competitords and a downturn in new home construction.
Immeltr announced in May 2008 that he intended tospin off, sell or find a joinft venture partner for the appliance business. But the weakening globaol economy and softness in the appliance business keptbuyere away. By the end of the Immelt said GE would continue to run the business until the economyturns around. Earlier this GE decided to take some of its focus off its Monogra andProfile high-end appliances and concentrate on developing energy-efficien t appliances. The appliances, including watedr heaters, dishwashers, refrigerators and ranges, operate usinvg “smart grid” technology, whicg allows utilities to send signals along power linesto “smart meters.
” The meters relay signals wirelessly to the telling them to operate using less power at times when energu use is high and conservation is In March, Freeman told Businessz First that GE saw tremendous opportunitiew in developing the “smart especially when Congress set asidde $11.4 billion through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for the developmentf of the nation’s smart-grid power system. GE predicts that by 2016 it will have technologyu in place that would allow a homeowner to use no electricityh from thepower grid.
Instead, appliances and heating and air conditioningf systems would be operater with power from sources such assolafr panels, small wind turbines, natural gas-fired power generatorzs and geothermal wells on or near the The hybrid electric water heaters that General Electric Co. is considering making at Appliance Park use a traditional heatinb element but also absorb heat in ambieng air and transfer it intothe water. The process uses less energg to heat water than traditional electrivwater heaters, GE said in a news The company might make abougt 300,000 of the water heatersz annually at Appliance Park by 2011, according to GE’ s KEDFA filing.
GE has launched production of the water heaterss using aChinese third-party manufacturer, according to the The water heaters are supposed to be on the marketr by the end of the year. GE estimatesa that consumers can save as muchas $250 a year on energyh costs, compared with a traditional electric water heater. Businessw First staff writer John R. Karmanb III contributed to this report.

Cuomo Announces $93M in Flood Aid From Irene, Lee - NBC New York

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WNYT

Cuomo Announces $93M in Flood Aid From Irene, Lee NBC New York AP Tropical Storm Irene put a $1 billion whipping on New York, most of it upstate where heavy rains spawned flash floods that shredded roads, washed out bridges and knocked buildings from their foundations, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. ... APNewsBreak: Cuomo announces $93M in flood aid W »

Morton Plant North Bay snuffs out smoking - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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The hospital officially joinedthe ’s tobacco-frees initiative. It is part of a countywidew goal for all hospitals in Pasck tobecome tobacco-free by a release from the hospital Tobacco use will not be permitted on any of Morton Plant North Bay’s groundds or property, and the designated smoking areas have been closed. To help staff member s with the challenges of not smokinhgat work, Morton Plant North Bay has put together a systej of support, including a seriex of health fairs and smoking cessatiomn information aides. The releass cited statistics fromthe , which said tobaccko use kills nearly half a million Americand each year. One in every six U.S.
deaths can be attributesd as a resultof smoking. The states that tobacco smoke causes nearly nine out of 10 casee oflung cancer. Non-smokers exposed to tobaccop smoke in the workplace are also more likelhy to getlung cancer, the release said. Morton Plant North Bay is a 122-bed facility in New Port

Colleges take different tacks for handling recession - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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Next year, however, appears murkier. Moody’s Global Public U.S. Finance estimatede in a Nov. 21 repor t that school endowments have declined 15 percent to 30 percent in the past four month amid themarket turmoil. That has led schools dependent on thoss endowments to consider pay cuts orstaff reductions. Miami and Ohio for example, began hiring freezes this and near Dayton this month discloseda $2.8 millionn shortfall. The school’s response includes adding to the employes share of healthinsurance premiums, salaryu and staff reductions, and a 30 percent reductiobn in nonpersonnel budget items. Gov.
Ted Strickland, in exchange for a tuitionb freeze, increased higher education payments in thecurrent two-year budget and exempte schools from midyear spending cuts. It’s unclear how that can continued with aprojected $7 billion shortfall for the budget that startsz in July. “We’re still trying to prepare fora best-casd scenario and a worst-case scenario,” said Rebecca Vazquez-Skillings, assistant vice president of budget planning and analysis for Ohio Declines in investment income required paring $8 millioh from this year’s budget for the Athens she said, but public colleges are approachin the end of the tuition freeze “We still have to be aware of the goal of she said.
Ohio University won’t be able to offerr as many scholarshipsnext year, said Michael Angelini, associate vice president of finance. The endowmentf is down by 20 and individual named funds will not be allowed to make distributiones if the value of the investment has fallen belo w the amount of theoriginaol donation. In Central Ohio, public and private collegex report enrollment has held up andthey aren’t reducing endowment payouts despite declineas in value. absorbed $6 million in stat e cuts outside of direcft supportthis year, including $3 million to agricultura l research and extension.
It has abouft $88 million in reserves but can’t depend on one-timew funds over several years, William senior vice president for businessand finance, told trustees in November. In past he said, the university learnedx it’s better to give deans plenty of lead time and ask for theid plans to reduce expenses rathedr thanimpose across-the-board cuts. stands out. The two-year schoo l has a $3.8 million surplus through the firsy four months of the fiscal year and is spending $469,000 to hire eightt full-time faculty because enrollment is 6 percent highet than last fall. Even interest income rose due toconservativee investing.
The school used part of last year’s surplus to createe a $1,000 scholarship for students 25 and Most Ohio private colleges have modest endowments the medianis $25 millionb – and depend more on tuition, said Todd president of the . An exception, in depends on its endowment – $693 millioh as of June 30 for 30 percent ofits $100 million operatinvg budget, President Dale Knobel said. That distribution, however, is 5 percentr of the endowment’s three-year average. The school didn’yt increase the payout when returns were 24 percent and 9 percent the pasttwo years, he so it doesn’t need to decrease it now.
in Westerville isn’tt curtailing distributions, said Dave vice president forbusiness affairs. Delaware-based and Columbus-based Ohio Dominican universitiesx reported no enrollment dips or budget Denison mightdelay $60 milliobn in renovation projects that will be financed by bond salews and donations. “At our we thought we might have the combination of thoses two types of funding in place bythis spring, but it may be (latef than that),” Knobel said. , in Gambier, is delayiny $24 million in plans for two residence hallw and settingaside $1 million for emergencg financial aid, said Joe vice president for finance.
“It makes sensr to preserve capital whereveryou can,” he

Report: Cape Wind unlikely to be done by mid-2015 - BusinessWeek

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MassLive.com

Report: Cape Wind unlikely to be done by mid-2015 BusinessWeek By JAY LINDSAY The long-planned Cape Wind offshore wind project is unlikely to be producing electricity by mid-2015, New England's power grid manager says in a new report that raises the prospect of more delays in a project beset by them. ... Grid manager: Ca pe Wind unlikely done by mid-2015 Newsday Delay seen for Cape project Boston Herald  »

PBA backs expanded River District renewal area - Houston Business Journal:

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Sandra McDonough, the alliance’s president and CEO, told the Portland City Council on June 17 that the city needsz to do everything it can to providemore jobs. The councik is reconsidering expanding the River District by nearlgy42 acres, as well as increase the amount of bondws the city can assume to fund projects withib the district. The council and the Portlanx Development Commission had first sought the expansion nearlt two years ago but were thwarteed bya citizens’ groul complaint.
The Friends of Urban Renewal group had charged that the River Districtexpansion proposal, whichn would have also redirected $20 milliojn in district-generated funds to a new East Portland elementaruy school, didn’t fit technical urbann renewal definitions. The council will vote on the measur enext week. McDonough said urban renewapl provides funding for investment sin infrastructure, housing, social services and public-privatr partnerships. “We need to create jobs,” she said. “Wr have an opportunity to do just that by adopting these revised which address the issues that have been raised about the RivereDistrict expansion.
We can then move forward with the importan projects that depend onthese funds.” City Commissioner Nick Fish has said that the constructiob of a new homelesxs services center could depend on urban renewall funds if construction is to begin this year. McDonough said the alliance backsa using urban renewal funds to buildthe

Worker fitness tied to lower insurance rates, fewer claims - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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Some companies are ringing in the new year resolving to have leaneer employees because health care costs are skyrocketing and they see a healthiefr lifestyle as the key not only to healthier and moreproductivse employees, but to lower health care costs and less Some are not only encouraging their employees to join gyms and healtgh facilities, but are payingv for membership costs as well. New Mexico'sx enrolled in a corporate membership programat . Jean Bernstein, co-ownere of the cafes and shops, says 100 of her 420 employees are enroller in the fitness centerto date, alont with many of their family members.
Flying Star pays 67 percent of anindividual employee'a fitness costs and 71 percentt of a family's or household's membership costs, regardlessd of how many members are in the Under the current arrangement an employee with a familyh of four would pay only $30 a month to enrolkl all four family members. By a family of four paying its own way entirely woulf paynearly $200 a month. Bernstein says employees didn'tt always have it so good. When the cafe first startedf offering fitness memberships to its employeee abouta year-and-a-half ago, they only had 15 people sign up.
The reasojn for the low enrollment: Bernstein says the businessz didn't do as well promotinfg and advertising the program toits employees. "We were able to providd a more aggressive pricing plan for them and we went out andpromoter it," Bernstein says. "We also have a much bettere orientation program so all employees signing onto the companyunow have, in addition to a benefits an orientation where it's all laid out before She says participation in the program also increased as more storde managers encouraged their employees to get involved.
Bernstein says she is considering revisinghthe company's health insurance policy to reward employeess who take advantage of the fitnesxs program and other healthy living initiatives with reduced She says fitness and wellness programs will help her cut down on long-terkm health insurance costs. (PNM) also provides its employees with discountsw to local gyms andfitnesws centers, but takes the matter one step It offers an in-house gym and fitnessz classes, such as yoga, pilates and aerobics, for a few dollares a month.
PNM spokeswoman Susan Spona r says the publicutility doesn'yt get lower insurance rates because of its fitness and prevention but says the company has reduced the number of expensive insurance claims filed by employees and seen its insurances rates rise only slowly. "The cost of health care has been increasingg by about 10 to 15 percent nationally in the last several years," Sponar notes. "Th rates for PNM employees have been flat and stayec at 3 or4 We're encouraging people to take care of themselve and they are.
" , the state's largest healtnh club with three location in Albuquerque and one in Rio participates in a government-subsidized health plan for seniors calledd "Silver Sneakers." Defined Fitness' General Manager Anndee Wrigh t Brown says it receives government funding for every seniort who participates in the health and fitness club. She says the like businesses, would rather spend money on prevention program s than on expensivemedicap procedures. "I think the wave of the future will be healthu clubs partnering with health plans to keep costs WrightBrown says. "Businesses will get tax breaks and pay less in healthn premiums if their employeesare healthy.
"

RBC Bank names Wachovia vet Marty McAndrew market executive - South Florida Business Journal:

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In the new position, McAndrew will oversee RBC Bank’s business, commercial and retail/private bankintg efforts in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Manatee As senior vice president and community sales team managerffor Wachovia, McAndrew oversaw commercial banking operationw in nine community banking marketse across Florida. During his 10-year careefr with Wachovia, he also worked in Tampwa Bay’s business banking group as a senior producing team leader and as arelationshipl manager. He will live in a release said. McAndrew will report to Gary RBC Bank’s Florida president.
, having served as regional presidentr for Wachovia in Palm Beach County prior to takingg on the RBC positionin 2007. RBC Bank, a whollh owned subsidiary of Royal Bank ofCanada (NYSE: RY), is headquartere d in Raleigh, N.C. With 430 full-servicwe banking offices in six RBChad $31.3 billion in assets on Dec. 31. RBC had17 offices and $484 million in deposits in the Tampz Bay area onJune 30, according to the most recent information available from the

U.S. Sugar deal faces long road, competing offers - Business First of Louisville:

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The governing board of the South Florida Wate Management Districtvoted 4-3 on Dec. 16 to buy 180,0009 acres from U.S. Sugar for $1.34 billion. It was hailee as a historic moment forEvergladees restoration. By law, U.S. Sugar is now obligatecd to investigate any other offers and take a bettef deal if itcomes up. The sugar giant will have to paya $40 millionn “breakup fee” to the water management but a better deal might be worth it. The Tenn.-based has already been making offers tobuy U.S. Sugat outright. In a Dec. 17 statement, the Lawrence Grou p criticized thestate “We are just as much interesteds in buying U.S. Sugar today as we ever the statement said.
“The deal that watere managers signed off on Tuesday has a hole big enoughu to drive theTitanic through, and, because of that, we are very much stilol in the game.” A spokesman for the Lawrence Groulp said the “hole” refers to a last-minute caveart added by the district’s governing which says the district must obtain satisfactory financingh that doesn’t compromise its core programs to keep a viablse water supply in South Florida. The Lawrencr Group has offered topay $300 a share for U.S. which has about 1.8 million shares outstanding. That makes the offerf worth about $540 million.
At first, the Lawrencw Group’s offer doesn’t appear to compete with the state’ds $1.34 billion deal. But, any deal to purchase the entir e company would also include its and could be subject toless tax. Land salee like the state’s offer are subject to taxesw of up to38 percent. U.S. Sugart declined to say how much tax they will actually pay on theland sale. The company is certainlh preparing to mitigate the tax impacg with any legal tax sheltersor But, the value of any sale and, ultimately, the tax is important to shareholders in the company. A clases action lawsuit was alreadyu filed toforce U.S. Sugar to considet the LawrenceGroup offer.
‘We don’tt discuss our finances’ Robert Coker, U.S. Sugar’ws senior VP for public affairs, said the company won’tr pay taxes on the entire $1.345 billion because it would be able to subtract the values it paid for the land in the 1940s and 1950x under statetax law. “Our company is a privat company. We don’t discuss our he said. “The way we’re going to treaty the tax issue is aprivate matter.
We’ll do what’ s in the best interest of our At the endof day, if we get a better offee than the state contract, our board is probably going to take Now starts a long, complicated process wherwe merger and acquisition law, municipal finance and environmental planning take And any one of those factors could blow the deal apar t by the September closingy deadline. “It’s important to note that this really is the SFWMD governing board Chairman Eric Buermann said a day afterthe vote. “Yes, we’rre going to encounter issues.
But, we just have to work througb them and take them one day at a Firstof all, the district must obtain financin g during the worst economic crisis in recent And it must get the approvall of Judge Donald Hafele in Palm Beach County’ s 15th Judicial Circuit Court for issuing certificatesz of participation. U.S. Sugar’s main competitor, , represented by Joe Klocik of in Miami, has filed formal objections inthat process. Secondly, U.S. Sugar will be workintg with its investmentbanking , to shop for a better The Lawrence Group is relying on Skadden considered one of the nation’d top M&A law firms. Gaylon Lawrences Sr. and his son, Gaylon Lawrence Jr.
, own and Premie r Citrus of Vero Beach. Miami attorney Luis de of , is an expert in mergerw and acquisitions who is not involved in the land He said breakup fees are common inbig “U.S. Sugar must explore this Lawrence offerd in detail over the next60 days,” said de who grew up in the Everglades town of where U.S. Sugar is De Armas also said the cavear aboutthe district’s finances “makes the Lawrencse Group offer look even The state is also saying now they basically don’t know exactly how they can finance it, what the impact will be.
”

Over-the-Rhine debuts new condos, homes - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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The 41 condos and five single-family homes ranges in price from $140,000 to $350,000. They’rew part of the Gateway Quarter’d third phase, which will bring the project’s totall number of new residential unitsto 106. Mottainai, on Republic Street, an eight-condo project developes by / . The buildinfg is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, and the unitds feature European-style kitchens and rooftopl decks. • Trinity Flats, on Vine Street, is new constructionn that includesnine two-bedroom/two-bath units.
Developed by the , they includew secured parking androoftop • City Home on Pleasan t Street, includes six condos and five single-familgy homes, developed by , , and the Five units offer special financing for low- to-moderate-income buyers. Lackman Lofts, on Vine Street, offersa seven condos, with originalo woodwork, secured parking and rooftop decks, developefd by . • Good Fellows Hall, on Main is a former furniture store developed by Urban It includes five condos with secured garage parkinfg androoftop decks. Falling Wall, on Main Street, also developedd by Urban Sites, includes six unites with rooftop decks andsecured parking.
The Gateway Quarter includexs the areaalong Vine, Race and Main streets between Centralp Parkway and 13th Street.