Thursday, March 11, 2010
BAE to lay off additional 35 this month
BAE Systems in West Manchester Township plans to lay off about 35 people on March 19 as part of a work force reduction plan announced last year. The layoffs are the result of a delay in getting a government contract. Company spokesman Randy Coble said the 35 positions are in addition to the 108 people the company has laid off since the announcement in October.
Source: The York Dispatch
Pa. lawmakers support independent fiscal office
Lawmakers of both parties expressed support for creating an Independent Fiscal Office to provide nonpartisan budget information and analysis for the General Assembly at a joint House and Senate Finance Committee meeting Wednesday.
Source: The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News
S. Middleton may consider a new subdivision plan
South Middleton Township supervisors may consider approval this week of a preliminary plan for the proposed 232-lot Morgan's Crossing subdivision. Lexington Developers of Lancaster wants to build 129 townhouses and 103 single-family homes on 69.5 acres along Petersburg Road.
Source: The (Carlisle) Sentinel
Charter school set to alter makeup of York
York County employers soon will be able to add another asset to the list they use to help recruit workers. The York City School Board on Feb. 22 approved the application for the York Academy Regional Charter School. The project is being spearheaded by Metro-York, which is a program of YorkCounts, a nonprofit coalition working to improve the county's quality of life. The coalition includes a host of local business leaders.
Source: Central Penn Business Journal
Credit market's surge a sign of confidence in world economy
Companies are aggressively borrowing in the debt markets once again—a sign of renewed confidence in the world economy following recent fears that struggling European countries could have difficulty financing their budget deficits.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Gloom at small firms clouds outlook for strong recovery
A yawning gap has opened in the early stages of the economic recovery between big companies and small businesses, with the former enjoying access to credit and growing global markets and the latter hurting badly on both fronts.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
U.S. businesses continued to cut inventories in Jan.
Businesses trimmed inventories at the wholesale level again in January even though sales rose for a 10th month. The dip in inventories underscored that businesses remained cautious about restocking their depleted shelves.
Source: The New York Times
Unemployment rises in 30 states in Jan.
Unemployment rose in 30 states in January, the Labor Department said Wednesday, evidence that jobs remain scarce in most regions of the country. The data is somewhat better than December, when 43 states reported higher unemployment rates, but worse than November, when rates fell in most states.
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
FedEx: Change in union law would end plan
FedEx Corp. would cease new investment in its Express unit, the company's largest, should Congress pass legislation making it easier for the workers to organize, founder and CEO Fred Smith said Wednesday.
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Geithner warns Europe on fund legislation
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned the European Commission that its proposals for more restrictive regulation of alternative fund managers could affect cross-border investment, demonstrating how the controversial European Union directive could have transatlantic ramifications.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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
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