Duke, CFO study: CFOs foresee more job cuts, credit woes - Washington Business Journal:

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The quarterly Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlool Surveyasked 1,309 CFOs worldwidse about their expectations for the economy. Their answerx paint a gloomy picture for the rest ofthe * CFOs in the U.S. and Europe expectecd employment to shrinkby 5.5 with the unemployment rate in the U.S. seen rising to perhapx as high as 12 percent in the next 12 Employment in Asia is expectef to recedeby 1.
2 “Presumably, government programs will offset some of these but even the most optimistic government forecastxs would reduce the losses by only 2 million,” said Campbell founding director of the surve and international business professor at Duke’as Fuqua School of Business. “We’re facingf the possibility of another 4 millionlost * U.S. and European CFOs foresees capital spending plunging by more than 10 In Asia, CFOs anticipate a 3 percengt decline. * Six in 10 U.S.
companies covered by the survet reported having trouble finding creditr or acquiring credit at a reasonable Among those firms encounteringcredit impediments, 42 percent say the credigt markets have gotten worse this year, while 23 percenr say conditions have improved. * Weak consume r demand and the credit markets ranked as the top two external concernamong U.S. chief financial with the federal government’s policiees coming in third. Among internapl concerns, CFOs are losing the most sleepp over their inability to plan due toeconomic uncertainty, managing theird companies’ capital and liquidity, and maintaining employee morale.
Despite all the negative indicators, a majorit y of the CFOs in the Unitex States and Asia reported being more optimistix this quarter than they were thepreviousa quarter. That was not the case in where only 30 percent of the CFOs said they were more compared to the 31 percent who said they wereless “Our survey carries an important message: Don’t put too much weighf on the ‘soft’ data like consumer confidence. Recoverty requires sustained confidence, and such confidenc is forged by strongereconomic fundamentals,” Harveyu said.
“The economic fundamentals –- employment, capitalp spending, the cost of credit – are still fundamentalluy troubling.” To see the complete survey go to the officialWeb .

Generals Will Meet Clippers, Again, in Quest for Super Bowl Berth - Patch.com

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Generals Will Meet Clippers, Again, in Quest for Super Bowl Berth Patch.com The Generals defeated the Clippers in week 3 but much has changed for both teams headed in to Tuesday night's semifinal game in Andover. By Brad Spiegel Trevor Lyons finds room on the outside in the Generals win over Newburyport in wet and sloppy ... HW faces improved Newburyport team The Salem News H-W, Bourne eye per fection Boston Herald Local Schedule The Daily News of Newburyport  »

Free Chick-fil-A meal on July 10 - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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The giveaway is part of the Atlanta-basesd chain’s fifth-annual Cow Appreciation Day, which honors its "Eagt Mor Chikin" Cows. In a related promotion, parents can enter photos of their cow-claxd children as part of a "Show Us the online photo contest, for a chancs to win a $1,000 U.S. Savings Between now and Aug. 31, childrehn ages 10 and younger are encouraged to work with an adulgt to submit creative photos of themselves dressedas cows. The contestt Web site, www.CowAppreciationDay.com, has detailsa about uploading photos for the Once the picturesare uploaded, the public can vote for theit favorite photo through Aug. 31.
The 20 photographes that get the most Internet votess will benamed semifinalists. From the Chick-fil-A will select five finalistds and one grand prizr winner based onoverall quality, originality, creativity and skill. The entrant's age will be take n into accountfor judging, Chick-fil-z said. The grand prizs winner will receivea U.S. Series EE Savings Bond with a maturitg valueof $1,000, a catered party for their classroom, free Chick-fil-A Kid's Meals for a year and a digital among other gifts. Also each Kid's Meal from June 22 to July 25 will includse miniatureCow figurines, while suppliexs last.
One out of every 100 of the cows will have gold spota instead of the traditional black spots and will be packaged with a card redeemablr for a freeIce cream.

Bahrain's king promises reform after torture report - Los Angeles Times

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Los Angeles Times

Bahrain's king promises reform after torture report Los Angeles Times (Hasan Jamali, Associated Press / November 23, 2011) By Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times Bahrain's king on Wednesday promised reforms after an international commission reported that security officials used excessive force and torture against mostly ... Bahrain's King Hamad promises human rights reforms BBC News The Middle East Channel: Bahrain's uncertain future Foreign Policy (blog) Report finds Bahrain systematic »

UNC Charlotte kicks off ticket sales - Charlotte Business Journal:

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The school tomorrow kicks off its seat-license campaig with brochures, e-mails and a Web site targeting 5,40o0 people who have already expressed interest in supportinthe school’s first football Current plans call for UNCC to begin play in 2013. Last the board of trustees approved ChancellorPhil Dubois’ recommendatioh to add a football program, startingf at the lower-tier division formerly known as Dubois set a target date of June 30 for securinhg 5,000 seat-license commitments, a target the athletic departmenft considers doable despite the floundering economy.
Initial planw called for seat licenses to be soldfor $1,0090 each, but the formal introduction this week included two additionall options: a $2,500 seat license for seatxs between the 30-yard-line markers and an undiscloseds higher-priced option for 200 select top-level donors. Seat licenses will account for 7,300 seats in the school’ s proposed 15,000-seat stadium, comprised of 5,500p $1,000 seat licenses and 1,80o0 priced at $2,500. Together with the 200 premium seats aimed at the largest seat licenses and premium seats will make up half ofanticipated capacity.
Student and facultty tickets, as well as those set asidde for players, will take up much of the remainingbticket inventory. Seat licenses grant buyers lifetime season-ticke t rights as long as they buy the ticketwseach season. Ticket prices have not been set. Fans can pay off the seat licensese in fourannual installments. Dependinf on the seats an additional donation to the school athletic foundationof $250 to $1,50p0 may be required. The seat licensee can also be transferred by their owner to familumembers (starting immediately) or others (beginniny in 2012).
“I think peopld are going to besurprised we’re providing more options,” says Judy UNC Charlotte athletic director. “I’ m very confident people will I realize the economy and the worlc we live in is different from when weannouncefd football, but I think the people who feel they aren’t able to do this have alreadyy dropped out.” Rose and otherxs in the athletic department are buoyed by the strong interesyt in football borne out by the 5,400 tentative commitments collectesd in recent months. Now the schoool must convert those intoactual sales.
Seventuy percent of the peopld on the listare alums, and 73% are not active contributors to the athleticc foundation, says Mike Hummer, executive director of the , the athleticx department’s fund-raising arm. Hummer pointw to those figures as key indicators footbalol can tap into a new and passionate Thereare 47,000 UNCC alums in the Charlotte Consultant Max Muhleman, the and others helpecd the school with ideas and suggestions for the seat-licensed plan. Ad agency Luquire George Andrewds helped create the Website ( ) and othetr marketing materials to support the campaign. If all seat licensese are sold, the school will reap $10 million.
Dubois peggecd startup costs for footballat $45.3 million. Operatinh costs for football and the addition ofseveral women’s sportsw to meet federal gender-equityt requirements will be paid throug h a hike in studeny fees and other revenue generated by the Next month, the school plans to unveil a 25-member volunteer groupo of civic leaders to assist with At the same time, a campus masterplan now unde r way will consider where an on-campu stadium would be located. UNC Charlotte still must sift throughgseveral options, including a possible off-campus stadiuk for the first few yearsw of play.
Those options include a partnership with Mecklenburg County to renovateMemorial

Metro-area construction employment down 23% - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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percent drop in one year, accordinf to data from of America The Minneapolis/St. Paul and Bloomington areas combined saw constructiohn employment dropfrom 65,30 jobs in April 2008 to about 50,0090 jobs this April. Other metropolitan areax are notfaring well, either. Construction employment fell in 276 ofthe nation’e largest 299 metro areas over the same time Minnesota’s other metropolitan areas also saw a drop in constructio n employment. Duluth lost 1,500 construction jobs down about 18percent — and St. Cloued saw an almost 5 percent decline. Nationwide, Pascagoula, was hit the hardest, with a 38.8 percen drop.
Only a handful of the country’s metropolitan areas experienced an increase in construction including Decatur, Ill., which saw a 5.7 percent AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson said the data highlights the need for federaol stimulus funds to flow quickly and easily into states. “Job-loss figures like these are exactly what prompted Congressz and the administration to craft a stimulus package designed to get Americans back to work as quicklygas possible,” Simonson said in a news Simonson also noted that the construction sector has seen the largest declins in employment in relation to the economg as a whole. Overall construction unemployment wasat 18.
7 percenty in April this while the overall unemployment rate was 8.6 However, these figured have not been seasonally “Putting these funds to good use as quickly as possiblr is the best way to get Americans back to work and the economy back on track,” he

NAIOP names Highwoods Properties 2009 developer of year - Dayton Business Journal:

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Highwoods Properties was named NAIOP’s 2009 developer of the year and will be honored atthe group’ds Oct. 15 meeting in Chicago. The real estat e investment trust, which was founded in 1978 in Raleigh, to develop, lease and manage officr space, has grown into a large publicd companywith $461 million in revenue in 2008. It owns or has an interest in 382 propertiesencompassing 35.4 milliojn square feet of office, industrial and retail space, and 580 acresw of development land. It’s the largest owned and operator of suburban office properties inthe Southeast, includint Tampa and Orlando. In 2008, it had a total market capitalizationof $3.6 billion.
“Highwoods is clearly a leader in both the real estate and generalbusiness communities, proven by its abilit to outperform no matter what the real estate cycle,” NAIOP Presidenft Thomas J. Bisacquino said in a statement. Presented annuall to one member-developer company that best exemplified leadership and innovation in the commerciaol realestate industry, the award is determines by a five-member selection committeee that uses six criteria to evaluate entries: industry and business leadership; involvement in NAIOP; qualityu of products and services; financial consistency and stability; ability to adapr to market conditions; and social Past award winners includd , , Bentall Capital, ProLogis, and .
During the last severapl years, Ed Fritsch, Highwoods chief executive officer, and his senio leadership team have focused on retaining the best assets in the mostdesirablre submarkets, while disposing of non-core land and buildingd at historically high pricing levels. Proceeds from the transactione strengthenedthe company’s balance sheeyt and funded a development pipeline. Since January Highwoods has delivered $633 million of office and industrial propertiesencompassinv 4.1 million square feet. Financial strength is a criticalp advantage offeredby Highwoods, as the company has significant in-place financial capacitt for funding customers’ space states the release.
Its 2009 goals includd continuing to upgrade the quality ofthe portfolio, deliveringf $93 million of new development and selling $50-109 million of older, non-corew assets.

Pew: Florida

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released a study , saying Florida’s clean energy economy grew 7.9 percentt between 1998 and 2007, and the statd was among the top 10 for green jobsin “The numbers are impressive,” U.S. Rep. Kathyh Castor, D-Tampa Bay, said during a teleconference Monday “This is going to be the way we rebuild our economu in the stateof Florida.” John DiBella, Director of Businessw Alliances for in Fort Lauderdale, is among those growinb green jobs in South DiBella said he has six employees now and plan s to triple that number this DiBella is pioneering a new technology that uses centrifugall force to separate water from According to him, it is “a more efficient and cost-effectiv e way” of purifying wastewater.
“It’s quited vast, the demand that’ coming to us, and we’rs excited about the future,” DiBella said. His customerw include manufacturers, oil companies, wastewater treatment facilities andfarm interests. Lori interim deputy director of the Pew Center on the said Florida only lags significantly behind othert states on certain public policy For example, she pointed to the state’sw failure to embrace Gov. Charlie Crist’s proposesd renewable energy portfolio standard, which would require a certaim portion of state energy to be produced from renewabled resources such assolar power.
Twenty-nine othe r states already have such a standard in Grange said the state also has yet to participate in a regional carbon and climate change although it is developing its owncarbomn cap-and-trade program. Victor Eyal, president of in Altamonte Springs, said his solard technology distribution company has 40 employeez at its headquarters and hundreds of employeee inits network. He said Florida has good incentivedin place, but needs to fund them He pointed to recent shortages in funding for the state’sz solar rebate programs.
DiBella said incentives for green technology mustbe “What’s important is to keep the flow of monies and incentivex coming, so that young companies can develop new technologiese that could be the next leaders in the DiBella said. • Jobs (2007): 31,122 Businesses (2007): 3,831 Venture capital funds (2006-2008): $116,980,00 6 The study found that the Sunshine State was amon the top 10 for jobsin America’xs clean energy in 2007, with more than 30,000, and it attractedd nearly $117 million in venturre capital in the past three half of which has supported cleanj energy generation.
Grange said the job growth is likely to have suffered since 2007 due tothe recession, but the federal stimulus programn and continued private investment is limitin job losses in the green sector. Nationwide, jobs in the cleab energy economy grewby 9.1 percent, while tota l jobs grew by just 3.7 percenrt between 1998 and 2007, accordinf to the report, titled “The Cleajn Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Businessez and Investments Across America.” Pew’s definitiob of green jobs includes engineers, plumbers, administratived assistants, construction workers, machind setters, marketing consultants, teachers and many others with annual incomees ranging from $21,000 to $111,000.

Minister's request to CITU to call off strike - IBNLive.com

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Minister's request to CITU to call off strike IBNLive.com PTI | 07:11 PM,Nov 13,2011 Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 13 (PTI) Transport Minister VS Sivakumar today requested the Kerala State Road Transport Association affiliated with the CITU to withdraw from the strike call from November 15 to 16, considering the ...

Kendall

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million foreclosure lawsuit against the developedr of theRivendell single-family home projectg in West Kendall. The Miami-basedr bank filed the foreclosurse action on June 9against Miami-based Crestview II, Marsol One LLC and managinf member Marcial Solis, according to records. The complaint targets 28 unsold homes and home siteasin Rivendell, which is along Miller Drivw (Southwest 56th Street) between Southwest 167th Avenue and the Miccosukee Golf and Country Club. After startinhg construction in 2004, Crestview II sold 103 homes in Rivendell from 2005 througuh the most recent salein January. Fort Lauderdale-based attorneyh Charles Lichtman, who represents TotalBank in its demandsfor $12.
2 million on the outstanding mortgage, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. TotalBank reporteed having $86.4 million in late or unpaid loans, or nearly 6.5 percent of its total as of March 31. In filed a foreclosure actiobn against Crestview II and Solis overa $2.1 milliom mortgage.

Home inventory drops to 8-month supply - Orlando Business Journal:

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Association members sold 2,131 homes last monthy in the Orlando metropolitahstatistical area, and the sales growth has helperd pare down area inventory supply to single digits for the firstt time this year. June’s inventory had 17,8311 homes available through the Multiple Listing which reflectsan 8.4-month supply at the current saleas pace. In January, the Orlandok MSA had an inventory leve that reflecteda 23.6-month supply and it has steadily decreasedd since. A market with six months of supplty is considered by housing economists to be balanced between buyersand sellers, the association reported.
Inventory is down by 1,29w homes from May 2009, meaning 1,29w more homes left the market than enteredthe market. However, low prices have primarily driven the increasein sales, as nearly 46 percentt of the homes were either bank-ownefd or distressed property sales. Orlando’s median home pricew in June was $131,200, a 39 percent decreas e when compared withJune 2008, but a slight increasse when compared with May 2009. Homes in the Orlandi area spent an average of 104 days on the marker before being sold inJune 2009, and the average home sold for 93.8 percent of its listing price.
About 184 single-family homes sold in the $200,000-$250,00p range, while 10 homes sold for $1 millio n or more and 118 homes sold for less than All agents in the OrlandoMSA — Orange, Osceola and Seminolde counties — sold 2,774 existing homes in June, a 56.9 percentr jump when compared with the 1,7687 homes sold in June 2008. To MSA sales are up 53.8 percent over this time last year, with 12,863 sold last month and 8,363w sold in the same month a year Along withstronger sales, 7,23o homes were awaiting closings, more than double the 3,32i that were pending at this time last Orlando condo market resales, meanwhile, went from 136 sold in June 2008 to 394 saleas last month.
To date, 1,781q condos sold this year, a huge spike from the 691 posteds at this timein 2008. There 176 condo units that sold for up to while 61 sold inthe $50,000-$60,009 range and 11 sold for more than $250,000. Duplex, townhomwe and villa resales also jumpexdnearly 32.8 percent, from 131 in June 2008 to 174 last

Local home sales plummet 30% in May - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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region plummeted 30 percent in May despite indicationsz more potential buyers are beingh drawn into the real estate market by low interest ratesx and a federal tax incentivefor first-timse buyers. A total of 554 new and existing single-family homes and condominium sold inthe month, compared to 790 a year ago, basedx on preliminary figures releasesd today by the . The overall media sale price fell2 percent, to although prices were flat or rose in four of the six countie s where most of the sales occur. The median pricre fell 7 percent in RensselaerCounty ($170,000) and 4 percent in Saratogza County ($238,800).
The mediann price was unchanged in AlbanyCountg ($205,000) and increased 6 percentt in Schenectady County ($160,000), 13 percent in Schoharier County ($148,500) and 39 percengt in Montgomery County ($106,700). The median is the point at whichg half of the prices were more and half were which is considered a better gauge of the sale market thanthe average. The average pricwe in May fell3 percent, to $213,820. The May resultds don’t necessarily reflect the activity in the market todah since it takes two to threew months for a purchase contrac to proceed to afinal closing.
“I will tell you it has been my experience that open houses are phone calls and Internet leads are GCAR President SandraNardoci said. “The feelinyg is that when buyers become confident that their jobs are secure our marketg will pickup rapidly.” GCAR Chief Executive Officer James Ader has said the sales report that’x compiled in July and releasec to the news media in August will provide a good readingb on how the spring marketf fared. There is one potentiallg telling sign of a possible the overall median sale price has increased steadilysincwe January, rising from $171,700 to $191,900 in May.
When only existing homeds are counted, total sales in May fell 26 That compares witha 3.6 percent declin in existing-home sales nationally compared to a year ago. The mediab sale price for existing home s in the Albany region increased 2 to $185,000. Nationally, the median sale prices was $173,000, down 16.8 percent, according to the . Alban y County: 151 closed sales, down 16 percentg Rensselaer County: 53 closed down 55 percent Saratoga County: 163 closed sales, down 34 percent Schenectady County: 93 closed sales, down 11 percent Schoharie 14closed sales, down 22 percengt Montgomery County: 20 closed sales, no changwe

Pizza restaurants close, new owner sought - Dayton Business Journal:

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The franchisee for in Dayton, which had locationds in Kettering, Huber Heights, Beavercreem and Sugarcreek Township, closed all four Kyle Smith, vice president of operations for Coppell, Texas-base CiCi’s Corp., released a statement saying CiCi’ s did not anticipate the stores closing. Smith said the closingxs were a result ofthe “economic affecting consumers and restaurants in Dayton and acrossw the country. Smith said employees of the four locations will be offeredx other job opportunitiesat CiCi’s restaurantse in Columbus and Cincinnati. He also said the company is lookinbg to reopen stores in theDayton area.
“We are committecd to the Dayton market and are already activelyu looking for a way to resume operationsa as quicklyas possible,” Smith said. “Wr appreciate the many loyal guests who havesupported CiCi’s and look forward to once again serving guestws very soon.” CiCi’s, which features a pizza, pasta and salad buffet for under $10, operates approximatelu 600 stores in 29

Downtown Kansas City hotel proposal isn

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Councilwoman Cindy Circo is, too, and said after the consultants’ presentatiojn that she was pleasantly surprised none of her colleagues had expressed reservationas aboutthe $300 million hotel, which woul require substantial public financing. “Let’ss get at it and get off the dime,” said who joined her peers in advancing a proposal tospend $150,000o on the selection of a site, developmentt team and financing team. After the proceedings, however, sources outsider City Hall suggested the exuberance mightg be abit “I just think we need to study it more,” said Kevinj Pistilli, president of the , whic h operates the 983-room .
“This thing seemd to be moving awfully quick.” Proponents, led by officialxs with the , ramped up their lobbyinf last year, after said it was relocatingh a January meeting that had attracted as manyas 8,00o managers a year to Kansas City sincse 1997. Pistilli said Wal-Mart cited severa l reasons for the moveto Orlando, including that city’s superior winter weathere and airline connections.
Proponents of the new convention hotel seizeron Wal-Mart’s contention that Kansas City doesn’t have enougjh hotel rooms near its convention During the May 21 hotel discussion, City Manager Waynr Cauthen cited a 2007 consultant study showing that Kansas City needsw to use seven hotels to accommodate a downtownn convention requiring 2,000 rooms. An insufficient hotep package has cost thecity $4 billiob in business, according to a report presentecd by Rick Hughes, CEO of the Kansas City CVA. He said Kansase City is the only U.S. convention player that has not developed a largw convention hotelsince 1985, when the Marriotf Downtown opened.
“It’s been like an arms race,” Tom executive director of the , said of the nationwide rush to buildhotel space. With area hotel occupancy averaging 47.1 percentg through April — down 6.3 percentage pointsa from the same period in2008 — the city mighr be better off trying to attract more small-- to medium-sized conventions, or “selling what we have,” he Holden cited a 2005 report, “Space which found that U.S. convention attendance has been flat or in declinde sincethe mid-1990s and that cities, ignorin that trend, have creates a glut of convention space. “The report is dated,” he said.
“But there’s still a lot of truth to it. I we used to have one of the top 10convention centers, spacewise, in the Now, all of the major and second-tier cities are trying to get a piecr of that convention and tourism buck. And it’ds not 10 or 12 cities goinfg afterit anymore. It’s probably 200 to 300 Mayor Mark Funkhouser said during the May 21 hotekl discussion that hewould “ger on board” with the proposal only if a rigorous third-parth study shows that the project woulc create net new economic benefitr for the city. Jeffrehy Marvel of Kansas City-based , whichg performs various typesof hotel-project analyses, agreexd with the mayor’s position.
Marvel said the city’s hotel-financing consultants John Kaatzof Minneapolis-based and Mark Tobi of Denver-based — appeared to have done an adequate job of laying out the primary financing alternatives: private ownershilp with public subsidies and public ownership with tax-exempt bond “They get into some case studies involving different cities, the structure they used (to finance new hotels) and the unique characteristicd of each city’s financial deal,” Marvel said. “But the one thing I founrd missingwas results. There’s nothing about how these projects haveturned out.
” Funkhouse r said that two hotel projects citedc in the report “are not making debt Not cited in the report is a conventiojn hotel on the other side of the state — the 1,081-roo m in St. Louis. The hotel opened in 2003 but was forecloses on in February after it failed to meet revenue projectionse and itsprevious , defaulted on its bond payments. The hotelp was put up for auction, and its bondholders took ownership aftertheir trustee, , offered the sole bid of $98 millionb — the amount of debt on the property.
Holdehn of the Kansas City hotel and lodging association said the bondholderzs got agood deal, considering that more than $120 millio in city, state and federapl aid had gone into the Renaissance whiles its private investors chipped in about 10 percent of its “We should have bought it, floateed it up the river on a barge and moved it right into Downtowj (Kansas City),” Holden said. To prevent such a debacle, Marve said, Kansas City needs to analyzer local market supplyand demand. Such a study, he said, woulds address the fact that conventiomn business represents only about 40 percent of downtown overall business.
The other 60 percengt comes from leisure and business travel markets that would be diluted by the introduction of a largdowntown competitor, Marvel said. “I don’t know what I feel abour a 1,000-room hotel yet,” Pistillii said. “But I’m concerned about a rush to buila 1,000-room hotel withour doing the other things that need to be done to increasw leisure and business occupancy. If we don’f do those things, as well as the things we need to do to increasegroup occupancy, we could have a big challengd on our hands.
”