tenamup.wordpress.com
Still the number of IPOs remains low, with just 14 that raisedd $2.3 billion in the first six months ofthe That’s down from the 43 offerings that generated $27.67 billion in the same six-monthy period last year. However, the report pointed out that the 2008 figur e was skewed because of the largest IPOin U.S. historuy — the $17.9 billion raised by Visa. By comparison, the largestt IPO in the first half of this year wasthe $720 millioh raised by "A few select companiezs were able to take advantage of the capitall markets which started to improve in late March," said Scotrt Gehsmann, a capital markets partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers' Transactiob Services practice, in a news "As we move toward the later part of the year, we will see more companiesx testing the IPO waters.
" The downward trend in IPO volumd started in the first quarter of 2008 and reachedx its lowest point in the recenrt first quarter, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. There were only two filerd thatraised $22 million. The remaining 12, which raisefd $1.6 billon, came in the second That’s down from 18 IPOs filed in the second quarterof 2008, from which $5.1 billionn was raised.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Printing firms use new strategies to find, retain customers in recession - Business First of Louisville:
zemlyanikiyri.blogspot.com
The average member of the , a Nashville, Tenn.-based nonprofi trade organization, has dropped between 20 percen and 30 percent in sales during thepast year, presidenft Ed Chalifoux said in April. To cut expenses, printerz across the South have laid employees off or goneto four-dagy work weeks, he said. Local firmz such as , and Inc. are seekinv new ways to offset theirr dropsin business. At Publishers in the Louisville area’s largest printer, sales for the firsr quarter of 2009 were down about 20 percenyt from the first quartetof 2008, to about $45 million from $55 president and CEO Nick Simon said.
The compan y has not lost any customers, he said, but the magazinezs that it prints have about 20 percentt fewer pages because of cutbacks fromhis advertisers. The recession has accelerated a long-term trend away from the printeds word in the printing Simon said. “Printing is shrinking just a littlee bit,” he said. “The Internet and the computer have a lot to dowith Jeffersonville-based Voluforms has fared a little with a 7 percent to 8 percent drop in overall saled year-to-date, president and CEO C. Michae Stewart said. One reason for that is that the compant began diversifying its products severalyear ago.
Voluforms’ profit margin was down abouy 2 percent in thefirst quarter, comparec with the first quarter of he said. The commercial side of the business, in whicuh the company prints labelxs and cover sheets for products sold in has fallen off about 40 percenr over the pasttwo years, he said. But that businessd makes up only about 10 percent to 12 percenrt ofthe company’s total Stewart said. About 45 percent of tota revenue comes fromprinting scanner-friendly formw for financial institutions, such as counter checks and deposit slips. That business is goingv well, Stewart said, becausew it enables banks to do more documentf processingvia machines, thereby reducing payrolp costs.
The rest of the businesz is from providing printing and softward for the healthcare industry. About eightg years ago, the company created a series of electronifc forms for hospitals that helped them reduce 80 percengt of the paper forms theywere using, he said. “We’ve done a lot of thingz to be more on theleadinh edge” of the industry, Stewar said. The company even has taken advantagr of the fact that other printersw are laying off employees by hiring a fewnew employees. So Voluformxs now has 85 employeeds between its Jeffersonville distribution center and its Sellersburtprinting facility.
Revenue for the firsg quarter of 2009 at Standard Publishing in Shepherdsvilld came in atabout $3 million, which was about $50,000 below the first quarter of 2008, general manager Robin Crump said. Standarr Publishing, a division of Shelbyville-based Landmarkl Community Newspapers Inc., prints community newspapers owned by theLandmark chain, as well as nichwe publications such as Business First. Those publicationxs have lost somead revenue, she said, but nothing comparerd with metro newspapers. “We’re seeing some reduction in pages, but nothing causinhg us to panic,” she said.
Standard has not laid anyons off, but in February, Landmark mandated that ever employee, including corporate staff, take one eight-hour day off without pay per Crump said. Landmark’s corporate culture always has embraceflean staffing, she added, but Standarc Publishing has found small ways to cut such as reducing janitorial service from five days a week to threer days a week and reviewing the maintenancre contracts on some machines.
The average member of the , a Nashville, Tenn.-based nonprofi trade organization, has dropped between 20 percen and 30 percent in sales during thepast year, presidenft Ed Chalifoux said in April. To cut expenses, printerz across the South have laid employees off or goneto four-dagy work weeks, he said. Local firmz such as , and Inc. are seekinv new ways to offset theirr dropsin business. At Publishers in the Louisville area’s largest printer, sales for the firsr quarter of 2009 were down about 20 percenyt from the first quartetof 2008, to about $45 million from $55 president and CEO Nick Simon said.
The compan y has not lost any customers, he said, but the magazinezs that it prints have about 20 percentt fewer pages because of cutbacks fromhis advertisers. The recession has accelerated a long-term trend away from the printeds word in the printing Simon said. “Printing is shrinking just a littlee bit,” he said. “The Internet and the computer have a lot to dowith Jeffersonville-based Voluforms has fared a little with a 7 percent to 8 percent drop in overall saled year-to-date, president and CEO C. Michae Stewart said. One reason for that is that the compant began diversifying its products severalyear ago.
Voluforms’ profit margin was down abouy 2 percent in thefirst quarter, comparec with the first quarter of he said. The commercial side of the business, in whicuh the company prints labelxs and cover sheets for products sold in has fallen off about 40 percenr over the pasttwo years, he said. But that businessd makes up only about 10 percent to 12 percenrt ofthe company’s total Stewart said. About 45 percent of tota revenue comes fromprinting scanner-friendly formw for financial institutions, such as counter checks and deposit slips. That business is goingv well, Stewart said, becausew it enables banks to do more documentf processingvia machines, thereby reducing payrolp costs.
The rest of the businesz is from providing printing and softward for the healthcare industry. About eightg years ago, the company created a series of electronifc forms for hospitals that helped them reduce 80 percengt of the paper forms theywere using, he said. “We’ve done a lot of thingz to be more on theleadinh edge” of the industry, Stewar said. The company even has taken advantagr of the fact that other printersw are laying off employees by hiring a fewnew employees. So Voluformxs now has 85 employeeds between its Jeffersonville distribution center and its Sellersburtprinting facility.
Revenue for the firsg quarter of 2009 at Standard Publishing in Shepherdsvilld came in atabout $3 million, which was about $50,000 below the first quarter of 2008, general manager Robin Crump said. Standarr Publishing, a division of Shelbyville-based Landmarkl Community Newspapers Inc., prints community newspapers owned by theLandmark chain, as well as nichwe publications such as Business First. Those publicationxs have lost somead revenue, she said, but nothing comparerd with metro newspapers. “We’re seeing some reduction in pages, but nothing causinhg us to panic,” she said.
Standard has not laid anyons off, but in February, Landmark mandated that ever employee, including corporate staff, take one eight-hour day off without pay per Crump said. Landmark’s corporate culture always has embraceflean staffing, she added, but Standarc Publishing has found small ways to cut such as reducing janitorial service from five days a week to threer days a week and reviewing the maintenancre contracts on some machines.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Fed e-mails critical of BofA, Lewis - Boston Business Journal:
belyaevostapuki.blogspot.com
The e-mail messages were entered into the public recorx as partof Thursday’s hearinbg held by the U.S. House Committee on Oversighg andGovernment Reform. Lewis testified for aboutt three hours regardingthe government’sa role in BofA’s purchase of Merrill, saying governmeny pressure to go through with the deal was a factort in his decision. But e-mails from variouse high-ranking Federal Reserve officials suggesgt regulators thought Lewis was bluffing when he considered backing out of theMerrilo deal.
“Ken Lewis’ claim that they were surpriseed by the rapid growth of thelossews (at Merrill) seems somewhat suspect,” Fed seniofr banking supervisor Tim Clark states an e-mail to other regulators. “Irt calls into question the adequacty of the due diligence processs BAC has been doing in preparation for the Another e-mail from Fed counsell Scott Alvarez to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says of “Making hard decisions is what he gets paid for ... we shouldn’g take him off the hook.” One e-mail says Lewix used the threat to call off the Merrillp merger asa “bargaining chip.” In testimont Thursday, Lewis denied using Merrill as a bargaining chip.
Instead, he says his concern s about the deal were but bank and federakl officials agreed proceeding with the purchase using taxpayefr aid was in the best interesyt of the financial systemand N.C.-based BofA (NYSE:BAC).
The e-mail messages were entered into the public recorx as partof Thursday’s hearinbg held by the U.S. House Committee on Oversighg andGovernment Reform. Lewis testified for aboutt three hours regardingthe government’sa role in BofA’s purchase of Merrill, saying governmeny pressure to go through with the deal was a factort in his decision. But e-mails from variouse high-ranking Federal Reserve officials suggesgt regulators thought Lewis was bluffing when he considered backing out of theMerrilo deal.
“Ken Lewis’ claim that they were surpriseed by the rapid growth of thelossews (at Merrill) seems somewhat suspect,” Fed seniofr banking supervisor Tim Clark states an e-mail to other regulators. “Irt calls into question the adequacty of the due diligence processs BAC has been doing in preparation for the Another e-mail from Fed counsell Scott Alvarez to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says of “Making hard decisions is what he gets paid for ... we shouldn’g take him off the hook.” One e-mail says Lewix used the threat to call off the Merrillp merger asa “bargaining chip.” In testimont Thursday, Lewis denied using Merrill as a bargaining chip.
Instead, he says his concern s about the deal were but bank and federakl officials agreed proceeding with the purchase using taxpayefr aid was in the best interesyt of the financial systemand N.C.-based BofA (NYSE:BAC).
Friday, April 6, 2012
Restrictions,
polinaagyvtiwu.blogspot.com
Restrictions, including the “shovel ready” requirement and grants already awarded bythe , have limitec stimulus money for local airports. Probablyy one of the largest misses on the recoveryg funds isthe $122 million project to revitalizde taxiway Alpha at . That project had to be bid outby Nov. 30 to avoi d hindering during the busyholiday season. The stimulus bill is providingyabout $474 million for runway improvementzs at U.S. airports. The good president and CEO Larry Cox is that the Memphis airport will continues to receive funding from the FAA and all scheduledd projects shouldbe completed.
“We are alreadyh scheduled for those funds, and as long as we get thosde funds, we are going forwardd with projects,” he says. “Not getting the stimulus funds is not going to have an effectron us, but it would have been like winninv a small lottery.” Regional airports do not receivre as much FAA funding and had hoped for stimulusw dollars to help fund delayed projects. Those airporrt executives are discovering the limits ofwhat non-primar airports can spend stimulus funds on and the requirementd for shovel-ready projects.
Tunica Municipal Airport is one of the only local airports awardedstimulus funds, but the mone won’t go toward the airport’s long-delayed terminal project. The airport applied for threee stimulus grants for theterminal project, an apron improvemenyt project and construction of a new fire and safeth facility. To date, the FAA has only earmarkesd $1.25 million in stimulus funds to build thefire “Because we are not a primary airport in the eyes of the FAA, we can’y use the money where we says Cliff Nash, executive is still searching for projectxs that are shovel ready and that a non-primary airport can qualifyh for.
Airport manager David Taylor says the airporg is hoping to get some stimulus funds forsecurity improvements, but is still working througg the process. “We didn’t have anythingt ready to go, but we hope to in the he says. “It is a challenge, but we are not givinv up.”
Restrictions, including the “shovel ready” requirement and grants already awarded bythe , have limitec stimulus money for local airports. Probablyy one of the largest misses on the recoveryg funds isthe $122 million project to revitalizde taxiway Alpha at . That project had to be bid outby Nov. 30 to avoi d hindering during the busyholiday season. The stimulus bill is providingyabout $474 million for runway improvementzs at U.S. airports. The good president and CEO Larry Cox is that the Memphis airport will continues to receive funding from the FAA and all scheduledd projects shouldbe completed.
“We are alreadyh scheduled for those funds, and as long as we get thosde funds, we are going forwardd with projects,” he says. “Not getting the stimulus funds is not going to have an effectron us, but it would have been like winninv a small lottery.” Regional airports do not receivre as much FAA funding and had hoped for stimulusw dollars to help fund delayed projects. Those airporrt executives are discovering the limits ofwhat non-primar airports can spend stimulus funds on and the requirementd for shovel-ready projects.
Tunica Municipal Airport is one of the only local airports awardedstimulus funds, but the mone won’t go toward the airport’s long-delayed terminal project. The airport applied for threee stimulus grants for theterminal project, an apron improvemenyt project and construction of a new fire and safeth facility. To date, the FAA has only earmarkesd $1.25 million in stimulus funds to build thefire “Because we are not a primary airport in the eyes of the FAA, we can’y use the money where we says Cliff Nash, executive is still searching for projectxs that are shovel ready and that a non-primary airport can qualifyh for.
Airport manager David Taylor says the airporg is hoping to get some stimulus funds forsecurity improvements, but is still working througg the process. “We didn’t have anythingt ready to go, but we hope to in the he says. “It is a challenge, but we are not givinv up.”
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Bills bolster Bell, irk rivals - Atlanta Business Chronicle:
edibin.wordpress.com
(NYSE: BLS) will back Senate Billd 388 and 389. In the event of a federallyy certifiednatural disaster, SB 388 wouldd allow BellSouth, the dominant locall phone company, to collect a 10 percent "storm surcharge" from the smaller competitors that use its BellSouth ostensibly would use this money to defray the cost of repairing its network, which suffered perhaps $600 milliom in damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The company couldx keep the surcharge in place up to a year from the date of the SB 388 is sponsored bystate Sen. Mitcbh Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, who is chairman of the Senatde Regulated Industries andUtilities Committee.
He compared it to the General Assembly'ds decision last year to cap taxes on jet fuel in order toassist now-bankrupt -- the state trying to support a majoe pillar of the locall economy in time of crisis, even if it coulxd only supply a few millioj dollars when far more was needed. BellSouth spokeswoma n LeAnn Boucher agreed withthat assessment. "What we could potentially recoup from those other carrierx using ournetwork wouldn'g even [have] come close" to cleaning up from Katrina, she BellSouth competitors are unhappyh about the measure and its companion, SB 389, whicuh could strip them of milliond of dollars in future revenue.
Currently, whenever the Georgias Public Service Commission penalizes BellSouth for failinfg to meet certain standards in reselling services to its those rivals receiveaboug two-thirds of any fines assessed. BellSouth shelled out about $1.8 million over the last 12 months, accordingf to Boucher. But under SB 389, whic Seabaugh also authored, BellSouth competitors woulfd no longer see any ofthose dollars. "oI don't understand the logic," said Jerry Watts, a lobbyist for ITC^DeltaCom Inc. "I f I'm suffering lost customers or a deterioration in the perceptiom of my service dueto BellSouth'sa actions, there's a financial impact," which those finesw offset.
The new billse come on the heelsof Seabaugh'sa SB 120, introduced in 2005, which would prevent the PSC from regulating broadband Internet and cell phone Although BellSouth (which posted $20 billion in 2004 sales) coulx soon find itself enjoying a littl extra pocket money, its joint venture with may take a bit of a hit from SB 395, the brainchilfd of state Sen. Cecilo Staton, R-Macon. SB 395 would prevent cell phone companieas from extending the term of a Georgia customer's service contract whenever that customer wants to add anothere line, change their number or otherwise modifyu their plan.
Staton said he was open to letting carriers continue requirin g contract extensions when they provide new phones to existing subscriberx in order to recoverthat cost. Cingula lobbyist Steve Skinner said withoutgthat ability, the company woulcd be unable to offer its customers new phones at subsidizede prices. One bill unlikeluy to face corporate oppositionis Staton's SB 394, which expandsa on a state anti-spam bill signedr in 2005 by specificallu targeting scammers posing as legitimate companies such as or EBAY) in unsolicited commercial These scammers "phish" for sensitive personal data by directing recipient s of the spam to visit Web sites that masquerade as thosde of banks, credit card companies, etc.
Recipients are then askecd to enter their Social Security passwords andthe like. Staton wanta to hit offenders with jail terms of up to20 years, finese of up to $500,000, or No Georgia-based businesses have complained to him of being he said. The most ambitious of the new Senate Resolution 642 bystate Sen. Judson Hill, R-Marietta, wouled require two-thirds of both the Hous e and Senate to agree in order to increass any existing statetax (including the corporatse income tax) or license fee or create any new The idea is to make it very difficult for Democrats to rais e taxes if they win back one or more chamberz in 2006 or at some future date, Hill said. Also noteworthy: Stat e Sen.
Ralph Hudgens, R-Comer and chairman of the Senate Insurance andLabord Committee, has filed SB 384 and SB 385 at the requesrt of state insurance commissioneer John Oxendine. SB 384 woulr add Georgia to the 20 states that have already joined an interstate compact allowing life insurancwe products approved for sale in any one state to be sold in all of Oxendine said some ofthe nation's largestr insurers, including (NYSE: MET) and , have been pushingy Georgia to join the compact, which won'tt become active until a few more statesx sign up. SB 385 gives Georgia-basee insurers the ability to add municipao bondsfrom U.S.
and Canadian cities and countiesx with populations of lessthan 25,000p to their portfolios. Oxendine crafted the bill, which he callefd vital for local economic after ran into the regulation in Dodge Countyin 2005.
(NYSE: BLS) will back Senate Billd 388 and 389. In the event of a federallyy certifiednatural disaster, SB 388 wouldd allow BellSouth, the dominant locall phone company, to collect a 10 percent "storm surcharge" from the smaller competitors that use its BellSouth ostensibly would use this money to defray the cost of repairing its network, which suffered perhaps $600 milliom in damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The company couldx keep the surcharge in place up to a year from the date of the SB 388 is sponsored bystate Sen. Mitcbh Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, who is chairman of the Senatde Regulated Industries andUtilities Committee.
He compared it to the General Assembly'ds decision last year to cap taxes on jet fuel in order toassist now-bankrupt -- the state trying to support a majoe pillar of the locall economy in time of crisis, even if it coulxd only supply a few millioj dollars when far more was needed. BellSouth spokeswoma n LeAnn Boucher agreed withthat assessment. "What we could potentially recoup from those other carrierx using ournetwork wouldn'g even [have] come close" to cleaning up from Katrina, she BellSouth competitors are unhappyh about the measure and its companion, SB 389, whicuh could strip them of milliond of dollars in future revenue.
Currently, whenever the Georgias Public Service Commission penalizes BellSouth for failinfg to meet certain standards in reselling services to its those rivals receiveaboug two-thirds of any fines assessed. BellSouth shelled out about $1.8 million over the last 12 months, accordingf to Boucher. But under SB 389, whic Seabaugh also authored, BellSouth competitors woulfd no longer see any ofthose dollars. "oI don't understand the logic," said Jerry Watts, a lobbyist for ITC^DeltaCom Inc. "I f I'm suffering lost customers or a deterioration in the perceptiom of my service dueto BellSouth'sa actions, there's a financial impact," which those finesw offset.
The new billse come on the heelsof Seabaugh'sa SB 120, introduced in 2005, which would prevent the PSC from regulating broadband Internet and cell phone Although BellSouth (which posted $20 billion in 2004 sales) coulx soon find itself enjoying a littl extra pocket money, its joint venture with may take a bit of a hit from SB 395, the brainchilfd of state Sen. Cecilo Staton, R-Macon. SB 395 would prevent cell phone companieas from extending the term of a Georgia customer's service contract whenever that customer wants to add anothere line, change their number or otherwise modifyu their plan.
Staton said he was open to letting carriers continue requirin g contract extensions when they provide new phones to existing subscriberx in order to recoverthat cost. Cingula lobbyist Steve Skinner said withoutgthat ability, the company woulcd be unable to offer its customers new phones at subsidizede prices. One bill unlikeluy to face corporate oppositionis Staton's SB 394, which expandsa on a state anti-spam bill signedr in 2005 by specificallu targeting scammers posing as legitimate companies such as or EBAY) in unsolicited commercial These scammers "phish" for sensitive personal data by directing recipient s of the spam to visit Web sites that masquerade as thosde of banks, credit card companies, etc.
Recipients are then askecd to enter their Social Security passwords andthe like. Staton wanta to hit offenders with jail terms of up to20 years, finese of up to $500,000, or No Georgia-based businesses have complained to him of being he said. The most ambitious of the new Senate Resolution 642 bystate Sen. Judson Hill, R-Marietta, wouled require two-thirds of both the Hous e and Senate to agree in order to increass any existing statetax (including the corporatse income tax) or license fee or create any new The idea is to make it very difficult for Democrats to rais e taxes if they win back one or more chamberz in 2006 or at some future date, Hill said. Also noteworthy: Stat e Sen.
Ralph Hudgens, R-Comer and chairman of the Senate Insurance andLabord Committee, has filed SB 384 and SB 385 at the requesrt of state insurance commissioneer John Oxendine. SB 384 woulr add Georgia to the 20 states that have already joined an interstate compact allowing life insurancwe products approved for sale in any one state to be sold in all of Oxendine said some ofthe nation's largestr insurers, including (NYSE: MET) and , have been pushingy Georgia to join the compact, which won'tt become active until a few more statesx sign up. SB 385 gives Georgia-basee insurers the ability to add municipao bondsfrom U.S.
and Canadian cities and countiesx with populations of lessthan 25,000p to their portfolios. Oxendine crafted the bill, which he callefd vital for local economic after ran into the regulation in Dodge Countyin 2005.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Costco, Nordstrom December sales dip - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):
dusinenezoqoc.blogspot.com
At Issaquah-based Costco (Nasdaq: COST), same-store sales fell 4 percenf compared with the same timelast year. Net salee fell to $7.4 billion from $7.55 billion a year The big-box retailer has six locationsin Hawaii. The drop in same-stored sales wasn’t as steep as analysty Dan Geiman of brokerage inSeattle predicted. Geima n estimated a 4.5 percent drop and said Costcowas “severelty impacted by the combined impacts of gasoline deflationh and the stronger U.S. Geiman has a “hold” ratin on Costco’s stock. At Seattle-based Nordstrom (NYSE: which opened its first Hawaii storw at Ala Moanain March, same-store salesx fell 10.
6 percent compared with the same time a year earlie r and net sales dropped to $1.13 billion from $1.223 billion in 2007. Nordstrom’ws drop in same-store sales was less than expectations of a 14 percent In a noteto investors, Geiman said he expects that Nordstrom “will continue to face competitivr markdown pressures into the foreseeable future or at least until the economy starts to improve.” He lowered his fourth-quarter earnings estimate to 34 centse per share from 42 cents per shares and his fiscal year earnings estimats to $1.85 from $1.94. Geiman maintains his “buy” rating on Nordstrom.
At Issaquah-based Costco (Nasdaq: COST), same-store sales fell 4 percenf compared with the same timelast year. Net salee fell to $7.4 billion from $7.55 billion a year The big-box retailer has six locationsin Hawaii. The drop in same-stored sales wasn’t as steep as analysty Dan Geiman of brokerage inSeattle predicted. Geima n estimated a 4.5 percent drop and said Costcowas “severelty impacted by the combined impacts of gasoline deflationh and the stronger U.S. Geiman has a “hold” ratin on Costco’s stock. At Seattle-based Nordstrom (NYSE: which opened its first Hawaii storw at Ala Moanain March, same-store salesx fell 10.
6 percent compared with the same time a year earlie r and net sales dropped to $1.13 billion from $1.223 billion in 2007. Nordstrom’ws drop in same-store sales was less than expectations of a 14 percent In a noteto investors, Geiman said he expects that Nordstrom “will continue to face competitivr markdown pressures into the foreseeable future or at least until the economy starts to improve.” He lowered his fourth-quarter earnings estimate to 34 centse per share from 42 cents per shares and his fiscal year earnings estimats to $1.85 from $1.94. Geiman maintains his “buy” rating on Nordstrom.
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