Ritter confronted at bill signing by union grocery workers - Denver Business Journal:

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Ritter addressed the workers publicly after , repeating to them as he had written in his May 19 veto of Housre Bill 1170 that he felt that the bill woul have interrupted ongoing union negotiationsd with grocery-store chains , and But after several minutesa of explanation, workers began yelling, "Thaty is a lie!" and "Sir, why did you and the governor left the podium. "j have made my statement. Thank you very much," Ritted said as he exiteed the packed west foyer ofthe Capitol. .
Tensions betweeh union workers and the Democratic governo r that they helped to elect in 2006 have been simmering since his veto of the bill that woulx haveallowed locked-out workers to collect unemploymentr insurance benefits. United Food and Commercial Workerxs UnionLocal No. 7 Presideng Ernest Duran said that Ritterhad "betrayed" them and "reneged on his promises," and some activists have begujn looking for a candidate to oppose Ritter in a Ritter signed 29 bills Tuesday, culminatin g with an evening "Help for Working Families at the Capitol in which he inkedr six laws to help unemployed residents receivs more benefits and keep workers' homes from being foreclosed upon, among othee things.
Leaders from several construction union s stood behind him as he signed one of the HouseBill 1310, which allows for the easiert filing of complaints if an employer misqualifies a workee as an independent contractor. But, even before then, whiles Ritter was signing a measure that will allowq local governments tosell low- to no-interestr bonds for public construction under the American Recovery and Reinvestmenrt Act, the harangues began. Crowd members clad in blacl UFCW shirts yelled can you explain why you vetoed HousewBill 1170?" and "We support you, governor; you turnexd your back on as Ritter largely ignored them.
Then, as he late signed Senate Bill 247, which increases the number of Coloradanzs who qualify for unemployment insurancs and will bring insome $200 million in federal someone yelled: "Where was your supporyt for the grocery workersd when you vetoed House Bill governor?" Ritter replied: "I'm going to sign these and then we'll talk." After he the governor rose to the microphone and first told the crowd how many of the new laws will help workerx affected by the He then explained that signing HB 1170 woul d have been akin to the governmeng implementing new playing rules for negotiations betweenh the UFCW and the thres grocery chains that have been underway since April 9.
He also said that he woule be open to reconsidering similat legislation at afuture date. He notefd that a bill he signed Tuesday regarding electricians education standards was similar to one he vetoedf in 2008 while telling competinyg sides on the measure that they neededs to work out acompromisee -- which they did this year. "kI also think that public policy should not be used tointerrupty negotiations," Ritter told the crowd, which included about 25 UFCW workers along with proponents of the bills bein signed. "It is my great hope that you're able to work this Then question-shouting began from the back. And Ritter'zs speech to the group ended.

Bauer takes stars from 17 banks - Portland Business Journal:

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The company uses federal regulatory data to rate banks based oncapital ratio, profit/loss trend, delinquent loansz and other factors. Bauer'as rating ranks from a high of 5 starse to a low of0 stars. in Coralo Gables lost a star going to four fromfive (superior) stars. Four otherws maintained their five-star ranking: American National Bank, Oakland Park City Nationap Bankof Florida, Miamii First National Bank, South Miami Intercontinental Bank, West Miamij in Miami rose to threre stars from two. First United Bank in Boca Raton and Biscayne Bank in Coconuyt Grove roseto 3.5 stars from in Fort Lauderdale made four up from 3.5. Several bankds went to 3.
5 from four They are: , Homestead Doral-based slipped this time to three starsfrom three-and-a-half starws in the first quarter. That’s down from four stars in the thirdr quarter oflast year. Other banks that slipped to threstars (good) from 3.5 are: Executivw National, Miami , Miami , Miami U.S. Century Miami Valley Bank, Fort Lauderdale Lydian Privatre Bank in Palm Grand Eastern Bank of Floridain Miami, Metro Bank of Dade County, and in Miami fell to two starss (problematic) from three. , Miami, in North Lauderdale and in Boca Rato fell a notch toone star, down from two in the fourthg quarter.
Four banks retained zero Bauer’s lowest rating: , Miamio Republic Federal Bank, Miami , Miami Integritgy Bank, Jupiter

Beige Book: Region

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Consumer spending in the region was weak and is expected toremaibn soft, the closely watched survey said, but “anh uptick in manufacturing orders helped stabilize expectations for future production.” The Beige Book also said that “commerciakl real estate market conditions deteriorated, and energu activity declined further.” Bankers, it said, “reported a rise in depositsa and stable loan demand with no erosiojn in loan quality.” It said consumer pricer and wage pressures remained low.
Meanwhile, producer prices “declined at a slowe r pace, with some firms noting that higher commodit y prices boosted material andfuel Overall, the latest regional Beigew Book — covering a six-week period was somewhat more optimistic than the last survey, releasefd April 15. The report covers the Fed’s Kansax City-based 10th District. It is based on interview s with a sample of businesse representing key industries in each The reports are anecdotal and do notcontai statistics, but they are widely followef and help the Fed to set national economicv policy.
The Fed’s 10th District includes Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming as well as westerj Missouri and northernNew Mexico. Formally known as the “Summaruy of Commentary on Current Economicf Conditions by Federal Reserve the Beige Book is publisherd eight timesa year. The latesr report covers late Aprilthrougnh May. The Federal Reserve’s 10th District is also knowhn as the Kansas City districyt becausethe reserve’s regionaol bank is based there. .

Pair the Finest Elements With the Most Stunning Wedding Venue at The Ritz ... - MarketWatch (press release)

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Al-Bawaba

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Cracker Barrel sales flat, earnings up - Dayton Business Journal:

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Lebanon-based (NASDAQ: CBRL) reported income of $11. million, or 52 cents per diluted share, in the quarte r ending May 1, compared to $10.4 million, or 46 cents per diluteds share, in the year-ago period. Revenue was flat at $567.5 compared to $567.1 million in the year-agop quarter. Cracker Barrel’s earnings beat analysts’ On average, analysts estimated earnings of 44 cents per shar on revenueof $568 according to Thomson Financial “We are pleased to report a 13 percenty increase in earnings per share for the quarted and a 20-basis-point improvement in operating margin on flat salezs despite higher health care costs,” Cracked Barrel CEO Michael Woodhouse said in a statement.
“Thi s shows that we are making measurabler progress in cost controls and improved profitabilitgy at thestore level.” Woodhouse says the company’ss latest surveys show it is achieving highed levels of customer satisfaction. The company says the shift of Easter from Marc to April hurt salez in March but helped in For thefull quarter, a latet Easter helped comparable store sales by abougt 1 percent, the companyy says. At noon on Wednesday, shareas of Cracker Barrel were tradingat $30.96, down 1.6 percen t from the previous day’s closing price of The 52-week range is $10.67 to $35.18.

Niagara fruit crops holding up - Business First of Buffalo:

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But many more orchards and other areas, including residential areas in the Lake OntarioFruit Belt, remain to be testex for plum pox viru s before September. Teams working for the and the statr Department of Agriculture and Markets began taking leaf samplesein May. Subsequent laboratory tests did not disclose any new outbreaks of the viruas inNiagara County, Jackie Klahn, director of the USDA’es Lockport field office, said. In early May, as orchardsa blossomed, optimism was growing that the spread of the which made its Niagara County debugt 2006 might be Between 2006and 2008, plum pox was discovered in severao Niagara County orchards, in Orleans County and Wayne east of Rochester.
Though harmless to humane and animals, the virus poses an economidc risk for commercial fruit growers because they must destroy all susceptiblde treeswithin 1.5 milez to 2 miles of an identified hot spot. Plum pox destroyse the commercial value of the fruitg that it attacks because it discolorws anddisfigures peaches, prunes and nectarines. In New York state counties lying alongLake Ontario’s south shore, fruit growing is a multi-million-dollar industry.

Marketing at festivals can be way to draw customers - Phoenix Business Journal:

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Festival organizers say they are working hard this year to tailoe marketing opportunities to meet the needs of theirflocal sponsors. One new marketing opportunity at Summerfest isgate giveaways, said John ’s vice president of sales and marketing. Four businesses — , U.S. Cellular, and Chipotle — will give a promotional item to patron at select times on four separatw days duringthe 11-day music festival. Boled said the program is probably one of the most economicall sponsorship opportunitiesat Summerfest, although he declined to say what fee companie pay.
“If they have a particular productf they want to put inour patrons’ hande or if they want to put a special offerd that will bounce that patron back to the retail establishment after an event, that’s how theswe programs can provide benefit to a locapl marketer,” he said. Marcus Hotels & Resorts will have two new promotionxs at Summerfest and also for the first time has createxd room packagesaround Milwaukee’sz ethnic festivals. The first 5,0009 patrons through the Summerfest gatews on June 27 beginning at noon will receivwe a gift card booklert with discountsfor Marcus-owned such as the Well Spa and Mason Street Grilk at The Pfister Hotel.
On Family Day, Marcus also will distributs cups withthe company’s water park logos and a card inside that will be good for 50 game tokenw at either of its Paradise Landing or Timber Ridge Lodgs water parks. In addition, Marcus will have a bootn at Irish Fest in August promoting an opportunityh for guests to book their stay fornext year’ festival. Marcus has created an Irishy Fest package for an extended stay vacation that comesa with authentic Irish Fest The company also has createda “Seizse the 3-Day Weekend” package that offers visitorsz to all of the city’d festivals a free third night if they book two said Chris Anderson, a Marcus Marketing at the festivals is Anderson said.
“It’s old-fashioned direct Anderson said. “Face-to-face sales are still some of the best form of You have a great chance of convertin that customer intoa vacationer.” Othe local companies said the festivals provide an opportunitgy to reach their target markets and be seen as a communitg supporter. sponsors the Liturgy on Sundahand children’s activities at Irish Fest. The companyy will sponsor the Family Passport progra at theethnic festival, for whicy families pick up a passport and travel with thei r children to 10 festival destinations highlighting educationb and Irish culture.
“It’s a great opportunity for Catholif Knights to be seen supportingcommunitu organizations,” said Bill O’Toole, the Milwaukee company’a president and chief executive officer. “It shows that we’rse supportive of community organizations that sharweour values.” By supporting activities such as the Liturgyg and Passport program, the compangy also reaches its target O’Toole said. Figuring out ways to help businessez reach their audience is an important part of keepinhg sponsors coming back to Irish saidJane Anderson, Irish Fest executive Companies are “always looking to get the visibility and the she said.
Sponsorship dollars are down for Festas Italianathis year, said Henry Piano, Festaq Italiana chairman. But the festival has attractec some new local includingPiggly Wiggly.

Job losses put squeeze on students in Silicon Valley - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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Mathur, a senior technical program managetat , aims to leverage the undergraduatw technology background he garnered at Rohilkhand University in his nativ e India as well as his graduatwe studies in information systems and business at . But the economyt has derailed his effort. On April 2, Sun told Mathure that his positionwas redundant. That means at the end of May he will losehis job, as well as the tuitionj reimbursement package the company was putting toward his MBA at Santaw Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. “Noq my primary job is findingg anew job,” said Mathur, addinvg that he knows at least a half dozen classmate s in a similar position.
“Thde studies take a beating because you’re obviouslhy not as focused as you’d like to be. Suddenly I have to pay all this and who knows howlong I’ll be in this positionn of making no money.” It’s a growinv problem at Leavey’s graduate program, a part-timw model where a majority of students are full-tim professionals by day and their tuitio is supplemented by employer reimbursements. As a private institutionj that sits high innational rankings, the prograkm is anything but cheap. A three-unit evening MBA clase for the 2008-09 school year costs $2,352. The accelerateed MBA tuition for the classof 2010, whichn began last summer, topped $72,000.
Studentds in the Executive MBA programm from the class of 2009paid $92,000. “I think anecdotally there’s a lot of uneasiness (among at the business school right now,” said Elizabetgh Ford, senior assistant dean of graduates programsat Leavey. “Without havintg statistics on morale, we can sensee it. It’s very unpredictable for us righyt now.” Enrollments in full-time graduate programs typicallh spike when there are large numbersof layoffs, with undergraduatexs electing to go directly to graduate school rathedr than test the job market.
Applicationz for the class of 2010 atStanfored University’s Graduate School of Business rose 43 percent over the class of 2007, from 4,5821 to 6,575 for about 745 slots. But theree are no guarantees there will be a job waiting aftef completinggraduate school. “When peopl e come to a graduatebusinesse school, especially a full-time program, there’s a high desire to either take a step up in managementg in the same field or look at dointg something very different from what you were doing beforde you came to school,” said Andy Chan, assistanyt dean and director of the MBA career management centeer at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
“In a down econom employers are less willing and have less of a need for hirin people withoutdirect experience.” The biggesg challenge today for businessd school graduate students, Chan is the sheer number of candidates in the job There are students coming out of people already let go by theif company and those at unhealthy companieds perhaps anticipating work force cuts. Stanfordd students are drawing on thebusiness school’xs staff of career advisers as well as alumni employed to give Each year, whether face-to-face or via telephone, the graduate schoolp facilitates more than 2,00o career counseling appointments with students and alumni, Chan That doesn’t include informal such as e-mail and phone correspondence.
If there is any good news to be it’s that there’s still “az decent flow of job opportunities coming through the Chan said, though 30 percent less than last year or the year “The good news is that we have employersa who are looking at Chan said. “I’m not so discouraged from the standpointr ofno jobs.” Ford said part-time business programss are trying to “gauge and what’s going to happen for fall enrollment. Initiapl indicators show that interestremainx high. Information sessions are attracting good Applications to the graduate prograjm are even with last year about 400 competing for 225 to250 slots.
The questiob is whether those applications translatreto matriculation. “We just don’t Ford said. There’s no way to know how many studentz are affected by the same scenariooas Mathur, she said, but the business school has begun taking steps to address it.

Assisting Asian homeowners - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

http://stonegables.net/aboutthehouse.html
In San Francisco, Asian immigrantzs once clustered intospecific areas, but “after a the second and thirf generations began moving out to the suburbs,” Chu said. Soon it wasn’yt just agents located near the immigrant areas working with potentialkAsian homeowners, she said. AREAA can help agente learn more about the differences in Asiajncommunities themselves, Chu said. “Serving the Asian populationj takes complexity,” said Chu, who herself was born in British-controlled Hong Kong to mainlansdChinese parents. Chu’s Chinese background is differenyt fromher parents, and differenft from her Chinese-American children, she said.
“You have many different multiple cultures, multiple habits and beliefs.” AREAA’s focus this year is to grow thelocakl chapters, Fu said. “We have about 17,000 members [nationally], but it is hard to serve loca l communities withoutlocal chapters.”

Discover Retained at Outperform - Zacks.com

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Forbes (blog)

Discover Retained at Outperform Zacks.com Discover has grown to become one of the largest card issuers in the US and a leading innovator and driver of change in the credit card industry. The company continues to explore healthy opportunities for inorganic growth and also implements several ... Discover Financial Services Reaches New 52-Week High (DFS) TheStreet.com Discover Index: US Consumer Confidence Down Sharply In June W »

Study: 50% borrow money for college - Washington Business Journal:

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“Drowning in Debt: The Emerging Student Loan Crisis,” released by an independenft education policy think tank called theEducatiohn Sector, analyzed 15 years of data through the 2007-0i8 academic year. The cost of attendingv a public university has doubled over the past two causing previously unseen costs of higher Family income and student financialaid haven’ t kept up with the increasing costs, forcing students to borros money for their education than ever before. More studentws are finding those funds in the formof unregulated, private student where they pay the highesft interest rates. Minority college students appear to be borrowing adisproportionate share.
“If this excessive borrowinvg continues, the consequences for students could be report authors Erin Dillon and Kevin Carey said in anews “President Obama’s proposed reforms to the federa student loan program are a good starrt to solving the but reforming state and institutional aid as well as creating incentivee for colleges to restrain tuitiojn costs are essential, particularlyy in our current economic crisis.
” Some of the reasonas for the student loan crisis, the report said, are “out-of-control tuition increases, lack of commitment to need-baseed financial aid, and states and universities increasingly spending scarce financiakl aid dollars on wealthy students.” If thesde trends continue, people will have less accessx to higher education, they’ll have increasinhg rates of catastrophic loan defaults and they will have diminished life choices, the think tank said.
Borrowing has gone from beingb the exception for undergraduatesin 1993, at only 32 percent, to the As of 2008, more than 50 percent of student at public four-year universities borrowed for their In for-profit education, the percentage of borrowerw went to 92 percent in 2008 from 53 percenft in 1993. The average annual debt for borrowerwat four-year private universities increased by 70 percent over the studt period, while the average debt for studentsw at for-profit colleges increased by 57 to $9,600 a year. Only 5 percent of undergraduatesa borrowed private loansin 2003-04. In four the percentage grew to14 percent.
Betweejn 2004 and 2008, the percentage of Africah American students who took out privateloanws tripled, giving that group higher participation levels than whites or Hispanic students. At private, four-year institutions in the wealthiest students received institutional grants of nearl y equal size to those earned by thepoorest

Two MERC commissioners resign - Phoenix Business Journal:

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The resignations of Gary Reynolds and Janice Marqui come about two weeks beforw councilorsfor Metro, of which MERC is a plan to vote on a measure that would give the councill more control over MERC’sx general manager. The move could ostensibly lead to the firiny of MERC General ManagerDavid Woolson, who’a under fire from President David Bragdon. Reynoldse and Marquis both opposethe Reynolds, president of the Portland accounting firm Perkins Co., mentioned the building problems between Metroo and MERC in his resignation “During the economic times, my attention needws to be focused on our clients at Perkinxs & Co.,” Reynolds wroter in his letter to Bragdon.
“That I am disappointed in the recentr breakdown in the working relationship between the Metroo Council andthe , and believe it could have been handledr differently.” Marquis, a commercial real estate broker and the commission’sx vice chair, didn’t mention the upcoming proposa l in her letter to Bragdon, but resignecd two years before her term was set to end. In a lettefr to Portland city commissioners earlierethis month, Marquis and commission member Ray Leary urgerd the council to help delay Metro’s vote on the MERC oversighft matter. Leary, Marquis, Reynolds and three of the other four remaininb MERC commissions also sent Bragdo a letterbacking Woolson.
The letter came afted Bragdon questioned the leadership of MERC General ManagerDavid Woolson. The othe r commission member, Don Trotter, resigned last month and will leave the boarfJune 30. Reynolds’ resignation takes effec June 30. Marquis’ takes effect July 15. The termd of Trotter and Reynolds would have expired at the end of 2009whilr Marquis' term was to expire at the end of 2010. The Metro Council plans to vote on the MERCmeasurr — which would give Metro the authority to hire and fire the MERC generalk manager — at its July 9 It was introduced by councilors Rod Park and Rex Burkholder, who also have concernw about Woolson’s performance.
MERC oversees the Oregon Convention the Portland Center for the Performing Arts and the Portlandd MetropolitanExposition Center. Metro’s councilora are mulling a $457 million budger for fiscal year 2009-2010. The regional government servesa 1.4 million people in the metropolitan area’s 25 cities.