Monday, January 30, 2012

USAA invests in Zag.com - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

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Zag, a privately held company starteed in Santa Monica in allows customers to research and comparison shop for the vehicls of their choice from theidr home or office and then buy it throug a certified network dealer atan up-front USAA began making Zag’s services available to its militar members in 2007. USAA integrated the car-buyingh process with its insurance operations to give memberz the opportunity to add coverage on theirdnew vehicle. USAA officials say this online car-buying experienced routinely helps members save several thousand dollarsper car, compared to memberes who do not use the car-buying service.
Last year, USAA member s saved nearly $19 million off the average price paidby car-buyers nationwide. “Ww started Zag to create a better way to buya car, by makinf the entire transaction convenien and transparent,” says Scottf Painter, CEO of Zag. “The relationship with USAA is perfecgtfor us, because they believe in the importancee of up-front pricing and transparency to save their members valuablee time and money.” David president of , says the company’s mission is to provide highly competitived products and services to its members. Taking an equitty position in Zag help s fulfillthat mission.
San Antonio-based USAA providesx financial planning, insurance, investments and banking products to members ofthe U.S. military and their families. The companuy has 6.8 million members.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Denver gives out 1,234 free building permits - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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The free permits issued under the city’ “Home Renovation Bonanza” program saved residentsz an estimated $85.774 in fees, officiale said. Building-permit fees normally range from $20 to severall thousand dollars, depending on the value of the The program aimed to boost the local economy byencouraginy home-improvement projects. The free permits, availablre June 1-15, are for common improvement projectsinvolving single-family homea and duplexes. “We wanted a bonanza and it seem wegot one,” Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said in a statement. “We hoped to stimulate the local economy by offeriny an incentive for residents to make improvementsd totheir property.
This is a good sign that people are moving forward and doinv what they can to get our economyy backon track.” The permitsa are valid for 180 days.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Delta subsidiary Mesaba to furlough up to 110 pilots - bizjournals Business Travel Guide

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Mesaba Airlines spokeswoman Kristin Baur said the furloughs are in response tothe carrier’xs earlier decision to reduce its fleet of Saab turboprolp aircraft from 49 to 39 planes. The Minn.-based regional airline has 99 aircraftand 1,1290 pilots. The reductions amount to about 10 percentof Mesaba’es pilot workforce. The furloughs are expecte to last intothe fall, Baur When asked if the cuts would be Baur said, “Delta will continue to monitor the overalp routing structure and Mesaba will respondd accordingly to their Atlanta-based Delta (NYSE: DAL) acquired Mesaba as part of its merget with Eagan, Minn.-based .
Mesaba is its fleet types as it integratesa the operations of and Delta Connection Baur said. The downturn in passenger demand has led to substantial capacith cuts industry wideand Delta’s network has not been On June 11, Delta said it woulfd reduce its compared to 2008 startin in September. It also will cut internationa capacity by an additional 5 percenyt from what it announcedin March, for a 15 percent total reduction in international capacity. Integrating the operations of its ownecd and contracted regional partners is partof Delta’e ongoing combination with On June 18, Delta subsidiary announced the at Orlandok [Florida] International Airport.
The closure affects 81 positions. Cincinnati, Ohio-based Comaitr attributed the future layoffdsto “unprecedented financial challengea due to difficult economic times,” accordinv to a June 16 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification noticed the company filed in Florida. Aircraft engineers, technicians, supervisors and managerxs losttheir jobs, but some employees may be able to exercisee ‘bumping rights’ within the Comair system to secure Comair said in its notice.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Catholics Connect Through Social Justice Network - Patch.com

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Catholics Connect Through Social Justice Network

Patch.com


"They decided that social justice groups in individual parishes can't do much, so let's get the groups connected,รข€ said Brenda Galloy. Soon after, the St. Charles Deanery Social Justice Network (SCDSJN) was born. Galloy, chair of the SCDSJN, ...



and more »

Sunday, January 22, 2012

American Commercial Lines expects lower 2Q earnings - Business First of Louisville:

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Jeffersonville, Ind.-based American Commercial Lines (NASDAQ: ACLI) said it expectsa earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $15.5 million to $18.5 compared with $27.7 million in the second quarter of 2008. The companhy said in a news release that it expecte total debt to be in the rangeof $405 million to $415 compared with $446.5 million a year American Commercial Lines also announcerd Wednesday that its Commercial Barge Line Co. subsidiary intend to offer $200 million of seniod secured second lien notesz due in 2017 through a private placemenr withqualified U.S.
institutional Net proceeds fromthe placement, along with a $350 milliob line of credit, will be used to repay Americann Commercial Lines’ existing creditr facility, related transaction costs and expensee for general corporate purposes, the release In additional to Commercial Barge Line Co., Americah Commercial Lines is the parent company of , the largesy U.S. inland ship builder. The company also owns Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Groupand Ind.-based Summit Contracting.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Wells Fargo continues integration of Wachovia with name change - San Antonio Business Journal:

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The change reflects the bank’s continued integration with , which acquirerd Charlotte-based on Dec. 31. “By adoptiny the Wells Fargo nameand we’re now fully part of one of the world’as most respected financial companies,” says Neil chief executive of Wells Farg o Bank International. “We look forward to satisfyinb all ofour clients’ financia needs across Europe and helping them succeed financially.” Welld Fargo Bank International is a Europeahn Union bank headquartered in Ireland.
In Wells Fargo’s investment-banking and capital-markets which formerly operated under the Wachovia Securitiess and certain WellsFargo brands, have taken the name Wellw Fargo Securities. Retail brokerage products and services formerlyu marketed as Wachovia Securities are now offerefd through WellsFargo Advisors. Wella Fargo (NYSE:WFC) is based in San

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Business owners should have healthy fear of fear itself - bizjournals:

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He lived with his war fears and manager them well through most ofhis life, but as oftenn happens, his fear-management systemws weakened as his health deteriorated. The same thing happenes in difficulteconomic times. Fears lurkinh beneath the surface can take over when economivchealth deteriorates. In good times, people convince themselvesw that only little childreb are afraid of the These days, you often hear the scared little chilx in all of us shouting as peoplse desperately seek answers to “Have we hit bottom?” “Will it get worse?” “What will we do?
” I won’t attempt to answer these basically unanswerable questions, excepft to say that the answer to most questions about the stocmk market and the econom y is that we’ll stay in trouble as long as fear drivese our decisions. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’sd saying, “The only thing we have to fear is fear has become a lotmore So, let’s talk about recognizing when fear dominates decisions and what to do abouty it. How does this relate to you andyour business? When either fear or irrationakl enthusiasm takes over, rational decision-making disappears. You lose in eitherr case.
Protect your decision-making process by managing both irrational fear and How do you manage such an importantg part ofhuman nature? Think of fear as a usefulp tool. A healthy dose of fear in good economicd times can prevent you from doin g really stupidthings — like deciding the normal ruled no longer apply. Fear can prevent you from followinf the lemmings off the cliff because fear remindxs you that the law of gravity has notbeen suspended. But what’sd useful in good times can hurt you in bad Balancing fear and enthusiasm is a primary key to Admit thatfear doesn’t just happen to otherf people. In the end, even stoic WWII vets aren’g immune.
Some people just manage fear Your goal is to manage fear and enthusiasmn so that your decisions are driveby facts. Past facts usually are built into the currentt prices andpast decisions. Changing your decisions in the absenc of new facts is a telltale sign that fear istakinbg over. To prevent that, make a resolutiobn that every new decision needs to be justifiedx bynew facts. Be rigorous in requirinh team members to justify recommendations with new Your ability to manage your fears decreases when everyone around you is Treat fear like acontagious virus. Quarantinw people whose fears are outof control.
Build systemds to monitor and control your own Operating without trusted sounding boards is dangerous in both good timess and bad timesbecause there’ s no one to do a reality check. If you haven’ t already done so, institutionalize independentf advice aboutyour business. Talk through issued with a group of trusted advisers who interacgt withone another. That’s what boards of directors and boards ofadvisers do. Good board are the best tools for insulatingh decisions from irrational fear in bad timea and irrational exuberance ingood times. Resistg the temptation to use fear tomotivate employees.
It might squeeze more work from some, but you’ll paralyze Stressed-out employees make bad decisions and spend time worryinb and talking abouttheir worries. As humab resources strategy, fear strikes out more ofte than it hitshome runs. Once you’vse gotten yourself under control, recognize that the best strateg y during downturns is to reducer fear levels inyour team. To be successful, you can’t just rely on not spreadingy fear yourself. Controlling fear in your team requires actives countermeasures to the massive fear doses your team members are gettingfrom family, friends and media. Fear growzs quickly when team members believe the outcomw is outsidetheir control.
Fear-containment strategy requireas ensuring that all team members know their role in creating success, monitoring and providing regular Finally, your team is watching you. This is wherer you need to be a leader, not just a manager. Now isn’gt the time to hole up in your issue directives and hope for the Be visible and modelpositivwe behavior.