“In a rough year, slow-and-steady Des Moines is best city for business - Victoria Advocate” plus 4 more |
- In a rough year, slow-and-steady Des Moines is best city for business - Victoria Advocate
- Merck to Buy Avecia’s Contract Manufacturing Biologics Business - Genetic Engineering News
- Dana Holding selling structural products business to Metalsa for up to ... - Chicago Tribune
- Yvonne King Burch, who launched her musical clan into show business as ... - WREG
- It's business as usual for Tiger Woods' in-laws, despite their own ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune
| In a rough year, slow-and-steady Des Moines is best city for business - Victoria Advocate Posted: 17 Dec 2009 04:53 AM PST (EDITORS: This story may not be used on your Web site unless also published in your print edition) By Russ Britt MarketWatch (MCT) LOS ANGELES — We all know the fable of the tortoise ultimately winning his painstakingly measured race against the hare. Apply that to today's economy and it's relatively easy to come up with a winner for MarketWatch's third survey of the best U.S. cities for business. This year's victor is the subdued terrapin of regional economies: Des Moines, Iowa — population 556,230. Des Moines handily beat all comers, including two-time winner Minneapolis-St. Paul, in a survey that was expanded on several fronts for 2009. Notably, the search for the nation's best business city included any metro area with a population of more than 500,000, thus expanding the eligible list to 101 from last year's total of 50. But we also threw in a few wrinkles to see how well local economies held up during one of the toughest years since the Great Depression. The verdict seems to be that slow and steady wins ... well, you know the rest. "We're very much a traditional tortoise," said Dave Elbert, a business columnist for the Des Moines Register. "We just keep moving ahead slowly and don't stop." You could say Des Moines, the nation's 90th largest metro area, is at the crossroads of America. It's where Interstate 35, which stretches from Lake Superior to the Mexican border, crosses Interstate 80, the route that runs from San Francisco to New York. How did this small metropolis plunked down in the middle of corn country win out? Nothing flashy, really. It just had above-average scores in every one of 10 metrics that MarketWatch examined. Well, not just above average; it was in the top fourth of all but one metric. Des Moines' strongest performance was in the unemployment metric, where it had the third-best ranking of all 101 cities. Its jobless rate was 6 percent in September — one of three unemployment data points used — far below the national average of 9.8 percent for that month. When MarketWatch looked the concentration of companies located in the cities using a variety of metrics, Des Moines never was in an elite crowd. Its lowest ranking was in its concentration of Fortune 1000 companies, where it placed 41st out of 101. But it scored consistently high. That, coupled with its strong economic fundamentals gave it the nod this year. For this survey, it helps that Des Moines is a smaller metropolis. Having just a few companies on the S&P 500 or Russell 2000 indexes can give a city a high score. Des Moines' economy is not terribly diverse, but the companies in its specialty industries — financial services and insurance — are doing well despite trouble among their contemporaries. It also helps that the city is the state capital, which can be a bountiful generator of jobs. Still, that could be hit hard as Iowa deals with new budget crunches. And though it can fall prey to bone-chilling snowstorms, the city still remains popular among its denizens. Dan Houston is president of retirement systems and investor services at Principal Financial Group Inc., the 130-year-old home-grown financial services company. Houston remembers coming to Principal in Des Moines from Texas in 1990 and immediately requesting a crack at a job in the company's Dallas offices when an opening came up. "Six years later, it was open and I didn't take it," Houston said, saying he was content to remain in Des Moines. The city has grown over the last 20 years, built up its downtown region and lured a number of businesses to the area. All the while, it remains a smaller city with manageable commutes and better air quality. If there is an image problem for Des Moines, it's lack of awareness, says Martha Willits, president and chief executive of Greater Des Moines Partnership, a group that promotes economic growth in the region. Despite popular lore such as the film "Field of Dreams," which is set in Iowa, the group really doesn't battle a hayseed image, she says. "I think we make more of those jokes than anyone else does," Willits said. MarketWatch assigned Des Moines a score of 851 points. The rest of the top 10 and their scores are: 2. WASHINGTON — 796 points: Increased competition didn't seem to hurt the nation's capital, a perennial inhabitant of the top 10. It's now at its highest spot to date. It made it to the fourth spot last year, climbing from seventh place in 2007. Washington has been growing steadily for some time, and it didn't hurt that it scored well in two new categories this year: a measure of jobs lost over the last 12 months and a check of real GDP in each metro area. In fact, it scored higher than Des Moines in those two categories. Washington's unemployment rate this past September was 6.2 percent, just slightly higher than that of Des Moines and well below the national rate. The region — already possessing a solid foundation by hosting the world's most powerful government — is gaining attention for its ability to attract software firms and a highly educated work force. 3. OMAHA, NEB. — 788 points: The home base for legendary investor Warren Buffett could well be part of a "Tortoise Tandem" with Des Moines, which is two hours away by car. The two have both seen their fortunes rise gradually to the point where they now are at the top of their game. Like Des Moines, Omaha benefitted from being included in an expanded MarketWatch search, and it's got a high concentration of top companies within its confines. Not only is it host to Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., it boasts a number of Fortune 1000 companies and Forbes private firms; Omaha finished third in both categories. Railroad giant Union Pacific Corp. got its start in Omaha when Abraham Lincoln called for the construction of the transcontinental railroad in 1863. The region also is home to such legacy firms as ConAgra Foods, which started up two years before Union Pacific, and privately held insurance giant Mutual of Omaha, which was founded in 1909. But it also is host to a number of relatively young firms, namely stock trader TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., founded in 1975. "We have a very diverse economy here," said David Brown, chief executive of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. But it's not outmoded, he adds: "Manufacturing is still big in the Midwest, but not so much here and in Des Moines." New economy firms like eBay Inc.'s PayPal, Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. are setting up operations in the city, he says. Trucking firm Werner Enterprises, which got its start in 1956, is another relatively new company. Omaha's central location, equidistant to both coasts, is one obvious advantage for a trucking firm, says John Steele, Werner's chief financial officer. But having more than a dozen higher learning institutions doesn't seem to hurt either. "That has translated into what we believe is a pretty high-quality work force," Steele said. Werner Chief Operating Officer Derek Leathers concurs: "The employees that we're able to attract and hire here have a grit about them." 4. MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL — 746 points: If MarketWatch had stuck exclusively to the same criteria of the last two years in determining the best city for business, two-time champion Minneapolis-St. Paul would have scored a three-peat. While fourth place continues to be a more-than-respectable finish, the Twin Cities may feel a bit slighted that we changed the rules of the game. Minneapolis-St. Paul again scored high on concentration of companies. In years past, that might have been enough to give it the victory. Not anymore. Expanding the search to any city with more than 500,000 residents stiffened the competition, of course, but it wasn't just that. For one, the job picture dimmed considerably in the Twin Cities over the past year, as it finished near the bottom third in that metric. It also was in the bottom half of real GDP growth. Another thing working against Minneapolis-St. Paul was that MarketWatch stuck strictly to Census Bureau boundaries for metro areas. Thus, suburban regions previously included in prior surveys for such areas as New York and Los Angeles were broken out and counted separately. That means on the company concentration score, the Twin Cities were beaten out by Bridgeport, Conn., previously included as part of New York in past surveys. 5. BOSTON — 739 points: Boston is another perennial top-10 finisher, ranking second last year and fourth in the 2007 survey. Boston maintained its customary high ranking in company concentration, and was at the top of the heap in growing jobs in relation to population changes over the past decade. There's a reason for that, though; the city's population has grown a paltry 3 percent since 2000. Boston has benefitted from a highly educated work force that has fed into so-called "old economy" businesses along with a slew of new biotech and information technology companies. The city was third in both the concentration of Russell 2000 companies as well as total number of establishments as surveyed by the Census Bureau. 6. BOISE, IDAHO — 728 points: Another new entry to the top 10, Boise also takes advantage of our extended search; it's the 85th largest metro area in the United States. Boise covers 64 square miles, but the city may be best known for a 360-foot-by-160-foot patch of artificial grass known as the "Smurf Turf," the blue football gridiron used by the Boise State Broncos. "It's a good selling point," said Linda Alden, marketing director of the Boise Valley Economic Partnership. Another is Boise's scenery and climate as well as tolerable winters. "It's four seasons here but it's not arduous weather," she said. Alden says Boise has a diverse economy, and has proven to be an incubator for entrepreneurs, as evidenced by its high concentration of Russell 2000 companies. Boise actually scored well in virtually all metrics, and might have gotten closer to the top spot had it not been for the pace of its job losses during the past year. But it ranked third worst in that metric, losing more than 7.5 percent of its jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ahead of only Detroit and Phoenix. Had it not been for that, Boise would have finished second behind Des Moines. Alden says a top local firm, Micron Technology Inc., laid off 2,000 to 3,000 workers last year, and Boise suffered severe construction job losses with the housing downturn. 7. DENVER — 726 points: Another perennial top-10 finisher, Denver has slipped to seventh from third place last year. It was second in 2007. Working against the Mile-High City was the pace of job losses in the past year; it was in the bottom fifth in that metric. Denver lost 4.7 percent of its jobs. Without that statistic, Denver would have placed fourth. Denver continues to rank near the top in company concentration metrics, and did manage to post a decent unemployment score, which looks at three separate time periods. But its jobless rate for this year, though still below the national average, was markedly higher than the leaders. 8. SALT LAKE CITY — 723 points: After flirting with the top 10 the last two years, Utah's capital finally made it in the upper echelon, and it may be one to watch in coming years. By itself, the last year alone was a rough one for Salt Lake in terms of unemployment, as the metro region lost 4.4 percent of its jobs, putting it near the bottom fourth of the rankings. But Salt Lake's economy is steadily growing, and it's showing up in the numbers. It is continually climbing up the list in concentration of companies on a variety of metrics, and holding the line on unemployment, population growth and job growth over the last decade. The region and state are making concerted efforts to attract and grow business, says Michael Limon, business editor for the Salt Lake Tribune. "Our sense is that Utah, for whatever reason, is faring a little bit better than other regions," Limon said. "I think Utah has more than held its own." Much of it is due to continuous growth and building in the region. Salt Lake is completing a massive downtown revitalization project worth more than $1 billion, financed by the Church of Latter-day Saints, Limon says. Salt Lake's real GDP is growing at a brisk pace, putting it near the top fourth in that department. If it should grow a few more Fortune 1000 companies and add some S&P 500 firms, the city will be a top contender in years to come. 9. DALLAS-FORT WORTH, TEXAS — 713 points: Dallas is almost in the same spot it was last year, when it tied for eighth place with Nashville. Dallas-Fort Worth has a high concentration of large and growing companies, as evidenced by its scores under various metrics, but the overall number of business establishments as measured by the Census Bureau puts the region in the bottom third. Dallas-Fort Worth also was near the bottom third on its unemployment score. The region did a better job of retaining jobs over the past year than most, however, and from the looks of its population figures, continues to be a vibrant and growing economy. 10. BRIDGEPORT, CONN. — 709 points: Another new addition to the top 10, this metropolis includes the cities of Greenwich, Stamford and Norwalk. Bridgeport made it into the top 10 not only because the MarketWatch search included cities of its size, but also because we separated it from the New York metropolitan area this year. The region, known as Fairfield County, is inextricably linked to New York, which is roughly 45 minutes away by train. When New York faced its fiscal crisis in the 1970s, a number of firms fled to safer ground, but didn't want to stray too far, said Lisa Mercurio, director of information exchange operations for the Business Council of Fairfield County. So several Fortune 1000 firms came to the region, many in the financial services sector. It's also home to a number of high-profile firms, most notably giant conglomerate General Electric Co. as well as copying icon Xerox Corp. "Our critical connection to New York is what has helped us grow," Mercurio said. "We relate to each other as one." Still, the Census Bureau recognizes the region as its own metro area. Its company concentration score was tops among all cities, as it placed first or second in four of the five metrics checked. Conversely, population and GDP numbers show it's not as vibrant and growing as other metro economies, as it placed in the bottom fourth of both categories. Out of the top 10: Our expanded search ratcheted up the competition and ultimately displaced half of 2008's top 10 list. Gone from last year's top 10 are Richmond, Va., Charlotte, N.C., Columbus, Ohio, Nashville, Tenn. and San Francisco. Most of them didn't fall too far. Richmond, Nashville, Charlotte and Columbus all still made the top 20. But last year's 10th-place finisher, San Francisco, plunged to 40th on the list for the same reason Bridgeport was able to take its spot: it lost part of its metro area in this year's survey. The Census Bureau breaks out tech haven San Jose as its own metro area, and so San Francisco had to do without. In case you're wondering, San Jose finished 27th this year. ___ (c) 2009, MarketWatch.com Inc. Visit MarketWatch on the Web at http://www.marketwatch.com Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Merck to Buy Avecia’s Contract Manufacturing Biologics Business - Genetic Engineering News Posted: 17 Dec 2009 07:02 AM PST Dec 17 2009, 10:05 AM EST Merck to Buy Avecia's Contract Manufacturing Biologics BusinessGEN News Highlights Merck is to acquire Avecia's contract manufacturing biologics business, Avecia Biologics. The transaction, which is still subject to regulatory clearance, does not include Avecia's U.S.-based oligomedicines business. Financial details have not yet been disclosed. If ratified, the deal will be effected through Merck's affiliate, Merck Sharp & Dohme. Merck will acquire all of the assets of Avecia Biologics, including its process development and scale-up, manufacturing, quality, and business support operations in the U.K. The company said it plans to honor all Avecia Biologics' contractual obligations and will talk with its customers to determine ongoing and future biological process development and manufacturing requirements after the deal has been completed. "This transaction follows an initial strategic development and supply relationship with Avecia Biologics and will provide us with an operational facility staffed by an experienced workforce that is highly skilled in a broad portfolio of bioprocess systems," comments John T. McCubbins, senior vp of Merck's manufacturing division's biologics and therapeutic protein operations. Avecia Biologics offers process development and manufacturing services from preclinical to commercial scale. The company's technologies include the pAVEway™ platform for the production of therapeutic proteins. pAVEway is based on a set of protein expression plasmids, which the company claims can be customized to generate soluble, secreted, and insoluble expression. In March 2008 Avecia Biologics sold its biodefense vaccines business to PharmAthene for $40 million.
♦♦♦ Comment on this News:fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Dana Holding selling structural products business to Metalsa for up to ... - Chicago Tribune Posted: 16 Dec 2009 03:32 PM PST MAUMEE, Ohio (AP) — Auto parts maker Dana Holding Corp. said Wednesday it is selling its structural products business to Mexican chassis frame manufacturer Metalsa for up to $150 million. Metalsa, a subsidiary of Grupo Proeza, will assume control of 10 Dana manufacturing facilities that produce structural components for chassis and body structures in light and commercial vehicles, including accompanying administrative, technical and sales centers. The facilities are in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the U.S. and Venezuela. The transaction also includes Dana's interest in its Chassis Systems Limited joint venture in the United Kingdom with GKN Auto Structures. The agreement calls for Metalsa and affiliates to acquire the equity and assets of the global operations comprising Dana's structural products business from Dana for up to $150 million. The buyer will assume certain liabilities related to the business. The purchase price includes $130 million payable at closing. In connection with the completion of the deal, Dana expects to recognize a pretax loss in the range of $150 million to $180 million, most of which is expected to be recorded in the fourth quarter of this year. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals. The operations and assets being sold generated consolidated revenues of roughly $695 million in 2008. Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Yvonne King Burch, who launched her musical clan into show business as ... - WREG Posted: 17 Dec 2009 04:25 AM PST  FILE - Yvonne King Burch, seen in this 1964 file photo,who gained early fame as one of the singing King Sisters during the big band era before launching her entire extended musical clan into show business as the King Family, died in a Santa Barbara hospital Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009 where she was taken for injuries she suffered in a fall last week, according to her daughter, Tina Cole. She was 89. (AP Photo/File) (AP / December 17, 2009) SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Yvonne King Burch, who gained early fame as one of the singing King Sisters during the big band era before launching her entire extended musical clan into show business as the King Family, has died. She was 89. Burch died in a Santa Barbara hospital Sunday, where she was taken for injuries she suffered in a fall last week, said her daughter, Tina Cole. Burch was the matriarch of the King Family, a popular and enduring show business dynasty. She spent three decades singing and recording with the King Sisters, one of the most popular vocal groups of the 1930s and 1940s. A Grammy nomination for their Capitol Records album "Imagination" capped the group's career in 1959. In 1963, Burch conceived and produced a benefit concert with her sisters and three dozen relatives including brothers, husbands, wives, aunts, uncles and children that marked the debut of the King Family. The King Family appeared on "The Hollywood Palace" before headlining their own TV special. Strong fan response led to two variety series and 17 specials during the 1960s and 1970s. The family appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and performed with entertainment legends, including Bing Crosby and Dean Martin. Besides landing a national concert tour, the clan recorded five albums for Warner Brothers. The family showcased its multigenerational talent with performances by the King Cousins and the King Kiddies. The King Sisters performed and toured with big bands led by Horace Heidt and Artie Shaw before starting their own orchestra with Luise King's husband, Alvino Rey. They made it big in the 1930s and 1940s with jazzy, four-part harmonies on a series of hits, including "Mairzy Doats," ''Miss Otis Regrets" and "The Hut-Sut Song." Burch was married for 39 years to William Burch, a longtime radio and TV producer who died in 2005. She had two children with her first husband, musician Buddy Cole, who died in 1964. ___ Information from: The Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.  Text size fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| It's business as usual for Tiger Woods' in-laws, despite their own ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune Posted: 17 Dec 2009 08:14 AM PST STOCKHOLM - Thomas Nordegren's popular Swedish radio talk show on Wednesday included the usual discussion of current events, anecdotes from his time as a foreign correspondent and an interview with former ABBA member Benny Andersson. Absent, as usual, was any mention of his famous daughter and son-in-law — Elin Nordegren and Tiger Woods. While both of Nordegren's parents are celebrities in their own right in Sweden, they have managed to maintain a "business as usual" approach without facing anything like the horde of journalists and paparazzi scampering to get the latest details about Woods or his wife back in Florida. Elin's mother, Barbro Holmberg, a well-known Swedish politician and former migration minister, did get thrown into the media spotlight when she was rushed to the hospital from Woods' house outside Orlando this month. But when she returned to work this week as county governor of Gavleborg in central Sweden, the focus was not on Woods but about handling a crisis involving the closing of an LM Ericsson plant in her region. Both Holmberg and Thomas Nordegren repeatedly have refused to comment on their daughter's marriage ordeal, and it's a position most local media are politely respecting. Holmberg did find a Swedish tabloid journalist waiting outside her house when she went back to work this week, but simply gave her standard answer — "I don't talk to media about my private life" — before heading off to a meeting about the laid-off plant workers. Thomas Nordegren has, as expected, been asked by his listeners to comment on Woods' admitted infidelity, and briefly addressed the requests last week. "I do, of course, have an opinion about both the Internet gossip and media's treatment," he said. "But now I view it as my biggest task to support my daughter and my grandchildren. So to bring that up in my own program would be inappropriate and not in line with the programming rules. So enough about this." fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
Email
Print
Share
More GEN News Highlights
| You are subscribed to email updates from Business - Bing News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
