Thursday is Dump the Pump Day - Phoenix Business Journal:

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Thursday is the fourth annual Dump thePump day, a nationap effort designed to get people out of their cars and onto theif bicycles or public transportation. The Americanj Public Transit Association sponsors the and public transportation systems across the countrhyare participating. In South Florida, four public transir agencies are partnering together to promote the day: Broward County Transit, Miami-Dade Transit, Palm Tran, and South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.
“With gas pricesd increasing 33 percent since coupled with uncertaineconomic times, peoplse have been looking for ways to save and ridinfg public transportation is a greatt choice to make,” APTA President William Millar said in a news In Florida, the average price for a galloh of regular is $2.69. In South Florida, West Palm Beac has the highest priceat $2.78, followed by Miamoi at $2.76, and Fort Lauderdal e at $2.74 a according to AAA's fuel gaugde report. Last year 10.7 billion trip s were taken on public transportation in theUnited States. This was a 52-yeafr high, marking a modern ridership according tothe APTA.
Public transportation use is up 38 percenft since1995 – almost tripl e the growth rate of the population (14 Nationally, nearly 2.6 billion trips were taken on publicf transportation in the first quarter of this year. With local and stats revenue for public transportation drying up due to the many public transportation systems are being forced to raisee fares orcut services, Millar In South Florida Tri-Rail officials have been warninhg that service may be cut approximately in half if the statde fails to establish dedicated funding by Oct. 1. The threat to servicew comes after Tri-Rail set a record year for ridershiop growthin 2008.
“Raising fares and cutting servic drives people away from using public transit and is as America struggles tocreates jobs, cut greenhouse gases, and reduce our reliance on expensiv foreign oil,” Millar said. Just last South Florida’s congressional delegation sent a letter to the askinhg for dedicated fundingfor Tri-Rail to secure its long-term

Ford sales climb to highest level since July - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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But sales were down 24.2 percentg compared with May 2008, when the company sold 213,23u units. For the first five months of Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford (NYSE: F) sold 620,303 units, compared with 981,150 unit during the same periox ayear earlier, a 36.8 percent In a sign that buyers might be comingt back to the luxury vehicle market, Ford’es Lincoln division reported that it sold 8,566 units in May, a 2.2 percenft increase over May 2008, when it sold 8,365 units. Sales of Ford Explorers, made at the Louisville Assembly Planyt on FernValley Road, declinede 34.6 percent, to 5,315 unitsw from 8,122 units a year ago. Sales of the Mercury Mountaineer, also made at Louisville dropped 45.
2 percent, to 402 from 734 units a year Salesof F-Series pickup trucks, including Super Duty trucks made at the Kentuckg Truck Plant on Chamberlaij Lane, dropped 22.3 percent, to 33,381 from 42,973 units in May 2008. Sales of Ford Expeditioj SUVs, which began production at Kentucky Truck Plant in declined40 percent, to 3,150 units from 5,252 units a year earlier. Sales of the Lincolnb Navigator, also made at Kentucky Trucm Plant, dropped 40.6 percent, to 790 units from 1,329 unitsw a year earlier. Ford saw year-over-year gains in some of its car The companysold 19,786 Fusion sedansa in May, up 9.
4 percenr from the year-earlier period when it sold 18,088 Lincoln sold 1,553 Town Cars in May, up 103.3 percenyt from May 2008, when it sold 764 of the luxury vehicles. Ford’s Volvo division sold 590 of its S60 up 9 percent fromMay 2008, when it sold 542 Also Tuesday, Ford announced a summedr promotion to draw more consumers to Through June 30, the automaker will cover as much as three months of payments up to and its Ford Credit subsidiary will offer zero percenft financing on select Ford, Lincoln and Mercuryu vehicles.

Ernst & Young 2009 Florida Entrepreneur Of The Year winners celebrated - Sacramento Business Journal:

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Award recipients were announced at a gala event Thursda y night at the at An independent judging panel of regional academic and community leaders made the arelease said. West Central Floridaq winners were named infour categories. They included: Health services: Stephen F. founder and vice president of operations, Doctor’w Walk-In Clinic in Tampa • media and entertainment: Tony Little, president, CEO and in St. Petersburg • Scott Riley, CEO, • Tony DiBenedetto, CEO, Tribridge in Tampa The Entrepreneur Of The Year awardc recognizes efforts in business excellencd andcommunity improvement. There were five other honorees.
They includedc a lifetime achievement award forMichael J. Ward, president and CEO, (NYSE: CSX) in Jacksonville and Michaeo Murdoch, president and CEO of of Gulf Breezes inthe "emerging" category. Menderes president and CEO of in Pompanol Beach won inthe "retaipl & consumer services" category. In all, therre were nine honorees. Regional award recipients will be considered for theErnsty & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year 2009 nationap awards. Winners in numerous national as well as the overall national winner, will be announcee at the annual awards gala in Palm Calif., on Nov. 14, 2009.
It is the 23rd anniversarty ofthe program, which has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 135 cities in 50 Awards are given to entrepreneurs “who demonstratr extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financia performance and personal commitment to theitr businesses and communities,” a releaswe said. Founded and produced by Ernst Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awardsw are sponsored nationally by the and . In sponsors include Bowne, RFB Communications Group and Smart Business Network.

Loren Steffy: Lending credence to the 'Texas Miracle' - Houston Chronicle

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Loren Steffy: Lending credence to the 'Texas Miracle' Houston Chronicle Gov. Rick Perry's presidential bid hinges largely on the strength of the Texas economy, which, while far from miraculous in recent years, certainly shines against most other states. Perry has told voters that as ... and more »

Market Report on High Altitude Wind Energy - MarineLink

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Market Report on High Altitude Wind Energy MarineLink International renewable energy consultancy, GL Garrad Hassan, has issued the first market report which analyses the burgeoning new industry of High Altitude Wind Energy (HAWE). HAWE systems are designed to tap into the high velocity, ... and more »

As prices go up and up, demand 'dwindling' for paving companies - The Business Review (Albany):

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It has also put the squeeze on driveway who are contending with customers unwilling to pay skyrocketing prices for new blacktop attheir homes. "The volume of callse we get is still relatively the saidSteven Leto, co-owner of in Latham. "But when we writwe an estimate and they seethe prices, we're in a wait-and-seew situation." Over the past few the cost to excavate and rebuild a 50-foot-long, 20-foot-wid e driveway ranged from $2,100 to This year, it has gone up roughlhy 30 percent, ranging from $2,750 to $3,250, Leto The rapid price escalation at local asphal mixing plants means Leto Brothers and other pavers can only guaranteew estimates for two to four About half of the company's revenues are from residentialo contracts, which means there's less work for the 15 or so peoples employed there.
No one has been laid off, but the crewzs no longer work 60-hour weeks with overtime. Now it's 10-hour days. "Demand is definitel y dwindling," Leto said. Joseph K. Kelley, owner of in said he carries a letter from detailing the tonnage cost for blacktop when he meets withprospective Callanan, which is one of the major suppliers in the increased the price in mid-June for top-grade asphalt from $65 to $73 per ton. "The price is up so high I don't care if I do any more said Kelley, whose primary business is striping roadzs andparking lots, not paving. "The mode of the businesz is down," he said. "People are not spending money theway [they used to].
They'll let it go a couple years and see if itsettles out." For companiese that own a lot of parking lots, the higherd costs have forced them to cut back on the amount and type of repavingy they do. in Albany, for instance, spendas about $200,000 annually to repair or replace the parkin g lots at its 25 office buildings throughoutgthe region. Joseph vice president of asset managementat Picotte, said one option is to mill the existingt pavement and spread a new layer of blacktop, rathere than a deep excavation that wouls require spreading two layers. Miller said he's never experienceed such price volatility in the 15 year he has workedat Picotte.
He said preventive maintenancre will be even more important to prolongt the life ofparking lots. The volatility has also made it difficulgt for developers to know how much it will cost to builf new lots because pavingcompanies can't lock in their estimates for "You're at the mercy of the markeyt right now," said Charles Poe Jr., president of in a commercial builder. The company expects to constructr parking lots for up to 20 new buildings in the Capitak Region over the nextsix months.

Correspondent banking at CenterState produces growth opportunities - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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CenterState is opening a correspondent bankinyg and bond sales division by hirinv 17 bankers who formerlyu handled that businessfor . The new division, whichn officially launches this weekend when the workers become employeesof CenterState, will help establisn and strengthen relationships between CenterState (Nasdaq: CSFL) and small to medium-sizee financial institutions primarily in Florida, Georgia and but also throughout the southeasy United States. CenterState isn’t saying how much additiona revenue it expects to receive from the new butJames Antal, senior VP and CFO, said it should be profitabld in 2009.
While the income statemenr impact will berelatively small, perhaps only $200,009 or so a the potential growth prospects it offers are significant, said Samuel Caldwell, an analyst for “CenterState has done acquisitions in the past and woulde like to do so in the Caldwell said. The contacts that will develop betweeb CenterState and its correspondent bankintg clients could furtherthat goal. “Alabam a National had relationships with smalk banks inthe past, and when the smallp banks wanted to sell, Alabama Nationalp was their first choice,” Caldwell said.
CenterState, like most other financial institutionzsin Florida, has seen income shrink amid the toughb economy and the deterioration of the real estate marketr in the state. In the third quarter ended Sept. 30, the company postefd $761,000, or 6 cents a share, in net income, compared to $2 or 15 cents a share, in net incomre a year earlier. Net interest the biggest componentof revenue, was $10.4 million for the third quarter, down 4.8 perceny from the prior The new division will generate revenure for CenterState in three ways, Antal said.
The biggest sourced will be commissions earned frombond transactions, as banks use the CenterStatw operation to buy and sell fixed income securitiee such as municipal and U.S. treasury Banks use those types of investmentw to generate cash until they canmake loans. Othere revenue for CenterState will come from fees from the correspondentybanking business, as banks set up deposigt and checking accounts with CenterState and make loanws to cover short-term cash CenterState also will offer safekeeping and bond services that provide lower fees but “cement Antal said. (NYSE: RY) acquired Alabamza National for $1.6 billion in February.
The workers who staffe d the bond sales divisionstayed on, but RBC had simila r groups in other locations, and didn’t want the Antal said. “After evaluating the business, we determine that the correspondent banking group was nota long-terkm strategic fit for us,” said Jamir Mitchell, a spokeswoman for RBC. CenterStatwe used a “management lift-out,” hiring substantially all of the to create its newbusiness line. They’lol be based in Birmingham, Ala., in a leasesd location across the street from theie former office and will become employees of inWinte Haven, the holding company’s largest subsidiary bank.
STI) is active in correspondent banking, as are in which was known as The Bankers Bank until January, and the in Lake Mary. But the Alabams National group had a loyal followingt that CenterState expectsto keep, Antal said. CenterStats is looking to cement relationships that it hopes to carry over fromAlabamaa National’s business and add new relationships. The processd already is under way. CenterState reported $23 million in depositss of correspondent banks on its balance sheettfor Sept. 30.