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percent increase in filings in the for the Middl e District of Florida in the 12 months endedMarch 31, compare to the same period a year earlier. The increasee in bankruptcy filings in the Middle District of Florida outpacee the national increase inbankruptcy filings. bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009, were up 33.3 percent over bankruptcy filings forthe 12-month periox ending March 31, 2008, accordingb to statistics released by the administrative office of the U.S. Courts. In the Middlre District of Florida, there were 47,0r bankruptcy filings in the 12 months endedMarch 31, compared to 30,031 in the year endecd March 31, 2008.
There had been 18,017 bankruptcyt filings in the year endeeMarch 31, 2007. During the quarted ended March 31, thered were 13,332 total filings in the Middlew Districtof Florida, including 9,68u7 Chapter 7 filings, 127 Chapter 11 filings, and 3,513w Chapter 13 filings. There were 683 businesss bankruptcies filed in the quarter endesdMarch 31, including 507 businesses that soughty to liquidate through Chapter 7, and 116 that soughg to reorganize their debts through Chapterd 11. There also were a total of 12,649 non-business bankruptcies filed in the three months endedMarcj 31.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
McLagan ordered to pay $202K restitution - The Business Review (Albany):
grachevakautawil.blogspot.com
McLagan, 56, who was once a nationallyh known award-winning builder, was ordered to pay $202,000 restitution in monthly installments and servr fiveyears probation. He was sentencef in Saratoga County Court on Tuesday after he to multiple grand larceny and petty larceny charges in May for stealing from home buyersw and subcontractorson high-end homes in Saratogaz Springs and Stillwater. “Hr fell upon hard took on too much work and overextended himself,” said E.
Stewartr Jones, the Troy criminalo lawyer who represented Problems arose as the housingf market collapsed and McLagan began using home buyer deposits to pay for work on unrelated projectse and to pay off unrelatedr business andpersonal debts, said Saratoga County Districf Attorney James A. Murphy III. The builder was arrested in February 2008 and againlast November. He pleadesd guilty to two felony grand larceny charges and two misdemeanoe petty larceny charges in SaratogaqCounty Court. Murphy said he was pleasedd withthe sentence, because it will alloe McLagan to work so he can repay subcontractors who are owed That debt is to be repaird in installments.
McLagan also was orderee to repay $130,000 to home buyers who made downpayments for homesd that McLagan didnot complete. That case was handledr by a special prosecutor. Jones said McLagamn currently is working forother builders, but he expects him to staryt working on his own again. “I would stay I am sure he is going to get back in the game very soon,” Jones said.
McLagan, 56, who was once a nationallyh known award-winning builder, was ordered to pay $202,000 restitution in monthly installments and servr fiveyears probation. He was sentencef in Saratoga County Court on Tuesday after he to multiple grand larceny and petty larceny charges in May for stealing from home buyersw and subcontractorson high-end homes in Saratogaz Springs and Stillwater. “Hr fell upon hard took on too much work and overextended himself,” said E.
Stewartr Jones, the Troy criminalo lawyer who represented Problems arose as the housingf market collapsed and McLagan began using home buyer deposits to pay for work on unrelated projectse and to pay off unrelatedr business andpersonal debts, said Saratoga County Districf Attorney James A. Murphy III. The builder was arrested in February 2008 and againlast November. He pleadesd guilty to two felony grand larceny charges and two misdemeanoe petty larceny charges in SaratogaqCounty Court. Murphy said he was pleasedd withthe sentence, because it will alloe McLagan to work so he can repay subcontractors who are owed That debt is to be repaird in installments.
McLagan also was orderee to repay $130,000 to home buyers who made downpayments for homesd that McLagan didnot complete. That case was handledr by a special prosecutor. Jones said McLagamn currently is working forother builders, but he expects him to staryt working on his own again. “I would stay I am sure he is going to get back in the game very soon,” Jones said.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Supreme Court rules that states can investigate nationally chartered banks - Kansas City Business Journal:
ofycagvezi.blogspot.com
The case, Cuomo vs. , stems from a New York stat e investigation that sought information from national banks abou t potential discriminatory banking practices that violaterd NewYork law. The federal bankingb regulator, the , objected to the requests by New Yorkstatd officials, eventually siding with a suit brought by , which argued that the statse had no jurisdiction. The investigation was starteed in 2005by then-New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer and continuex by current Attorney Generao Andrew Cuomo. They both argued that being regulated by the federapgovernment doesn’t give a bank immunityh from violating state laws.
Consumer groups supported Cuomo’s position because state officials tend to be more active indefendin consumers. Banking groups are displeased. “We are worried abouft the effect that this ruling coulr have onthe markets,” said Rich Whiting, executive directorf of the . The decision could createe a patchwork of state laws at the cost of efficiencie s of thenational market, he said. “Cuomo vs. Clearinvg House Association hinders the ability of financial service s firms from conducting business in the United Whiting said. “Even worse, it will caus e confusion for consumers, especially those who move from statsto state.
”
The case, Cuomo vs. , stems from a New York stat e investigation that sought information from national banks abou t potential discriminatory banking practices that violaterd NewYork law. The federal bankingb regulator, the , objected to the requests by New Yorkstatd officials, eventually siding with a suit brought by , which argued that the statse had no jurisdiction. The investigation was starteed in 2005by then-New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer and continuex by current Attorney Generao Andrew Cuomo. They both argued that being regulated by the federapgovernment doesn’t give a bank immunityh from violating state laws.
Consumer groups supported Cuomo’s position because state officials tend to be more active indefendin consumers. Banking groups are displeased. “We are worried abouft the effect that this ruling coulr have onthe markets,” said Rich Whiting, executive directorf of the . The decision could createe a patchwork of state laws at the cost of efficiencie s of thenational market, he said. “Cuomo vs. Clearinvg House Association hinders the ability of financial service s firms from conducting business in the United Whiting said. “Even worse, it will caus e confusion for consumers, especially those who move from statsto state.
”
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Get hip to social media or lose customers - Jacksonville Business Journal:
http://www.sexingthepolitical.org/2003/2003/one/pregnancy.html
Having an informative Web siteor blog, especiall y one with interesting or useful videos, makews one’s business more likely to be found not only in a Googlwe search, but also on sites such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, even via Twitter. People share both good and bad experienced abouta company, product or service with their onlines friends. And if their friends ask for a they share thatas well. In order for businesses to be more successful usingsocial media, they have to get over the mindset. The right way to spread a company’s message on socialp media sites is to see it less as mass marketinfg and more asa one-on-one conversation.
“Thew problem is they go on all thesre sites and start marketing to everyone and putting ads outther [when] people don’t want to be marketex to,” said Nelson Bruton, vice president of . “You must make your message relevantto them. If they see any direcr marketing messageand there’s no value to they’re going to ignorew it. They may even delete you as a friend. “Makse sure you get involved [and] encourage conversations or commente andactively participate. Participation is the key It’s one thing to share informatioh about a product or service and have a few onlinee friends pass alongthe information.
It’s quite anothee for that information togo viral, where it’sw shared by thousands of people. “Everyone wants somethinbg to goviral that’s a given as social media have evolved and more and more brandsx are looking at socialk media” as a way to reach consumers, said Jalali founder and CEO of , which has an onlinde community of contributors who use social media to help businessees get their message out. Yovia uses what it callds a “Social Velocity Engine” to predicft whether a campaign willgo viral.
“We can predict if any campaign will go viral or not and give you a rougn approximation of what the viral community will be and if thersis none, what you need to change,” Hartmanm said. “We may not be able to say you’llk get X million number of views, but we can say this is what [the will be.” Yovia does this by breaking a campaign up intofour “the four C’s” — content, community and conversion. “The best kind of content is something the person wrote Hartman said. As for connections, “we are not interesteds in how many friends, but rather the collective sphere of influence ofthose friends.
“Communitg is a measure of discussion. If there’as no discussion, there’s no Conversion is the most overlooked aspect of any We knowthat two-thirds of peopled buy [based on a] referraol if you hear about something from someoner you know and trust. Your peers tell you what’sa important. [So] how do we get them talking in a way our message is associated with that This doesn’t mean every campaign will go but it can increase a campaign’s reach. “If you are just tryingt to come up with aviralk campaign, it probably won’t work, but it will help them understanf and spread the word about the brand,” Hartmabn said.
“We are not looking at the old modelo where you send an advertising messag e to a million people and get a 1percent response. We want to send the messagew to the right people and get a 100percentt response.” Yovia also offers free weekly training classeds at its office in Atlantidc Beach to help business owners learn how to use sociaol media, which can be particularly usefulk for those who aren’ft quite up to speed on the technology. “I’m 49 yearxs old; my kids know more about that than I saidDavid McCormick, president of . “With LinkedIn and Facebooj and Twitter, I was interested in learningv how theytie together.
Social media are changinvg the way people are marketing becaus e it isby word-of-mouth and that has more than traditional advertising.
Having an informative Web siteor blog, especiall y one with interesting or useful videos, makews one’s business more likely to be found not only in a Googlwe search, but also on sites such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, even via Twitter. People share both good and bad experienced abouta company, product or service with their onlines friends. And if their friends ask for a they share thatas well. In order for businesses to be more successful usingsocial media, they have to get over the mindset. The right way to spread a company’s message on socialp media sites is to see it less as mass marketinfg and more asa one-on-one conversation.
“Thew problem is they go on all thesre sites and start marketing to everyone and putting ads outther [when] people don’t want to be marketex to,” said Nelson Bruton, vice president of . “You must make your message relevantto them. If they see any direcr marketing messageand there’s no value to they’re going to ignorew it. They may even delete you as a friend. “Makse sure you get involved [and] encourage conversations or commente andactively participate. Participation is the key It’s one thing to share informatioh about a product or service and have a few onlinee friends pass alongthe information.
It’s quite anothee for that information togo viral, where it’sw shared by thousands of people. “Everyone wants somethinbg to goviral that’s a given as social media have evolved and more and more brandsx are looking at socialk media” as a way to reach consumers, said Jalali founder and CEO of , which has an onlinde community of contributors who use social media to help businessees get their message out. Yovia uses what it callds a “Social Velocity Engine” to predicft whether a campaign willgo viral.
“We can predict if any campaign will go viral or not and give you a rougn approximation of what the viral community will be and if thersis none, what you need to change,” Hartmanm said. “We may not be able to say you’llk get X million number of views, but we can say this is what [the will be.” Yovia does this by breaking a campaign up intofour “the four C’s” — content, community and conversion. “The best kind of content is something the person wrote Hartman said. As for connections, “we are not interesteds in how many friends, but rather the collective sphere of influence ofthose friends.
“Communitg is a measure of discussion. If there’as no discussion, there’s no Conversion is the most overlooked aspect of any We knowthat two-thirds of peopled buy [based on a] referraol if you hear about something from someoner you know and trust. Your peers tell you what’sa important. [So] how do we get them talking in a way our message is associated with that This doesn’t mean every campaign will go but it can increase a campaign’s reach. “If you are just tryingt to come up with aviralk campaign, it probably won’t work, but it will help them understanf and spread the word about the brand,” Hartmabn said.
“We are not looking at the old modelo where you send an advertising messag e to a million people and get a 1percent response. We want to send the messagew to the right people and get a 100percentt response.” Yovia also offers free weekly training classeds at its office in Atlantidc Beach to help business owners learn how to use sociaol media, which can be particularly usefulk for those who aren’ft quite up to speed on the technology. “I’m 49 yearxs old; my kids know more about that than I saidDavid McCormick, president of . “With LinkedIn and Facebooj and Twitter, I was interested in learningv how theytie together.
Social media are changinvg the way people are marketing becaus e it isby word-of-mouth and that has more than traditional advertising.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Real estate vets opening hardware store - Business First of Buffalo:
http://www.qzwhw.com/books/archive/bargaining-for-advantage.html
Jeff Pfeil and Deane Pfeil are opening later this summefr at 63Third St., the same addressz where they renovated the upper four floores into 19 luxury apartmentzs called The Conservatory. The husband-and-wife team -- who own the commercialk leasing and marketingfirm Inc. in Saratoga Springs -- say a hardwarew store is needed downtowbn to serve local businesses and residents who must now traveol miles away tobuy tools, equipment and othedr supplies. They know the frustration firsthand after doing two residential renovation projects inthe city, the Conservatoru and Powers Park Loftsa in north Troy. “Our constructionb staff was running all over to pick up the JeffPfeil said.
“We were spendinyg a lot of time driving to Lathanm and I was hauling a lot from in We thought, ‘Gee, there’s a void Trojan Hardware on Congress Street recently closed after 94 years in leaving downtown with no other hardware The closest is across the Hudson River in Watervliet or uptown near the town of Pfeil Hardware will be part of in Fort Wayne, the nation’s second largest hardwar co-operative. The store will be managed by Stevem Lesnewskiof Pittsfield, Mass., who has more than 25 yeard of experience in the hardward industry.
The 8,700-square-foot store will stock small appliances, fasteners, electrical and plumbinb supplies, Benjamin Moore paints and other It won’t sell lumber. The Pfeilds have been planning the store fora year. As part of theier research they visited hardware stores in colleger towns and large cities to see what kinds of productsdcustomers need. They also searched hard for someone to managethe “The decision wasn’t final until we foun the right person,” Pfeipl said. The Pfeils have been in the commerciapl real estate and development businesw for more than20 years, but this will be the firstg time they will own a store. There’s a reasomn for that.
“Because of all the years we worked with retailersa very closely we have a pretty thoroughh understandingof retail, that’e probably why we never went into Jeff Pfeil said. “It’s sort of a but retail is a lot ofhard work, long hour s and all the things that come with Still, they knew from personal experiencs a hardware store is needed and were encouraged by the resultds of their marketing studies. Finding a seasoned store managet wasalso critical. Mayor Harryy Tutunjian cheered the announcement aboutthe “Jeff and Deane Pfeil have a record of successx in Troy and I am sure that this new venturwe will succeed as well,” Tutunjianb said.
“The residents of Troy will benefig from having a well stockef urban hardware store in the heart of the The opening ofPfeil Hardware, whichn is tentatively set for will return retailing to a downtownb building that had long servedd as the home of Stanley’s departmengt store. The building sat emptg for years before the Pfeils bought it and converted the upper floors into 19 luxury apartments they call The All but two of the apartment s were occupied as ofJuly 1. The Pfeilw declined to say how much they spenyin start-up costs for the hardware Nor did they want to say how much they coulc have received per square foot had they leased the first floor space to another tenant.
Lease rates in downtown Troy were $10 to $20 per square foot as of the fourthy quarterof 2008, according to CB Richards Ellis/Albany.
Jeff Pfeil and Deane Pfeil are opening later this summefr at 63Third St., the same addressz where they renovated the upper four floores into 19 luxury apartmentzs called The Conservatory. The husband-and-wife team -- who own the commercialk leasing and marketingfirm Inc. in Saratoga Springs -- say a hardwarew store is needed downtowbn to serve local businesses and residents who must now traveol miles away tobuy tools, equipment and othedr supplies. They know the frustration firsthand after doing two residential renovation projects inthe city, the Conservatoru and Powers Park Loftsa in north Troy. “Our constructionb staff was running all over to pick up the JeffPfeil said.
“We were spendinyg a lot of time driving to Lathanm and I was hauling a lot from in We thought, ‘Gee, there’s a void Trojan Hardware on Congress Street recently closed after 94 years in leaving downtown with no other hardware The closest is across the Hudson River in Watervliet or uptown near the town of Pfeil Hardware will be part of in Fort Wayne, the nation’s second largest hardwar co-operative. The store will be managed by Stevem Lesnewskiof Pittsfield, Mass., who has more than 25 yeard of experience in the hardward industry.
The 8,700-square-foot store will stock small appliances, fasteners, electrical and plumbinb supplies, Benjamin Moore paints and other It won’t sell lumber. The Pfeilds have been planning the store fora year. As part of theier research they visited hardware stores in colleger towns and large cities to see what kinds of productsdcustomers need. They also searched hard for someone to managethe “The decision wasn’t final until we foun the right person,” Pfeipl said. The Pfeils have been in the commerciapl real estate and development businesw for more than20 years, but this will be the firstg time they will own a store. There’s a reasomn for that.
“Because of all the years we worked with retailersa very closely we have a pretty thoroughh understandingof retail, that’e probably why we never went into Jeff Pfeil said. “It’s sort of a but retail is a lot ofhard work, long hour s and all the things that come with Still, they knew from personal experiencs a hardware store is needed and were encouraged by the resultds of their marketing studies. Finding a seasoned store managet wasalso critical. Mayor Harryy Tutunjian cheered the announcement aboutthe “Jeff and Deane Pfeil have a record of successx in Troy and I am sure that this new venturwe will succeed as well,” Tutunjianb said.
“The residents of Troy will benefig from having a well stockef urban hardware store in the heart of the The opening ofPfeil Hardware, whichn is tentatively set for will return retailing to a downtownb building that had long servedd as the home of Stanley’s departmengt store. The building sat emptg for years before the Pfeils bought it and converted the upper floors into 19 luxury apartments they call The All but two of the apartment s were occupied as ofJuly 1. The Pfeilw declined to say how much they spenyin start-up costs for the hardware Nor did they want to say how much they coulc have received per square foot had they leased the first floor space to another tenant.
Lease rates in downtown Troy were $10 to $20 per square foot as of the fourthy quarterof 2008, according to CB Richards Ellis/Albany.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
WCI files reorganization plan - Houston Business Journal:
ejoxot.wordpress.com
Under the plan, senior secured lenders will received new first lien debt in the amounytof $450 million, which includes a $150 millionm payment-in-kind component and an initial 95 percent equityg stake in the reorganized company, WCI said in a news The remaining 5 percent would be shared by the company’xs unsecured creditors, which would begin to increasew when the new debt is fully Interim CEO David L. Fry said WCI’s goal is to emergw from Chapter 11 by thethird quarter. “Under the WCI will emerge as a deleverage d lifestyle community developer and land holding compant with the flexibility to navigate its businesds during these unprecedented times and he said.
Fry said the Sarasota-baseed company will continue to complete homes alreaduyunder construction, but has suspended all new home constructiomn activity in Florida.
Under the plan, senior secured lenders will received new first lien debt in the amounytof $450 million, which includes a $150 millionm payment-in-kind component and an initial 95 percent equityg stake in the reorganized company, WCI said in a news The remaining 5 percent would be shared by the company’xs unsecured creditors, which would begin to increasew when the new debt is fully Interim CEO David L. Fry said WCI’s goal is to emergw from Chapter 11 by thethird quarter. “Under the WCI will emerge as a deleverage d lifestyle community developer and land holding compant with the flexibility to navigate its businesds during these unprecedented times and he said.
Fry said the Sarasota-baseed company will continue to complete homes alreaduyunder construction, but has suspended all new home constructiomn activity in Florida.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Feds say Kauai man stole $16M in Ponzi scheme - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):
onoeuqedol1902.blogspot.com
David E. Ruskjer of Koloa was charged by a federao grand jury Wednesday for fraudulently raising the moneuy from approximately140 investors. Among the charges against Ruskjer aremail fraud, wire currency structuring and money The U.S. Attorney’s office alleges Ruskjefr ran an investment and loan program out of Koloa calledRuskjer & Associates and Dave’zs Investment/Loan Program, promising investorsd returns of 3 percent to 5 percengt per month. The alleged activities occurred betweenh September 2004 andDecember 2008. Ruskjedr allegedly used half ofthe $16 millionb for trading through TD Ameritrade but lost more than $2.
5 The government said “there was never sufficient money to support the 3 to 5 percent interest ratew he guaranteed his clients.” In classic Ponz i scheme fashion, Ruskjer allegedly used moneyg from new clients to pay earlier client s to convince them he was making money for When the government seized Ruskjer’s trading account and bank accounts last Dec. 11, he had a combinedr balance of $4.1 million.
Ruskjer is accusexd of using much of the monegy onpersonal expenses, including $528,458 on a condominiukm on Kauai, $29,000 on a Honda sedan and $10,000 on If convicted, he face up to 20 yearsd in prison for each of the 17 mail and wire fraue charges, and up to 10 years in prisonh for each of the 30 other charges. The case resulted from an Internall RevenueService investigation.
David E. Ruskjer of Koloa was charged by a federao grand jury Wednesday for fraudulently raising the moneuy from approximately140 investors. Among the charges against Ruskjer aremail fraud, wire currency structuring and money The U.S. Attorney’s office alleges Ruskjefr ran an investment and loan program out of Koloa calledRuskjer & Associates and Dave’zs Investment/Loan Program, promising investorsd returns of 3 percent to 5 percengt per month. The alleged activities occurred betweenh September 2004 andDecember 2008. Ruskjedr allegedly used half ofthe $16 millionb for trading through TD Ameritrade but lost more than $2.
5 The government said “there was never sufficient money to support the 3 to 5 percent interest ratew he guaranteed his clients.” In classic Ponz i scheme fashion, Ruskjer allegedly used moneyg from new clients to pay earlier client s to convince them he was making money for When the government seized Ruskjer’s trading account and bank accounts last Dec. 11, he had a combinedr balance of $4.1 million.
Ruskjer is accusexd of using much of the monegy onpersonal expenses, including $528,458 on a condominiukm on Kauai, $29,000 on a Honda sedan and $10,000 on If convicted, he face up to 20 yearsd in prison for each of the 17 mail and wire fraue charges, and up to 10 years in prisonh for each of the 30 other charges. The case resulted from an Internall RevenueService investigation.
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