lebexab.wordpress.com
Framing lumber prices, including the cost of yellow pine used in the have plummeted over thepast year, causingh mill slowdowns and increased buyinb among contractors despite a recent slowdown in new home Keith Grant, principal of Keith and David Granyt New Homes, says he doesn't think the price drop has been as significanrt here as it has elsewhere. "Lumber prices droppedx in August," Keith Grant says. "I was a significant decrease, but it still wasn'gt even 5%." But in this market, every littlre thing helps, he says, notingt the ongoing increasesin concrete, copper, steep and petroleum prices.
"Low framing lumber prices have helped keep buildingfcosts down, but other material costs are stil rising," Grant says. Prices of southern pine used in residentiap framing inthe Mid-South have droppecd 22% from $368 per thousand board feet in Decembetr 2005 to $286 per thousand boarsd feet in December 2006, according to the Souther Pine Composite prices provided by , a fores products information company. sold in heavy volumeds daily," says Shawn Church, editofr for Random Lengths. "Like all commoditiesa it tends tobe volatile, moving both up and down in an open tradingb environment." Jimmy Whittington, owner of in attributes the price drop to a slowdown in the U.S.
housing market as a wholew during the second partof 2006. "It's a resulty of having too muchproduct (framing lumber) for the demand," Whittington "Home sales have slowed but all in all the economy is not in bad Memphis has never reallyy been a boom or bust town he says. Framing lumber demand is drivem by the construction ofnew housing, and pricese have come down in the Mid-South market as a resul t of significant slowdowns in new home constructiojn on the West and East coasts.
Church says the December composite price for southern pine framing lumbetrof $286 per thousand boardc feet is a result of lumber slow reaction coming out of the recordx housing market years in 2003 and 2004. "The lumber industrt had geared up to produce coming off recor d years just as the marke t started to fallin 2006," he "They didn't start making production corrections this year untipl prices fell to levels where they had to make productionh corrections." He says some lumber prices have fallenj to 10-year lows.
In mid to late Octobeer 2006 and intoNovemberd 2006, lumber mills began to cut back operations and slow he says, as the Southern Pine Composite pric e hit its low pointy for the year in October at $269 per thousand boar feet. Tim Wilson, president of Chamberlain & McCreery's residential says low framing prices have helped volumre home builders offset some of the increasedmaterialk costs. "It's helped, especially with what we're goingy through here in Shelby Counthy with the newseismic requirements," Wilson says.
"For a 2,800-square-foott house, you're looking at an added $3,000 to $4,000 per housde to comply with that, and a lot depends on the fronty elevation of the home and spacinbof windows." The Code Enforcemenft departments of Memphis and Shelby County, Bartlett and Collierville begam enforcing the updated seismic requirements for singld family homes in November 2006.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Aussies inject colour into a grey France - Sydney Morning Herald
humojo.wordpress.com
Sydney Morning Herald | Aussies inject colour into a grey France Sydney Morning Herald BENEATH leaden skies and intermittent rain, designer Akira Isogawa yesterday brought a burst of Australian colour and light to Paris during the city's Fashion Week. Vibrant bird and orchid prints and lightweight draped dresses in fuchsia, intense red ... |
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Washington has third-highest internet use in U.S. - New Mexico Business Weekly:
ikefageze.blogspot.com
behind only Alaska and New Hampshire, accordingy to information released Wednesday bythe U.S. Census. Accordin to the Census, Alaskaa has the highest rate ofinternet use, with 76.1 percentr of its residents having access to the internef at any location, followed by New Hampshire (74.6 and Washington (73.4 percent). Mississippi has the lowesg internet-usage rate (51.5 percent), followed by West Virginiaw (52.9 percent). The national average is 62.4 percen t The Census said that 75.7 percent of Washington residents have access to the internet at their which is third agaih behind NewHampshire (82.6) and Alaska percent, and well above the national averagwe of 67.1 percent.
“As access to high-speedr connections have becomemore prevalent, so too have the numbet of people that connect to the internet at Thom File, a statistician with the Censuse Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statisticws Division, said in a statementt Wednesday. Nationwide, internet use strongl correspondsto education. Eighty-seven percent of peoplwe 25 and older with acollegr bachelor’s degree used the interneyt in 2007, versus 74 percent for those with only some 49 percent for those with only a high schoolo diploma and 19 percent for those who didn't finish high school.
Among age groups 73 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds use the 56 percent of people 3to 17, and 35 percentf of people 65 and Among ethnic groups nationwide, 73 percentg of Asian Americans used the internet in 2007, 69 percent of whites, 51 perceng of blacks and 48 percent of Hispanics.
behind only Alaska and New Hampshire, accordingy to information released Wednesday bythe U.S. Census. Accordin to the Census, Alaskaa has the highest rate ofinternet use, with 76.1 percentr of its residents having access to the internef at any location, followed by New Hampshire (74.6 and Washington (73.4 percent). Mississippi has the lowesg internet-usage rate (51.5 percent), followed by West Virginiaw (52.9 percent). The national average is 62.4 percen t The Census said that 75.7 percent of Washington residents have access to the internet at their which is third agaih behind NewHampshire (82.6) and Alaska percent, and well above the national averagwe of 67.1 percent.
“As access to high-speedr connections have becomemore prevalent, so too have the numbet of people that connect to the internet at Thom File, a statistician with the Censuse Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statisticws Division, said in a statementt Wednesday. Nationwide, internet use strongl correspondsto education. Eighty-seven percent of peoplwe 25 and older with acollegr bachelor’s degree used the interneyt in 2007, versus 74 percent for those with only some 49 percent for those with only a high schoolo diploma and 19 percent for those who didn't finish high school.
Among age groups 73 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds use the 56 percent of people 3to 17, and 35 percentf of people 65 and Among ethnic groups nationwide, 73 percentg of Asian Americans used the internet in 2007, 69 percent of whites, 51 perceng of blacks and 48 percent of Hispanics.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Villa Rica-based Community Bank of West Georgia fails - Dayton Business Journal:
sucujovide.wordpress.com
No bidder was found for Community Bank’s operations — one branch in the Atlanta suburb and the bank will be The will mail depositors checks for their insured fundsnext week, according to a releas from the Georgia Department of Banking and Until then, depositors will not have accessz to their money via ATMs, checks or the bank’sd Web site. As of first quarter 2009, the bank had $182. 5 million in total The FDIC estimates $1.1 million in customer depositsare uninsured. Currentlyh the FDIC guarantees upto $250,000 in depositss per account.
Blairsville-based will act as the deposir agent for any federal funds customerds would normally receive from the bank viadirect deposit, including Social Security and Veterans’ payments. This is the seconrd seizure without a buyer in Georgia since the banking was . Stockbridge-based bank failed in Marcn 2009, and served as the deposiyt agent for federal money for customerz inthat deal. Community Bank, like a growing catalogh of failedGeorgia banks, gambled heavily on residentiakl real estate loans, and lost. The bank was created at the beginningw of the home buying andconstruction boom, in 2003.
As of firsgt quarter 2009, roughly one-third of the bank’as $129 million in total loans were in some stagesof delinquency, default or had becomee bank-owned foreclosures. By the time of the bank’s it had $27 million in foreclosed real estate onits $11 million in loans that appeared unlikelgy to be repaid and only $7.3 million in equit y capital to absorb losses. The bank’s Texasx Ratio — or a comparison of its loan problema to itsequity capital, an industryg metric created during the S&L Crisis to measurse banks’ health throughout Texas — was 294 percen at the end of firstf quarter 2009.
Most of the baker’s dozemn bank failures in Atlanta had Texas Ratios in excesd of300 percent, and is becominb a common indicator of banks likely to be seizerd by regulators. The failure is expectedf to costthe FDIC’s hard hit insurance fund $81 Developing...
No bidder was found for Community Bank’s operations — one branch in the Atlanta suburb and the bank will be The will mail depositors checks for their insured fundsnext week, according to a releas from the Georgia Department of Banking and Until then, depositors will not have accessz to their money via ATMs, checks or the bank’sd Web site. As of first quarter 2009, the bank had $182. 5 million in total The FDIC estimates $1.1 million in customer depositsare uninsured. Currentlyh the FDIC guarantees upto $250,000 in depositss per account.
Blairsville-based will act as the deposir agent for any federal funds customerds would normally receive from the bank viadirect deposit, including Social Security and Veterans’ payments. This is the seconrd seizure without a buyer in Georgia since the banking was . Stockbridge-based bank failed in Marcn 2009, and served as the deposiyt agent for federal money for customerz inthat deal. Community Bank, like a growing catalogh of failedGeorgia banks, gambled heavily on residentiakl real estate loans, and lost. The bank was created at the beginningw of the home buying andconstruction boom, in 2003.
As of firsgt quarter 2009, roughly one-third of the bank’as $129 million in total loans were in some stagesof delinquency, default or had becomee bank-owned foreclosures. By the time of the bank’s it had $27 million in foreclosed real estate onits $11 million in loans that appeared unlikelgy to be repaid and only $7.3 million in equit y capital to absorb losses. The bank’s Texasx Ratio — or a comparison of its loan problema to itsequity capital, an industryg metric created during the S&L Crisis to measurse banks’ health throughout Texas — was 294 percen at the end of firstf quarter 2009.
Most of the baker’s dozemn bank failures in Atlanta had Texas Ratios in excesd of300 percent, and is becominb a common indicator of banks likely to be seizerd by regulators. The failure is expectedf to costthe FDIC’s hard hit insurance fund $81 Developing...
Monday, September 24, 2012
Cutting noncore expenses can be at the heart of survival - Kansas City Business Journal:
jabire2389.blogspot.com
The COO of pharmacy distributor PBA Healtjh got a call from a fellow churcn member who did consultinh asking whether PBA could reducseits spending. Balcom was somewhat hesitant. “There’z always a reluctance on those who oversee thesee kinds of areas of the company to lift the hood and see howwell we’rr doing,” Balcom said. Nevertheless, the companyg hired to see whether it could cut somenoncoree spending. In packaging and freight alone, the companuy was spending $650,000 annually between and On the advice of the PBA recast its request for proposals to carriers on its Inthe end, the process spared PBA Healtyh $80,000 to $90,000 annually.
Balcom said those savings translate into twoto 2.5 full-timd equivalents in the office and four in the With companies quick to shed employeesx to save costs, noncore expense reduction has emerged as an alternatives to job cuts and compromising production and “When you save on you save on telecommunications that’s all savings that drops on your bottojm line and that does not adverseluy affect service,” Balcom At its simplest, noncore spendingg amounts to costs associated with runninyg a business that don’t involve direct personnel expenses or raw materials.
“Overhead” and “indirect are interchangeable terms commonly associatedr withnoncore expenses. On these costs can represent 15 percent ofa company’s expenditures, said Kris director of Expense Reduction Analysts in Leawood. “Here’sz the way I typically frame it: It is prettyu much anything that is important but supportivd ofthe business,” he said. “Fotr most of our clients, telecommunications do not definwa business, but they are important.” Information supplies, phones, computers, equipment maintenance and equipment such as copiers typicallh encompass noncore expenses.
Steve Cattron, managinb director of Expense Reduction Analysts, said CFOs and COOs ofte don’t know how many minute noncores expensesthey incur. “At the it’s surprising the lack of detailedr knowledge that exists about spending incertain categories,” he said. “Thegy don’t know how much they’re spending on small-packagd freight.” Kauss said that finding noncore expenses starts with identifying areas that supporta business’s outpurt but do not tie in directlyh with its product or A law firm, for would not find noncore expenses in its asseta — the lawyers — but perhaps in paper, copy equipment and insurance.
According to Expense Reductionm Analysts, payroll processing, janitorial supplies, office productsz and merchant card fees are among the categories that typicallgy can reveal the largest cost savingsby percentage, with each drawing average savings of more than 30 Many noncore expenses are tied up in contracts or lease with vendors and suppliers. Slicingy many noncore expenditures lies in renegotiatin those contracts beforethey elapse. Kauss and Cattron said significangt savings can be foundd in reworkinga contract. Furthermore, many vendor have grown amenable to requests to change the terms of theirf arrangementswith customers, fearful of losing business.
“Today’s suppliera don’t want to experience any more attritionn than theyalready have,” said Brian managing partner of spend management advisor y solutions for ’s Kansas City “Something is better than nothing, so even if suppliers have to get a 5 percentr reduction in unit costss across the board, that’s something they will give up to keep from losingh that business.
”
The COO of pharmacy distributor PBA Healtjh got a call from a fellow churcn member who did consultinh asking whether PBA could reducseits spending. Balcom was somewhat hesitant. “There’z always a reluctance on those who oversee thesee kinds of areas of the company to lift the hood and see howwell we’rr doing,” Balcom said. Nevertheless, the companyg hired to see whether it could cut somenoncoree spending. In packaging and freight alone, the companuy was spending $650,000 annually between and On the advice of the PBA recast its request for proposals to carriers on its Inthe end, the process spared PBA Healtyh $80,000 to $90,000 annually.
Balcom said those savings translate into twoto 2.5 full-timd equivalents in the office and four in the With companies quick to shed employeesx to save costs, noncore expense reduction has emerged as an alternatives to job cuts and compromising production and “When you save on you save on telecommunications that’s all savings that drops on your bottojm line and that does not adverseluy affect service,” Balcom At its simplest, noncore spendingg amounts to costs associated with runninyg a business that don’t involve direct personnel expenses or raw materials.
“Overhead” and “indirect are interchangeable terms commonly associatedr withnoncore expenses. On these costs can represent 15 percent ofa company’s expenditures, said Kris director of Expense Reduction Analysts in Leawood. “Here’sz the way I typically frame it: It is prettyu much anything that is important but supportivd ofthe business,” he said. “Fotr most of our clients, telecommunications do not definwa business, but they are important.” Information supplies, phones, computers, equipment maintenance and equipment such as copiers typicallh encompass noncore expenses.
Steve Cattron, managinb director of Expense Reduction Analysts, said CFOs and COOs ofte don’t know how many minute noncores expensesthey incur. “At the it’s surprising the lack of detailedr knowledge that exists about spending incertain categories,” he said. “Thegy don’t know how much they’re spending on small-packagd freight.” Kauss said that finding noncore expenses starts with identifying areas that supporta business’s outpurt but do not tie in directlyh with its product or A law firm, for would not find noncore expenses in its asseta — the lawyers — but perhaps in paper, copy equipment and insurance.
According to Expense Reductionm Analysts, payroll processing, janitorial supplies, office productsz and merchant card fees are among the categories that typicallgy can reveal the largest cost savingsby percentage, with each drawing average savings of more than 30 Many noncore expenses are tied up in contracts or lease with vendors and suppliers. Slicingy many noncore expenditures lies in renegotiatin those contracts beforethey elapse. Kauss and Cattron said significangt savings can be foundd in reworkinga contract. Furthermore, many vendor have grown amenable to requests to change the terms of theirf arrangementswith customers, fearful of losing business.
“Today’s suppliera don’t want to experience any more attritionn than theyalready have,” said Brian managing partner of spend management advisor y solutions for ’s Kansas City “Something is better than nothing, so even if suppliers have to get a 5 percentr reduction in unit costss across the board, that’s something they will give up to keep from losingh that business.
”
Saturday, September 22, 2012
New Cousins CEO encouraged about the market - Washington Business Journal:
azajir.wordpress.com
"This isn't going to be a V-shaped Gellerstedt said Monday in an intervie with AtlantaBusiness Chronicle. "But, we'ree going to see many opportunitiesto Gellerstedt, who joined Cousins in 2005, will take over for currentr CEO Tom Bell on July 1. who turns 60 this year, announced his retiremenyt to the companyMonday morning. Cousins is a storied Atlanta realestated developer. Founded in 1958 by Tom the company has been involved in some ofthe city's biggestr real estate projects, including the developmenr of the 55-story Bank of America Plazq in 1989. The market isn't providin the best timing for Gellerstedt.
He takes the helm during the nation's worst real estats downturn in at leasta generation. While the marketf is showing some signs of it has nosedived from its peak inearlgy 2007. Cousins has one of the four new officee towers under developmentin Buckhead, a part of the city that absorb s about 350,000 to 500,000 square feet of office spacew annually. Office vacancy in Buckhead could surpass 30 percenrt by this timenext year, some commercial real estatee developers and brokers predict. There are signs, however, that the marke t is picking up, Bell and Gellerstedt said.
For one, the gap betweenb what investors are willing to pay for propertiexs and what owners are willing to sell them for continues to While that spread was 400 basiw points a fewmonths ago, it is closee to 100 points today, Bell Also, banks have a clearer picturde of their capital levels than they did earlierd this year, and regulators are increasingly pushingt them to deal some of their real estatde owned assets. Cousins (NYSE: CUZ) , postingy net income of $164.2 million on $49 milliomn in revenue.
At the end of the the company’s portfolio of operational officew buildings was 90 percent its portfolio of operational retail centers was 83 percenrt leased and its operational industrial buildings were 40perceng leased. Gellerstedt began his career in 1978 as an estimatort and project managerwith , where he worked on the High Museukm and the AT&T Long Lines Building in At only 26, he founded , a Beerse subsidiary that focused on health-care Gellerstedt was later named Beersa chairman and CEO.
Cousins acquired his firm, the , in June and he joined the Gellerstedt was one of the architectsx of turning around the fortunes of One NinetyyOne Peachtree, the 50-story downtown tower Cousinsx acquired in 2006. The improvementsz at One Ninety One have symbolized a returnm to prosperity for many partsof downtown, its economic boosters say. Shortly after Gellerstedt joined One Ninety One had lost major tenantsand , and downtownj Atlanta was suffering from the exodusx of those firms and Gellerstedt was instrumental in the rejuvenation of One Ninetuy One, Bell said. "We basically gave this building to Bell said.
"I remembed when we were walking through the atriumn several years ago that there was nothingin there. It had this echo And I said to Larry, 'What are we goingy to about this echo?' And Larry came righyt back and said, ‘ I tell you what we're goin g to do. We're going to fill this atriujm and thisbuilding up.’ It's a totally different building today." One Ninety One was nearly 90 percentr leased at the beginning of the Cousins also landed the Italianm restaurant Il Mulino which has also helped to revive the atrium. "Ij spent most of my career Gellerstedt said. "I've alway s thought that One Ninety One is atimeless asset.
"
"This isn't going to be a V-shaped Gellerstedt said Monday in an intervie with AtlantaBusiness Chronicle. "But, we'ree going to see many opportunitiesto Gellerstedt, who joined Cousins in 2005, will take over for currentr CEO Tom Bell on July 1. who turns 60 this year, announced his retiremenyt to the companyMonday morning. Cousins is a storied Atlanta realestated developer. Founded in 1958 by Tom the company has been involved in some ofthe city's biggestr real estate projects, including the developmenr of the 55-story Bank of America Plazq in 1989. The market isn't providin the best timing for Gellerstedt.
He takes the helm during the nation's worst real estats downturn in at leasta generation. While the marketf is showing some signs of it has nosedived from its peak inearlgy 2007. Cousins has one of the four new officee towers under developmentin Buckhead, a part of the city that absorb s about 350,000 to 500,000 square feet of office spacew annually. Office vacancy in Buckhead could surpass 30 percenrt by this timenext year, some commercial real estatee developers and brokers predict. There are signs, however, that the marke t is picking up, Bell and Gellerstedt said.
For one, the gap betweenb what investors are willing to pay for propertiexs and what owners are willing to sell them for continues to While that spread was 400 basiw points a fewmonths ago, it is closee to 100 points today, Bell Also, banks have a clearer picturde of their capital levels than they did earlierd this year, and regulators are increasingly pushingt them to deal some of their real estatde owned assets. Cousins (NYSE: CUZ) , postingy net income of $164.2 million on $49 milliomn in revenue.
At the end of the the company’s portfolio of operational officew buildings was 90 percent its portfolio of operational retail centers was 83 percenrt leased and its operational industrial buildings were 40perceng leased. Gellerstedt began his career in 1978 as an estimatort and project managerwith , where he worked on the High Museukm and the AT&T Long Lines Building in At only 26, he founded , a Beerse subsidiary that focused on health-care Gellerstedt was later named Beersa chairman and CEO.
Cousins acquired his firm, the , in June and he joined the Gellerstedt was one of the architectsx of turning around the fortunes of One NinetyyOne Peachtree, the 50-story downtown tower Cousinsx acquired in 2006. The improvementsz at One Ninety One have symbolized a returnm to prosperity for many partsof downtown, its economic boosters say. Shortly after Gellerstedt joined One Ninety One had lost major tenantsand , and downtownj Atlanta was suffering from the exodusx of those firms and Gellerstedt was instrumental in the rejuvenation of One Ninetuy One, Bell said. "We basically gave this building to Bell said.
"I remembed when we were walking through the atriumn several years ago that there was nothingin there. It had this echo And I said to Larry, 'What are we goingy to about this echo?' And Larry came righyt back and said, ‘ I tell you what we're goin g to do. We're going to fill this atriujm and thisbuilding up.’ It's a totally different building today." One Ninety One was nearly 90 percentr leased at the beginning of the Cousins also landed the Italianm restaurant Il Mulino which has also helped to revive the atrium. "Ij spent most of my career Gellerstedt said. "I've alway s thought that One Ninety One is atimeless asset.
"
Friday, September 21, 2012
Report: GM bankruptcy expected as early as next week - St. Louis Business Journal:
ycoguqi.wordpress.com
is expected to file bankruptcuy late next week and could get upto $30 billionn in additional federal bailout funds, according to a Fridayy report in the Washington Post. The newspapee quoted sources familiar with the discussionsw betweenGM (NYSE: GM) and Presidenft Barack Obama’s administration, and said the government is expected to steer the automaker toward filing either late next or in the first week of The investment of up to $30 billion is said to be somethinb that could change, but at that amounft it would bring the federakl government's investment in GM to nearly $45 billion. The governmenft would have a 50 percent stake ina new, more competitive GM.
A deal to take GM into bankruptcy comesx as the newspaper also quoted sourcesw in the industry as sayinhg could come as early asnext week. GM with the on Thursdauy for concessions to its labor contract as part of its plan to seek deals with its union and The talks with bondholders are believefd tobe continuing. Both GM and Chrysler have accepted billionsw in federal bailout funds and have announced a combinednearly 1,9090 dealerships would be cut as they trim their dealet franchise numbers and make cuts to their work forces.
is expected to file bankruptcuy late next week and could get upto $30 billionn in additional federal bailout funds, according to a Fridayy report in the Washington Post. The newspapee quoted sources familiar with the discussionsw betweenGM (NYSE: GM) and Presidenft Barack Obama’s administration, and said the government is expected to steer the automaker toward filing either late next or in the first week of The investment of up to $30 billion is said to be somethinb that could change, but at that amounft it would bring the federakl government's investment in GM to nearly $45 billion. The governmenft would have a 50 percent stake ina new, more competitive GM.
A deal to take GM into bankruptcy comesx as the newspaper also quoted sourcesw in the industry as sayinhg could come as early asnext week. GM with the on Thursdauy for concessions to its labor contract as part of its plan to seek deals with its union and The talks with bondholders are believefd tobe continuing. Both GM and Chrysler have accepted billionsw in federal bailout funds and have announced a combinednearly 1,9090 dealerships would be cut as they trim their dealet franchise numbers and make cuts to their work forces.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)