American Tire Distributors to roll into bigger space - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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is tripling its warehouse space in the TampzBay area. The Huntersville, N.C.-based company signed a 10-yeat lease for roughly 147,000 square feet at the new in East saidRick Narkiewicz, who brokered the lease for building ownerf It's the biggest local lease deal so far this year and values at more than $17 million. American Tire's local employees should move into Building Ein June, Narkiewicz The center will serve as the distribution hub for deliveriew to retailers throughout central Florida. The compang claims it's the largest distributor of tires and tire products inNorthu America. Telephone calls to a company spokesman weren't returned by deadline.
Building E is the first Tampa area buildintg developedby Atlanta-based IDI, one of the largesgt industrial developers in the country with 119 milliomn square feet. IDI is nearing completion on a 385,619-square-fooy building at Madison Businesss Centerit hasn't yet leased. And it will starrt construction in July on its second locallbusiness park, the 301 Business a master-planned park in the East Tampa/Interstatd 75 industrial corridor north of the Madisonh Industrial Park site, near the intersection of interstates 4 and 75.
America n Tires' expansion shows that nationak companies realize how important the Bay area is tothei growth, said Narkiewicz, a first VP at Despit a marked slowdown in retail and officew leasing, he contends that Tampa's industrial markeft remains healthy. In last year's fourty quarter, the local marke experienced a spike in leasing activityfrom what's calles national-credit tenants, such as Americanb Tire, at record he said. Recent expansions includer Iron Mountain, Tire, Shaw Carpet, Prologix and Empire While anestimated 2.
1 million square feet was being built at year end in east the additional space gives those tenants choices for the firstt time in several years, Narkiewicz The overall industrial vacancy rate was 4.3 percent in the fourth according to CB Richards Ellis. In the East Tampas submarket, the rate was 3.6 percent and the averagde asking lease ratewas $6.75 a square foot. Researcbh Director Randy Smith agreed that the market remainecd relatively healthy in 2007 eventhougyh 1.5 million square feet was built during the year.
Smith projects that industrial rentap rates will increase anothe 2 percent to 3 percent in 2008 althougy demand will likely weaken in response to slowinf consumer spending and sluggisjeconomic growth. Statistics from show that companies were trying to find subleasr tenantsfor 261,795 square feet in Hillsborouguh County in the first two months of 2008, the highestg amount in five years. In comparison, 498,753 square feet of industrial sublease space hit the markeyt in 2002 followingthe Sept. 11, 2001, terroris attacks. Huntersville, N.C.-based American Tire Distributora was founded in 1935 with one storesin Lincolnton, N.C.
It had its firsf major expansion in 1985 when it bought Beach Tire Mart and addec five distribution centers in Florida and the In 2005, sold what was believeds to be a 70 percent, or $700 million, stakr in ATD to . At the time of the American Tire operated more than 70 distributiomn centers that carried four majodreplacement brands: , , Goodyear and . That helped grow American Tire from what was a regional playefr in the 1990s to anational distributor, the Daily Deal reported.

Balancing costs - South Florida Business Journal:

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One of those avenues is the live/work spacer option, a trend that is growing in San Some of those business owners say that living and working in the same dwelling does save expensesw andcommuting costs. Several projects have made theie way to the Alamo City to meetthe demand, includinb the Steel House Lofts in the historixc Peden Iron & Steel Building downtown, and live/work space at Pearo Brewery. Will Holshouser, an associate with San Antonio-basedd , says the live/worj space seems to mesh better in the downtowj areas of larger cities and areparticularl well-suited to certain industries, including certified publi c accountants, attorneys, architects and artists.
Chip a local architect, says the live/worm space concept was the perfect option for he and his wife sincew they have onlyone vehicle. Late last year, Hendersobn moved his home and his Contects Consultantsand Architects, into a unit at the newly completeed Pearl Brewery located at 306 E. Grayson. “j knew I wanted to be in this spac threeyears ago,” Henderson says. “The mixed-use look was I don’t have to leave every morning to go to Johnny Hernandez, owner of True Flavors, recently move into the Steel House He says the move has given him the conveniencd of living and working in downtown San for a reasonable cost.
True Flavors is a San Antonio-based catering company owned by Hernandez and his sisteerLeticia Hernandez. “A lot of my businessd happens downtown and a lot of my social circle are downtown so Ilove it,” he says. Hernandez says he actually has two units at SteelHouses Lofts, located at 1401 South Flores St., one for his business officde and the other as his personal residence. Henderson, meanwhils says combining his work and home has reduced his expensew in several areasincluding utilities, rent and But while the live/work space option does offer many financial advantage s to small-business owners, it can also create a few challengew to those owners looking for certaibn tax breaks, such as the home-office deduction, local tax experts say.
Live/worm spaces can make sense andsave money, but meetingh the requirements to write some of thos expenses off can be a bit says Jim McCutcheon, senior counsel with LLP. Accordin g to the (IRS), taxpayers who use a portiom of their home for businesss purposes may be able to take a home officee deduction if they meetcertain requirements. Expenses that may be deductedx include the business portion of realestatr taxes, mortgage interest, rent, insurance, painting, repairs and depreciation. “There are lots of people who wouldqualifyu (for the deduction), but don’t out of fear (of beinfg audited).
Then, there are those that don’ty qualify and take the deductioj anyway,” McCutcheon says. “It is a crazy In trying to qualify for the some of the problem occur because the owner may have a home office that they work out ofpart time, yet have an officr elsewhere. Or, they try to claimm a home office deduction for an area where both work dutie and personal timeare spent. For McCutcheon says, a dining room table that is used for familty meals and as a desk would likelyh be questioned byIRS officials.
McCutcheonn explains that some of thenew live/work spaceds might be questioned by the IRS in regardse to the home-office deduction since the spacesx are often lofts and thers are no walls to distinguish the two areas. He adds that with only one it can be difficult to prove the space is strictlytfor business. “It is toughg to show the space is used exclusivel y for business when there is no wallor door,” he “Otherwise, what is personal and what is businesxs tends to blend.
”

Merger propels food firm to top - Charlotte Business Journal:

http://nortemaar.org/thisisnortemaar.html
The deal makes Mountain Peoples Warehouse part of a companyu that has only one remaining rivaol for nationwide dominance ofits , which went public in November, is acquiringb Stow Mills Inc. of Keene, in a stock-for-stock deal. United issued 5 millionj new shares in exchange for 100 percent of Stow outstanding stock. United's stock closed Thursdayt at $20.75 a share. The mergerr must receive approval from shareholders and the FederalTradr Commission, but it's expected to closr Sept. 1.
The combined company would have saleaof $650 million and a payroll of almosy 2,000, said Michael Funk, founder and president of Mountain Peoples, and United's president and vice chairmanj of its board. Mountain Peoples Warehouse is a dominant naturao foods distributor on theWest Coast. United's othef original division, Cornucopia Natural Foods, is a strongt presence on the East Coast. The Stow Millzs acquisition gives United the Midwestand Mid-Atlantix as well. United was formed in Februaryg 1996 when Mountain People merged with the smaller CornucopiaNaturao Foods, based in Dayville, Conn. The two companiex now form the West Coast and East Coast divisionsof United.
Other, smaller divisions have been addefd as United has gone Mountain Peoples continues to be operateed outof Auburn, where Funk is Several of Mountain Peoples executives are on United's corporatr board. The fast-growing company has annual salesof $420 millio n and 1,300 employees. Its Auburn headquarters employsa 400 and isadding 100,00p0 square feet of warehouse "We're busting out of the seamds of our current facility," Funk said. Stow Mills, a privat company with $230 million in sales and 650 is the largest independent naturapl foods distributor inthe country. It has the distribution systenm in the Midwestand mid-Atlantic states that United lacked.
"It's an extremely strategic acquisition for Funk said. "We were in competition for yearxswith them. I thinjk both partners recognize this is inour long-terk mutual benefit. "This allows us to increas e buying power to service our national accountsmore completely. We thinl we'll be in an improved condition to continue toexpand nationally." Funk said he'sd "sure there will continue to be a few more" but declined to say whethefr United is already looking at other The deal puts United in the same ballparl as Tree of Life, a Saint Fla.-based subsidiary of Dutcbh conglomerate Bols Wassason.
Tree of Life reportedly has sales in the neighborhoofof $600 million. The United deal was a "consolidationh at the top," said Bob Scowcroft, executivde director of the Santa Cruz-based Organic Farming Research Foundation, an information resources firm for theorganiv industry. Stow Mills is one of the top five in the industruy and has a very good he said. Scowcroft said mergers in the industryt are wiping out the second tierof distributors, leaving just the giantsx -- United and Tree of Life -- and several smaller The small, independent companies will have to becomd more efficient and focus on service, taking on orders that are just too smalp for the big players, he Some in the industry think the companiew will eventually pass their savings onto "That could be really the good news in Scowcroft said.
The natural foods industrty is increasing by 15 percent a Funk said. It's not just health food storeds that have gotten into theact -- conventionaol supermarkets are selling more and more naturakl foods products. "More people are aware of diet and how it affectsa our health and are into he said. With the population aging, the industry will continue to grow, Funk

Name in the news - Pacific Daily News

steel roof

Name in the news Pacific Daily News Among his research interests are nonlinear dynamical systems, bifurcation phenomena, and computational simulation. He comes to the university from the Institute of Mathematics College of Science, University of the Philippines. ...

Bemis to buy Alcan Packaging Americas unit - Charlotte Business Journal:

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billion. Neenah-based Bemis, a manufacturer of flexible packaging and pressure sensitive materialesfor food, consumer products and other companies, said it is buyintg the Food Americas operations of Alcan from plc, an internationakl mining company. Bemis will acquire 23 Food America s flexible packaging facilities in theUnite States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and New The transaction includes Alcan facilities in Neenah, Menashwa and Boscobel, according to a Bemi spokeswoman. The 23 facilities produce flexible packaging for the food and beveragd industries and employabout 4,600 workers. For the year ende d Dec.
31, 2008, Chicago-based Alcan Packaginh Food Americas recorded net salesof $1.5 billiohn and adjusted earnings before expenses of approximately $166 million. "Both Bemis and Alcanb Packaginghave strong, collaborative relationships with renowneds food and consumer products customers," said Henryh Theisen, Bemis president and CEO. "We each have a long historyu of dedication to outstanding quality andmanufacturing excellence. In pooling our resources, we will diversify our existing technologies and product lines which will broadem our product offering and augment our technical The transaction willboost Bemis’s annual net salex 40 percent to approximately $5.
3 billion, with approximateluy 70 percent, up from 57 of total Bemis net sales coming from resilient food packaging. The additiob of Alcan's employees will increase the company'sa global work force to more than 20,000 employees at 84 manufacturingylocations worldwide. Bemis expects to achieve more than $65 milliojn in annual cost savings by the end of thesecondf year. Management intends to fund the purchase price with a combinationof $1 billiob in debt and $200 milliomn in equity. and are acting as financial adviserss to Bemis forthis transaction, whil LLP is acting as primary lega adviser to Bemis.

Azure Capital adds up $1.3 billion in 2008 deals - San Francisco Business Times:

http://safetypriority.com/consulting.html
has sold or helped sell three companies in whicnh it wasan early, major investor for nearl $1.3 billion. “We look prettt good,” said General Partner Mike who founded Azure just before the tech bubbled burst in 2000 with three partners who had workerd with him under famed Silicon Valley investment bankerrFrank Quattrone. Azure’s good fortunes come in a year that has seen the lowestr number of merger and acquisition dealsinvolvinh venture-backed companies this decade. The firm’z most recent score was this month, when acquire d Internet-based audio conferencing startup Vapps, of Hoboken, N.J., for $26.6 million in plus about $4.
4 million in promised performancer bonuses. The sale was relatively small, but it gave Azurs — Vapps’ largest shareholder — a 3.6-fold returnn in less than 18 months. Azure led a $2.5 millionj Series A financing in the company inAprik 2007. That deal paled in comparison tolast month’es purchase by of Bill Me Later, a services that enables Web shoppers to extend payment for productse for a fee, for $945 That deal provided an eight-times returnm for Azure, Bill Me Later’xs largest stockholder, which invested more than $20 Azure’s third 2008 exit was the January sale of , an ethernet aggregation company, to for about $300 Azure declined to say what it invested or what its returj was.
Kwatinetz founded Azure in 2000, with fellow research analyst Paul Weinstein and investment bankers Paul Ferri andCameron Lester, all former colleagues at , where they workef under Quattrone in his tech unit. (Quattrone was convicted in May 2004 on federal charges of obstruction of but that convictionwas overturned, and in 2006 the governmenf dropped the charges. None of Azure’s partners were accuseds of wrongdoing.) Kwatinetz says Quattrone’s tech unit, a “firm within a firm,” generated $1.
5 billionh in revenue a year after justfour Azure, however, did not start off on such a The partners were able to raisw $530 million in capital quickly, but at the time investora were throwing money at tech startups and valuations were Azure followed the crowd, made 20 investmentsa in its first year — and stumbled during the dot-com bomb of 2001. Several of its initial companies quickly sold or shut with no or very littler returnfor Azure. “We probably were overl y aggressive that first admits Kwatinetz. Before their first the partners changed direction and adopted a strategy that has definec theirpractice since.
They decidesd to slow down, doing only four to six deala a year. No longer woulr they pay exorbitant prices. They would focus on early stage investing when they could get a significantf percentageof companies, averaging 25 percent, and the abilituy to influence governance with one or two boarxd seats. And they would rely on their own research. While others were fleeing the tech Azure invested in Bill Me Later in late 2001 when the tech bubbl e was bursting and the company had no Another 2001 betwas , a Palo Alto developer of virtualizationm software, in which Azure invested $5 Numerous venture capital firms checked the compan out, but Azure was the only one that Kwatinetz said.
VMware was acquired by for $675 million in Decembeer 2003. This year, VMware will do about $1.8 billion in “It’s the largest software company builft in the last10 years,” Kwatinetz “We pick good companies.” General Partner Paul Weinstein, who sat on the boardsz of both Vapps and World Wide Packets, said that Azure’a partners were able to help Vapps changw its business model to providing an ongoing service instead of a product, and then introduced the companh to Citrix. Vapps is the first cash-ou from Azure’s $127 million second fund, raised in 2006.
With Worlr Wide Packets, originally a provider of broadband access Weinstein said the company was challenged afteer 2001 as the telecommunications industrycontracted severely. Azure’s partner s liked the company’s technology and took their ownershio stake from 5 to north of20 percent. A new executive team was recruited and World Wide strategy changed to focus on providing etherneftaggregation equipment. Then the company won customers suchas , and . In the curren economic doldrums Kwatinetz says he remembers a lesson from Invest steadily when the marketis low. “We’re certainl not walking away when valuations are more he said.
“Don’t stop investingt when the marketis

Awards program honoring Latino musicians goes national - Austin Business Journal:

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Demonstrating the growing strength of the Texa sHispanic market, an Austin-based Latino music awards show will receiv national air time this year. For the firs t time, “Premios Texas 2009” is airing nationally on Spanish-languange network Galavisión on Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. CT. Univision Galavisión’s parent company will also air the show in some ofits Austin-based KAKW Univision 62 producez the awards program. Luis vice president general manager ofUnivision 62, said getting national air time speaksa to the wide appeal of the show’s musica line up, as well as growing clout in the Latino musifc industry.
“The state of Texas and the Texae Hispanic market represent a large business opportunity for a lot of thesrerecord labels,” Patino said. “Thers is a lot of influence that Texaz has over themusic industry.” In its fiftnh year, the awards show is now national in This year’s show will feature bands and artists from around the as well as locap bands, such as Vallejo. The musiciansw represent various Latinmusicc genres, including pop, tropical, regional Mexican, rock and The award winners are chosen by Texa voters. A free pre-event concert on Aug. 12 is expected to draw abouty 5,000 people. The invite-only awarda program will take place at the Long Centeron Aug.
13, and attrac t about 2,500 people. The awardws show has been profitable for the Patino said, declining to disclose specific figures. Tecated Light is the event’s titlre sponsor for the second year inthe row. The progra m has also attracted Target, but Patino said that two major sponsore arestill pending. Given the sponsorship is not what the station woulfhave liked, but Patio believes it will end up about flat compareds to last year. Nevertheless, garnering national air time is proof positive that there is a demanxd for this typeof event, Patinko said. “I think that there was a heavy demancd to have this type of premium he said.
Patino hopes that the show will alsorais Univision’s profile in the Austin market. “Peoplde don’t realize that [Univision 62] is the No. 1 station in the Patino said. “This is a statementt on where Austinis going, where Austin is and the relevance of Spanish-languagee media.” Univision 62 nabbed the No. 1 spot for the 5 p.m. newscasy among 18-49 year olds for the entirer first halfof 2009, he As far as “Premios Texas” the station’s long-term goal is to expand its “It would be nice to continue to showcasw Austin. We are the Live Music Capital of the We want Austin to be the Live Music Capita l ofLatin Music,” Patinoo said.

California exports fall by 27% in April - Sacramento Business Journal:

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April marked the sixth consecutivse month of shrinking exportsfor California, and it was the worsft April in four years, according to figures compiled by the based on data released Wednesday morning by the . “Fard from revealing any evidence of an impendingeconomic recovery, California’se export trade nose-dived in Jock O’Connell, the UC Center’s international trade and economic s adviser, said in a news release. The Golden State’e exports plummeted by more than a 25 percent from export totals reported in same monthlast year, he noted. The valuer of California’s merchandise exports in Aprilototaled $9.25 billion, 25.5 percentf below the $12.
42 billion in goods the statde shipped abroad in April of last year. California’ws export trade began to deterioratelast November, and decreasedr by an average of abou t 20 percent during the first quarter of this year, O’Connell said in the “In April, we plumbed new depths,” O’Connell “These are the lowest California export numbersz for the month of April since California’s manufactured exports fell by 27.6 percent in while agricultural goods and other non-manufactured exportd declined by 27.9 percent. Re-exports of good s previously imported into the state were downby 15.2 O’Connell said.
The bleak export experiencse was evidentat California’s ports and The number of outbound loaded containers in April decreased by 18.3 percen t from the year earlied at the ports of Los Angeles and Long The Port of Oakland took less of a hit, with a drop of 4.1 he said. International air freight tonnage shrunkby 22.5 percent at whiler was off by 34.4 percent. Importers felt the pain alonh with exportersin April. The valur of foreign goods entering the United States through California declinedby 28.5 the UC Center Sacramento analysiw found.

Economy takes bite out of eateries - Dayton Business Journal:

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Local restaurants have been hit with a variety of cost increaseswthis year, from minimum wage increasez to fuel surcharges to rising health care costs. Whilee restaurants have absorbedthe blows, the slow down in discretionar spending may be a shot to the jaw that some Dayton-area operatorz can’t recover from. Josef Reif has seen bad timeds in the restaurantbusiness before, but never have so many different factors nibbled on his profit. “Wre have never had to fight so many obstaclesat once,” said Reif, owner of in “Every restaurant is feeling the pinch in a time like When discretionary dollars decrease, diners often ditch dining out first.
The decline already has played a part in localprestaurant closings, including the Lincolbn Park Grille in Kettering that is closing by the end of the The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index tells the same tale. A composite indexx that tracks the health and outlook ofthe U.S. restaurant the RPI is at its lowest poingt in the pastfive years. With a number above 100 indicating and belowindicating contraction, the index stoord at 96.7 in September, down 1.7 percen t from August. That index remained at more than 100 for much of the perioedfrom mid-2003 to mid-2007.
According to the 15 percent of restaurants expect to have higher sale in the nextsix months, down from 30 percenrt compared with September. And 50 percent of restaurants expect worss economic conditions in the nextsix months. Reif said his business is down aboug 15 percent from this timelast “A lot of customers’ wallets have the flu,” Reif Jay Haverstick, owner of in said his business also is down from last year, but his lossesx will be about a third of last year’ because of cost-cutting. Mike Leigh, general managetr for in Miamisburg and said business hasheld steady, but it isn’tt growing like it had been. “It’s not Leigh said.
“But when you have projectecd growth you’re not hitting, it starts to be a concern.” The original Chumpd location in Miamisburg, a family sports restaurant, had seen 10 percentt to 15 percent growth every year since but it is about even this year withlast year. To get customersx back in the restaurants are spending moreon advertising, adjusting prices and highlightin specials. Reif introduced a new “recession-proof” menu additiomn a few months back, which offers a three-course meal for $30. “Ifg you take $30 to Dorothy Lane Market, you can’t do that,” he said.
“And when you add in the hourds it takes toprepare it, you can practicallu eat for free.” TJ Chumps offerxs five items on its lunch menu for undefr $6 and has a buy one, get one half-of deal for entrees on Leigh said that deal started last year, but only recentlyt did people start to take advantagre of it. Leigh said advertising spending has increased from littld to nothing toabout $1,000 a month for both locations. Chumpxs is putting ads in coupon local newspapers and some direct marketing packetsfor businesses. Restaurantss also are looking at ways tocut costs.
Reif said he has focused on getting the best prices for his fresh produce andother

"It looked like Niagra Falls" - Albuquerque Express

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"It looked like Niagra Falls" Albuquerque Express ?It looked like Niagara Falls,? Bustos said. Two pipes burst in her master bathroom creating a waterfall through the bathroom floor, down into the kitchen ... and more »

Japanese buyer concerned about possible Queensland coal price spike - The Australian

http://www.simplykitchengarden.com/vegetables/25.html

Japanese buyer concerned about possible Queensland coal price spike The Australian ... but we could find some spot cargos, and we have no serious problem" with supplies, Chugoku executive vice-president Mitsuo Matsui said. ... and more »