It's official: US is in recession

The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday. The NBER — a private, nonprofit research organization — says its group of academic economists who determine business cycles met and decided that the U.S. recession began last December. The White House commented on the news that a second downturn has officially begun on President George W. Bush's watch without ever actually using the word "recession," a term the president and his aides have repeatedly avoided. Instead, spokesman Tony Fratto remarked upon the fact that NBER "determines the start and end dates of business cycles."

Many economists believe the current downturn will last until the middle of 2009, and will be the most severe slump since the 1981-82 recession.

By one benchmark, a recession occurs whenever the gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, declines for two consecutive quarters. However, the NBER's dating committee uses broader and more precise measures. The GDP did contract by 0.2% at an annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2007. However, that drop was followed by a 0.9% rate of increase in the first quarter and a 2.8% spurt in the second quarter, when the economy was boosted by the distribution of millions of economic stimulus payments. However, employment, one of the measurements tracked by the NBER, has been falling since January.

The GDP turned negative again in the July-September quarter of this year, falling at an annual rate of 0.5%. Many economists believe the GDP is falling in the current quarter at an even sharper rate of 4%, and that the economy won't begin to rebound until late 2009.

McDuff leaving Growth Coalition

Michael McDuff is leaving his post as head of the Baton Rouge Growth Coalition and taking over as executive director of the State Licensing Board for Contractors. McDuff, who has been the leader of the Growth Coalition for four years, says he'll start with the contractors board on Dec. 15. But he plans to help the Growth Coalition through its annual Good Growth Awards banquet on March 5. "I'm not going to walk away from our membership or the development industry, because the construction industry is so involved in this," he says. Tom Cook, who will co-chair a search committee to find a new executive director, says the growth coalition was fortunate to have McDuff's leadership over the past few years. "I'm happy for him, but upset for us," he says. The organization hopes to pick a replacement by the spring; Cook says they need to find someone who knows developers and can work with government agencies. -- Timothy Boone

La. rises three spots on new-economy ranking

Louisiana was ranked 41st in a report that measures how states are faring in the new economy of knowledge- and innovation-based jobs. That was three spots higher than how the state fared in the 2007 State New Economy Index, released by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The index measures several factors, including knowledge jobs, globalization, economic dynamism, transformation to a digital economy and technological innovation capacity. Louisiana fared well on manufacturing and service exports and on immigration of knowledge workers, but fared poorly in the number of IT professionals, workforce education and fastest growing firms. Massachusetts was on top of the list for states doing the best job of preparing for the new economy, while Mississippi was ranked last. To see the report, click here

B.R. video game company set to introduce first Xbox title

A version of Nerjyzed Game Studios' Black College Football Experience will be released for the Xbox 360 in February, the first video game the company has made for the system. This is the first time a black-owned video game studio has produced a title for Xbox 360. "It's great to be a part of this," says Jacqueline Beauchamp, Nerjyzed president and CEO. "We're setting history once again." A version of Black College Football was released for PCs last year. The Xbox version was introduced over the weekend during the Bayou Classic festivities, and commercials for the game were aired during NBC's telecast of the Southern-Grambling football contest. Beauchamp says more events surrounding the game will be held between now and the end of February. Nerjyzed isn't planning to take it easy once Black College Football hits store shelves; the company plans to introduce a new title in April. "We're bringing this product out, but we have many more to follow," Beauchamp says. -- Timothy Boone

Jindal on the road again

After his highly publicized, pre-Thanksgiving trip to Iowa, where locals have been known to pick national leaders, Gov. Bobby Jindal heads off to another state this afternoon that’s just as entrenched in presidential history. Jindal will travel to Philadelphia to meet with President-elect Barack Obama. The Republican, however, will be sharing the limelight with other members of the National Governors Association. Obama requested that the group set up the meet-and-greet so he could discuss national economic challenges that are already trickling down to the state level. Jindal and others will meet with Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden in the historic Independence Hall, the nation’s birthplace that once housed the Liberty Bell and negotiations on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Jindal is expected to address Louisiana reporters from New Orleans International Airport this afternoon and upon his return Tuesday evening. -- Jeremy Alford

B.R. to lose DHL sort center as U.S. ops cease

Baton Rouge will lose its DHL Regional Sort Center as a result of the express delivery company's decision to exit the U.S. market, a move it announced Nov. 10. Beth Huber, spokeswoman for Ohio-based ABX Air Inc., an air cargo services provider that operates the Baton Rouge facility and whose biggest customer is DHL, says no timetable has been set for the closure of the Airline Highway facility, though DHL says it will cease air and ground operations in the U.S. market by the end of January. The Baton Rouge sort center opened in 2004 and employs roughly 25 people. It's one of 18 DHL sort centers around the country. DHL was expected to lose $1.5 billion for its U.S. operations this year. --Steve Clark

Days Inn sold for $3.6 million

The Days Inn on Rieger Road has been sold for nearly $3.6 million. The 101-room hotel was purchased last week by Dakshaben and Anilkumar Desai, who own the Wood Acres Motel on Airline Highway. Siegen Lane Investments was the seller.

Executive spotlight: Stephen David Beck

Stephen David Beck leads the AVATAR Initiative in Digital Media at LSU and heads up the school's Center for Computation & Technology. An award-winning composer, he's working to combine music and technology. "I am equally fascinated with science and technology, and in particular how music and science intersect in so many ways," he says. To read the full Q&A with Beck, click here.

Here is a sample question.

What is your prescription for life?

Listen to Mozart, Mahler or Messiaen and call me in the morning.

Upcoming events: Educational forums...Baton Rouge Green beautifying downtown...Arrigo to speak to Black Chamber...Downtown business group to hear from Futrell

Their take on the takeover: The East Baton Rouge Parish School System will hold a community forum Tuesday on the proposed takeover of 12 of its schools by the Louisiana Department of Education. The event will be held at 6 p.m. at Capitol Middle School.

Sprucing it up: Baton Rouge Green is hosting a ceremonial tree planting at 10 a.m. Tuesday to mark the beginning of the Re-Green Downtown Baton Rouge campaign and announce the program’s sponsor. The event will be held at the Shaw Center (or the Old State Capitol rotunda, if the weather is bad). Baton Rouge Green is also recruiting volunteers to help plant more than 170 trees downtown Saturday.

Tourism tales: Paul Arrigo, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, will be the guest speaker Friday at the Baton Rouge Black Chamber of Commerce's monthly executive breakfast. The event will be held at 7 a.m. at the McKinley Alumni Center; admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. To register, click here.

Futrell to speak to DBA: Mike Futrell, assistant chief administrative officer for the city-parish, will be the guest speaker at the Downtown Business Association’s membership meeting at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at 333 Bistreaux on Third Street.

Poll: Family, friends best thing about Thanksgiving

Fifty-one percent of Daily Report readers say their favorite thing about the Thanksgiving holiday is spending time with family and friends. Twenty-nine percent say the best thing about the holiday was getting time off from work, while 12% say eating a traditional turkey dinner is their favorite thing. Nearly 900 people participated in the survey.

Today's question: Which college football bowl is LSU headed to?

News roundup: IEM gets deal to help cities prepare for disasters...Mall parent gets a reprieve...Dump trailer maker lays off 40% of staff

New partnership: IEM is partnering to help 10 large U.S. cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., prepare for a catastrophic incident. The company is joining with Excalibur Associates under a contract with FEMA's National Preparedness Directorate to help the metro areas effectively handle a disaster. The value of the work was not disclosed, but IEM will help the cities with assessment of preparedness and strategic planning support.

General Growth gets extension: General Growth Properties, the second largest shopping mall owner in the U.S. and the owner of the Mall of Louisiana, has been granted a two-week extension on $900 million in mortgage loans. The company is trying to hold off filing for bankruptcy and negotiate longer-term extensions with lenders.

In the dumps: After laying off about 40% of its workers in November, a dump trailer manufacturer in Minden doesn't expect further cutbacks. Greg Hicks, president of Clement Industries Inc., says he hopes to be able to recall workers in February if things go well. The company is operating with fewer than 75 people after laying off 10 workers in early November and 45 shop workers two weeks later. Hicks says the company usually makes 10 dump bodies a week, but has cut that back to five.