Patent could mean billions for B.R. company

Future System Advisors has been awarded the first patent for a form of life insurance, a move that could generate billions of dollars in royalty payments for the company. "This is having a much bigger effect than I ever thought it would have," Future System President/CEO Jack Desmar says. Future System developed an actuarial model of life insurance, the first new type of policy since universal life came out in 1978, Desmar says. Since 1999, a patent has been pending, and Desmar says his company spent "millions" on launching the product. "We couldn't wait for a patent," he says. Three years ago, Future System licensed the actuarial model to the Reinsurance Group of America, one of the largest providers of life reinsurance in the world. One company has already started selling the actuarial insurance and numerous other companies are interested in the product, now that the patent has been awarded, Desmar says.—Timothy Boone

Decision not expected on St. James iron plant until early 2009

Nucor Corp. won't decide this week if it will build a $2 billion iron plant in either St. James Parish or Brazil, The Times-Picayune reports. There had been talk the company would make a decision by the end of the year on where to locate the facility, which would make pig iron, a product used in steel manufacturing. But the company is still waiting for the state to issue environmental permits for the plant. Stephen Moret, Louisiana Economic Development director, told the newspaper the permits weren't quite ready, and the state expects Nucor to make a decision early next year. Landing the plant has been a goal for the state, Gov. Bobby Jindal and Moret visited a Nucor plant in South Carolina over the summer and met with company officials. The plant would create 2,000 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs, with an average salary of $75,000.

Property assessments generate outrage in surrounding parishes—but not in EBR

Homeowners along the Interstate 10/Interstate 12 corridor are up in arms over soaring property tax assessments, which in some instances have increased by double and triple figures. But the increase in East Baton Rouge Parish has been considerably smaller, and there’s been hardly a reaction. Read the Business Report cover story here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.

La. ranked as least healthy state

Louisiana was once again ranked at the bottom of a survey that measures the health of all 50 states. The America's Health Ranking Report, which was released by United Health Foundation, says the state is hurt by a number of factors, including that nearly 23% of children live in poverty, 20% of the population is uninsured and there is a high rate of preventable hospitalizations. Strengths for Louisiana include strong public health funding and a low prevalence of binge drinking. Louisiana has never ranked higher than 48th on the report, which has been published annually for 19 years. For the second year in a row, Vermont was the healthiest state, followed by Hawaii. To see the full report, click here.

10/12 Weekly: Sales decrease in some parts of corridor

10/12 Weekly is out with reports that sales-tax revenues from car sales are decreasing in some areas along in the Interstate 10/Interstate 12 corridor. For example, in Lafayette, sales-tax revenues from car sales are down by 30% over the past four months. Also: there’s good news about holiday shopping, Gov. Bobby Jindal wants financial assistance from President-elect Barack Obama, Blueprint Louisiana looks ahead to the next Legislative session and North Oaks Health System has a new leader for its growing roll of clinics. To read the newsletter, click here.

Pennington researcher says liver could play role in signaling fat

A protein produced by the liver might send a signal to the metabolism that fat is on the way, according to scientists at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Andrew Butler, who led the Pennington team that wrote the report, says this could give scientists another weapon to use in the battle against obesity, since overweight mice who were given the protein ate less and lost weight. According to the report in Cell Metabolism, the protein andropin rises in response to high fat foods, falls after fasting and seems to play a role in governing the activity of metabolic genes. Studies in obese animals suggest that andropin plays a role in insulin response and preventing the buildup of fat in the liver.

Middle class tax cuts coming soon?

Remember all the talk during the presidential campaign about a middle-class tax cut? It could be showing up in your paycheck early next year, CNNMoney.com reports. President-elect Barack Obama hopes to have a massive economic stimulus plan waiting for his signature when he takes office on Jan. 20. It's expected to include hundreds of billions in spending on infrastructure and green energy, but he also made clear last week that he wants it to also feature tax cuts to lower- and middle-income Americans. To read the story, click here.

Financial roundup: Mortgage applications surge by record amount … GM chief says bankruptcy not an option for industry … Private sector sheds 250,000 jobs

112% increase: Mortgage applications surged by the largest amount on record last week as a new Federal Reserve program pushed interest rates down to their lowest level in more than 3 years, data from an industry group showed today. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended Nov. 28 soared a record 112.1% to 857.7, the highest reading since the week ended March 21 when it reached 965.9.

Effective retooling plan: A top executive of General Motors Corp. said today that bankruptcy isn't a viable option, as the United Auto Workers braced for a decision on contract concessions to the endangered Big Three. Fritz Henderson, president and chief operating officer of GM, said that choosing the bankruptcy route would further erode consumer confidence in the automaker and "we want them to be confident in their ability to buy our cars and trucks." Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co.—as well as GM—have ditched their corporate jets for hybrid cars and replaced vague pleas for federal help with detailed requests for as much as $34 billion in their second crack at persuading Congress to throw them a lifeline.

Cuts higher than expected: Private employers cut 250,000 jobs in November, the most in seven years, a report by a private employment service said today. ADP Employer Services also said it revised the number of jobs cut in October to 179,000 from the originally reported loss of 157,000. Economists had expected the ADP report to show 200,000 private-sector jobs were lost in November, according to the median of forecasts in a Reuters poll. The 24 forecasts ranged from a drop of 350,000 to a decline of 175,000.

Poll: Many don't care where LSU goes bowling

After a disappointing 7-5 season, 49% of Daily Report readers say they don’t care about LSU’s postseason bowl destination. Twenty percent of those who responded to an online poll say the Tigers will play in the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, while 19% say the team is headed to Memphis, Tenn., for the Liberty Bowl. Seven percent say LSU will go to Nashville, Tenn., for the Music City Bowl, 3% forecast a trip to Tampa, Fla., for the Outback Bowl and 2% are predicting a trip to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Nearly 2,150 people participated in the survey.

Today's question: What would be the best move to make Louisiana a healthier state?

News roundup: Classic car market faces downturn … Bally Total Fitness files for bankruptcy … IEM in line for San Diego port contract

Trouble all around for the auto industry: The demand for vintage cars is slowing down, The Wall Street Journal reports. Owners are trying to sell vehicles in a hurry to raise cash after losing jobs or taking big hits in the stock market. And buyers aren’t so quick to snap up cars at auctions. Since 2006, prices of models such as a 1965 Pontiac GTO have dropped as much as 13%, while Ferrari prices have fallen 20% to 30%. Read the story here.

Lean times: Bally Total Fitness has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than two years. The chain, which has nearly 350 locations across the U.S., has been hindered by debt and limited refinancing options. In the bankruptcy filing, Bally says it will either sell itself or reorganize under Chapter 11. Bally’s has one Baton Rouge location, in Perkins Rowe.

Helping the ports: IEM is on track to get a contract to provide security for the Port of San Diego. Port commissioners are set to vote next month on a measure to award IEM a contract for mitigation and trade resumption planning. IEM has worked with several ports, including Los Angeles, Charleston, S.C., and Lake Charles.

Are you the fittest exec in the Capital Region?

Business Report launches its first Fittest Execs competition, in which Capital Region business executives compete in four categories (men under 50, men over 50, women under 50 and women over 50). The competition is limited to C-level, president, vice president, owner, partner, executive director or retired executives of companies or corporations with more than five employees. Fitness appraisals will take place at Bally Total Fitness Baton Rouge through Friday, Dec. 19, with the results to be announced in the Jan. 13 issue of Business Report. The deadline to enter is Monday, Dec. 15. Click here to register or for more information.