Christmas shopping season heads into homestretch

Heading into the last weekend of shopping before the holiday, area retailers anticipate Christmas sales will be as good or slightly better than last year. Todd Denton, general manager of Mall of Louisiana, says shoppers have been crowding into the mall the last two weeks, especially on weekends. “We’re predicting as good or slightly better sales than last year,” he says. “If we also have a good week after Christmas, we’ll be in good shape.” At Mall at Cortana, Marketing Director Monique Hester says the shopping center sold more gift cards on Saturday than in the entire month. “From what we’re being told nationally about the tough economy, of course, we were worried our shoppers would respond the same way, but we’ve been pleased,” Hester says. Based on the steady traffic, she says sales could be comparable to last year. “Even with the economy, sales are still good,” says Cheryll Cook, manager of the Wal-Mart Supercenter at Cortana Place. “Everything is fine.” Denton and Hester say promotions and deep discounts are generating traffic and boosting sales. Top-selling items include apparel, electronics, accessories, video games, jewelry and toys. Jessica Elliott, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Retailers Association, says shoppers are buying more cautiously, but sales have not been as low as predicted. Retailers remain optimistic that overall holiday sales will be good in Louisiana, which has not been affected by the recession as much as other areas of the country, Elliott says.—Anna Thibodeaux

Domingue to announce state Senate run

Businessman Lee Domingue will formally announce this afternoon that he will run for the state Senate seat being vacated by Congressman-elect Bill Cassidy. Domingue, a Republican, has scheduled a news conference at the Old State Capitol. He is the founder of AppOne, a company that bridges independent auto dealers with lenders, and Cyrus International, a nonprofit foundation that combats international sex trafficking. Cassidy has not resigned from his Senate District 16 seat, so an official schedule for the election has not been finalized. But officials with Domingue's campaign say qualifying is tentatively scheduled for mid-January, with a primary election set for March 7 and a general election planned for April 4. Two other Republicans, state Rep. Erich Ponti and James Riley, had earlier announced plans to run for the Senate seat before dropping out.

Conservative think tank slams Louisiana lawyers

The Manhattan Institute, a conservative New York City think tank founded by former CIA director William Casey, takes aim at Louisiana’s legal system in a new report today, saying the state’s penchant for lawsuits stymies economic recovery. It cites a new U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform study that deems Louisiana the worst in the nation for its treatment of scientific and technical evidence, timeliness in ruling on summary judgment or dismissal, discovery process and judicial competence. The report points to some of Louisiana’s more colorful lawyers, including Russ Herman, who led the multibillion-dollar case against the tobacco industry and secured a $4.85 billion settlement against Merck over the prescription painkiller Vioxx. It also alleges three Louisiana public pension funds—chief among them the Teachers’ Retirement System—are among the five most litigious in the nation. To read the report, click here.—Penny Brown Font

Publisher: Illinois, this state feels your pain

The state of Illinois is taking a beating in the press, thanks to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's reported attempts to sell off the U.S. Senate seat that belonged to President-elect Barack Obama. This comes right after former Illinois Gov. George Ryan was sent to jail for graft. Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says it wasn't that long ago that Louisiana was in the same boat, with political commentators and late-night comedians making fun of the foibles by our elected officials. "Illinois is welcome to have all the jokes, laughs and smirks that have dogged Louisiana for far too long. Having our state admired and respected for the caliber and character of our governor—and many states are even jealous—feels good," he says. "Real good." Plus: No bailout for the Big Three, congratulations to Congressman-elect Bill Cassidy, big races return to State Capitol Raceway and Daily Report doubles up. Read the column here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.

Business Awards and Hall of Fame nominees sought

Time is winding down to submit nominations for the 27th annual Business Awards and Hall of Fame banquet. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 31. The event, scheduled for April 23, is presented annually by Business Report and Junior Achievement. The categories include Business Hall of Fame Laureate (for a lifetime of achievement), Company of the Year (under 100 employees), Company of the Year (100 or more employees), Young Business Person of the Year (40 or under) and Business Person of the Year. To nominate your company, a client, vendor or friend, go to batonrouge.ja.org or call 928-7008.

BRAC releases paper on what it would take to bolster Pennington

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber has issued a report, outlining what steps need to be taken over the next decade to make Pennington Biomedical Research Center one of the country's top research facilities. The report recommends increasing federal and private research funding by 300%, doubling the size of the research faculty and expanding the portfolio of patents and start up companies based on Pennington research. Adam Knapp, BRAC president and CEO, says this is the first detailed report of Pennington's strengths and potential for economic growth. “Our analysis calls for an aggressive long-term strategy to ensure that the center is a nationally recognized biomedical research institute,” he says. Read the report here.

Shaw to participate in trade mission to India

Representatives from The Shaw Group are set to participate in the largest nuclear trade mission to India, an event led by the United States-India Business Council. The trade mission, set for next month, is scheduled to visit hubs of the Indian nuclear industry, including New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. A recently signed trade agreement allows American companies to sell civilian nuclear technology to India. The USIBC projects open up a $150 billion market for nuclear technology in India over the next 30 years as the country's energy needs escalate.

Bush administration considers ‘orderly’ auto bankruptcy

The Bush administration is seriously considering "orderly" bankruptcy as a way of dealing with the desperately ailing U.S. auto industry. White House press secretary Dana Perino said today, "There's an orderly way to do bankruptcies that provides for more of a soft landing. I think that's what we would be talking about." She said the White House was close to a decision and emphasized there were still several possible approaches to assisting the automakers, such as short-term loans out of a $700 billion Wall Street rescue fund. Bush has resisted this approach before, and it is adamantly opposed by many Republicans. She said one of the factors delaying an announcement on an auto rescue plan is the continuing discussion between the administration and the various sides that would have to sign on to a managed bankruptcy—entities such as labor unions and equity holders in addition to the companies themselves.

Financial roundup: Regulators adopt new credit card rules … New jobless claims drop more than expected … Leading indicators fall in November

Changes take effect in July: Federal regulators today adopted sweeping new rules for the credit card industry that will shield consumers from increases in interest rates on existing account balances among other changes. The rules, which take effect in July 2010, will allow credit card companies to raise interest rates only on new credit cards and future purchases or advances, rather than on current balances. They were approved this morning by the Office of Thrift Supervision, a Treasury Department division. The Federal Reserve and the National Credit Union Administration were expected to act on them later in the day. The changes mark the most sweeping clampdown on the credit card industry in decades and are aimed at protecting consumers from arbitrary hikes in interest rates or inadequate time provided to pay the bills.

Layoffs continue amid recession: The Labor Department reported today that new applications for jobless benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 554,000 for the week ending Dec. 13, from an upwardly revised figure of 575,000 the previous week. The new tally was slightly below economists' expectations of 558,000 claims. One likely reason for the improvement is that the figure was inflated two weeks ago by applicants who delayed filing their claims during the Thanksgiving holiday week, a Labor Department analyst said. The government attempts to account for such volatility with its seasonal adjustments but is not always successful. Still, the four-week moving average, which smoothes out fluctuations, increased slightly to 543,750 claims, the highest since December 1982. The labor force has grown by about half since then.

Poll: What do you think about the new economic stimulus package?

The previous Daily Report poll was taken down because of evidence the results were being stacked.

Today's question: What do think of President-elect Barack Obama's plans to spend $850 billion over two years to stimulate the economy?

News roundup: General Growth gets another extension on $900 million loan … Economic indicators drop again … Southeastern movie critics like Milk, Millionaire

More time to pay bills: Shopping-mall owner General Growth Properties, the parent company of the Mall of Louisiana, received another extension on $900 million in loans for two Las Vegas properties. Lenders agreed to place the loans in forbearance until Feb. 12 as the Chicago company looks to sell some of its assets or raise fresh capital to help pay upcoming debt maturities. The country's second-largest mall owner is saddled with a huge debt it acquired during the market's boom years, when it aggressively bought up shopping centers.

No signs of improvement expected: The Conference Board says its Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators declined in November, the second consecutive month it fell. Large declines in building permits and stock prices, along with an increase in initial unemployment claims caused the index to go sour again. Ken Goldstein, an economist with the Conference Board, says there are no signs the index will get better in early 2009, because of the housing downturn and frozen credit markets.

Big winners: Milk won three awards from the Southeastern Film Critics Association, including best picture and best actor for Sean Penn. The drama, about the late Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold public office, also won the prize for best original screenplay. Slumdog Millionaire was the only other movie to win multiple prizes from the organization, winning honors for best director and best adapted screenplay. The organization is comprised of newspaper, TV and radio critics from nine states, including Louisiana.