Kurtz to serve as director of new LED group

Tommy Kurtz is leaving as head of the Ascension Economic Development Corporation to lead a new group that will focus on meeting the needs of Louisiana's existing businesses. Kurtz will serve as director of Louisiana Economic Development's Business Retention and Expansion Group, LED officials announced this morning. The retention and expansion group shows the priority the state places on supporting existing employers, LED Secretary Stephen Moret says. "Working to protect our existing jobs has become even more important in light of current economic conditions at the national level," Moret says. Kurtz, who has been with AEDC since 2006, says he's looking forward to heading up the new organization because it will help the state identify opportunities to bring in more development projects and determine steps that can improve the business climate. Kristi Lumpkin, who serves as executive director of Acadiana Economic Development, will be the assistant director of the retention group. Rick Ward, president of the Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association, called them "two of the top economic development professionals" in the state. Kurtz and Lumpkin will start their new jobs early next month, and plans are to hire a third staff member.

Despite rumors, Cabela's not closing Gonzales store

Rumor has it that Cabela’s is closing its Gonzales store. In recent weeks, the online grapevine has been rife with discussions about whether the outdoor outfitter is closing a little over a year after opening and turning its 175,000-square-foot store into a regional distribution center. But reports of Cabela’s demise apparently are greatly exaggerated, 10/12 magazine reports. To read the full story, click here.

75% of OneEleven lofts already leased

After construction delays and Hurricane Gustav, the OneEleven loft apartments on Third Street are nearly complete and 75% leased. Michael Lang of Commercial Properties Realty Trust expects the development to be finished in a matter of weeks and completely leased by January. Of the 12 units, two one-bedrooms and two two-bedrooms are available in the modern complex designed to look like an extension of the Shaw Center for the Arts. According to Baton Rouge Area Foundation spokesman Mukul Verma, Commercial Properties and BRAF are working on a deal to have the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge occupy the 5,000-square-foot first floor of the building. The arts group has not yet signed on. An open house to tour OneEleven is scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday. The remaining units range from $1,200 to $2,400 per month, and from 735 to 1,180 square feet of living space, excluding balconies. For a look at the lofts, click here.—Jeff Roedel

Publisher: Winds of change always blowing

Massive change is unavoidable over the next 25 years because of rapid advances in technology, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says. Louisiana needs to take steps, such as improving the education system and challenging students, in order to keep up. "This will require bringing people together—red, white and blue, not 'red vs. blue,'" McCollister says. Plus: the Legislature needs to find ways to save money in order to invest in the future, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber is looking for volunteers and people are stepping up to help United Way. To read the column, click here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.

What’s Louisiana Saturday Night like away from Tiger Stadium?

LSU is expecting one of the largest crowds in history for Saturday’s game between the No. 15 Tigers and No. 1 Alabama. But how does having more than 92,000 people in Tiger Stadium affect Baton Rouge businesses that aren’t dependant on showing the game on TV? To read the Business Report cover story about how life goes on around the city when the Tigers play at night, click here. If you’d like to let others in what you do if you don’t have tickets or aren’t watching the game, send an e-mail to editors@businessreport.com.

Bush seeks seamless transition to Obama

President Bush said this morning he'll talk key issues with President-elect Barack Obama next week as his administration works for a seamless transition of authority to his Democratic successor. "This peaceful transfer of power is one of the hallmarks of a true democracy," Bush told hundreds of Executive Mansion and White House employees who gathered on the South Lawn of the White House. Bush's message was in part a series of marching orders for the staff—and partly an attempt to show the nation that he is earnest about carrying out a smooth transition over the next 75 days. Preparation for the complex transfer of power has quietly been unfolding for about a year. It accelerated with the election on Tuesday of Obama, the Democratic senator from Illinois. The Bush administration has already arranged security clearances for key Obama transition staffers and is providing working space and policy briefings as well. The White House is also helping connect the many world leaders who are calling for Obama.

Retailers report steep October declines

The nation's retailers saw their sales plummet last month to the weakest October level since at least 1969, as the financial crisis and mounting layoffs left shoppers too scared to shop. According to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index, sales fell 1%, the weakest October performance since at least 1969 when the index began. That compares to a 1% gain in September and well below the 1.8% average pace so far this fiscal year, which for retailers begins in February. As merchants reported dismal sales figures today, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, was among the few bright spots. The company plans to cut prices on thousands of items over the next seven weeks. Wal-Mart posted a 2.4% gain in same-store sales, better than the 1.6% gain projected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Including fuel sales, same-store sales rose 2.5%. To compare, Target Corp.—which has lagged behind Wal-Mart because of its heavier emphasis on nonessentials—posted a 4.8% drop, worse than the 2.8% decline that analysts had expected.

Among retailers, J.C. Penney & Co. reported a 13% drop in same-store sales for October, Macy’s Inc. 6.3%, Nordstrom Inc. 15.7%, Saks. Inc. 16.6%, Gap Inc. 16%, Limited Brands Inc. 9%, American Eagle Outfitters Inc. 12% and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. 20%.

Lamar profits drop in face of economic slump

Lamar Advertising says its third-quarter profit shrank about 74% as advertisers cut spending in the face of the economic slump. Lamar, which recently began a cost-cutting initiative, also issued a fourth-quarter revenue forecast that falls below Wall Street expectations. Baton Rouge-based Lamar, which owns and operates outdoor advertising such as billboard and logo sign displays, reported net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 of nearly $3.8 million, or 4 cents per share, down from a profit of $14.5 million, or 15 cents per share, in last year's third quarter. The latest quarter's profit fell just shy of the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, which had forecast 5 cents per share. Companies like Lamar have recently been squeezed as advertisers curb spending. Lamar announced about a month ago it started cutting operating expenses, capital expenditures and acquisition costs. The moves are expected to free up cash to reduce debt.

H&E Equipment Services beats profit expectations

H&E Equipment Services posted a better-than-expected, third-quarter profit, helped by its exposure to oil, mining and energy sectors. But the company said it expects difficult market conditions to continue into 2009. H&E, which also sells and rents equipment such as cranes, earthmovers and industrial-lift trucks, said third-quarter net income fell 13% to $17.6 million, or 50 cents a share. That was better than 43 cents a share, which profit analysts had projected. The company also lowered its full-year revenue forecast to reflect the expected delay in fourth-quarter crane shipments. For the full year, H&E sees earnings of $1.60 to $1.68 per share, compared with its prior view of $1.57 to $1.71 per share.

Former LED secretary officially takes role with pipe manufacturer

Michael Olivier, the former Louisiana Economic Development secretary, has fully assumed his role as an executive with Future Pipe Industries Group. Olivier took a job with the Dubai-based company in December, with the understanding he would succeed Saad Elkhadem, as regional president for the Americas. Elkhadem is now the CEO of Future Pipe. Olivier, who was LED secretary under former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, will lead Future Pipe's closure of its Gulfport, Miss., operations and drive the company's consolidation and reorganization of regional operations.

Stevie Wonder concert at Manship canceled

Heather Jenkins, development director for the J2 Youth & Family Center, has canceled the Stevie Wonder concert Sunday at the Manship Theatre. “We all collectively decided to postpone it because he’s working on some other things, and there’s a conflict of schedule and with Barack (Obama) winning,” she says. “But we’re looking at hopefully bringing him in the second or third week in December.” The Manship Theatre, who was renting the space to Jenkins’ group, says about 100 tickets had been sold since Tuesday morning. The theater box office will notify ticket-holders about refunds.—Rebecca Breeden

News roundup: Pinnacle puts Atlantic City casino on hold … U.S. News & World Report moving exclusively to online … Election-focused Web sites look to expand offerings

Not betting on the Boardwalk yet: Pinnacle Entertainment says it is putting its plans for an Atlantic City, N.J., casino on indefinite hold because of the tight credit market and increased competition. The company had planned to build a $1.5 billion to $2 billion resort on the Boardwalk. Pinnacle is still going ahead with plans for its Riviere casino resort in south Baton Rouge. The company submitted architectural blueprints to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board last month. Pinnacle says it spent $859,000 on the Baton Rouge casino during the third quarter.

Abandoning print: U.S. News & World Report, long the country’s No. 3 newsmagazine behind Time and Newsweek, has become the latest publication to abandon print for the Web. The move to become an Internet-focused publication was announced to employees in a memo from the magazine’s management. The memo did not mention specific plans for the print edition, which has already gone this year from a weekly to a biweekly format, but The Washington Post reported that U.S. News would now only publish once a month. The shift to the Web comes just a week after the 100-year-old Christian Science Monitor announced plans to end its daily print edition and become the first national U.S. newspaper to become entirely Web-based.

Moving beyond politics: Some of the most popular politically themed Web sites are looking at expanding their offerings in order to hold on to their audience, The Wall Street Journal reports. Fivethirtyeight.com, which was pretty much dead on in its pre-election predictions, is looking at using its number-crunching skills to predict congressional votes and movie box-office performance. Politico and Politicker are looking at syndicating Congressional coverage to newspapers. The left-leaning Huffington Post is expanding to cover topics such as entertainment and business and adding sites devoted to news in Chicago and San Francisco.