BRAC says it exceeded jobs goal
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber says it secured 1,799 jobs through its business development efforts in 2009. That's well over the goal of 800 jobs the organization set for the year. “These impressive results are a testament to the dedication and expertise of not only BRAC, but also the state and region’s leadership, our parish partners, and everyone who works tirelessly to secure a positive economic future for the Baton Rouge area,” says Adam Knapp, the chamber's president and CEO. Of the jobs, Knapp says 951 were new to the Capital Region and 848 were retained. The biggest win was SNF Holding's decision to build a polymer plant in Plaquemine; that project will create 512 new jobs. For more details of BRAC's accomplishments in 2009, click here.
Car insurance bills to rise for Louisiana drivers
Auto insurance rates will rise Friday for more than 1 million Louisiana motorists as a law increasing the required minimum liability coverage goes into effect. Though the change was approved by the Legislature in 2008, many drivers are expected to be caught off-guard because insurance companies weren't required to notify policyholders. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says the boost in car insurance bills may come at a tough time for some because of the economic slump. But he says it's needed to bring the nearly 30-year-old minimum liability requirement in line with rising costs associated with accidents, including higher costs for medical care, repairs and replacement vehicles. "Certainly there are thousands of drivers out there who can ill-afford this additional cost. That's always the case. I think that's outweighed by the tens of thousands who are left uncompensated by the damage that minimally insured drivers do," Donelon says. About 2.5 million vehicles are insured in Louisiana, and Donelon says 40% carry only the minimum liability coverage required. Louisiana law currently requires car and truck owners to have at least "10-20-10" liability coverage. That's $10,000 coverage for injury or death to one person in an accident, $20,000 for injury or death to more than one person and $10,000 for damage of other people's property. The new law changes the levels to "15-30-25." The average minimally insured policyholder will pay about $71 more a year for car insurance, says Richard Piazza, chief actuary for the Louisiana Department of Insurance.
Latter & Blum buys Alexandria real estate firm
Latter & Blum, which operates commercial and residential real estate offices in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, has purchased Noles-Frye Realty of Alexandria. Financial details of the sale were not released. Noles-Frye is the largest residential and commercial real estate broker in central Louisiana. Officials with Latter & Blum and Noles-Frye say the deal will give more national exposure to central Louisiana properties. Robert W. Merrick, Latter & Blum CEO, says the deal will be similar to the company's 1995 purchase of C.J. Brown Real Estate in that Noles-Frye will keep its name on the residential brokerage and no jobs will be lost. Noles-Frye's commercial operations may be rebranded. Noles-Frye, which was founded in 1976, completed more than $45 million in transactions during 2009.
Publisher: Louisiana looking up in 2009
For years, Baton Rouge residents have gotten hung up on where the city and state ranked in various national lists—and it usually wasn’t good. But things looked up in 2009, says Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister. "Secretary of Economic Development Stephen Moret reports that Louisiana has continued a trend that began early in 2008, with our state’s economy in 2009 once again outperforming the South and the nation," McCollister says. This has the state well positioned to secure new business investment in 2010 and experience job growth from previously announced projects, he notes. Read his column here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.
Government moves closer to more aid for GMAC
The government was moving ahead on a fresh multibillion dollar cash infusion to stabilize auto financing company GMAC Financial Services, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. GMAC, based in Detroit, is instrumental to the operations of automakers General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC. It has already received $12.5 billion in taxpayer money and is 35% owned by the federal government. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because discussions weren't complete, says the new infusion would be in the range of another $3 billion. That would fall short of the roughly $6 billion the government had earlier thought GMAC would need to stabilize the company. An announcement of the injection could come late today or on Thursday, the source says. After the government conducted "stress tests" on financial institutions earlier this year, it demanded that GMAC raise an $11.5 billion capital cushion to help it weather further economic decline. GMAC was unable to raise the funds privately.
Poll: Base teacher pay on student performance
Fifty-eight percent of people who responded to a Daily Report poll say teacher pay should be based on student performance. Thirty-seven percent of people who participated in the survey say teachers shouldn't be paid based on how well students do, and 5% were undecided. More than 1,250 people participated in the survey. To read a recent Times-Picayune editorial backing new accountability standards, click here.
Today's question: Who will win Friday's Capital One Bowl?
News roundup: Olinde joins national home furnishing board...More employers plan to hire in 2010...Walmart named favorite retailer
New appointment: Thomas H. Olinde, president and general manager of Olinde's Furniture, has been appointed to the National Home Furnishings Association's board of directors. Olinde will join the board of the retailer organization on Friday.
New year, new jobs: Twenty percent of companies who participated in a national survey say they plan to add permanent, full-time workers in 2010. That's up from the 14% who planned to hire workers in 2009, says CareerBuilder.com. The company, which surveyed more than 2,700 hiring managers, says it cautiously expects to see actual job growth no sooner than the spring. Nine percent of businesses say they plan to reduce full-time staffing in 2010, down from 16% in 2009. Hiring is expected to be strongest in the West, with 24% of businesses planning to add workers. One bit of bad news for employees: Fifty-seven percent of businesses plan to raise salaries for existing workers, down from the 65% that planned to give out raises in 2009.
Must be the prices: Walmart has topped a consumer survey of the favorite national retailers. Market Force Information came up with the list based on a survey of 300,000 shoppers and merchandisers. Kohl's was named as the second favorite retailer, followed by Target and JCPenney.
