Day to start work on movie studio
The first phase of the Red Stick Film Studio is scheduled to open before the end of the year. Robert Day has filed permits with the city-parish to turn some offices at his Southgate development into space for movie productions. The plan is to set up the area on Nicholson Drive with room for scoring stages, editing booths and general flex space for movies and TV shows shooting around Baton Rouge. "This is just the beginning," Day says. Land is being cleared off O'Neal Lane for the $665 million studio Day plans to build out there, which would be part of his La Vie TND. "We're going to be building in stages as we go," he says. "It's an ongoing process." Day is involved in a lawsuit against the state over its infrastructure tax credit program, arguing that he's legally entitled for more time to earn the maximum infrastructure credits for Red Stick. A district judge ruled in his favor this spring, but the case is being appealed. Day says movie and TV producers are interested in using his property for production and post-production work. For a look at Day's plans for Red Stick, click here for a recent Business Report story.—Timothy Boone
La. home prices up, but B.R. figures down
Baton Rouge-area home prices dropped by 0.54% in April when compared with a year ago, but Louisiana reported the third-biggest jump in average state prices. According to First American CoreLogic's Home Price Index, the modest drop in home prices comes after a 4.14% increase in Capital Region home prices that happened in March. Louisiana reported a 3.1% increase. Only West Virginia (5.27%) and New York (3.88%) had more of a monthly improvement. Nationally, home prices were down 10.2% for April, the smallest annual decrease First American has seen this year. First American bases the HPI on public records sources such as property sales, tax assessments and mortgage filings.
Canada may seek closer ties with La. on oil
Canada hopes to strengthen its ties with Louisiana's energy industry and is working to extend its crude oil pipelines to Louisiana refineries, says Consul General of Canada Norris Pettis. Crude petroleum and other energy commodities accounted for 16% of Louisiana's total exports to Canada and 14% of its imports from Canada in 2007. Canadian energy company PS Filter, which specializes in design and fabrication of filtration and separation equipment, opened operations in Louisiana in 2007. "We came here to build equipment because production costs in Canada were so expensive," says Marc Cumby, engineering manager at PS Filter USA's Mandeville, office. "Right now we're just finishing a job for the city of Calgary enabling it to expand its energy capabilities." Two-way trade between Louisiana and Canada generated $2.9 billion in 2007, which in turn supported 102,000 jobs statewide, according to Pettis.
Fed mulls tweaks to economic revival programs
With signs the economy is improving but still fragile, Federal Reserve policymakers are considering whether some programs intended to drive down rates on mortgages and other consumer debt should be slowed down. Most economists predict that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues, who resume meeting today, won't launch any bold new efforts at the end of their two-day gathering. Fears have grown on Wall Street that the Fed's radical efforts to lift the country out of the longest recession since World War II could ignite inflation later on.
PJ's set to open Essen location
PJ's Coffee of New Orleans is set to open its fifth Baton Rouge location at the end of July. The company has put up signs at the old Starbucks building on Essen Lane, and officials with the coffee chain confirmed the opening. That's just around the corner from one of PJ's newer locations, a shop that opened last summer in the Perkins Palms development.
Poll: Most don't expect Fed to cut rates further
Sixty percent of respondents to a Daily Report poll say they don't expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates after its meeting today. Twenty-nine percent of the people who participated in the poll say the central bank will cut rates, and 11% are undecided. More than 750 people participated in the poll. The Fed is expected to announce its decision about rates this afternoon.
Today's question: Who will win tonight's deciding game of the College World Series?
News roundup: U.S. new home sales dip 0.6% ... Durable goods orders rise unexpectedly in May
Slow recovery: New U.S. home sales fell slightly last month, in another sign that the housing market's recovery is likely to be gradual and prolonged. The Commerce Department says sales dropped 0.6% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000, from a downwardly revised April rate of 344,000. Sales were down nearly 33% from May last year. The results fell far short of economists' forecast of a 360,000 sales pace, according to Thomson Reuters. However, many analysts think new home sales hit bottom in January and will increase gradually as the economy gathers steam. The median sales price of $221,600 was up 4.2% from April, but down 3.4% from a year ago.
Light at end of tunnel: Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose sharply for a second straight month in May, and a key indicator of business investment surged by the largest amount in nearly five years. The Commerce Department says demand for durable goods rose 1.8% last month, far better than the 0.6% decline that economists expected. It also matched the rise in April, with both months posting the best performance since December 2007, when the recession began. Orders for nondefense capital goods, a key proxy for business investment plans, jumped 4.8%, the biggest increase since September 2004. That could signal that businesses have stopped trimming their investment spending. The back-to-back monthly gains in orders for durable goods, or items expected to last at least three years, were further evidence that a dismal stretch for U.S. manufacturers may be nearing an end. Still, analysts say any sustained rebound is still months away.
