This Afternoon's Headlines / Tue, June 30, 2009
News Alert: Stanford investors’ accounts to be unfrozen by Aug. 3
In a court order issued this afternoon, U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey, assigned to the Stanford International Bank case in Texas, has ordered the receiver to release the remaining qualifying accounts by Aug. 3. Stanford receiver Ralph Janvey originally requested in his summary to the court a 10-week period in which to continue reviewing frozen investor accounts, but Godbey stated in his order that the “freeze has lasted long enough to permit the receiver to assess whether he has viable claims against the various individual investors, and that it is time now for those claims to be asserted and tested.”
Godbey said in the document that there was a concern for the financial hardship being impressed upon thousands of investors, especially considering the alleged “legal lack of justification for such a freeze.” Investors who spoke to the Business Report for a feature on Stanford said they were unsure how they were going to continue to make ends meet. Troy Lillie, an Exxon Mobil retiree, who was living day-to-day off his remaining company stock told the Business Report in an e-mail, “I leave Thursday morning to go work on an offshore oil rig. To read more about Stanford and local investors, read the recent Business Report cover story here.
Some Stanford accounts will still be frozen according to Godbey. Those include any former Stanford senior management, financial advisors or investors with outstanding debts to the estate. To read the full court order, click here.—Olivia Watkins
Baton Rouge ranks second for employment gain
Baton Rouge added 1,300 jobs in May, compared to the year before, making it the second-biggest gaining city in the country, according to figures released today. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says only Austin, Texas, added more jobs, with 4,200 more positions than in May 2008. The BLS says just 15 U.S. cities added jobs in May, while 295 posted decreases. Los Angeles, New York and Chicago all dropped more than 200,000 jobs from May 2008. Preliminary numbers show the unemployment rate in Baton Rouge was 6% in May, well below the national average of 9.1%.
State’s new budget year begins
Louisiana's new budget year begins Wednesday even as agencies and those that rely on the state for money are still trying to figure out what they'll have to spend. The depth of budget cuts in the $29 billion spending plan were decided on the final day of the legislative session last week. That leaves many departments still combing through the details of what was passed. And Gov. Bobby Jindal has yet to issue his final round of line-item vetoes. What is clear is that most agencies will have less money and fewer workers as Louisiana's revenue shrinks. The state's public colleges, which spent the session haggling over the cuts they would receive, don't have a final word yet on how the $100 million reduction will be divided across campuses.
Judge revokes bond for Texas financier Stanford
A judge has revoked bond for Texas financier Robert Allen Stanford, who's charged with swindling investors out of $7 billion. U.S. District Judge David Hittner today approved a request by prosecutors to overturn a magistrate judge's decision to allow Stanford freed on $500,000 bond pending his trial. Prosecutors argue that Stanford's international ties make him a serious flight risk. Stanford holds dual U.S. and Antiguan citizenship, has an international network of wealthy acquaintances who would help him and possibly access to vast wealth hidden around the world. But Dick DeGuerin, Stanford's attorney, says his client is penniless, has never tried to flee and wants to fight the charges against him. Stanford and three executives of his now-defunct Houston-based Stanford Financial Group are accused of orchestrating a massive fraud by misusing most of the $7 billion they advised clients to invest in certificates of deposit from the Stanford International Bank in the Caribbean island of Antigua. Investors in Baton Rouge and Lafayette might have lost as much as $1 billion from Stanford's alleged Ponzi scheme.
John Maginnis: Melancon making his moves
U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon is actively considering running for U.S. Senate next year, John Maginnis reports. But the Napoleonville Democrat has to get a few things out the way before he challenges U.S. Sen. David Vitter. First, he's got to make sure that Jim Bernhard, the Shaw Group chairman, doesn't enter the race. Next, Melancon's got to woo back business interests, upset over his support of the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as card check. "Melancon would need to create some separation between himself and the liberal Democratic leadership," Maginnis writes. Read the column here.
(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)
MidSouth Bank named to Russell 3000 index
Lafayette-based MidSouth Bank has been added to the Russell 3000 index, which measures the performance of America's biggest companies. The index measures the market capitalization of the 3,000 largest and most liquid companies in the United States, representing about 98% of the total value of all equity traded on stock exchanges. Rusty Cloutier, president and CEO of the regional bank, says the move will mean more exposure for MidSouth because investment firms buy shares of companies in the index in order to keep their portfolios reflective of the Russell 3000.
Daniels resumes 'listening tour' in Lafayette
Porn star Stormy Daniels kicks off a second "listening tour" this week at a gun store in Lafayette as she publicizes a possible run for U.S. Senate. Daniels will be at Barney’s Police and Hunting Supplies in Lafayette on Thursday afternoon. On Friday morning, she has an appearance set at a restaurant in Shreveport. Then she heads to Delhi for an appearance at a bar. The Baton Rouge-born adult movie actress says she's seriously considering a challenge to Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter in next year's elections. In May, after her first listening tour in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, she announced formation of an exploratory committee for a possible run.
Just a few hours left to submit Top 100 information
The deadline to submit information for Business Report's annual Top 100 Private Companies list is 5 p.m. today. Business Report ranks companies by gross revenue. Based on past numbers, companies with less than $15 million in revenue are unlikely to make the Top 100 list. For more information, e-mail jgennaro@businessreport.com. The list will be published July 28.
Real Estate Weekly has news on Dutchtown development
Real Estate Weekly is out with news about a townhome development in Dutchtown, a study on Baton Rouge home prices, new tenants for a Gonzales shopping center and the latest columns from Brian Andrews and Tom Cook. To read the newsletter, click here.
News roundup: Coleman concedes, sending Franken to Senate ... Independence Day top-selling holiday for beer sales
From Saturday Night Live to the Senate: Republican Norm Coleman has conceded to Democrat Al Franken in Minnesota's contested Senate race, ending a nearly eight-month recount and court fight. Coleman conceded at a news conference in St. Paul, a few hours after a unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court ruled today the former Saturday Night Live comedian and liberal commentator should be certified the winner. Franken's presence in the Senate would give the Democrats control of 60 seats, enough to overcome any Republican filibuster if they stay united.
Red, white and brew: Independence Day is the biggest beer-selling holiday of the year, the Nielsen Company says. Last year, supermarkets sold more than 24 million cases of beer during the holiday, the Beer Institute reports. Overall, beer sales and distribution support 1.9 million jobs and generate $190 billion in revenue for the national economy.
