Capital Region businesses more optimistic for 2010

A survey of nearly 500 local leaders shows that Capital Region businesses are more optimistic about 2010 than they were about this year and they have an even brighter outlook for 2012. According to the Baton Rouge Area Economic Outlook Survey, done in cooperation between the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and the Business Report, 75% of businesses expect revenue to increase in 2010, compared with 65% in 2009. And 85% expect revenue to increase in 2012 and beyond. Similar optimism is seen for employment growth and capital expenditures. “There's a positive sense that stability has been here and we've seen the worst of the worst effects of the national recession," says Adam Knapp, BRAC president and CEO. "We've had a stronger than expected 2009 and 2010 looks better." Projections are that the Capital Region will see employment grow by 1% to 2% in 2010, a gain of 3,000 to 6,300 jobs. The biggest employment gains are expected in the health care, petrochemical and information sectors. Despite slight job losses in the third quarter, Knapp says Baton Rouge has seen the number of jobs increase by about 4,000 this year, with much of the gains coming in business and professional services, health care, state government, education and construction.

Other findings of the survey and BRAC analysis:

-- Workforce issues continue to be the major concern for businesses, but the numbers are down slightly. Thirty-seven percent of companies surveyed say finding workers is a major issue, compared with 45% in 2009. Knapp says the slowdown in local employment growth and rising unemployment has reduced the pressure to find workers.

-- The number of companies who expressed concern about real estate, utility and material costs dropped sharply.

To download a PowerPoint of the survey results, click here.—Timothy Boone

Publisher endorses bond issue as "opportunity for greatness"

Baton Rouge has been presented with another opportunity to take the community to the next level in the Nov. 14 bond election, says Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister. Passing the bond issue is the means to making this America's next great city on the riverfront. "I was born and raised in this community and have watched it grow conservatively for 54 years," says McCollister. "I love Baton Rouge and want to see it flourish and fulfill its potential." Read the full column here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com. Early voting will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Saturday at four locations: the governmental building on St. Louis Street, the Clerk of Court's branch office on Coursey Boulevard, the Secretary of State Archives Building on Essen Lane and the Office of Motor Vehicles in Baker.

Baker officials set to endorse bond proposal

Baker officials are set to endorse Mayor Kip Holden's $901 million capital improvements program today. Baker Mayor Harold M. Rideau, Police Chief Mike Knaps and Fire Chief Danny Edwards are set to appear with Holden a press conference at 11 a.m. today at the Baker Municipal Center. According to an e-mail sent out Monday afternoon by Progress Is..., a grassroots group set up to back the bond issue, Rideau, Knaps and Edwards will endorse the measure. Officials with the bond campaign have confirmed the Progress Is... report.

New markets credits coming to BR

As some community development groups struggle to find loans and private investments, the U.S. Treasury Department has stepped up with $300 million from the New Markets Tax Credit Program for Louisiana. Baton Rouge is set to reap nearly half of the sum. The program allows Community Development Entities to offer the tax credits to investors, who can in turn use the credits against federal income taxes for making investments in low-income communities. "These tax credits will have a significant impact in several Louisiana neighborhoods in desperate need of investment," says U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans. Stonehenge Capital Company will receive $80 million to provide loan products to small businesses and non-profits in low-income communities. In some cases, these are flexible and non-conventional terms, including reduced interest rates that are at least 50% below market. Thomas Adamek of Stonehenge Capital says this is the fourth allocation of new market tax credits his firm has received. The tax credits have been used on everything from Habitat for Humanity to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. "We're hoping this leads to some urban redevelopment," Adamek says. The East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority will also receive $60 million that will be used as part of a targeted neighborhood strategy, focusing on real estate development projects that provide community services, affordable housing and the elimination of blight. Unlike the allocation to Stonehenge, this will be entirely spent locally.—Jeremy Alford

Poll: State should change 'pay-for-performance'

Respondents to a Daily Report poll say the state Civil Service Commission should approve a change to the "pay-for-performance" system. Thirty-eight percent of people who participated in the survey say the state needs to do everything to balance the budget, while 33% say some steps should be taken to give workers merit-based pay raises. Thirteen percent say state workers should continue to get more money every year, as long as they do satisfactory work, while 12% say the 4% raises only keep up with cost of living increases. More than 1,150 people participated in the survey.

Today's question: What do you expect will happen with your business revenue in 2010?

Nottoway Plantation featured on Discovery Channel

Halloween may have passed, but Nottoway Plantation will be featured on an episode of Ghost Lab at 9 p.m. tonight. Paranormal experts from the Discovery Channel program will be looking for ghosts at the antebellum home. The episode shows off the ghosts that reportedly haunt Nottoway, along with the extensive renovations recently done to the 53,000-square-foot estate.

U.S. factory orders rise 0.9% in September

Orders to U.S. factories rebounded in September, helped by strength in autos, heavy machinery and military aircraft. The fifth increase in six months bolstered hopes that a revival in manufacturing will help support an overall economic recovery. The worry is that if consumer spending falters in coming months, orders will slump again. The Commerce Department says that orders rose 0.9% in September, slightly better than the 0.8% gain economists had expected. Demand increased for both durable goods, and nondurable goods such as chemicals and energy products. New orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, advanced 1.4%, better than the 1% estimate the government made last week. Demand for heavy machinery jumped 7.9%, the biggest gain in 18 months. There also was strong demand for military aircraft, which helped offset a second-straight drop in orders for commercial airplanes. Orders for nondurable goods rose 0.6% following a 0.9% increase in August, led by petroleum, chemicals and food products.

News roundup: Windstream to acquire local business carrier ... LSU, SU students on computer competition team ... Mortgage rates virtually unchanged

Steady: The national average for a 30- and 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was virtually unchanged last week. For the week ending Sunday, the 30-year rate was 4.86%, compared with 4.87% the week before, reports the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. Fifteen-year rates were 4.31%, down slightly from 4.32% the week before.

Set to buy NuVox for $643 million: Windstream has entered into a deal to buy NuVox, which offers Internet voice and data service to businesses across the Southeast and Midwest. Windstream says the deal, set to close in the first half of 2010, is valued at $643 million. NuVox has about 90,000 business customers, including clients in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans.

Headed to Portland: Lei Jiang, a student at LSU, and Jeffrey Morgan, a computer science major from Southern University, are on a team headed to the Supercomputing Conference 2009 in Portland, Ore., on Nov. 16. Jiang and Morgan are on a team with Joshua Hitchens of Louisiana Tech, Cory Redfern of the University of New Orleans and Nikhil Shetty from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The team will participate in the Student Programming Contest and will have to work out eight to 12 computational programs. The Supercomputing Conference is recognized globally as the premier international conference on high-performance computing, networking, storage and analysis.