Help wanted: As part of its recently released “Best Places to Live” rankings of U.S. cities, CNN Money includes Lafayette on its list of “Where the jobs are.” Lafayette, which is the only Louisiana city on the list, ranks No. 17 of 25, with the magazine citing a 27.2% job growth rate between 2010 and 2011. You can check out the complete feature here. On the larger “Best Places to Live” list, which ranks the 100 best places to live in the country, not a single Louisiana city appears.
Straight to the top: NOLA Media Group, owner of The Times-Picayune and nola.com, says it’s leasing 27,000 square feet on the top two floors of the Canal Place office tower in downtown New Orleans to house the new media company once renovations are complete in December. The Canal Place complex also includes the Shops at Canal Place and the Westin Hotel. The news-gathering operations, along with sales, digital solutions, marketing and other administrative functions, will be housed at the new offices, accommodating more than 140 employees. Read the full story here.
Raking it in: BP’s recent $1 billion sale of its Carson refinery in Southern California is the latest move in what has become perhaps the biggest corporate garage sale in history. The oil giant seeks to raise cash and slim down its global operations by divesting $38 billion in assets before the end of 2013. The Houston Chronicle reports it looks like the sale is going well. Two years in, London-based BP has received $26.5 billion for assets already sold, leaving about $11 billion to go to reach its target. Read the full story here.
