Homeward bound: GOP presidential candidate and former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer is bringing his campaign home to Louisiana this week and will be speaking at LSU Wednesday. Roemer will be at the Student Union Atchafalaya Room at 6 p.m. On Thursday Roemer will be in Marshall, Texas, and he’ll close out the trip with various events in Shreveport, including an appearance at the Louisiana State Fair, before traveling to Washington, D.C., Saturday. See Roemer’s complete schedule at his new website here.
Money in the bank: Hancock Holding Company reported on Monday it doubled profits in the third quarter, having benefited from its acquisition of rival Whitney Holding Corp. The parent company of Hancock Bank and Whitney Bank reported net income of $30.4 million, or 36 cents a share, in the three months ending Sept. 30. Its net income was $14.9 million, or 40 cents a share, in the same period last year. Hancock completed its acquisition of Whitney on June 4. The acquisition added $11.7 billion in assets, $6.5 billion in loans and $9.2 billion in deposits. On Sept. 16, Hancock sold seven Whitney branches along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and one in Bogalusa. The banks agreed to sell the eight branches to resolve certain branch concentration concerns expressed by the U.S. Department of Justice relating to the merger. As part of the agreement, Hancock sold approximately $47 million in loans and approximately $180 million in deposits.
Beating expectations: Baton Rouge-based specialty chemical maker Albemarle says its third-quarter earnings rose 24% to $116.1 million in the third quarter due to improved pricing of its products and favorable exchange rates. Earnings of $1.28 per share compare favorably with earnings of $1.02 per share in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue also rose 24% to $723 million, which beat Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of $1.18 per share on revenue of $720 million. Albemarle says it saw the largest growth—39%—in its catalyst business, which generated nearly $300 million in sales. Albemarle’s chemical catalysts are used to make reduced-sulfur fuels, among other applications. The company expects orders to slow at the end of the year, which is a typical pattern. It expects second-half results to be similar to those of the first half, when it earned $220 million.
Today’s poll question: The Metro Council Crime Committee may recommend a bond issue next spring in the neighborhood of $300 million for a new parish prison, a juvenile services facility and a shared headquarters for the city police and sheriff’s office, as well as an expanded drug and alcohol treatment center and operational funds for the district attorney’s office and law enforcement. Would you support new sales and/or property taxes for these initiatives?
