CENTRAL NY BUSINESS NEWS

International and Local Business News, Economics & Finance

• Agency awards grants for company improvements, job retention
Staff reports Directors of Empire State Development, the state's economic development arm, Thursday approved grants to companies in central and northern New York.

• CNY Loses Jobs
A drop in manufacturing and government jobs helped to push the unemployment rate in the Syracuse area to 5.6 percent last month, the highest level for any October since it reached 6 percent in 1993, the state Department of Labor said Thursday.

• Erroneous closings now an urban legend
You've seen the e-mail. If you haven't, you will.

• More employers shift costs to workers
Health insurance deductibles of $1,000 became the norm this year as employers made workers shoulder a bigger share of rising medical benefit costs, according to a national survey by Mercer.

• Company news
Pete Richichi was promoted to chief operating officer of WYNIT. Richichi joined as vice president of sales in September 1997.

• Gap's 3Q profit edges up 3.4 percent on cost cuts
Gap Inc. reported Thursday that its third-quarter profit rose 3.4 percent as cost-cutting efforts offset a sales slump. The apparel chain also affirmed its profit guidance for the full year but said the tough times will last at least another six months.

• Stocks continue free fall
Stocks plunged for a second straight day Thursday, falling to levels not seen in at least five years.

• Calendar
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• Citi tumbles amid much short selling
New York Citigroup Inc. shares tumbled below $5 a share Thursday to their lowest level in more than 15 years, a sign that a Saudi prince's decision to boost his stake in the bank has failed to galvanize confidence among increasingly anxious investors.

• State cuts could delay patient care
Syracuse hospital CEOs predict emergency room patient waiting times will get longer and the overall availability and quality of care in their institutions will suffer if the state goes ahead with proposed cuts in Medicaid payments.

• County tourism summit to visit economic issues
Onondaga County tourism officials expect 2009 to be a challenging year because of the impact that the economic slowdown could have on their industry.

• Community Bank won't ask for help
Community Bank System Inc., based in DeWitt, has chosen not to apply for funds from the U.S. Treasury Department's Capital Purchase Program, part of the federal government's effort to boost the struggling financial services industry.

• Financier: Worst is yet to come
The full effects of the global economic downturn have not been felt yet, but they will be and they will hurt, the chief administrative officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. told an audience Wednesday at Syracuse University.

• Shutdown looming for Steve & Barry's
Employees of Steve & Barry's stores, as well as mall operators, are awaiting word from the retailer after The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported the discount chain is on the verge of imminent liquidation.

• Suburban Hotels Rising
While three hotel projects in Syracuse struggle to get off the ground, two in the suburbs are off and running.

• Summit to show off fuel-cell Equinox
If you've been hankering for a chance to drive a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, here it is: Summit Chevrolet in Auburn will have a fuel cell model of the Equinox SUV on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and they're offering test drives.

• Company news
John Ciotti of the John Ciotti Insurance Agency was recognized by Allstate Insurance Co. for high standards in customer satisfaction, customer retention and profitability. The agency is located at 7496 Oswego Road, Liverpool.

• Dow closes below 8,000 amid fears
Wall Street hit levels not seen since 2003 on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging below the 8,000 mark amid a dour economic outlook from the Federal Reserve and worries over the fate of Detroit's three automakers.

• Business Briefing
Megabus.com, the bus company that will begin service in Syracuse Dec. 4, is giving away free seats. The company, which is offering one-way fares to New York City for as little as $1, said Wednesday it will give away 100,000 free seats.

• Real estate transactions
The following deeds were recorded recently at the Oswego County Real Property Tax Office.

• Nursing home fined $13,300 %%sub%%Agency says The Crossings didn't give proper care to choking resident who died.
emergency situation and summons them to provide assistance. It also activates the 911 system. The aide also failed to start the Heimlich maneuver, a technique used to dislodge food from a person's windpipe.

• Nursing home fined $13,300
The federal government has fined a Minoa nursing home $13,300 for failing to provide prompt emergency care to a choking resident who went into cardiac arrest and died.

• Court backs insurer that dumped doctor
A judge has denied a Camillus doctor's request for an injunction blocking Excellus BlueCross BlueShield from throwing him out of its network.

• Anheuser-Busch is now part of InBev
InBev SA formed the world's largest brewer Tuesday when it completed its $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. The new company, named Anheuser-Busch InBev, will be headed by InBev CEO Carlos Brito and will be headquartered at Leuven, Belgium.

• Dinosaur Bar-B-Que eyes Albany site
Short takes:

• Energy regulators still investigating trades
Six months after their probe began, federal energy regulators said this week they are still investigating electricity trading schemes that may have cost New York consumers $250 million or more earlier this year.

• Walmart Wakes Up to PR
Public relations has never been Job 1 for the "Fortune 1" company.

• Company news
Solvay Bank announced: Karen Zarach was appointed vice president, business and marketing strategy. Zarach is a graduate of Syracuse University and Le Moyne College. Jill Thrippleton was appointed human resources administrator. Thrippleton is a graduate of Fordham University. Ted Carr was appointed vice president, commercial loan officer. He previously was business banking relationship manager for Citizens Bank. Carr is a graduate of State University of New York at Fredonia. Chet Wysocki was promoted to vice president, loan administration. He was previously a commercial lending officer for the bank. Wysocki also held positions in the credit management and asset recovery areas for Key Bank. Linda Pecora was promoted to loan administration officer. She previously worked as supervisor in the note department. David Beecher was appointed chief real estate appraiser officer. Beecher was an assistant director for appraisal with Integra Realty Resources.

• Market up in afternoon rebound
Wall Street rebounded Tuesday in another turbulent session, as investors rushed back into the market after the Standard & Poor's 500 index tested a 2003 low.

• Contemporary Personnel to open new office
Contemporary Personnel Staffing & Professionals Inc. today will open its new Global Recruiting Center on Seventh North Street in Salina with a ribbon-cutting.

• Deadline nears to request stimulus money
Taxpayers whose federal stimulus payments were returned to the Internal Revenue Service by the post office have until Nov. 28 to provide the agency with an updated address. The IRS said it has more than 19,000 checks with an average payment of $579.

• Director of health group to speak Thursday
Denise Young, executive director of the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization, will be the guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Central New York Health Systems Agency at 6 p.m. Thursday at Hospice of Central New York, 990 Seventh North St., Salina.

• Manager needs coaching to correct faults
Q:I have an experienced manager who dislikes some employees, based on his personal feelings rather than on the employees' technical expertise, good performance and loyalty to the organization. His decisions are affecting his department's success. Is it better to keep an experienced manager or to let him go?

• Yahoo ousts Yang from leadership post
San Francisco Yahoo Inc. co-founder Jerry Yang is stepping down as chief executive, ending a rocky reign marked by his refusal to sell the Internet company to Microsoft Corp. for $47.5 billion more than triple Yahoo's current market value.

• Company news
Fust Charles Chambers LLP new employees in the audit department include Rob Bloom , of Black River, a graduate of State University College at Oswego; Kelsey Campbell , of Camillus, a graduate of Hartwick College; Ryan Dusseault , of Syracuse, a graduate of State University College at Geneseo; Audrey Elwell , of Westvale, a graduate of State University College at Geneseo; Ryan Gigon , of Oswego, a graduate of State University College at Oswego; Molly LaLonde ,of Auburn, a graduate of Le Moyne College; Rachel Schulte, of LaFayette, a graduate of State University at Binghamton; Laura Stapleton , of Camillus, a graduate of State University College at Geneseo; and Liza Winans , of Baldwinsville, a graduate of State University College Oswego. The following people have joined the tax department: Katelyn Allen , of New Hartford, a Le Moyne College graduate, and John Vetere, of Utica, a graduate of State University Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome.

• Day end trading sinks markets
Wall Street finished sharply lower Monday.

• Artists help Google's Street View capture a city's whimsy
Anyone using Google's Street View map feature to scan one downtown Pittsburgh street is bound to do a double-take.

• How to stay safe banking online
Q. I hear so much about hackers attacking Web sites and stealing people's personal information. Is it safe to bank online?

• Paying out of pocket could save on drugs
Q. I take simvastatin, a generic cholesterol drug. This is covered by my Medicare Part D plan, Humana PDP Enhanced. Humana pays $56.60 for a 90-day supply of simvastatin. I recently saw an ad by a pharmacy chain offering the same quantity and strength of simvastatin for $9.99.

• County may finish 1998 rail bridge
Onondaga County officials are looking for a way to restart construction on a commuter rail bridge over Park Street nearly 10 years after work on the new span was suddenly halted.

• October slump brings pain and opportunity
For investors, October sits like a sharp curve in the road that must be approached with care.

• CEOs Feel the Pain
Here's something that might provide a bit of solace amid the plunging values in your retirement accounts: Warren Buffett is losing lots of money, too. So are Kirk Kerkorian, Carl Icahn and Sumner Redstone.

• CEOs Feel the Pain
Here's something that might provide a bit of solace amid the plunging values in your retirement accounts: Warren Buffett is losing lots of money, too. So are Kirk Kerkorian, Carl Icahn and Sumner Redstone.

• Verizon a superior purchase to MetroPCS
Q. I'm considering the purchase of either 200 shares of MetroPCS Communications Inc. or 100 shares of Verizon Communications Inc. This investment will be in my Roth independent retirement account, which you advised me to set up several years ago because the money won't be taxed when it comes out.

• Peer pressure crimps spending
A preholiday shopping season snapshot of a cross section of the Central New York retail scene is a profile in courage amid the doom and gloom of the national marketplace.

• Sound Garden cues up its move
Armory Square anchor The Sound Garden is closed today. Monday, too.

• Citi raising rates
New York Citigroup Inc. said Friday it is raising rates for some of its U.S. credit card customers after losses in its global card division skyrocketed.

• New mortgage forms could take a year to implement
Homebuyers will get clearer explanations of their mortgage terms and settlement costs under new rules adopted by the federal government.

• Power companies fear green limits
Phoenix Utility executives warned of skyrocketing electricity prices if the country is forced to limit greenhouse gases and new technology to capture carbon emissions from coal does not pay off. They spoke last week at an industry annual meeting.

• Utilities Juggle Demands
Phoenix If misery loves company, last week's meeting of the nation's utility executives is a good place to hang out.

• Real estate transactions
Real estate

• Why InBev will dump Labatt: Look Upstate
Here's to you, Syracuse, for almost bringing down the $52 billion merger of beer giants Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. and InBev NV/SA.

• 'Apprentice' winner to speak at Whitman
Bill Rancic, the first winner on NBC's "The Apprentice" and founder of CigarsAroundtheWorld.com, will speak at 6 p.m. Monday at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management. Õ7RancicÕ The lecture, sponsored by the E-club, is free to the public and takes place in Lender Auditorium, located on the concourse level of the Whitman building.

• Price Chopper buys 2 P&C stores
Syracuse grocer The Penn Traffic Co. is selling two of its P&C Foods supermarkets, including its city of Oswego store, to Price Chopper, based in Schenectady. Price Chopper will later rebrand and reopen the stores under its banner.

• They Know the Score
These may not be the best of economic times, but it's always a good time to start a business.

• Company News
Ö Tim Kinney was appointed vice president at Brunet-García Multicultural Advertising & Public Relations. Kinney graduated from Solvay High School and Clark University, in Worcester, Mass. Õ5McAllisterÕ Ö Michael McAllister joined Grimaldi & Nelkin as a staff accountant. McAllister is a graduate of Roberts Wesleyan College. He was a senior accountant with a regional accounting firm. Õ5PeaseÕÕ6PorterÕ Ö Lesley Pease and Brandi Porter were appointed to leadership positions in Syracuse University Library 's new Learning Commons. Pease will serve as director and Porter as associate director. Pease is a graduate of State University College at Oswego and Syracuse University. Porter is a graduate of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Õ5SwansonÕ Ö Miriam Swanson, licensed salesperson, has joined Prudential First Properties' west office. Õ5CiaralliÕÕ6GardnerÕ Õ5MasellaÕ Ö Green & Seifter, Certified Public Accountants PLLC announced Mark R. Ciaralli

• Stocks zigzag, tumble
Wall Street ended a turbulent week with another astonishing show of volatility Friday, with stocks plunging, recovering and then plunging again as investors absorbed another wave of downbeat economic news. Hedge fund selling in advance of a today's deadline contributed to the market's gyrations.

• Firm sues 2 hospitals in Syracuse
A Rochester law firm filed class action lawsuits Thursday against St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center and Crouse Hospital, accusing the hospitals of not paying hourly employees for lunch breaks that were missed or interrupted.

• Agency OKs green incentives
Thinking of building green? Onondaga County has some special tax incentives for you.

• Longer Commute to Work
On the bright side, the 4,000 or so people employed at Carousel Center in Syracuse during the holidays will get to work via Caz Limo.

• State to Bank of America: List $250,000-plus bonuses
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a subpoena to Bank of America Corp. this week demanding a list of every executive who received a bonus of more than $250,000 over the past two years.

• Weber's pays taxes, to reopen today
The Weber family is reopening its landmark German restaurant on Syracuse's North Side today, three days after it was seized by the state for unpaid sales taxes.

• Company news
Laurel S. Case, of Syracuse, was promoted to account supervisor in the public relations and public affairs group at Eric Mower and Associates. Case joined EMA three years ago as a senior account executive. She previously worked as the media relations manager at Studio Arena Theatre, in Buffalo. Case is a graduate of Ithaca College.

• More boat owners abandoning crafts
San Francisco - From Southern California to Maine, the foundering economy, high fuel prices and poor fishing have driven boat owners to abandon perhaps thousands of vessels on the waterfront, where they are beginning to break up and sink, leaking oil and other pollutants.

• Search renews for Inner Harbor projects
After years of delay, the state Canal Corp. said Wednesday it plans to issue a new request to developers for proposals to turn the Syracuse Inner Harbor into a

• New operator takes over Teal nursing home
Vivian Teal Howard nursing home in Syracuse is getting a new name and a new operator who has turned around other troubled long-term care facilities.

• CNY's home-sale losses less than rest of nation
An estimated 15 percent of home sellers in the Syracuse area took a loss on their sales during the past year, according to calculations by Zillow, the online real estate service company.

• Generic drug use rises; brand-name costs spike
Generic prescription drug use is rising dramatically in Central New York, but some of the cost savings is being offset by a steep increase in brand-name drug prices, according to reports released Wednesday by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

• Obama presses case for US automakers
Washington Urgently shifting course, the Bush administration is abandoning the centerpiece of its massive $700 billion economic rescue plan and exploring new ways to shore up not only banks but credit-card, auto-loan and other huge nonbank businesses. Democrats are pressing hard to include a multibillion-dollar bailout for faltering automakers, too over administration objections.

• Speaker: Adapt to change
As the airline industry copes with a faltering economy, the chief executive of JetBlue Airways said it's important for companies and entrepreneurs to be persistent and adapt to changing conditions.

• Syracuse building's auction set
The 500 Building at 500 S. Salina St., formerly known as the Chimes Building, has fallen victim to foreclosure.

• Company News
C. Scott Florczyk was appointed to the management team at Wayne Dalton of Syracuse. Florczyk is responsible for assisting with daily operations and installation staff. Florczyk has more than 16 years of facilities management, business development and retail sales management experience. He is a graduate of State University College at Canton. Wayne Dalton is a garage door company.

• Macy's loses $44 million as sales drop in third quarter
New York Macy's Inc. swung to a loss in the third quarter as sales dropped more than 7 percent.

• Stocks continue to slide
New York - Wall Street fell for the third straight session Wednesday as investors absorbed another series of dismal corporate reports and news that the government won't buy banks' soured mortgage assets.

• Calendar
LEADERSHIP SKILLS: 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. Mondays to Nov. 24. State University College at Oswego Metro Center at the Atrium, 2 Clinton Square, Syracuse. Part of American Management Association Courses. 312-6430.

• CuseCar vehicle- sharing ready to roll
A fledgling Syracuse car-sharing business will hold its first membership drive today at a college campus, hoping to lure students and faculty to buy memberships that allow them to rent a Toyota Prius by the hour.

• Apartments to house homeless, offer support
Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare does not expect to have any trouble filling its new North Side apartment house for the homeless.

• Agency mulls offering expert aid
New York has a reputation - deserved or not - of being a state where high costs and regulatory requirements make it difficult to start or expand a business.

• Holiday jobs hard to find this year
From department stores and convenience chains to call centers, managers who only a year ago had to scramble to fill holiday jobs are seeing a surge in the number of seasoned applicants many of them laid off in other sectors and desperate for a way to pay the bills.

• Homeowners to Get Help
The government and the mortgage industry are launching the most sweeping effort yet to help troubled homeowners by speeding up the process for renegotiating hundreds of thousands of delinquent loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

• Santa Claus is coming to town -- early
OK, if you're not ready for the holiday shopping season to launch, tough cookies. Santa Claus has made his list and is on schedule to arrive at Carousel Center mall at 6 p.m. Friday.

• Company News
Lucille Vincent, an employee of Hummel's Office Plus in Mohawk, received the Hummel's Office Plus Pam Gross Memorial Partner of the Quarter Award for the third quarter 2008. Vincent has been with the company for 9 years.

• Stocks drop amid news on earnings
Wall Street got another dose of painful reality Tuesday and sent stocks diving as investors recognized that few industries are safe from the consumer spending slump - whether they're building homes, making cars or selling coffee.

• More on mortgage assistance plan
With more than 4 million homeowners behind on their mortgage payments, the government and major banks are scrambling to help at-risk borrowers avoid foreclosure.

• Business Briefing
Community Bank System Inc. and its subsidiary, Community Bank N.A., said it had completed the acquisition of 18 branches in Northern New York from Citizens Financial Group. Community Bank acquired about $575 million in deposits and $115 million in loans.

• Weber's closed because of unpaid taxes
Weber's, the circa-1940s landmark German restaurant on Syracuse's North Side, Monday was shut down suddenly by the state Department of Taxation and Finance for failing to pay sales taxes totaling about $22,000.

• AIG Loan Swells to $153B
Washington When the government offered an emergency loan to insurer American International Group in September, eyebrows shot up at the $85 billion price tag. Now it looks like pocket change.

• Citigroup on prowl for regional bank
New York Still licking its wounds following a failed bid to buy Wachovia Corp., Citigroup Inc. is on the prowl again and is in talks to acquire a regional bank.

• F.W. Webb to move to DeWitt
A plumbing supply distributor plans to move out of Syracuse and into larger quarters in DeWitt.

• Company News

• Rally deflates; Dow falls 73
New York Wall Street caved in to its economic anxieties and closed lower Monday, giving up an early rally over a stimulus package in China and refocusing on the acute pullback in spending.

• Don't use credit card to pay down mortgage
Q. I have a mortgage of $213,000 on a home valued at $276,000. My credit score is 713. I'm wondering if I would be better off to max out all my credit cards - the combined limit total is approximately $70,000 - and pay down my mortgage? Can you advise? - Joyce

• Law allows access to health records
Q. I asked my doctor's office to let me look through my medical records and was told I would have to pay for an office visit and have my physician's assistant in the room while I looked through my file. Is this right? A While the doctor can charge you for inspecting your medical records, it would not be appropriate for the doctor to bill you as if it were an office visit, said Jeffrey Hammond, a state Health Department spokesman.

• Don't be in a rush to invest windfall
Q. I recently got a $92,600 windfall from selling farmland in Colorado and I want to invest it right away. I'm kind of scared to invest in our stock market now, even though one expert I read believes prices are a bargain today and is recommending dozens of stocks he feels are undervalued.

• October slump brings pain and opportunity
For investors, October sits like a sharp curve in the road that must be approached with care.

• Fashion Kraze hits Oswego
In the fashion of the former WiseBuys discount chain, here comes Fashion Kraze.

• 'It's Not Getting Better'
Rockford, Ill. The nation's economic troubles play out one family at a time at the New Horizons Learning Center in this struggling city two hours northwest of Chicago.

• Tech industry faces the knife
New York Technology companies often say their products ought to remain appealing in an economic downturn because they can save businesses money by making operations more efficient. But corporate spending apparently is being cut too forcefully for that message to get through.

• Taxpayers may pay execs' legal bills
Washington When the government took over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers inherited more than just bad debts. They're also potentially on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in legal fees for the executives at the center of the housing market's collapse.

• Automakers Report Losses
Detroit, Mich. General Motors Corp. said Friday it lost $2.5 billion in the third quarter and warned that it could run out of cash in 2009 if the U.S. economic slump continues and it doesn't get government aid.

• Chrysler still looks to return to profitability
New York - Chrysler LLC said Friday it remains focused on returning to profitability and won't comment on statements made by General Motors Corp. that the automakers' takeover talks have been suspended.

• Job losses surprise economists
The nation's unemployment rate bolted to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were cut, far worse than economists expected and stark proof the economy is deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid pace.

• Penn stock drops; feds to investigate
If you're wondering why the stock of the parent company of P&C Foods went almost to zero Friday, you aren't alone. So is The Penn Traffic Co.

• Company news
Ö Northside Collision announced: Vicky Perry was hired as an estimator/manager in the Cicero store. She previously worked at a manager of the body shop at Bill Rapp Superstore, where she was responsible for customer service and supervision of auto body repairs. Ed Norton was hired as an estimator/manager at the DeWitt store. He was previously employed as the body shop manager at Crest Cadillac. Õ5RothschildÕ Ö Martin J. Rothschild, attorney withThe Rothschild Law Firm PC in East Syracuse, was elected to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates. He concentrates his practice in personal injury litigation. Õ5HanousekÕ Ö Theodore Hanousek, of Liverpool, was appointed records manager in Syracuse University's Archives and Records Management Department.Hanousek was records manager for the Rochester law firm of Underberg & Kessler LLP. He also worked with Barnes & Noble Inc., specializing in inventory control systems and practices. Hanousek is a graduate of Alfred University. Õ5RabideauÕ Ö Timothy Rabideau, former managing director of the Greater Syracuse Agency, an office of MetLife, joined the company's elite group of achievers as a recipient of this year's chairman's council award. Rabideau is a graduate of the University of Dayton and a Chartered Financial Consultant and Certified Life Underwriter. He is a member of NAIFA-Syracuse. Õ5SalmonsenÕÕ6ZhengÕ Õ5SahulÕ Ö Oswego County Opportunities Inc. announced: Dr. Terry Salmonsen, Dr. Bei Zheng and Dr. Yasmin Sahul joined the medical staff at OCO's Fulton Health Center. Salmonsen, is a graduate of SUNY Upstate Medical University. Sahul of Flint, Mich., previously maintained a private practice in family medicine. She is a graduate of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, in Lansing, Mich. Zheng, a graduate of Shanxi Medical University in Taiyuan, China, recently concluded her residency in family medicine at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, in Syracuse. Ö Gary Thurston, president of Hayner Hoyt Corp., received the alumni achievement award from Utica College. Thurston was recognized for contributions made to the community.

• JobsPlus! seeks donations of used professional clothing
Sort through your closet and find old, professional clothing you no longer wear, and you could provide someone else with the right clothes to snag a job.