NJBIZ back issues from January 2007:
Help for Small Business
Jan 01, 2007; ... STATEHOUSE The state ponders ways to extend popular tax incentives to companies with few employees The Corzine administration's key official for economic development wants to overhaul some of the state's business incentive programs so more small businesses can ...
New Insurance Will Be Gone With the Wind
Jan 01, 2007; ... NEWARK Allstate to stop writing homeowner policies next month Catastrophic hurricanes in New Jersey? The threat of such historically rare events has led Allstate, New Jersey's second largest home insurer after State Farm, to stop writing new homeowner insurance policies here ...
Corzine Considers Racetrack Slots
Jan 01, 2007; ... As Pennsylvania continues to open slot parlors and racetracks with slot machines, Gov. Jon Corzine says he is more open to the idea of allowing video lottery terminals at state racetracks. Corzine says New Jersey would likely take a hit if it continues to ban the gambling machines from ...
Hospital Hassles
Jan 01, 2007; ... A state panel studying the possibility of reducing the number of hospitals in New Jersey had some news to ponder last week. Two published reports said part of the financial squeeze on the state's 76 acute-care hospitals comes from an excess of available beds. Other hardships include ...
Disassembly
Jan 01, 2007; ... Parsippany-based GenTek is selling its Noma Wire and Cable Assembly business to St. Louisbased Electrical Components International Holdings (ECIH) for $75 million in cash and an adjustment in the company's working capital. ECIH is an affiliate of Francisco Partners, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based ...
Satellite TV
Jan 01, 2007; ... The TV-programming business in New Jersey is adding another competitor. Bethesda, Md.-based CloseCall America has signed a deal to be a distributor for direct broadcast-satellite operator DIRECTV in 14 states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. Not coincidentally, ...
State Goes to Court to Stop Nuclear Waste Dump
Jan 01, 2007; ... New Jersey is saying "no" to the proposed dumping of low-level radioactive waste left from a metal-additives plant that's in the process of shutting down. The issue arises because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is set to review plans by Swedesboro's Shieldalloy Metallurgical to ...
Zofran Gets Cheaper
Jan 01, 2007; ... GlaxoSmithKline's Zofran empire was split up last week as three pharmaceutical companies-including two based in New Jersey-launched generic versions of the antinausea and vomiting drug. Each company delivers the product through a different method. Pliva, a subsidiary of Woodcliff Lakes' ...
New Insurer Enters The Garden State
Jan 01, 2007; ... While hurricane fears are causing Allstate to leave the homeowner-insurance market in states including New Jersey, the Massachusetts-based Commerce Group is moving in. Last week, Commerce Group subsidiary AQC Holding bought SWICO Enterprises, the parent company of State-Wide Insurance of ...
Global Action
Jan 01, 2007; ... Global Interactive Gaining, a subsidiary of Interactive Systems Worldwide in West Paterson, has launched a sports-wagering product called SportXction. It is available on the Web site www.betshop.com through a deal Global forged earlier this month with a subsidiary of BetShop Group, a ...
Charging into a Male-Dominated Industry
Jan 01, 2007; ... SOUTH ORANGE Woman-owned MGM Properties lands electrical work while other firms languish AN ELECTRICAL contracting Firm that doubles its revenues in a time of high statewide unemployment among union electricians is noteworthy. The fact that the company is woman-owned in an ...
Home Mortgage Foreclosures Soar
Jan 01, 2007; ... EAST BRUNSWICK Borrowing costs and a weak housing market take an increasing toll RISING FORECLOSURE RATES in New Jersey are likely to remain on the upswing in 2007, but experts say the odds are slim that the increases will signal a crisis for the state's housing market or its ...
Let Us Pay Your ATM Fees
Jan 01, 2007; ... TRENTON Banks pick up the tab when customers use rivals' cash machines USE THE AUTOMATED cash machine (ATM) at a bank other than your own and you can be hit with two transaction fees. One comes from the rival bank whose ATM you use while the other is what your own bank charges to ...
Welcome to the Make-or-Break Year
Jan 01, 2007; ... Our Point of View THE YEAR JUST ENDED saw a turbulent shutdown of state government and grandiose but unfulfilled promises to rein in property taxes. The new year will provide an acid test of whether New Jersey really can change the way it does business. Here are three things to look ...
Little Bump in Bonuses
Jan 01, 2007; ... When it comes to annual bonuses, relatively few New Jersey employers handed out more in 2006 than in the previous year. Thaf s according to the New Jersey Chamber off Commerce/NJBIZ Poll for December. Of the 310 respondents, 33 percent said their companies distributed the same holiday bonuses or ...
Corzine's First-Year Report Card
Jan 01, 2007; ... Board of Contributors GOV JON CORZINE'S first year in office will be marked in a few days. What grades should he receive for his performance in 2006? The governor gets an "A" for his commitment, hard work and dedication. He also gets an "A" for abolishing the corporate ...
Winning by Choosing Fulfillment Over Money
Jan 01, 2007; ... NJBIZ: Why did you found Integra? Caruso: Integra was founded with the idea that we wanted to find a way to enable the human body to re-create many of its parts that are damaged and diseased. And because we're living longer as humans, many of our parts are wearing out. So we wanted to ...
Getting the Most Out of Performance Plans
Jan 01, 2007; ... The Bottom Line Question: There is a lot of buzz around employee evaluation tools, more specifically the "360." How important is this type of assessment? Adubato: The "360-empIoyee evaluation tool" can be an important way of communicating valuable and direct feedback about ...
Gauging the Impact Of Civil Unions
Jan 08, 2007; ... TRENTON Experts see financial benefits, legal woes when the new law takes effect New Jersey's new civil union law promises to bring mixed blessings to the Garden State. Some experts predict that the law will produce new business and consequently additional tax revenues ...
Striving To Be the Stem Cell State
Jan 08, 2007; ... STATEHOUSE Corzine wants grant money on top of $270 million for research centers Gov. Jon Corzine and key lawmakers are counting on public support for stem cell research to lead to a referendum that would authorize the borrowing of at least $230 million for grants for stem cell ...
Housing Fight Gets Hotter
Jan 08, 2007; ... TRENTON Proposed rule changes don't soothe developers' concerns New Jersey and builders in the state are locked in a high-stakes battle over affordable housing that is rapidly coming to a head. At issue are state regulations covering fees that builders are required to pay to ...
Ma Bell Inches Back
Jan 08, 2007; ... There was a hint of déjà vu about the Federal Communications Commission's unanimous approval of AT&T's $86 million buyout of BellSouth. The FCC, which finally gave AT&T its OK after the teleom giant offered up awholenewslateofconcessions, was giving another push to the process that is ...
M&T Takes the Plunge
Jan 08, 2007; ... Another out-of-state bank has decided the Garden State market is just too good to pass up. Buffalo, N.Y.-based M&T Bank last week opened the doors to its first New Jersey branch on 460 Bergen Blvd. in Palisades Park. Officials of the bank, which already operates more than 650 branches in New ...
Goodbye Power Plant
Jan 08, 2007; ... A subsidiary of Newark's Public Service Energy Group (PSEG) has agreed to sell its natural gas-fueled electrical generating plant in Lawrenceburg, Ind. PSEG Power will part with the facility for $325 million-a loss-to AEP Generating, a subsidiary of American Electric Power that has a power plant ...
Diverse Enough for You?
Jan 08, 2007; ... Garden State companies figured prominently in a batch of lists from DiversityBusiness.com, a multicultural-business Web site based in Southport, Conn. Somerset's Software House International, run by Thai Lee, placed first among diversity-owned businesses in the United States based on ...
Winter Sports Center Faces Flaky Weather
Jan 08, 2007; ... Record warm temperatures have cast a muddy blanket over Mountain Creek's winter season. The ski and snowboard facility has been able to produce little snow over much of its terrain and has had low -, customer voSume, says Shannon McSweeney, communications manager at the Vernon-based ski resort ....
Local Firms Go Platinum
Jan 08, 2007; ... Twenty-one New Jersey companies have been named to this year's Forbes Platinum List of the 400 Best Big Companies in America. The Platinum 400 List recognizes the best of the biggest publicly traded companies in America, based on a thorough review of financial performance, Wall Street forecasts, ...
Prop-Tax Reduction Plan Gets Boost
Jan 08, 2007; ... The Statehouse's three most powerful elected officials-Gov. Ion Corzine, Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) and Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts (DCamden)-say they are on the same page when it comes to achieving 20 percent reductions in most homeowners' property taxes. To prove it, the stood ...
Choosing to Expand in the Garden State
Jan 08, 2007; ... LAKEWOOD Manufacturer Alpha Associates builds new facility and adds jobs CHEMICAL COATER and laminator Alpha Associates, a New Jersey staple since its inception in 1968, is consolidating its manufacturing operations in the state, a move that will spark an additional 25 jobs by ...
Good Guy Hackers Break in So Others Won't
Jan 08, 2007; ... MENDHAM Probing computer systems for weaknesses can help companies prevent attacks BUSINESSES WARY of computer attacks are turning to white-hat hackers that can identify potential chinks in their armor. Whether an uninvited visitor is a college student bent on disrupting data for ...
Loosening SOX
Jan 08, 2007; ... PRINCETON The SEC moves to ease rigid audit regulations SARBANES-OXLEY (SOX), the strict financial accounting requirements that have bedeviled companies since Congress passed them four years ago, could soon get a face-lift. Under proposals the Securities and Exchange ...
Rx for a Very Sick Health Institution
Jan 08, 2007; ... Our Point of View IF THE UNIVERSITY of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) wens a patient, the scandals that have shattered its reputation would have put it on the critical list. Two state task forces are now pondering emergency measures for UMDNJ, an eight-school institution ...
Republicans Must Heed Wake-Up Call
Jan 08, 2007; ... Board of Contributors THE REPUBLICAN PARTY suffered stinging election defeats at all levels of government last year, losing control of Congress, six governor's seats and more than 350 seats in state legislatures around the country. Emily's List, one of the largest Democratic ...
New Help for Women- and Minority-Owned Businesses
Jan 08, 2007; ... As head of the new Division of Minority and Women Business Development, Francis E. Blanco oversees policies designed to give women- and minority-owned businesses equal opportunity to participate in state contracts. Gov. Jon Corzine created the office last fall as part of his economic development ...
Using PEO Buying Power
Jan 08, 2007; ... Small companies interested in providing broader health-related benefits to their staffs might want to take a look at professional employer organizations (PEOs). While these firms are known for taking over payroll chores, PEOs can also create more-affordable benefits packages to help keep workers ...
Curbing Workplace Drugs
Jan 08, 2007; ... Clear policies help workers and minimize future problems REGARDLESS OF HOW carefully you hire and supervise your employees, you probably have some who are using drugs. The presence of drugs and alcohol in die workplace not only threatens employee safety-for which you may be liable-it ...
Wellness Reaches Out to the Office
Jan 08, 2007; ... Local hospitals help promote healthier workplaces with fewer missed days MOST EMPLOYERS OFFER sick days-but they'd rather their workers didn't need to use them. One way some companies work to keep their crews healthy is through the employee-wellness programs offered by local ...
Job One: Expand the State's Economic Growth
Jan 08, 2007; ... OPEN FORUM Editors note: Beginning this issue, Gary D. Rose, who serves as Gov. fan S. Corzine's chief adviser for economic growth, will write an exclusive article once a quarter for NfBIZ. FOR CLOSE TO AYEAR NOW I have had the privilege of working for the people of New Jersey ...
Striving to Increase Razor-Thin Operating Margins
Jan 08, 2007; ... Industry Report THE WORDS "New Jersey hospitals" are often followed by the phrases "thin operating margins," "excess bed capacity" and "low reimbursement for charity care." The pessimistic tone seems warranted. A grim report from the New Jersey Hospital Association, or NJHA, last ...
For the State's Unions, Health Insurance Heads the Agenda
Jan 08, 2007; ... Industry Report KNOWN AS the nation's most densely populated state, New Jersey is also the fourth most densely organized state, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Its labor unions are as diverse as they come, representing a wide array of industries and occupations, including ...
Who's News
Jan 08, 2007; ... Accounting Kriste Naples-DeAngelo has been promoted to accounting and auditing officer at Amper, Polftziner & Mattia in Edison. A senior member of the firm's pension services group, she has more than 20 years of industry experience. Naples-DeAngelo holds an M.BA from Centenary ...
Calendar
Jan 08, 2007; ... January 8 Monday 9 a.m to Noon. Are You an Entrepreneur? NJAWBO. Women's Business Center, 127 U-S. 206, Hamilton. (609) 581-2220. 8 Monday Noon to 2 pjn. Ambassadors Club Luncheon. North Essex Chamber of Commerce. Cloverleaf Tavern, 395 Bloomfield AVB., CaldwelJ. (973) ...
How the State Measures Up
Jan 01, 2007; ... Although it leads the United States in wealth per capita, New Jersey is largely on a par with the rest of the country by other measures, and trails it in certain respects. Economic growth is largely determined by three measures: income, employment and the housing market, says Rutgers ...
New Year's Forecast: Slow Growth Ahead
Jan 01, 2007; ... Experts predict that the state's economy in 2007 will look a lot like the one in the year just ended A YEAR OF modest growth is in store for New Jersey, reflecting a slowdown in the national economy and the state's own fiscal challenges, according to economists and state ...
Looking for Sunshine in the Housing Picture
Jan 01, 2007; ... All sectors of the suddenly troubled industry confront challenging prospects AFTER SLOWING SHARPLY last year, the residential real estate market will likely remain an economic drag on the state in 2007, housing experts say. With sales and new home construction shrinking, and the pace of ...
Big Employers Practice Addition and Subtraction
Jan 01, 2007; ... Industry Report WHAT DO four retail chains, three drug manufacturers, two universities three consumer-services or health care companies, one bank chain and the state of New Jersey have in common? They all belongon the NJBETop 50 Largest Employer list for 2006. While the ...
Who's News
Jan 01, 2007; ... Auto Dealership David Lee has been promoted from service manager to general manager at Madison Honda, part of the Bill Vince Auto Group. Lee, a 20-year veteran of the Madison-based dealership, started in the parts department and has worked in every aspect of parts and service. He is a ...
Calendar
Jan 01, 2007; ... January 3 Wednesday 8 a.m. Breakfast Club Meeting. Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce. AmaLfi's, 146 Lawrenceville Penning Road, Trenton. (609) 689-9960. 3 Wednesday 5 to 7 p.m. "Why Nor Wednesdays" Netuwrking Event. Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce. KalManDu, Route 29,50 ...
Scene
Jan 01, 2007; ... 1 FIRE STATION EXPANSION A 10-year effort to complete the fire station addition for Barnegat Volunteer Fire Co. No. 1 moves forward thanks to a $44,000 donation of labor and materials from the Walters Group, a Barnegat-based residential and commercial real estate developer. Pictured are Chief ...
North: Reach Out and Buy Someone
Jan 01, 2007; ... AIIAMUCHYTOWNSHIP One of the nation's largest credit-reporting companies, CIS Information Systems, is expanding its reach by acquiring two regional firms with offices in Baltimore and Tempe, Ariz. CIS bought Lender's Credit Services of ...
Central: Senesco, ArborGen Seal Tree Deal
Jan 01, 2007; ... NEW BRUNSWICK Senesco Technologies and ArborGen of Summerville, S.C., have executed a previously announced licensing agreement in which ArborGen will license Senesco's technology to grow trees faster and with greater mass than wild trees. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed ....
Central: Rushing Out of Arca
Jan 01, 2007; ... EDISON Mack-Caii Realty announced last week that it plans to voluntarily withdraw the secondary listing of its common stock from NYSE Area Equities, formerly the Pacific Exchange (PCX). The real estate investment trust's common stock will continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the ...
Central: Produce Plans Proceed
Jan 01, 2007; ... MIDDLESEX Plans are afoot to transform the former Food Basic Store at 700 Union Ave. into an old-fashioned farmers market. The site, to be named the Route 28 Farmers Market, would sell produce and odier food staples. Building renovations on the drawing board of the yet-to-be-named business ...
South: Almost Ready to Roll
Jan 01, 2007; ... MILLVILLE Residents of this Cumberland County community are waiting this week for Gov. Jon Corzine to sign into law measures granting loans and tax receipts to developers of the New Jersey Motorsports Park. The first stage of the $100 million, 10-year project will feature the four-mile ...
North: Security Synergy
Jan 08, 2007; ... LIVINGSTON Manufacturer of tamper-evident seals and locks EJ. Brooks acquired Markitwise International of Worcestershire, England, last week. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. EJ, Brooks markets its protective products ...
Central: Too Lean for the Loans
Jan 08, 2007; ... SOMERSET Biotechnology company DOV Pharmaceutical had a message for its bondholders last week; sorry. Following its delisting from the Nasdaq in October for failing to maintain the exchange's minimum market-value requirements, DOV was required to offer to repurchase its $70 million in ...
Central: Swallowing Gecko
Jan 08, 2007; ... EATONTOWN Hydrogen-battery developer Millennium Cell scooped up the remaining shares of Gecko Energy Technologies last week after plunking down $1.5 million in cash and services for a 34 percent interest in 2006. Gecko, also based in Eatontown, has become a wholly owned subsidiary of ...
South: Gormley Will Leave State Senate
Jan 08, 2007; ... ATLANTIC CITY State Sen. William L Gormley (R-Atlantic), one of the casino industries' staunchest Statehouse allies, announced last week that he will not run for re-election. The 30-year legislator, a rare Republican who supported Gov. Jon Corzine's state budget last year, said, "I still ...
Business Cheers The State of the State
Jan 15, 2007; ... TRENTON Lobbyists like Corzine's agenda but say he must deliver on it Business advocates applauded Gov. Jon Corzine's State of the State address last week for putting New Jersey on course to attack what have long been their two biggest concerns: ever-increasing property taxes and ...
Big Breaks for a Small Company
Jan 15, 2007; ... MONMOUTH JUNCTION TyRx prepares new products and a major licensing agreement TyRx Pharma of Monmouth Junction is on a roll. The medical device maker is bringing two products to market and this week is expected to announce a licensing deal with a major New Jersey health care ...
Return of Paid Family Leave
Jan 15, 2007; ... STATEHOUSE Hotly contested new measure gains Democratic traction A bill that would make New Jersey the second state to offer paid family leave-and would extend it to the smallest businesses-is getting an aggressive push from its sponsor. Despite serious reservations from business ...
Growth Council's New Quorum
Jan 15, 2007; ... The Economic Growth Council, a body of about 50 business leaders convened to advise the state on how to improve the business climate, met last Wednesday at Rutgers University with several new members, including heavy hitters FredHassan, CEO of Schering-Plough, and Stephen E Morgan, president of ...
From IPO to "For Sale"
Jan 15, 2007; ... Brokerage firm Ryan Beck Holdings was scooped up last week by St. Louis-based securities firm Stifel Financial for an estimated $96 million in stock. In return Stifel gets Ryan Beck's 1,000 employees, $19 billion in client assets and 40 offices. Ryan Beck provides investment banking, investment ...
Comcast Takes and Gives
Jan 15, 2007; ... The estimated 2.5 million New Jersey cable customers of Philadelphia-based Comcast can expect to see an average 3.2 percent rate increase effective this month. Comcast's standard cable package that includes basic cable with network television and some popular cable channels such as CNN ...
Meet the Business Hall of Fame Class of 2007
Jan 15, 2007; ... The New Jersey Business Hall of Fame last week inducted its first three members: Pamela Craig, CFO of Florharn Park-based Accenture; Kurt Landgraf, president and CEO of Princeton-based ETS; and Paul M, Pantozzi, chairman and CEO of The Provident Bank in Jersey City. The goal of the ...