Sign In
Free Newsletter
New York needs more energy capacity
How much electricity-generating capacity will be enough for New York in the next five years? The Business Council of New York State and many of its member companies have been wrestling with that question for months. We did so as we mulled what advice to give the state’s Energy Planning Board this month as it […]
No puzzle at the pump
A funny thing happened on the way to $3 a gallon at the service-station pump. Since early June, gasoline prices have been dropping-nearly 5 cents a gallon in the past week alone. And the Energy Department predicts prices will continue to head downward over the summer driving season. How does one explain this turn of […]
Letter to the editor: Program critical to Harbec growth
Dear Editor: I’d like to thank you for your coverage of Harbec Plastics Inc. (RBJ, 4/27/01), which received loans from HSBC Bank and the Empire State Certified Development Corp., an affiliate of the New York Business Development Corp., through the Small Business Administration’s 504 loan program to finance the expansion of Harbec Plastics to create […]
New SBA 504 loan program even better
Every few years, Congress looks at economic development programs funded by federal money or guarantees to ensure they still meet the nation’s needs. It recently did so with an important loan program from the U.S. Small Business Administration and began implementing a new version of the program that increases access to capital for businesses. The […]
Sometimes a hang up is a sign of health
It is remarkable how the “hang up” has become an acceptable behavior pattern in today’s society where telecommunication reigns. I’m talking about the hang up-two words-referring to the act of unexpectedly ending a telephone conversation. There is another hangup-one word-that relates to a fixation or mental block of some kind, and that’s another issue. If […]
Conflict on the Street
The “best practices” guidelines of the Securities Industry Association, a trade group representing some 700 securities firms nationwide, are designed to ensure that research produced by these firms is “objective, independent and of the highest integrity.” The guidelines cover such areas as disclosure, recommendations, analyst compensation, the relationsh[...]
Past and future
After leaving the Street hanging for two months, Xerox Corp. last week delivered the news investors wanted to hear. “After rigorous reviews of Xerox’s accounting,” Chairman and CEO Paul Allaire said, “no fictitious transactions were found and the company’s liquidity is not impacted.” Indeed, financial restatements added $127 million to the do[...]
When an innovative idea is not enough
In October 1994, the Rochester Business Journal ran a front-page story announcing our plans to launch the nation’s first electronic multimedia business newspaper. The electronic edition-called NewsLink-would contain the news, special reports, profiles and lists from the newsprint edition, plus additional features. Local TV reported on the new product, which we marketed as[...]
Combine to build a bigger company
From its inception in an Alexandria, Va., basement in 1995 as a one-person telecommunications consulting firm, until its second recasting in December 1998, TeleCon LLC afforded a nice living and an intellectual challenge to my partners and me. We specialized in management and control of telephone and network costs, acquiring clients among Fortune 500 telecom […]
Marginal relief
On Tuesday, the first day of trading after Congress approved a 10-year, $1.35 trillion package of tax cuts, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 34 points while the Nasdaq Composite Index gave away 75 points. Perhaps the market already had factored in the likelihood of tax relief. Or perhaps Tuesday’s lackluster performance reflected a downbeat […]
Shinola is long forgotten, yet it lives on
Of course you all know there are seven words that cannot be said on television, but there are many more naughty words that cannot be printed in a self-respecting newspaper. Print is so permanent and unforgiving, broadcast so temporary and fleeting; they need to be governed by different rules. But occasionally there are extreme situations, […]
Key to the canal
When Gov. George Pataki spoke at the World Canals Conference in Rochester last September, he outlined the initiatives undertaken by the state to ensure that the New York State Canal System’s future will be as bright as its past. He pointed to a five-year revitalization program launched in 1996 designed to restore the waterway’s infrastructure, […]
