Valley sushi restaurant Zen 32 is closing its doors. Operators cite a number of reasons for the closing, including the costs associated with a desired remodel.
The trendy asian-fusion grille was a long-time standard in Phoenix, offering up sushi, a grill menu and a popular outdoor patio at the corner of 32nd Street and Camelback Road in the Camelback Corridor.
The sushi-n-sake spot, which had received four stars from online reviewers such as Trip Advisor and others, is expected to close its doors by the end of the month, but will continue to offer its weekday sushi Happy Hour from 4:30 to 6:30 p payday loan lenders.m. Monday through Friday and a reverse happy hour starting at 10 p.m. nightly.
For more: www.zen32.com
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Instead of building 12 million square feet, the developers of the ambitious Miami Worldcenter project in the city’s Park West neighborhood could lose their property to foreclosure.
Even with the cracks in the economy showing in fall 2008, developers Arthur Falcone, Marc Roberts and Nitin Motwani pushed the city to approve the massive commercial, residential, hotel and entertainment project on 25 acres.
Falcone, the head of Boca Raton-based Falcone Group, talked about including gambling if state law was changed.
Although the special zoning district was approved, some critics questioned the timing of the project. The plunge in real estate values has made going forward difficult. No construction has taken place, and the developers have not completed purchasing all of the property required for a contiguous site.
“It was a though call for them in 2008,” said Adam Greenberg, managing director of Miami-based BayBridge Real Estate Group. “They already had a lot invested in the area with land holdings and planning costs.”
Greenberg believes the developers had contracts to purchase additional properties but didn’t execute them.
Fifth Third Bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit on July 28 against the entities that own most of the land planned for Miami Worldcenter: Park West 3, Park West 5, Miami Auction Prop LLC, 950 NE 2nd LLC, 915 N Miami LLC, 701 N Miami and 100 NE 11th LLC. The mortgages to those companies were last renewed in 2007 and 2008 for a combined $39.3 million.
Orion Bank has a pending lawsuit against 13 Parcels, another Falcone- and Roberts-managed entity that owns land planned for Miami Worldcenter. It concerns an $18.3 million mortgage, although the lawsuit does not call for foreclosure. Unlike the Fifth Third complaint, the Orion Bank lawsuit names Falcone and Roberts, who has since filed personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Since Orion Bank failed in 2009, Iberiabank has continued pursuing that claim after assuming its assets.
Falcone did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The entities targeted by the Fifth Third foreclosure control the following properties:
Miami attorney Alan Grunspan, who represents Fifth Third in the foreclosure lawsuit, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
“The project is a good possibility in five to seven years, but prices and demand aren’t there for new construction for that long,” Greenberg said.
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The outlook for the job market has improved, according to a survey of leading economists released Monday, even as the economic recovery hit a speed bump in the second quarter.
In its second-quarter industry survey, the National Association for Business Economics said employers grew payrolls for a second consecutive quarter this year. The percentage of firms increasing staff levels grew to 31% in the quarter, versus only 6% in the same period a year ago.
At the same time, the percentage of employers cutting jobs continued to move lower.
Looking ahead, the survey showed that 39% of companies expect to add employees over the next six months, the highest level of planned hiring since January 2008.
"The labor market continued to improve, with increases in current hiring and a rise in the percentage of firms planning to add workers over the next six months," William Strauss, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said in a statement.
The jobs outlook is encouraging news for American workers. The U.S. unemployment rate stands at 9.5% as of June. The jobless rate has averaged 9.7% over the first half of the year, and many economists expect it to remain elevated into 2011.
But the survey, based on responses from 84 NABE economists who work for private-sector firms and industry trade associations, also indicated that the pace of the economic recovery slowed in the second-quarter.
Industry demand grew at a slower pace in the quarter, the survey said. Corporate profits grew as price and cost pressures remained tame. About one out of four firms increased capital spending versus the previous quarter, and a growing number expect to continue investing over the next 12 months, according to NABE.
While economic activity is expected to remain positive this year, more economists lowered their expectations for 2010 gross domestic product. Only 20% of prognosticators expect GDP will grow more than 3% this year. That’s down from May, when 24% expected such growth.
Still, the majority of economists in the survey expect GDP will top 2% for the year.
In the first quarter, GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.7%, according to government estimates.
Meanwhile, the economists warned that the debt crisis in Europe could hurt U.S. businesses in the months ahead.
Concerns about the fiscal health of several members of the European Union have roiled financial markets this year as countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal have been hit with downgrades of their sovereign debt ratings. The turmoil has raised concerns that a slowdown of the European economy could hurt the U.S. recovery.
"Credit and debt issues in Europe will likely negatively impact just over a third of the surveyed firms over the next three months," said Strauss.
A recent spate of dour reports on the job market, weakness in housing and consumer spending have stoked worries that the U.S. economy could sip back into recession later this year. Some economists have expressed concerns that the U.S. could be in for a prolonged period of slow economic growth.
Last week, the Federal Reserve released minutes from its June policy meeting that showed the central bank has developed a more pessimistic view for economic growth. The Fed expects GDP to grow between 3% and 3.5% this year, down from its earlier expectation of growth as high as 3.7%.
The World Cup might be over, but for the Los Angeles Galaxy, potential roster moves, or non-moves, are making headlines.
One report from the Associated Press has Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber saying the league will not entertain transfer offers from overseas clubs for Galaxy captain Landon Donovan.
Donovan has recently gone out on loan to German club Bayern Munich and English club Everton. Donovan's time in Everton, along with his performance at the World Cup have made him a more attractive asset for international clubs.
However, it is the World Cup performance, which included a game-winning goal against Algeria that helped the United States win its group, that makes MLS want to keep Donovan stateside.
"MLS needs soccer heroes, and we have a great American soccer hero playing for us in L.A., holding the torch for the sport in our country, and that's very important," Garber said in the AP report payday loans with no fax.
Another potential roster move for the Galaxy could be the signing of Brazlian superstar Ronaldinho, according to an ESPN report. The report cites a radio interview of Real Salt Lake Owner Dave Checketts on KALL, where he hinted that on the heels of New York's signing of Thierry Henry, another club might be looking to lure an well-known player stateside.
“I would imagine this guy is coming to L.A., and you'll all recognize who he is," Checketts said. The interviewer asked if he was Brazilian, and the response was, "I think he might."
The rumors of Ronaldinho signing with the Galaxy have been off-and-on in recent times.
The Galaxy is owned by Los Angeles' AEG.
The Internal Revenue Service is too busy trying to punish taxpayers instead of helping them navigate the complex tax system, according to a government official who watches out for taxpayers.
The report to Congress by Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson said that taxpayers looking for help from the IRS only get through on the phone 70% of the time, and have to wait 11 minutes for a response when they actually do get through.
"The IRS is failing to address the needs of taxpayers who are experiencing economic difficulties and has not revised collection policies that harm taxpayers, thereby undermining its goal of increasing voluntary compliance," Olson wrote.
Olson said the IRS has ramped up spending on "hard core" enforcement and handing out levies in recent years, while spending has declined on the type of services that help Americans understand how to pay their taxes. She said that seems misguided, because in many cases the IRS is punishing Americans who had a good tax history before falling into hard times because of the recession.
She said the real problem with compliance is the difficulty in negotiating an increasingly complex tax system. This is because payments from new programs — including the stimulus, Making Work Pay, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and hybrid car credit — have put added pressure on the IRS by creating a backlog of additional work cash advance loan no fax.
"Many of these provisions have created taxpayer confusion, generated considerable telephone and correspondence volumes, … caused IRS processing delays and programming problems, produced several refund fraud schemes and resulted in several spikes in the Taxpayer Advocate Service’s caseload," wrote Olson.
She said the 70% response rate to taxpayer calls was actually an improvement, up from 53% in the prior year. That compared to an 87% response rate to calls five years ago.
The advocate acknowledged that the job of the IRS has gotten more difficult in recent years, causing the under-funded agency to strain under the added responsibilities of administering new services. She suggested that the IRS develop a strategic plan acknowledging its "dual role as part tax collector and part benefits administrator" in its effort to seek more funding.
IRS officials were not immediately available for comment.
The Temple University Health System said Friday that its president and CEO, Edmond F. Notebaert, will step down.
In a press release, the North Philadelphia-based health system said Notebaert will continue at Temple during a transition period and help select future leaders for the system. The release did not say exactly when Notebaert will leave Temple, where he arrived in 2008 after working as president and CEO at the University of Maryland Medical System. Before that he was president and CEO at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
"When I accepted this position in September 2008, I came with clear objectives and priorities to stabilize the health system and position it for success moving forward,” Notebaert said cash advance today. “We have made tremendous progress and the time is right to now look towards long-term executive leadership.”
During his tenure, Temple addressed operating deficits and declining reimbursements, and converted struggling Northeastern Hospital from an inpatient facility to an ambulatory care center, among other efforts.
Dr. Ann Weaver Hart, president of Temple University, said, “Ed has many accomplishments during his tenure and raised the expectations of Temple’s health enterprise. I appreciate his commitment to Temple Health, our employees and patients.”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $5 million to the Public Health Foundation of India for tobacco control efforts.
According to the Seattle foundation, smoking kills 1 million people in India every year and is the leading cause of death among Indians between the ages of 30 and 69. The grant will focus on two states in India — Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh — over the next three years.
Departments of Health, Gujarat & Andhra Pradesh announce the launch of project STEPS with Public Health Foundation of India
(Strengthening of Tobacco control Efforts through innovative Partnerships and Strategies)
Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) has been awarded five million dollars by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to strengthen the National Tobacco Control Program in two states of India, namely Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, over a three year period (2009-2012). Project STEPS will provide the much needed district specific strategic response to the rapidly escalating global tobacco epidemic in India.
The Government of India, in compliance with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, launched the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP), under the 11th Five Year plan, to build state capacity to effectively implement tobacco control laws, and also to bring about greater awareness of the ill effects of tobacco use. Under the program, Tobacco Control Cells have been set up at each state for implementing State and District Tobacco Control Programs.
PHFI is a public-private partnership linking the government, academia, civil society and the private sector, and engages key stakeholder groups in strategic partnerships. PHFI and its educational institutions – the Indian Institutes of Public Health − are in a unique position to promote and sustain the tobacco control movement in India in partnership with the state governments. PHFI and IIPHs adopt a broad, integrated approach to tobacco control, targeting 11 districts in 2 states with long term vision of extending the successful models and interventions tested through this project, all over India.
The goal of project STEPS is to reduce the health burden of tobacco and associated risks; promote health equity through reduction in health and economic burdens resulting from tobacco consumption by engaging, enabling and empowering two key states and their stakeholders. STEPS seeks to facilitate state level action for implementation of centrally designed tobacco control programs. PHFI will be actively assisting the State Governments and NGOs in developing innovative models of community mobilization, community based self help cessation groups, replicating and adapting effective school based tobacco prevention interventions in India, alongside working with Indian Language Print Media to enhance tobacco control coverage in regional newspapers.
Project STEPS will also be conducting economic research to generate data to fill the research gap in India and examine various intervention models to identify opportunities and barriers for adopting alternate employment opportunities for the workforce involved in tobacco production, manufacture and distribution sector along with multiple government and NGO stakeholders. Along with Government of India and State Governments, this project will test models to mainstream tobacco control into existing health programs to improve quit rate among Indian tobacco users payday advance lender.
PROJECT STEPS will work in the following districts to strengthen implementation of COTPA in Andhra Pradesh/ Gujarat:
Distance Learning programs to strengthen capacity of state and district level health workforce, NGO professionals and other public health professionals are being launched as part of STEPS activities by PHFI. Short term courses on tobacco control serving Lawyers, Journalists, Health Professionals and Administrators, too will be launched by December this year.
To mark this event, Prof. K. Srinath Reddy, eminent cardiologist, tobacco control activist, and President, PHFI said:
“We hope to see Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh emerging as the champion states for tobacco control, demonstrating how various proven measures for tobacco control can be effectively implemented to reduce tobacco consumption. We expect to see a greater number of tobacco consumers quitting their deadly habit and others, especially women and young persons, being provided greater protection from becoming the victims of the tobacco trap and passive smoking. These two states will then become role models for other states, to adopt their best practices and gear up their own tobacco control programs”.
Project STEPS will have a strong presence in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. In the next three years, multi-dimensional interventions, research and capacity-building initiatives under Project STEPS will strengthen implementation of tobacco control programs at the district level with active involvement from the Indian Institutes of Public Health at Gandhinagar and Hyderabad.
Commenting on Project STEPS initiatives in Gujarat, Prof. Jay Satia, Director, Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, observed that:
“Gujarat faces enormous and complex public health challenges related to tobacco use mainly due to high and varied use of tobacco. Even among school going adolescents it is as high as 18%. PHFI through its Indian Institute of Public Health-Gandhinagar (IIPHG), is partnering with the Department of Health, Government of Gujarat to implement the STEPS project. It will demonstrate innovative strategies for wider adoption at state level leading to significant reduction in health and economic burden of tobacco use.”
Prof. Mala Rao, Director, Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad, observed that:
“Tobacco consumption is a reflection not only of individual choice but also of the socio-economic conditions which determine how people behave as well as their chances of a healthy life. We welcome the STEPS initiative which, for the first time, offers us the opportunity to marshal the evidence on how to establish a truly coherent approach to tobacco control with a better chance of success in rooting out this killer habit.”
Project STEPS looks forward to a fruitful collaboration with the State Government, district administration, Indian Language Print Media, Non Government organizations, community based groups stakeholders and activists to create an enabling environment for tobacco control activities.
Financial snapshot of banks with headquarters based in the St. Louis metro area
Ranked by assets as of March 31, 2009
Dollar figures are in thousands
RELATED: Banks based in St. Louis are turning profit again
NameTotal Assets at end of MarchAverage Assets during first quarterFirst quarter Profit (Loss)Return on Average Assets* (%)Total LoansProblem loansProblem loans / Total loans ** (%)Tier 1 Leverage Ratio *** (%) FIRST BK SOUTHWEST BK AN M&I BK ENTERPRISE BK & TR FIRST NB OF ST LOUIS BANK OF EDWARDSVILLE RELIANCE BK STIFEL B&T MIDWEST BANKCENTRE JEFFERSON B&TC BANK OF WASHINGTON EAGLE B&TC OF MISSOURI FIRST COLLINSVILLE BK ST LOUIS BK BUSINESS BK LINDELL B&TC SOUTHERN COMMERCIAL BK CASS COMMERCIAL BK FIRST NB IN STAUNTON CITIZENS NB ROYAL BK MO TRUMAN BK FRONTENAC BK PEOPLES B&TC FIRST COUNTY BK ROCKWOOD BK GERMANTOWN T&SB CARLINVILLE NB SAINT JOHNS B&TC FIRST NB OF WATERLOO UNITED BK OF UNION LIBERTY BK BANK OF SULLIVAN BANK OF O’FALLON CITIZENS CMNTY BK BREMEN B&TC BANK OF OLD MONROE BANK OF FRANKLIN CTY UNICO BK BRADFORD NB CHAMPION BK BELGRADE ST BK COMMUNITY FIRST BK FIRST ST BK OF ST CHARLES FARMERS & MERCHANTS BK COMMERCIAL BK CITIZENS BK PARKSIDE FNCL B&T TRIAD BK CONCORD BK MISSOURI BK THE NEW FRONTIER BK FIRST NB FORTUNEBANK MERAMEC VALLEY BK STATE BK OF WATERLOO JERSEY ST BK FARMERS ST BK OF HOFFMAN 1ST ADVANTAGE BK WESTBRIDGE BK & TR CO BANK OF KAMPSVILLE BANK STAR MIDWEST RGNL BK COMMUNITY BK OF TRENTON BANK OF BELLEVILLE VILLAGE BK BANK OF CALHOUN CTY SILEX BKG CO SUPERIOR BK CITIZENS ST BK BANK OF HILLSBORO FIRST CMNTY ST BK FIRST ILLINOIS BK STATE BK OF ST JACOB COLUMBIA NB FMB BK BANK OF MODESTO FARMERS ST BK CHESTERFIELD ST BK Sums * RETURN ON ASSETS payday loan lenders. Bank profit as a percent of assets. The higher the number, the better. In good times, the figure is usually above 1 percent.
* RETURN ON ASSETS. Bank profit as a percent of assets. The higher the number, the better. In good times, the figure is usually above 1 percent.
** PROBLEM LOANS TO TOTAL LOANS. The percentage of loans upon which payment is very delinquent or foreclosed upon. The lower the number, the better.
*** TIER 1 LEVERAGE RATIO. A measure of a bank’s capital adequacy. The number must be at 5 percent or better for the bank to be considered “well capitalized.”
Dividend investors are enjoying fatter payouts again, to the tune of $10 billion per year.
The reason? More than one-quarter of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 have increased their quarterly payouts over the past 5½ months, with just two cutting dividends.
But President Barack Obama and Congress are almost certain to approve higher taxes on dividend income.
In fact, investors in the top tax bracket could see dividend taxes more than double next year to 39.6 percent, up from the current 15 percent. For most taxpayers, a more likely scenario is a rate of around 25 percent, rather than 15 percent.
Whatever increase Washington settles on, it will change the math for dividend-paying stocks and mutual funds with a strong dividend tilt in their portfolios. They’re big draws for retirees and others who prefer a steady income stream, not just potential paper gains from appreciating stock prices.
Still, market pros say the recent surge in companies reversing dividend cuts appears to have staying power. Here are five things to know about dividend investing:
1. It can only get better, and it is: When stocks tanked in late 2008, companies that had reliably raised quarterly dividends year after year suddenly cut them, opting to hold on to extra cash to ride out the recession. It was a matter of survival for many, especially bailed-out banks that had been among the most dependable dividend payers.
This year’s turnaround has been sharp, particularly last month. The list of 25 companies announcing increases in April included IBM, Exxon Mobil, Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson.
2. Watch the taxman: Expect a quick end to the historically light tax bill dividend investors have faced in recent years. Taxpayers in all but the lowest two brackets currently pay 15 percent on dividend income.
Obama proposed an increase to 20 percent. But a proposal that cleared the Senate Budget Committee last month would go further, with steeper increases for those in the middle tax brackets, and a 39.6 percent rate for those in the top rung. The House is expected to begin debate this month.
The outcome: A $1 dividend paid this December would leave an investor with 85 cents after taxes. But in January, when the new rates would take effect, it could be closer to 70 cents or 60 cents, depending on your income.
3. Expect bank dividends to come back — if you’re patient. Financial stocks like Bank of America and Citigroup have historically been among the most reliable dividend payers, but that changed in 2008. The market meltdown hit bank stocks especially hard, and they cut dividends deeper than those in other sectors.
Many financial companies are still restricted from paying dividends as a condition of government bailouts. But even those no longer facing restrictions are cautious. They’re uncertain how tougher financial regulations will crimp business.
4. Dividends could be safe harbors if the market drops again. Dividend-paying companies typically have more cash on hand and steadier income than growth-oriented companies that instead plow profits back into their operations.
5. Dividends are solid long-term. Even after 2009, dividend stocks still have a good long-term record. S&P 500 stock prices ended up the last decade slightly below where they started, after the dot-com bubble burst early on, and the more recent subprime mortgage mess sent stocks tumbling. S&P stocks lost an average 2.7 percent per year over the decade, while dividends returned nearly 1.8 percent.
The mayor of Morgantown, W.Va., who like Durham Mayor Bill Bell, is trying to convince Google that his city should become Google’s ultra-wired community, has endorsed the Bull City in its quest.
But he’s doing so reluctantly.
Bell and Mayor Bill Byrne of Morgantown, where West Virginia University is located, placed one of those “friendly wagers” on the NCAA men’s Final Four semifinal in which Duke University clobbered the Mountaineers. The bet: The mayor of the losing city would endorse the winner’s city’s application for the Google project.
Bell has received a copy of the letter of endorsement sent to Google CEO Eric Schmidt supporting Durham’s application. The letter cites Byrne’s “…enthusiastic endorsement of Durham’s Google application guaranteed pay day loans.” Byrne goes on to write, “Having made a pact with the Devils themselves, I willingly express this sentiment.”
The Morgantown mayor couldn’t resist some subliminal pitches for his own city, alluding to the “substantial creative planks” of Morgantown’s application and a sly promise that when the Mountaineers win against Duke in next year’s championship, the game ball would land in the hands of Google.
Google plans to pick one or more locations across the country, promising Internet service that’s more than 100 times faster than what most Americans currently have. Google will announce its decision by year’s end.
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