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Most States Still Years Away From Getting Back Lost Jobs
Wall Street Journal :: May 15, 2012
Most states are still more than two years away from returning to prerecession employment levels, according to a new analysis. Only four states — Alaska, North Dakota, Texas, and Louisiana — have created enough jobs since the recovery to get back to where they were prior to the recession, according to economist Steven Frable of IHS Global Insight. All four of those states have
benefited from an energy boom, and Louisiana was starting at a low level of employment after taking a major hit from Hurricane Katrina. Two more states, New York and West Virginia, are expected to return to their prerecession peak later this year, and 10 more should reach the mark next year. But the majority of states still won’t get there until after 2014. Meanwhile, returning to peak employment levels doesn’t necessarily mean jobs markets are healed. In fact, getting back to where a state started doesn’t account for the jobs needed by new entrants to the labor force over the past four years. Eighteen states still are more than 5% below their 2007 employment levels, and the two worst-hit states — Nevada and Michigan — are still more than 10% off their peaks. Frable estimates those two states, as well as Rhode Island which has seen sluggish job growth, won’t return to prerecession peaks until sometime after 2017.
Cities Leading An American Manufacturing Revival
Forbes :: May 11, 2012
In this still tepid recovery, the biggest feel-good story has been the resurgence of American manufacturing. As industrial production has fallen in Europe and growth has slowed in China, U.S. factories have continued an expansion that has stretched on for over 33 months. In April, manufacturing growth was the strongest in 10 months. There are a number of reasons for this revival. Rising wages in China – up from roughly one-third U.S. levels to half that in a decade — and problems associated with protection of trademarks and other issues have led many U.S. executives to look back home. Some 22% of U.S. product manufacturers surveyed by MFGWatch reported moving some production back to America in the fourth quarter of 2011, and one in three said they were studying the proposition.
Lehman Sets Pact to Buy All of Archstone for $1.58 Billion
Wall Street Journal :: May 17, 2012
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has struck a deal to buy the 26.5% stake that it doesn't already own in apartment giant Archstone for $1.58 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The failed investment bank, which emerged from bankruptcy under a liquidation plan earlier this year, is buying the stake from Bank of America Corp. BAC -3.70% and BarclaysBCS -3.29% PLC, which together partnered with Lehman to buy Archstone in a 2007 leveraged buyout valued at $22 billion.The deal ends a high-stakes chess game over the past six months between Lehman and Chicago real-estate investor Sam Zell over control of Archstone, which owns more than 70,000 apartments in the U.S. and Germany. Mr. Zell's Equity ResidentialEQR -2.72% didn't get any piece of Archstone, but the company wound up getting paid $150 million to go away.
Dalian Wanda Takes AMC Theaters for $2.6B
GlobeSt.com :: May 21, 2012
Locally based Dalian Wanda Group Co. Ltd. revealed Monday morning that it will take over the Kansas City, MO-based AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. theater chain for $2.6 billion. The move will make Dalian Wanda the largest cinema operator in the world, with 432 locations in North America and China. AMC was founded in Kansas City, MO, and opened the first multiplex theater in 1963. The firm went public in 1997 and went on a buying spree, acquiring General Cinema, Loews and Kerasotes Theatres. The company’s now-private ownership included Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, the Carlyle Group, CCMP Capital Advisors and Spectrum Equity Investors.
More Hits; More Stores: How Web Traffic is Driving Brick and Mortar Expansion
Forbes :: May 23, 2012
Here’s a newsflash: Internet is not killing the retail star. But how can this be? Isn’t e-commerce keeping consumers on their couches?Far from being the death of brick and mortar, internet traffic is determining where and when to open more physical locations, what to stock, and how much square footage to give to a particular market. Time and again, we are witnessing how the most consumer-focused retailers are drilling down into their data and expanding based on digital sales volume, customer profiles and trends. They are making smarter, more strategic decisions, growing precisely where they need to, which is extremely positive for the retail sector as a whole.
The Big Get Bigger
Wall Street Journal :: May 18, 2012
Want to buy a restaurant franchise? It helps to own a bunch of them already. Many chains, including Burger King, McDonald's and Applebee's, are awarding more outlets to big owners who already own multiple units. Not only are the chains targeting big players in their regular franchise-marketing efforts, they're also selling the large players scores of longtime company-owned locations. Big owners, who sometimes run dozens, if not hundreds, of restaurants, are appealing for a number of reasons, say franchise consultants. They often have readier access to capital and can prop up underperforming restaurants with stronger sales
elsewhere in the chain. They're also seen as less risky by franchisers, because they have a track record with a brand.
Old Planes Attract New Interest From Investors
The New York Times :: May 15, 2012
On a sprawling piece of land here northwest of Tucson, 120 airliners bask in the Arizona sun like retirees — which many of them are, living out their days after decades of ferrying passengers around the world. David Kadlubowski for The New York Times Planes parked at Marana. In addition to storing planes, the business maintains and dismantles them. Whether the business, called Marana Aerospace Solutions, is the biggest aircraft maintenance and repair operation in the world, as new owners claim, depends on how one measures it: by maintenance capacity, airplane parking space or total square footage.
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