Business and Finance

More than 4,460 jobs have been created in Pennsylvania by casino table games in less than a month of operation, the state House Gaming Oversight Committee said Monday.

Supervisors, dealers and clerks, and security are among the jobs created by table games, which also appear to be boosting slot machine play, Committee Chairman Rep. Dante Santoni said at an informational hearing.

"The state received a record $116 million in slot machine tax revenues in July; a 17.81 percent increase over last summer that will go to lowering property taxes," Santoni said. "Many casinos credit that increase in slot play with the growing number of visitors they have seen since table games rolled out in mid-July No teletrak payday loan."

The revenue figures for table games won’t be available until after Aug. 20. Pennsylvania’s casinos, including Parx in Bensalem and Harrah’s Chester Casino and Racetrack, introduced table games in mid-July.

Table games and slots combined have created 12,754 jobs in the state, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

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Federal testimony on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill Friday revealed that an alarm system on the Deepwater Horizon rig had been “inhibited” for about a year before the rig exploded and sank in April.

Sensors that detect combustible or toxic gases were still active, relaying the message to the computer system, but the trigger for an audible or visual alarm was disabled.

According to numerous media reports, the platform’s chief electronics technician Mike Williams told the six-member federal inquiry panel that he had asked about the alarm being partially disabled about a year before the accident and was told by supervisors that it was done to prevent false alarms waking crews up at all hours of the night no faxing payday loan.

Williams told the committee that no audio or visual alarms were activated the night of the April 20 fire.

The joint hearing, held by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, was held near New Orleans Friday.

The Houston Business Journal is providing continuous coverage of the Gulf oil spill.

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Yet another claim is being made in court about how Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg started the company, this time by a New York man who says he is owed 84 percent ownership of the company.

Paul Ceglia says in his lawsuit in an Allegheny County court that he has a signed contract with Zuckerberg in 2003 to design and develop thefacebook.com.

Ceglia said he was owed a $1,000 fee and ownership of 50 percent of Facebook, plus 1 percent for each day beyond the original terms until the site was finished, adding up to an 84 percent stake.

The judge in the case has put a temporary restraining order on Zuckerberg and Facebook, preventing the Palo Alto social networking company from transferring any of its assets online payday loans.

Facebook has denied the charges made by Ceglia and is attempting to move the case to a federal court.

Ceglia was sued last year by New York Attorney Gen. Andrew Cuomo for allegedly taking $200,000-worth in pre-orders for wood pellets and then failing to deliver them.

His lawsuit follows a more celebrated case involving ownership claims made by Zuckerberg's Harvard University classmates, the subject of a movie due for release this fall.

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A concrete panel on the facade of the O’Donnell Park parking structure has been ordered removed as a precautionary measure to ensure public safety.

The panel is adjacent to a spot from where a 30-foot, 27,000-pound concrete slab fell from the structure, killing a 15-year-old boy and injuring three others as the made their way to Summerfest.

The order came at the recommendation of County Executive Scott Walker, in conjunction with on-site engineers, the Sheriff’s Department, the District Attorney’s Office and Milwaukee County corporation counsel.

Since the June 24 accident, access to the parking structure has been limited and Milwaukee County has been inspecting the remaining facade panels to determine whether they are securely attached to the structure.

Based on the ongoing inspection, it has been determined that it is necessary to remove the concrete facade panel that is currently in place over the entrance into the parking structure from Lincoln Memorial Drive, according to a statement from the county no fax payday advance.

Steps have been taken to secure the precast concrete section until its removal, the county said. The facade removal will be done at the direction of the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office. The date and time of the removal has not been determined, but will take place “as soon as arrangements can be made,” county officials said.

Once the piece is removed, it will be placed in secure storage as potential evidence in the ongoing investigation, according to the statement.

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Sales of condominiums in Maui County doubled last month, while sales of single-family homes rose 35 percent.

There were 104 condo units sold in May, including two on Molokai, which was 100 percent more than the 52 units that sold in May 2009, according to the Realtors Association of Maui.

There were 81 single-family houses sold on Maui alone last month, a 35 percent increase compared to the 60 homes that sold on Maui, Lanai and Molokai during the same month last year.

Prices, however, didn’t follow suit. The median price for a single-family house was $442,000 in May, an 8 percent decline from $482,500 in May 2009.

The median price of a condo in Maui County last month was $412,500, which was a 3 percent increase compared to $399,000 in May 2009 Payday Loan for Bad Credit.

Year-to-date, single-family home sales are up 49 percent compared to last year, while the median price for the first five months of the year is $460,000, down 9 percent.

Condo sales for the first five months of the year are up 59 percent; however, the year-to-date median price for a condo in Maui County is $427,750, a 34 percent drop from the same period last year.

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IKEA is recalling more than 3 million additional window blinds after a child nearly strangled earlier this year, the government said Thursday.

This expands the furniture retailer’s previous recalls of the same types of blinds, bringing the total number of blinds recalled to more than 4.5 million.

All Roman blinds and roll-up blinds sold at IKEA nationwide from 1998 through June 2009 for between $5 and $55 are included in the recall, according to a statement from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Roller blinds without a tension device attached to the beaded chain are also part of the recall, because a child’s neck can become entangled in the looped chain if it isn’t attached to a wall or floor.

The three types of blinds were all recalled due to the risk of a child being strangled by a cord.

CPSC said the recall was announced a new report that a 1 year old boy had nearly strangled on a cord in February.

Previous recalls by IKEA of the same types of blinds came after reports that one child died and another was almost strangled cheap payday advance. About 790,000 Roman blinds were recalled in 2008 and 2009 and 533,000 roller blinds were recalled in 2009.

Roman blinds can cause strangulation if children pull the blind’s exposed cord out and wrap it around their necks, or put their necks between the blind’s inner cord and the back of the blind.

Roll-up blinds can strangle a child puts his or her neck in the loops used to lift the blinds after it falls off the blind.

Consumers should immediately stop using all Roman blinds and roll-up blinds and return them to IKEA for a full refund. Roller blinds without a tension device attached to the chain can also be returned.

For additional information, consumers can call IKEA toll-free at (888) 966-4532. 

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Stocks erased gains by the close Wednesday, with the Dow ending below 10,000 for the first time in three months, as worries about global growth and a slide in the euro overshadowed upbeat economic news.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost nearly 70 points, or 0.7%, ending at the lowest point since Feb. 8. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 6 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) lost 15 points, or 0.7%.

A global market rally and a strong housing market report gave stocks a boost in the morning, but trading was choppy through the rest of the session as the euro weakened. Stocks slipped in the last hour of trading.

Stocks have tumbled in May, with the three major indexes all losing more than 10% each, falling into "correction" mode as investors have worried that Europe’s growing debt crisis is going to cut into U.S. and global economic growth.

A $1 trillion aid package announced by European leaders helped temper, but not eliminate, worries about the threat of so-called contagion stemming from problems with debt-plagued nations.

Greece got the ball rolling, but concerns remain about the other so-called PIIGS — Portugal, Italy, Ireland and most recently, Spain. News that Spain’s central bank had to take over one of the nation’s oldest savings banks over the weekend ushered in the latest wave of European-crisis driven worries. Reports of heightened tensions between North and South Korea added to jitters Tuesday.

Whether the stock correction - a decline of more than 10% off the highs - becomes a bear market - a drop of 20% to 30% off the highs - remains to be seen.

"A lot of indicators I watch suggest there is a turnaround coming, but the problem is the pullback has been pretty dramatic," said Randy Frederick, director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.

He said that a lot of investors who were skeptical of the huge rally off the March 2009 lows have been waiting for the ideal pullback to get back in, after several smaller pullbacks failed to cross the 10% threshold.

"That pullback is here," he said. "The question is whether they have enough nerve to come back in or will they look at it as evidence that the runup was a false rally."

Euro: The European currency has seesawed since falling to a four-year low of $1.2146 last week.

On Wednesday, the euro fell 1.4% versus the dollar but remained above that four-year low. The dollar lost 0.3% against the yen.

Volatility: The CBOE Volatility index, or the VIX (VIX), Wall Street’s fear factor, ended modestly higher after having fallen through most of the session. The VIX had dropped as much as 13% as the market initially rallied, but turned higher when stocks fell.

Economy: New home sales jumped 15% in April, thanks to still-low mortgage rates and a homebuyer tax credit that expired at the end of last month. Sales rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 504,000 from a revised 439,000 in the previous month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected sales of 425,000.

Another report released before the start of trading showed that durable goods orders rose 2.9% in April, versus forecasts for a gain of 1.5%. Goods orders were flat in March, a revision on an earlier reading that showed a drop in orders.

However, orders excluding transportation fell 1% after rising 4.8% in the previous month. Economists thought orders excluding transportation would rise 0.7%.

World markets: Stocks around the world rebounded. Markets in Europe gained in late trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 2%, Germany’s DAX gained 1.6% and France’s CAC 40 climbed 2.3%.

Asian markets also bounced back following a steep sell-off Tuesday on increased tension between North and South Korea. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1%. China’s Shanghai Composite ended just above unchanged.

Commodities: U.S. light crude oil for July delivery rose $2.76 to settle at $71.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a gain of over 4%.

COMEX gold for June delivery rose $15.40 to settle at $1,213.40 an ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices tumbled, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.24% from 3.16% late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Trading volume: Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers three to two on volume of 1.94 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners seven to six on volume of 3.08 billion shares. 

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Most executives running global companies are willing to relocate for the right career opportunity, according to a survey by executive search firm Korn/Ferry International.

Overall, 82 percent of global executives from 65 countries said they would be willing to relocate to a different region, state or country for job purposes.

Career acceleration is the primary reason to move according to 78 percent of those surveyed. However, compensation wasn¹t necessarily the No. 1 factor.

Nearly half of those surveyed, 42 percent, said that quality of life in the new location, or salary, was the top motivator. Eighteen percent cited the reputation of the company as the primary motivator payday loans.

In the survey, the Bayou City was singled out as a prime location for executives to relocate to.

"Houston provides candidates opportunities to direct their career to a higher level in market that¹s held relatively steady during the recession," said Eric Nielsen, managing director of Korn/Ferry - Houston. "We are now experiencing strong hiring activity due to the global strength of the energy/natural resources sector and the Texas regional economy."

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Georgia Tech suspended four without pay after an internal audit revealed evidence of possible malfeasance including the misappropriation of university resources for the benefit of Sayana Wireless LLC, a company two Georgia Tech staffers own.

The suspended employees who co-own Sayana are Joy Laskar and Stephane Pinel. The other suspended staffers are Chris Evans and Amanda Scacchitti.

The total amount of the suspected malfeasance is under review, Georgia Tech said.

“The actions taken are an appropriate exercise of fiduciary responsibility to protect the interests of the Institute and GEDC’s research sponsors,” said James Fetig, Georgia Tech spokesman, in a statement. “Georgia Tech is cooperating fully with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation which is conducting the investigation.”

GEDC’s research is focused on designing integrated circuits — the chips that make computers, cell phones and other electronic devices possible.

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Even in good times, the relationship between franchisors and their franchisees tends to be fraught. Toss in an economic downturn and things get downright nasty. Iconic brands are facing revolts in the trenches from owners fed up with their corporate parent.

Later this month, a Los Angeles jury trial will begin on a seven-years-old and still festering fight between UPS (UPS, Fortune 500) and a group of disgruntled franchisees of Mailboxes Etc., which UPS acquired in 2001. Quiznos recently settled a class-action lawsuit with its franchisees, while Burger King remains mired in a court battle with store owners over a $1 promotion for double cheeseburgers that cost more than a buck to produce.

Garth Snider, president of FranchiseOpportunities.com, a site that advertises franchises for sale, says the level of complaints by franchisees and franchisors alike "is commensurate with the hard economic times we’re experiencing. This wasn’t an issue three or four years ago, when there was plenty of money to go around, because franchisors weren’t looking to be as aggressive with their pricing."

When margins are razor-thin and sales slip, disputes are more likely to blow up into major skirmishes. The Quiznos fight featured complaints that Quiznos forced franchisees to buy food and supplies at inflated prices while setting retail prices so low that store owners couldn’t make a profit. Discounts — like those Burger King offered on its double cheeseburgers — are another flashpoint. T.G.I. Friday’s had a small war with its franchisees last year over a two-month promotion that slashed sandwich prices to a money-losing $5 each.

"It’s the divergence between generating volume by forcing your franchisees to charge lower prices and the net effect of that on the actual business owner, who still has to pay the same royalty and the same price for goods," says Justin Klein, a partner in Marks & Klein in Red Bank, N.J., and lead attorney for the Quiznos plaintiffs. "Essentially, it still costs you $5 to make the sandwich but you’re forced to sell it at $3.95."

The pressures come on all sides. One of Klein’s current franchisee clients is being forced by its parent company to extend operating hours — even if those extra hours aren’t profitable. "Forcing them to stay open longer means they have more employees there," he says.

Life in the trenches

Tish Reisman, owner of a Rita’s Italian ice outpost in Tampa, Fla., is facing many of the typical franchisee frustrations. She signed with the Trevose, Pa.-based parent company in June 2007, paying $65,000 for a two-store agreement. Reisman grew up in Philadelphia and had a fondness for Rita’s. She believed that in Florida "Italian ice would be a no-brainer."

The first store opened in March 2008. The problems began just six months later.

A competing Rita’s opened five miles away. A corporate marketing campaign required her to stand in front of Wal-Mart and Kmart stores handing out coupons, sucking up time and resources she couldn’t spare. Rita’s requires her to sell every new flavor it introduces for 24 days — even if it tanks.

"In November, I had to sell caramel apple, which I was throwing away every two days," she recalls. Rita’s projected waste from introducing new flavors is 7% and Reisman was given credit for that, but her actual waste was closer to 22%. "It would have been better if I could have decided what flavors would sell, rather than being forced to sell all of them."

Reisman lost $86,000 the first year she was in business and hasn’t been able to afford to open her planned second store. She’s sunk more $300,000 into the franchise. A single mother with four children, Reisman is worried about bankruptcy.

Jim Rudolph, CEO of Rita’s, says the coupon program and new flavor introductions have been successful for other franchisees. The company has been working with Reisman, he says, getting her rent reduced, offering incentives to potential buyers of her franchise, and negotiating with banks on her behalf.

"I feel terrible for her, but we also cannot be responsible for the unfortunate situation she’s gotten herself into," he says.

That’s the common line franchisors take when store owners run into trouble: You’re on your own.

Industry veteran says they’ve seen a few concessions to the economic downturn. "We’re seeing franchisors responding by temporarily deferring royalty payments," says David Kaufmann, a franchise attorney and partner with Kaufmann Gildin Robbins & Oppenheim in Manhattan. "Some have escalated corporate contributions to marketing programs, some are letting franchisees that promised to open new units now push that further into the future."

But Quiznos attorney Klein expects that even when the economy recovers, franchisees and franchisors will continue warring over the financial terms of their arrangement.

"I don’t think things like value meals and other low-priced promotions are going to stop," he says. "They are very popular with consumers." 

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