Identity Crisis (Style Weekly)
Not too much news, but a nice analysis of the region’s changing economic development strategy. As the recession rages, how can Richmond’s economic recruiters attract more winners such as a DuPont and avoid losers such as Qimonda or Wachovia Securities? That’s the point of the rethinking at the Greater Richmond Partnership, which occupies downtown offices with a commanding west-looking view of the James River.
Boat slips on James (Times-Dispatch)
The Village of Rocketts Landing is putting docks in the water — but the economy isn’t floating many boats. The new community on the James River has leased just five of the 40 boat slips it began putting into the water yesterday to create a marina that will serve condominium dwellers and other private boaters.
Advance Auto’s outsourcing to cut 45 area jobs (Roanoke Times)
Advance Auto Parts will contract with outside drivers to haul merchandise from distribution hubs to its stores beginning in several months, putting 45 Roanoke-area employees out of work.
Big Lessons in Finance From a Little Bank You’ve Never Heard Of (Washington Post)
(Great read once you get through the first few graphs) Citizens never got into subprime lending or 100 percent loans, and for its caution lost a lot of business during the go-go years. But like many healthy banks, Citizens late last year figured it was in for a tough couple of years with the national recession and the continued turmoil in financial services, which anchors the regional economy. So it applied and won $20.5 million in bailout funds from the Treasury Department on the usual terms requiring a 5 percent annual dividend payment to the government. A few weeks ago, while reading a newspaper article, Price came up with an ingenious plan for how to use it.
At the Power Lunch, the Check Is Kryptonite (NY Times)
It used to be a common sight — the boisterous scrum as diners wielding corporate cards dove for the lunch bill, crying “I’ll get it!” But since the economic downturn, the delicate social rituals of the bull market era, when executives tried to outdo one another in expense-account one-upmanship, have been upended. Instead of dessert, many meals are ending with a cold, hard calculation of who is worth paying for and who isn’t. Often, the answers cause discomfort on both sides of the table.
More Gloom, Please (Slate)
The economic and financial crises are even worse than Obama admits.
What now for MBAs (BNET)
Where, then, are the best opportunities for aspiring business leaders? BNET talked to b-school professors, recruiters, and companies and identified four career tracks where demand for management talent is likely to remain strong through the recession and beyond.
Identity Crisis (Style Weekly)
Not too much news, but a nice analysis of the region’s changing economic development strategy. As the recession rages, how can Richmond’s economic recruiters attract more winners such as a DuPont and avoid losers such as Qimonda or Wachovia Securities? That’s the point of the rethinking at the Greater Richmond Partnership, which occupies downtown offices with a commanding west-looking view of the James River.
Boat slips on James (Times-Dispatch)
The Village of Rocketts Landing is putting docks in the water — but the economy isn’t floating many boats. The new community on the James River has leased just five of the 40 boat slips it began putting into the water yesterday to create a marina that will serve condominium dwellers and other private boaters.
Advance Auto’s outsourcing to cut 45 area jobs (Roanoke Times)
Advance Auto Parts will contract with outside drivers to haul merchandise from distribution hubs to its stores beginning in several months, putting 45 Roanoke-area employees out of work.
Big Lessons in Finance From a Little Bank You’ve Never Heard Of (Washington Post)
(Great read once you get through the first few graphs) Citizens never got into subprime lending or 100 percent loans, and for its caution lost a lot of business during the go-go years. But like many healthy banks, Citizens late last year figured it was in for a tough couple of years with the national recession and the continued turmoil in financial services, which anchors the regional economy. So it applied and won $20.5 million in bailout funds from the Treasury Department on the usual terms requiring a 5 percent annual dividend payment to the government. A few weeks ago, while reading a newspaper article, Price came up with an ingenious plan for how to use it.
At the Power Lunch, the Check Is Kryptonite (NY Times)
It used to be a common sight — the boisterous scrum as diners wielding corporate cards dove for the lunch bill, crying “I’ll get it!” But since the economic downturn, the delicate social rituals of the bull market era, when executives tried to outdo one another in expense-account one-upmanship, have been upended. Instead of dessert, many meals are ending with a cold, hard calculation of who is worth paying for and who isn’t. Often, the answers cause discomfort on both sides of the table.
More Gloom, Please (Slate)
The economic and financial crises are even worse than Obama admits.
What now for MBAs (BNET)
Where, then, are the best opportunities for aspiring business leaders? BNET talked to b-school professors, recruiters, and companies and identified four career tracks where demand for management talent is likely to remain strong through the recession and beyond.