A small band of protestors, some wearing homemade oil barrel costumes, seized the moment yesterday by gathering at the Cary Street BP to call for Virginia Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner to vote against federal legislation deemed by some as pro-big oil and anti-environment.
Michael Schwartz
Michael Schwartz is the editor of Richmond BizSense, and covers banking, lawsuits, finance, M&A and golf. He can be reached at [email protected] or 804-855-1037.
Bank president makes “tough decision” to retire
With his company having lost nearly $19 million in the last two years and regulatory examiners breathing down the company’s neck, the head of Central Virginia Bankshares announced his plans to retire by year’s end, the company said Friday.
Anti-Massey billboards pop up in W.Va.
An anti-Massey Energy group has begun a billboard campaign in West Virginia pushing for prosecution of the Richmond-based coal mining company. According to a report from the Martinsburg Journal in Martinsburg, W.Va., a group called Prosecute Massey, part of Washington, D.C.-based non-profit the Daily Citizen, has purchased billboard space around West Virginia bearing the message… Read more »
Startup health insurer shutting
The hotly debated healthcare reform bill signed into law in March has killed a local insurance company, and one that had raised more than $10 million from mostly local investors.
Virginia Business Bank tries to break out of holding pattern
After almost eight months of operating under a strict regulatory turnaround/survival plan and having moved on to its third president since the fall, a Richmond-based bank has rethought its plan and might reinvent itself if it can secure a fresh round of capital.
Trading Day: Roundup of publicly traded companies for 6.3.10
Altria has to fork over almost $1 billion to the tax man, while directors and officers at several big companies are exercising their stock options.
Charge it
Report shows growth in small biz credit card use
The meter’s running
Mike Scelzi hopes property owners are as obsessed with watching the meter as he is. His young company, Net Metering Inc., offers a system that allows commercial property owners to constantly monitor the electrical consumption of their buildings with the hopes of catching spikes in activity and ultimately saving money.
Making bank, plus a bonus
Fresh off a year of big losses, Community Bankers Trust Corp., a local bank holding company and parent of Essex Bank, increased the base salaries and total compensation of many of its top executives in 2009, according to its latest SEC filing.
Credit unions seek to cash in on lending
Credit unions want in on small-business lending, where local and regional banks typically make a big chunk of their profits.