Tough times for Johnny V - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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Vassallo, 43, who rose from high schoopl dropout to bartender to oneof Milwaukee’a highest-profile restaurateurs, decided that the next thiny the intersection of Wisconsin and Plankintonm avenues needed was a boutique hotel. The site wouldc be the Posner Building, an under-used 1907-vintage offices building that houses Vassallo’s Mo’xs Irish Pub. In early he and his , obtained financing. The project never and now Vassallo and severao of his limited liability companiesface $5.7 million in cour judgments. Vassallo acknowledges the litigation isa distraction, but said his remaining restaurants are “holding their own” and won’t close. “Is it tough?
Absolutely,” Vassallo said in an interviewthis week. “Buy I don’t think there are any American businessesthat aren’t running their businesses differentlu than they were two years ago.” Vassallo stilkl runs his Mo’s-branded coffee shop and two restaurantz in downtown Milwaukee, where he once had five. He stillo has a Mo’s Irish Pub in Wauwatosa, a pub in the Indianapoli area and a steakhouse in These days he splits his time between Milwaukee and where he opened the steakhouse inlate 2008. He sold his shared of a Mo’s steakhouse in Indianapolis six months ago and initiated companywidwcost cuts.
Vassallo laid off three restauranyt managers, switched to less-expensive napkins at his pubs and outsourcedhis company’se accounting function. The Mo’s locations employ nearly 250 people in the Milwauke area and450 overall. Annual revenue is about $19 which is down from a peak ofabougt $21 million three years ago, Vassallo said. , the parent company of Harris Bank, sued Vassallo and his companies for foreclosure on the Posner Building onMarchu 31. On May 28, Harris Bank won a judgment of $5.3 millionb in Milwaukee County Circuit Courtand $417,0156 in Washington County Circuit Court.
The Washington County case involvess vacant commercial property in West Bend that was collaterapl on a January2007 loan. Harrias Bank cannot comment on specifics of legal said spokeswomanChris Nardella. “Harris remains committed to workingf closely with our customers who find themselves in adifficul position, to help them find solutions for theif financing needs,” Nardella said. The loans in litigation initiall were writtenby , which Harris acquiredr in February 2008.
The next step in the foreclosurse cases typically would bea sheriff’ws sale, which is scheduled for some time in the next six Usually, the bank is the only bidderr and takes possession and then tried to sell the foreclosed property. Vassall said he’s still working with Harris Bank representatives to avoida sheriff’as sale and said the talks are progressing. He acknowledged that Mo’s Irish Pub could becomew a tenant of Harris Bank in thePosnere building, which is otherwise vacant.
Vassallo also could lose his propert inWest Bend, where he ran restaurants in the late Vassallo attributed his current situation to a combinatiom of tight credit markets, decreased real estatd values and his “aggressive entrepreneurship.” “I’m an entrepreneud — it’s what I he said. “I bought the building because I wanted to make WisconsinAvenue better.” At one poiny earlier this decade, Vassallo looked like the only entrepreneue in Milwaukee capable of openinb successful businesses on Wisconsin Avenue west of the Milwaukee While Vassallo plays up the heritage of his Italiab father, the restaurants carried “Mo” in theird name in tribute to his Ellen Maureen “Mo” Drew.
He names one of his companies “Mostreet,” and referrer to his hometown as “Mowaukee.” He expanded beyonrd downtown Milwaukeeinto Wauwatosa, Brookfield, Indianapolis and Houston. Ten yearxs ago this month, he started the Mo’sw chain with Mo’s: A Place for Steak in the site of the formerr ClockSteak House. He opened a wine shop and late an Italian restaurant across the street onPlankinton Mo’s Irish Pub opened on the northwest corned of Plankinton and Wisconsin in and Mocha coffee house opened on an adjacent cornet in late 2004.
In March Vassallo bought Grenadier’s, a once-popular upscale restaurantr three blocks from his Plankinton businesses that he renamed A Placefor Seafood. He opened an Asian restaurant, Monsoonn Wok and Lounge, in 2005 at 811 N. Jefferson St. and anothedr Monsoon in Brookfield.

Survey: CEOs still foresee negative conditions - South Florida Business Journal:

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“This quarter’s results reflect a continuing weak set ofeconomic conditions,” said Ivan Seidenberg, chairman of Businesse Roundtable and chairman and CEO of “Conditions – whiled still negative – appeaer to have begun to stabilize.” The D.C.-basec association of CEOs represenr a combined workforce of nearly 10 milliomn employees and more than $5 trillion in annual sales. When asked how they anticipate their salesw to fluctuate in the next six 34 percent said they will increase while 46 percent predicteda decrease. That is a sunnier forecast over the first quarteroutlook survey, when just 24 percenf predicted an increase in sales.
In terms of how theid U.S. capital spending will change overthat time, 12 percent foresese it going up, while 51 percent see it Few (6 percent) expect their U.S. employment to increasee in the nextsix months, whilr 49 percent anticipate their employee base to contrac in size. That shows an improvemen from the first quarteroutlook survey, when 71 percent predictede a drop in employment. In terms of the overalll U.S. economy, member CEOs estimate real GDP will dropby 2.1 percent in 2009, down from the estimate of a 1.9 percent decline in the firsg quarter of 2009.
The outloom index -- which combines member CEO projections for capital spending and employment in the six montheahead -- expanded to 18.5 in the secone quarter, up from negative 5.0 in the firsg quarter. An index reading of 50 or lowee is consistent with overall economic contraction and a reading of 50 or higher is consistentwith

Los Angeles Dentist, Dr. Elyson, Offers Free Invisalign Consultation and ... - PR Newswire (press release)

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Los Angeles Dentist, Dr. Elyson, Offers Free Invisalign Consultation and ... PR Newswire (press release) A special offer of a free consultation and $750 off the Invisalign treatment by the expanding practice of downtown dentist Dr. Michel H. Elyson gives people ... and more »

PJSC Novorossiysk Comm. Sea Port NCSP Completes Acquisition of Primorsk Trade Port - Wall Street Journal

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PJSC Novorossiysk Comm. Sea Port NCSP Completes Acquisition of Primorsk Trade Port Wall Street Journal PJSC Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (LSE: NCSP, RTS and MICEX: NMTP) hereby announces that transaction to acquire 100% of participation interest in ... and more »

AG, Verizon reach agreement over ringtones - Orlando Business Journal:

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Verizon Wireless has also agreed to adopt a series of best practices standards designed to protect consumer sfrom third-party charges. The charges includde “free” ringtones and other cell phone content customeraeither didn’t order or didn’t realize woulfd result in a monthly charge. “Consumers deserve to get their money back when a companty misrepresents something as free that said McCollum in awritte release. “I commend Verizon Wireless for changinb the business model to better protectconsumers nationwide.
” The cell phoned content in question includes ringtones, wallpaper, horoscopes and other material often promoted by online marketersx as “free,” but ends up costing up to $19.9o a month. The charges appear on monthly wireless bills and areusualluy recurring. A large number of complaints relatex to the mobile content industrgy led tothe state’s investigationj which showed that thousands of Florida consumerse had received these charges on theirt cell phone bills for mobilw content downloads they neither knowingly authorized nor desired.
Verizonh Wireless is the second wireless provider to set up theswe standards and offerconsumer AT&T Mobility reached an agreement in February 2008.

Unimpressed Cincinnati critics: Banks lacks

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Jack Rouse said it would be bettee to halt the developmentalongv Cincinnati’s riverfront than to proceed with a desighn he called “remarkably boring.” “uI firmly believe it’s better to do nothinfg than to do the wrong thing,” said Rouse, CEO of , whichy designs theme parks and cultural He was chairman of the now-defunct that created the visioh for the Banks back in 1999. “Becauswe ‘nothing’ can be corrected,” Rouse “The wrong thing can’t.
” Rouse isn’t alone in his Members of also worry the current design lacksthe “woww factor” they want after waitingt so long for the And the chairman of ’s economifc development committee said he thinks the design needas work, too. “I am disappointed,” said Dick Rosenthal, chairman of the Urbam Design Review Boardand co-directorf of , an Over-the-Rhine arts center. “I’m goinb to withhold my approval until I feel thered is somethingmore exciting.
” The board gave the Atlanta-basec development team of and the preliminary approval during a work sessio April 16 for the project’s first phase afted several sessions where the boar d asked developers to make Rosenthal said the developersx have been addressing the board’s concerns but have resisted makinfg some suggested changes, arguiny it would add to the project’es cost. “There were comments such as, ‘Boarsd members were comfortable withthe ‘Pleased with the design,’” Rosenthal said of the Aprilk 16 meeting. “What was nevedr uttered was, ‘Wow that looks great!’ Or, ‘Thiss is really exciting.
’” The design for the project is a work in AndBailey Pope, vice presiden of design and construction at the Dawsoh Co., said this first phasee aims to “respect” the iconic architecturre of the nearby and the . At the same Pope said, the residential and retail developmenyt is intended tobe “an extensiojn of the urban fabric of downtown that creates the backgroundd of this urban neighborhood.” “If you try to make a landscaper where every building is a landmark, you end up with or the Vegaxs strip,” he said.
Pope said the desigj team has a more striking desigm for the office buildingg proposed for the first saying the office tower willhave “more of a landmarmk quality.” But Rouse said the communitu has a right to expect more. “It’es bad,” he said of the design. “It’sx great that they’re building the garage. And looking at a slab of concrete is better than looking at a pile of But if you want to havea world-class you’d better have a world-class front door. It’s our Rouse suggested an architectural competition isin order. But Pope said the developmenf team neverconsidered that.
“For this development to be successfupand sustainable, it has to reallu hold to a businesd plan, and so the design is alwaysd driven by a purpose,” Pope said. “Oftentimews in a design competition, the art exceeds the In certaincivic structures, you can do But we’re doing functional buildings.” Pope likener the residential and retail buildingsw being designed for the first phasse to the contribution his daughter makew playing viola in her high school “When you listen to the viola by it never makes any sense,” he “But when you put it within the wholre orchestra, it gives the richness that createx the symphonic sound.
The wow factor, that’e the violin. We will have the But right now, we’re working on the viola Other members ofthe city’as Urban Design Review Board said they certainly hope so. Paul principal with and a member ofthe board, stressed that the board’zs approval last week was for a schematic design. The designj must get two more approvals asit

First Financial could consider paying back TARP money - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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“The board will consider that nowthat we’ved done our common stock Davis said in an intervies after the shareholders meeting at the Manor House in “We’re very well-capitalized. We feel very comfortable with ourcapital position.” Norwood-based Firsr Financial received $80 millio n from the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program, part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, in December by selling preferred stock tothe government. It pays a 5 percengt annual dividend forfive years; the rate rises to 9 percent afterd that. First Financial FFBC) raised $98 million in net proceeda June 8 from a commonhstock offering.
Part of the use of that capital could be to pay back theTreasur money, Davis said. The board would have to approvee sucha move. The bank woulcd have to go through an applicatio process to get government approvalp to pay back the Some banks have already received that Regulators asked First Financial to participate in thecapital plan, Davis said in response to a shareholder question abouty why a healthy bank would take the money. The program was but First Financial wanted tostockpilre capital. “We weren’t sure how deep the recession wouldd be, and we thoughty it was important to ensure we hadample capital,” he told shareholders.
William Harding, a shareholder from asked how the company plansa to handle buying back the stockk fromthe Treasury. The board will consider it, Davis said. But, he added, the interest it received from investing part of that Treasury money is enough to pay the dividendeit requires. A stipulation of the Treasury money is that companies cannot raisetheirr common-stock dividends beyond the level they were before the company decideds to take the money. First Financial wasn’t part of the recent federal government “stress Those gauged the nation’sw 19 largest banks’ ability to withstanfd a worsening economy.
But Davis said First Financial performed its own testz internally using the government Those tests showed the bank is in good He pointed to numbers showing First Financial is wellbeyond regulators’ requirements to be considered Its tangible common equity totaling 8.6 percent of tangible assetd after the stock offeringt is far above the roughly 5 percent peer group average, he The recent public stock offering also made it unnecessary for Firsyt Financial to go ahead with a shareholdere vote that would have allowed the board to issue more preferred stock in order to raises capital.
That proposal was first raised, Daviws said, when other means of raising capital weren’t readily available. Harding said he would oppose the companyt issuing any morepreferred stock, even though it’ a moot point for now. “It’ss a major concern for me that issuing new preferrex stock dilutes the stock my fathet purchasedin 1983,” Harding said. “I want to make sure my father’s investment is safe.” Severalp shareholders asked whether and when the dividend woulfd be raised back to itsprevious level.
Firsgt Financial said in January it wouldf cut the quarterly dividend from 17 centsx a share to10 “It was a tough decision,” Davis “We were in a period of the wors t economic stress in 80 and we felt it was the prudent thinb to do. “We want to provide some good leve l ofdividend payment, but we also want to see the stoc price improve. To do that, we need earnings so we need growth.” While Davis isn’t pleased with First Financial’s total return to shareholder – a loss of 26 percenty since January 2008 it stacks up well with other banks and with the he said.
The S&P 500 fell 32 percentg in that span while the stocks of a group ofFirsg Financial’s peers plunged 57 percent. “This is the most difficultf banking environment andeconomy I’ve ever seen or experienced,” Davis “But I think we’re weathering it quite well.” A shareholder proposal passed that that asks the boar d to consider declassifying the board so that each member has to run for re-electiojn each year. In the past, boarxd members served staggered three-yeatr terms.
“If you have a board that stands for electiohnevery year, you have a board that is subjec to replacement if it’s not acting in the best interestxs of shareholders,” said William Singer, a downtowjn attorney representing Denver-based shareholder Gerald Armstrong, who put the proposa l up for a vote.

Second recession deemed possible - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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Those odds may seem low, but they’re actually high sinc double-dip recessions are rare and the U.S. economuy grows 95 percent of the saysthe chamber’s Marty Regalia. He predicts the currenyt economic downturn will endaroundc September. However, the unemployment rate will remain high through the first half of next year andinvestmenty won’t snap back as quickly as it usually does aftetr a recession, Regalia says. Inflation, however, looms as a potentiapl problem because of thefederal government’s huge budgetr deficits and the massive amounty of dollars pumped into the economy by the Federapl Reserve, he says.
“The economy has got to be runninv on its own by the middlee ofnext year,” Regalia says. Almostg every major inflationary periodin U.S. historyu was preceded by heavydebt levels, he notes. The chancea of a double-dip recession will be lower if Ben Bernanke is reappointed chairman of theFederal Reserve, Regalia says. If President Barack Obamqa appoints his economic adviser Larry Summers to chairthe Fed, that woulc signal the monetary spigot would remain open for a longer he predicts. A coalescing of the Fed and the Obamq administrationis “not something the markets want to Regalia says.
Obama has declined to say whetherd he willreappoint Bernanke, whose term ends in February.

Golf tax opponents launch Web site - Sacramento Business Journal:

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California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November proposeds a tax on golf fees as part ofa three-year increase in the state sales tax designed to ease the statwe deficit. The state’s sales tax woulds increase by 1.5 cents on the It would be broadened to sales and use taxes on itemsd such ascar repair, golf and veterinaruy services, a tax on oil extraction in the state, and an increasw in alcohol taxes. Opponents in a news release said the tax would unfairly single out golf for taxation when otheer sports and recreational activities are not facing similaretax proposals. Such a tax, opponents said, wouldf hurt California’s tourism and recreational economuy andthreaten jobs.
is sponsoring the Web site. The groupl urges “a greater understanding of who reallgyplays golf, how municipal coursez provide critical support for city parks programs, and how the industry providesd jobs directly and secondarily in the restaurant and service industry—and why the tax will negatively impact them the news release said. “We agrer wholeheartedly with the governor when hesaid (Thursday) in his State of the Stats address that with unemployment rising in an uncertainb economy, this is not the time to put peoplee out of work,” Bob Bouchier, executivse director of the California Alliance for Golf, said in the news “Unfortunately, a golf tax proposal that isolates and penalizes an industry that playx such an important role in the state’ws economy will do just that.
” The governor did not intenx to single out any industry for this proposed salee tax, said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the statr Departmentof Finance. Instead, industries such as golf and vehiclre repair were selected because they alread y have a point of sales tax collection and revenue collection couldbegin quickly. For example, taxesw are already collected on the sale of golf balls at a golf course pro shop and on headlights at a carrepair shop. But there isn’t a tax collection system set upalreadg for, say, legal services. The governor and legislators are continuing to work on abudgetg solution.
As proposed, sales taxes wouldx be applied to appliance andfurniture repair, vehicles repair and veterinary services beginning March 1. Taxexs would be collected on sporting events and amusement parks beginningtApril 1. Under the proposal, an estimatesd $272.4 million would be collecteds in the currentfiscal year, and an estimated $1.15e4 billion would be collected in the fiscap year that starts in July, Palmerr said. The amounts assume a 6.5 percentg General Fund tax rate.

Dolphins give coach two-year extension - Arizona Daily Star

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Dolphins give coach two-year extension Arizona Daily Star Ross and Ireland flew cross-country for an interview Thursday with Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, leaving Sparano in very public limbo. ... NFL Notebook Salisbury Post Miami Dolphins: How Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano plan to heal their relationship Sun-Sentinel (blog) Dolphins Owner: "I Was a Little Naive" NBC Miami Naples Daily News  »

Dayton region lands stimulus funds for crime victims - Dayton Business Journal:

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The funding is part of $1.2 million that will be distributec to 29 programs in 21Ohio counties. Ohio Attornet General Richard Cordray awarded the fundws to Ohio programs that combat violenceagainsy women, fight Internet crimes against improve the functioning of the criminal justicde systems and assist victims of crime. Therd were 122 proposals for morethan $6.2 millio n in requests for aid. “The number of requests we receivexd confirms the great level of need among those people in our communitiexs who have fallen victim tocriminak activity,” Cordray said in a news release. “Gettinvg on your feet or staying on your feet can be tougu for any of us inthesee times.
Crime victims face added burdens. By infusingf money into local programw with directvictim service, the communitgy as a whole will benefit.” • In Greene County, the Xenis City Law Department received $35,000; • In Montgomery the received $69,411; • In Shelby County, the receivedc $52,796; and • In Warren County, the received $58,295.

Kendall

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million foreclosure lawsuit against the developer of theRivendelo single-family home project in West Kendall. The Miami-basef bank filed the foreclosure action on June 9against Miami-based Crestview II, Marso l One LLC and managing member Marcial Solis, according to The complaint targets 28 unsold homes and home sitess in Rivendell, which is along Miller Drivs (Southwest 56th Street) between Southwest 167th Avenue and the Miccosukee Golf and Countryh Club. After starting construction in Crestview II sold 103 homes in Rivendell from 2005 through the most recent salein January. Fort Lauderdale-basef attorney Charles Lichtman, who represents TotalBank in its demand for $12.
2 million on the outstanding did not immediately return a call seekingy comment. TotalBank reported having $86.4 millioh in late or unpaid ornearly 6.5 percent of its totalp loans, as of March 31. In filed a foreclosure action against Crestview II and Solisw overa $2.1 million mortgage.

Efficiency drives funding for Dayforce - Austin Business Journal:

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a software developer that helps businessex measure and manageworkforce productivity, has raisesd $15 million. The company is a reincarnationof Atlanta-basede Workbits — created after Canadian serial entrepreneurt David Ossip bought Workbits’ assets in May. Workbitas founder John Orr approached Ossip aftef being unable toraised follow-on financing for his Dayforce, which employs about 30 and is headquartered in Atlantaa and Toronto, targets the retail, manufacturing, health-carer and financial services industries. Those sectors have a high volums of hourlyworkers — the variable part of a operating expenses, said Orr, now Dayforce’s chiefv strategy officer.
“Typically, 60 percent of their [operatinb expense] is labor spend,” Orr said. Dayforce’w software suite, which includes scheduling, task management and time and attendancs modules, helps do more with their “The software helps define performance measurea for the workforce andautomates planning, schedulinyg and tracking of employees,” Ossip said. “Th e end goal is to increase workforce while keeping percentage wage costsin Dayforce’s software, Orr can boost customer revenue by 0.5 percent to 3 percentf and can decrease average annual labor cost by 3 percent to 8 percent.
The cost of the subscription dependsz on the size of the business from $2 to $9 per per month. Ossip led Dayforce’sx $15 million round and was joined by investors in his previous including , which was acquired by Alpharetta-basedx for $227 million in 2007. The Canadian however, brought more than dollars to the “Ossip knows the industry,” Orr said, and “has a provemn track record of buildinb successful companies and Ossip has ambitious plans forDayforcew — including launching a domestic and global Dayforce is chasing a $14 billiomn market in the United Ossip said, adding he plansa to sell into Europe and Asia.
“Our types of solutiona extend beyondNorth America,” Ossip said. “It’s a globa problem.” Michael Price, general partner at CEO Ventures, was impressed with “The product was beautiful,” Price said. “The graphicd design, the thought and attention to detail, the menuz ... it was some of the best I’v ever seen.” Companies in the performance management spacse are doing well and revenued isholding up, Price said. That success has drawnh an influx ofnew competitors. “Withib the next year, a lot of the software programsw being built will be coming onlines with a lot of salew people swinging for Price said.
“Certainly competition within that space is goingg toincrease dramatically,” which could hurt profits.