Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

Galveston Island, as of Friday morning, should be a ghost town. State officials are concerned that storm surges up to 20′ could hit the low lying coastal areas and ordered mandatory evacuations of the entire island. Island officials have shut off electricity and water services ahead of the storm. Galveston was the scene of the nation’s deadliest hurricane in the 1900 when approximately 6,000 people were killed.

>>>>> To keep track of Hurricane Ike’s approach, click here.<<<<<

Ike is currently a Category 2 storm with 105-mph winds and likely will come ashore late on Friday or early on Saturday as a potentially dangerous Category 3 storm on the five-step intensity scale with winds of more than 111 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center .

The State of Texas has issued this map showing the Gulf Coast escape route with areas noted that might be implemented with contraflow. I-45 between Houston & Dallas could have all lanes northbound as far north as Ennis (which is just 20 miles south of downtown Dallas).

Two Dallas area mothers have taken their passion for cooking and created an international sensation… and they’re making money too.

A Frisco home is the kitchen studio for www.ShowMeTheCurry.com. Friends Hetal Jinni and Anuja Bal Subramanian were looking for something to keep them busy after their kids started school last year.

But it didn’t take long before their small idea became a much bigger project: An internet based cooking show. They bought cameras, lights and practiced their delivery.

Now, about once a week, Anuja and Hetal tape podcasts, each with a new Indian recipe for their viewers to try at home.

Each segment details the ingredients you’ll need, and viewers get step by step instructions on how to prepare the dish.

They edit everything into a ten minute podcast and post it on the internet. In one year, they’ve produced dozens of segments and through the reach of YouTube, they have cultivated an international following.

Anuja and Hetal say they’re having a blast, and they’re also making money through advertising on their Web site. The more people log on, the more their revenue goes up.

Anuja and Hetal say they’re working on other money making additions to the show, including product placements and product endorsements.

From MSNBC.com:

The past year has been a rocky one for the U.S. economy.

The nation has seen 394,000 private-sector jobs slip away since mid-2007, equaling a loss of 7,570 jobs each week. The unemployment rate has shot up a full point during the same span — from 4.7 percent at the halfway point of 2007 to 5.7 percent this year.

But a few sections of the country have managed to dodge this economic carnage. The most prominent exception is Texas, which is home to America’s three hottest labor markets, according to a new bizjournals study.

Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth are 1-2-3 in the latest employment rankings of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. The three Texas markets have added a total of 107,200 private-sector jobs since mid-2007, while keeping their unemployment rates below 5 percent.

Texas’ impressive performance, ironically enough, is partially the result of higher energy costs, the same factor that has bedeviled much of the rest of the nation.

“The state’s natural resources and mining industry, helped by higher oil prices, posted an annual employment growth rate of 6.4 percent from June 2007 to June 2008 and ranked first among Texas industries in employment-growth rate,” said a midyear report from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

Texas also has been able to avoid the mortgage bubble that burst with devastating impact in other high-growth states such as California and Florida. A bizjournals study in March identified Houston as one of the nation’s 10 most-affordable housing markets, with Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin close behind in 15th and 22nd place, respectively.

Bizjournals used a nine-part formula to analyze employment trends in the nation’s 100 largest labor markets. The formula was fueled by midyear data complied since 2003 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The 100 markets, taken collectively, contained 69 percent of the nation’s 116.2 million private-sector jobs as of June 2008.

The top-rated labor market outside of Texas — fourth in the overall standings — is Raleigh. Its job base has ballooned by 22.1 percent since 2003, dwarfing the national five-year growth rate of 6.3 percent.

Seattle ranks fifth, largely because of its addition of 20,500 private-sector jobs since mid-2007. Only Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth have posted bigger gains during the past year. For employment profiles on these cities and the rest of the 10 hottest job markets, click here.

The recent volatility in the U.S. economy has shuffled the standings dramatically since they were last compiled a year ago. Phoenix, which was No. 1 in bizjournals’ 2007 employment rankings, has dropped all the way to 28th place this year. Six of last year’s 10 hottest markets have fallen out of the top 10 this year.

Last place belongs once again to Detroit, which has ranked as the coldest job market in America the past two years. The biggest problem remains Detroit’s heavy reliance on domestic automakers, resulting in a loss of 30,800 jobs since mid-2007.

“Obviously, the Michigan economy has been dreadful this decade,” said a recent report from Michigan Future Inc., a nonprofit group that aims to rejuvenate the state’s economy. “An unprecedented seven consecutive years of job losses. At the bottom of the national rankings in both employment and per capita income. This is largely because the engine that still drives the Michigan economy is the troubled domestic auto industry.”

The second-coldest labor market has suffered a dramatic decline the past couple of years. Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla., which was fourth-best in bizjournals’ 2006 employment rankings, now sits in 99th place, a victim of Florida’s real-estate woes. It has lost 11,400 jobs since mid-2007.

Other industrial markets among the coldest job markets include: Providence, Toledo, Lansing, Mich., and Dayton. All but Providence were also in the bottom 10 last year.

Dallas-based Brinker International, Inc. said early today it has reached a deal to sell an 80 percent stake in its Romano’s Macaroni Grill chain to a San Francisco-based private equity firm.

The move, announced before the stock market opened, comes one year after Brinker said it would try to sell the troubled brand, which offered a new take on Italian favorites but struggled to find a strong customer base.

Under the agreement with Mac Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of Golden Gate Capital, Brinker will receive $131.5 million in cash, of which $6 million will be contributed to Mac Acquisition.

Brinker will own 19.9 percent of the brand. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2008.

Brinker also owns Chili’s Grill & Bar.

In the rush for back to school clothes, this weekend is the annual tax-free weekend that lasts from 12:01a Friday through midnight on Sunday. The qualified purchases are clothing and shoes below $100 in price.

Expect better sales this year compared to last year as the economy and retail sales are down across the board.

Also, to keep to your budget, here are some tips for staying on track:

1. Use extended hours to shop when crowds aren’t so big.

2. Make a list after you’ve inventoried what’s already in the closet and what still fits.

3. Have a budget and stick to it.

4. Research offers before you go. Sales are better than average this weekend.

5. This isn’t just for school kids. You can stock up on diapers, pajamas or a new bathing suit.

Plano-based Electronic Data Systems (EDS) announced today that it’s shareholders approved acquisition by Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP has been planning to buy the technology services company for about $13.9 billion, or $25 per share.

The deal still requires some non-U.S. and non-E.U. regulatory clearance before it can close; however, the company expects the agreement to be completed during the third quarter.

This morning in a terrible show of corporate responsibility, Bennigan’s contacted their managers at 7:30a and told them to be on a conference call at 8a. They were told in no uncertain terms, ‘We’re closing. Lock up and go home.” The managers were told to furlough all employees and leave — for good and oh, by the way, don’t talk to the media.

The parent company of Bennigan’s, Ponderosa and Steak & Ale is Plano based Metromedia Restaurant Group. The company has filed for Chapter 7 - rather than Chapter 11 which allows for reorganization. A few weeks ago, as we reported on this blog, Bennigan’s had quietly shuttered most of their locations in the Florida market. Now, it’s nationwide.

Metromedia is supposed to be issuing a statement later today.

This move places hundreds of Dallas area workers on the unemployment line.

In late May, Clay Dover, president and chief executive of Metromedia, quit abruptly after about six months on the job saying he and the owners could not agree on “the strategic direction for the company.”

Days later, the company denied a report in The Wall Street Journal that it had prepared a bankruptcy filing, but admitted that it was “currently in the process of formulating a proposal to present to its lenders to restructure its indebtedness…”

Due to the recent economic situation, restaurant business is down across the nation approximately 35%.

NOTE: Links were not included in this posting because all related sites to Metromedia / Bennigan’s are off line.