Search

Small businesses in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area of New York are driving economic growth in the area, shielding the region from economic downturns. Over 98% of the businesses in the region are small businesses.

Health care providers in the New York state are in a dilemma over the government funds they are likely to receive in the 2005-06 budgets. Though governor George Pataki's efforts to impose cuts and taxes were struck down by the legislature, the situation relating to funding the Health Care Reform Act (HCRA), which subsidizes hospitals and providers coverage to the uninsured still remains to be resolved in the forthcoming budget.

Louis Buhrmaster started his first job with First National Bank of Scotia, a small-town institution owned primarily by the prominent Buhrmaster family and the descendents of other incorporators. First National was one of the first banks to offer car loans and has earned a reputation as a family-oriented, community-oriented institution.

President Obama has signed the financial reform bill into law but some observers believe lawmakers did not go far enough to protect the average investors. The reform act takes aim at derivatives trading, enables the government to wind down falling institution, simplifies bank supervision, and creates a consumer watchdog agency. Details of the new law are also discussed.

Many differences are seen between the health care platforms of United States presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. McCain wants greater market competition and less government intervention, while Obama sees the creation of a government health plan. Comments from members of the health care industry are also provided.

The U.S. Census Bureau revealed that in 2006, 19 million people between the ages of 18 and 34 were without health insurance, or 40% of the uninsured individuals in the country. College graduation usually means the end of health coverage, since most fresh graduates opt to not get any health insurance plan . Solutions to this growing issue are also discussed.

The reorganization of Sawchuk Brown Associates as per the dreams of the late chief executive officer David Brown who passed away suddenly on 2 February 2007 is discussed.

The various approaches adopted by Blueshield of Northeastern New York, by offering employees more options, are discussed. The purpose is to help employers manage insurance issues.

The importance of the role of a teller in a bank, and the changes this role has undergone in the past few years, are discussed.

The challenges faced by James Litwak, as the president and chief operating officer of Trans World Entertainment, are discussed. In an environment masked with less cosumer spending, piracy issues, trimmed music sales, Trans World is facing a tough task with respect to its survival in the market.

A profile of Jennifer MacPhee, regional president of Bank of America is presented. MacPhee discusses how she blends her home and business lives.

Family owned businesses have been struggling in the past few years, to permanently revoke the estate tax, which imposes up to 47% on inherited assets above a certain threshold. As the Congress this August, prepares for one more vote, businesses intend to go for a compromise rather than for a permanent revoke, which they are failing to attain at the Senate level.

The growing popularity of community papers like Saratoga Spotlight and Southern Albany County ledger as against that of the daily newspapers is critically appraised.

An analysis on each part of the top executives' compensation that includes bonuses, stock options, salaries and restricted stock is presented. The method of calculation of each of these parts and the extent to which employees received these in the fiscal 2004 is analyzed.

The two important problems affecting drug discovery company, Albany Molecular Research Inc. relating to the softening of its growth, and keeping in pace the demands; the company net profits for the year 2004 and its acquisition of the Rensselaer based drug manufacturer Organichem, are discussed.

The need for changes to Governor George Pataki's Medicaid reform proposal is examined.

The saving habits of the people residing in the Boston-Buffalo corridor are described by Todd Slingerland, managing partner at Capital Financial Planning, Nicholas Preddice, principal in The Affinity Group, and Joseph Ventura, manager of William Tell Financial Services amongst others. The people in the area tend to be conservative, work minded and more inclined to save making the Northeast zone an ideal place of financial advisers to set up their practice.

The various community development activities of banks so as to meet the requisites of Community Reinvestment Act and to reach low-income population are presented. The various innovative ideas of banks to provide finances to small businesses are presented.

The banking sector in the capital region has heated up its competitions. While new banks have ventured into the region some others are seriously into providing a wide array of services to keep themselves apart from their rivals. The different changes that have happened and are happening in the banking industry in the region are discussed.

McGinn Smith Co., a stockbrokerage and investment-banking firm shall be moving forward on its ambitions plan of adding new retail offices, increasing the number of brokers and establishing two funds totaling $150 million to finance small and mid-sized business. President David Smith and senior vice-president Thomas Lingiston want to create a new identity for McGinn Smith, after chairman Timothy McGinn has decided to step back from active participation in the firmEs affairs.

The First Albany Cos. Inc. is institutionally focused investment boutique having a single CEO in Goldberg and has shed most of its interest in MTI, details about the series of changes made by the corporation since the year 2000 in an effort to get down to basics are presented. The firm's decision to exit the asset management business was the latest in the series.

Pioneer Savings Bank plans to seek permission for starting a commercial bank to accept municipal deposits.

Albany Memorial Hospital has started the construction of its new advanced emergency department with an investment of $14 million. This new department will have more privacy features for patients.

James Reed is expected to become the president of Northeast Health, an organization that operates hospitals, after the retirement of Craig Duncan. Services of Reed and Craig are presented in detail.

The local offices of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the affiliated Small Business Development Center at the state University at Albany have switched into high gear to aid companies [...]

WMHT Educational Telecommunications Inc. has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for its new home in the Rensselaer Technology Park, but that does not mean construction is set to begin. The public [...]

Griffith Parry needed $1.5 million to finance his purchase of Dunham's Bay Lodge in Lake George. Paul Berg wanted just $25,000 for his Venezia Pizza and Pasta in Clifton Park. [...]

The success of Eyedentity Eyewear LLC., ark 18-month-old Colonie optical shop, could perhaps be chalked up to the aging population or the fact that increased computer use is forcing more [...]

It looks like an early November wedding for CNB Financial Corp. and NBT Bancorp Inc. 'As it stands now, we expect to have a simultaneous closing [of the deal] and [...]

When Lawrence Seidman became chairman of Ambanc Holding Co. Inc., he brought a piece of the Amsterdam company home to New Jersey--and he may get to keep it. Seidman, a [...]

Business owners pound the pavement and network to get food products on store shelves This fall, Lissa D'Aquanni will be cold-calling at gourmet shops in the Hudson Valley in the [...]

Ed Levine has not yet closed on any of the three local radio stations he has agreed to purchase, but he already has set a two-year revenue target of at [...]

The precipitous drop in interest rates over the past year has forced banks to master a difficult balancing act to keep profits from falling too. 'It certainly has put the [...]

Albert Lawrence's daughters have met the deadline to purchase one of his former companies and pursue a long-standing accounting malpractice suit against KPMG LLP. Elizabeth and Janet Lawrence, who operate [...]

Espey does well in tough market; Plug, MapInfo, Albany Molecular take a dive For many public companies, the first nine months of 2001--and particularly the third quarter--were defined by the [...]

Frank Albanese wants to expand McDonald Investments' Capital Region footprint, either by hiring from the competition or by buying the competition. Albanese started last month as senior vice president and [...]

The terrorist attacks that knocked commercials off the airwaves for up to four days in mid-September could impact already-strained advertising budgets for weeks, even months, to come. As the events [...]

Lawrence Group Inc. lost its bid to buy a 4 1/2 year-old lawsuit against KPMG LLP, but still will benefit from a court-approved deal. The former Schenectady holding company had [...]

WNCE/Channel 8, the low-power television station in Queensbury, has been granted a Class A license by the Federal Communications Commission. 'The station has gone up a notch,' said Michael Collins, [...]

Cathy Pokines gets seven to 10 telephone calls a week from women all over upstate New York looking for help in starting a business. Pokines, woman's business owner representative for [...]

M&T Bank has chosen a new Schenectady retirement complex for the site of its 14th Capital Region office--and first-for-New York financial program. The Buffalo-based institution also is financing construction of [...]

Don Kauth, the former First Albany Corp. analyst who also spent time at two area banks, was among those lost in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Kauth, [...]

Region may feel economic impacts less than other areas The long-term economic effects of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington will depend a great deal on how [...]

The room was booked a year in advance. Company officers and directors were on hand in their best suits. There was coffee and doughnuts and Powerpoint presentations. And usually, not [...]

When Hudson River Bancorp Inc. agreed to buy Ambanc Holding Co. Inc., it apparently wanted to make very sure it did not inherit Seymour Holtzman and Lawrence Seidman. Holtzman and [...]

Time Warner Cable has chosen a veteran of the Capital Region television market to oversee the 24-hour news network it plans to debut next spring. Al Marlin, who began Sept. [...]

A year ago, JoAnn Libertucci was a single mother on welfare. Today she is married and the owner of the fledgling Square One Taxi. But the road from public assistance [...]

Automobile insurance fraud has driven New York premiums to the third highest level in the country. But the gridlock at the State Capitol has stalled most repair efforts. Meanwhile, the [...]

JLT Services Corp., a Latham-based insurance consulting firm, is seeking a new CEO as part of a corporate restructuring. The company, which employs 275 in Latham and another 150 in [...]

Just over a year ago, John Lisicki stood up at a Cohoes Bancorp Inc. shareholder meeting and said how nice it would be if all the banks that were fighting [...]