Robins School steams ahead in BusinessWeek rankings

The University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business moved up eight slots to No. 12 on BusinessWeek's list of top undergraduate business schools.

Op/Ed How about a real housing stimulus?

It is my understanding that the $769 billion “stimulus bill” is supposed to create 3.5 million or so jobs, according to President Obama. Where are these jobs going to come from?

Parking patrol has a closer eye on you

More little green envelopes are appearing on windshields in the City of Richmond. Between Dec. 1 and Jan. 31, Richmond parking officers issued 15 percent more citations than during the same period a year ago: 12,878 compared with 11,205. The increased ticketing has increased the revenue collected during the same period by 11 percent, from $413,802 to $460,150.

NewsFeeds 2.27.09

Budget cuts to include layoffs (Chesterfield Observer) About 25 full-time and an unknown number of part-time county employees may lose their jobs because Chesterfield will spend almost $45 million less in FY10 (starting July1) than is budgeted this year. The county's general fund - how Chesterfield pays for most county services like police, fire, libraries and parks and recreation - is projected to decline by 5.3 percent to $709.9 million because of economic conditions and less state revenue. Recession forces increase in endowment spending (The Collegian) The University of Richmond endowment has lost about 19 percent of its endowment during the past year, losses that total almost $320 million in market value, which has prompted the university administration to begin spending a greater portion of the endowment. Despite the losses, the university will not lay off employees, at least in the short term. In an e-mail interview, Ayers said ...

Qimonda fallout hits local support office

A Japanese company that provided sales and service to Qimonda’s Henrico semiconductor plant is closing its Richmond office, a sign that the fallout from the plants closure is reverberating throughout the region.

The Pipeline: Commercial Real Estate Round Up for 2.27.09

Thalhimer reports Trustworth Properties LLC purchased the 10-unit apartment building at 12 E. Main St. in Richmond for $1 million from Main Street Investments LLC.

Local career site goes pro bono

One Richmond job search site has stopped charging employers money to post jobs and browse resumes. RichmondJobSource.com was started in early 2007 by Rich Ringrose. Up until Tuesday, it cost an employer $130 to post a job, and $300 to access resumes. Job seekers were always able to search jobs and post resumes for free. Ringrose said the job situation in Richmond is so dire, he decided to give up his website’s primary revenue stream in order to help. “I don’t think organization and individuals realize how desperate the situation is until you start talking to people who lost their job and don’t know where to turn,” Ringrose said, “We don’t want the cost to an employer get in the way of posting a job.” Ringrose said there are currently 400 jobs posted on the site, and 27,000 resumes from jobseekers in Central ...

Should businesses listen to economists?

Mark P. Vitner, a Charlotte-based managing director and senior economist for Wachovia, spoke at the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Real Estate Circle of Excellence yesterday. Both the Times-Dispatch and Virginia Business wrote stories. “Vitner looks for the economy to be back in uptick mode by 2012 and 2013,” writes Virginia Business magazine. Why do business reporters quote economists and their predictions without having checked to see their previous record of making such predictions? And this brings up a deeper question; Should businesses pay these predictions any mind? Most economists did not predict that the housing bubble would pop so spectacularly, and no local economists, to my knowledge, issued warnings about the dangerous addiction to credit and the myth of forever-rising home prices. (Those who did, please email me your dated reports) You wouldn’t go to a doctor who missed a diagnosis, ...

VMFA Muse Awards entries due by March 12

The Muse Awards honor extraordinary creativity in Virginia business. The Awards are open to all for-profit Virginia businesses. Business organizations, professional groups and councils are encouraged to nominate themselves or other businesses that exhibit unique and creative approaches.

New businesses, where art thou

Businesses usually sprout during recessions – when laid-off workers give entrepreneurship serious thought – but the volume of new businesses in Richmond seems to be declining.

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