Hurt by bad loans, firm expects loss of $143 million for '09 (Virginian-Pilot)
Hampton Roads Bankshares Inc., hobbled last year by sour loans and an erosion of capital, said it expects to report a net loss of $143 million for 2009 largely because of a large provision for loan losses.
Stalled D.C. merchants look with optimistic eyes toward blossoming of H Street (Washington Post)
Still burdened with more empty lots and shuttered storefronts than it has veteran business owners or hopeful new entrepreneurs, there seems to be a consensus among the merchants of H Street that if they can weather the disruption of major construction, they will emerge with something a bit closer to an urban utopia than recent history has allowed.
Madoff Beaten in Prison (WSJ)
Bernard Madoff, who is serving a 150-year sentence in North Carolina for running a fraud scheme that cost investors billions of dollars, ...
Some still savor Roanoke's closed Countryside golf course (Roanoke Times)
Weeks after Countryside Golf Club closed, its future remains in flux, yet golfers still swing by to play 18. | "It's something you can tell your grandkids. Countryside golf course will come up, and you can tell them, "I was the last person to play on it."
London seminar offering free IVF from Virginia clinic sparks controversy (Washington Post)
A Virginia infertility clinic sparked an international ethical controversy Wednesday by sponsoring a seminar in London that gave away an attempt to get pregnant using an American woman's eggs.
210 jobs coming to Virginia Beach, mayor to announce today (Virginian-Pilot)
Car rental company Avis Budget Group and insurance giant Geico plan to hire or relocate a total of 210 workers here in the coming months, Mayor Will Sessoms is expected to announce today in his State of the City address....
Day the music died (Virginia Gazette)
ith the closure of Plan 9 at Monticello Shopping Center earlier this month, the community is without an indy store for the first time.
TowneBank starts division to facilitate community projects (Virginian-Pilot)
TowneBank, whose nonbank activities range from insurance sales to property management, has created a unit to line up tax credits for community-development projects.
W&L students invest in microfinancing (Roanoke Times)
Three students and a professor at W&L have started a club using small loans to help communities improve economically.
$75 Million in Pills Stolen in Connecticut (AP)
In a Hollywood-style heist, thieves cut a hole in the roof of a warehouse, rappelled inside and scored one of the biggest hauls of its kind -- not diamonds, gold bullion or Old World art, but about $75 million in antidepressants and other prescription drugs.
More employers use tech to track workers (USA ...
Circuit City’s ex-CEO to get $350,000 in bonuses (Times-Dispatch)While Circuit City's creditors wait to get paid, James A. Marcum, the company's former acting president and CEO, will collect $350,000 in bonuses and charge $700 per hour in consulting fees.
Values of many of Hampton's hotels tumbled as guests stayed away in recession (Daily Press)
The falling values of the city's hotels were highlighted in a memo last week to Hampton City Council members from City Assessor Brian Gordineer. The assessor pointed out that the value of hotels is linked to how much income they bring in.
Cities going gaga over Google (Inside Business)
Fawning slightly less than teenyboppers at a Miley Cyrus concert, local IT and economic development departments are fast at work to outdo one another with the hopes of convincing Google to choose their municipality as a future test site for the Internet ...
Eagles threatened by clearing too near (Virginia Gazette)
A Toano subdivision recognized as a leader in conservation is at the center of an investigation of illegal clearing near an eagle’s nest.
$150,000 makeovers proposed at Beach strip malls (Virginian-Pilot)
Along Newtown Road at Virginia Beach Boulevard, Karen Stephens' property, a strip center with outdated signs and a dingy facade, stands out. Stephens said a sluggish economy has something to do with the vacancies, but admits the plaza needs sprucing up. Virginia Beach city officials want to help retail property owners and managers like Stephens give their buildings makeovers.
State slashes public services (Roanoke Times)
Direct aid to schools is cut by $645 million, excluding a funding cap on support staff; Sheriffs' funding cut by 6 percent; localities with police by 1.2 percent; Health programs cut by an additional $360 million over Tim Kaine's proposal.
We Bought A Toxic ...
Community Capital Bank triples loans (Times-Dispatch)
Virginia Community's new bank, Community Capital Bank, completed its first full year of operations by posting a small $113,000 loss for 2009 -- while seeing loans triple, to $8.4 million, at a time when most banks reported little activity.
Local banks suffer losses, yet deposits are up (Inside Business)
The good news is the region's 12 locally-based banks held a combined $8.2 billion in deposits at year's end, a sizeable increase from the $5.61 billion in deposits in 2008. All 12 saw their deposit bases increase year over year. The bad news is those same 12 banks reported a combined $527.53 million in past due and non accrual loans in 2009, a more than $445 million increase from '08 when the combined figure stood at $81.81 million.
New round of foreclosures threatens housing market (Washington Post)
The housing market is facing swelling ranks ...
2010 trend: the owner-occupier (Inside Business)
An expert on trends in commercial real estate said 2010 is the year of the user. In real estate jargon, a user is anyone who rents or buys a property and moves in, taking over all of the space.
A Place to Bet Real Money on Movies (NY Times)
Cantor Futures Exchange, a subsidiary of Cantor Fitzgerald, expects to open an online futures market next month that will allow studios, institutions and moviegoers to place bets on the box-office revenue of Hollywood’s biggest releases. Last week, the company learned from regulators that customers could start putting money into their accounts on March 15.
Green homes face a red light (CNN)
Appraisals for newly built green homes do not fully reflect the cost of green technology, and the lower appraisal values mean buyers often cannot get the full financing they need from banks. That ...
Are two indoor football teams too many for Richmond? (Times-Dispatch)
Can two indoor football teams -- playing in different leagues, at the same time of year, in facilities separated by only a few miles of asphalt -- remain economically viable while competing for fans and sponsorship dollars in the same city?
Daily Press newspaper to cut jobs in editing, designing (Virginian-Pilot)
The Daily Press in Newport News soon will eliminate most of its positions for copy editors and designers, the newspaper's publisher, Digby Solomon, said Tuesday. Their responsibilities will be moved to the newsroom of the Chicago Tribune, the flagship of Tribune Co., which is the parent company of the Daily Press.
Planning Commission OKs boutique hotel near university (Daily Progress)
The Charlottesville Planning Commission has recommended approval of a permit that would allow for the construction of a new boutique hotel near the University of Virginia.
Hoteliers ...
S-A-T-I-R-E Local Law Firm Prides Itself On Fitting All 12 Partners Into Name (Tobacco Avenue)
Partners at Richmond-based law firm Altmeyer Hollingsworth Capel McRogers Ransom Novielli Walters Janney Leavingsworth Clark Branch & Spero told reporters today that the practice, while priding itself on its service to clients, is even prouder of being able to list all 12 partners in the company’s name.
Dominion Resources expects 1,000 employees to accept buyouts (Times-Dispatch)
Dominion Resources Inc. wants to reduce its work force by about 6 percent through buyouts. The energy company expects that about 1,000 of the 4,800 employees eligible for its voluntary separation package will take advantage of the program.
Old Point plans $8M headquarters (Inside Business)
Old Point National Bank revealed last week its plans to build an $8 million, five-story, 50,000-square-foot headquarters building in downtown Hampton, reaffirming and expanding its claim to the largest market share of any ...
Large layoffs possible in Virginia (Times-Dispatch)
Thousands of state and local government employees face layoffs because of the severe budget cuts.
Clifton Forge's new hopes (Roanoke Times)
Entrepreneurs see an upside after the town's long decline. Rick Tabb has helped raise money to build a new train station. Louise Belmont wants to turn the former Clifton Forge High School into an arts college.
Future of brewery looks vulnerable (Virginia Gazette)
With layoffs imminent locally and a corporate goal to cut another $500 million this year, what’s next at the brewery?
How Pandora Slipped Past the Junkyard (NY Times)
Pandora’s 48 million users tune in an average 11.6 hours a month. That could increase as Pandora strikes deals with the makers of cars, televisions and stereos that could one day, Pandora hopes, make it as ubiquitous as AM/FM radio. But for a decade the company was on the brink of ...
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