LEHIGH VALLEY BUSINESS

International and local small business news on economics & finance

The United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley announced today its fundraising campaign is $1 million short of last year's efforts.

United Way Board Chair Dolores Laputka says in a news release that the 10 percent shortfall is connected to lower workplace campaign pledges because of the economic downturn.

The United Way is being forced to cut programs and partnership initiatives by 9.5 percent. The cuts will start April 1 and affect funding for programs through June 30. If additional funding is secured, the United Way hopes to restore program investments to their original amounts by July.

Continue reading "United Way campaign falls short, board implores community to contribute" »

If your doctor orders you to take an antibiotic this winter, your prescription will not cost you anything at Wegmans.

The grocery story chain announced today that starting Wednesday through March 31, its 72 stores will offer free generic antibiotics to anyone with a Shoppers Club card, according to a news release.

"A few months ago we began to lower prices on hundreds of food products in anticipation of lower costs in 2009," says President Colleen Wegman. "There's been such a tremendous response, it triggered discussion about other ways we could help customers and employees save."

Continue reading "Wegmans offering free oral antibiotics through winter" »

Saying "this economy is in the tank. There is no smiley face on this economy," Express-Times president and publisher Martin K.Till announced Monday the company will offer voluntary buyouts to full-time employees.

Employees have until Feb. 19 to apply for the offer, which amounts to a minimum of six months' salary and a maximum of one year based on service. Health insurance is covered during that span.

The newspaper will continue to honor a no-layoff policy, meaning workers can't be terminated because of changes in the economy or technology.

The Express-Times is offering voluntary buyouts to full-time employees with five or more years service in effort to cut costs, President and Publisher Martin K. Till announced today during meetings at the newspaper on North Fourth Street in Easton.

"These are serious times," Till told employees. "This economy is in the tank. There is no smiley face on this economy."

The offer includes a minimum of six months' salary and health insurance.

Continue reading "The Express-Times offers voluntary buyouts to cut costs" »

What's in a name? A little according to auto columnist Scott Wasser, who takes a ride this week in a Mazda6 and gives it a thumbs up, although the car's name, he says, needs a little help.

Check out the nuts and bolts of this vehicle here.

This summer, Myrtle Morris of Nazareth thought taking $1,400 from her savings account to sign a contract for home heating oil at $3.40 a gallon was the smart move. She feared oil prices would keep going up and up and up.

Now that prices have dropped below $2 a gallon, Morris says, "I'm kind of regretting it now."

Thousands of northwest New Jersey and Lehigh Valley residents who signed up for similar contracts as oil prices climbed toward $4 a gallon share in Morris' regret.

Continue reading "As heating oil prices drop, regret rises for residents with fixed-price contracts" »

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're aware these are challenging economic times. But who's going to sink, survive and, believe it or not, prosper in this climate?

Half the equation for prosperity is learning how to make money. The second half is saving, something many of us need a refresher course on.

Co-author Vicki Robin pitches a book that promises to reduce your expenses an average 20 to 25 percent.

Warren county chiropractor Patrick Mack and his two brothers are hoping their family project turns into a winning 2008 Best App Ever entry.

The three siblings created an iPhone game called "Preschool Pals -- Henry and Hailey" in which players can switch the characters' clothes and features.

Released in November, the game is a finalist in the "Best Kid Distraction" category of the online contest hosted by 148Apps.com.

Named for the maximum number of applications that can be installed on an iPhone at one time, 148Apps regularly rates and reviews downloadable programs.

The site is unaffiliated with iPhone developer Apple or the iTunes App Store.

Continue reading "Warren County man, brothers create educational iPhone game nominated for award" »

Welcome 2009. In the first session of the year Wall Street investors shrugged off a discouraging report about the manufacturing sector and sent stocks up 258 points for the first close above 9,000 points in two months.

What was the big financial story of 2008? Disappearing brand names. Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Aloha Airlines, AIG, Bennigans and many others vanished during the past year, and 2009 is shaping up to be even worse.

That collective "thank heavens" you heard late Wednesday afternoon came courtesy of brokers and investors on Wall Street noting the end of 2008. The year's final session ended with a modest rise in the Dow in what has otherwise been a terrible year. Continue reading "Investors react positively to Labor Department report as Dow rises in market's last day of '08" »

From Thomas Frank in the Wall Street Journal:

The 'Market' Isn't So Wise After All

The CNBC reporter was on the floor of some commodity exchange this morning watching for what seemed to be an oil supply number. Whatever it was, the projection was way off so the network shifted to a graphic that seemed to show a wild fluctuation in price. But it turned out to be just a change of a few cents. The network, which roots for higher gas prices more than anyone else in the media except possibly Thomas Friedman -- and for very different reasons -- was zooming in so much on the graphic that it was projecting volatility where there was none.

But then the reporter asked this: If demand has only gone down 4 percent, why has price dipped 11 times more than that? Actually, price is down 74 percent since mid-summer -- nearly a 20-fold crash compared to drop in demand. The other CNBC folks began talking about excess supply -- didn't OPEC just cut production? -- and projecting higher prices come spring.

Continue reading "Demand down 4 percent, price down 74 percent -- something is skewed in the frauduant world of oil economics" »

Wasting no time, General Motors announced Tuesday attractive financing deals on new cars and trucks after GM's lending unit said it received a much-needed federal lifeline.

Here's a simple suggestion for failed CEO's still living the high life: If you made $64 million last year running your company into the ground, this year you should pay back $64 million to investors whose money you ruined.

Continue reading "CEO's who caused all this mess shouldn't work for $1; they should give back the millions paid them while they killed their companies" »

Warren Hospital has named Thomas H. Litz as new president and CEO.

Litz, who previously worked as CEO of the Virtua Health System in Camden, N.J., and the CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold, N.J., will replace Jeffrey C. Goodwin, who is retiring at the end of the year. He will begin work on Monday.

Robert Rumfield, president of the Board of Trustees for Warren Hospital, said Litz was chosen after a six-month search. Goodwin, of Forks Township, is stepping down after 25 years at Warren Hospital, including 11 years as president and CEO.

The holiday shopping season has only been over for a few days, but Monday brought the first casualty of what is expected to be a slew of big-name retailers, particularly mall-based specialty chains.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office wants to find out how 22 tons of demolition waste got to Essroc Cement Corp. in Nazareth.

The waste, which authorities say might include pollutants such as asbestos, came from a school that caught fire in Newark, according to a police report. An Essroc representative found it Dec. 17 and told borough police.

Continue reading "Attorney general to investigate demolition waste dumped at Essroc" »

PPL Electric Utilities is expanding its "green" program to support universities, hospitals and other nonprofit organizations pursuing environmentally friendly projects.

The company said today it will offer grants up to $5,000 to offset costs for those organizations seeking LEED certification. PPL has offered the grants mainly to companies.

The LEED designation from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program indicates that a building meets certain environmental standards.

Continue reading "PPL expands support for green projects" »