Retail spending rose 7 percent in March and for the quarter, as businesses and consumers continued to spend at a higher rate than a year ago, the city-parish Finance Department reported Wednesday. Total spending in East Baton Rouge Parish was $716.3 million in March compared with $669.8 million that month last year. For the quarter, spending … Continue reading →

A subsidiary of Crown Crafts Inc., of Gonzales, has signed a licensing agreement with Carter’s Inc., whose brands include Carter’s and OshKosh B’gosh, for a new line of toddler bedding products. Crown Crafts Infant Products Inc. is expected to launch the Carter’s line of bedding, blankets … Continue reading →

TAMPA, Fla. — The CEO of JP-Morgan Chase survived a shareholder push Tuesday to strip him of the title of chairman of the board, five days after he disclosed a $2 billion trading loss by the bank. CEO Jamie Dimon also won a shareholder endorsement of his pay package from last … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON — Americans are starting to see some relief from higher gasoline prices, a change that could revive the economy in the months ahead. Consumer prices were flat in April, largely because of a decline in gas prices. Lower prices at the pump may be combining with steady job growth to power more spending on … Continue reading →

NEW YORK — Facebook on Tuesday increased the price range at which it plans to sell stock to the public, as investor enthusiasm in the offering continued to mount and boost the potential value of the world’s most popular social network above $100 billion. The Menlo Park, Calif., company said in a regulatory filing that … Continue reading →

Facebook is selling 180 million of its shares in its initial public offering. Another 157 million are coming from existing stockholders, including the company’s earliest investors and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who’s selling some of his stock to cover tax obligations. Even after the IPO, Zuckerberg will remain Facebook’s single largest shareholder. And he will control the company … Continue reading →

Two north Baton Rouge apartment developments got passing grades from a loan review committee of the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority, which could pave the way for $1.5 million in loans to the projects. Cypress Springs, a 144-unit senior apartment development, and Wesley Chapel, a rehabilitation of an 82-unit low-income development by the local housing authority, received … Continue reading →

Europe’s latest political impasse cast a gloom over financial markets Tuesday. The euro plunged, and the Dow Jones industrial average extended a slide that has wiped out nearly 5 percent of its value in two weeks. The biggest action of the day came shortly before U.S. markets opened, when a Greek party leader announced the talks to … Continue reading →

NEW ORLEANS — A former BP engineer charged with deleting text messages about how much oil was leaking from the company’s blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico claims evidence not given to federal investigators will prove his innocence. In court documents, Kurt Mix asks U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo to review evidence … Continue reading →

Europe’s latest political impasse cast a gloom over financial markets Tuesday. The euro plunged, and the Dow Jones industrial average extended a slide that has wiped out nearly 5 percent of its value in two weeks. The biggest action of the day came shortly before U.S. markets opened, when a Greek party leader announced the talks to … Continue reading →

Baton Rouge-area homes sales rose 21 percent in April, with Realtors in the eight-parish region selling 616 homes compared with 510 that month a year ago. Dollar volume rose 16 percent to $116.1 million, compared with $100.4 million in April 2011. The figures were compiled by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors. Sales were … Continue reading →

The Domain Companies has secured financing for its $28 million retail and residential development at The Grove, Richard Carmouche’s mixed-use project east of the Mall of Louisiana. The High Grove will take 14 months to build, with the first building completed in May 2013 and the second building two months later, said Lauren Crowell, spokeswoman … Continue reading →

BOSTON — Ask people what they think about Facebook, and you’re likely to hear everything from “It’s a terrific way to connect with friends and family,” to “It’s a colossal drain on time and productivity.” Soon, you could start getting a third response: It’s a big investment opportunity. Facebook stock is expected to begin … Continue reading →

JEANERETTE — Metal Shark Boats plans to more than double its workforce to about 180 positions after securing an order for 500 U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats under a $192 million contract, company officials announced Monday. The announcement marks the latest growth spurt for a Jeanerette boat builder that has seen business rise … Continue reading →

Ochsner Medical Center-Baton Rouge plans to open a $15 million cancer treatment center at its O’Neal Lane campus in the second half of 2013, Chief Executive Officer Mitch Wasden said Monday. Ochsner’s center will compete with two existing facilities, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center on Essen Lane and Baton Rouge General Medical Center’s Pennington Cancer Center. Continue reading →

NEW YORK — Online deals company Groupon Inc. posted a smaller net loss and sharply higher revenue in the first quarter, helped by increased demand from a growing customer base. Its revenue surpassed Wall Street’s expectations and Groupon’s stock shot up 17 percent in after-hours trading. It was a welcome reprieve for the newly public … Continue reading →

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo cast aside CEO Scott Thompson because his official biography included a college degree that he never received. The troubled Internet company’s next challenge will be convincing its restless shareholders and demoralized employees that the turnaround work started during Thompson’s tumultuous four-month stint as CEO won’t be wasted. “Yahoo has been … Continue reading →

NEW YORK — A political stalemate in Greece rattled financial markets worldwide on Monday, driving U.S. stocks lower. The euro sank to a three-month low against the dollar and borrowing costs for Spain and Italy jumped as bond traders anticipated that financial stress could spread far beyond Greece. Investors dumped risky assets and plowed into … Continue reading →

NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon owned up to stock analysts and went on television to accept blame for a $2 billion trading mistake. Next he faces shareholders, who are considerably less wealthy since the blunder was disclosed. While Dimon may be greeted by colorful protesters and tough questions at the JPMorgan annual … Continue reading →

NEW YORK (AP) — A political stalemate in Greece rattled financial markets worldwide on Monday, driving U.S. stocks lower. The euro sank to a three-month low against the dollar and borrowing costs for Spain and Italy jumped as bond traders anticipated that financial stress could spread far beyond Greece. Investors dumped risky assets and plowed into the … Continue reading →

Over the past eight years, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has spent or budgeted nearly $1.6 million to fight a class-action lawsuit over tardy claims adjustments following the hurricanes of 2005. More than $600,000 of the total came this year as the state-backed insurer scrambled to prevent plaintiffs from seizing more than $100 million from Citizens. Continue reading →

Louisiana may have avoided the worst of the housing bubble and financial crisis, and the recession is technically over, but recent graduates are still having to lower their standards, broaden their searches and delay their dreams when it comes to finding a job. “I would definitely say that in a general sense, the job prospects for students … Continue reading →

A free workshop titled “Cyber Security is Good Business” is being held 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. May 23 in the Louisiana State Archives Building at 8549 United Plaza Blvd. The workshop is for small businesses and organizations and not a technical presentation for information technology and systems … Continue reading →

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SAFETY ENGINEERS GBR CHAPTER --WHEN: Tuesday, 7 a.m. --WHERE: Frank’s Restaurant, 17425 Airline Highway, Prairieville --EVENT: Awards and officer installation --SPEAKER: Lance Roux, Safety Pro Resources LLC, on “Training vs. Orientation” Continue reading →

Charles Timpa, president and chief executive officer of First Federal Bank in Lake Charles, was installed as the 2012-2013 chairman of the Louisiana Bankers Association. Other officers are chairman-elect Drake Mills, president and CEO of Community Trust Bank in Choudrant, and treasurer Paul Durand, president and CEO of St. Martin Bank and … Continue reading →

James C. “Jim” Brandt, former president of the Public Affairs Research Council, was awarded the Frederick P. Gruenberg Award by the Governmental Research Association for his contributions to and longtime service in governmental research. The Acadian Home Builders Association and KATC-TV3 in Lafayette received the Communitas Award for Philanthropy from the … Continue reading →

NEW YORK — The reputation that Jamie Dimon honed for decades on Wall Street has been severely damaged in a matter of days. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was the protegé of banking industry legend Sanford Weill. In the early 2000s, he took over Bank One, an institution few believed was fixable, … Continue reading →

Stone Energy Corp., of Lafayette, has signed a $67 million deal to buy portions of three Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s leases in the Gulf of Mexico, southeast of New Orleans. In exchange for the cash, Stone will receive Anadarko’s 25 percent working interest in the … Continue reading →

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Facebook’s IPO roadshow rolled through Silicon Valley on Friday, part of a weeklong pitch session to institutional investors eager to buy the social network’s stock when it goes on sale. With the company’s initial public offering of stock widely expected Friday, Facebook officials — led by Chief Operating … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON — J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s stunning after-hours announcement Thursday of a $2 billion loss on a complex bet sent shock waves through the nation’s capital Friday, as lawmakers blamed financial regulators for continuing to allow the same risky activity that nearly sunk the global financial system four years ago. J.P. Morgan had been … Continue reading →

JPMorgan’s surprise $2 billion trading loss prompted a sell-off in financial stocks Friday, with smaller declines across the broader market as investors decided this was more of a problem for investment banks than for other industries. Most of the 10 industries in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index were flat or posted modest declines; financial stocks fell … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON — A big decline in gas and energy costs drove a measure of U.S. wholesale prices lower in April. Outside that drop, prices barely rose. The Labor Department said Friday that the producer price index dropped 0.2 percent last month from the previous month. It was the first decline since December and the biggest … Continue reading →

JPMorgan’s surprise $2 billion trading loss prompted a sell-off in financial stocks Friday, but the broader market rose as investors decided this was a problem for investment banks and not other industries. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 42 points in midday trading after bouncing back from a 76-point decline. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose … Continue reading →

A longtime Avoyelles Parish-based bank plans to open a branch in Baton Rouge, its most ambitious expansion with hopes to better serve a growing base of banking customers in the capital region. The Cottonport Bank broke ground on Corporate Boulevard on Monday to build its 12th branch, its third in the Baton Rouge metro region. Cottonport … Continue reading →

Edgen Group Inc., a Baton Rouge-based energy services firm, reported first-quarter earnings of $4 million, compared with a loss of $6 million a year earlier. Edgen’s initial public offering of stock was May 2. The company reported its results on a pro forma basis, as if the company were publicly traded. Edgen’s sales increased … Continue reading →

NEW ORLEANS — Cash, coins and credit cards are so Twentieth Century. At least, that’s the opinion of the electronics manufacturers, phone companies, banks and credit card issuers that expect cellphones to be the main way consumers pay for purchases in the not-so-distant future. The trouble is, that vision of tomorrow is somewhat blurry, … Continue reading →

JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, said Thursday that it lost $2 billion in a trading portfolio designed to hedge against risks the company takes with its own money. The company’s stock plunged 6 percent in late electronic trading after the loss was announced. Other bank stocks, including Citigroup and Bank of America, suffered … Continue reading →

A group of firms led by Baton Rouge-based Petroplex International LLC said it has raised enough capital to move forward with previously announced plans to build a $600 million, 10 million-barrel oil storage terminal in St. James Parish. “The substantial increase in crude oil production from domestic shale formations and Canadian oil sands is rapidly changing … Continue reading →

The Dow Jones industrial average broke a six-day losing streak Thursday, notching a small gain after the government released better unemployment numbers. The Dow rose 19.98 points to close at 12,855.04, after rising almost 100 points earlier in the day. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.41 points to close at 1,357.99. Before Thursday, the … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON — The government’s consumer finance watchdog is weighing an overhaul of the fees consumers pay to obtain mortgages. Regulators might ban origination fees that vary with the size of the loan, known as “origination points.” They also might limit the use of “discount points” that are supposed to result in lower interest rates, … Continue reading →

National members of the United Steelworkers Union are in Baton Rouge for a Friday rally and series of meetings with its local members from the ExxonMobil chemical plant and refinery where there’s dissension among the union’s ranks and a dispute with the company. A disagreement over a safety program erupted late last month during contract negotiations between … Continue reading →

The Dow Jones industrial average broke a six-day losing streak Thursday, notching a small gain after the government released better unemployment numbers. The Dow rose 19.98 points to close at 12,855.04, after rising almost 100 points earlier in the day. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.41 points to close at 1,357.99. Before Thursday, the … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON — The director of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said Wednesday that the Obama administration’s five-year plan for offshore drilling should be finished by the end of June and that it leans heavily on expanding oil production from the central Gulf of Mexico. In speaking before the Republican-controlled House Natural Resources Committee, … Continue reading →

Baton Rouge metro area manufacturers paid workers an average of $68,522 per year in 2010, good for the No. 20 ranking in a new Brookings Institution report on trends in manufacturing in the United States’ 100 largest cities. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., area ranked first, with average pay of $144,899 a year. U.S. manufacturing remains … Continue reading →

Chicago-based Livingston International has acquired New Orleans-based M.G. Maher & Co., as well as the business of its affiliate MCLX Inc., Livingston’s President and CEO Peter Luit said Tuesday. The acquisition strengthens Livingston’s international freight forwarding business globally and its customs brokerage business in the U.S., the company said. It also establishes Livingston in New … Continue reading →