Below please find daily updates pertaining to the latest in financial, business, and tax news:
Big Island home sales off to a slow start
Posted: Mon Feb 06 15:06:42 PST 2012The median price of a Big Island single-family home in January dipped by 4 percent to $231,000, but the price of a condominium rose 11 percent to $200,000, according to statistics from Hawaii Information Service. Sales volume was down for both single-family homes and condos last month when compared to January 2011. Single-family home sales dropped by 9.5 percent in January to 95 sales. The nu...
First a deal with Verizon; now Coinstar buys a competitor
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:59:25 PST 2012Coinstar's Redbox subsidiary, which announced a joint venture with Verizon on Monday morning, has now said it's buying the division of NCR Corp. that owns Blockbuster Express movie kiosks ? a key competitor to Redbox. The deal is subject to regulatory approval but is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, according to a statement by Coinstar Inc. Bellevue-based Coinstar owns Red...
Conviva raises $15M from Time Warner
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:58:53 PST 2012Conviva Inc., a video quality optimization and analytics technology provider, has closed a $15 million round of funding led by Time Warner Investments, an investing arm of Time Warner Inc. ...
Mayor Sam Adams announces 'responsible banking' proposal
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:57:50 PST 2012Portland Mayor Sam Adams wants to steer more of the city's money to credit unions and small community banks. Late Friday, Adams posted the Responsible Banking Resolution on his website. The proposal would amend the city's investment policy to allow the city to deposit up to $250,000 in credit unions. "This is part of my pledge to address some of the founding frustrations of the Occupy movemen...
Genomic Health's Randy Scott to lead human genome subsidiary
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:57:34 PST 2012Longtime Genomic Health Inc. executive Randy Scott is leaving the company ? sort of. Scott will become CEO of a wholly-owned Genomic Health subsidiary that will focus on medical applications of the human genome. He will continue to serve on the Redwood City-based test developer?s board. Genomic Health did not disclose the name of the new company. Kim Popovits, president and CEO of Genomic He...
Dems opposing GOP on charter schools
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:52:31 PST 2012Democrats in the Georgia House of Representatives are digging in their heels on a Republican-backed constitutional amendment that would let the state create charter schools. The proposal, which was approved by the House Education Committee last week, would reverse a Georgia Supreme Court ruling last year that took away the state?s power to grant charter school applications that have been rejec...
UCSF study: Boosting cigarette tax could bolster California economy by $2 billion
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:51:45 PST 2012A June 5 ballot initiative designed to boost the tax on cigarettes by $1 a pack could create 12,000 new permanent jobs right away and add nearly $2 billion in economic activity in the Golden State annually, according to a new study by UC San Francisco. The positive impacts would come, UCSF says, because ?Californians would smoke less and spend their money in other ways.? Roughly 4 dollars in ...
Gibraltar bank loses $7.7M, will not explain why
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:50:08 PST 2012Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust flipped to a $7.7 million loss in the fourth quarter, but its executives would not detail the charges that caused most of the red ink. The Coral Gables-based bank is facing a handful of investor lawsuits over its relationship with disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein?s admitted Ponzi scheme. The bank?s $7.7 million fourth quarter loss came after it earned $346,000...
Honeywell sues smart thermostat maker Nest over patents
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:45:50 PST 2012Honeywell Corp. said on Monday it has sued smart thermostat developer Nest Labs Inc. for patent infringement. The lawsuit filed at United States District Court for the District of Minnesota alleges that the Palo Alto company infringes on seven Honeywell patents related to its thermostat technology. The lawsuit also names Best Buy, which sells the Nest Labs thermostat. The patents named in th...
$5M in improvements being made to Durham roads
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:45:32 PST 2012The North Carolina Department of Transportation said Monday that it has awarded a pair of contracts worth $5 million to Barrett, Irvin and Jordan Contractors Inc. of Durham for improvements on 15 Durham County roads, including N.C. 54. A $3.6 million contract was awarded for resurfacing and shoulder reconstruction work on a 1.5-mile stretch of N.C. 54 between N.C. 55 and just west of Davis D...
The Death of Manufacturing Is Coming ? Eventually
Posted: Mon Feb 06 15:20:13 PST 20123D printing could transform the world, but how long will it take? ...
Is AMD Enlisting in the ARMy?
Posted: Mon Feb 06 15:08:21 PST 2012"The answer is not no." ...
Despite a Rough January, This Auto's Still a Buy
Posted: Mon Feb 06 15:08:14 PST 2012...
What General Motors Wants Most
Posted: Mon Feb 06 15:03:29 PST 2012For GM's CEO, being the world's largest automaker takes a back seat to a new and audacious goal. ...
Alcoa: This Stock Rose Too Far, Too Fast
Posted: Mon Feb 06 15:00:04 PST 2012Alcoa: This Stock Rose Too Far, Too Fast ...
What's in Store for These Defense Contractors?
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:46:45 PST 2012Another tough year awaits. ...
What's Next for This Networking Giant?
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:26:46 PST 2012Wednesday's earnings should be solid, but what about further out? ...
DryShips Shares Surged: What You Need to Know
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:21:44 PST 2012Is this meaningful? Or just another movement? ...
Whoa! What Just Happened to My Stock?
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:08:53 PST 2012These stocks just took off, but are they about to make a return trip to Earth? ...
Why Did My Stock Just Die?
Posted: Mon Feb 06 14:06:18 PST 2012These stocks just rolled over. Can they come back? ...
