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Almanac
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Business New Haven
11/16/1998
By:
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Credit Where It's Due
The U.S. Small Business Administration guaranteed loans totaling more than $635 million to more than 3,300 small New England businesses during the federal government's most recent fiscal year, which ended September 30. In Connecticut, 745 loans totaling some $171 million were approved to small business over the year. Top lenders in the region for the year were Citizens Bank, which approved 332 loans for $36.7 million, and Fleet Bank, with 239 loans for $41.2 million. The top lender measured by dollar amount was the First National Bank of New England, which guaranteed more than $79 million in loans. “As small businesses continue to drive the nation's economy, the SBA continues to be the fuel for these businesses,” says New England Regional SBA Administrator Patrick McGowan. “This continued use of SBA's user-friendly program is putting credit into the hands of entrepreneurs.”
More Mergermania
Webster Financial Corp., the Waterbury-based parent of Webster Bank, announced November 4 that it had reach a definitive agreement to acquire Maritime Bank & Trust, headquartered in Essex. With assets of $100 million, Maritime's acquisition will raise Webster's asset base to $9.3 billion. The purchase price is approximately 2.7 times Maritime's book value, and 21 times Maritime's earnings per share over the past 12 months. The agreement stipulates that Maritime shareholders will receive $26.67 per Maritime common share if Webster's stock price is at or below $24.45 per share during the pricing period. On the NASDAQ exchange, Webster Financial closed at 26 3/8 on November 4.
Price To Pay
A Wallingford construction company has been cited and fined $3,600 by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration in the death of a worker who fell from a roof in June. OSHA said the Thomas Construction Co. had no fall-protection system in place, and that ladders in use at the time at the Guilford job site were too short. 37-year-old Ty Lance of Naugatuck died June 3 after falling about 23 feet from the roof of a home. At the time Lance was working as a subcontractor for the Thomas company.
All Together Now
The town of North Branford's Economic Development Commission will hold its first “Business in the Community Day” conference on Thursday, November 19 at Restland Farms Conference Inn on Middletown Avenue, beginning at 8 a.m. The half-day event will bring together leaders and staff from state, federal and quasi-public agencies which offer programs to help businesses expand and modernize, as well as to assist entrepreneurs in starting new businesses. The conference is a major component of the town's strategic economic plan directed at enhancing North Branford's business climate. Says Mayor Joanne Wentworth, “North Branford has moved very aggressively during the last three months to shape a comprehensive economic-development initiative with the dual goals of retaining and expanding existing businesses, and to undertake efforts to attract new businesses to the town.” North Branford businesses, as well as those interested in starting a new business or relocating a business to the town, are invited. Call 203-315-6000 to learn more.
Raising the Bar
Consumers expect to spend an average of $1,342 this holiday season on gifts, entertaining, travel and other related expenses. That represents an eight-percent increase over last year, says the fourth annual American Express Retail Index on holiday shopping. Despite recent stock market volatility, only five percent of the 800 respondents said they would reduce holiday spending this year. Shoppers plan to spend more on gifts ($915 on average, up from $879 in 1997) and entertaining ($161, up from $154), while budgets for holiday travel ($141) and decorations ($61) will remain level, respondents said. Shoppers wil spend another $64 on other miscellaneous expenses.
Where Have All the Workers Gone?
Nine out of ten Connecticut businesses are having trouble filling jobs, according to a recent study by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. As a result, employers are resorting to a broad array of methods to meet the labor demand, from hiring temporary workers to paying bonuses to staff members who provide leads to increasing overtime. One respondent even reported that he was “praying to get help.” Only seven percent of respondents to the CBIA poll said they were doing nothing at all.
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