Sears posted a list of 79 of 100 stores it plans to close. No Conn stores were listed.
Financial Mines
News and notes from the business reporters for the Connecticut Media Group.
Archive for December, 2011
Storm credit scam alert!
This just in from Berlin.
Berlin, CT – December 28, 2011 – Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) is asking customers to be wary of people who may come to their home, claiming that they are “from the electric company” or “CL&P” and are there to sign them up to receive a storm credit.
All CL&P employees carry company-issued identification. In addition, any electrical contractors working with CL&P carry documentation explaining the nature and location of their work.
If you have any doubt regarding the authenticity of a phone call or visit from a person claiming to be a representative of CL&P, call Customer Service immediately at 800-286-2000 and ask the customer service representative to verify the call or visit.
Port development coming to Connecticut?
Connecticut, a state whose principal wealth was once dependent upon the seas, has hired a California consulting firm to tell it how to use its deep water ports.
For several decades now, the state’s industrial ports have been sliding into decline as importers and exporters abandoned them and lack of infrastructure improvement dissuaded other uses. Compounding the problem in Connecticut is a failure, despite several studies over the years, to implement a strategy for the ports as well as a bit of a turf battle over their management between local and state bodies.
Into this fray, Moffat & Nichols, a California-based port and harbor advisor, is expected to wade and sort out what to do with the ports in Bridgeport, New Haven and New London.
Some developers have pushed to create residential and shopping at the ports while those in the maritime trades have asked that the ports be protected for industrial and maritime focused industries.
Hold onto your hats, this has the potential of opening up a lot of shore front property to development… Or to let it continue to linger.
The Office of Policy and Management announced the selection of Moffat on Wednesday but did not immediately release the value of the contract.
GE Cap buys $7.5B in deposits from MetLife
As one analyst noted, GE Capital didn’t waste any time moving forward with plans to increase deposits and move away from its dependence on commercial paper.
GE Capital announced Tuesday that its wholly owned bank GE Capital Financial has entered into an agreement to buy MetLife’s U.S. retail deposit and online banking business. The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Sterne Agee Analyst Ray Young issued a flash note to investors Tuesday.
“GE says it one week, does it the next,” Young wrote in his note.
“GE Capital at the investors meeting earlier this month, and CEO Jeff Immelt at the annual outlook meeting stated the goal to increase Alternative Funding at GE Capital by $15B to ~$80B,” he said in the note. “This acquisition gets GE Capital halfway to the stated goal, much faster than consensus expectations.”
He reiterated his buy position.
Shares of GE were off 7 cents to $18.16 in New York.
Wait leaving Cigna board
In an SEC filing Tuesday morning, Dec. 27, 2011, Cigna Corp. announced the departure of one of its long-serving directors.
“Carol C. Wait, who has served on the Board of Directors of Cigna Corporation since 1995, informed the Company on December 21, 2011 of her intention to retire from the Board effective December 31, 2011, for personal reasons. Her decision to retire was not as a result of any disagreement with the Company or its management,” the company said in its filing.
Wait was re-elected to the board last year and her term was to expire in 2014. She is 68, according to Forbes.
Shares of Cigna qere up 20 cents to $43.33 in early Tuesday trading in New York.
Sikorsky continues to protect Irish coast
This is from a few days ago, but Sikorsky Aircraft announced on Dec. 21, 2011, it delivered a new S-92 Search and Rescue helicopter to the company that patrols the coast under a contract for the Irish Coast Guard.
S-92 ready for delivery
CHC Helicopter will operate the new aircraft on behalf of the Irish Coast Guard.
The aircraft is the 33rd S-92 helicopter CHC has purchased from Sikorsky since 2004, and the fifth dedicated search and rescue. CHC also operates four S-92 SAR aircraft in Scotland under contract to Britain’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Equipped for dedicated search and rescue operations, the newest CHC operated helicopter will provide coverage for deep Atlantic Ocean missions, service Ireland’s offshore islands, and provide rescue cover from Cork to Galway on the country’s west coast. Based at Shannon, the new aircraft will replace a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter, which has given 20 years of unbroken service.
CHC plans to take delivery of four more S-92s for search and rescue duty out of Sligo, Waterford and Dublin airports over time. CHC is providing coverage in these areas using six S-61s.
When you’re desperate, beware offers of help
Once again, a warning has gone out to unemployed workers that someone out there is trying to profit off of your desperation.
The Connecticut Labor Department said right before staff took off for the Christmas Break, the number of illegitimate unemployment insurance websites is increasing. These websites try to lure those collecting unemployment to provide Social Security numbers, bank account numbers and personal identification numbers and other information that can allow thieves to steal money out of accounts or to take out lines of credit in the person’s name.
People collecting through the Connecticut Department of Labor should only provide information on the secured DOL website. And the department noted staff do not send emails requesting private information.
Finally, when in doubt, wait and call someone at the Department to verify an email.
While those collecting unemployment have their responsibilities, this warning should also be a reminder to lenders that more needs to be done on the identity verification front on their end. It’s a continuing problem plaguing the international banking system and investors, bankers and customers can expect to see developments on this front throughout 2012.
Deals struck and possibly unstruck in Conn.
Attorney General George Jepsen urged utility regulators to reevaluate the NSTAR NU merger deal on the heals of NU’s performance during this year’s major electrical outages.
It was noted here in Financial Mines that NSTAR actually performed pretty well during the storm, so maybe the deal will upgrade performance?
In other news, KEMA, an energy and sustainability consultancy and advisory firm, with operations in Middletown, will now be part of Oslo-based DNV, which acquired 74.3 percent of the KEMA’s shares.
KEMA has key contracts with the State of Connecticut and served as a consultant to the Connecticut Siting Council when it was reviewing the Middletown-Norwalk 345KV line.
