Financial Mines

News and notes from the business reporters for the Connecticut Media Group.
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Labor Dept.’s annual trends in work placement set for Friday

Thursday, May 10, 2012 by:Rob Varnon
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WESTBROOK — The Connecticut Labor Department’s annual Connecticut Learns and Works Conference Friday aimed at helping job placement and training professionals understand work and employment trends.

This year’s keynote speaker is Haddam resident Ken Gronbach a nationally-recognized expert and futurist in the field of demography and generational marketing. Gronbach is  the author of several books and is known for his ability to accurately forecast societal, commercial, economic, cultural and political phenomena.

The conference, titled Transitioning for a Restructured Economy, will be held Friday at the Waters Edge Conference Center from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is sponsored by the State Department of Education, Connecticut Labor Department and the Connecticut Career Resource Network

The conference will feature a series of morning and afternoon workshops including: 21st Century Progressive Manufacturing Practices;  Personal Finance from College to Career – How to Get the Information to Stick; Using Labor Market Information for Career Planning; Create Your Own Job – Start a Small Business/Entrepreneurship;  Mentoring Programs Developed by Youth Leaders; Jobseekers: Coping with Stress While Creating a Future; Public Health Career Pathways Offer Choices; and High School Internship  Programs – Opportunities and Challenges..

Details about the Connecticut Learns and Works Conference can be found online at:www. ctlearnsandworks.com

Blumenthal brings out FB password protection bill

Wednesday, May 9, 2012 by:Rob Varnon
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., with other Democrats is offering up a bill to protect people’s Facebook and other password protected accounts as a condition of employment.

News broke earlier this year of a New York statisticisn who said a manager during an interview for a job asked for his Facebook password to review his private Facebook page. However, the identity of the lobbying firm he was applying to has never been revealed and requests for names of businesses doing this have not yielded any in the private sector.

There have been some law enforcement agencies that were identified as asking for access and according to an Associated Press story, some firms ask employees to friend HR managers or other supervisors on social network spaces.

One legal expert told the Mines that having your supervisor or HR manager as a friend on Facebook was a dumb idea and has led to problems for employees.

In any account, the Senators are going to protect your Facebook page from employers if they can. They of course exempted executive agencies from this, in the interest of national security.

Curiously, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., noted: “Employers don’t ask job applicants for their house keys or bank account information – why should they be able to ask them for their Facebook passwords and gain unwarranted access to a trove of their private information?”

However, Congress has done nothing to outlaw the use of credit reports as part of the job application process, which in effect is prying into people’s financial situation, no?

Derecktor Conn. hiring NY restructuring/merger expert

Wednesday, May 9, 2012 by:Rob Varnon
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Derecktor Shipyards has filed a motion in Federal Bankruptcy Court to hire GlassRatner Advisory and Capital Group to help it explore a restructuring or sale of its Connecticut operation.

New York-based GlassRatner is a specialist in crisis advisory for businesses and has expertise in merging companies out of bankruptcy or helping them craft a reorganization plan.

Derecktor, which at one time employed nearly 300 in Bridgeport at the harbor building yachts, ferries and other boats, filed for Chapter 11 protection in January of this year after the economy and several pending lawsuits cut into its business.

Ownership of Derecktor have said they were looking for a potential investor in the business. Derecktor’s New York shipyard, Robert E. Derecktor Inc, filed Chapter 11 a month later.

Hostess targets Connecticut jobs in fight with union

Wednesday, May 9, 2012 by:Rob Varnon
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On Wednesday, Connecticut’s Labor Department confirmed Hostess Brands Inc. has said five sites in the state where it employs 187 workers could be shut down in July.

Hostess sent out notices across the country last week notifying them of a potential shutdown and mass layoffs as the maker of Twinkies and other bakery products tries to scrap union contracts as part of its bankruptcy proceeding. It is specifically filed motions, according to federal court records, to reject collective bargaining agreements and modify retirement benefits. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in January. It filed a case in 2004, as well.

The sites include Bridgeport on Wells Street where 50 are employed.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted its response to the move last week, noting the union granted concessions the last time Hostess was in bankruptcy and has offered additional concessions this time.

And the union charges Hostess executives with taking a pay raise right before filing for bankruptcy.

Besides Bridgeport, Hostess has told the Labor Department that facilities in Uncasville, Norwich, Cheshire and East Windsor.

Tangoe shares fail to delight prior to earnings release

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 by:Rob Varnon
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Heading into the company’s quarterly earnings report, shares in Orange-based Tangoe Inc. failed to break free of the European malaise that has settled over Wall Street.

Tangoe reported revenues increased 53 percent from a year ago to $34.1 million as the company reported net income for the most recent quarter was $192,000. Last year, the communications and computer management serviced business, reported a loss of $613,000. Earnings per share using generally accepted accounting practices was zero, but better than the loss of 33 cents a year ago.

Wall Street was buffeted by news out of Europe, again, where the split parliament the Greek voters elected are struggling to form a new government there. Reports indicate a new election might be called as a result. Some analysts fear the Greeks are about to leave the EU and inflate their way out of debt, but one expert told The Mines, he thinks the Greeks are hoping if they continue to do nothing Germany will eventually just come in and rescue the country in a meaningful way.

This is the fifth straight day the Dow Industrial Average lost points. It fell 77 points to 12,932. The S&P 500 shed 6 points to stand at 1,364 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 11 points to 2,946.

Tangoe shares appear to have been following gravity with the rest of the market. Shares in Tangoe fell 18 cents to $19.30 before the company reported earnings.

While a U.S.-based company, Tangoe does have European operations and offers management services to help companies avoid seeing cell phone bills jump when they are in Europe for business.

Tomorrow, we’ll get a better gauge of how the market likes Tangoe going forward in this economy.

Mulva edges Lafley for most popular GE director

Monday, May 7, 2012 by:Rob Varnon
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GE published the results of its annual election of directors and Conoco Philips CEO and Chairman James J. Mulva edged out last year’s most popular director A.G. Lafley, the former head of P&G.

We’re a little late in The Mines on this one, as the results were filed with the SEC on Friday.

The vote was close in terms of shares, with Mulva winning 6.029 billion shares to Lafley’s 6.025 billion. Susan Hockfield, the retiring president of MIT, was third with 6.023 billion votes and Robert Swieringa, a professor of accounting and former dean at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, and Robert Lane, Deere’s former CEO, both cracked 6 billion shares to round out the top five.

Last year’s least popular director, Andrea Jung, who has transitioned from CEO of Avon to executive chair since then, got some some relief and only collected 293 million shares against her, landing her in the fifth least popular slot with shareholders.

Jeffrey Immelt, GE’s CEO and chairman, garnered the fourth highest total shares against with 330 million.

Collecting the most shareholder ire this time was Roger S. Penske, CEO and Chairman of Penske Automotive Group, with more than 718 million shares against.

Rounding out the five least popular were James Tisch, president and CEO of Loews Corp.,  and Rochelle Lazarus, chairman and former CEO of Ogilvy and Mather. Tisch fielded more than 659 million shares against, while Lazarus collected more than 509 million votes against.

All directors were re-elected, all collecting more than 5 billion shares of votes for their positions.

Farnborough, here comes Connecticut

Monday, May 7, 2012 by:Rob Varnon
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Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development and its partners have signed up 19 companies to exhibit under the state’s banner at the Farnborouh Air Show in July.

Each entrant had to pay a $10,000 fee to be a part of the state’s contingent.

Since 2006, Connecticut has had a presence at the two key European air shows, Paris and Farnborough, providing information on the state’s aerospace industry and its historic strength.

The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology and Connecticut Light & Power Co., partnered with the DECD to help promote the state’s aerospace industry at the shows.

This year’s show runs before the London Olympics, making hotel space difficult to come by, according to Connecticut’s contingency. The show lifts off on July 9 and ends July 13.

Connecticut used part of  a $549,000 U.S. Small Business Administration grant to help reduce costs to attend the show for companies.

While the deadline for registering to be a part of the Connecticut group has passed, Laura Jaworski, who heads up the state’s International Office, said aerospace businesses that wish to have literature available at the stand should contact the DECD.

For more information, you may send an email to Wayne Sumple at the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology Inc., wsumple@ccat.us; or visit www.ccat.us.

A tale of two summers for investors and rate payers

Friday, May 4, 2012 by:Rob Varnon
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ISO New England, the region’s grid operator reported Friday there is adequate power to meet the demands of a typical summer in the region, but cautioned higher than normal temperatures could tax the system’s natural gas-fired plants.

The ISO said the main issue appears to be in Boston, where there is concern about liquified natural gas supplies being stable enough to fuel the power needs of that area in the case of extreme heat. And while Southwest Connecticut no longer appears to be on the list for concerns about power, a big jump in electricity bills could act as a drag on consumer spending.

But the Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a cooler than average summer this year, which, depending on how cool, could impact earnings of key utilities in the region.

Analysts have already raised the issue of a cooler summer in notes to investors about first quarter earnings results for UIL Holdings. If that scenario plays out, UIL Holdings and Northeast Utilities could both see major earnings impacts like they did for the first quarter this year, when their natural gas distribution companies saw sales fall because of a warm winter.

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