“A toxic waste site in Berlin, New Hampshire continues to leak mercury into the Androscoggin River…
The EPA listed it as a federal Superfund site six years ago. But the EPA has just begun its investigation to determine if the site poses any health risks, and how it can be cleaned up.” Continue Reading →
“The president of Standard & Poor’s [Deven Sharma] is stepping down, an announcement coming only weeks after the rating agency’s unprecedented move to strip the United States of its AAA credit rating.” Continue Reading →
“Stocks have fallen four weeks in a row. Some on Wall Street worry that the resulting blow to
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Some market analysts fear that what's happening on Wall Street is affecting the economy outside the trading room floor and vice-versa, creating a nasty feedback loop.
confidence, not to mention 401(k) statements, has set off a spiral of fear that could push prices even lower, cause people and businesses to pull back and tip the economy into a new recession.”I’m nervous that fear will lead companies to stop hiring and people to stop spending,” says Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist of Wells Capital Management, famous for his usually bullish take on the markets.A home sales report this past week showed that more sales than usual fell apart at the last minute, which suggests plunging stocks and dismal economic news gave buyers cold feet. At least 16 percent of deals were canceled ahead of closings last month, four times the rate in May.”
Large hospitals all over New Hampshire say they can't maintain current staffing levels given the state's budget cuts..
Yesterday, we posted the blog equivalent of a highlights reel for a New York Times article. The newspaper’s piece examined how state and federal budget cuts are taking the steam out of the health care industry’s role as one of the country’s few job creators. Eliot Health System in Manchester got a mention, as the provider blames state Medicaid cuts for forcing it to layoff 182 workers.
“Officials at Catholic Medical Center say the change in reimbursement means the non-profit hospital must come up with $12 million dollars to pay to the state by October.
Hospital CEO Alyson Pitman Giles says CMC tried to eliminate jobs that would preserve patient services.”
The 3,500 Bank of America job cuts follow 2,500 other cuts earlier this year.
Reporting on the big business news of the day–Bank of America cutting 3,500 jobs–Todd Wallack of the Boston Globe digs into possible regional fallout:
“Bank of America declined to comment on the prospect of further job reductions or say how many of the job cuts will occur in New England.
But Massachusetts will likely be affected because it is one of the company’s largest centers of operations behind North Carolina and New York. In July, Bank of America said it plans to close a printing operation in Malden by next spring, eliminating 150 local jobs.
The bank has roughly 7,000 employees in the state, more than other retail banks, but down from 9,000 in 2007, before the financial crisis and recession took its toll on the banking industry.”
According to New Hampshire Bankers Association President Jerry Little, B of A is one of four large regional, super-regional or (in this case) national banks in the state. Citizens, TD Bank, and People’s United are the others.
This week, Comcast invited business leaders, elected officials, and the media to an event at the company’s new warehouse and inspection station in Salem, NH. Although the facility officially “opened” on August 17th, it had actually been up and running for a couple of months. (The Boston Globe ran a story about the facility two days before the opening.) But, as Comcast of Greater Boston Senior Vice President Steve Hackley explained in an interview with State Impact, the company wanted to wait until the warehouse was out of trial phase before making its big splash. It’s especially important since the high-tech inspection program is new, and Hackley said there are no more than three other, similar facilities across the country.
It’s been a busy week on the rural economy beat, thanks to President Obama’s newly-released rural jobs initiative. As part of that push today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a series of rural development grants and loans awarded to states as part of the clunkily-named “USDA Rural Development’s Community Facilities Program.” The idea, Vilsack said, was to stimulate rural economies by offering short-term construction jobs and longer-term work to maintenance contractors. The Community Facilities program is financing a wide variety of construction and upgrades for schools, childcare centers, hospitals and emergency services.
All told, about $55 million in funding was spread out over 31 states and Puerto Rico. New Hampshire scored $38,000 in grants. Continue Reading →
This week, New York Times reporters Reed Abelson and Katie Thomas took on a sticky issue–as the federal and state governments cut into health care funding their budgets can’t support, can the health care industry continue to generate much-needed jobs?
StateImpact seeks to inform and engage local communities with broadcast and online news focused on how state government decisions affect your lives. Learn More »
