ColoradoBiz articles from November 2008

ColoradoBiz archives from November 2008

UMB stands tall among banks, but how about a reward for good behavior?(COTE'S [colorado])(UMB Financial Corp.)
November 1, 2008... Since lawmakers signed off on a $700 billion Wall Street bailout, UMB Financial CEO Mariner Kemper has been making a pitch for banks like his that didn't contribute to the subprime mortgage slide. What's in it for them? Sure, it's...

Cut the cloth to fit the suit: tough times reward tough people.([on] MANAGEMENT)
November 1, 2008... It appears we are in for a long period of hard work before things get easier for business. Most of us have been in downturns before, but what's spooky about this time is that we are seeing some things for the first time. Oil and therefore...

Between Scylla and Charybdis: moral hazard or systemic risk: bailout Odyssey poses tough choices.([the] ECONOMIST)
November 1, 2008... It was only seven months ago that Standard & Poor's assured us that the majority of the losses in mortgage-backed securities had been disclosed, topping out at $285 billion. It certainly didn't turn out that way! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Experience, technology among social trends affecting tourism industry.([TOURISM])
November 1, 2008... For Surface Creek Winery owner Jim Durr, the key to successful tourism promotion is to listen to customers. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "The tourists will show you the way," says Durr,...

On the record.
November 1, 2008... "IT'S WONDERFUL TO SEE A ROOMFUL OF PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL INTERESTED IN DOING DEALS."--state economic development chief Don Elliman to a roomful of merger and acquisition professionals at the Association for Corporate Growth's Dealmaker's Forum...

By the nunbers.(Computer peripherals industry)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... $3.3 billion Total of Colorado's high-tech exports in 2007, down $1.1 billion, or 25 percent. Colorado had the fifth highest concentration of tech exports in the nation, with 44 percent of its exports coming from the tech industry. ...

SBA dials up hotline for surviving tough times.([SMALL BUSINESS])(Small Business Administration)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The U.S. Small Business Administration's Colorado District Office announced on Oct. 1 the launch of a Small Business Economic Hotline for area businesspeople who have questions about doing business in these uncertain economic times. Calls...

Obama bad for business.(READERS [respond])(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... Not that it may matter much, but I will be unsubscribing from your publication and be sure to never purchase it again. I am appalled that a magazine with the name ColoradoBiz would endorse a big-government, extreme liberal for president...

Obama is the right person for the job.(READERS [respond])(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... So glad to see some sense and logic to your support of Obama. I want someone that is looking to making changes for this country. The current system is broken and needs a fresh perspective. Obama is extremely intelligent, highly-educated,...

Obama would stall growth for small businesses.(READERS [respond])(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... Some of us are small business owners. Obama's tax on my small business would put a very low ceiling on the growth of our companies. Neither he nor Biden has a clue about small businesses. Sarah Palin absolutely does, and through her the...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
November 1, 2008... The October story "Flush with Oil" should have said the U.S. government estimates there are 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Also, the United States consumes 20.8 million barrels of oil per day.

'Green' Mountain luxury living: Caribou Ridge plans high-end 'sustainable' homes for Nederland.(WHO OWNS COLORADO [PLANET-PROFIT REPORT])
November 1, 2008... NEDERLAND IS A PEACEFUL, QUIRKY LITTLE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY--population 1,300, altitude 8,300 feet--with much emphasis on "quirky." After all, the town probably is best known for its Frozen Dead Guy Days festival, a celebration of the dry...

Total properties sold 2007 VS. YTD SEP. 2008.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... TOTAL PROPERTIES SOLD 2007 VS. YTD SEP. 2008 2007 2008 J 3,540 2,987 F 3,090 3,001 M 4,274 3,709 A 4,399 4,265 M 5,081 4,664 J 5,129 4,845 J 4,980 5,123 A 5,010 4,542 S 3,737 4,265 O 3,848 N...

Average sales price 2007 VS. YTD SEP. 2008.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... AVERAGE SALES PRICE 2007 VS. YTD SEP. 2008 2007 2008 J $266 $257 F $265 $255 M $275 $254 A $293 $248 M $289 $256 J $304 $267 J $289 $262 A $298 $261 S $279 $239 O $265 N $269 D $262 ...

Single-family units sold August 2007 VS. 2008.(Statistical table)
November 1, 2008... 2007 UNITS SOLD 2008 UNITS SOLD PERCENT CHANGE Metro District 4,024 3,631 [down arrow] -9.8% Glenwood Springs N/A 24 N/A Grand County ...

Will Roberts II: Denver Board of Realtors president follows father's lead as groundbreaker.(EXECUTIVE [edge])
November 1, 2008... When Will Roberts II was sworn in this fall as the first African-American president of the Denver Board of Realtors he thought how proud his father-the late William Roberts, a former Denver City councilman and deputy mayor under Federico...

Spaceship Colorado: Colorado Employs more aerospace workers than all but one state, but its success in the industry rests largely on the flow of money from NASA and the military.(Company overview)
November 1, 2008... It was a scene as otherworldly as it was distinctly Coloradan. Through a plate-glass window in a new $65 million annex on the Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. campus in Boulder, visitors observed workers assembling a spacecraft--or, rather,...

Staying on top in a topsy-turvy world: this year's top company winners made the grade despite a rocky economy.(Editorial)
November 1, 2008... It's been a tough year to be in business. That long, dark slog of an economy we thought we'd be wading through became a giant lake of quicksand, sucking Wall Street down into the muck and sending markets reeling worldwide. ...

SuperFund visionary: Denver developer Jon Cook plans to build high-density housing on the remediated grounds of the former Shattuck Chemical Co., one of 20 EPA Superfund sites in Colorado.([PLANET-PROFIT REPORT])
November 1, 2008... There was once a toxic concrete monolith on the southern fringes of Denver proper, the leftovers of the Shattuck Chemical Co. It was the very definition of the worst kind of brownfield--an environmentally compromised piece of real estate. ...

Origins at Cherry Creek North.(SPOTLIGHT)(The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.)(Company overview)
November 1, 2008... SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES: At the new Origins store at Cherry Creek North, patrons can sip Green Buddha tea drinks, munch on vegan cupcakes, check their e-mail via free wireless and peruse a book from the store's wellness library while they...

Weathering the Wall Street roller coaster: what financial advisors are telling their clients.
November 1, 2008... SCOTT WYLIE, CEO OF FIRST WESTERN FINANCIAL Investors are nervous, and financial advisors are trying to help relieve some of the stress. Local wealth managers are fielding phone calls and also making calls to explain to clients what's...

Ranking the professional--service firms.(Table)(Company rankings)
November 1, 2008... RANKING THE PROFESSIONAL - SERVICE FIRMS _COLORADO-BASED ACCOUNTING FIRMS [RANKED BY NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES] COMPANY NO. OF EMPLOYEES CITY Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & 400 Denver Hottman P.C. ...

Spending less for more: is the edict in lean economic times, and 'cloud computing' offers that option.(TECH GUIDE [2009])
November 1, 2008... Recessionary-spending squeezes have never been salad days for technology vendors. But many options available to today's corporate information technology buyer represent less investment, not more. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "We're right...

Google Chrome.(gadgets and software gallery)(Google Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Google launched its latest shot across Microsoft's bow at the end of the summer in the form of a shiny new Web browser called Chrome. Its features include in-window shortcuts, one box for typing both Web addresses and search terms, a simple...

Peek.(gadgets and software gallery)
November 1, 2008... A slim new gadget that debuted this fall, Peek allows users to check their e-mail on the go and on the cheap: The device is $100, and the $20 monthly fee includes unlimited usage. Peek handles up to three e-mail addresses and features a more...

MAXRoam.(gadgets and software gallery)
November 1, 2008... Compatible with GSM cell phones that have SIM cards--i.e. most any mobile on the market--MAXRoam saves callers 60 percent to 80 percent on their roaming charges when traveling outside their country. The company independently negotiated deals...

BlackBerry Bold.(gadgets and software gallery)
November 1, 2008... Research In Motion's answer to the iPhone 3G, the new BlackBerry Bold takes all the features that make it such an addictive pleasure to "CrackBerry" users and adds some of the stylistic leaps made by Apple's skunk works in recent years. Not...

Workday.(gadgets and software gallery)(Human resource management software)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Some analysts have dubbed Workday "the next Salesforce.com," and they might not be far off the mark. The on-demand software company has already landed numerous customers of all sizes with its human capital management and finance applications...

GreenPrint.(gadgets and software gallery)
November 1, 2008... GreenPrint is a simple and logical means for an enterprise to reduce paper and ink waste, shrink its carbon footprint and save money in one fell swoop. The software highlights and removes unnecessary pages and images and reports on the...

Spatialkey.(gadgets and software gallery)
November 1, 2008... Golden's Universal Mind is a leader in the rich Internet application space and its latest and greatest is SpatialKey. The bleedingedge "information, visualization, analysis and reporting system" lets users see their data on top of a map. The...

Capital scarcity adds to businesses' distress.(SMALL [biz])
November 1, 2008... General Capital Partners specializes in advising financially distressed businesses, a niche that might be exploding except that the avenues for relief have imploded. "We typically get hired to either get companies refinanced, get them new...

Company Albeo Technologies.([small biz] TECH STARTUP)(Company overview)
November 1, 2008... INITIAL LIGHT BULB: Jeff Bisberg and Peter Van Laanen were walking back to lunch while working for Picolight, a maker of fiber optic equipment for Cisco Systems and other datacom customers. Inspiration struck at a light-emitting-diode-based...

Big B's Fabulous Juices.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Nearly 30 years after Bernie Heideman started a cider-mill cooperative for the apple-growing hippies in Paonia, he passed the torch to second-season employee Jeff Schwartz in 2001. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I didn't know anything about...

Liberty Puzzles.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)(Liberty Puzzles LLC)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... An attorney with a finance background, Christopher Wirth's career path took an abrupt turn when his family inherited a cache of hand-cut wooden puzzles from the 1930s. "There was a jigsaw puzzle craze in this country during the Great...

Card Parlour Darts.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)(Card Parlour Games LLC)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... In 2006, Charles Hanes was simultaneously playing in a Texas Hold 'Em tournament and watching a dart tournament on TV, and the retired IBM exec mentally synthesized the two into a new game, Card Parlour Darts. Hanes' dartboard has a traditional...

Newton Running Shoes.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)
November 1, 2008... Danny Abshire started working on Newton Running Shoes in the early 1990s, but he turned the corner after enlisting longtime Boulder real-estate developer and runner Jerry Lee as an investor in 2005. The shoes use a patented system of hollow...

Go team!(SPORTS [biz])
November 1, 2008... If a Denver-based startup has its way, high-school athletes from around the country are about to get their 15 minutes of fame. Jookt.com, operating from an office near Cherry Creek, is a new online media venture designed to give high school...

Advanced aging.(RUNDLES [wrap-up])(Column)
November 1, 2008... Flipping through my newspapers the other morning, I found one of those AARP registration packages as an insert, and at first I was amazed. That seniors' organization, I thought, was really pushing it; normally they just mail these things to...