Current News

Vermont Business Magazine New unemployment claims in Vermont were up again last week, but increased at a brisker rate. Levels this year have been running consistently lower than those of last year. For the week of October 11, 2014, there were 487 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is an increase of 88 from the previous week's total, and 124 fewer than they were a year ago.

Altogether 3,721 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 120 from a week ago and 493 fewer than a year ago. The Department processed 1 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), one fewer than the previous week.

Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Unions representing over 1,700 of FairPoint's approximately 2,550 employees in Vermont (about 700), New Hampshire and Maine went on strike at 12:01 Friday morning. FairPoint said its operations will continue "without disruption." Negotiations had begun on April 25. The two biggest issues involve the company's desire to align union worker benefits with packages common to its other employees and it also wants to bring in more non-union employees to do jobs typical of union positions to allow it to be more flexible as the need arises, say following a storm. The unions said it anticipates these two moves costing union members $700 million on the one hand and, on the other, leading to replacing union workers with non-union employees.

Vermont will receive $75,455 in restitution and other recoveries as its share of a national $31 million civil settlement with Organon Pharmaceuticals USA Inc to resolve allegations that the drug manufacturer, which is now owned by Merck & Co, Inc, engaged in various marketing violations. Specifically, whistleblowers in two federal lawsuits filed in Massachusetts and Texas alleged that Organon underpaid rebates and misrepresented drug prices to state Medicaid programs, offered improper financial incentives to nursing home pharmacy companies, and promoted its antidepressants Remeron and Remeron SolTab for unapproved uses in children and adolescents. The lawsuits were filed under the federal False Claims Act and various State false claims statutes.

Vermont AG: Oct 17, 2014

After a comprehensive selection process, the University of New Hampshire has chosen the design-build team of Populous, Lavallee Brensinger Architects, and PC Construction for the new $25 million athletic complex slated to open in the summer of 2016. The new four-story stadium will feature tiered seating for 11,500 and include dedicated levels for concessions and restrooms, a president’s suite, press and club boxes with a common multi-purpose stadium club room, a gateway entry with ticket sales building, and a pedestrian concourse. The project will be built to UNH’s high sustainability requirements, and meet the standards associated with a LEED Silver facility.

Vermont Business Magazine It should come as no surprise that in California the "most unique" jobs are held by actors, that in Connecticut it's actuaries (who get paid a lot more), in DC it's political scientists (who get even more) and that in North Dakota it's derrick operators (who get less). But in Vermont the "most unique" job is maple surgarer? dairy farmer? solar panel installer? health care worker? waiter? Nope, it's Highway Maintenance Worker, which is even lower paid and does not exactly evoke the image we generally choose to project. According to a report recently released by CareerBuilder, in the sprawling United States economy, the types of jobs that define entire regions are as diverse as the geographies that shape borders and the people who live within them. Simply put, there are some jobs you can only seem to find in certain places.

Vermont Business Magazine HNI Corporation (NYSE: HNI) has announced sales for the third quarter ended September 27, 2014, of $614.7 million and net income of $33.6 million, or $0.74 per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income per diluted share improved 33 percent from the prior year quarter to $0.81, which excludes restructuring and transition costs. HNI acquired Vermont Castings Group on October 1, 2014. The Vermont Castings Group, headquartered in Paris, KY, and with plants in Randolph and Bethel, Vermont, has annual revenue of approximately $100 million. According to Vermont Business Magazine, Vermont Castings has about 170 employees in Vermont. HNI said at the time that it had no immediate plans to restructure Vermont Castings, reduce payroll or close any of its plants.

JK Adams, based in Dorset is celebrating its 70th anniversary and invites retailers and consumers to explore its new website and E-catalogue. The new website, www.jkadams.com, has been designed to provide a user-friendly experience with improved navigation and functionality throughout, allowing home cooks access to detailed product information and to view ideas for decorating their homes, entertaining and cooking.

Created with the user experience firmly in mind, the website has been designed using the latest technology so the site is compatible with today's browsers and mobile devices - without the need for Adobe® Flash to view it. The site is organized in categories so shop owners, brides-to-be, cooks, bakers, decorators and anyone who loves good design can find what they are looking for and purchase it in minutes.

The State of Vermont has again been awarded the top U.S. Domicile for “outperforming their competitors and demonstrating the highest levels of excellence over the past 12 months.” This is the second year that the State of Vermont has been honored with this award, which was presented by Captive Review Magazine during the US Captive Services Awards on October 6 at the Westin Chicago River North.

The ceremony was attended by more than 200 captive management professionals. The award was chosen by eleven judges who were all US based captive owners or Risk Managers selected by Captive Review Magazine, which is based in London, England.

People's United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBCT) today reported net income of $61.6 million, or $0.21 per share, for the third quarter of 2014, compared to $58.5 million, or $0.19 per share, for the third quarter of 2013, and $72.3 million, or $0.24 per share, for the second quarter of 2014. Included in the second quarter's results is a net after-tax gain of $13.4 million ($0.04 per share) resulting from the formation of a merchant services joint venture. Operating earnings were $63.0 million, or $0.21 per share, for the third quarter of 2014, compared to $60.8 million, or $0.20 per share, for the third quarter of 2013, and $59.9 million, or $0.20 per share, for the second quarter of 2014.

Snow’s arrival is inevitable here in Vermont and ECHO has found a way to embrace the inevitable! Thanks to a special partnership between Burton Snowboards, Smugglers’ Notch Ski Resort, with additional support from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, ECHO will be presenting a two-week long Burton Riglet Park Program, Saturday, November 1 through Sunday, November 16, including actual SNOW outside ECHO on Saturday, November 15! This program is specifically designed to accommodate children between 3 and 8 years old.

What is a Burton Riglet Park? It is a series of small obstacles, slides and interactive stations that safely introduce the physical principles of snowboarding to kids as young as age three, up to age eight. The park, which can be created inside as well as outside, is designed to offer a fun and comfortable environment for young children to learn snowboarding through “play” and guided discovery.

The two-week program has several components:

Merchants Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, announced that its Board of Directors declared today, October 16, 2014, a dividend of 28 cents per share, payable November 13, 2014, to shareholders of record as of October 30, 2014. This quarter represents its 72nd consecutive quarterly dividend payment and its 36th consecutive quarter at the current payout level.

Vermont's congressional delegation announced Thursday that the federal government's contribution to the Vermont Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) will be $17,252,695. The new funding, from the US Department of Health and Human Services, is part of a nationwide release of $3.05 billion in LIHEAP funds to help struggling families heat their homes. The new funds represent about 90 percent of the funding approved for LIHEAP under the Continuing Appropriations Act signed into law early this year. HHS will release the remaining funds for the program following the completion of Fiscal Year 2015 appropriations bills. In FY 2014, the initial funding was $16.6 million.