Current News

Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, announced that its Board of Directors declared today, April 21, 2011, a dividend of 28 cents per share, payable May 19, 2011, to shareholders of record as of May 5, 2011. Merchants plans to release earnings on or about April 28, 2011.

The organic industry grew at a rate of nearly eight percent in 2010, bucking the current trend whereby "flat is the new growth" for many other segments of the economy. Further, some sectors of the organic market enjoyed annual growth of well over 30 percent, the Brattleboro-based Organic Trade Association (OTA) revealed today in releasing findings from its 2011 Organic Industry Survey. In 2010, the organic industry grew to over $28.6 billion.
"While total U.S. food sales grew by less than one percent in 2010, the organic food industry grew by 7.7 percent," said Christine Bushway, OTA's CEO and Executive Director. "Consumers continue to vote with their dollars in favor of the organic choice. These results illustrate the positive contribution organic agriculture and trade make to our economy, and particularly to rural livelihoods," Bushway said.

The Ninth Annual Vermont Employee Ownership Conference will take place on June 10, 2011, at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. The full-day conference will feature 19 workshops from introductory sessions for those exploring the idea of employee ownership to technical sessions designed for those in established employee-owned companies. Sessions include:
· An introduction to employee ownership
· Leadership in Employee-Owned Companies
· Forming a worker cooperative: Start-Ups and Conversions
· Avoiding ESOP Problems and Pitfalls
· Basics of business valuation
· Healthcare, Wellness and Safety in Employee-Owned Companies

Renting an apartment in Vermont continues to grow more difficult for the average Vermonter, according to a report released today.
The 2011 update of "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Housing and Wages in Vermont" shows a modest 2-bedroom apartment in Vermont costs an average of $990 a month, a 7 percent increase over the year before and a 58 percent increase since 2000. A renter would need to earn an hourly wage of at least $19.03 ‘ or $39,595, annually ‘ to afford this.
"Renting an apartment has been a challenge in Vermont for some time because of rising costs and a low vacancy rate. This report confirms it continues to grow more challenging, especially for those on the lower end of Vermont's income scale," according to Sarah Carpenter, Executive Director of Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), the report's publisher.

Vermont licensed 7 new captives in the first quarter of 2011 which is the strongest start since 2005, according to the Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration (BISHCA). The 7 new captives consisted of 4 single-parent, 2 risk retention groups and a special purpose captive.
‘We’re seeing wide diversity in the types of applications,’ said David Provost, Deputy Commissioner of Vermont’s Captive Insurance Division. ‘Captives formed for professional medical liability and smaller to mid-sized companies are trending strongly.’ The first quarter pace surpasses Vermont’s 30-year first quarter average of 5.2 captives.
‘It is encouraging to see this strong start to 2011,’ said Governor Peter Shumlin. ‘We will continue to work with the legislature to be responsive to industry needs. Vermont is committed to maintaining its ‘Gold Standard’ reputation.’

Three new businesses launched this month by recent graduates of the Women’s Small Business Program, (WSBP). WSBP is one of several programs run by Mercy Connections whose mission is to nurture self-sufficiency through education, mentoring and community. One is a cloth diaper service, another is a floral hair pin company, and the third is fitness retreat service.
Program Coordinator and graduate Ali Marchildon says, ‘WSBP has been teaching women how to write business plans for 22 years. We’ve graduated close to 1500 women, 150 of whom are currently running successful businesses. These three new businesses are opening their doors in the toughest economy since the Great Depression by starting small, designing or bartering for their own websites, keeping low inventory, and basing year one operations out of their homes.’

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) and ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) announce the companies have reached an agreement to make Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa available in K-Cup portion packs for the Keurig® Single-Cup Brewing System. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The new Swiss Miss K-Cup portion pack will hold the perfect amount of Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa to create a delicious, sweet and classic beverage that will appeal to the entire family. Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa will be offered in a variety of at home channels for Keurig consumers beginning in August 2011. The new K-Cup portion pack will be offered alongside Café Escapes®, a line of dairy-based beverages in K-Cup portion packs geared to adult consumers looking to treat themselves with a delicious, indulgent reward.

People's United Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBCT) today announced net income of $51.7 million, or $0.15 per share, for the first quarter of 2011, compared to $32 million, or $0.09 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2010, and $13.6 million, or $0.04 per share, for the first quarter of 2010. The company's Board of Directors voted to increase the common stock dividend to an annual dividend rate of $0.63 per share. Based on the closing stock price on April 19, 2011, the dividend yield on People's United Financial common stock is 4.9 percent. The quarterly dividend of$0.1575 per share is payable May 15, 2011 to shareholders of record on May 1, 2011.

Secretary of State Jim Condos has accepted an appointment to a national task force on Business Identity Theft. The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) has announced the formation of a NASS Business Identity Theft Task Force to help states combat the growing threat of business identity theft. The task force is a major association initiative that will target business identity theft prevention strategies and develop practical, cost-effective tools and guidance for states.

Representative Peter Welch on Wednesday was joined by boaters and sportsmen at a Malletts Bay marina to highlight his efforts to rein in federal subsidies to the ethanol industry that cost taxpayers nearly $6 billion a year, drive up food prices and cause damage to small engines used in boats, motorcycles and lawnmowers. Welch was first alerted to the harmful effects of ethanol on small engines at a county fair in Highgate.
The ethanol industry benefits from three taxpayer subsidies: a $.045 per gallon tax credit, a protective import tariff of $0.54 per gallon and a renewable energy fuel mandate, which requires the blending of ethanol and other biodiesel in U.S. transportation fuel. These subsidies remain in place despite a General Accountability Office (GAO) report that questioned the need to subsidize this mature industry.

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ ‘ UNB) today announced Net Income for the first quarter 2011 of $1.03 million or $0.23 per share compared to $1.22 million or $0.27 per share for 2010. Results for 2011 reflect a year to year increase in net interest income of $36 thousand or 0.8% and in noninterest income of $195 thousand or 16.0%.

This Green Up Day, ask: what is the carbon footprint of your yard? This may seem like an odd question, considering owers, trees, and shrubs absorb excess carbon from our atmosphere and give oxygen. But it’s something that owners Charlie Proutt and Eileen Schilling have been asking since they took over Horsford Gardens and Nursery in 1986. What they have learned might surprise you. As it turns out, nursery practices can have far-reaching e ects on the community beyond simply supplying customers with plants.
Horsford’s emphasis on eld-grown plants has been the lynchpin of their carbon-reducing strategies.
Horsford trees and shrubs are grown at the nursery instead of trucked in from large-scale growers
out-of-state. By growing nearly every plant they sell, the Charlotte nursery is better able to manage their fossil-fuel consumption, thereby reducing their carbon footprint.