Monthly Archives: July 2009

Recession May Be Coming to an End

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The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) declined a smaller-than-projected one percent in the second quarter of 2009, according to a report out today from the Commerce Department.

Though that performance marks the fourth straight quarter the U.S. economy has contracted, the drop was smaller than the expected 1.5 percent, and substantially less than the 6.4 percent slide recorded in the first quarter of the year.

Experts see this as a sign that the recession may have hit bottom this past spring, and some predict that the GDP will return to growth in the third quarter. Unemployment is still predicted to remain high as businesses wait to be sure the recovery is well underway.

Citizens Bank Honored for Community Support

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Citizens Financial Bank was honored today by the Board of the Munster Parks & Recreation Department for their continuing sponsorship of the Summer Concert Series. Citizens has been sponsoring the series for the past 11 years. The award was presented by Barb Holajter, Superintendent of Recreation, Munster Parks.

Theresa Mudd, Manager of Citizens Munster 45th Banking Center said, “Citizens has been an active member in the Munster community for nearly 75 years. Sponsoring the Munster Summer Concert Series is just one example of our commitment to the citizens of Munster and surrounding towns.”

Elizabeth Chenore, Vice President and Regional Sales Manager, said, “Citizens Financial Bank and all of our Banking Centers actively participate and support community activities.” She continued, “Citizens strongly believes that the best way to serve the needs of the communities where we have Banking Centers is to contribute their support and time to cultural and civic activities. That exemplifies what we mean by Personal, personal banking”

Citizens Financial Bank, a $1.1 billion dollar independent bank, serves the financial needs of individuals, families and businesses through its network of 22 Banking Centers located throughout Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. Citizens Financial Bank was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Munster, Indiana.

Tecumseh Gets $1 Million Grant for Aging Worker Intitiative

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The Tecumseh Area Partnership (Lafayette, IN) is one of just ten organizations nationwide receiving a share of $10 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Labor to connect older Americans to career opportunities.

The Partnership, a workforce intermediary offering a variety of services, such as WorkKeys Assessments and networking opportunities, to employers and job seekers, will receive $1 million as part of the program.

The Labor Department’s “Aging Worker Initiative: Strategies for Regional Talent Development” is designed to train workers age 55 and older for jobs in high-growth, high-demand industries, and increase the public workforce system’s capacity to effectively serve an aging worker population. The department also has launched a private-public partnership with the Atlantic Philanthropies, which will invest an additional $3.6 million in this effort.

“Older Americans are an important part of the workforce, and their skills and experience are of tremendous value to our nation,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “With expanded education and training opportunities, such as those made possible through this grant, older workers can broaden their own career opportunities and further contribute to the growth of industries across the United States.”

News & Notes: Fur Flies Over Regional Transportation Authority

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State representative Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) and Porter County officials are sparring over the proposed regional transportation authority (RTA). Meanwhile, St. Joseph County officials are getting behind LaPorte County’s efforts to delay the referendum on the RTA until next year. More here.

Crown Point, IN, is under consideration for an ethanol plant.

ArcelorMittal lost $792 million in the second quarter of 2009.

Construction may begin in September on an $8.8 million cancer treatment center in LaPorte County.

Bosch is continuing talks on selling its brake business, which employs 300 people in South Bend and New Carlisle, IN.

Six Post Offices in Northwestern Indiana may be in the chopping block.

More new jobs have been created in Indiana so far in 2009 than in all of 2008.

Statewide Prescription Drug Discount Card Launched

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A new statewide prescription assistance program, called Indiana Drug Card, is being launched today. The program, which will provide free drug cards to all Indiana residents, will provide pharmacy discounts on prescription drugs. This program has no restrictions on membership, no income requirements, no age limitations, and there are no applications to fill out. Indiana Drug Card is accepted at over 50,000 pharmacy locations across the country.

Hoosiers can download a free card by visiting indianadrugcard.com. Anyone not able to access the website, or otherwise obtain a member card, can visit any CVS/pharmacy location in Indiana. Simply ask the pharmacy to process your prescription through the Indiana Drug Card program. Residents can also obtain cards at various health centers, clinics, businesses, and other card distribution sites that will be set up across the State.
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Green Job Opportunity Grant Could Provide Employment for Area Vets

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The Center of Workforce Innovations received a $67,000 Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program (VWIP) grant from the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Veterans’ Employment & Training Services agency and from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD).

The objective of the VWIP funding is to identify emerging green jobs at local levels and recruit and train veterans to provide them with an employment advantage in the labor market.
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News & Notes: Cash for Clunkers Boosts Local Auto Dealerships

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Area car dealerships are getting a sales boost from the Federal “Cash for Clunkers” program.

LaPorte County may file suit to delay the November referendum on a proposed regional transportation authority until the primary elections in May 2010. This would allow the county to avoid spending $250,000 to hold a special election in November.

U.S. Steel reported a $392 million loss in the second quarter of 2009.

Indiana Hit With $42 Million Judgment in 16-Year-Old Suit

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An Indiana trial court has awarded more than $42 million to current and former Indiana state employees who were required by the State of Indiana to work 40-hour workweeks from 1973 until 1993 even though other state employees holding the same positions were required by the State to work only 37.5-hour workweeks for exactly the same pay. Judge John Hanley of the Marion Superior Court issued findings of fact, conclusions of law and a judgment earlier this morning.

Suit was filed almost sixteen years ago, on July 29, 1993, when attorneys William A. Hasbrook and John F. Kautzman of Indianapolis-based Ruckelshaus, Kautzman, Blackwell, Bemis & Hasbrook filed the original class action complaint. The crux of the plaintiffs’ complaint has from the beginning been that the State was not legally permitted to force state employees in particular job classifications to work 2.5 hours more per week than other state employees in the same job classifications, while still paying them exactly the same pay as their lower-hour counterparts. Sixteen years and one four-day bench trial later, the Indiana court agreed and found in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding $42.4 million in damages for 20 years that the State continued making this unjust demand of certain of its employees.
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Consumer Confidence Slips Again

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Continued upticks in unemployment are sapping consumer confidence, according to the latest Consumer Confidence Index from The Conference Board.

“Consumer confidence, which had rebounded strongly in late spring, has faded in the last two months,” said Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “The decline…was caused primarily by a worsening job market, as the percent of consumers claiming jobs are hard to get rose sharply.”

The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS, the world’s largest custom research company. The cutoff date for July’s preliminary results was July 21st.
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Home Price Declines Continue to Slow

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Data through May 2009, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show that, although still negative, the annual rate of decline of the 10-City and 20-City Composites improved for the fourth consecutive month in 2009.

The 10-City and 20-City Composites declined 16.8% and 17.1%, respectively, in May compared to the same month last year. These values are improvements over April’s data, which show annual declines of 18.0% and 18.1%, respectively. After 16 consecutive months of record annual declines, beginning in October 2007 and ending in January 2009, the indices have now shown four consecutive months of improvement in annual returns.
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