News Articles Archives - Page 55 of 74

By Katie Eder/NJBIZ
January 21, 2013

Thousands of people boarding buses at Union Station, in Washington, D.C., to watch President Barack Obama’s public inauguration will get a bright reminder of New Jersey’s resiliency after Hurricane Sandy, as the state’s nonprofit business recruitment arm today launched a new advertising campaign to let the nation’s decision-makers know the Garden State is open for business.

“We want people to know that … New Jersey is a state that stands strong in the face of adversity,” Choose New Jersey Inc. President and CEO Tracye McDaniel said in prepared remarks. “Home to 21 Fortune 500 companies, 17 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies and countless other financial, technology and manufacturing firms, we are one of America’s best business locations. Superstorm Sandy didn’t change that.”

By Katie Eder/NJBIZ
January 21, 2013

While a previous endeavor by Jersey City-based Rising Tide Capital and Citi Community Development gave market-ready entrepreneurs in New Jersey an online platform to promote their businesses, the two organizations are building a new Web exchange that will connect microlenders with startups in need of capital to get their products and services to the marketplace.

According to Rising Tide CEO Alfa Demmellash, the new platform will alleviate the daunting process of finding the “right match” between an entrepreneur and a microlender, which is causing potential first-time borrowers to throw in the towel on their hunt for financing.

Mark Pinsky, President and CEO, Opportunity Finance Network
Huffington Post, 1/14/2013

While Congress fiddled with appropriations for communities devastated by Superstorm Sandy, the CDFI sector in many of those communities was busy finding and funding small business owners and others who wanted only to get back on their feet.

CDFIs, or Community Development Financial Institutions, have a 30-plus year track record of lending successfully in distressed market conditions. Very quietly, they have stepped up their efforts to help community businesses recover post-Sandy. They played similar roles after the 9/11 attacks, after Hurricane Katrina, and many other times.

By Katie Eder/NJBIZ
January 10, 2013

To better express its philosophy on connecting long-term growth opportunities to clients, no matter where they are located, North Jersey Community Bank is undergoing a complete corporate rebranding campaign, which will culminate in a name change to ConnectOne Bank on Feb. 11.

Founded by local community and business leaders through a lone Englewood Cliffs branch location in 2005, the bank today maintains seven additional branches in Fort Lee, Cliffside Park, Cresskill, Hackensack, West New York, Ridgewood and Holmdel.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s next public Board Meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at 36 West State St., Trenton, NJ 08625. A copy of the proposed agenda can be found prior to the meeting at www.njeda.gov/Board. Following the Board Meeting, minutes and the full agenda will also be available at www.njeda.gov/Board.

A meeting of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 7:00 pm at Maple Place School, 2 Maple Place, Oceanport, NJ. Formal action may be taken at this meeting. A copy of the proposed agenda can be found 48 hours prior to the meeting at the websites of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority: www.nj.gov/fmera, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority: www.njeda.gov.

By Beth Fitzgerald/NJBIZ
January 7, 2013

When Andrew Campbell, a carpenter by trade, founded Eastern Millwork in 1992, he realized he had to go high-tech to compete with woodwork imported from low-wage places like China.

“I think manufacturing needs an image makeover,” he said. “When young people think about careers in wood manufacturing, they think of a dusty shop with simple machines and a lot of hand labor. We want to change peoples’ minds, so we can get the best and the brightest to come to us.”

By Beth Fitzgerald/NJBIZ
January 2, 2013

The fiscal cliff deal struck in Congress raises income tax rates for single taxpayers making more than $400,000 and married couples earning above $450,000 — and many of these wealthy taxpayers are small-businesses owners. But by putting an end to the uncertainty over future tax rates, the deal could encourage businesses to invest, expand and hire more workers, experts said.

Still, there are new clouds on the horizon: in a few weeks, Congress is expected to embark on deficit reduction, with spending cuts that could dampen economic activity.

“With some stability, business owners can now make business decisions,” said Alan D. Sobel, managing member of Sobel & Co., in Livingston. “What really interferes with making decisions is uncertainty — people become paralyzed and sit on the sidelines. So my sense is that now that there is some element of certainty — at least, as it relates to income taxes — business owners are going to be freed up to be able to make decisions about investments in equipment, investments in people, in opening up new markets.”

By Beth Fitzgerald/NJBIZ
December 28, 2012

Bank of America and Provident Bank are helping make low-interest loans available to small businesses hurt by Hurricane Sandy by partnering with community development financial institutions — nonprofit lenders that promote economic development in low and moderate income communities.

Bank of America said it will provide $20 million in new funding for CDFIs that make low-cost loans to small businesses and homeowners in New Jersey and New York that need cash to rebuild. Bank of America will provide the funds to CDFIs at a 0 percent interest rate.

Among the New Jersey-based CDFIs being funded by Bank of America are New Jersey Community Capital, in New Brunswick, and the Regional Business Assistance Corp., of Camden.