The “Launch-LA!” contest is a great example of the energy and community spirit available in the Twin Cities. But only one of the two projects selected has the potential to grow the sort of high-tech manufacturing jobs the community desperately needs. The Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council kicked off a competition last fall to entice young […]
economy
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, sj-web
LePage sees bias against big-box stores, seeks to remove limitations
AUGUSTA, Maine — Business groups and the LePage administration are targeting a four-year-old law that requires communities to consider the economic impact of “big-box” stores such as Wal-Mart before issuing a local permit. Enacted in 2007, the Informed Growth Act was championed by supporters as a way to protect Maine’s downtown business districts and local […]
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Posted inBusiness, Nation / World, sj-web
Era of super-low mortgage rates appears to be over
NEW YORK (AP) — The days of the absurdly low mortgage rate are over. The average rate for a 30-year home loan rose above 5 percent this week for the first time since last April — just as Americans are feeling more secure in their jobs and confident about the economy, and just before the […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Maine gasoline prices rise
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A price-watching website says average retail gasoline prices in Maine have risen 0.4 cent per gallon in the past week to an average of $3.19 per gallon. MaineGasPrices.com says Sunday’s price compares with the national average, which has increased 2.9 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.11. Including the […]
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, sj-web
2010 sales down, prices up for single-family homes; Franklin County sees biggest gains
The Maine Association of Realtors says sales of existing homes fell nearly 3 percent in 2010 from a year earlier, but that the median sales price rose during the year. The group said Thursday that real estate agents sold 10,213 single-family homes for the year, down from 10,486 in 2009. The median sales price was […]
Posted inBusiness, Nation / World, sj-web
Banks repossess 1 million homes in 2010
NEW YORK (AP) — The bleakest year in foreclosure crisis has only just begun. Lenders are poised to take back more homes this year than any other since the U.S. housing meltdown began in 2006. About 5 million borrowers are at least two months behind on their mortgages and more will miss payments as they […]
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, sj-web
Mortgage foreclosures falling in Maine
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Officials say home foreclosures are falling in Maine. Bureau of Financial Institutions Superintendent Lloyd LaFountain III says there were 265 mortgage loans being foreclosed upon by state-chartered banks during the third quarter of 2010, the three-month period from July through September. That number was down from 297 loans in foreclosure during […]
Posted inBusiness, Nation / World, sj-web
Dec. 26 storms delay $1B in retail spending
ATLANTA (AP) — The blizzard that swept through the Northeast on Sunday and Monday delayed $1 billion in retail spending, according to research firm ShopperTrak, but won’t derail a holiday shopping season expected to be the best since 2007. The effect won’t be as bad as last year’s pre-Christmas snowstorm that similarly paralyzed parts of […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine power line project to create 1,800 jobs
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Contractors hired by Central Maine Power are poised to start hiring construction workers as part of a $1.4 billion project to upgrade the company’s high-voltage transmission lines. Officials say eventually the project is expected to create about 1,800 jobs. On Monday, Central Maine Power awarded the first three construction contracts for […]
Posted inLocal & State, New England, sj-web
Census figures show Maine family income lowest in New England
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Newly released U.S. Census figures show that Maine has the lowest median household income in the region and among the highest child poverty rates. The statistics found that median household income in Maine was $46,541 during the latter half of the decade. That figure is about $4,700 less than Vermont, who […]