Ohio awards $200,000 for U.S. Steel to expand mill

Published: Tuesday, February 08, 2011

By Morning Journal Staff

[email protected]

 

LORAIN — United States Steel Corp. will get $200,000 in state money to help pay for new machinery in its Lorain mill expansion.

 

The company will heat, treat and will finish tubing and casing products used in the exploration of natural gas and fossil fuels.

 

The expansion project, with investment worth more than $93.6 million, is expected to create 80 jobs and retain 508 positions.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2011/02/08/news/mj4077739.txt

I heard that a company is possibly thinking of relocating from the Halle Building into another downtown location

What's left in the Halle?

Cleveland International Fund eyes UH projects after raising $45 million for the Flats East Bank

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An infusion of foreign cash that helped revive construction in the Flats could be headed for University Circle.

The Cleveland International Fund, which has amassed $45 million from 90 investors for the Flats East Bank project, now plans to attract wealthy individuals in China, India, Brazil and other countries to help finance the expansion of University Hospitals. The hospital system is wrapping up more than $1.2 billion in projects, including a new cancer hospital in Cleveland and a freestanding hospital in Beachwood.

 

 

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/02/cleveland_international_fund_e.html

Great story.  While local money heads for the outerbelts, outside investors recognize the global value of our city.  Immigrants built Cleveland once and they can do it again.

Great story.  While local money heads for the outerbelts, outside investors recognize the global value of our city.  Immigrants built Cleveland once and they can do it again.

 

Or the value of a greencard. :|

I can see the value of this to getting projects off the ground and creating jobs, but the whole concept of linking citizenship to how much money someone has makes me a little sick.

So, Cliffs just reported revenues of $4.7 billion in 2010.  Sounds like there's gonna be a new Cleveland company on this year's Fortune 500 list!

 

Cliffs Natural Resources reports sizzling 2010 results

Published: Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 6:17 PM    Updated: Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 6:17 PM

By Alison Grant, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cliffs Natural Resources reported sizzling 2010 results Wednesday -- revenues that doubled to $4.7 billion and net income of more than $1 billion.

 

Demand from China for the Cleveland company's iron ore and coal drove the boom.

 

Joseph Carrabba, Cliffs chairman, president and chief executive officer, said he expects overseas sales to keep gaining after Cliffs completes its acquisition of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines. Cliffs announced plans in January to buy the Canadian iron ore mining company for about $4.9 billion, a deal aimed at expanding iron-ore sales in Asia.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/02/cliffs_natural_resources_repor_1.html

I can see the value of this to getting projects off the ground and creating jobs, but the whole concept of linking citizenship to how much money someone has makes me a little sick.

 

You're right, it smells.  I'd like to see immigration opened up across the board.  But, given the current state of things, I still support this program.  It does nothing to help anyone who wants in but can't buy in, but it doesn't change their situation for the worse either, and it offers a lot of potential to improve the city.

I can see the value of this to getting projects off the ground and creating jobs, but the whole concept of linking citizenship to how much money someone has makes me a little sick.

 

This is reality across the globe. Not doing it would put us at a disadvantage. I heartily support the program.

I'm not sure if this belongs here or in the Obama thread, but Obama had a nice FB wall post about Cleveland:

 

"Cleveland has been working to reinvent the Rust Belt as the Tech Belt. You’re positioning yourselves to attract the jobs, the businesses and the industries of tomorrow. It’s places like Cleveland that make me absolutely confident that we’re going to win the future."

 

Thanks prez!

Treasury awards $53 million in tax credits to aid economic development, job creation in Cleveland area

CLEVELAND, Ohio --  Investment funds in Cleveland have won $53 million in federal tax credits meant to encourage economic development and job creation in communities with high poverty and unemployment.

 

The U.S. Treasury has allocated $35 million in tax credits to the Cleveland New Markets Investment Fund, an offshoot of Cleveland Development Advisors.

 

During the past several years, the fund has used tax credits to help developers turn a former department store on Euclid Avenue into apartments and renovate the Capitol Theatre in Cleveland's Gordon Square Arts District.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/02/us_treasury_awards_53_million.html

Cleveland attracts national interest after Barack Obama's small-business forum

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Why Cleveland?

 

It's a question local economic development officials have been asked -- and answered -- a lot in the days following President Barack Obama's recent visit to Cleveland with top Cabinet members.

 

Ray Leach, chief executive of the nonprofit JumpStart Inc., said he has fielded dozens of calls from investors, national foundations and the national media since Obama held the first of several of his "Winning the Future Forums on Small Business" at Cleveland State University on Tuesday.

 

"They're all trying to figure out the same thing," Leach said. "National foundations have reached out to us to see what's going on in Cleveland. The exposure is already beginning to deliver."

 

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/02/cleveland_attracts_national_in.html

Community groups teaming with Cleveland in program to fight neglect and blight

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland community groups and the city's Department of Building and Housing will collaborate under a new plan to combat the blight and neglect that have brought some parts of the city to the brink of extinction and threaten some of its more desirable neighborhoods.

 

The brainchild of Councilman Jay Westbrook, the "Strategic Code-Enforcement Partnership" is designed to create a new system for enforcement of the city's building codes at a time when resources are dwindling.

"It's our rescue operation," Westbrook said. "It's like a severely ill patient who needs a tough regimen that can lead them to recovery."

 

The plan has the blessing of Mayor Frank Jackson despite Jackson's past concerns with strict code enforcement. The plan calls for community development groups to work hand-in-glove with Building and Housing to conduct exterior inspections of every building on every street in the city over the next three years.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/02/community_groups_teaming_with.html

Fed Beige Book indicates economy in Cleveland continues to recover slowly

Blog entry: March 2, 2011, 2:51 pm    |    Author: SCOTT SUTTELL

 

You probably need to speak Fed to fully understand that Federal Reserve's new Beige Book report, but even to the layperson, things appear to be getting better.

 

The Fed said anecdotal reports from its 12 districts indicated that overall economic activity “continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in January and early February.” The top-performing districts are Kansas City and San Francisco, followed by Boston and Philadelphia. Cleveland is in a group with Atlanta, New York, Richmond and St. Louis where economic activity is described as “modestly improving.”

 

Two districts — Minneapolis and Dallas — experienced “moderate growth.” (Care to guess how that's different from “modest improvement? Me either.) The laggard was Chicago, where the pace of economic activity was “not quite as strong as during the previous reporting period.”

 

Here are some highlights of what the Beige Book says about the Cleveland district:

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110302/BLOGS03/110309946

Reuters says Northeast Ohio emerges as hotbed of health care and IT innovation

Blog entry: March 3, 2011, 12:43 pm    |    Author: SCOTT SUTTELL

 

A few thoughts and links for the day:

 

Reuters heaps praise on Cleveland, which the news service says is “emerging as a hotbed of innovation in areas such as healthcare and IT.”

 

According to the Venture Capital Advisory Task Force, a consortium of local investors, private investment in Northeast Ohio rose 121% to $221 million last year from 2009. Reuters says that topped the average increase nationwide of 19%. Health care companies accounted for 60% of the investment.

 

"You've got world class work being done in scanners, world class work in back implants," says task force chairman Kevin McGinty, managing director of Peppertree Capital Management. Growth in the sector has been bolstered by the Cleveland Clinic, he tells Reuters, noting it's been able "to attract and retain world-class physicians."

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110303/BLOGS03/110309922

Nice article. If this continues, we may start to see some population gains over the 5-10 years.

I didnt see this posted yet.

 

Good news!

 

ArcelorMittal to expand Cleveland Works output

Move by steelmaker is expected to add 200 jobs

By DAN SHINGLER

4:30 am, March 7, 2011

 

Steel giant ArcelorMittal plans to expand production at its Cleveland Works through a series of moves that should create more than 200 jobs, generate work for the mill's local suppliers and produce more finished steel for a manufacturing sector clamoring for raw materials.

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110307/SUB1/303079979

 

 

And at last we see the American (foreign owned though it may be) steel industry starting to be competitive again. Does this mean the free market works, or does it mean tariffs work? :)

 

Good news. How good of a job is steelworker these days, anyway?

My dad works for Mittal and he said they began to shift a lot of work from their Indiana/Chicago plant to Cleveland because customers were impressed with the quality of the steel being made here. He also said at one point the company was considering closing the plant here and shifting all work to Chicago, but customers didn't like that idea and demanded their orders come from the Cleveland plant. He also said some execs were so anti-Cleveland, they were making the steel here, then shipping it to Chicago, then reshipping to customers and telling them  it was made at the Chicago plant hoping customers would buy more steel from the Chicago plant. A lot backroom politics being played...I'm glad we didn't get screwed.

Interesting... I wonder what the deal is.  Are Chicago's shipping costs lower?  I can't imagine their labor costs being lower.

And at last we see the American (foreign owned though it may be) steel industry starting to be competitive again. Does this mean the free market works, or does it mean tariffs work? :)

 

Good news. How good of a job is steelworker these days, anyway?

 

Not sure about steel tariffs exactly, but my brother is in the tire business and he said new tariffs effectively made China tires non competitive.  So they started building & buying tires in Mexico. 

My dad works for Mittal and he said they began to shift a lot of work from their Indiana/Chicago plant to Cleveland because customers were impressed with the quality of the steel being made here. He also said at one point the company was considering closing the plant here and shifting all work to Chicago, but customers didn't like that idea and demanded their orders come from the Cleveland plant. He also said some execs were so anti-Cleveland, they were making the steel here, then shipping it to Chicago, then reshipping to customers and telling them  it was made at the Chicago plant hoping customers would buy more steel from the Chicago plant. A lot backroom politics being played...I'm glad we didn't get screwed.

 

Wait, so they personally disliked Cleveland, or they had some scheme to save money by consolidating? Either way, bad exec behavior.

I was going to say, do we have any idea why the Cleveland plant was in such bad favor with the execs?  Especially given that customers were apparently specifically demanding product from the Cleveland plant?  (Do we have any sense of how accurate that latter information is?)  If I were an executive in that position, I'd be scheduling a visit to my Cleveland plant to see what they were doing that I might get my Chicago plant to copy, or else expanding the Cleveland plant and closing the Chicago plant, not the other way around.

The local in Chicago made some concessions with Mittal a few years back. The Cleveland local, however, wouldn't budge and several execs in Chicago were trying to get back at the local here. The Cleveland plant is one Mittal's most profitable North American plants, so the Union here had a little leverage. Also, the Cleveland plant is isolated compared to Mittal's other plants. Mittal has more plants in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin and the company wanted to consolidate their operations around their headquarters in Chicago. Sounds like company/union politics.

This actually could be a pretty big deal.....  Mcuh better than it going to an out of town firm (like DC), which is what would happen otherwise. 

 

Nonprofit venture to manage space station research would make Cleveland homeBy JAY MILLER

2:40 pm, March 10, 2011

 

A new joint venture nonprofit that will bid to manage research on the international space station will be headquartered in Cleveland if its bid is successful.

 

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110310/FREE/110319975

 

 

 

Jan. 11 unemployment: 9.3%, a jump of .8%

 

http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.oh_cleveland_msa.htm

What gives? I thought we had some sustained momentum going. Flawed methodology from before?

Post holiday, seasonal jump

Yeah I think you have to look at the 12 month change to account for seasonal differences so with that in mind the numbers don't really look bad.

Those numbers aren't seasonally adjusted.  You need to look at the year over year numbers. 

 

Year          Labor Force        Employed    Unemployed Unemployment Rate

2011 Jan 1066497(P)  967673(P) 98824(P)   9.3(P)

2010 Jan 1055527(D)         950789(D) 104738(D)   9.9(D)

 

http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet?series_id=LAUMT39174606&data_tool=XGtable

Holy wow.

 

Berkshire Hathaway to Buy Lubrizol for $9 Billion

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/berkshire-hathaway-to-buy-lubrizol-for-9-billion/?hp

Holy wow.

 

Berkshire Hathaway to Buy Lubrizol for $9 Billion

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/berkshire-hathaway-to-buy-lubrizol-for-9-billion/?hp

What does this mean for Cleveland?  Does it mean that Lubrizol will grow?

^Current management will stay and HQ will remain in Wickliffe.  Doesn't seem like it means much in the near/medium term other than a big vote of confidence in the company's future.

And it's great news for Jones Day. Hooray M&A.

 

Something random I enjoyed: When companies buy other companies, the stock immediately shoots to the acquisition price or thereabouts. But there is still trading as people sell and auto-orders bring the price back in line. Additionally, some people gamble that possibly the merger won't happen for whatever reason. So the daily price chart is still jagged, if in a very narrow range.

 

When Berkshire buys someone - it produces a straight, almost unbroken line. No doubt, no gambling. Result = massive wealth.

 

And Lubrizol's chart shows them to be one of the most successful companies in this region over the past ten years. Never cut their dividend since 1988 (!), never seriously in debt. Great news all around.

 

http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ALZ

^Current management will stay and HQ will remain in Wickliffe.  Doesn't seem like it means much in the near/medium term other than a big vote of confidence in the company's future.

 

+1

 

Berkshire Hathaway is actually fairly well known for not changing its acquisitions as much as some more activist investors.  I don't think they instituted too many massive changes at BNSF, either.

I can't wait for the day when one corporation owns everything, including the government!

Wireless health IT firm from Oregon considers Cleveland expansion

 

Oregon-based startup Proxense provides wireless Internet service to hospitals and doctors’ offices, but its services go far beyond simple wireless access.

 

The health IT company has developed a “wireless platform” that can deliver various software applications it has developed to users in hospitals, outpatient medical centers and physicians’ offices. Thus far, Proxense has developed two applications for the platform: ProxAccess, a program that uses an ID card and sensor to log users, such as doctors in hospitals, in and out of computers without having to touch a keyboard, and ProxTrax, a radio frequency-based asset-, patient- or personnel-tracking program.

 

The company may look to expand its one-man Cleveland office in the future, with the most likely hires coming in sales and marketing. As the company grows, Cleveland could become its hub for sales in the eastern U.S. However, it’s too early in the process to know numbers or time frame, Davies said. Much of that will depend on Proxense’s ability to boost sales in the coming months, and that’ll depend on the company’s success in differentiating itself from an increasing amount of competitors in the real-time locations services market.

 

http://www.medcitynews.com/2011/03/wireless-health-it-firm-from-oregon-considers-cleveland-expansion/

I can't wait for the day when one corporation owns everything, including the government!

 

In a truly free market, that would probably already be the case.

There is an article on crainscleveland.com about how manufacturing in Greater Cleveland is finally hiring in meaningful numbers. The two interesting points of the articles are (1) the general rule before hiring new employees is to have an order backlog of six months, (2) it's really hard to find qualified employees for the more technical aspects of manufacturing.

 

It's in the pay section of the website, so that's all I'm posting. :)

Come to Cleveland, an up-and-coming town

Blog entry: March 23, 2011, 9:33 am    |    Author: SCOTT SUTTELL

 

It's a bit of damning with faint praise, but CNBC puts Cleveland on a list of 20 cities “you probably don't want to live in — yet,” but that are showing signs of revival.

 

Several of the cities on the list are older cities, where you'll find “a tremendous amount of infrastructure … public theaters and concert halls, that you won't find in newer cities,” according to CNBC.

 

The site's take on Cleveland is here. While CNBC notes that the job market here remains a challenge and that crime is relatively high, it says Cleveland “has a lot to offer,” including “great colleges, medical schools and health resources, (and) superb arts and cultural institutions.”

 

The bottom line is encouraging.

 

“Cleveland is experiencing one of the strongest recoveries in the U.S., according to a report late last year from the Brookings Institution and the London School of Economics,” CNBC reports. “The basis of the report was annual growth in employment and per-capita income. In fact, Ohio overall has one of the fastest-growing economies of all the states, according to the Federal Reserve.”

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110323/BLOGS03/110329937

^ I read that same article recently and found a number of the cities on there a surprise, since I'd absolutely consider moving there.  Surprises to me included Baltimore, Memphis, and Indianapolis....

Celebrating a resurgence in Cleveland?

Posted on March 31, 2011 by New Home Builder

 

Its reputation is as shaky as ever. But the commercial real estate brokers who do business in Cleveland say that there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about this Midwest industrial-anchored city.

 

And they don’t even care that LeBron James now slam-dunks in Miami.

 

Michael Glass, vice president and regional manager with the Cleveland office of Marcus Millichap has never understood the negative press that his adopted city has received. He’s a transplant here, moving to the Ohio city from Chicago. And he has absolutely no regrets about making the move.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://centralohionewbuilds.com/celebrating-a-resurgence-in-cleveland/

New Cleveland fund will provide grants, loans to businesses launched by foreign-born entrepreneurs

 

"CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A local investment center is sweetening Northeast Ohio's efforts to become more global. "The Cleveland International Fund is launching a new initiative, with hopes of raising $2 million over 12 months for foreign-born entrepreneurs.The year-old center, which focuses on matching wealthy overseas investors with local projects, will kick-start this new - and unusual - fund by putting $200,000 of its profits into grants, no-interest loans and low-interest loans for emerging companies. Set to debut in June, the Cleveland International Entrepreneurs Fund will seek money from foundations and the business community - and eventually could compete for state grants. It will have an independent board, tasked with evaluating applications from businesses and awarding grants and loans of $25,000 to $50,000. And the fund will take no equity stake in the companies it supports."

 

 

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/04/new_cleveland_fund_will_provid.html

Ferro Corp. to move HQ to Mayfield Heights from downtown Cleveland

 

Ferro Corp. (NYSE: FOE) plans to move its headquarters out of downtown Cleveland in favor of a site in the suburbs.

 

The producer of specialty chemicals said it has signed a long-term lease for a two-story, 63,000-square-foot office building at 6060 Parkland Blvd. in Mayfield Heights that will become known as Ferro Global Headquarters. Ferro expects employees will occupy their new offices early this fall.

 

Ferro said the new headquarters will house corporate departments and business teams currently located at its current headquarters on Lakeside Avenue in downtown Cleveland and at three locations in Independence. The move to the new headquarters will put about 150 employees at that location.

 

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110511/FREE/110519961

 

This is why I have absolutely NO problem with the City of Cleveland 'poaching' companies from the suburbs.  They have been doing it to the City for decades.

Sorry to hear they're leaving town, but that's their loss. The headline is a bit sensationalistic if not deceptive because they're not just leaving downtown, but Independence as well.

 

Did they even say where in downtown they're located?

Sorry to hear they're leaving town, but that's their loss. The headline is a bit sensationalistic if not deceptive because they're not just leaving downtown, but Independence as well.

 

Did they even say where in downtown they're located?

 

1000 Lakeside Avenue

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1000+Lakeside+Ave&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=1000+Lakeside+Ave+E,+Cleveland,+Cuyahoga,+Ohio+44114&gl=us&ll=41.505801,-81.690366&spn=0.001948,0.004801&t=h&z=18

 

Their CEO said the companies "preference was for a single-tenant building in a campus-like setting with no more than two floors"

This is why I have absolutely NO problem with the City of Cleveland 'poaching' companies from the suburbs.  They have been doing it to the City for decades.

 

Were they poached though?  In the article there is no mention of any deals being made with the city.  It actually sounds more like they are just consolidating their facilities.  If they were unable to find a site downtown within the price range they were seeking then it would make sense that they ended up in the suburbs. 

 

Plus the CEO seemed to have a pretty set idea of what he wanted, and it was not going to be downtown.

No it doesnt at all sound like they were poached.  I know that they were evaluating options for a while.  I would hope the city was in on those discussions at least somewhat.

 

Funny though the description of the building they said that they wanted and were looking for seemed to fit what they were already in downtown (well a free standing, 3 story building), I guess we dont know all of the other factors that came into play though.