WASHINGTON DC - The Federal Trade Commission moved to make a key children's online privacy law more up-to-date in a world of smartphones and social networks. The agency has approved amendments to the regulations implementing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, that would require apps and Web sites that target children to obtain
LANSING - The average Michigan Consolidated Gas customer will pay about 5 cents a month more after the Public Service Commission approved a $19.9 million rate hike. The final rate increase is substantially less than the $76.7 million increase the utility had requested in April. The agreement (case No. U-16999) provides MichCon a 10.5 percent
LANSING - Calling it a good day for the state by improving its overall competitiveness, Governor Rick Snyder signed a package of 12 bills that begins the process to phase out Michigan's personal property tax on industrial property. At a signing ceremony in the press auditorium, surrounded by legislators, civic officials and business executives, Snyder
LANSING - Michigan got an okay news/bad news story from the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday. Michigan saw population growth in 2012, but with Georgia adding more than 100,000 people in the last year, the Peach State surpassed Michigan to the nation's eighth largest state. And Michigan's state demographer said at current growth rates, Michigan
JACKSON - Consumers Energy wants to spend $750 million to build a 700 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in Thetford Township, about 20 miles northwest of Flint. The project is expected to create about 600 construction jobs. The bulk of the construction jobs are expected to be filled by members of skilled trades unions. When
DETROIT - Elliott Management made the unsolicited bid in a Monday letter to Compuware's board of directors, offering to acquire the software and services company for $11 per share, or $2.3 billion. But Compuware is under intense pressure from investors to fix its business and cut employees that could persist even if an attempted takeover
AUBURN HILLS - Accel Partners has made a $30 million strategic investment in ERP manufacturing software maker Plex Systems and will gain a seat on the board of director, joining Francisco Partners, which acquired Plex Systems earlier this year. ?Plex Systems was early in bringing the cloud to manufacturing ERP, and it now has the
LANSING - Critics have said Governor Rick Snyder undermined his trustworthiness when he agreed to support making Michigan a right-to-work state after nearly two years of disdaining the proposal as not on his agenda, but Snyder disputed such accusations Monday. "Trust is a perception. I think, factually, I was fairly clear this whole process," he
GRAND RAPIDS ? West Michigan will see a 1.2 percent bump in employment growth in 2013 followed by another 1.6 percent in 2014, lead by manufacturing and service jobs, so says economist George Erickcek in his annual forecast he prepared for the Right Place 2013 Economic Outlook for West Michigan. Goods producings jobs, which include
LANSING ? MGTV, which provides video access to state government, will transition from a part-time cable TV show to a web portal starting New Year?s Day, the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget and Michigan Government Television announced Friday. MGTV has served as the part-time, non-commercial cable channel providing programming from 10 a.m. to