GRAND RAPIDS ? The vigorous debate over incentives has been raging since the first tax exempt bonds were issued by the State of Mississippi in the late 1930?s to attract business to the state. The debate has not stopped and in fact, is heating up again ? in Michigan. Michigan was late in instituting economic
SOUTHFIELD - According to a survey conducted for the Federal Trade Commission last year, an estimated 3.25 million Americans discovered that their personal information had been misused to open new credit accounts, take out new loans, or engage in other types of fraud ? the definition of Identity Theft. The Identity Theft Center IDTheftCenter.Org has
LANSING - In recent months, Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai Motor announced plans to build or expand R&D facilities in Michigan. Michigan automakers are investing new capital in existing plants in the state. In the formerly quiet village of Dundee, the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance is building not one but two engine plants. Kalamazoo has come
DETROIT - Michigan Treasurer Jay Rising blew a perfectly good opportunity to place a new venture capital program within the control of Michigan's fine and talented private equity leaders recently. Instead, Rising gave the new, state-sponsored $150 Million "fund of funds" management to CSFB in New York. One can imagine the heavies at CSFB yelling
NEW YORK - You might have the best team with the best of innovation, but there are these overly diluted markets out there, glutted with look-alike brands and identical services. The challenge is to fine-tune a marketing process that will not only re-energize the production but produce a shaper edge in design, quality and value,
DETROIT ? Non-compete agreements are becoming more commonplace in Michigan as small start up technology companies grow, and partners go their own way. James Boutrous II, an employment litigation specialist with Butzel Long, discusses the essentials of non-competes in this column. Boutrous's practice includes traditional labor work, including considerable trial experience in employment discrimination matters,
DETROIT - Highway fatalities remain the leading cause of death for young Americans ages 3 to 33, despite ongoing re-engineering to make cars safer. Just recently my daughter was severely injured when another car traveled into her lane, forcing her off the road. She had the protections of a seat belt and airbags, but what
TROY - Ethics is one of our key values and it needs strengthening in today?s business world, writes John Bailey, founder of John Bailey & Associates, a Troy public relations firm. We can and should talk about ethics a lot. To begin discussion, I offer my simple outline. 1. Find the truth then tell it.
GRAND RAPIDS - Stop. I know it's April 15, and I know that you don't want to spoil your weekend. Your return is complete and it is ready to file, but you owe $10,000 to the IRS. What do you do? Time for a multiple-choice quiz. Do you: a. Just forget about filing? b. Go
LANSING - In March 2005, the Small Business Foundation of Michigan published its inaugural Michigan Entrepreneurship Scorecard - a first in the nation entrepreneurial-based economic analysis of the Michigan economy. The overall purpose of the Scorecard is to use 116 distinct metrics to compare Michigan with the other 49 states with regard to entrepreneurial dynamism.