January 12, 2015
Banks and businesses are watching the interest rates
With the start of 2015, the subject of interest rates has become a lot like the weather: Everybody is talking about — or at least thinking about — it. Unlike weather, however, which nobody does anything about, some people are trying to plan in advance for an interest rate increase. Eric Seifert doesn’t know if […]
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Change Ups: Verbrugge joins Scott Group Custom Carpets
Debbie Verbrugge recently joined Scott Group Custom Carpets as an account representative. She is responsible for interfacing with aviation, residential and commercial customers for the company, which designs and produces custom carpets and rugs for the architectural design trade. She also will serve as lead on project management, working to leverage client and vendor resources, […]
Automotive continues to drive West Michigan economy
Seasonally slower, but still growing modestly. That’s the latest word on the West Michigan economy, according to the data collected in the last two weeks of December. New Orders, our index of business improvement, came in at +13, just slightly lower than the +16 we reported last month. However, the Production index edged up to […]
Public Record
MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds SCHROER, Adam C. et al, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Condo-Saddle Ridge, $268,000 SELVARAAJ, Sivasankari Durairaj et al, Wells Fargo Bank, Waldenwood No. 2, Lot 19, $323,000 FRANCISCO, Todd et al, Mortgage 1, Vergennes Twp., 11-7-9, $270,019 MARTIN, Kirt D. et al, Northpointe Bank, Ada Twp., […]
Street Talk: It’s cold and flu season; don’t die
Each week, Business Journal Publisher John Zwarensteyn sends an email to all employees that is filled with notes. Sometimes they are funny. Sometimes they are serious. Sometimes they are serious and we think they are funny. And sometimes, we collectively miss the point entirely. Last week, John was coming off a nasty bout of the […]
New commissioners weigh in on business
Three new faces have made their first official appearance on the Kent County Board of Commissioners at the first regular meeting of 2015. All three are Republicans, and one of them cast the only “no” vote out of 19 votes total against the county purchasing development rights to preserve 70 acres of farmland in Grattan […]
Interesting statistical info from 400 largest income tax returns
A new year is at hand. For many, it is time to gather up one’s tax information and, perhaps, purchase tax preparation software. The Internal Revenue Service will soon finalize its forms and software for the upcoming filing season. As expected, many expired tax provisions were extended for 2014 in the lame duck Congressional session […]
2014: The year of recalls, supplier liabilities
Despite the fact that vehicles are safer and more reliable than ever, more than 56 million of them were recalled as part of more than 500 separate and distinct recalls in 2014. That’s more than three times the number of vehicles recalled as were sold in 2014. And what do these recalls cover? Virtually everything […]
Giving the green light to green ROI
Two Grand Rapids organizations have successfully used Green Revolving Funds to invest in sustainability initiatives that otherwise wouldn’t have been funded through annual budgets. A Green Revolving Fund is a self-sustaining, internal fund that provides money for sustainability projects within an organization. The fund is started with seed money and then, once a project has […]
Less competition cited as reason for dramatic health cost increases
For decades employers in West Michigan have enjoyed lower costs for health care than peers anywhere in Michigan and generally across the United States. The economy of that fact has often been cited by employers as a reason to enter the West Michigan market and to keep businesses in the region. That is changing, and […]
Spectrum absorbs Abriiz
Spectrum Health, the controlling interest in Ideomed, is integrating the Abriiz application product after deciding to pull the plug on Ideomed as a stand-alone company. Amid the promising development of Ideomed’s multi-platform Abriiz application and overcoming the pioneering barriers in the field of digital health technology, Spectrum Health has made the decision to absorb the […]
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Cage-free egg farm takes wing on 175-acre site
A new law took effect in California on New Year’s Day that may have ruffled the management feathers at egg farms across the country — but not at the third-largest egg producer in Michigan. California is a major market for eggs produced across the nation, and its new landmark animal-welfare law will effectively abolish close […]
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West side plan offers flexibility
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) Following a half-dozen community outreach sessions, the newly revised West Side Area Specific Plan will again go before the City of Grand Rapids Planning Commission for a public hearing later this month. On Jan. 22, the planning commission is scheduled to hear the ASP. An earlier version was presented […]
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Now is the time to buy or sell a business
“Right now is the perfect market” for selling or buying a business, according to Randy Rua of Rua Associates. Of course, he is in the mergers and acquisitions business, so he might be expected to say that, but he provides convincing testimony that this could be an ideal era for M&As, especially compared to a […]
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Inside Track: Webster whips up ingredients for successful business
Business owner, foster mom and baker extraordinaire Katie Webster adds a sweet creative flair to the Holland community. Webster’s passion for the culinary arts began at a young age, and after attending Grand Rapids Community College’s culinary school, she discovered she didn’t want to hide in the kitchen. For Webster, owner of Second Floor Bakery […]
