On Monday March 8th, more than 200 New Yorkers attending Small Business Day in Albany listened to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced the creation of a new Small Business web site. DiNapoli went on to tell those in attendance that the site, part of Your Money New York.com, was designed for small business owners and New Yorkers interested in starting a business with the essential resources needed to create and grow their business. The new section offers access to reliable information on how to start a business, get the appropriate permits and understand small business tax implications, as well as survive tough economic times.

“The importance of small businesses to our state’s economy cannot be overstated,” DiNapoli said. “Small businesses provide half of all private sector jobs. They’ve created nearly 70 percent of all new jobs over the past ten years. New York needs small businesses, and we need to do a better job to help small businesses thrive. This new small business section of Your Money New York is a good start. It provides a lot of useful tools for New Yorkers who already own small businesses and for those looking to start one.”

To visit the website click here.

Hundreds of farmers from across New York converged on the State Capitol Monday urging legislators to back off on a series of measures that aim to drive more family farms out of business, killing local agriculture and jobs.

The theme of the Capitol rally was: “Don’t plow us under!”

“Albany has spent the past year increasing our taxes, increasing our fees, and debating bills that will turn our family farms into factories, and we are simply tired of it,” said Dean Norton, president of New York Farm Bureau.

Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of the Business Council of New York State, Inc said, “New York’s high taxes and intense regulatory environment have driven jobs and people from our state. The success of family farms is vital to New York’s economy. Last year’s budget made a bad situation worse by adding billions of dollars in new taxes and fees in the middle of the recession. This year, the legislature must change course and take action to lower the cost of doing business in our state to ensure economic recovery.”

The farmers came to Albany to bring attention to the following issues:

– An ill-conceived, outdated labor bill that would force family farm operations into a labor system more appropriate for factories.

– A roll-back of excessive regulations, paperwork, and taxes and fees on family farm operations.

– A failing infrastructure, preventing efficient day-to-day transport of produce and milk to New York consumers.

– A DOT proposal to ban farm trucks from rural farm roads across the state.

– Broadband expansion that has bypassed rural New York.

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Craig Wolf of the Poughkeepsie Journal reports - “IBM Corp. got a good report last week from the market analyst firm IDC, which credited Big Blue with the top spot among server vendors in the fourth quarter of 2009 with a 35.4 percent slice of the computer pie.

The report, based on factory revenue, said IBM outdistanced second-place Hewlett-Packard, which held 30.5 percent of the market.

IBM also ranked as the top server vendor for the whole year of 2009, with 32.9 percent of factory revenue compared with HP’s 29.9 percent, IDC said.”

To read more click here.

The Business Council of New York State and the New York Building Congress are co-hosting a forum about the challenges of rebuilding New York’s aging transportation infrastructure and the pending federal transportation funding bill. The featured speakers will provide valuable insight about New York’s vast transportation infrastructure needs including roads and bridges, mass transportation, aviation, ports, federal and state budget constraints, and public-private partnerships.

WHO:
Invited Speakers are:

Sen. Martin Dilan – Chairman – New York State Senate Transportation Committee

MOA David Gantt – Chairman – New York State Assembly Transportation Committee *invited

Robert Dennison – Director, Engineering Division – NYS Department of Transportation

Samara Barend – Executive Director – NYS Commission on State Asset Maximization

Brett Heimov – Principal – Winning Strategies

Representatives from HNTB to discuss the Lake Champlain Bridge project

WHAT:
It is a forum for members of The Business Council and Building Congress to gain insight into transportation infrastructure issues in New York. The media is invited to attend.

WHEN: Tuesday February 23, 2010 at 01:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
WHERE: The Business Council of New York State
152 Washington Ave.
Lower Level Conference Room
Albany, New York 12210

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports this morning - “Kraft Foods Inc. has made a verbal commitment to retain its New York state plants, including a facility in Avon, in the wake of its acquisition of British candy maker Cadbury.

As Kraft was in the process of trying to buy Cadbury for $19.5 billion, the U.S. company had indicated it planned to keep open a Cadbury plant in the United Kingdom.

But after completing the acquisition, Kraft this week said the U.K. plant would close after all, with the work sent to Poland.

That prompted Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., to seek assurances from Kraft that the jobs of its approximately 2,000 workers in New York were safe. Schumer said Wednesday he had a conversation with Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld in which she said the Cadbury deal shouldn’t result in any layoffs in New York.”

To read more click here.

Craig Wolf of the Poughkeepsie Journal reports - “A new series of computers based on IBM Corp.’s POWER7 microprocessors that are made in East Fishkill is being introduced today.

The rollout of four new systems aimed at widening IBM’s hefty share of the $14 billion Unix server market will take place at an event in New York City. But a good part of the hardware and software development work took place in Poughkeepsie, said Ross Mauri, general manager of Power Systems for IBM who is based in Poughkeepsie.”

Read more click here.

Alex Nussbaum and Meg Tirrell on Bloomberg New writes about the possibility of major merger in the wake of what may come in the next version of health care reform.

“Insurers, drugmakers and hospitals will likely slash costs and merge companies to maneuver through a U.S. health-care landscape marked by rising medical expenses and the loss of millions of potential paying customers.

With Congress’ sweeping overhaul of the health system stalled, industry will seek its own answers to a push by government and the private sector to rein in costs, said Curtis Lane, senior managing director at MTS Health Partners, a New York-based equity fund. An aging U.S. population will spur demand for services and, at the same time, boost pressure to control spending, he said.”

Read more click here.

Craig Wolf writes in today’s Poughkeepsie Journal - “IBM Corp. said Tuesday that it had received 4,914 U.S. patents in 2009, which makes it the 17th consecutive year it has topped the list.

New York IBMers contributed heavily to the total. Four IBM sites in New York — East Fishkill, Endicott, Poughkeepsie and Yorktown — got 1,715 patents in 2009, spokesman Chris Andrews said.

“This made them the leading patentee in the state with 75 percent more patents than number two, General Electric, and more than five times the number of patents received by third-ranked Eastman Kodak,” he said”

To read the rest of the story click here.

Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Neil D. Breslin is the guest speaker at The Business Council Financial Services Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 4:30 pm at the Crowne Plaza, Albany, NY. The Financial Services Committee meeting coincides with The Business Council Issues Expo (formerly Annual Reception).

The Business Council’s Financial Services Committee is comprised of over 150 companies. The topics to be discussed are the 2010-11 State Budget, key issues of the Senate Insurance Committee, medical malpractice insurance reform, credit default swaps and other issues.

Senator Neil Breslin is currently serving his seventh term as New York State Senator. He represents the 46th District, which consists entirely of Albany County. Senator Breslin serves on the Agriculture, Banks, Codes, Education, Finance, Judiciary and Labor Committees. Senator Breslin also serves as a member of the Executive Committee and is the former Chair of the State/Federal Relations Committee of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL).

To register for this event, please click here. For information or questions, please call Walter Pacholczak at 518/465-7511 x219 or email walter.pacholczak@bcnys.org.

Jeff Murray writes on Pressconnects.com - “A measure passed by Congress in 2005 could be a big boost to Corning Inc. business, but only if lawmakers appropriate enough money to properly carry it out.

That was the message Tuesday from U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who made a stop at the Corning Inc. Erwin ceramics plant to announce his support of increased funding for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.

The law was designed to help school districts, farm associations and other not-for-profit organizations buy devices to retrofit existing vehicles with devices to reduce diesel emissions.”

Read the rest of the story click here.