Monthly Archives: May 2008

Coffee Break

May 29, 200810:10 a.m.

Is anyone out there? Hello … hello … hello …

Let me welcome all you newbies who might be coming across Business Casual for the first time this morning. Let me also welcome you to Coffee Break, your morning dose of links from around the globe that might be of interest to Biz Caz readers. We’ll be posting most weekdays by 10:15 or so. Let this be your place to visit when you need a little respite from work.

We’d like this to be interactive as well. If you see some stories you like, send me the links at dloving@wichitaeagle.com.

And away we go:

  • Everything it takes to produce and deliver food is going up, but Wal-Mart is using the muscle that comes with being the world’s largest retailer to pressure vendors to keep those costs out of the food chain, according to this Fortune article.
  • If you’re heading off to southern California, you’ll have to check out the new Ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier. It’s made by Wichita’s Chance Morgan.
  • For those of you interested in casino news these days, Trumpit looks like the Donald is going to have his name on one fewer casino in Atlantic City. The Trump Marina is being sold for $316 million. That will leave Phil Ruffin’s buddy with two in AC.

That’s today’s brief rundown. Be sure to tell us what you think in the comments section.

By Dan Loving | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off | Share this post

The downtown arena’s wow factor

May 29, 20089:22 a.m.

I spent a few minutes Wednesday gazing into the downtown arena, and the progress that’s been made in six months is amazing.

If you look past the exterior pillars, you can see the seating areas taking shape as the Dondlinger & Sons crew continues work with a little less than two years to go. The progress will become less noticeable as work shifts inside in a year or so, but there’s already enough work done to see the completed Intrust Bank Arena in your mind’s eye.

Ron Holt, Sedgwick County’s point man on the arena, said the project’s timeline and financials are both on schedule, with the latter being more amazing than the former. Prices are on the rise, from steel to concrete and asphalt, and that’s “worry number one,” Holt said.

By Bill Wilson | Filed under Development | Comments Off | Share this post

Psst, over here

May 28, 20083:32 p.m.

Old Town is a fine dining choice for a business lunch unless you’re running late to an appointment as I was today.

There are a couple of tricks for scoring rock star parking, though. I hesitate to share these, of course, because they are guaranteed spaces that work pretty well for me several times a week. But consider this a little thank you for being an early blog devotee.

First, if you’re heading to Caffe Moderne or Oeno, turn in the alley just to the right of the Courtyard by Marriott. There are several legal parking spaces just north of Moderne in the alley. (However, a word to the ladies: If you’re wearing heels, the cobblestone is no fun to walk on. Still, it’s a shorter route than the parking garage.)

The other tip is the supposed “5-minute parking” in front of the former Best Cleaners space (Between Uptown Bistro and Sabor). Best is gone, but the reserved parking isn’t. So you might take advantage of it while you can. Unless, that is, I beat you to it.

By Carrie Rengers | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (1) | Share this post

Another source of economic insecurity

May 28, 20083:09 p.m.

Many low and middle incomes have been stagnant for a decade and now prices are rising, but there’s another reason why people are anxious these days: family incomes are more volatile than a generation ago, although down from the early 90s, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute. That means average families often see their savings stripped away during bad times. This is the flip side of this country’s much-praised labor “flexibility” where companies are able to shed workers whenever they feel their costs have climbed too high.

By Dan Voorhis | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off | Share this post

Subsidies, s’il vous plait

May 28, 20082:42 p.m.

The news Tuesday that Airbus is expected to receive $18.2 billion from European governments to help develop the A350 should bring another round of protests from those opposed to Airbus winning the tanker contract. Government subsidies were one of the arguments  used by Boeing supporters when EADS, the parent of Airbus, and Northrop-Grumman were awarded  the tanker contract. They argued that Boeing is at a disadvantage because Airbus is subsidized by European governments. EADS CEO Louis Gallois (a name that just rolls off the tongue) argues, of course, that Boeing also is subsidized, mentioning specifically money the company receives from the state of Kansas.

By the way, the GAO is expected to release its decision on Boeing’s protest over the contract by the middle of June.  No matter how the GAO rules, this issue is a long way  from over.

By Tom Shine | Filed under Aviation | Comments Off | Share this post

The gas price propaganda battle

May 28, 200811:09 a.m.

The propaganda battle continues over gasoline prices, this time on the worldwide level.

An interesting piece by Sky News reveals something we hear very little about in America: OPEC’s discomfort with the current price of a barrel of oil. It’s a report that only oil speculators would find objectionable.

From the other side of the fence comes this Slate piece by Robert Bryce which offers up the uncomfortable notion that $4 a gallon isn’t enough for gasoline. In the spirit of full disclosure, though, it should be noted that Bryce is the managing editor of Energy Tribune, which includes helping “you make money in the energy business” among its stated missions on its Web site.

It’s no doubt accurate to assume that since the industry’s got its hands wrist-deep in our pockets, it’s not going to be easy to get those hands out – back to those fond days when gas was, say, $2.50 a gallon.

But for the short term, is Sky or Bryce correct?

By Bill Wilson | Filed under Energy, Uncategorized | Comments Off | Share this post

Coffee Break

May 28, 20089:58 a.m.

After an extended layoff, Coffee Break is back in business. Here’s today’s dose of business stories from across the land.

  • Bombardier is hiring 500 engineers in Montreal for three projects, including the Learjet 85.
  • Anyone wanna go to DineEquity for lunch? OK, it’s not the name of a restaurant; it’s the new corporate name for the company that owns IHOP and Overland Park-based Applebee’s. Let’s hope the food is better than the name.
  • Continuing with the restaurant theme, it’s always intrigued me, for some odd reason, that White Castle was founded in Wichita. In honor of its 87th year in business, White Castle rolled back prices to 27 cents for 87 minutes yesterday. When the first White Castle opened here in 1921, they cost a nickel. If you’re dying for a White Castle, it looks like the closest one is in the St. Louis area.
By Dan Loving | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (2) | Share this post

How to get rich

May 27, 20083:26 p.m.

New York Times columnist Paul P. Brown says Felix Dennis, publisher of Maxim, The Week, Stuff and Computer Shopper magazines, among others, is pretty candid in his book “How to Get Rich” about the mistakes he made building his business.

That’s why Brown, who today reviewed several books aimed at small business owners and entrepreneurs, finds Dennis’ advice fairly credible, including these gems:

  • Never be overoptimistic when it comes to day-to-day finances. “If cash flow is good, then no matter how badly run or poorly managed a company is, there is always a decent chance of turning it around,” Dennis says. “But if a business’s cash flow is weak or failing, then the chances are it must shut down or be sold in the not-too distant future.”
  • Never act big. You, and your company, should live below your means.
  • Never skimp on hiring talent.

Check out Brown’s columns for more small-business tool kits.

By Andi Atwater | Filed under Small business | Comments Off | Share this post

Mesa troubles

May 27, 20082:29 p.m.

The news isn’t getting any better for Mesa Air Group.

Earlier this month, The Eagle reported that Mesa was shutting down its Wichita-based subsidiary, Air Midwest.

Today, Phoenix-based Mesa said it will file for bankruptcy in July and cut 700 jobs if Delta terminates its regional flying contract. Mesa has sought an injunction to block Delta from ending the contract.

By Dan Loving | Filed under Aviation | Comments Off | Share this post

Analyst: Air Force has tanker questions to answer

May 27, 20081:59 p.m.

Whatever the Government Accountability Office ultimately finds as it looks at Boeing’s protest on a contract to Northrop Grumman for aerial refueling tankers, “the Air Force has some explaining to do,” said Lexington Group defense analyst Loren Thompson.

First, Thompson said, the Air Force said it would cost about the same amount to develop, build and operate 179 tankers, whether they are based on Boeing’s 767 or the Airbus A330. But The A330 is 27 percent heavier than the Boeing aircraft and burns more than a ton more fuel per flight hour. “How can both planes cost the same… over their lifetimes?” he asks.

Next, the Air Force says it would be equally risky to develop the Boeing tanker or the Airbus tanker. But Boeing proposes to build the tanker on the same assembly lines that produce other Boeing aircraft. Airbus proposes to build its tanker at a plant with a workforce that does not yet exist in Alabama. “How can risks be equal?” Thompson asks.

Third, the Air Force says a computerized simulation of how the competing tankers would function in a wartime scenario favored the larger Airbus plane. But the simulation assumed longer runways, stronger asphalt and more parking space than actually exists. “How can such unrealistic assumptions be relevant,” he asks.

Finally, the Air Force says the Northrop-Airbus team had higher ratings on past performance than Boeing. But Boeing built all 600 of the tankers in the Air Force’s current fleet. Northrop and Airbus, meanwhile, have never delivered a single tanker equipped with the refueling boom the Air Force requires. How does that equal superior past performance for Northrop/Airbus? Thompson said.

“I could go on,” he said. “Whatever else this process may have been, it definitely was not transparent.” Neither team understands why the competition turned out the way it did, he said. “It would be nice to hear from the Air Force about how key tradeoffs were made, because at present it looks like a double standard prevailed in the evaluation of the planes offered by the two teams.”

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Aviation | Comments Off | Share this post

Name that tanker: contest ends Friday

May 27, 200811:48 a.m.

The General Accountability Office hasn’t yet ruled on Boeing’s protest of the Air Force’s award of a $35 billion aerial refueling contract to Northrop Grumman. But Air Force officials already have launched a “Name the Tanker” contest for the KC-45A. The contest is open only those who are Air Force active duty, Reserve or Guard personnel or Air Force government civilians.

The contest ends May 30. Suggested names must be no more than two words and entrants must include a brief explanation for the idea with the submission.

The KC-45A, a tanker using an Airbus commercial airliner platform, was selected by the Air Force for the nation’s next refueler. Boeing has protested the decision.  The GAO is expected to rule on the protest by June 19.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off | Share this post

What if gas hits $10 a gallon?

May 27, 200810:25 a.m.

Here’s this week’s first uplifting post-holiday piece on the looming disaster of rising gas prices.

The story is an interesting mixed bag of economic disaster and American ingenuity to adapt. Some of the adaptations the story mentions are changes already under way, as recent reports indicate demand is falling – despite the continued protestations from oil company executives that the current spike is driven by supply and demand.

In our business, tele-commuting is getting a hard look under the name of “mojo,” or mobile journalist.

And some of the economic disasters are developing, as foot traffic slows at restaurants, movie theaters and retailers across the country.

There’s a little comfort in the opinion of experts that gas won’t hit $10 a gallon. And there’s a little more comfort in the rumblings coming out of refineries that gas supplies are larger than America’s being led to believe.

But there’s no comfort to the lack of any end in the price hikes – or any credible explanation of their cause – in sight.

By Bill Wilson | Filed under Economy, Energy | Comments Off | Share this post