Category: Maritime and Transportation
By Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
Most people will be dead by the time this bond matures.
They are called century bonds, and they don't come due for 100 years.
And shipping and transportation giant Norfolk Southern Corp. issued one on Aug. 24.
It was a rare event, since 100-year bonds are rarely issued by corporations because investors are seldom interested in buying them.
The last time the rail holding company issued a century bond was in 2005, the Wall Street Journal reported.
By Bill Cresenzo
bill.cresenzo@insidebiz.com
As retailers continue to get their shipments for the holiday season, activity in Virginia ports should pick up during the next couple of months, but one trade expert warns the first quarter of 2011 could be rough sailing.
"We aren't back to where we were two years ago, and consumers aren't convinced that the recession is over quite yet, but 2010 is clearly going to finish better than last year," said Jonathan Gould, a vice president with the National Retail Federation.
By Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
Comments on high-speed rail service between Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, N.C., including Hampton Roads, have been rolling in.
So many, in fact, that the deadline for comments has been extended until Sept. 10.
Originally, the deadline to file comments on the Tier II draft environmental statement high speed corridor, known as the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor, was Aug. 30.
Proponents have been urging the Hampton Roads community to comment before the deadline expires.
By Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
Ray Taylor and Robbyn Gayer want you to voice your opinions loud and clear.
If you don't, no one will know that Hampton Roads wants high- speed rail just like other regions of the country, they say.
This is for the future, they say. For you, if you are under 40, or for your children and for their children.
It makes economic and environmental sense to secure funding to move people by rail, they say.
By Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
The region's transit authority has hired a consultant to survey potential riders of Norfolk's light rail system.
Hampton Roads Transit has selected Richmond-based Southeastern Institute of Research under a contract not to exceed $49,000.
James Toscano, vice president, public affairs and communications for HRT, said SIR has done work for HRT, as well as other government agencies.
HRT received three proposals to conduct marketing research on light rail in Norfolk, Toscano said.
By Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
If you want to find out if the port is posting a profit, you'll have to wade through a ream of documents.
And you better know government accounting or have an accountant on retainer who can decipher the mysteries of a spreadsheet mixing government budgeting with private-sector profit-and-loss calculations.
The Virginia Port Authority's nonprofit affiliate, Virginia International Terminals Inc., is no longer issuing a monthly and year-to-date summary of its revenue and expenses.
By Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
Hampton Roads Transit's legal fees continue to mount.
The transportation agency's legal fees went from a total of $875,000 in fiscal year 2007 to $1.3 million in fiscal year 2009, according to a report from HRT.
The fees for fiscal year 2010, which ended June 30, are estimated at $1.5 million, but the final breakdown of the numbers was not available prior to press time.
By Bill Cresenzo
bill.cresenzo@insidebiz.com
Whether Northrop Grumman Corp. finds a buyer for its Newport News shipyard or spins it off to its shareholders, either decision won't drastically affect the city's No. 1 industry, the mayor and an economist said.
The company, based in Los Angeles, announced last week that it was "exploring strategic alternatives" for its shipbuilding business. In addition to getting rid of the Newport News shipyard, it plans to consolidate its Gulf Coast operations in Mississippi and close its shipyards in Louisiana.
By Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
America isn't the only country profiting from the economic stimulus.
China is too - from our stimulus money, generated by tax dollars.
China also owns close to a trillion dollars in U.S. Treasuries, making this country of 2 billion people run by the communist party our biggest creditor.
By Bill Cresenzo
bill.cresenzo@insidebiz.com
The Port of Virginia suffered its biggest dive in container traffic in fiscal year 2009-10, but the authority projects that things will improve over the course of the next fiscal year and is budgeting accordingly.
"We're back at 2003 levels," said Joe Harris, spokesman for the Virginia Port Authority.
