Investment advisor offers more upbeat forecast for 2012

Phil Castle, The Business Times:  Doug May offers a decidedly more optimistic forecast of economic and financial conditions these days than just five months ago. “I’m actually pretty upbeat today,” said May, president and chief investment officer of May-Investments in Grand Junction. “When you look at the facts, there’s a lot to be upbeat about.” […]

Index reflects mixed outlook among CEOs

Business executives are more upbeat in their short-term outlooks, but remain subdued overall, according to the latest results of a quarterly survey. The Conference Board reported that its Measure of CEO Confidence advanced seven points in the fourth quarter of 2011. At 49, the latest reading continues to reflect more negative than positive responses, though. […]

Accounting firms announce merger plans

Eide Bailly, an accounting and business advisory firm that operates 19 offices in nine states, including an office in Grand Junction, has announced plans to merge with another firm. Pending regulatory approval, Eide Bailly and Wipfli plan to officially combine professional practices on June 1. The combined firm will be named EB Wipfli and operate […]

Vectra Bank economic forecast available online

For the first time, Vectra Bank Colorado will broaden participation in its popular economic forecast breakfast by broadcasting the event online. The breakfast, set for Jan. 18, will be streamed live from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on the Web site at www.vectrabank.com. Registration and more information is available at www.vectrabank.com/webcast.jsp. Online participants will be […]

Williams separates functions into two stand-alone entities

An energy exploration, production and transportation corporation with operations in Western Colorado has completed the process of separating its business functions into two companies. Williams has spun off its exploration and production operations into a new corporation called WPX Energy. Williams now focuses on transportation operations, including processing, gathering and shipping natural gas. Both companies […]

State lawmakers: Regulatory relief on session agenda

Phil Castle, The Business Times Call them variations on a theme. Grand Valley lawmakers plan to propose a number of measures during the state legislative session that offer regulatory relief. Among the proposed bills from State Sen. Steve King, and State Reps. Laura Bradford and Ray Scott are efforts to postpone new state rules on […]

Real estate market expected to stabilize in 2012

Phil Castle, The Business Times Based on the statistics and trends she observed in 2011, Annette Miller expects the Mesa County real estate market to stabilize in 2012. As the number of foreclosed properties shrinks and accounts for a smaller proportion of overall sales, what’s been a decline in prices should stop. Historically low interest […]

Fruita restaurateur learns lessons from makeover show

Phil Castle, The Business Times Ginny Sullivan learned some lessons about the restaurant business during her appearance on a television makeover show. For one thing, Sullivan now realizes she doesn’t have to keep her Fruita restaurant open for such long hours to bring in customers. Good food and service will take care of that. “They […]

With new feature, brand inspectors just a click away

The Colorado Department of Agriculture has introduced a Web site feature designed to help livestock owners buying, selling or moving their animals. Livestock owners can find their brand inspectors by visiting the Web site at www.colorado.gov/ag/brands and clicking on “brand inspectors.” By simply clicking on their specific areas, owners retrieve the name and contact information […]