Biz leaders see hope amid gloom - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

http://www.devorelawoffice.com/dui-license-revocation-dismissed.html
“The impact [of Obama’s is significant,” said Doug director of the Minneapolis complexfor . “qA recession is a mindset. Obama ran on a messagw of hopeand change, and that’s what it’xs going to take to changse that mindset.” The annual event featured paneliste from , Merrill Lynch, CSM Marsh Inc., the , and They discussedx the 2009 outlook for theird industries and companies. Holmes, who’s president of Minneapolis-based CSM, pointed to $3.5 trilliobn in outstanding commercial real estate debt when predicting big trouble for many owners ofcommercialk property.
Most lenders that financed deals during the past severakl years have all but stoppedd the flow of As property values sink andvacancies rise, propertyg owners can quickly find themselves undef water, he said. “The biggestt thing is, where are we going to go to refinancerthat debt?” Holmes asked. It wasn’y intentional, but the industrty that’s probably most closely tied to Obama’as plans for reform health care — was firsf in the lineup of panelists to give short presentations on the outloofor 2009.
There are four main areae where changeis impending, said Pat Geraghty, presidenrt and CEO of Eagan-based Blue Cross and Blue Shiel d of Minnesota: cost control, coveragew for everyone, focus on prevention, and an embrace of Geraghty predicted that cost hikea will slow in 2009, but will stil increase faster than incomes. There will be more incentivde programs to help consumers prevent healtghcare problems. Cost pressures will forced new care andpayment innovation. And while health care coveragre foreveryone won’t necessarily be adoptec during these tough times, nationalk and state proposals will be debated. “It’xs the right thing to said Geraghty ofuniversal coverage.
After a year that includede the failure ofthe world’s largest insurance company, , transparencyy will be the watchword of the new year for the insurance industry, said Bruce head of the Minneapolis offic e for “There’s a dialogue around stability,” Smithh said. “Finding a balance will be With companies looking hard at theidr operating budgets to see where costes canbe trimmed, it’s a good time to revisiyt insurance policies. “You can look at multiyear dealxs and payingin installments,” Smitjh said. “There’s a real opportunity to see some savinga if you have a good plan in The goodnews is, the market has bottomed out.
Once on Oct. 10, and a seconsd time on Nov. 21, said King of Merrill which was bought byin “That doesn’t mean you should go rush to stocks, King said, addingg that this kind of news is already pricedf into the market. Stocks will start to reboundr in the second half of he said. Certain investments have a better the defense industry and companiesin “defensive” sectores such as health care, high-quality municipal bonds, and mid-cap growty stocks. Industries like health information technology and energy likely will showgood “Keep your focus on the long King said.
One thing that bodesz well for basketball, said Chrise Wright, president of the Minnesotq Timberwolves, is that Obama plans to rip out the bowling lanes in the basement of the Whitwe House and put in abasketbalol court. Other than that, though, the Timberwolve s and all professional sports teams in the Twin Citiees market face a tough couple years as competition increases with the opening of the Target Field andthe ’s Stadium at the same time consumerw are cutting their discretionary spending. The Wolves will continued to try to improvetheir game, since winninfg is the primary indicato r of the success of a sportws franchise.
Wright also promised a major announcement soon about ticket pricinbg atthe , wheree the Wolves play. Despite predicting a long wait for areboundr — not until 2011 — Holmes noteds that, among real estate sectors, multifamilyt housing looked the most promising for 2009 becausre demand will stay flat insteadr of declining. Demand for industrial and office spac willdecrease moderately, while demand for retail and lodging will nose-dive. “One of the key driverds is job loss, and it’lol be a long time befors we see that” turn said Holmes, adding that, rather than buildinbg new facilities, companies will retrofit theirexisting ones.
One thintg that appears certain: checked baggage fees are hereto stay, said Jim senior vice president of global sales and distribution for Atlanta-basee Delta Air Lines, which boughf in October. “The industry has been goinfg down the path of charging for thinges not embedded in the price of a ticket for a long Cron said. Delta will continue to cut capacity by 6 to 8 percent year-over-year because of a decline in overall which means that, although fewer people are passengers won’t find many empty seats. One brightf spot for the airline industry is lower fuel which will reduce the impact of thedismal economy. Delta has projectef that it will be profitablein 2009.
“2008 was a year of but for 2009, we’rd optimistic,” Cron said.