Because we didn't have a housing bubble and didn't take part in the subprime loan mania - and because our energy sector has been robust - it looks like we're going to be among the last states dragged into this recession.
The economic malaise gripping Wall Street is getting closer.
Virginia laid off 570 state employees, cut college funding, and postponed state employee raises, according to The Associated Press. Tennessee is cutting its work force by 2,000, NBC's Nightly News reported.
Last month Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell ordered a state hiring freeze, banned out-of-state travel and implemented other spending cuts, according to AP.
Because we didn't have a housing bubble and didn't take part in the subprime loan mania - and because our energy sector has been robust - it looks like we're going to be among the last states dragged into this recession.
The big question is, will we bounce back quickly or will we become mired in the muck? We've only recently begun to get well from the downturn that slammed the state in the 1980s.
nn
Of course companies aren't immune from the turmoil. Case in point: Chesapeake Energy Corp.
Chesapeake has been on a hiring and investment binge since 2005, when it bought Columbia Natural Resources for $2.2 billion. The deal instantly made Chesapeake the largest natural-gas exploration and production company in West Virginia.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that troubled credit markets and falling natural-gas prices (down 45 percent since early summer) have Chesapeake "scrambling to sell assets and cut costs."
The economic malaise gripping Wall Street is getting closer.
Virginia laid off 570 state employees, cut college funding, and postponed state employee raises, according to The Associated Press. Tennessee is cutting its work force by 2,000, NBC's Nightly News reported.
Last month Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell ordered a state hiring freeze, banned out-of-state travel and implemented other spending cuts, according to AP.
Because we didn't have a housing bubble and didn't take part in the subprime loan mania - and because our energy sector has been robust - it looks like we're going to be among the last states dragged into this recession.
The big question is, will we bounce back quickly or will we become mired in the muck? We've only recently begun to get well from the downturn that slammed the state in the 1980s.
nnOf course companies aren't immune from the turmoil. Case in point: Chesapeake Energy Corp.
Chesapeake has been on a hiring and investment binge since 2005, when it bought Columbia Natural Resources for $2.2 billion. The deal instantly made Chesapeake the largest natural-gas exploration and production company in West Virginia.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that troubled credit markets and falling natural-gas prices (down 45 percent since early summer) have Chesapeake "scrambling to sell assets and cut costs."
Another early victim: United Steelworkers Local 1190 President Ken Aspenleiter told the AP on Wednesday that Russian steelmaker AOA Severstal planned to temporarily lay off about 800 workers at the company's facilities in Steubenville and Mingo Junction, Ohio, effective today. On Friday Severstal officially announced it is cutting production by 30 percent in the United States and Italy and by 25 percent at its main factory in Russia.
nnWatching the presidential candidates' advertisements promoting their tax-cut plans is like watching a fairy tale. Call me crazy, but I don't think anybody will have the option to cut taxes.
Congress just approved a $700 billion financial rescue plan after it tacked on an additional $110 billion in tax breaks. It also approved a $25 billion loan program designed to help domestic automakers compete. Of course there's the ongoing financial cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rather than tax cuts, we're in for higher taxes. If not higher taxes, the government is going to have to print more money, which means higher inflation.
nnA guest on a Thursday television news program said you've got three choices if the bear market has ravaged your retirement fund: You can (1) save more; (2) spend less when you retire; (3) work longer.
Rather than being multiple choice, I'm thinking it's all of the above.
Reach George Hohmann at busin...@dailymail.com">busin...@dailymail.com or 348-4836.
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The Ohio Valley has not enjoyed the WV resurgence in mining.The 75 million in lost payroll, in an already depressed area, will be serious. Wheeling has already lost 50% of its population since the 1960's and is not about the size it was in the 1870's.