In The News

Goodbye to Center City's video Beaux

The Millions Tuesday, May 10, 2011

When Center City's Beaux Arts Video closes its doors for good, a former customer says a long goodbye, according to The Millions.

At first glance, Beaux Arts Video didn't look like much. A cramped storefront on Tenth and Spruce Streets in Philadelphia, it was a few hundred square feet of worn carpet, handmade shelves, and ceilings that dripped when it rained. The front of the shop, bright and neatly kept, was devoted to new releases; a larger, scruffier section, down a short flight of steps, held the rest of its aging stock, VHS to DVD, classics to pure dreck.

Despite its shortcomings, Beaux Arts managed a modest greatness. Its overstuffed racks spoke like an ardent fan who loved Tootsie, Marty, and Zardoz pretty much equally. When my wife and I moved to Philadelphia in the summer of 2001, we found ourselves there most nights, our eyes aglaze with choice. Kirsten browsed upstairs, moving slowly from row to row; I poked around downstairs, searching for something weird: Delicatessen, Logan's Run, maybe A Boy and His Dog.

Source: The Millions
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Cigna marks 52 percent profit in Q1

The Associated Press Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Philadelphia based insurance giant Cigna Corp. exceeded first-quarter expectations due to lowered medical claims and increased international business, according to The Associated Press.

Cigna Corp.'s first-quarter net income jumped 52 percent as medical claims fell, the international business grew again, and it raised its 2011 profit forecast like other big health insurers that also beat expectations for the quarter.

The Philadelphia company said Thursday earnings in health care, its largest segment, climbed 47 percent, and premiums and fees from its international business rose 32 percent, fueled in part by the purchase of the Belgian company Vanbreda International last year.

Source: The Associated Press
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A wink and a nod for $30 at PHL

Jaunted Tuesday, May 03, 2011

A new hourly rate hotel chain opens inside Philadelphia International Airport to give travelers a place for a nap, according to Jaunted.

It's a damned shame that no US airport boasts one of the funky, sleep-at-the-airport Yotels. Those things are amazing. Instead, travelers faced with delayed flights and long nights at the airport have to spring for an airport-area business hotel or a Holiday Inn Express when they likely don't need all those amenities. Just a good sleep is all some people want, and luckily a few Minute Suites are slowly popping up at airports like Philadelphia International.

PHL just opened their mini-hotel of 13 Minute Suites and 2 workstation cubicles, the second Minute Suites after the original at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

Source: Jaunted
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Exton man among those turning to franchise ownership as second career act

Los Angeles Times Tuesday, April 26, 2011

A corporate career cut short leads one former Exton executive to franchise ownership, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Many would argue that fried chicken has nothing to do with healthcare. Reynolds Corea would beg to differ.

He's a former outsourcing expert who was making "easily" six figures, Corea said, when Accenture Ltd. cut him loose in January 2009 after nearly 20 years.

A layoff that has led Corea where so many corporate refugees have opted to go for a second career act: operating a franchise business.

The franchise market is growing at an annual rate of 2%, said John A. Pearce II, endowed chairman of strategic management and entrepreneurship at Villanova's School of Business.

Source: The Los Angeles Times
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Comcast launches fastest internet service yet

Techspot Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Comcast announces the rollout of its much anticipated Extreme 105 Xfinity Internet Service, according to Techspot.

Comcast has finally announced the initial availability of its Extreme 105 Xfinity Internet service, which is currently available to 40 million homes in major markets such as Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Miami, Philadelphia, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Washington DC.

First introduced last May, the service delivers download speeds of up to 105Mb/s (10Mb/s upstream), which is a substantial boost over the company's previous 50Mb/s service. According to the company's figures, you can download an HD movie in five minutes and a standard-def TV show in 20 seconds.

Source: Techspot
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J&J plans to buy Chesco's Synthes for $20B

Reuters Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Johnson & Johnson plans to buy West Chester-based Synthes, and the deal may usher in future medtech investment, according to Reuters.

Johnson & Johnson's plan to buy Synthes for some $20 billion may mean more deals in the sector as rival medical technology firms try to bulk up in tough times, though antitrust issues are a hurdle.

A weak economy and high unemployment have hit sales of medical devices hard, since patients have to take time off and, in the United States, dig deep into their own pockets to help pay for procedures such as knee replacements.

As a result, more and more companies are looking at acquisitions as a way to add new avenues of growth.

Source: Reuters
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Navy Yard to get really big battery to store solar energy

CNET Tuesday, April 05, 2011

An Allentown battery manufacturer is installing its large format lithium ion energy storage system ona 2,700 square foot building at the Philadelphia Navy Yard as part of its Energy Innovation Hub, reports CNET.

"The Energy Innovation Hub will include a live demonstration of a microgrid with a 2,700 square foot net-zero energy home. International Battery will provide Sunverge with an 8.2 kilowatt-hour Lithium Iron Phosphate battery pack for use in the residential SIS (Solar Integration System)," the company announced Thursday.

The battery pack will be used to store solar energy that can be retrieved for later use in conjunction with the solar system and micro smart grid, also being constructed on site, according to International Battery.

Source: CNET
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Big Willie Style: Smith saves the day with donation of computers for West Philly HS

ABC News Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Actor and rapper Will Smith provided 30 computers to West Philly High School, according to ABC News.

Will Smith is donating replacements for 30 stolen computers to a high school in West Philadelphia, where he was born and raised.

The Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation and the Charlie Mack Cares philanthropic organizations are giving 29 Apple laptops and one desktop to West Philadelphia High School.

Source: ABC News
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Aker: Data tracking saves millions at the shipyard

Industry Week Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard improves work safety and saves millions through data tracking practices, according to Industry Week.

When it takes 10,000 labor tasks and 1.2 million labor hours to build one product, tracking costs is quite a task. Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, a leading U.S. commercial shipyard constructing vessels for customers including the U.S. Navy, employs 700 full-time and 500 contractors to build 2.8 ships per year. Managing such a large workforce requires complex tracking system.

Michel Boeckx, Chief Technology Officer at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, deftly used safety data he collected, via software company Kronos, in order to improve work practices. The company saw 41% fewer eye incidents over a year. These collective improvements enabled the company to reduce medical insurance by two million dollars.

Source: Industry Week
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