| Brokerage firm acquires Kingston group
Pyramid Brokerage Company recently announced its acquisition of Kingston-based Upstate Commercial Group.
Pyramid Brokerage is a regional commercial real estate services firm specializing in industrial, retail and office sales and leasing. Offices are in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Corning, Elmira, Ithaca, Kingston, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica and Watertown.
Upstate Commercial Group was founded in 1996 as a New York and Connecticut licensed commercial real estate company providing brokerage services, consulting and investment analysis.
Upon the merger of the two firms, Steven Perfit, president of Upstate Commercial Group, will become managing director of Pyramid Brokerages Hudson Valley operations. .
UPSTATE: Dyster joins Spitzer’s coalition
Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster made an impromptu trip to North Syracuse Tuesday to rally in support of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plans for a $1 billion economic revitalization fund dedicated to upstate growth.Dyster was contacted by the governor's office Monday afternoon and asked to make the trip and join forces with fellow upstate mayor Matt Driscoll of Syracuse. The two mayors and Spitzer visited the Syracuse Research Corporation, where the governor urged members of the Manufacturing Association of Central New York to join with businesses and municipalities across upstate in support of the fund's creation."The burden of proof is on us to demonstrate to our fellow New Yorkers that creating the Upstate Revitalization Fund is the right thing to do," said Dyster. "Once we're successful, it's their responsibility to do the right thing.
Analysis: UK business falls out of love with Labour
Many of our members put their lives into building up their businesses and expect to sell them to finance their retirement," says John Wright, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses and owner of a training consultancy in north-east England. “They are now faced with an 80 per cent increase in capital gains tax. Imagine an ordinary person drawing some of his pension and being asked for another 80 per cent in tax. It's totally unfair." The government's initial response to such protests was to say that the change met their frequently expressed demand for tax simplification. Business leaders do, indeed, like tax simplification, but they did not like the fact that the reform would raise an extra £900m a year for the Treasury. Even after last week's concession, it will still rake in an extra £700m – a lot of it from entrepreneurs.
Bill seeks more aid for poorer schools
In anticipation of the unveiling of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposed budget this week, state Sen. John A. DeFrancisco said Sunday he will sponsor a bill that, he says, will ensure fair funding for all school districts. The bill introduces the Statewide School Finance Consortium's plan to correct inequities in funding caused by the current "patchwork school aid formula," which enriches wealthy districts and short-changes poor ones, said DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse. He was joined in a news conference at Solvay High School by several representatives of the local education community. "This is not an easy battle," DeFrancisco said. "Obviously, the haves throughout the state will not want to redistribute the funds to the have-nots." School funding has been a source of squabbling among state politicians for years.
Nov. home prices fall, but remain costly
U.S. home prices plunged by a record 8.4 percent in November, marking two years of slowing returns, according to a key index released Tuesday. However, housing is only slightly more affordable for many American workers, a separate study found. The decline in the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 10-city composite home price index was the biggest year-to-year drop since a 6.7 percent decrease in October. The November performance was the 11th straight monthly decline. The index tracks prices of existing single-family homes in 10 metropolitan areas. "Nothing in these numbers suggest a bottoming out. The numbers universally are disappointing," said David Blitzer, S&P's managing director and chairman of the index committee. "Maybe when we get into the spring/summer home-buying season and with lower interest rates, maybe it will all come together." The broader 20-city composite index also was down year-over-year, falling 7.7 percent in November.
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