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Former General Electric Co. Chief Executive Officer Jack Welch said the U.S. economy will start to improve in late 2009 after struggling for the next three quarters.

“We are going to have some very tough times,'' Welch said on the ABC News “This Week'' program. “The fourth quarter of this year could have negative growth in the three to four percent range.''

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is heading for its steepest monthly decline since 1938 on concern the global economy will slide into a recession. In the U.S., the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market and a freeze in lending has already triggered the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and government takeovers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Welch said “oh my God, no'' when asked whether Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE was at risk of failing internet pay day loan.

“It just happens to have a financial component,'' he said. “Anything with the word finance in it right now is part of this fear element'' taking hold in equity markets.

GE, whose businesses include jet engines, health care and the NBC television network, has fallen 52 percent this year to $17.83 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Welch, 72, said prospects for the company and the economy will improve once markets start to absorb the effects of the $700 billion rescue package approved by Congress this month. He predicted U.S. financial markets will have a “better foundation'' because companies and consumers will cut back on debt and lawmakers will improve regulation.

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The NBA Board of Governors has voted to allow the Palms casino in Las Vegas to accept bets on all league games — except those involving the Sacramento Kings — even though the Maloof family owns both the Kings and the casino, the NBA said in a news story posted on its Web site.

In the story on NBA.com, casino operator George Maloof Jr free credit report online. said Thursday’s vote was unanimous and follows his six-month effort to get the NBA to allow wagering at his casino on league games. Betting at other casinos on NBA games is already commonplace.

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Tompkins Financial Corp., the parent of Bank of Castile, reported a 16.6 percent increase in third quarter earnings over the same period in 2007.

A 15.7 percent increase in diluted earnings per share to 81 cents was a record, the Ithaca-based company said.

Earnings, or net income, totaled $7.9 million, compared to $6.8 million in 2007.

Noting unprecedented challenges posed by the current economic crisis that has driven big banks’ earnings and stock values down, President and CEO Stephen Romaine said in a statement that “the markets we serve have been impacted to a lesser extent than many areas around the country cash advance flexible payments.”

He said the $2.7 billion-asset company (AMEX: TMP) has been able to grow while avoiding “high profile risky loans and investments that have resulted in significant losses for many in our industry.”

That growth included the acquisition last May of Sleepy Hollow Bancorp in the Hudson Valley region.

Tompkins Financial operates 45 banking offices through its subsidiary banks - Tompkins Trust Company, Bank of Castile, and Mahopac National Bank.

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MSDG Nashville LLC has purchased 5.5 acres on Great Circle Road at Athens Way in the Metro Center area for $1.575 million.

MSDG is a general contractor, specializing in non-industrial commercial construction.

Charley Hankla with Colliers Turley Martin Tucker represented the seller, United Methodist Publishing House, and David Baker of Baker Storey McDonald Properties represented the buyer no fax payday advances.

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New Zealand officials are working on a plan to guarantee wholesale deposits at the nation's banks, Finance Minister Michael Cullen said.

“The Reserve Bank and Treasury are working on a possible wholesale deposit guarantee scheme,'' Cullen said in a debate broadcast today on Radio New Zealand. “There is no need for an urgent decision. We have time to work through it.''

New Zealand last week put guaranteed retail deposits to bolster confidence in financial institutions. Unlike other nations such as Australia and South Korea, Cullen's plan doesn't guarantee wholesale deposits from global fund managers and local lenders say that may make it more difficult to raise funds when credit markets reopen.

South Korea yesterday said it will guarantee $100 billion of lenders' foreign-currency debt. Governments in Greece, Ireland and Switzerland also announced deposit guarantees last week as part of a coordinated European response to the global financial crisis.

Units of Australian-based banks handle about 90 percent of all New Zealand deposits, and officials are taking this ownership into account, Cullen said low rates payday advance.

“The majority of our institutions are owned from offshore and the New Zealand government does not want to be writing a blank check for offshore shareholders,'' he said.

Yesterday, opposition National Party leader John Key said New Zealand's plan is “out of line'' with Australia and there is a risk local institutions will switch their funds.

“The sooner we are able to resolve the current issues around the deposit guarantee scheme, the sooner we will give certainty to those involved in the banking sector,'' Key said in an e-mailed statement.

National leads the governing Labour Party in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 8 election. Key said he will work with the government to ensure decisions are made.

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ProLink Solutions, which sells GPS-based golf course management systems and digital on-course advertising, is opening an office in the United Kingdom to serve markets in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

Ian Church will be responsible for sales at the new office as well as service and support for the Chandler company’s existing footprint of more than 120 golf courses in the U.K. He previously held management positions with American Golf at properties in Texas and England and worked in marketing for Hewlett-Packard and General Electric http://payday-advance-i.com.

This is ProLink’s first office outside the U.S. ProLink Solutions is a subsidiary of ProLink Holdings Corp. (OTC:PLKH)

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The dollar rose against the euro and the pound Friday, with the British currency falling to its lowest level in five years as global markets remain shaky.

At 4 p.m. ET, the 15-nation euro bought $1.3412, down from $1.3563 late Thursday. It traded as low as $1.3354, reaching levels not seen since June 2007.

Great Britain’s pound slid to $1.6737 at one point, the lowest it’s been since 2003. But it regained some ground to trade at $1.7050 from $1.7009 in the previous session.

The pound’s weakness comes as investors remain wary of higher-yielding currencies and appear to favor less risky trades involving the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen.

The dollar traded at ¥100.29, up from ¥98.87.

A sharp selloff in European markets kept currency traders on edge. Stock markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt were all down between 7% and 8% at midday. And Japan’s Nikkei index slid more than 9%.

On Wall Street, meanwhile, stocks ended lower at the end of an extremely volatile session.

The carnage in global stock markets has undermined currency-trader appetite for risk and driven them to the perceived safety of the U.S. dollar.

"While this turmoil continues to swirl, the U.S. dollar should remain supported, especially so long as uncertainty remains in other major economies surrounding government plans to ameliorate the financial situation," wrote Steve Malyon, currency strategist at Scotia Capital, in a note to clients.

President Bush urged Americans Friday to have confidence in the economy and said the government is acting to "resolve this crisis."

"Here’s what the American people need to know: The U.S. government is acting, and we will continue to act, to resolve this crisis and return stability to our markets," he said.

The government has taken a number of unprecedented steps in the last two weeks, including lowering interest rates in conjunction with central banks worldwide, as it attempts to calm anxious investors and shore up the nation’s economy.

But the efforts have yet to show any significant results.

Many analysts say the U.S. government’s next move will be to invest tax dollars directly into ailing banks and major companies.  

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The Bank of Hawaii’s Waikiki branch will open in a new location next week.

The branch, currently at 2228 Kalakaua Ave., will move to the Bank of Hawaii Waikiki Center at 2155 Kalakaua Ave., in the building formerly called the Kalakaua Business Center on Oct. 14.

Bank of Hawaii’s international branch, which opened in February, is on the third floor of the building.

Business hours are Monday through Thursday 8:30 a (100% approval faxless payday loans).m. to 4 p.m., and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The branch now will include Saturday hours, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The bank also announced it will open its 73rd branch at Safeway in Kaneohe on Nov. 10.

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Buffalo has beaten Baltimore, San Francisco and even, Norman, Okla.

No, not in a Buffalo Sabres or Buffalo Bills game.

But in a ranking for the top 400 sports cities in North America.

In the ranking, released this week by Sporting News – a sister publication of Business First – the Buffalo Niagara region finished as the 42nd best sports city in North America. Boston topped the list while Burlington, N.C. finished dead last. Boston has finished first three times in the past five years. Sporting News has run the rankings for the past 15 years.

St. Louis and Montreal, at 40 and 41 respectively, finished just ahead of Buffalo.

The rankings were based on a number of factors said Bob Hille, Sporting News chief of correspondents. Among the factors that came into play for cities in the U.S. and Canada included the number of professional collegiate-level sports teams in each municipality and their regular season won-lost records, fan fervor, ticket prices and availability, franchise ownership and the marquee appeal of athletes.

“Buffalo is a great sports city, as anyone who has spent any time there can attest,” Hille said. “Win or lose, fans there support the Sabres and Bills, and, by the time way, this is starting to look like a special fall there.”

The Bills are currently 4-1 and leading the AFC East Division. The Bills have sold out all seven regular season home games at Ralph Wilson Stadium (paydayloans).

The Sabres have sold 14,800 season tickets for the third year in a row and have several thousand people on the team’s waiting list.

Corporate support for both teams is at all time high, despite a weak economy.

“The fans in Buffalo are just incredible,” said Darcy Regier, Sabres general manager. “In Buffalo, it goes something like this ‘Bills..Sabres…Bills…Sabres’. They (the fans) have this incredible passion, you feel it everywhere, even when you are getting gas in your car. I know Buffalo gets a bad rap, but once you move and live here, you begin to defend the community. Buffalo is unfairly characterized at times and misunderstood at other times.”

Regier said support goes beyond the fans. Athletes, once they get here, rarely want to move away.

“It’s funny, players may not initially want to move here, but once they get here and they feel the fan’s passion and see what the city has to offer, they don’t want to leave,” Regier said. “That’s why so many decide to make Buffalo their permanent home.”

The Sporting News issue with the Top 400 rankings is now available.

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Access to credit is the lifeblood of maritime trade and the credit crunch has largely cut off that supply, threatening to weed out weaker shippers and shipyards, as well as hamper global trade.

“The credit crisis has made banks nervous and the last thing on their minds is making fresh loans,” said Omar Nokta, an analyst at investment bank Dahlman Rose. “Some ship owners and shipyards in particular are feeling the pain.”

The outlook is worst for the bulk shipping industry, which hauls raw materials such as iron ore, grain and cement. More than 90 percent of the world’s traded goods by volume is carried by sea.

Access to credit has been cut off at an inopportune time for the industry, after several years of robust growth in markets like India and China — accompanied by huge infrastructure investments — spurred a race to build new ships, creating three-year backlogs on shipyard order books (fast cash loans).

Orders reached a milestone of 10,000 ships on August 1. But ordering ships is one thing, paying for them is another.

“There has been a further tightening (in lending conditions) over the summer,” Harald Serck-Hanssen, Norwegian bank DnB NOR’s (DNBNOR.OL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ship-financing unit said last month.

Some banks had shut their books for the year and the limited shipping lending banking universe was shrinking, he said.

Serck-Hanssen spoke before the bloodbath on Wall Street of the past two weeks in which credit conditions have worsened for shippers and shipyards, especially newer or smaller operators. 

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