Strictly Business

From Business Today:

The slow-and-steady nature of the Buffalo Niagara region's economy has  helped it sidestep much of the damage from the Great Recession. But that benefit may have run its course. A recent study by the Brookings Institution shows that the region is slower than most in coming out of the recession. Job growth and wages are slow. The study shows that the world's emerging markets are growing much faster than industrialized economies, and that a major economic shift to these high growth regions may be taking place.

HSBC Bank has been ordered to pay $25.6 million into trusts owned by the Knox family due to mismanagement and negligence in handling the money over five decades. The decision is one of the largest ever awarded by the Surrogate Court in New York state. The bank said it will appeal.

No surprise that the folks who hope to save and redevelop the Statler Towers in downtown Buffalo are seeking a three-month extension on the deadline to close on the purchase of the historic building on Niagara Square. A bankruptcy judge hears that request today. With no other bidders lined up to buy the building, there is little doubt the extension will be granted.

A promising local bio-tech company, Cleveland BioLabs, has been granted fast track review status for its anti-radiation drug Protectan. The drug is of interest to the Defense Department and possibly to cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.

Who is getting hired, promoted or honored?