Strictly Business

From Business Today:

Hmmmm.... what can we do with $100 million? That's what the folks at the McGuire Group might be discussing today after the Buffalo company sold it's five Western New York nursing homes and one on Long Island for $100 million. The company will continue to operate all the nursing homes, and no changes in staffing or procedures are expected. The sale to Nationwide Health Properties of Newport Beach, Calif., a real estate investment trust, was a "recapitalization," President and CEO F. James McGuire said. the company does have a development division, so stay tuned. The firm has the money to do any number of projects now.

Feeling better about your finances? A state-wide survey of consumer confidence in the fourth quarter shows we haven't felt this good in three years.  The survey was done during the heady pre-Christmas shopping season, so some enthusiasm might be expected. Looking forward, Western New Yorkers are still a bit glum, according to the Sienna Research Institute.

Wondering about that unusual letter you may have received about insuring your water pipes? Lots of people are. An official looking solicitation from a company called American Water Resources has lots of people calling the local water authority? Do we need to insure the incoming pipe form the street to our house? Not really, it seems. It's a rarity for that pipe to fail.

The company that runs Grand Tours buses, the service that carries visiting NHL hockey teams among others, and the Ridge Road Express school buses that serve several Niagara County districts, has been sold. Lontime owner Tom Weeks will still be in charge, and no changes are expected, but he said rising costs and government regulations forced him to sell to Student Transportation, Inc. of New Jersey.

 Who is getting promoted, hired or honored?


  Speaking about money...