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Hamilton contractor racks up service fines
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. Public school officials in Chattanooga say their transportation contractor owes them more than 180-thousand dollars in service fines. The fines began after the 20th day of classes in the Hamilton County school system. Cincinnati-based First Student runs a portion of the school bus routes and the school system has budgeted 7-point-3 (m) million dollars to pay the company in the current school year. School board member Chip Baker was surprised to learn the amount of the fines racked up by the company and says it appears the schools are "making money on them." The contract requires First Student to pay specified fines for each infraction not corrected within five days. As an example, a bus that is consistently late on a morning or afternoon route is a 150-dollar fine, if not corrected.
Foolish Forecast: Palm Harbor Wide Open
Manufactured homebuilder PalmHarbor(Nasdaq: PHHM) reports Q2 2007 earnings results Tuesday afternoon. Want to know what Wall Street expects to see? Read on. Want to know what really matters? Read on a bit more. What analysts say: Buy, sell, or waffle? One additional analyst has initiated coverage on Palm Harbor since last we checked in, but I'm not really sure why he bothered -- he's only saying to hold. That brings the tally up to one buy and two hold ratings. Revenues. On average, the three analysts think Palm Harbor grew its sales 10% last quarter, to $188.4 million. Earnings. Profits, however, are believed to have fallen 25% to just $0.03 per share. What management says:
Second verse, same as the first. Three months ago, previewing the firm's Q1 earnings announcement, we noted how Palm Harbor had cited increased market share and a shift in product mix toward higher-margin modular homes as contributing to its recent success.
Lull in condo market slows home building
Home construction in the Greater Toronto Area was down in September, largely because of a lull in the condominium market, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. But the agency hastened to add that the condo market tends to appear volatile when looked at on a month-to-month basis. And those numbers should soon turn around, said Jason Mercer, the CMHC's senior market analyst for the GTA. He said record numbers of pre-construction condos have been sold over the past two years, which "will convert into a greater number of condominium starts," he said. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of starts was 25,200 in September, down from 32,500 in August. "Multiple family" dwellings (mainly condos) were down 41 per cent, from 18,600 to 11,000.
Slide-Lok of San Antonio is Latest in String of Slide-Lok Master ...
San Antonio, ranked 17th in US home building market, becomes the most recent major metro area to boast a Slide-Lok Master Dealership. New Master Dealership is further evidence of garage cabinets and garage storage market leader Slide-Lok's momentum. Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) October 10, 2006 -- With over 20 years of success in the remodeling and contracting industries in the Odessa and Midland, TX markets, well known entrepreneur Jim Sparr makes his most aggressive move yet--partnering with market leader Slide-Lok to establish Slide-Lok of San Antonio. The San Antonio based company becomes the latest in a string of US and Canadian garage storage Master Dealerships bearing the Slide-Lok name and featuring the market leader's products.
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