ANN ARBOR - Bank of Ann Arbor announced Wednesday that it has acquired Ervin Leasing Company, a privately held national equipment leasing and finance company founded in 1978 and headquartered in Ann Arbor. Ervin Leasing, a subsidiary of parent company Ervin Industries, successfully navigated the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009, then ramped up sales
LANSING - Michigan's employment, per capita GDP and per capital personal income have grown more quickly than those of most other states since 2009, but it's still far behind the top 10 states, according to the 2012 Business Leaders for Michigan Benchmarking Report. Perceptions of Michigan's business climate are low and improving slowly, the report
WASHINGTON DC - Detroit and Grand Rapids had two of the best recoveries in the country from the depths of the recession three years ago, according to a study of 100 metropolitan areas by the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. Both of the Michigan metropolitan areas had top 20
ANN ARBOR - Internet-retail giant Amazon remains at the head of the class, according to the annual Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction Index released by customer experience analytics firm ForeSee. The eighth annual report?based on more than 24,000 customer surveys collected during the prime holiday shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas?expands from measuring satisfaction with 40 top
DEARBORN - Ford Motor Company is spending more than $773 million on new equipment and capacity expansions across six manufacturing facilities in southeast Michigan as it delivers on a commitment to invest $6.2 billion in U.S. plants by 2015. The investments in Michigan will create 2,350 new hourly jobs and allow the company to retain
PALO ALTO, Ca. ? Six career areas provide a snapshot of the new economy in 2013, says Apollo Research Institute, including healthcare and information technology. Tracey Wilen-Daugenti, Vice President and Managing Director, Apollo Research Institute, looked into her crystal ball and made the following predictions: Six career areas provide a snapshot of the new economy:
LANSING - Governor Rick Snyder on Wednesday signed into law bills that would create a regional transit authority for Wayne, Macomb, Oakland and Washtenaw counties, as well as legislation that would create the Detroit Lighting Authority to fix the tens of thousands of lights in need of repair or replacement in and around the city.
WASHINGTON DC - The Federal Trade Commission moved to make a key children's online privacy law more up-to-date in a world of smartphones and social networks. The agency has approved amendments to the regulations implementing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, that would require apps and Web sites that target children to obtain
LANSING - The average Michigan Consolidated Gas customer will pay about 5 cents a month more after the Public Service Commission approved a $19.9 million rate hike. The final rate increase is substantially less than the $76.7 million increase the utility had requested in April. The agreement (case No. U-16999) provides MichCon a 10.5 percent
LANSING - Calling it a good day for the state by improving its overall competitiveness, Governor Rick Snyder signed a package of 12 bills that begins the process to phase out Michigan's personal property tax on industrial property. At a signing ceremony in the press auditorium, surrounded by legislators, civic officials and business executives, Snyder