JPMorgan Chase settles municipal derivatives case
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is paying $228 million to investors, federal regulators and two-dozen states, including Connecticut, as part of the company”™s settlement on its practices in the municipal bond derivatives markets.
Municipal bond derivatives are contracts that tax-exempt issuers use to reinvest proceeds of bond sales until the funds are needed or to hedge interest-rate risk. In 2008, states began investigating allegations that financial institutions, brokers and swap advisers rigged bids and submitted fraudulent certifications of compliance in the municipal bond derivatives market.
According to Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, issuers expecting to receive restitution include the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, Fairfield University, the towns of Fairfield, Stratford and Weston, Yale University and the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority.
Single tenant an option for 695 East Main
L&L Holding Co. L.L.C. hired Cushman & Wakefield to find a buyer for 695 E. Main St. in Stamford, the former headquarters of General Reinsurance Corp. that emptied following the bankruptcy filing of the building”™s owner Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
The building totals 560,000 square feet and is considered one of the premier office buildings in Stamford, although it lies farther from the city”™s main train station than several competing buildings.
In a press release, Cushman & Wakefield broker Tom O”™Leary said the company plans to market the building as an office location for a single, large tenant or for possible multi-tenant use. When Lehman hired L&L last year to renovate 695 E. Main St., the companies stated that the building would be positioned for multi-tenant leases.
New bank branch in South End
First Niagara Financial Group Inc. is opening its first de novo branch in Fairfield County, at the Yale & Towne mixed-use development in Stamford under construction by Building & Land Technology.
In April, Buffalo, N.Y.-based First Niagara acquired NewAlliance Bank, a New Haven-based company that has three other branches in Stamford.
Building & Land Technology stated 500 people have taken residential leases at the Yale & Towne building and the nearby 101 Park Place apartments, and said it expects 1,000 more people to take space at five more buildings in various stages of planning.
Sustainability challenge met in Stamford
The Ashforth Co., Greenwich Hospital and Malkin Properties completed the Corporate Sustainability Challenge, a yearlong pilot program in Stamford to cut the impact of facilities on the environment.
The program was sponsored by Sustainable Stamford, the city”™s volunteer environmental task force, and the Southern Connecticut chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association.
Malkin Properties focused the program on its First Stamford Place office building. The New York City-based company anticipates saving up to 15 percent on energy costs and up to 45 percent on water usage. It replaced lighting and low-efficiency electric motors, and installed:
- premium-efficiency drive belts for HVAC motors and fans;
- variable frequency drives on the property”™s chiller plants;
- occupancy sensors in new tenant spaces;
- low-flow fixtures within all restrooms; and
- drought-tolerant perennials in place of annuals and the reduction of areas of turf requiring irrigation.
$1.6M for Goodwill store
A new Goodwill thrift store in Westport will cost $1.6 million to construct, according to a building permit filed last month.
Westport”™s Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve Goodwill relocating its store at 1572 Post Road E. into 10,000 square feet of space at 1700 Post Road E., once the site of the Peppermill Steak & Fish House.
Forecast for renewables
Forecast International Inc. is adding renewable energy technologies to its existing energy market research covering gas and steam turbines, with plans to hire an unspecified number of analysts.
The Newtown-based company created a new division dubbed “Spear” for Synergistic Power, Energy and Resources, also providing coverage of power plants, grids, water purification systems and wastewater plants, among other utility-scale entities.
“There is an enormous amount of information of variable quality on these subjects available in cyberspace, but we see the need for a single source of market intelligence with a clear and concise methodology,” said CEO Edward Nebinger, in a prepared statement.
Harris Interactive makes Norwalk space available
Harris Interactive Inc. is cutting its presence in Norwalk, with plans to sublease space in its offices at 101 Merritt 7 Corporate Park.
The New York City-based company runs online surveys to provide businesses with market research and public opinion. In June, the company named as interim CEO Al Angrisani, who previously ran Greenfield Online, which also runs online market research surveys. In 2009 Greenfield Online”™s market research survey unit was acquired by Toluna, a Paris-based company that has its U.S. headquarters in Wilton where Greenfield Online had been based.
Harris Interactive is also cutting space in Portland, Ore., and in the United Kingdom, and said the moves will result in lease-exit costs of $1.9 million.
Beiersdorf names new U.S. head
Beiersdorf AG named Bill Graham head of its U.S. operations based in Norwalk, with Graham having led sales there since 2007.
Germany-based Beiersdorf sells a range of skin-care products, with its brands including NIVEA and Eucerin.
Prior to joining Beiersdorf, Graham worked for Novartis, Bristol Myers-Squibb and Unilever. He holds an MBA from New York University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin.
Goldfish inspires new bread
Pepperidge Farm married up two of its most successful product lines, creating new Goldfish-branded breads with slices shaped like its iconic crackers.
The new Goldfish Sandwich Bread comes in white, whole wheat and honey whole wheat.
Pepperidge Farm is based in Norwalk and is a division of the New Jersey-based Campbell Soup Co.
Grants for attractions in Norwalk, Bridgeport
The State Bond Commission approved $1 million in funding to support the Bridgeport Downtown Cabaret, as well as more than $600,000 for the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk.
The Maritime Aquarium funding will be used for facility improvements and for major exhibits.
