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By Mark Basch
June 26, 2013

Stephen Green resigns from Jacksonville Bancorp

A year after taking over as president and CEO of the company, Stephen Green has resigned, Jacksonville Bancorp Inc. said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday.

By Mark Basch
June 26, 2013

Florida economy improving despite labor-force dropouts, report says

While Florida’s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in nearly five years, a report by the Legislature’s economic research arm says the labor market is still feeling the impact of potential workers who have dropped out of the labor force.

By Mark Basch
June 24, 2013

Fidelity offers more cash, less stock, to LPS shareholders

It didn't take long for Fidelity National Financial Inc. to alter its $2.9 billion proposal to buy Lender Processing Services Inc.

By Mark Basch
June 24, 2013

Jacksonville unemployment, jobs grew in May

Jacksonville’s unemployment rate inched higher in May, as more people started looking for work, but jobs continued to grow in Northeast Florida.

By Mark Basch
June 21, 2013

Frankland resigning from Atlantic Coast Financial

After a buyout proposal was rejected by shareholders last week, Atlantic Coast Financial Corp. said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday that President and CEO G. Thomas Frankland is resigning.

By Mark Basch
June 19, 2013

Jay Stein to remain Stein Mart CEO

When Stein Mart Inc.'s previous chief executive resigned in 2011, Chairman Jay Stein took over as CEO on an interim basis as the company launched a search for a replacement.

By Mark Basch
June 17, 2013

Media have an important role at shareholder meetings

I guarantee you I've been to more shareholders' meetings than you have. I've never attended as a shareholder. I don't own any stock in an individual company.

By Mark Basch
June 17, 2013

Realtors' economist: Job growth 'barely' keeping pace

Real estate professionals may look at a lot of housing data to gauge the outlook for the market, but as far as John Tuccillo is concerned, there is one economic indicator that trumps them all.

By Mark Basch
June 12, 2013

Shareholders reject Atlantic Coast buyout

Shareholders of Atlantic Coast Financial Corp. on Tuesday rejected a proposed buyout offer from a South Florida bank holding company, sending the Jacksonville-based bank "back to the drawing board" in its efforts to raise additional capital.

By Mark Basch
June 11, 2013

Shareholders reject Atlantic Coast buyout offer, CEO says 'back to the drawing board'

By Mark Basch
June 10, 2013

Stein Mart immune from 'showrooming' trend, analyst says

Pity the poor retail store.You know you've done it. You see something you like in the store and instead of buying it, you immediately pull out your smartphone to see if you can find a better price somewhere else.

By Mark Basch
June 4, 2013

UNF economist: 'Beginning of better news'

University of North Florida economist Paul Mason admits he leans toward pessimism, so it is noteworthy that he has a brighter outlook these days on conditions in Northeast Florida.

By Mark Basch
June 3, 2013

Investors speculating on higher offer for LPS

We probably haven't heard the last word on Fidelity National Financial Inc.'s $33.25-a-share agreement to buy Lender Processing Services Inc.

By Mark Basch
May 31, 2013

Bi-Lo's Onstead expects Delhaize deal to add Jacksonville jobs

Bi-Lo Holding LLC has cut about $100 million in labor costs since acquiring Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. in March 2012, but a deal announced this week to buy three other supermarket chains from the Delhaize Group could result in more jobs in Jacksonville, Bi-Lo President and CEO Randall Onstead said Thursday.

By Mark Basch
May 30, 2013

FIS ranks No. 1 in industry: Ready to help FNF-LPS merger 'any way we can'

With its neighbors on Riverside Avenue grabbing all the headlines in recent days, it may be easy to overlook Fidelity National Information Services Inc.

By Mark Basch
May 29, 2013

Fidelity National finds 'synergies' in $2.9B deal to buy LPS

Fidelity National Financial Inc. isn't saying exactly when it decided to look into reacquiring Lender Processing Services Inc., a business it had owned from 2003 through 2006.

By Mark Basch
May 29, 2013

Bi-Lo to buy Sweetbay, Harveys and Reid's

Bi-Lo Holdings LLC, which operates the Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo supermarket chains, announced an agreement Tuesday to buy 165 Southeastern grocery stores under three brand names from the Delhaize Group.

By Mark Basch
May 28, 2013

Bi-Lo to buy Sweetbay, Harveys and Reid's

Bi-Lo Holdings LLC, which operates the Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo supermarket chains, announced an agreement Tuesday to buy 165 Southeastern grocery stores under three brand names from the Delhaize Group.

By Mark Basch
May 28, 2013

Fidelity National announces $2.9B deal to buy LPS

Fidelity National Financial Inc. announced a $2.9 billion deal this morning to buy Lender Processing Services Inc., reuniting the two Jacksonville-based companies that share headquarters space at an office complex along Riverside Avenue.

By Mark Basch
May 27, 2013

Blue Water Ventures the latest local company to go public

It's always sad when a local public company disappears from the market after a buyout or other event.

By Mark Basch
May 24, 2013

EverBank's year 'transformative'

A year after completing its initial public offering, Jacksonville-based EverBank Financial Corp. held its first annual shareholders meeting Thursday, giving Chairman and CEO Robert Clements a chance to tout a number of accomplishments in the bank's past 12 months as a public company.

By Mark Basch
May 24, 2013

LPS sale to FNF? No discussion at annual meeting

Lender Processing Services Inc.'s annual shareholders meeting Thursday morning opened on an unusual note.

By Mark Basch
May 23, 2013

FNF in rumored talks to buy LPS

Lender Processing Services Inc., which was spun off as a separate public company in 2008, may be coming back under the Fidelity National Financial Inc. umbrella again.

By Mark Basch
May 22, 2013

North American Food & Beverage files Chapter 11

A publicly traded Jacksonville-based liquor distribution company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization last month, saying that a lawsuit by a former officer and director caused a severe drop in its business.

By Mark Basch
May 20, 2013

Chase considers Jacksonville an 'up-and-coming city'

JPMorgan Chase & Co. became a major force in the Jacksonville economy when it acquired the failed Washington Mutual in 2008.

By Mark Basch
May 20, 2013

Global Axcess report shows a struggling company

Global Axcess Corp. has seemingly operated under a self-imposed news blackout since the company announced last fall that it was up for sale.

By Mark Basch
May 16, 2013

Body Central starts fresh in 2013

After a very disappointing year in 2012, Body Central Corp. is putting the past behind it and starting fresh in 2013.

By Mark Basch
May 13, 2013

ParkerVision seeks more than $350 million in Qualcomm lawsuit

ParkerVision Inc. has staked a big part of its future on a patent infringement lawsuit against Qualcomm Inc., alleging that Qualcomm has used wireless technology developed by ParkerVision in its products.

By Mark Basch
May 9, 2013

Web.com growth far higher than expected: CEO David Brown says he expects to add more jobs

In an early 2012 news conference, Web.com Group Inc. joined with a group of City and JAX Chamber officials to announce the creation of 200 additional jobs at the company’s Southside Jacksonville headquarters.

By Mark Basch
May 8, 2013

Jacksonville-based Regency Centers emerges 'better, stronger'

Joan and Martin Stein Sr. started the shopping center development company that became Regency Centers Corp. in 1963 and over the last half-century, the Jacksonville-based company has weathered a lot of economic storms.

By Mark Basch
May 6, 2013

Jacksonville area banks rapidly disappearing

When I moved to town a quarter century ago to cover the local banking industry, Jacksonville was considered the banking capital of Florida.

By Mark Basch
May 2, 2013

Firehouse Subs' philanthropy correlates to better business

Hopefully, your company engages in charitable causes for altruistic reasons.But if that isn't enough, there are tangible financial benefits to philanthropy, according to Don Fox, chief executive officer of Firehouse of America LLC, the Jacksonville-based company that operates the Firehouse Subs restaurant chain.

By Mark Basch
May 1, 2013

Jeb Bush, education leaders push for improved schools

Jacksonville is a city committed to improving its school system and there's no time to lose, according to education leaders gathered Tuesday for the Champions for Education conference at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse.

By Mark Basch
April 24, 2013

Jacksonville CEO compensation rises 31% in 2012

The 2012 performance of Jacksonville public companies did not translate into big financial gains for those companies' CEOs. However, many of those chief executives were rewarded for their companies' long-term performance.

By Mark Basch
April 23, 2013

Atlantic Coast Financial amends deal, increasing stockholders' cash

Facing opposition from some shareholders over the proposed deal, Atlantic Coast Financial Corp. on Tuesday announced an amendment to its merger agreement with Bond Street Holdings Inc. that could give shareholders more cash.

By Mark Basch
April 22, 2013

Analysts see no surprises in CSX Corp. report

While CSX Corp. Chief Executive Michael Ward said there were no surprises for Wall Street in the company's first-quarter earnings report last week, investors seemed to be disappointed.

By Mark Basch
April 22, 2013

Heritage Bank closed, acquired by FirstAtlantic Bank

The financially troubled Heritage Bank of North Florida was closed by regulators Friday, with its $108.5 million in deposits acquired by Jacksonville-based FirstAtlantic Bank.

By Mark Basch
April 19, 2013

Fed's Oakley sees 'definite upside' to U.S. economy

Just like the previous couple of years, officials of the Federal Reserve Board entered 2013 with "a decent level of optimism and confidence," according to Chris Oakley, vice president and regional executive of the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

By Mark Basch
April 18, 2013

CSX expects flat earnings as coal shipments decline

CSX Corp. reported higher first-quarter earnings but because of continued declines in coal shipments, the Jacksonville-based railroad company expects earnings for all of 2013 to be flat or slightly lower than last year.

By Mark Basch
April 15, 2013

Australian investor opposes Atlantic Coast Financial merger

An Australian investment firm has acquired nearly 10 percent of Atlantic Coast Financial Corp.'s stock and plans to vote against the banking firm's proposed merger with a South Florida bank, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week.

By Mark Basch
April 11, 2013

Marvin Edwards to receive French Legion of Honor

Marvin Edwards has spent a good part of his life protecting the interests of Jacksonville taxpayers, holding government officials accountable for their spending on projects such as the Downtown Skyway and the Jacksonville Jaguars' football stadium.

By Mark Basch
April 8, 2013

Fortegra stock drops on disappointing earnings

Fortegra Financial Corp.'s stock posted the second-biggest drop on the New York Stock Exchange last Monday after the Jacksonville-based insurance services firm reported disappointing fourth-quarter earnings.

By Mark Basch
April 4, 2013

Jacksonville companies had mixed results in 2012

Jacksonville's publicly traded companies generally produced strong returns for their shareholders in fiscal 2012, but the 19 companies recorded a mixed bag of earnings and very little revenue growth.

By Mark Basch
April 3, 2013

Shad Khan's $3M loan supports purchase of Laura Street Trio, Barnett Bank Building

A development company led by Stephen Atkins, with financing from a company led by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan, has bought the old Barnett Bank Building and the three Laura Street Trio buildings in Downtown Jacksonville, according to City records.

By Mark Basch
April 2, 2013

Shad Khan finances $3M deal to buy Laura Street Trio

By Mark Basch
April 1, 2013

Stakool status unclear after series of announcements

At the beginning of this year, it appeared that relatively unknown Jacksonville-based company Stakool Inc. was trying to raise its profile as it started an investor relations push.

By Mark Basch
April 1, 2013

Jacksonville unemployment rate drops to 7 percent

Jacksonville's unemployment rate fell in February to its lowest level in more than four years, as the labor market continued to show improvement.

By Mark Basch
March 28, 2013

Report shows Florida unemployment rate drop

Florida's unemployment rate in January, as reported last week by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, dropped to its lowest level in more than four years.

By Mark Basch
March 27, 2013

Miller, McManamon, Levinson share entrepreneurial stories with Economic Roundtable

As an Olympic gymnast, Shannon Miller was pretty much on her own. She was part of a U.S. team but in reality, Miller was working all by herself when she was out on the balance beam or in another event.

By Mark Basch
March 25, 2013

Fed objects to BB&T capital plan

It's really not as dire as it sounded in some news reports, but the Federal Reserve Board rejected BB&T Corp.'s capital plan.

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