Volume 2, Issue 2
Table of Contents

Cover Story:
Banking On Change
Rockland’s financial institutions adapt to a changing county’s needs

Feature Story:
Give Him Credit
Palisades Federal Credit Union CEO/President Mark Welshoff just wants to save you money

RBD Round-Up:
What's Your Opinion?
County Exec Signs Ban on Smoking in Cars. Do You Agree?

DEPARTMENTS:

Economic Round-Up
• The Smart Investor
Your portfolio is doing great, so why rebalance?

Retail Round-Up
• Delinquencies Decline
Credit card loan delinquencies decline In first quarter of 2007
• New In Town
Businesses opening or expanding in Rockland and Orange Counties
• Why Are The Chains Everywhere?
Retailers who reinvent themselves stay successful

Invest in Your Community
• Red Cross Honors Volunteers
Two award recipients from Rockland County
• Dress Success
Local dentist helps disadvantaged woman get her life together
• School Supplies Drive
Rockland County Board of Realtors annual drive is here
• Non-Profit Calendar

Dedicated Section:
Rockland Business Association:

The President’s Desk
Time To Celebrate!
RBA marks 40 years of community involvement

Call For Memories
RBA asks for your help to celebrate its 40th anniversary

RBA Happenings
• Committee and Council Info
• Calendar of Events
• New Members

Slow job growth, falling home prices and a weakened economy has caused credit card delinquencies to reach levels not seen in nearly six years, but there’s good news. Credit card loan delinquencies declined the first quarter of 2007, according to the American Bankers Association's Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin. Late payments on credit cards were 4.41 percent of all accounts in the first quarter, compared to 4.56 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 (seasonally adjusted).

"The good news is that credit card delinquencies fell during the first quarter of 2007," said James Chessen, ABA's chief economist. "The improvement in credit card late payments is somewhat remarkable, given that the economy was not operating on all cylinders."

Chessen explained that slow job growth, falling home prices and weak economic growth helped to worsen consumers' financial position overall.

"There are still signs of consumer financial distress, which will continue throughout most of this year as the worst of the housing problem works its way through the economy," Chessen said referring to the sharp increase in the composite ratio, particularly items directly related to housing.
The number of delinquent accounts in the composite ratio, which tracks eight closed-end installment loan categories, increased to 2.42 percent from 2.23 percent. This ratio has trended upward for the past year, reaching levels not seen since 2001. "The increase in the first quarter of 2007 was driven in part by double-digit increases in home-equity loan delinquencies," Chessen said.

"It's important that consumers and business owners who are having trouble meeting their financial obligations contact their lender immediately," Chessen said. "Lenders are willing to work with borrowers during periods of financial stress, but ignoring the problem only makes the situation much worse."

For those who are having trouble paying down their debts, ABA advises consumers to take action to solve debt problems with the following tips.

• Talk with your creditors — hiding or avoiding them only makes the problem worse
• Don't make more purchases — more charges may feel good but do more harm than good
• Avoid bankruptcy — it's a short-term solution with long-term consequences
• Contact Consumer Credit Counseling Services for assistance at 1-800-388-2227 RBD

New In Town:

Rockland County
Millennium Pipeline Co. LLC of Pearl River has begun construction of its underground pipeline that will stretch 182 miles across the Lower Hudson Valley into the Southern Tier. The $1 billion project will be constructed over a two year period, with some restoration work extending into 2009, and when completed the pipeline will bring more natural gas from Canada into New York. Pipeline customers include Consolidated Edison of New York, KeySpan Energy Delivery Long Island, Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation and Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corporation. No job numbers were available.

Titanic Express, a new natural food deli and store opened earlier this year in Stony Point. Look for organic pizza and natural juices. Also in Stony Point, Lynch’s has been revamped and renovated and is now open as Sheeran’s Restaurant and Pub. It’s authentically Irish, from the dark wood bar to the Shepard’s pie.

Orange County
Silver State Helicopters, based in Las Vegas, plans to open its 34th flight training and charter service at Stewart International Airport. The company will create about 35 to 40 jobs in about four months.

Bellagio Salon celebrated its grand-opening on May 12, 2007. The salon will serve women and men and will specialize in coloring and hair weaving. No job numbers were announced.

Orange Regional Medical Center was recently granted approval to build a $335 million hospital in the Town of Wallkill. The State Health Department recently approved plans for the 621,000 square-foot, 374-bed hospital after a seven month review. This will be the first hospital built in the State in 30 years and also the largest hospital between Albany and the Tappan Zee Bridge. Construction will begin at the end of the year. RBD

This information was provided by the New York State Department of Labor Statistics and staff.

Wonder why Target, Wal-Mart, and Starbucks Are Everywhere?
Retailers, like these, who reinvent themselves, stay successful, says a new report By Adrian Burke

Wal-Mart wants to open a new outlet on Route 59; CVS is practically located on every major intersection in the county; and Starbucks? Vente and Grande are now practically househbold words. Ever wonder why some retailers always seem to be on the move and expanding?

The most successful retailers in the industry are constantly reinventing themselves to stay one step ahead of the competition, says the National Retail Federation (NRF). NRF’s monthly magazine STORES just came out with its Top 100 Ranking of American retailers—and the best have something in common.

“It’s not enough anymore for retailers to carry the same merchandise as their competition,” says Susan Reda, Executive Editor of STORES. “From their own brand of food to an exclusive line of tools, today’s retailers will get ahead by differentiating their merchandise and offering products that consumers cannot find anywhere else.”

Arkansas-based Wal-Mart again tops the list as the nation's largest retailer with 2006 sales of $348.65 billion, an 11.7 percent increase over the previous year. In fact, Wal-Mart’s 2006 revenues were greater than those of the next five largest U.S. retailers combined. According to the article, Wal-Mart has remained successful by introducing a line of organic options and focusing on ways to conserve energy and materials.

Home Depot and Kroger retained their second and third spots, respectively, though both companies saw their share of struggles in 2006. Home Depot, which managed to see an impressive gain of 11.4 percent in revenues in 2006 despite the departure of its CEO Robert Nardelli, has been striving to change its corporate culture and maintain strong sales in the face of a current housing slump. Costco, which advanced a notch to the number four slot, is also pushing the envelope by increasing its private label offerings with a new line of food conceptualized by Martha Stewart. Costco's sales increased 13.6 percent in 2006 to $60.15 billion. Mass merchants Target (#5) and Sears (#6) are both attempting to differentiate themselves but are moving in different directions.

Target, which advanced a spot in the ranking with a sales increase of 13.1 percent to $59.49 billion, will continue to add more private label food items in its stores. Sears, which dropped two spots despite a 7.9 percent sales increase to $53.01 billion, will be rolling out its Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances to more Kmart locations this year.

Drug stores are also represented in the top ten retail companies. Walgreen, (#7) is aggressively adding free-standing store locations and focusing on front-end merchandise. CVS, (#9) acquired Caremark Rx and has promised to “transform the way pharmacy services are delivered.”

Restaurants as Retailers
The most noticeable change to this year’s Top 100 is the inclusion of restaurant companies. The ranking, based on corporate revenues rather than system-wide sales, added six restaurants to the list including: McDonald’s (#16), Yum! Brands (#35), Starbucks (#42), Darden Restaurants (#53), Brinker International (#73), and Outback Steakhouse (#80).

“Consumers have changed, but their needs have not,” said Reda. “Americans still have to put dinner on the table every night, but now they are looking to restaurants to fill a larger portion of that need rather than relying exclusively on traditional supermarkets. Successful restaurants understand how to cater to today’s consumers, and there are some ideas they’re trying that traditional retailers may want to borrow.” RBD