New Orleans City Business

2004 Year in Review: 2004's Economic Performance Surprises Experts

Encore, encore. 2004 had a tough act to follow but it came through with a mostly bravura economic performance.

La.-Based Ruth's Chris Steak House to Open Joint Operation with Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

Jimi Hendrix and Ruth Fertel sound mismatched but the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and Ruth's Chris Steak House are willing to bet the bank they're a pair of aces. This summer, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino will open a new gaming site in Biloxi, Miss., with a Ruth's Chris Steak House as its flagship restaurant.

Atlanta-Based Brand Consulting Firm Announces Top 10 Biggest Brand Blunders of 2004

Kelly O'Keefe, chairman and chief executive of Atlanta-based brand consulting firm Emergence Inc., has announced the Top 10 Biggest Brand Blunders of 2004. You sometimes have to wonder if companies and organizations even take the time to think of how certain moves might affect their business, O'Keefe said when announcing his Top 10. Building a brand can't be done overnight, but as evidenced again this year, brands can be destroyed in an instant.

New Orleans-Based Zea Restaurants Pokes Fun at Major Competitors

New Orleans-based Zea Restaurants is launching a new advertising campaign after complaints by chain restaurant heavyweights Ruby Tuesday Inc. and TGI Friday's Inc. about jabs in a previous Zea campaign. The chains have threatened to sue Zea over an advertising campaign created for the six-restaurant chain by Mobile, Ala.-based Sullivan-St. Clair Marketing and Public Relations. In one radio spot, an announcer says, Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday, playing off the lyrics of the Rolling Stones song. Anoth...

Cnn May Tap Tulane Univ. For 25th Celebration

A Tulane University professor and his students have been asked to help CNN celebrate its 25th birthday. Peter Ricchiuti, a clinical professor of finance, said his class could appear on national television in early January.

Tulane Univ.'S Hancock Horizon Burkenroad Fund Performance Impressive to Analysts

The Hancock Horizon Burkenroad Fund compiled with help from Tulane University business students has been more than a good intellectual investment. The mutual fund composed of regional small business stocks has proven to be a good financial investment, too, according to officials celebrating the fund's third birthday this week. The fund has increased in value more than 60 percent since it was established Dec. 31, 2001.

Court Rulings Punish La.'S Former Oil Legacy Site Land Owners

Oil and gas industry officials say the Corbello versus Iowa Production Co. case opened the floodgates for legacy site lawsuits in Louisiana. In that case, landowner William B. Corbello was awarded a $33 million judgment against a group of drillers including Houston- based Shell Oil. The judgment grew to nearly $100 million following a 12-year journey through the legal process and helped spawn many similar Louisiana lawsuits.

La. Wages Not Keeping Pace with Job Growth

Analysts say the nation's current economic recovery began in November 2001, noting job growth and steady increases in the gross domestic product. The 5.4 percent national unemployment rate in November is the lowest the nation has experienced since October 2001. The GDP - the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States - has grown in each of the past seven quarters and 11 of the past 12 dating to October 2001.

2004 Year in Review: Officials Rethink Storm Plans After Ivan Barely Misses N.O.

Weather forecasters were not exactly sure where Hurricane Ivan would make landfall as it meandered its way into the Gulf of Mexico on Sept. 14. But as the mouth of the Mississippi River became a likely target for Ivan, thousands of New Orleans-area residents were certain of where they were heading - out of town.

2004 Year in Review: Majority of Louisiana's Congressional Delegation Opposes Cafta

The debate over the Central American Free Trade Agreement and its potential effects on Louisiana continued to be the centerpiece of state politics this year. CAFTA is a proposed treaty that would remove trade barriers between the United States, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

2004 Year in Review: Dust Still Settling From Summer Sweep of French Quarter Bars

A surprise sweep of French Quarter restaurants and bars shook up the neighborhood, enraging business owners and residents and producing the reassignment of a controversial New Orleans Police Department commander. NOPD began a surprise, seven-day sweep of French Quarter establishments June 2 to enforce city permits and licenses. Of the 100 restaurants and bars inspected, 56 were in violation and 16 were temporarily shut down.

2004 Year in Review: N.O. Saints, State to Continue Negotiations On Superdome Renovations

The New Orleans Saints and the state of Louisiana end 2004 in the same position they began it - at odds over the state's use of public funds for the team. The Saints say they need state support and either a new stadium or renovated Superdome to remain financially competitive with other National Football League franchises.

2004 Year in Review: Filmmakers Keep Rolling Into La. To Cash in On Tax Incentives

2004 is the year Louisiana officially became Hollywood South. Two years after the Legislature passed the Louisiana Motion Picture Incentive Act, production companies large and small flocked to the state to take advantage of the tax breaks.

2004 Year in Review: Lsu Brings National Title, $250m to Louisiana

Louisiana State University was crowned Bowl Championship Series national champions after handing Oklahoma University a 21-14 loss in the 2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl. But LSU wasn't the only one to come out on top.

2004 Year in Review: Port of N.O. Triples Its Capacity for Growing Cruise Ship Industry

The Port of New Orleans plans to triple the size of its current cruise operations. The cruise industry in New Orleans is a proven economic development engine, said Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. We are committed to making the investments to grow cruise capacity because new terminals translate directly to more visitors and more economic activity.

2004 Year in Review: Bid Rulings Continue to Delay N.O. Convention Center Expansion

An attorney for the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center says a court ruling before the New Year could kick-start construction of the long-delayed 1.6 million square-foot expansion. Phase IV of the convention center's building plan has been delayed by legal wrangling over awarding construction contracts.

2004 Year in Review: Law Bolsters N.O. Superintendent, Deflates School Board's Power

It is safe to say New Orleanians tracked House Bill 1659 as well as any piece of state legislation this year. Once passed, the bill armed Superintendent Anthony Amato of New Orleans Public Schools with more power to award contracts by eliminating a bureaucracy that took as long as eight months to grant approvals. It also reduced the School Board hiring power by giving more control to Amato.

2004 Year in Review: U of N.O. Taking Over Second School After Trial Run at Capdau Middle

The University of New Orleans boldly offered to transform one of the failing New Orleans public schools this year through an unprecedented takeover. UNO took over management of Pierre A. Capdau Middle School, which the state had labeled academically unacceptable four consecutive years, the benchmark for schools to be taken out of the hands of the local school board and run by a qualified applicant.

2004 Year in Review: $55 Per Barrel Oil Prices Fail to Curb Demand

Only two months after an oil industry expert predicted oil prices would rise to $100 a barrel, the opposite is happening. Oil prices peaked at $55.17 per barrel in late October. At the time, the commodity increase seemed poised to continue.

2004 Year in Review: Louisiana Loses Premier Oil Man, Education Advocate Pat Taylor

New Orleans lost a maverick oilman and one of its most active higher education proponents in 2004. Patrick F. Taylor, founder, president and sole owner of Taylor Energy Co., died Nov. 5 of a heart infection at Touro Infirmary. He was 67.