Beige Book Report from the Federal Reserve:

Consumer spending was softer in nearly all Districts. Retail sales were reported to have weakened or declined in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Kansas City; Dallas and San Francisco cited weak or sluggish sales; and Boston and New York indicated that sales were mixed and moderately below plan sales, respectively.

Philadelphia indicated concerns over restrictions in access to credit were limiting future capital expenditures for some manufacturers. In contrast, Kansas City and Chicago reported that capital spending for producers of heavy machinery continued to be strong.

Minneapolis reported continued strength in professional business services, while demand for professional business services was down in San Francisco and Philadelphia.

Philadelphia indicated concerns over restrictions in access to credit were limiting future capital expenditures for some manufacturers. In contrast, Kansas City and Chicago reported that capital spending for producers of heavy machinery continued to be strong.

Staffing firms reported lower demand for their services in Richmond, Philadelphia, and Chicago, but noted steady demand in Dallas.

Atlanta reported that production remained at a low level, while Minneapolis described conditions as mixed and Philadelphia noted a slight increase in activity.

Kansas City, Richmond, Philadelphia and Chicago reported continued strength in exports.

Housing activity was reported to have moved lower in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Dallas, and San Francisco.

the inventory of unsold homes was reported to have declined in areas of the Boston and Atlanta Districts as well as in Philadelphia and Cleveland.

Philadelphia,Dallas, and San Francisco noted increased discounting by retailers;

THIRD DISTRICT – PHILADELPHIA (Overview)
Business conditions in most sectors in the Third District softened from August to September. Manufacturers, on balance, reported a very slight increase in new orders but a steady rate of shipments. Retailers generally posted month-to-month and year-to-year declines in sales, as did motor vehicle dealers. Bank loan volume has been nearly flat in recent weeks. Residential real estate sales and construction activity continued to fall. Commercial real estate leasing and construction activity have slowed. Services sector firms generally indicated a slowing pace of business. Reports of increases in input costs and output prices were somewhat less widespread among business contacts in September than they were in August. The outlook among Third District businesses is generally not positive. Although manufacturers surveyed in early September forecast increases in business activity during the next six months, contacts in other sectors do not expect improvement. Retailers expect a difficult holiday shopping period. Auto dealers see no signs that sales will pick up soon. Bankers anticipate slow loan growth and weakening credit quality into next year. Residential real estate agents and home builders expect sales to continue to remain slow until the latter half of 2009. Contacts in commercial real estate expect leasing and construction activity to decline during the next several quarters.

Everyone seems to want to give Mr. Obama advice about how to run his Presidency. Here is another. The folks at Our Public Service. org have created a valuable tool if they follow it up with the same polling in a year, or four. They found, with the release of their latest poll, that the people of the United States do not, in general like the Government of the United States.

Since they are advocating public service, they spin this as an opportunity for President Obama, and it is. It will be interesting to see what he does with his vast store of goodwill and youthful energy. I would argue that the same results probably would be found if the poll were held in Delaware and about Delaware’s Government.

Here are the main findings of a new poll from “The Partnership for Public Service” and the Gallup Organization.

Data from the report itself is damning indeed.

How do you feel about: Positive: Negative: Unsure:
Men and women in military 90% 6% 4%
U.S. military 79 17 4
Local government elected officials 46 47 7
State government elected officials 40 56 4
Men and women in federal government 37 52 11
Departments/agencies of federal government 27 66 7
Current U.S. President/administration 24 75 1
Elected members of Congress 22 74 4

The Delaware Division of Revenue has posted the latest quarterly “delinquent taxpayer lists”. There is one list for individuals and another for businesses. It is amazing that there are so many individuals names on the businesses list in a place like Delaware (Incorporation Capital of the World). Well, it is too late for them now.

To meet the criteria for posting to the Delaware Delinquent Taxpayers site, individuals and businesses must have already received a judgment for unpaid taxes. They must then be notified by mail that their name qualifies to be posted online and are given 60 days to respond. The names of those who enter into a payment agreement with the Division of Revenue or pay their balance in full prior to posting are not published or if after posting are removed from the Delinquent Taxpayers list. Taxpayers who have filed for bankruptcy protection or have incurred a liability that is being appealed are excluded from the published list until their case has been resolved.

Here are the listings for those who maintain addresses inside Delaware(The last number in the list is the amount owed):
Blue Hen Kitchens 1707 Christiana Mdws Bear DE 19701-2833 45,591.83
Sartin Ronnie L 253 Emelia Dr Bear DE 19701-1703 38,447.20
Delmar Homes Inc 17286 Apple Tree Rd Bridgeville DE 19933-3927 727,692.99
Ron Jon Catchers Crew Inc 18494 Oak Rd Bridgeville DE 19933-4014 107,494.49
Creed Wayne E 4962 Willow Grove Rd Camden DE 19934-2808 39,799.68
Zeigler Sylvia L 175 Honeywell Dr Claymont DE 19703-1319 435,875.63
Masoncraft Inc Rr 1 Box 1563 Clayton DE 19938-9522 73,790.57
Video Palace 100 Sunset Strip Dagsboro DE 19939-9582 67,852.64
Proclean Inc Po Box 638 Delaware City DE 19706-0638 90,371.47
Arrowhead Management Svcs Inc 4020 Seven Hickories Rd Dover DE 19904-1141 355,028.64
Melvin Mark W 1648 N Little Creek Rd Dover DE 19901-4706 243,405.57
Workable Solutions Inc 25 Mifflin Rd Dover DE 19904-7741 176,867.33
J Fran Dell Inc 99 Lebanon Rd Dover DE 19901-6249 112,071.60
Myron Smith Rr 4 Dover DE 19901-9804 77,950.99
Kohout George 2954 Pearsons Corner Rd Dover DE 19904-5124 76,341.57
Robinson Thomas 2860 N Dupont Hwy Dover DE 19901-8783 40,309.01
Charles Stelljes 1522 Forrest Ave Dover DE 19904-3329 39,603.96
Flame Inc Lounge 1035 Walker Rd Dover DE 19904-6572 39,093.09
Cartwright Concrete Construction Po Box 453 Greenwood DE 19950-0453 136,577.69
Wenske Jerry Dean 5190 Halltown Rd Hartly DE 19953-2533 93,389.92
Gianakis Nicholas Estate 49 Pierson Dr Hockessin DE 19707-1031 121,046.55
A M C Development Inc 2344 Brackenville Rd Hockessin DE 19707-9306 63,835.89
Ais Risk Management Service Inc 5 Heather Ct Hockessin DE 19707-9185 45,604.39
D A Conomon Inc 503 Hemingway Dr Hockessin DE 19707-1117 41,585.20
Diamond Motel 30702 Sussex Hwy Laurel DE 19956-4424 55,654.67
Donald L Mattia Inc 18354 Coastal Hwy Lewes DE 19958-4772 109,395.67
Career Exploration Program Inc 17252 N Village Main Blvd Ste 9 Lewes DE 19958-6292 61,030.72
J & G Corporation Rr 1 Box 325 Lincoln DE 19960-9739 240,576.70
Sentry Elevator Inc Po Box 81 Middletown DE 19709-0081 86,141.81
Martinez Manuel Lone Manor 77 Cole Blvd Middletown DE 19709-1299 77,938.12
Duphily Ernest F Jr 24500 Hollyville Rd Millsboro DE 19966-2600 42,992.12
Caras Richard 24708 Black Dr Milton DE 19968-2572 67,922.43
Commercial Roofing Of De Inc 24 Mowery Rd New Castle DE 19720-1551 149,891.25
Diamond State Security Agncy Inc 229 Hillview Ave Ste C New Castle DE 19720-2204 129,933.92
Lube Bay Inc 308 Liberty Blvd New Castle DE 19720-1127 54,696.93
Burtell Ronald Christiana Acres 49 Meadow Rd New Castle DE 19720-1513 43,508.21
Slm Construction Inc 108 Central Ave New Castle DE 19720-5915 37,978.30
White Oak Inc 2044 Sunset Lake Rd Newark DE 19702-2630 515,331.04
Hartman & Associates, Inc 560 Peoples Plz Newark DE 19702-4798 386,894.45
Michael Lepore Contractors Inc Po Box 9669 Newark DE 19714-9669 191,064.20
Triangle Electrical Service Co 79 Albe Dr Ste 0 Newark DE 19702-1346 173,907.97
White Oak Builders Inc 2044 Sunset Lake Rd Newark DE 19702-2630 110,014.73
Innovated Mortgage Serv Of De Suite 22 22 Peddlers Row Ste 22 Newark DE 19702-1525 95,178.91
Mayjoy Enterprises Llc 44 Hidden Valley Dr Newark DE 19711-7466 72,058.45
D C Medical Enterprises Inc 560 Peoples Plz # 144 Newark DE 19702-4798 66,409.35
Rembecki James E 4 Capano Dr Apt B6 Newark DE 19702-1815 51,953.60
Orion Construction Co 14 Candate Ct Newark DE 19711-5903 44,473.84
Dazzle Hair Studio Inc Co Karen Fortner Po Box 9531 Newark DE 19714-9531 42,922.21
Eshowings Inc 200 Lake Dr Ste A Newark DE 19702-3355 40,931.55
Architectural Specialties Inc 5 Davis Dr Newark DE 19702-2897 36,325.44
Corazza Inc Po Box 700 Odessa DE 19730-0700 64,061.38
Dinkoski Toby J 42 Pine Valley Mhp Rehoboth Beach DE 19971 102,806.21
Mcguigan Tim Piney Glade 115 Sylvan Dr Rehoboth Beach DE 19971-9651 43,815.01
First State Staffing Plus Inc Rr 1 Box 344-G Seaford DE 19973-9801 314,490.51
Chesapeake Carriers Inc 518 Bridgeville Hwy Seaford DE 19973-1522 215,517.22
Jones Cedric 24724 Nichols St Seaford DE 19973-7309 53,538.16
Caruso Nicholas 7031 Gum Branch Rd Seaford DE 19973-3056 40,239.74
Halttunen David Robert 5803 Woodland Ferry Rd Seaford DE 19973-3037 39,231.65
English Kevin 26805 Line Rd Seaford DE 19973-4636 35,077.45
Hudson William B Rr 2 Box 86d Selbyville DE 19975-9624 72,063.84
Vaughn J Hudson Jr Rt 1 Box 331-B Selbyville DE 19975-6001 44,334.67
Womer Marc J 3 W Fenwick Sta Selbyville DE 19975-9540 37,275.52
D & E Builders Inc 342 W Glenwood Ave Smyrna DE 19977-1064 70,957.27
Gillespie Associates Inc 87 Sorrell Cir Smyrna DE 19977-4318 45,085.55
Mid-Atlantic Mechanical Inc Po Box 574 Townsend DE 19734-0574 47,465.72
Red Barn Inc Po Box 5937 Wilmington DE 19808-0937 178,997.01
De Francesco & Sons General 13 E Saint Joseph Ct Wilmington DE 19808-4038 178,753.34
Shellys Of Delaware Inc 610 W 8th St Wilmington DE 19801-1450 158,779.42
Shadetree Automotive Inc 3721 Old Capitol Trl Wilmington DE 19808-6001 123,937.00
Hardcore Composites Operating Ll Scott Hemphill 517 Riblett Ln Wilmington DE 19808-1305 117,235.78
Brandywine Prosthetic-Orthotic 21 Falcon Ct Wilmington DE 19808-4301 108,484.76
Charles E Hill Md 1300 Delaware Ave Wilmington DE 19806-4727 75,735.67
J & A Autorama Inc 4001 N Washington St Wilmington DE 19802-2149 57,286.46
Shamers David S Esq 401 Lore Ave # 15b Wilmington DE 19809-3231 46,925.05
Collins Mabel Estate 2601 N Monroe St Wilmington DE 19802-3449 42,557.70
Kenny Cooper Md 1100 Gilpin Ave Wilmington DE 19806-3215 40,789.46
Hoffman Stephen J 201 5th Ave Wilmington DE 19805-4705 37,731.31
Reivers Inc 3800 Old Capitol Trl Wilmington DE 19808-5824 37,150.96
Stepping Fast Inc 18 W Mccaulley Ct Wilmington DE 19801-4040 37,145.79
Veterinary Hospital Staffing,Inc 4 Carpenter Plz Wilmington DE 19810-2049 35,590.28
Grey Fox Inc Po Box 2893 Wilmington DE 19805-0893 34,619.96
Cools Bus Service Inc 211 Lake Dr Wyoming DE 19934-1013 73,735.65

The DuPont Sales & Redeployment Center, located in Wilmington near the port, makes a wide variety of items available to the public. The items for sale have been removed from DuPont locations across the nation. Typical items include:

• Home and office furniture
• Industrial hardware and tools
• Computers and peripherals
• Laboratory and process equipment
• MRO and stores material

A visit today showed some interesting items to be for sale. The item taking up the most floor space is Corian sheets in 12 foot lengths.

There are a variety of colors and styles to choose from. There are also stacks of corian sinks available. Here is the most amazing part. The twelve foot sheets of Corian are just $70 and the sinks are $44!

The Corian has been used in art, kitchens and as desktops.

If you are looking for (industrial) art supplies, building supplies, lab supplies or office equipment and furniture, you owe it to yourself to visit the DuPont Sale. And remember, it is cash and carry.

DuPont Sales & Redeployment Center
1001 Lambsons Lane
New Castle, DE 19720

Hours of Operation: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday – 9:00 am–3:00 pm

Directions: From I-95 take I-295 North toward the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Exit Route 9 North (last exit before bridge). At the third traffic light (you will pass Bowlerama on the left), turn right on to Lambsons Lane. Travel about 1 mile. Once you pass the railroad crossing sign, look for the DuPont Sales & Redeployment Center on your right. Enter parking lot through the chain link fence and park in the marked spaces. Enter the building through the blue double doors.

The Small Business Administration has once again documented the outsized impact small businesses have on the economy. Small businesses get more patents per employee than large employers do and those patents are more valuable.

Before we move to the latest research, let’s look at the SBA numbers for Delaware in 2007;

Delaware’s 72,014 small businesses provide economic opportunities to diverse groups of people and bring innovative products and services to the marketplace.* This profile from the Office of Advocacy compiles the latest facts and figures on the status and role of small business in the state. (Note that a small business is defined here as one with fewer than 500 employees.)
• Delaware had 19,700 small employers in 2005, representing 93.5% of the state’s employers and 46.4% of its employment.
• The health care and social assistance industry was the state’s largest small business employer in 2005; retail trade was the largest overall employer.
• Small businesses created all of the state’s net new jobs from 2004 to 2005 (Table 2).

The latest research conducted by the SBA into patents and patent exploitation reveal an interesting picture of small business impact on the economy…

The authors created a database of 1,293 technology firms with 15 or more patents issued between 2002 and 2006. These firms are designated as innovative firms because of their high level of patent activity. Using this database, the authors analyze the relative strengths of small and large technology businesses, including information such as the industry and technology
within which the firm patents and the importance of the patent. The results demonstrate that small businesses that innovate are indeed special and that the technology they create helps define the cutting edge in a number of industries. The report presents a convincing case that small firms in emerging industries are one of the greatest engines of American economic growth.

The research indicates that not only do small firms – within the scope of the study – obtain more patents than large firms, they get more per employee, the smaller the firm. This is somewhat surprising, but the data indicate that the smaller the firm, the more patents per employee.

Not only that, but the patents the small firms obtained were more valuable than those obtained by larger firms across a number of metrics. The traditional metrics for impact were measured including;

• growth
• citation impact
• patent originality
• patent generality

These historically validated metrics correlate positively with increased…

• sales
• profits
• stock prices
• inventor awards

So the patents generated by small businesses are generally more important, groundbreaking and disruptive.

To put this research in perspective we can compare the size of IBM, the largest patent holding organization with the smaller firms studied in this research. IBM holds 34,700+ patents but employs over 395,000 people. That makes IBM approximately equal to 2700 average small firms.

Health care technology patents were the most prominent in this study. These firms go public at a much higher rate than their pears as well. Delaware, as we saw above, is a player in the health care industry at the large and small ends of the scale. Delaware is also a great place to incorporate your business. This combination is what makes Delaware a great place to start a tech firm. And if it is a health care tech firm, so much the better.

Too often, office purchases get done by habit and custom.  This can cost a small business serious amounts of money over the course of a year.  If the busy owner of a small business must also purchase office supplies, the chances are good that He or She cannot pay all the attention this decision deserves. 

Today we look at office paper and supplies that are usually purchased at an office supply superstore or on-line.  We will also suggest some alternatives to the traditional purchasing outlets.  We shopped the stores in and around Newark on the theory that prices would approximate the middle between rural, suburban and city prices.

Office Depot, located in the College Square Shopping Center has a bright and welcoming new store.  Tucked back in the far corner of the shopping center, this spot used to be a bar and restaurant.  Their weekly specials run from Thursday to Wednesday.  Currently they are pushing (surprise!) notebook computers, printers, cameras and office furniture.  These items are obviously high margin items for all of the stores we shopped.  There is another Office Depot located nearby on Rt. 4 on Geoffrey Drive – right in front of the Office Max! 

The Office Max store next to Robins Delaware Diamonds has almost no advertising in the windows and quite frankly, looks like it is closed.  This used to be a thriving office superstore, although it still has all sorts of computers and the widest array of office items in the test sample, it just feels like they do not get much business any more.  The store has not shrunk, but it feels like it.  The lighting is not good and our shoppers were not approached by a salesperson here. 

The Staples store in Chestnut Hill Plaza on Rt. 4 is large and bustling even in the middle of the afternoon.  This shopping center is undergoing some changes and is not upscale or easily accessable.  There is a large vacancy next to the Staples store on the far right corner.  Staples staff did not greet us right away, but did offer help when we were leaving.  Staples is really pushing the printing, copying and personalization services it offers for the holidays.  They will, for example, create a personalized calendar from your pictures right on the premises for $12.99.  They also have a recycling bin for the plastic bags they use located right by the exit doors, a nice touch.

The online option we tested was Quill.  They have been around for a long time and offer free shipping on most orders over $45.  Our testers have personal experience with Quill and their customer service – while necessarily differnt from the brick and mortar stores – has always been top notch.  They will even surprise you sometimes by putting cookies in your order for no charge

Below is our shoppers matrix for a wide range of papers, including recycled paper for those who wish to integrate green practices in office buying decisions.  Paper prices are by the case or ream – where case prices are not available.  The most expensive paper we recorded in this class (Office Depot 35% recycled, 104 Brightness) was almost a penny per page ($0.0098) when purchased by the case.  The most expensive paper in this class when purchased by the ream was $0.017 per page.  There are ten reams in a full case of paper.  We list the brightness for each type of paper in parenthesis next to the name.

Obviously the prices for paper are very competetive.  This makes sense since it is a frequent purchase and all of these stores offer a 10% frequent buyer bonus.  It appears they all sell a comperable paper with a price within $1.00 of each other.  Quill cannot compete well in this area since shipping charges per case become excessive.  Staples seems to be the winner by a slight margin down the line.

Office Depot and Office Max both sell HP notebook computers for the same price.  Quill does not seem too interested in selling notebook computers.  I think they focus more on the supplies end of things and less on furniture and computers.  Quill’s specials when we visited insluded Georgia Pacific 92 Brightness copy paper for $3.29 per ream.  Of course, to avoid paying for shipping you would have to buy 14 reams.

Another item we shopped was DVD media.  We were specifically looking for DVD-R in the 100 pack. Here are the results:

• Staples, $29.98 (HP)
• Office Depot, $22.99 (Memorex)
• Office Max, $24.99, (Verbatum)
• Quill, $29.99, (Sony)

Office Depot was the winner here.

Each of our test stores wants to sell you a chair for your office.  The range available is staggering.  You could pay as little as $29.99 for the Leather Task Chair at Office Max or as much as $679.99 for the Office Star™ Air Grid™ Series Executive Chair w/Headrest at Quill.  But there is another interesting alternative, used office furniture.

Never thought of picking up some used office furniture?  How about for that office you are outfitting in the basement?  If you are not working in a service industry and nobody will see it but the person in the chair, why not?

In fact, we have one of the coolest business resources on the planet, right here in Wilmington, Delaware.  The Dupont Surplus and Liquidation Center offers all sorts of items for sale that Dupont just wants to dispose of.  Todays specials?  12 foot long sheets of corian, 1″ thick, for $70.00.  Assorted colors are available.  If you are putting in a countertop and know how to work with this stuff, what a bargain?  If you install countertops for a living, what an opportunity! 

The Dupont sale is open from 9 to 3, Tuesday through Friday and they routinely have office desks, file cabinets, chairs and tables for as little as $5.

There are some very strange and eclectic buys as well.  How about a palet of approximately 40 computers that have been returned off lease by the Computer Science Corp for $500.  That is $500 for 40 computers!  If you have the need for an explosion proof refrigerator, this is the place!  Only $200.00!

Explosion Proof Refrigerator

If this intrigues you, I encourage you to visit.  Here are the directions.

Earnings reports are expected Monday for the following companies that have ties to Delaware. The estimated earnings per share are FactSet EPS Mean Estimates from Dow Jones.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC), #159 on the Fortune 500, incorporated in Delaware  $1.53
DaVita Inc. (DVA), #454 on the Fortune 500, incorporated in Delaware  $.88
Mohawk Industries Inc. (MHK), #328 on the Fortune 500, incorporated in Delaware  $1.11
Pepco Holdings, Inc. (POM), #279 on the Fortune 500, incorporated in Delaware  $.71
Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI), #399 on the Fortune 500, incorporated in Delaware  $.70
Principal Financial Group Inc. (PFG), #242 on the Fortune 500, incorporated in Delaware  $.93
Sysco Corp. (SYY), #70 on the Fortune 500, incorporated in Delaware  $.47
Viacom, Inc.(VIA) , #191 on the Fortune 500, incorporated in Delaware  $.56

Sysco is also a large employer out of its’ distribution center in Salisbury, MD.