The Buffalo Chronicle
Commerce
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Rochester lands a $375 million rare earth plant for $3 million in state credits. Buffalo’s last deal cost more per job
Phoenix Tailings will separate rare earths from mining waste at Eastman Business Park, backed by up to $3 million in Excelsior credits for 90 jobs. That’s about $33,000 a job on paper,…
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M&T’s profit slips as rising rates bite, and its finance chief warns mortgages and commercial real estate will feel it next
Buffalo’s hometown bank earned $775 million in the third quarter, down from $818 million. On the earnings call, CFO Daryl Bible said higher rates will slow home lending and could push more…
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Solstice will make its Buffalo lab its global research hub, with $1.4 million in state credits for 12 new jobs
The Honeywell spinoff is putting $49 million into its Peabody Street R&D site as it races to develop next-generation refrigerants. The state’s Excelsior credits work out to about $117,000 per new job,…
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43North’s final pitch is over. The biggest return on New York’s startup bet now sits in a foundation
[PREMIUM] 43North handed out its last $5 million this month. Tax filings show how a state-funded stake in ACV Auctions became a $61 million foundation that now decides how Buffalo’s startup money…
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Buffalo Niagara added jobs again in September, but it’s the only peer region with fewer businesses than in 2020
A second straight month of hiring still left Western New York’s private sector slightly smaller than a year ago. A new Buffalo Niagara Partnership report ranks the region last among 13 peers…
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Copart now owns ACV, and the merger filings show what Buffalo workers were promised, and for how long
Copart closed its $1.9 billion cash purchase of Buffalo’s ACV Auctions on Oct. 16. The filings guarantee employees’ pay for one year but describe no commitment to keep the headquarters or jobs…
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Western New York’s $16 minimum wage is frozen for 2027 by a jobs test Albany now calls ‘overly sensitive’
A small drop in statewide jobs canceled the first inflation raise under New York’s 2023 wage law. Gov. Hochul wants $16.55 upstate by March 1, but that depends on the Legislature.
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With the grape crush ending, Lake Erie growers who lost their buyer are still waiting on help
A Fredonia processor is offering a late outlet for grapes left without a buyer after Refresco canceled 126 contracts. Growers say a $20 million federal juice purchase did not reach them directly,…
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Taylor Devices clears IDA hearing for $8 million aerospace landing-gear expansion in North Tonawanda
Taylor Devices cleared an NCIDA public hearing for an $8 million aerospace landing-gear expansion in vacant North Tonawanda buildings, with a November vote on tax incentives.
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Upstate Niagara’s West Seneca dairy expansion has more than doubled in cost. Now it’s back for more tax relief
The farmer-owned cooperative’s plan has grown from $150 million to $325 million in two years, and it needs $30 million in generators because grid power isn’t available. A public hearing on a…
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Amazon’s Town of Niagara warehouse is hiring. Now comes the test of its $123 million tax break
Amazon is hiring up to 1,000 workers at its Lockport Road fulfillment center, backed by one of the largest Amazon incentive packages in the country. Here’s what Niagara County taxpayers put in,…
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Pandemic drove largest New York population loss ever
BY E.J. McMAHON Thanks mainly to a pandemic-driven boost in its already high outflows to other states, New York has just suffered its largest single-year population loss ever—and the worst, in percentage…
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Following controversy in Florida, Hochul invites Disney to build a theme park in Niagara Falls
Governor Kathy Hochul has privately reached out to senior executives and board members of the Walt Disney Company, headquartered in Burbank, California, to extend an invitation to open a new theme park in…
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NYPA is willing to establish a special fund to revive downtown Niagara Falls
The New York State Power Authority is preparing to establish a dedicated fund that will be used to finance the revival of the City of Niagara Falls, and to manage that fund…
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Libertarian Party condemns State actions freezing Seneca Nation bank accounts
Just a few days ago a subpoena served by New York State began blocking transactions on the bank accounts of the Seneca Nation and the Seneca Gaming Corporation due to issues regarding…
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M&T Bank CEO Rene Jones is considering a plan to take Kodak private
March 12, 2022 — M&T Bank CEO Rene Jones is widely rumored to be considering a not-so-hostile acquisition of Rochester’s legendary Eastman Kodak Company, in a plan that would take the firm…
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No, eliminating the SALT cap will not reduce charitable giving
By Stan Veuger and Kyle Pomerleau Over at The Hill, our domestic policy studies colleague Howard Husock recently argued that repealing the $10,000 cap on the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes…
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All hands on deck: Neurodiversity and the future of work
BY BRENT ORRELL In the context of today’s post-pandemic labor shortage and jobs reshuffling, our economy needs all hands on deck. At the end of August, the number of job openings was 10.4 million. Even if…
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Five Questions: Arthur Turrell on fusion energy
By James Pethokoukis and Arthur Turrell Fusion energy has been the promise of physicists for decades, but is it finally arriving? As we face a warming climate and increasing energy needs, fusion…
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Is the spike in federal revenue permanent?
By Kyle Pomerleau The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently published its monthly budget review for September, now estimating a spike in federal tax receipts for the 2021 fiscal year. According to CBO, individual income…
