Northshore Mall gears up Soiree Series

Now parents have an excuse to go to the Northshore Mall when their kids ask for a ride.

From 4 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, the sprawling Simon Property Group mall on Andover Street will hold its Summer Soiree Series. The event will include wine and cheese tastings, beer sampling, food samplings, fashion shows, music, retailer promotions, beauty advice and demonstrations and a financial speaker series.

"We created this series to provide our community with fun events that offer something for everyone," said Sherri D'Alessandro, the area director of marketing for the mall, in a press release.

The Summer Soiree Series sunsets Aug. 12.

Danversbank plans second Boston location

Along with Danversbank's quarterly earning results, President and CEO Kevin Bottomley announced the opening of a second Boston location at 50 Milk St., a high-rise in the Hub's financial district.

The location is targeted to open during the fourth quarter of this year. Danversbank combined with Beverly National Bank earlier this year.

Danvers Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Danversbank, said July 22 it rang up net income of $4.9 million for the second quarter, compared with $135,000 in net income for the same quarter in 2009. The bank, with $2.5 billion in assets and approximately 400 employees, said its acquisition of Beverly National Corp., organic growth in its loan portfolio and an increase in its net interest margin resulted in more net interest and non-interest income. Higher provisions for loan losses, increased salaries and benefits and other expenses due to the merger offset increases.

The company also said it had $1.9 billion in deposits on June 30, compared with $1.8 billion on Dec. 31. The bank, based at 1 Conant St. in Danvers, attributed its deposit growth to the expansion of retail branches and online activity.

Monster leader coming to Danvers library

Crystal Dionne, who works alongside Monster Worldwide's Dan DeMaioNewton, the online job search company's director of strategy and business development, plans to speak to the Networking Group for Jobseekers on Friday at the Peabody Institute Library, 15 Sylvan St., Danvers.

DeMaioNewton had planned to talk, but will be unable to due to illness. Dionne's talk will include tips on recruitment secrets to help you improve your ability to get the job you want, according to a press release. Among DeMaioNewton's accomplishments was his work as the chief architect who re-engineered USAJOBS, the official job site for the federal government.

"We regret Dan is unable to join us and wish him a speedy recovery" said Donna Maturi, head of reference and information services at the library. "Please join me in welcoming Crystal at Friday's meeting."

The meeting, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, is open to the public, but participants are asked to register by calling the reference desk, 978-774-0554. The Networking Group for Job Seekers is a cooperative effort of the Maple Street Congregational Church, the library and North Shore Career Center. It has served 2,000 job seekers over a year and a half.

Bankruptcy filings up

The first half of 2010 saw a spike in bankruptcy filings in the Bay State, but it might not mean trouble ahead.

The number of businesses and people who filed after going belly-up rose 25 percent, compared with the first six months of 2009, according to a report from real estate publisher The Warren Group.

There were 11,847 filers under chapters 7, 13 and 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code from January to June of this year, compared with 9,461 in the first six months of last year, The Warren Group said. The number of filings was also 13.7 percent higher than the second half of 2009.

Warren Group CEO Timothy Warren Jr. said bankruptcy filings really reflect past economic conditions, a so-called "lagging indicator."

"Many people struggle to hold on for as long as they can before seeking bankruptcy protection," Warren said in a prepared statement, "but even though the economy is recovering, consumers are still hurting and struggling to pay off the debt they've accrued over the years."

The most common type of bankruptcy filing is Chapter 7, which allows people to wipe out many of their debts. Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings accounted for 77 percent of those The Warren Group tracked. They were up 17.6 percent to 9,142 in the first six months of this year from 7,774 last year during the same period.

Essex County showed a slightly sharper increase in bankruptcy filings than the state with a 27.7 percent increase in the first half of 2010. In Essex County, there were 1,529 filings in the first half of 2010, compared with 1,197 filings in the same period in 2009.

Beacon Roofing acquires Posi-Slope

Peabody-based Beacon Roofing Supply has made a push north of the border by buying Posi-Slope Enterprises Inc. and a sister company, Posi-Pentes, of Toronto, Canada, Beacon said in a prepared statement. Terms of the deal were not announced.

Posi-Slope designs and makes tapered roof insulation systems and has two locations in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Louis Zammit will remain the president of Posi-Slope. Beacon President Paul Isabella and Chief Operating Officer Marc Allaire said the acquisition bolsters Beacon's tapered insulation business in Canada. Tapered roofs are designed to drain water from rooftops. Beacon, a distributor of roofing materials and building products, has 180 branches in 37 states and three provinces of Eastern Canada. Recent acquisitions include roofing supply companies in Florida and Louisiana. Beacon employs 17 people in Peabody, more than 100 in Massachusetts and 2,300 overall.

City, business leaders invited for smoothies

The Beverly Chamber of Commerce and Beverly Mayor Bill Scanlon plan to drop by the Euphoria Lifestyle Cafe tomorrow morning for smoothies, bubble teas and chitchat during a grand opening and networking event, says the Cummings Center's official newsletter. Former New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans receiver David Givens opened the cafe franchise a few months ago. He even spent nights designing and painting its interior. You can catch the cafe's grand opening at 100 Cummings Center, Suite 105-K, from 8 to 9 a.m.

Four businesses benefit from investment program

The Massachusetts Business Development Council says four small businesses on the North Shore have sought funding through its capital access program to help them create jobs and make investments in tough economic times. These businesses are SC Enterprises, Canonica Logging in Boxford; Gamble Landscape and Construction in Hamilton; Polar Realty Trust in Ipswich; and Cost Cutter Family Hair Care in Middleton.

Last year, Massachusetts Business Development Council, in partnership with more than 100 community banks, granted $108 million in new loans, investments and loan guarantees to 284 small businesses, according to a press release.

Rhino PR wins marketing award

Rhino Public Relations of South Hamilton has won a marketing communications award from the Society of Marketing Professional Services for its national media relations campaign for GEI Consultants of Woburn. This is the second year in a row Rhino PR has been recognized by the society.

• • •

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.

Business

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

Site Map

Reader Access