Business Blog

Gulfport-based Hancock Bank will open all locations in Forrest, Hancock, Harrison, Jefferson Davis, Lamar, and Pearl River counties Thursday. Lighthouse Branches—strategically located, generator-enabled locations equipped for post-storm conditions—should open first for regular business hours, with other branches opening as soon as possible this morning. Jackson County: Hancock branches in Pascagoula and Moss Point—Pascagoula Main, Pascagoula [...]

The Mississippi Development Authority’s 2012 development workshop for the Mississippi bed & breakfast industry (B&B’s) kicked off last week with meetings in Columbus, Clarksdale and at Jackson’s popular Fairview Inn. MDA representative Joy Foy says the program hopes to grow the industry and is in its third year thanks to a partnership between MDA, the [...]

Labeling it “a very close call,” a U.S. district court has rejected a Mississippi bank’s efforts to have a former commercial customer held liable for losses, damages and legal costs in an ACH and wire fraud case. And one legal expert suggests the case could set a precedent for other similar fraud cases, the website [...]

As Hurricane Isaac slowly approaches the Mississippi and Louisiana coastlines, Mississippi telecom carriers are gearing up to keep their networks online and in service. Verizon Wireless said in a release this morning that last year’s $39 million network investment in south Mississippi would strengthen and enhance its coverage and service in the event of severe storms. AT&T said [...]

Stocking up on disaster items (batteries, flashlights, water) in the event of severe weather is always a good idea. Ready.gov has posted ready-made lists for folks preparing for Tropical Storm Isaac. Items include: Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation Food, at least a three-day [...]

With Tropical Storm Isaac barreling down on the Louisiana gulf Coast and forecasters projecting that New Orleans will bear the brunt of Isaac’s effects when it makes landfall early Wednesday morning as a hurricane, UNO is evacuating 40 athletes to Millsaps University in Jackson. The athletes will be joined by several Privateer coaches, UNO police [...]

With female reproductive rights and the debate over the definition of sexual assault filling the news daily, the Women’s Fund of Mississippi has picked an opportune time to premiere a documentary in Jackson on how the media portrays women. In a press statement announcing the Sept. 13 showing of “Miss Representation” LaFawn A. Gilliam of [...]

Rain in the drought-stricken Ohio Valley is the only remedy at the moment for falling water levels on the Mississippi River that this week is limiting north-and-south bound barge traffic to alternating12-hour schedules, says the head of a Greenville grain shipping cooperative. Steve Nail, president & CEO of the Farmers Grain Terminal, said Thursday a [...]

Gov. Phil Bryant’s office announced this morning his issuance of an executive order “reaffirming Mississippi law that prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits.” The release says executive state agencies would be required to administer such benefits but to “clarify their processes in order to guard against erroneously issuing benefits” to people recently granted “deferred action” [...]

Privately owned defense contracting firm based in Vicksburg represents Mississippi’s lone entry on the Inc. 500 for 2012, though six other companies received rankings on the magazine’s Inc. 5000 for this year. In rankings released Tuesday, systems integrator Mav6 moved from a 2011 ranking of 373 to 230th on the Inc. 500 list, propelled by [...]