First Niagara Bank agrees to sell 27 NY branches
By The Associated Press
POSTED: January 23, 2012
Tags: branches, First Niagara Bank, HSBC, sale
BUFFALO — First Niagara Bank has announced agreements to sell 27 branches to two upstate New York buyers as it moves ahead with its acquisition of HSBC Bank’s regional retail network.
The Buffalo-based bank announced the separate sale of 37 branches last week.
On Friday, bank executives said DeWitt-based Community Bank System would purchase 19 First Niagara [...]
Workers, retirees, area leaders ponder outlook
By The Associated Press
POSTED: January 19, 2012
Tags: Bankruptcy, future, Kodak, outlook, retirees, workers

The ripple effect from Eastman Kodak Co.’s bankruptcy reorganization extends in many directions: Employees brace again for layoffs, retirees fret over health care coverage, and the photography icon’s biggest debtors and stakeholders — from movie studios and big-box retailers to CEO Antonio Perez — are preparing for a sharp sting in their pocketbooks.
Rochester Mayor Thomas [...]
Family First FCU expands 
By Daily Record Staff
POSTED: January 17, 2012
Tags: Family First FCU, Henrietta FCU, merger
The new year marked an expansion for Family First Federal Credit Union which has merged with Henrietta Federal Credit Union.
The merger increases Family First’s locations to four, while providing Henrietta Federal Credit Union members access to Family First’s comprehensive financial services. The merged organization will maintain Family First Federal Credit Union’s branding.
A December vote of [...]
Keycorp strengthens update franchise 
By Daily Record Staff
POSTED: January 12, 2012
Tags: acquisition, bank branches, HSBC, KeyBank, KeyCorp
KeyCorp has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, KeyBank National Association, has signed a purchase and assumption agreement to acquire 37 retail banking branches currently owned by HSBC Bank NA in Buffalo and Rochester.
The transaction strengthens Key’s ability to grow its presence, acquire customers and service consumers, business banking and wealth management clients in these markets.
The [...]
Schumer wants all military steel to be made in USA
By The Associated Press
POSTED: January 10, 2012
Tags: Klein, military contracts, Sen. Charles Schumer, steel, USA
Sen. Charles Schumer is calling on the Defense Department to restore the requirement that all steel used in military contracts be made in the United States.
Schumer was visiting Klein Steel in Rochester on Tuesday morning. He says the military got all of its steel from domestic producers like Klein for 35 years until 2009, when [...]
Survey suggests business optimism rising 
By Daily Record Staff
POSTED: January 10, 2012
Tags: business optimism, Rochester Business Alliance, survey
Local businesses are relatively content with their current economic status and cautiously optimistic about the coming year, according to a survey of Rochester Business Alliance members.
The survey asked member companies to provide information on a variety of issues, including general business outlook, past, current and future employment, and business conditions in their industry and in [...]
Kodak creates new business structure
By The Associated Press
POSTED: January 10, 2012
Tags: business model, Kodak, lawsuits, restructuring

5:02 p.m. UPDATE:
Eastman Kodak Co. has filed patent-infringement lawsuits against Apple Inc. and HTC Corp., claiming the smartphone makers are infringing several of its digital-imaging inventions.
The lawsuits, filed Tuesday in federal court, claim that some of Apple’s iPhones, iPads and iPods and HTC’s smartphones and tablet devices infringe four Kodak patents related to image transmission.
It [...]
New York biz sellers lower asking prices 
By Dolan Media Newswires
POSTED: January 9, 2012
Tags: businesses, New York State, sale price
Sellers of businesses in New York are asking slightly less than they did a year ago with revenue also slipping slightly, according to an industry study.
The median asking price for a business in New York at the end of 2011 was $250,000 down from $259,000 a year ago, according to BizBuySell.com. Median revenue slipped to [...]
Obama bypasses Senate, installs new consumer chief
By The Associated Press
POSTED: January 4, 2012
Tags: consumer protection agency, President Barack Obama, recess appointment, Richard Cordray
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — A defiant President Barack Obama, tired of GOP stalling his nominee to lead a new consumer protection agency, bucked that opposition and put him in charge without Senate approval.
“I refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer,” the president said.
Outraged GOP leaders in Congress immediately suggested that courts would determine whether Richard [...]
Tips on building a Facebook fan page for your firm 
By Sylvia Hsieh
POSTED: December 30, 2011
Tags: Facebook, law firm, social media
As Facebook’s search functionality has improved, law firm marketers say now is a good time to create a business page on Facebook.
If you haven’t already set up a fan page — or if you have been violating Facebook policy by showcasing your firm on an individual profile page — here are some tips for building [...]
Home Builders’ Association’s new chair 
By Daily Record Staff
POSTED: December 27, 2011
Tags: Home Builders Association, Joseph Sortino, new chairman
Joseph I. Sortino, president and founder of Sortino Properties in Rochester, is the 2012 chairman of the Rochester Home Builders’ Association.
He was sworn in recently by state Sen. Joseph E. Robach to replace outgoing 2011 Chairman Dan Viola of Viola Homes.
Sortino has been an active supporter of the RHBA of many years and will lead [...]
Advocates push for saving old Rochester brewhouse
By The Associated Press
POSTED: December 15, 2011
Tags: breweries, demolition, Genesee Brewing Co., preservationists
Preservation advocates are trying to convince one of the nation’s oldest breweries to save a 19th-century brewhouse in Rochester that’s targeted for demolition.
The Genesee Brewing Co. wants to tear down the massive structure overlooking the Genesee River, saying rehabilitation of the 122-year-old structure would be too costly. The Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester reports that [...]
