Albuquerque Business News - Local Albuquerque News | Albuquerque Business First


    Sunrise parent Capitol Bancorp seeks to sell banks
    The Michigan company that owns Sunrise Bank of Albuquerque is seeking to sell Sunrise and its seven other banks. Capitol Bancorp Ltd. of Lansing, which at one time owned more than 50 banks, has lost $475.6 million since 2009, according to a liquidation plan it filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The plan must be approved by the federal bankruptcy court in Michigan and by Capitol?s shareholders. Capitol filed Chapter 11 reorganization in bankruptcy court in August 2012. If?


    Fiore Industries wins $10M contract in North Dakota
    Fiore Industries of Albuquerque has won a $10 million, three-year contract to do technical facilities operations at the Cavalier Air Force Station in North Dakota, CEO Bill Miera said. Miera said the contract with the U.S. Air Mobility Command was finalized on Tuesday. Cavalier is home to a radar station that operates a global missile warning system. The new contract will allow Fiore to hire 38 new employees in North Dakota for the operations contract, which will bring the company to nearly 100?


    NM drone testing center could soon face competition
    New Mexico could lose its lead on unmanned aerial vehicle development when the Federal Aviation Administration lays out a new set of rules that allow more airfields to test UAVs, a state leader in the industry said. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Test Center, an airfield run by New Mexico State University and the FAA, is the only FAA-approved UAS, or drone, flight test center in the nation. The center logs data from about two flights daily of commercial drones, which weigh anywhere from 15?


    Kirtland escaped deep cuts but will feel budget squeeze, Finan says
    Sequestration budget cuts to Kirtland Air Force Base have been reduced to $5.2 million, but the base?s 2,100 civilian employees will still have to take 11 unpaid furlough days before the end of the fiscal year, an Air Force general said Wednesday. Kirtland?s sequestration cuts originally totaled $13.1 million, but the Air Force reinstated $7.9 million of that, Air Force Maj. Gen. Sandy Finan, commander of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland, told a breakfast meeting of the Economic?


    Deadline to protest BernCo property tax assessments nears
    Bernalillo County property owners who have questions about their property valuations have until May 30 to protest their assessments. The county assessor mailed out notices of value May 1, and the period to protest that notice ends May 30. To assist property owners with questions and in filing protests, the assessor?s office is hosting sessions in the Albuquerque area May 23 for those that want to meet with assessor and treasurer staff members. While the assessor?s office determines what a property?s?


    Boom in U.S. April home sales mirrors local stats
    The U.S. residential industry boomed in April, with existing home sales rising 0.6 percent to 4.97 million units, the highest level in about three and a half years. A key component ? sales of single-family homes ? increased 1.2 percent for the month. The data was released by the National Association of Realtors Wednesday. Home price data logged a rise of 4.8 percent in April, following a 6.2 percent increase in March to an average $192,800, the highest level of the recovery. With prices increasing,?


    NM mortgage borrowers reap $100M in settlements with major servicers
    More than 2,000 New Mexico borrowers have received $100 million in relief as part of the national mortgage settlement negotiated last year by state attorneys general with the top five mortgage servicers. In all, 2,109 borrowers have received $99.7 million in relief, for an average of $47,286 apiece, according to a progress report by settlement monitor Joseph Smith and the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight. Nationwide, $50 billion has been paid out to borrowers for allegedly abusive collection?


    ABQ given $1.89 M for water treatment
    The Albuquerque Metropolitan Area Water Reclamation and Reuse Project in New Mexico has been awarded a $1.89 million grant to design and construct an expanded treatment system at the Southside Water Reclamation Plant. According to a news release from the U.S. Interior Department, the project is expected to save 2,500 acre-feet of water annually in addition to the 3,000 acre-feet of reclaimed water produced by other components of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area Water Reclamation and Reuse Project. The?


    Home-improvement companies doing well
    One sign that people are willing to spend a bit more money around the house is that both Lowe?s Cos. and Home Depot have announced increased earnings for the first quarter of the year. Lowe?s earnings did rise by 2.5 percent, the company reported. But some of that was attributed to lower expenses, according to MarketWatch. Home Depot Inc. on Tuesday reported that its first-quarter earnings rose by 18 percent, according to MarketWatch. The company said its same-store sales growth was 4.3 percent. Lowe?s?


    GOP in Senate splits over federal budget
    Republican senators have begun arguing among themselves over some members? moves to block negotiations on a proposed federal budget. At the center of the rift have been steps taken by some conservative senators to stop the creation of a committee that would hammer out an agreement on whatever spending plan is approved by the House, according to the Washington Post. The Senate already has passed its version of the budget bill, which calls for about $1 trillion in new taxes over the next decade,?