Joseph N DiStefano

In Delaware today

Pension advisers reach $30 million settlement over teachers’ complaint they invested poorly Teachers and other school staff will recover an average of around $112.

$Aon, $HNLE Hamilton Lane, FS' Portfolio Advisors agree to pay PA teachers $30MM to settle lawsuit: their bad advice led PSERS to private equity + hedge funds that did poorly, cost school staff $87MM in extra payroll deductions. No taxpayer refund, tho. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/pse...

THWhite’s cycle remains a very accessible and thoughtful introduction

Spike Lee doing Faulkner. The Reivers for example

How Data Centers Became a Casualty of War Three facilities have suffered damage in drone strikes, and analysts say such installations are increasingly at risk.

Three Amazon data centers in the Gulf have been hit in drone strikes, showing how such facilities are at risk of becoming wartime targets.

Hell not traditionally regarded as cool

Eisenhower

Can Pierre Brondeau save FMC, the global pesticide maker he put on Philly’s skyline? After FMC share prices collapsed, the former CEO is back in charge. Will the Philly pesticide maker rebound or be sold?

He's back: Can Pierre Brondeau save FMC, the big non-GMO pesticide maker and one of the last corporate HQs in Philly? My story: www.inquirer.com/business/fmc...

Hahaha

This Philly-founded company is selling empanadas out of vending machines. Here’s where to find them. Empanadas United, a hometown company with national partners and aspirations, is meeting travelers' hunger amid years-long renovations at Philadelphia's SEPTA and Amtrak hub.

Philadelphia's 30th St. Amtrak travelers, Septa commuters endure endless renovation, scarce restaurants. But at least there's local-made Empanadas United sold at owner VDC's Evolvending machine. Also at Atlanta, Boston airports. My quick story: www.inquirer.com/business/30t...

Use tariffs on enemies, not friends, manufacturers’ leader urges Trump at Philly business meeting At Carpenters Hall, National Association of Manufacturers president Jay Timmons said tax cuts and energy deregulation are boosting U.S. factories, but tariffs and worker deportations hurt.

Use tariffs against USA's enemies, not our friends, says National Association of Manufacturers leader in Philly. For factory rival: Tax cuts help -- but killing immigration hurts. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/nat...

Wow

One of my sons drove a tractor on the Delaware estate of ex Gov PS du Pont and wife, Wawa heiress E. Wood, when he applied to colleges. Said she was a Penn trustee, offered to write a letter for any employee. "No, if I need her endorsement, I don't want to go there." Got in without it

This Mennonite pastor’s kid made a Wall Street fortune, hired hundreds, and is rebuilding Kennett Square Hedge fund adviser Mike Bontrager's second career is redeveloping the small Chester County town where he made his fortune.

Local magnate: Mike Bontrager left home for Wall Street, came back to start 850-person hedge fund risk adviser Chatham Financial, and is reshaping 'America's Mushroom Capital,' Kennett Square, as he battles ALS. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/ken...

This Harvard-trained, ex-Uber lawyer is the boss at one of Philly’s biggest builders Mike Lloyd is building apartments and labs, but he's still "bullish on offices."

How did Louisiana native Mike Lloyd, a Saints fan, end up owning + running IMC, one of the mid-Atlantic's biggest general construction contractors? He had Ivy League, Big Law, Wall Street cred. Also, he married the boss's daughter. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/imc...

Pa. plant that helps make smartphones and bullets finds new suppliers in China trade war Global Tungsten & Powders is looking to Korea and Rwanda to provide tungsten, a metal that's also essential to helicopters and medical devices.

Metal politics: Pa. plant world's largest preps tungsten for missiles, aircraft, smartphones. Cheap China mines controlled supply. USA limits pushed price to record. So plant's Euro owner, w USA aid, now buys from reopened mines in Korea, Rwanda. My story: www.inquirer.com/business/glo...

Shareholders approve merger of American Water and Essential Utilities, which serve Pa. and N.J. American Water's combination with smaller Essential Utilities will create the first private water and sewer utility that's roughly as big as a major power company.

Big Water: AmWater $AWK takeover of Essential / Aqua $WTRG for-profit water, sewer, gas utilities wins big shareholder vote, tho a few balk at millions for departing CEO. Will state PUCs approve, too? My latest: www.inquirer.com/business/ame...

For Gopuff, Super Monday is the national holiday Limes and Italy's Ferrero chocolates were big winners from this year's NFL home fan spending.

Delivery service Gopuff tracks SuperBowl XL snacks: Ferrero's Nerds Gummy Clusters and KinderBueno ads quadrupled traffic; but limes🇲🇽beat everything - with zero ads. My latest: www.inquirer.com/business/gop...

These outsourced Vanguard workers are getting their jobs back Hundreds of Infosys workers are returning to Malvern-based Vanguard Group, which sent them to the contractor in 2020.

At @Vanguard_Group , an outsourcing reversal; and, some bosses are H-1b immigrants. My latest: www.inquirer.com/business/van...

Philly native Mike Petrakis built PowerPay, a fintech company for people who think banks are too slow This loan salesman began by funding home improvement companies and wants to sell more insurance.

He's not a banker or a software engineer. How did Mike Petrakis use hotel capital, credit unions and bank deals to turn PowerPay into a $5 billion, 225-worker, PA-based fintech lender? www.inquirer.com/business/pow...

Oh man. Which side are the good guys

old Ukrainian and Polish ladies across Pennsylvania are staring at you verrry soberly

It's true, there's now so much free information and propaganda, that many consumers no longer recognize real reporting, if they ever did

Exhibit of this ecosystem: Many local news pieces on ICE detention centers are referencing stories broken by the Post and Bloomberg.

They're cooking and serving the concession food, cleaning the seats and doing all the other real work.

And fewer cars. But higher incomes. There's more than one explanation

Sorry to see. It's as if the company can dish it out, but can't take it

Reminder that the Parker admin chose to allow this tax hike for small businesses rather than trying to defend against a lawsuit challenging the BIRT exemption. But the people most to blame for rising taxes for Philly small businesses are the PA Republicans who refuse to change the uniformity clause.

Gov. Josh Shapiro says he’ll prevent data center developers from ‘saddling’ Pennsylvanians with higher energy costs Pennsylvania and New Jersey lawmakers have other ideas on how to keep residents from subsidizing power-hungry data centers, proposed across the region from East Vincent Township to Vineland.

Problem: Surge in data center construction is driving up electric power costs, writes
Inquirer's Frank Kummer
inquirer.com/business/tec...
Gov Shapiro: We'll speed up PA data center approvals - if you add your own power plants, per Erin McCarthy www.inquirer.com/politics/pen...

From inquirer.com

There are several parties to blame for high and expanding taxes. Pennsylvania and Philadelphia keep falling behind and losing clout because they are seen as unfriendly to private employers.