Georgia Tech Professional Education Offers courses

Georgia Tech Professional Education will provide an Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry (OTI 510) course at the Georgia Tech-Savannah campus Jan. 14-18. This course can be used to obtain a Construction Safety and Health Certificate from Georgia Tech Professional Education and is required for anyone who would like to become a trainer.

Date: Jan. 14-18

Location: Georgia Tech-Savannah campus

For more information, go to www.gtpe.gatech.edu/oti510

Constant Contact workshop and lunch

A new year brings new opportunities for businesses and other organizations to create and grow their customer base at a lunch and learn workshop featuring a Constant Contact professional Tuesday, Jan. 15.

Date: Jan. 15

Location: Cambria Suites, 50 Yvette Johnson Hagins Drive, near Interstate 95 exit 104.

Cost: Register and pre-pay by Jan. 7 and cost is $17 for Pooler Chamber members and $22 for non-members. After Jan. 7 and until Jan. 14 add $5 to cost per person. This event has limited seating, so after Jan. 14, cost is $27 per Pooler Chamber member and $32 per non-member, based on availability.

For more information contact office@poolerchamber.com or 912-748-0110

2013 Economic Outlook Luncheon

The Economic Outlook Luncheon is held in collaboration with the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business and Armstrong Atlantic State University. The local economic forecast will be presented by Dr. Michael Toma of Armstrong Atlantic State University. And the state, regional and national projection will be delivered by Dean Robert Sumichrast of Terry College of Business.

Date: Jan. 17

Time: Noon-2 p.m.

Location: The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa

Cost: $40 for members ($400 for a table) and $50 for nonmembers ($500 for a table)

Purchase tickets at SavannahChamber.com

Contact: Margaret Mary Russell at 912-644-6432

Business after hours

The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce January’s Business After Hours will be held at The Beach House — A Holiday Inn Resort. Enjoy casual networking, great food and complimentary beer and wine, along with great door prizes and more.

Date: Jan. 17

Time: 5:30-7 p.m.

Location: The Beach House — A Holiday Inn Resort

Cost: $10 for chamber members and $20 for non-members

For more information, go to hiltonheadchamber.org.

Tourism council luncheon

The organization will hold its 2013 membership luncheon on Jan. 17 at the ANdaZ. The speaker will be Savannah Mayor Pro Tem Van Johnson

Date: Jan. 17

Time: 11:30 a.m.

Location: The ANdaZ, 14 Barnard St.

For more information, call 912-232-1223 or email tlc@tourismleadershipcouncil.com.

Tourism council

schedules awards dinner

The Tourism Leadership Council wil1 hold its fifth annual tourism awards and scholarship dinner Thursday, Feb. 21, at the Hyatt Regency Savannah. The cocktail reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and the awards program from 7-9 p.m.

Date: Jan. 21

Time: 5:30-9 p.m.

Location: The Hyatt Regency Savannah, 2 West Bay St.

For more information, call 912-232-1223 or email tlc@tourismleadershipcouncil.com.

Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber restaurant week

Modeled after successful culinary events in New York and other cities, more than 50 member restaurants will offer special prix-fixe multi-course menus for Lowcountry diners, Jan. 26-Feb. 2.

Date: Jan. 26-Feb. 2

For more information go to hiltonheadchamber.org.

Business Expo

Join the Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber for Business EXPO. With more than 2,000 attendees, Business EXPO is the largest business-building and networking event in the Lowcountry.

Date: Jan. 26-27

Location: The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

To register, go to hiltonheadchamber.org or call 843-785-3673.

Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber young

professionals group

The popular networking group for the 40-and-under set is an opportunity to meet with business colleagues in a casual setting.

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 30

Time: 5:30-7 p.m.

Location: Corks Wine Bar, Bluffton

To register, go to hiltonheadchamber.org.

Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber Ball

Enjoy fine dining, dancing and entertainment at the annual event honoring the outstanding individuals and organizations that make a difference in the community.

Date: Saturday, Feb. 2

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

For more information go to hiltonheadchamber.org or call Connie Killmar at 843-785-3673.

Tee Up for Habitat

Habitat for Humanity of Savannah’s 11th golf tournament will be held at the Savannah Quarters Country Club in Savannah on April 8, 2013. This much-anticipated event, sponsored by Gulfstream Aerospace, draws the titans of local industry and business to this annual fundraising event.

Date: April 18, 2013

Location: Savannah Quarters Country Club

For more information, please contact Michelle Hunter at 912-353-8122 or hunter@habitatsavannah.org.

ONGOING

Pooler Business Network

When: Every first and third Thursday, 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: Western Sizzlin, U.S. 80 in Pooler

Information: RSVP to Jason Torres at jasonjtorres@gmail.com.

Downtown Business Professionals Chapter
of BNI

When: 11:30 a.m. every Thursday

Where: Hilton Savannah DeSoto, 15 East Liberty St.

Information: For information, call Kevin Brown at 912-447-1885 or email rkbrowndc@msn.com.

The Islands Chapter —
BNI group

When: Each Thursday at 8 a.m.

Where: Johnny Harris banquet facility, 1652 East Victory Drive

Information: Contact Kathy Salter at studio@dalyandsalterphoto.com.

Savannah Women’s
Business Network

When: Every second and fourth Wednesday, 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. for lunch.

Where: The Exchange Tavern on Waters Avenue

Cost: Cost for lunch

Information: RSVP to Kari Brown at kcbrown@colonybank.com.

Historic Savannah
Chapter ABWA

When: 6-7:50 p.m. second Thursday.

Where: Candler Heart & Lung Building, room 2.

Cost: Free

Information: Call 912-925-4980 or email blynneroberts@yahoo.com.

Toastmasters Club

When: Noon each Tuesday

Where: Savannah Mall across from “ Hill of Beans” Coffee Shop.

Information: Call 912-844-9139 or go to www.sbcsouthsidetm.com.

Gas prices jump in metro Savannah

Average retail gasoline prices in Savannah have risen 12.6 cents a gallon in the past week to $3.38 a gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 262 gas outlets in Savannah.

The national average has increased 3 cents a gallon in the last week to $3.27, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Prices Sunday were 16.4 cents a gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 8 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has decreased 13.2 cents a gallon during the last month and stands 1.7 cents higher than a year ago.

“2012 was a year that focused the spotlight on our nation’s oil refineries. It showed us the vulnerability of our infrastructure and what can happen to prices at the pump when infrastructure is compromised,” said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst.

With elevated prices across much of the country for prolonged periods, 2012 brought the highest average price ever for U.S. consumers: $3.60 a gallon.

Chiropractic clinic opens
in Pooler

The Joint of Pooler, a new chiropractic clinic, will hold its grand opening ceremony Friday at 485 Pooler Parkway in the Pooler Marketplace Shopping Center with a ribbon-cutting at 1 p.m. and an open house from 1-7 p.m.

The clinic is owned and operated by Robyn Meglin, and its doctor is Alexander S. Bridwell, who received a biology degree from Valdosta State University and received a doctor of chiropractic from Life University in Marietta.

The clinic will be open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 912-330-7100.

The Joint Corp. was founded in Tucson, Ariz., in 1999 and has 332 clinics open or in development in 25 states.

Hargrove wins magazine’s job creators award

Mobile, Ala. — Hargrove Engineers + Constructors has been awarded the Hire Power Award from Inc. Magazine recognizing it as the No. 1 company in the state of Alabama for creating engineering jobs.

Inc.’s Hire Power Award is a salute to the job creators rebuilding the economy by putting Americans back to work. Hargrove is one of 100 companies across the U.S. who have received this award. In 2008, the company had 273 employees and has increased its workforce to 702 in just five years.

Headquartered in Mobile, Hargrove has offices in Savannah; Atlanta; Baton Rouge, La,; Birmingham and Decatur, Ala.; Memphis; Pascagoula, Miss.; and Philadelphia.

Save-A-Lot is now open at the corner of Bull and 40th streets in the space formerly occupied by David’s Supermarket.

The building had been sitting empty for a number of years, so it’s good to see activity there again.

The store will employ a couple of dozen people, increase the tax base and make that corner more vibrant.

I’m not a fan of surface parking lots on key corners in commercial districts, but Save-A-Lot’s is fairly small and decently landscaped.

There’s a Save-A-Lot on the Southside, too. According to the company website, the chain has more than 1,300 stores around the country.

The focus is on low prices. There’s less variety than in larger stores, and various efficiencies are in place that limit the need for labor.

The new Save-A-Lot has opened in one of Savannah’s most diverse neighborhoods.

A few blocks west, there are pockets of poverty amidst many hopeful signs of renovation and new investment.

To the north and east, the Thomas Square neighborhood has continued to strengthen and attract new businesses right through the housing bust, recession and the slow recovery.

An increasing number of young professionals and college students occupy apartments and houses in the neighborhood, a trend encouraged in part by the presence of SCAD’s Arnold Hall. Businesses like Foxy Loxy and Butterhead Greens have thrived off this new population.

A few blocks south of the new Save-A-Lot are Ardsley Park and other neighborhoods with a large number of owner-occupied units and longtime residents.

Some customers will be on foot, some on bicycles, some in cars.

White, black, old, young, native, transient, poor, wealthy, working class, employed, unemployed, self-employed — all that and more can be found within a few blocks of the new grocer.

How will Save-A-Lot fare in this multi-cultural stew?

I think it’s safe to say the store will need to appeal to most if not all of those constituencies if it’s going to thrive.

Kroger on East Gwinnett Street has managed to bridge those various gaps, but the Food Lion off West Gwinnett Street that failed a year ago never seemed to appeal successfully to any segment of downtown’s varied population.

However things turn out, Save-A-Lot’s opening is welcome news as we begin 2013. It’s just one of various significant investments in the greater downtown area announced last year.

I know some folks are hoping for bigger and better things along the Bull Street corridor.

But cities don’t go from zero to 10 in a flash. Blighted buildings in urban neighborhoods don’t typically turn into luxury supermarkets overnight.

Here’s to positive incremental steps in 2013.

City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached via email at billdawers@comcast.net and www.billdawers.com. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.

NEW YORK — If you’d told investors what was going to happen in 2012 — U.S. economic growth at stall speed, an intensifying European debt crisis, a slowdown in China, fiscal deadlock in Washington, decelerating corporate earnings growth — and asked how the stock market would perform, few would have predicted a good year.

But that’s just what they got.

The Dow Jones industrial average, the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Nasdaq composite index all ended the year substantially higher, despite losing ground in the final days of year as concerns about the looming “fiscal cliff” mounted.

The Dow gained 7 percent for the year, its fourth consecutive annual advance, having started the year at 12,217. The S&P 500, which started the year at 1,257, is up 13 percent, beating the 7.8 percent average annual gain of the past 20 years. The Nasdaq also logged a better-than-average gain, 16 percent.

Including dividends, the total return on the S&P 500 index was even better: 16 percent.

Financial companies led the gains among S&P 500 stocks, advancing 26 percent, as banks continued their restructuring efforts after the recession. Bank of America more than doubled, gaining $6.05 to $11.61 and Citigroup advanced $13.25, or 50 percent, to $39.56. Utilities, the best-performing industry group last year, was the only sector of 10 industry groups in the index to decline, dropping 2.9 percent.

“There’s been a lot thrown at this market, and it’s proven to be very resilient,” said Gary Flam, a portfolio manager at Bel Air Investment Advisors in California. “Here we are at the end of the year, and it’s still relatively strong.”

Stocks started the year on a tear, with optimism about an improving job market and a broader economic recovery providing the backdrop to the S&P 500’s best first-quarter rally in 14 years.

The index advanced 12 percent by the end of March, closing the quarter at 1,408, its highest in almost four years, with financial companies and technology firms leading the charge. The Dow ended the first quarter at 13,212, logging an 8 percent gain.

Apple was one of the star performers of the first quarter and was probably the year’s most talked-about company.

The popularity of the iPhone and iPad led to staggering sales growth that helped push its stock up 48 percent to almost $600 at the end of March. Apple also announced a dividend and overtook Exxon Mobil as the U.S.’s most valuable company.

At the start of the second quarter, the intensifying European debt crisis and concerns about the impact that it would have on global economic growth prompted a sell-off.

By the start of June, U.S. stocks had given up the year’s gains. Borrowing costs for Spain surged and investors fretted over the outcome of Greek elections that had the potential to pull the euro currency bloc apart.

The outlook for growth in China, the world’s second-largest economy, also began to weigh on investors’ minds. Economic growth there slowed to 8.1 percent in the first quarter as export demand waned, and investors worried that it would keep falling.

The Dow fell as low as 12,101 on June 4. The S&P dropped to 1,278 June 1.

The second quarter was also marred by Facebook’s initial public offering.

The stock sale was one of the most keenly anticipated initial public offerings in years, but investors didn’t “like” the $16 billion market debut. The social network priced its IPO at $38 per share, and the stock started to fall soon after the first day of trading on concern about the company’s mobile strategy.

Facebook closed as low as $17.73 on Sept. 4 before recovering some of the ground it lost to close the year at $26.62.

Company earnings reports were also starting to make uncomfortable reading for investors. Earnings growth for S&P 500 companies fell as low as 0.8 percent in the second quarter, according to S&P Capital IQ data.

The stock market only recovered its poise after the European Union put together loans to bail out Spain’s banks on June 10 and the head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, pledged to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro.

Speculation that the Federal Reserve was set to provide the economy with more stimulus bolstered stocks.

The rally even survived a blip when a software glitch at trading firm Knight Capital threw stock prices into chaos Aug. 1. Erroneous orders were sent to 140 stocks listed on NYSE, causing sudden price swings and surging trading volume.

Apple launched the iPhone 5, the latest version of its smartphone, in September, and the company’s stock climbed to a record close of $702.10 on Sept. 19. That gave Apple a market value of $658 billion, and many analysts predicted more gains lay ahead.

By the time Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced Sept. 13 that U.S. central bank would start a third round of its bond-purchase program, which is intended to push longer term interest rates lower and encourage borrowing and investment, the S&P 500 had surged 14 percent from its June 1 low. A day later, the index peaked at five-year high of 1,466. The Dow Jones reached its peak for the year of 13,610, Oct. 5.

As is often the case on Wall Street, investors “bought the rumor and sold the fact,” and quickly turned their attention to the challenges that lay ahead.

Analysts had also been cutting their outlook for growth in the final quarter of the year. At the start of the second quarter, estimated earnings growth for the period was 15.7 percent. That forecast had fallen to 3.4 percent by Dec. 27.

“One of the blessings that supported the stock market’s moves in prior years was earnings growth,” said Lawrence Creatura, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors. “That’s true this year, but at a decelerating rate. It’s not gone unnoticed that earnings growth is slowing, and many forecasts now include a full stall.”

Apple’s halo also began to slip in the final three months of the year. Its iPad Mini tablet, launched Nov. 2, met with lukewarm reviews, there were hints of unrest among its executive ranks. Investors began to fret that the intensifying competition in the smartphone market would crimp Apple’s profits. The stock tumbled, and despite rallying in recent days is still down 27 percent from its September peak.

The year’s final twist came in Washington.

Stocks wavered ahead of a presidential election that at times seemed too close to call, and while President Barack Obama ultimately reclaimed the White House by a comfortable margin, the Republicans retained control of the House.

The divided government set the stage for a tense end to the year as Democrats and Republicans sought to thrash out a budget plan that would avoid the U.S. falling off the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax hikes and government spending cuts that economists say would push the economy back into recession.

Initially, markets fell as much as 5 percent in the 10 days after the elections as investors worried that a divided government would not be able to agree on a budget plan to cut the U.S. deficit.

While the S&P 500 managed to recoup those losses by December on optimism that a deal would be reached, some investors are still urging caution. Any agreement will still be “ill-tasting medicine” to the economy, as it will almost certainly involve both spending cuts and tax hikes, says Joe Costigan, director of equity research at Bryn Mawr Trust Company.

“The question is, how much will the drag from the government be offset by business and personal spending,” says Costigan. “The market has reasonable expectations for growth priced in, so I don’t think we’re going to see a big run-up.”

Allgood Pest Solutions buys firms

DUBLIN — Allgood Pest Solutions has announced it has bought three pest control firms — Pied Piper of Charleston, S.C.; South Georgia Termite & Pest Control of Douglas, Ga.; and James Aiken Pest Control of Augusta.

“Trust is important in our industry,” said Allgood Pest Solutions CEO Lanny Allgood, “and we’ve ensured our new customers that we will do all we can with our experience and resources to exceed their expectations throughout the acquisition period.”

Jon Loveland, previous owner of Pied Piper, will join the team at Allgood Pest Solutions. Loveland has more than 30 years of industry experience and has held leadership positions with the South Carolina Pest Control Association as regional director and Charleston Pest Control Association as a two-term president.

Allgood, founded in 1974, will add more than 10 jobs to manage the increase of more than 2,000 new customers.

For more information, call Greg Vines at 478-275-5404 or go to allgoodpestsolutions.com.

Xerox, service club donate
to local YMCA

Xerox Corporation and the local chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Mu Phi Chapter, teamed up to support the Teen Success Club at the West Broad Street YMCA with a contribution of $3,300.

The contribution is part of the Xerox Community Involvement program, which is designed to support communities where they do business. The firm partnered with the local chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Mu Phi Chapter, an international service organization active in the Savannah community.

The Teen Success Club is available to any student in grades 6-12. Club members develop, with volunteer and staff mentors, a high school graduation plan and a post-high school career plan. They visit colleges and universities, are assisted with SAT and CRCT preparation and get to interact with different professionals in the community to learn about career opportunities.

For more information, call 912-233-1951 or go to www.westbroadstreetymca.org.

Humane Society to host sale

The Humane Society for Greater Savannah will host an “After Christmas” thrift shop sale on from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Humane Society parking lot at 7215 Sallie Mood Drive.

Hundreds of goods and treasures will be sold at reduced rates, and discounts will be offered on items.

For information, visit www.humanesocietysav.org or contact Erin Fontes, volunteer and special programs coordinator, at 912-354-9515, ext. 112 or efontes@humanesocietysav.org.

This column is my second to last. As announced in this paper on Dec. 20, I was recently recruited and offered a position in Cincinnati. Although the decision was difficult to make, I accepted the offer.

At times, this column has been a bully pulpit for me to muse on what is good, bad, special or ugly in our region. I’ve used this space to introduce readers to the talents of the creative class iand to the innovation and creativity that abounds in our backyards. I’ve also used this column to spotlight the behind-the-scenes work of The Creative Coast, a not-for-profit organization I am proud to have led.

The Creative Coast lineage dates back to the late 1990s. A group of local businessmen and women created a volunteer-driven organization under the moniker CBETA. The focus for that organization was to explore the possibility of growing creative, tech and innovation-based companies in the region. The question to explore was, is there more to Savannah than the ports, manufacturing, warehousing and the traditional economies?

By the mid-2000s, a small revolution was afoot in America, led in part by Richard Florida, a leading theorist on economic competitiveness, cultural trends and technological innovation. His theory proposed successful urban regeneration could be achieved through the growth of a creative class economy. CBETA soon morphed (for lack of a better word) into The Creative Coast Initiative, an organization that married the work of CBETA with Florida’s vision. A staff was put in place, mission and vision statements were developed and recruiting, developing and producing creative class entrepreneurs and companies began.

I was part of the team that transitioned the organization in 2010. We worked tirelessly to modernize the organization, install a governing board and to develop a new set of values, mission and vision. Most important, we helped the organization gain independence.

We received support from the city of Savannah and SEDA. And we began to rely heavily on our community for support, as well.

The Creative Coast’s goal for Savannah is simple. We work to create an atmosphere of entrepreneurship. We host events, programs and workshops that cultivate a sense of community among the region’s entrepreneurs and creative types. We curate and maintain a robust website and social platform. We meet with and consult small business owners, students and individuals living in the region.

Our goal is to make Savannah’s economy more diverse, to broaden employment opportunities and to promote Savannah as a great place to live and work for those in the fields of creativity and innovation.

We believe in the people of Savannah: The entrepreneurs, the technologists, the social media evangelists, the restaurateurs, the artists, painters, photographers, motion graphics firms, fashion designers, film directors, web developers, graphic designers, tinkerers, welders, carpenters, sculptors, project managers and app developers.

These are our people.

This is our economy.

I am happy to say The Creative Coast is financially sound, solidly staffed, independent and governed by an incredible board. The staff that we have in place today is solid. Our mission, our community and our efforts are as strong and important today as they have ever been.

After announcing my plans to pursue new opportunities to The Creative Coast’s board, I was honored when they asked if I would join the board of directors in 2013. I agreed to serve for a few reasons.

First, I believe in the mission of the organization and the promise of Savannah.

Second, I believe there is more work to be done. The creative class in our region needs a voice and a leader. That voice and that leader is The Creative Coast.

Finally, I believe there is more to Savannah than tourism, the port and manufacturing. Imagine how much stronger we would be as a community if our small, independent businesses were honored, recognized and respected in the same way we treat our industry leaders? These small creative and innovative companies help define our region, but their voice is often lost.

My hope is that we will begin to honor the thousands of local entrepreneurs who are clicking away, building micro-economies that sustain the Savannah region.

That is my hope. That is why I believe in The Creative Coast’s mission. That is why I am proud to have served as the director of The Creative Coast. And that is why I will continue supporting The Creative Coast in 2013 and beyond.

Jake Hodesh is executive director of The Creative Coast, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the creative and entrepreneurial community in the region. He can be reached at 912-447-8457 or jake@thecreativecoast.org.

NEW YORK — Andrew Neitlich is the last person you’d expect to be rattled by the stock market.

He once worked as a financial analyst picking stocks for a mutual fund. He has huddled with dozens of CEOs in his current career as an executive coach. During the dot-com crash 12 years ago, he kept his wits and did not sell.

But he’s selling now.

“You have to trust your government. You have to trust other governments. You have to trust Wall Street,” says Neitlich, 47. “And I don’t trust any of these.”

Defying decades of investment history, ordinary Americans are selling stocks for a fifth year in a row. The selling has not let up despite unprecedented measures by the Federal Reserve to persuade people to buy and the come-hither allure of a levitating market. Stock prices have doubled from March 2009, their low point during the Great Recession.

It’s the first time ordinary folks have sold during a sustained bull market since relevant records were first kept during World War II, an examination by The Associated Press has found. The AP analyzed money flowing into and out of stock funds of all kinds, including relatively new exchange-traded funds, which investors like because of their low fees.

“People don’t trust the market anymore,” says financial historian Charles Geisst of Manhattan College. He says a “crisis of confidence” similar to one after the Crash of 1929 will keep people away from stocks for a generation or more.

The implications for the economy and living standards are unclear but potentially big. If the pullback continues, some experts say, it could lead to lower spending by companies, slower U.S. economic growth and perhaps lower gains for those who remain in the market.

Since they started selling in April 2007, eight months before the start of the Great Recession, individual investors have pulled at least $380 billion from U.S. stock funds, a category that includes both mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, according to estimates by the AP. That is the equivalent of all the money they put into the market in the previous five years.

Instead of stocks, they’re putting money into bonds because those are widely perceived as safer investments. Individuals have put more than $1 trillion into bond mutual funds alone since April 2007, according to the Investment Company Institute, a trade group representing investment funds.

Selling stocks during either a downturn or a recovery is unusual. Americans almost always buy more than they sell during both periods.

Since World War II, nine recessions besides the Great Recession have been followed by recoveries lasting at least three years.

According to data from the Investment Company Institute, individual investors sold during and after only one of those downturns — the one from November 1973 through March 1975. And back then, a scary stock drop around the start of the recovery’s third year, 1977, gave people ample reason to get out of the market.

The unusual pullback this time has spread to other big investors — public and private pension funds, investment brokerages and state and local governments. These groups have sold a total of $861 billion more than they have bought since April 2007, according to the Federal Reserve. Even foreigners, big purchasers in recent years, are selling now — $16 billion in the 12 months through September.

As these groups have sold, much of the stock buying has fallen to companies. They’ve bought $656 billion more than they have sold since April 2007. Companies are mostly buying back their own stock.

On Wall Street, the investor revolt has largely been dismissed as temporary. But doubts are creeping in.

Investor blogs speculate about the “death of equities,” a line from a famous BusinessWeek cover story in 1979, another time many people had seemingly given up on stocks.

Financial analysts lament how the retreat by Main Street has left daily stock trading at low levels.

The investor retreat may have already hurt the fragile economic recovery.

The number of shares traded each day has fallen 40 percent from before the recession to a 12-year low, according to the New York Stock Exchange. That’s cut into earnings of investment banks and online brokers, which earn fees helping others trade stocks. Initial public offerings, another source of Wall Street profits, are happening at one-third the rate before the recession.

And old assumptions about stocks are being tested. One investing gospel is that because stocks generally rise in price, companies don’t need to raise their quarterly cash dividends much to attract buyers. But companies are increasing them lately.

Dividends in the S&P 500 rose 11 percent in the 12 months through September, and the number of companies choosing to raise them is the highest in at least 20 years, according to FactSet, a financial data provider. Stocks now throw off more cash in dividends than U.S. government bonds do in interest.

Many on Wall Street think this is an unnatural state that cannot last. After all, people tend to buy stocks because they expect them to rise in price, not because of the dividend. But for much of the history of U.S. stock trading, stocks were considered too risky to be regarded as little more than vehicles for generating dividends. In every year from 1871 through 1958, stocks yielded more in dividends than U.S. bonds did in interest, according to data from Yale economist Robert Shiller — exactly what is happening now.

So maybe that’s normal, and the past five decades were the aberration.

People who think the market will snap back to normal are underestimating how much the Great Recession scared investors, says Ulrike Malmendier, an economist who has studied the effect of the Great Depression on attitudes toward stocks.

She says people are ignoring something called the “experience effect,” or the tendency to place great weight on what you most recently went through in deciding how much financial risk to take, even if it runs counter to logic. Extrapolating from her research on “Depression Babies,” the title of a 2010 paper she co-wrote, she says many young investors won’t fully embrace stocks again for another two decades.

“The Great Recession will have a lasting impact beyond what a standard economic model would predict,” says Malmendier, who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley.

She could be wrong, of course. But it’s a measure of the psychological blow from the Great Recession that, more than three years since it ended, big institutions, not just amateur investors, are still trimming stocks.

Public pension funds have cut stocks from 71 percent of their holdings before the recession to 66 percent last year, breaking at least 40 years of generally rising stock allocations, according to “State and Local Pensions: What Now?,” a book by economist Alicia Munnell. They’re shifting money into bonds.

Private pension funds, like those run by big companies, have cut stocks more: from 70 percent of holdings to just under 50 percent, back to the 1995 level.

“People aren’t looking to swing for the fences anymore,” says Gary Goldstein, an executive recruiter on Wall Street, referring to the bankers and traders he helps get jobs. “They’re getting less greedy.”

The lack of greed is remarkable given how much official U.S. policy is designed to stoke it.

When Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke launched the first of three bond-buying programs four years ago, he said one aim was to drive Treasury yields so low that frustrated investors would feel they had no choice but to take a risk on stocks. Their buying would push stock prices up, and everyone would be wealthier and spend more. That would help revive the economy.

Sure enough, yields on Treasurys and many other bonds have recently hit record lows, in many cases below the inflation rate. And stock prices have risen. Yet Americans are pulling out of stocks, so deep is their mistrust of them, and perhaps of the Fed itself.

“Fed policy is trying to suck people into risky assets when they shouldn’t be there,” says Michael Harrington, 58, a former investment fund manager who says he is largely out of stocks. “When this policy fails, as it will, baby boomers will pay the cost in their 401(k)s.”

Ordinary Americans are souring on stocks even though stock prices appear attractive relative to earnings. But history shows they can get more attractive yet.

Stocks in the S&P 500 are trading at 14 times what companies earned per share in the past 12 months. Since 1990, they have rarely traded below that level — that is, cheaper, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. But that period is unusual. Looking back seven decades to the start of World War II, there were long stretches during which stocks traded below that.

To estimate how much investors have sold so far, the AP considered both money flowing out of mutual funds, which are nearly all held by individual investors, and money flowing into low-fee exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, which bundle securities together to mimic the performance of a market index. ETFs have attracted money from hedge funds and other institutional investors as well as from individuals.

At the request of the AP, Strategic Insight, a consulting firm, used data from investment firms overseeing ETFs to estimate how much individuals have invested in them. Based on its calculations, individuals accounted for 40 percent to 50 percent of money going to U.S. stock ETFs in recent years.

If you assume 50 percent, individual investors have put $194 billion into U.S. stock ETFs since April 2007. But they’ve also pulled out much more from mutual funds — $580 billion. The difference is $386 billion, the amount individuals have pulled out of stock funds in all.

If you include the sale of stocks by individuals from brokerage accounts, which is not included in the fund data, the outflow could be much higher. Data from the Federal Reserve, which includes selling from brokerage accounts, suggests individual investors have sold $700 billion or more in the past 5½ years. But the Fed figure may overstate the amount sold because it doesn’t fully count certain stock transactions.

The good news is that a chastened stock market doesn’t necessarily mean a flat stock market.

Bill Gross, the co-head of bond investment firm Pimco, has probably done more than anyone to popularize the notion that stocks will prove disappointing in the coming years. But he says what is dying is not stocks, but the “cult” of stocks. In a recent letter to investors, he suggested stocks might return 4 percent or so each year, about half the long-term level but still ahead of inflation.

And if America’s obsession with stocks is over, some excesses associated with it might fade, too.

Maybe more graduates from top colleges will look to other industries besides Wall Street for careers. Of every 100 members of the Harvard undergraduate Class of 2008 who got jobs after graduation, 28 went into financial services, such as helping run mutual funds or hedge funds, according to a March study by two professors at the university’s business school. The average for classes four decades ago was six out of 100.

Of course, those counting the small investor out could be wrong.

Three years after that BusinessWeek story on the “death of equities” ran, in 1982, one of the greatest multi-year stock climbs in history began as the little guys shed their fear and started buying. And so they will surely do again, the bulls argue, and stock prices will really rocket.

Neitlich, the executive coach, has his doubts.

Instead of using extra cash to buy stocks, he is buying houses near his home in Sarasota, Fla., and renting them. He says he prefers real estate because it’s local and is something he can “control.” He says stocks make up 12 percent his $800,000 investment portfolio, down from nearly 100 percent a few years ago.

After the dot-com crash, it seemed as if “things would turn around. Now, I don’t know,” Neitlich says. “The risks are bigger than before.”

Savannah’s Mulberry Inn has been sold, said managing partner and former co-owner Mark Smith on Tuesday. The 145-room property at 601 E. Bay St. was purchased Monday by San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC for an amount undisclosed at press time.

The inn, long a fixture in downtown Savannah, was built in 1982 on a site that housed a livery stable and a cotton warehouse in the 1800s, then later a Coca-Cola bottling plant.

The site was developed into a hotel in 1982, but after bankruptcy, it was bought at auction by Smith and two others in 1992 and later renovated and franchised as a Holiday Inn.

“A periodic review of our assets led us to conclude several years ago that the highest and best use of the Mulberry Inn was as an upscale boutique hotel,” Smith said. “We believe we have concluded a transaction with the preeminent boutique hotel company in the United States.”

Kimpton operates more than 50 hotels and more than 50 restaurants across the country, according to the company’s website. The Mulberry Inn will be the only property the company owns in Georgia, according to its website.

Prince-Bush-Smith Hotels, of which Smith is a member, also owns the Hampton Inn at 201 E. Bay St. and the Holiday Inn Express at 199 E. Bay St. Smith said the group will continue to manage the Mulberry Inn and its 45 employees for the next eight months or so while renovation plans are completed.

“I would like to thank all of our employees, customers and vendors that have made this a highly successful investment for the last 20 years,” Smith said, giving additional thanks to Senior Vice President Mark Dana and General Manager Wendy McBride.

Over the years, the Mulberry Inn has served as the location for many political events. Notable political figures who have held fundraisers at the Mulberry include Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, Gov. Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, former Gov. Sonny Perdue, former New York City mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani and many local public officials.

Smith on Tuesday declined to disclose how much Kimpton paid for the Mulberry Inn in a deal brokered by South Carolina-based Moeckel & Co., and he said he was not at liberty to discuss Kimpton’s plans for the property. Calls and emails to Kimpton’s public relations department were not returned by press time.

Smith said he was excited for the inn’s future.

“It’s a bittersweet moment,” Smith said. “But it’s the right thing to do to allow the property to reach its full potential.”

Georgia Power has sold the Plant Riverside site on River Street’s west end to hotel developer Richard Kessler.

The Savannah native’s plans for the 3.79-acre site remain unknown, although a boutique hotel will anchor the development, according to several sources.

Kessler redeveloped the former Fox & Weeks funeral home on Drayton Street into the Mansion on Forsyth Park in 2005 and built the Bohemian on River Street in 2009.

Kessler did not return a message left with his assistant.

Georgia Power spokeswoman Swann Seiler said the buyer — the utility would not acknowledge Kessler as the man behind the company that purchased the property — plans “an exciting redevelopment master plan.” The site is now zoned light industrial but neighboring parcels are zoned for bayfront business, which allows a mix of commercial uses, including retail, restaurant and bar, lodging, office and residential.

Kessler has yet to submit redevelopment plans with the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission. The designs would be subject to examination by the Savannah Historic District Board of Review.

The sale of the site closed Monday. The Plant Riverside site includes the former power plant, which opened in 1913, and more than an acre of cleared waterfront property formerly home to the plant’s transformers.

The site has been vacant since 2005 and Georgia Power began prepping it for sale in 2009. The property was listed for sale in September.

Plant Riverside drew heavy interest from “a number of high-profile investors and developers who specialize in historic redevelopment,” according to Seiler.

Plant Riverside redevelopment promises a busy construction year on River Street. A 165-room hotel to be built across River Street from the power plant gained conditional approval last month, and construction has begun on a 55-room boutique hotel in the historic Ryan Building, next door to the Bohemian.

On the east end of River Street, a Joe’s Crab Shack is nearing completion on the former Moran Towing property, while hotel developer North Point Hospitality is working through the review process for a major redevelopment of the former Georgia Power headquarters site. Those plans call for two new hotels, a parking garage and four waterfront retail buildings.

"River Street has traditionally ranked high among area attractions for many visitors to Savannah,” said Joe Marinelli, head of convention and visitors bureau Visit Savannah. “These projects add a new aspect of 'new product development' for our city that will likely have a very positive impact on the future economic prosperity in our community."

ABOUT KESSLER

Born in Savannah and raised in Effingham County, Richard Kessler heads The Kessler Enterprise. The company owns or operates 10 upscale hotels, including the Bohemian and the Mansion on Forsyth Park, as well as the Casa Monica in St. Augustine, Fla., and the Beaver Creek Lodge in Colorado. Grand Bohemian hotels in Atlanta and St. Petersburg, Fla., are in development.

NEW YORK — Avis is leaping into the car-sharing service business by buying Zipcar for $491.2 million, aiming to capture a new type of customer and technology that will vastly expand its car rental options.

Car sharing has become a popular alternative to traditional rentals in metropolitan areas and on college campuses, allowing members to get a vehicle for an hour or two for short trips instead of renting a car for a day or using mass transit. The segment has been growing while traditional car rentals have struggled in the current slow-growth economy.

Zipcar, which was founded in 2000, has more than 760,000 members, triple what it had in 2008. It went public in 2011 and 2012 is expected to be its first-ever profitable year. Avis Budget Group Inc. is the third-largest U.S. rental car company, behind Enterprise Rent-a-Car and Hertz Global Holdings Inc.

“I’ve been somewhat dismissive of car sharing in the past but what I’ve come to realize is that car sharing, particularly on the scale that Zipcar has achieved and will achieve, is complementary to our traditional business,” Avis’ Chairman and CEO Ron Nelson said in a conference call after the deal was announced.

Nelson said the acquisition means Avis will now be able to reach younger, more tech-savvy consumers that prefer sharing services.

Zipcar parks cars throughout cities and college campuses, which allows renters to avoid waiting in lines at traditional car rental counters. Some areas provide reserved parking for the cars, which can be located online or through the companies’ smartphone applications. That technology was attractive to Avis, which hopes to expand Zipcar’s vast technological capabilities to its own business.

The car-sharing companies pay for fuel and insurance, costs not included in standard car rentals. Although the hourly rental options are quicker and cheaper than renting a car by the day, Zipcar and other car-sharing services are generally more expensive for rentals longer than 24 hours.

To join Zipcar, members pay a $25 application fee and $50 a year. Rates run from $7.50 an hour and include gas, insurance and 180 miles a day.

The acquisition will help Avis better compete with Enterprise and Hertz, which have their own smaller car-sharing services. And having access to Avis’ fleet of cars will help Zipcar meet high demand on weekends when most people take a trip to the grocery store or run other errands.

Avis estimates it will save about $50 to $70 million a year through combining the two businesses into one.

Avis Budget Group Inc. will pay $12.25 per share, which is a 49 percent premium to Zipcar’s closing price on Friday. The stock lost more than half its value in early 2012 year as its results and outlook spooked Wall Street. But late last year, the stock began to recover as the company saw growth in members and revenue. And on Wednesday, the stock soared 48 percent to $12.19.

The boards of both companies unanimously approved the buyout. If Zipcar shareholders approve the deal, it’s expected to close in the spring.

Avis, which is based in Parsippany, N.J., said it expects certain members of Zipcar management, including Chairman and CEO Scott Griffith and President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Norman, to help run its day-to-day operations.

Avis also maintained its 2012 adjusted earnings forecast Monday of about $2.35 to $2.45 per share on revenue of approximately $7.3 billion. Analysts predict earnings of $2.42 per share on revenue of $7.3 billion.

Avis shares jumped 4.6 percent to $20.74, after earlier hitting a 52-week high of $21.09.

THE ZIPCAR PURCHASE AT A GLANCE

SOMETHING BORROWED: Avis is leaping into the car-sharing service business by buying Zipcar for $491.2 million, aiming to capture a new type of customer and technology that will vastly expand its car rental options.

SOMETHING NEW: Car sharing has become a popular alternative to traditional rentals in metropolitan areas and on college campuses, allowing members to get a vehicle for an hour or two for short trips instead of renting a car for a day or using mass transit.

CAR KEY: The acquisition will help Avis better compete with Enterprise and Hertz, which have their own smaller car-sharing services.

WASHINGTON — Spending on U.S. construction projects fell in November from October because a steep drop in volatile federal projects offset another gain in home building.

Construction spending dipped 0.3 percent in November, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It was the first decline since March and followed a 0.7 percent increase in October, which was revised lower.

Total spending declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $866 billion. That is 16.1 percent above a 12-year low hit in February 2011. Even with the gain, the level of spending remained only about half of what’s considered healthy.

The November figures were dragged lower by a 5.5 percent decline in spending on federal government projects. Federal spending fluctuates sharply from month to month. In October, it rose 9.7 percent.

Spending on residential construction, however, has steadily increased over the past eight months and rose 0.4 percent in November.

Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics, said the decline in construction spending was “nothing too much to worry about.”

“This is a volatile series month to month,” Ashworth said. “The recent surge in housing starts suggests that residential construction spending will expand at a fairly rapid pace this year, particularly when Hurricane Sandy rebuilding is added in.”

Spending on commercial projects dropped 0.7 percent. Spending on office buildings, hotels and shopping centers declined. Overall government spending dipped 0.4 percent.

A separate report last month showed that builders broke ground on fewer homes in November after starting work at the fastest pace in more than four years in October. Housing starts are on track for their best year in four years.

Strength in home building has been one of the bright spots for the economy this year. But overall construction is still being offset by weakness in commercial real estate and tight state and local government budgets.

Sales of new homes rose 4.4 percent in November to the highest annual pace in two and a half years. New-home sales are more than 15 percent higher than a year ago.

From July through September, residential construction grew at an annual rate of 13.5 percent. Housing construction is on track to contribute to economic growth this year, the first time that has happened since the housing bubble burst.

Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an out-size impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to statistics from the National Association of Home Builders.

Builders are increasingly confident that the housing recovery will endure. A measure of their confidence rose in November to the highest level in 6 1/2 years.

CONSTRUCTION SPENDING AT A GLANCE

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: Spending on U.S. construction projects fell 0.3 percent in November, the first decline since March.

GOVERNMENT VS. HOUSING: The weakness reflected in part a steep 5.5 percent decline in construction spending by the federal government, a volatile category. This offset a 0.4 percent increase in residential construction, the eighth consecutive gain.

OUTLOOK: Housing construction is expected to keep making gains in 2013 as this sector keeps recovering from a deep slump. But the outlook is less bright for other sectors. Government spending is being constrained by tight budgets and there are lingering problems in commercial real estate as well.

NEW YORK — The “fiscal cliff” compromise, even with all its chaos, controversy and unresolved questions, was enough to send the stock market shooting higher Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year.

All the major U.S. stock indexes swelled more than 2 percent in early trading and were still up significantly in the afternoon. The Dow Jones industrial average briefly surged to its biggest gain in six months.

The reverie multiplied across the globe, with stocks throughout Europe and Asia leaping higher.

In the U.S., the rally was extraordinarily broad. For every stock that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, roughly 9 rose. Technology and bank stocks rose the most. U.S. government bond prices fell as investors pulled money out of safe-harbor investments. Zipcar soared nearly 50 percent after agreeing to be bought by Avis.

But for all the euphoria, many investors cautioned that it can’t last long. The deal that politicians hammered out merely postpones the country’s budget reckoning, they said, rather than averting it.

“Washington negotiations remind me of the Beach Boys song, ‘We’ll have fun, fun, fun ‘til her daddy takes the T-Bird away,” Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of BMO Private Bank in Chicago, wrote in a note to clients.

“Nothing got solved,” added T. Doug Dale, chief investment officer for Security Ballew Wealth Management in Jackson, Miss.

According to them and others, the markets were celebrating Wednesday not because investors love the budget deal that was cobbled together, but because they were grateful there was any deal at all.

“Most people think that no deal would have been worse than a bad deal,” said Mark Lehmann, president of JMP Securities in San Francisco. He called the current package “not too Draconian.”

The House passed the budget bill late Tuesday night, a contentious exercise because many Republicans had wanted a deal that did more to cut government spending. The Senate had already approved the bill.

The late-night haggling was a product of lawmakers wanting to avert a sweeping set of government spending cuts and tax increases that kicked in Jan. 1 in the absence of a budget deal, a scenario that came to be known on Wall Street and Washington as the fiscal cliff, because of the threat it would pose to the fragile U.S. economic recovery.

The bill passed Tuesday night ended the stalemate for now, but it leaves many questions unanswered.

The deal doesn’t include any significant deficit-cutting agreement, meaning the country still doesn’t have a long-term plan or even a philosophical agreement for how to rein in spending. Big cuts to defense and domestic programs, which were slated to kick in with the new year, weren’t worked out but instead were just delayed for two months. And the U.S. is still bumping up against its borrowing limit, or “debt ceiling.”

“There’s definitely another drama coming down the road,” said Lehmann. “That’s the March cliff.”

The political bickering that’s almost certain to persist could have another unwelcome effect: It could influence the ratings agencies to downgrade their ratings of the U.S. When that happened before, when Standard & Poor’s cut its rating on the U.S. government in August 2011, the stock market plunged.

Even so, Wednesday’s performance gave no hint of the dark clouds on the horizon.

The Dow briefly surged as much as 273 points in early trading. At mid-afternoon, it was up 219 points, or 1.7 percent, to 13,323.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 24, or 1.7 percent, to 1,450. The Nasdaq composite was up 68, or 2.3 percent, to 3,088.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose sharply, to 1.83 percent from 1.75 percent. Prices for oil and metals including gold, copper and platinum, were up.

The gains persisted despite small reminders that there are still serious problems punctuating the world economy, like middling growth for the U.S. economy and the still-unsolved European debt crisis. The government reported that U.S. builders spent less on construction projects in November, the first decline in eight months. And the president of debt-wracked Cyprus said he’d refuse to sell government-owned companies, a provision that the country’s bailout deal says it must at least consider.

Among stocks making big moves, Zipcar shot up 48 percent, or $4, to $12.24 after the company said it would sell itself to Avis. Avis rose $1.02 to $20.84, about 5 percent.

Marriott rose more than 4 percent, up $1.69 to $38.96, after SunTrust analysts upgraded the stock to “buy.” Headphone maker Skullcandy dropped 13 percent, losing $1.02 to $6.77, after Jefferies analysts downgraded it to “underperform” from “buy.”

Preservation group commits to 2014 conference

Savannah will host one of the country’s premier preservation organizations once again when the National Trust for Historic Preservation comes to Savannah for its 2014 annual convention, its first visit since 1998.

“We identified this conference as a ‘blue chip opportunity’ for our city some time ago and worked closely with the Historic Savannah Foundation to get the deal done,” said Visit Savannah President Joseph Marinelli.

Historic Savannah Foundation president and CEO Daniel G. Carey said the national preservation conference is the country’s most important convening of preservationists.

“We are honored that the National Trust for Historic Preservation has selected Savannah for its 2014 meeting,” Carey said.

The group will be in town Nov. 6–17 with more than 1,500 people. The conference is expected to seal nearly 2,500 hotel nights and create more than $720,000 in visitor spending.

International Paper Savannah mill’s giving

In a summary of its corporate contributions to the community, International Paper’s Savannah mill reports its United Way campaign has contributed more than $150,000 for the last three years to local United Way agencies.

In addition, the mill awards $60,000 annually to nonprofit organizations through the IP Foundation and more than $75,000 in sponsorships and in-kind donations.

Plus, International Paper employees also donate their time to a variety of nonprofit organizations during the year through company initiatives and other volunteer organizations, the company said.

“The Savannah mill is glad to support our local community in ways that are meaningful and impactful,” said mill communications manager Karen Bogans.

Overall, the firm said, International Paper provides more than $10 million to support thousands of charitable organizations in the communities where its employees live and work.

LMI closes on firm’s purchase

LMI Aerospace Inc. (Nasdaq:LMIA), a leading supplier of structural assemblies, kits and components and provider of design engineering services to the aerospace and defense industries, has announced that it completed its acquisition of Valent Aerostructures LLC.

Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., Valent is a leading provider of complex, structural components, major sub-assemblies and machined parts for OEM and Tier 1 airframe manufacturers in the aerospace and defense industries.

LMI paid $237 million for Valent’s stock and issued 784,000 shares of LMI common stock to former Valent shareholders. In connection with the closing, LMI completed its previously announced debt refinancing and entered into a $300 million credit arrangement.

LMI has 55 employees in Savannah and was named by the Savannah Morning News as the area’s 2012 Manufacturer of the Year.

WASHINGTON — U.S. manufacturing grew slightly last month and factory hiring increased. The modest gain suggests the economy entered the new year with some momentum.

The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday that its index of manufacturing activity rose in December to 50.7. That’s up from a reading of 49.5 in November, which was the lowest reading since July 2009, one month after the recession ended.

A reading above 50 indicates growth, while a reading below signals contraction. The ISM is a trade group of purchasing managers.

A measure of employment increased last month to 52.7. That’s up from 48.4 in November, which was the first time the employment gauge fell below 50 in three years.

Factories have cut jobs in three of the four months through November, according to government data. The jump in employment in the ISM survey suggests manufacturers may have stepped up hiring last month.

The Labor Department releases the December jobs report on Friday.

Still, a gauge of new orders was unchanged and production grew more slowly, the survey found. Manufacturers also cut back on stockpiles, a sign of concern about future demand.

“The trend in manufacturing remains weak,” Jim O’Sullivan, an economist at High Frequency Economics, said in a note to clients.

The closely watched manufacturing survey was completed before Congress reached a deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff.”

The last-minute deal passed Tuesday averts widespread tax increases and delays deep spending cuts that had threatened to push the country back into recession. Still, most Americans will see some increase in taxes this year, which will likely slow consumer spending.

Stocks surged immediately after the market opened in response to the deal. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 308 points — the biggest gain in a year — to close up at 13,412. Broader indexes also rose sharply.

A gauge of export orders rose above 50 for the first time in six months, according to the ISM survey. That’s a hopeful sign that overseas economies are improving, raising demand for U.S. goods.

A survey in China on Monday found manufacturing activity in that country expanded for the third straight month. That adds to evidence that its economy is improving after a slowdown last year.

Growth in the U.S. economy is being driven by other sectors, such as housing. A government report showed that construction firms spent more on home building in November.

Overall construction spending slipped 0.3 percent because of a sharp drop in federal government projects. Spending on commercial buildings, such as office buildings and shopping malls, also fell.

There have been some positive signs for factory output. In November, companies substantially increased their orders for a category of large equipment that reflects their investment plans. That followed a big increase in the same category in October.

The economy grew at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, much better than the 1.3 percent pace in the April-June quarter. But economists expect growth slowed in the final three months of last year, partly because of the uncertainties surrounding the fiscal cliff, to below a 2 percent pace.

The Port of Savannah — and other major ports along the East and Gulf coasts — started the New Year with a collective sigh of relief that ship traffic was still moving and containers continued to be loaded and unloaded.

But there is still some uncertainty in the maritime community as 2013 gets under way.

Although an end-of-the-year strike was averted at the last minute when the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance came to a tentative agreement on the container royalty issue, other issues — primarily involving work rules and productivity — remain and must be settled before the extension expires at midnight Feb. 6.

Negotiations have been contentious since talks aimed at reaching a new six-year contract began last March. So, while both sides sound more optimistic about reaching an agreement, it’s not a done deal yet.

Mediation watch

In Savannah, port watchers are keeping a close eye on their neighbor to the north as South Carolina pulls out every weapon in its arsenal in an attempt to keep the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project from coming to fruition.

In one of the most studied civil works projects in U.S. history, the Corps announced last April that deepening the Savannah River channel from its current 42 feet to 47 feet at mean low water “is economically viable, environmentally sustainable and in the best interests of the United States.”

Six months later, Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy signed the Record of Decision, green-lighting the project.

South Carolina, however, contended its state permit for the project had been improperly issued, a contention upheld by the South Carolina Supreme Court in November when it ordered the two sides into mediation on the issue.

Meanwhile, Darcy has submitted letters to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Vice President Joe Biden and the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House appropriations and environment committees asking for Congress to exercise authority under section 404(r) of the Clean Water Act to “specifically authorize” the project.

Stay tuned. With mediation expected to wrap up in the next few weeks and Congress back in session, the muddy waters of controversy should clear a little.

How much money

Then there is the question of financing the project.

Gov. Nathan Deal already has pledged some $230 million of the $650 million the deepening will require. Now attention will turn to President Obama’s upcoming 2014 federal budget proposal.

The cost-sharing ratio for the project is estimated at 70-30 between the federal and non-federal sponsor.

“Georgia is ready and able to pay its share of the cost,” Deal said, citing the deepening’s benefit-to-cost ration of 5.5 to 1.

“For every $1 we invest, we get back $5.50 in economic benefits. Taxpayers will receive a handsome return on this project.”

As for the federal portion, having a record of decision will allow that to be addressed in the upcoming federal budget proposal, expected some time in February.

While the amount allocated is anyone’s guess at this point, it can’t hurt that Savannah’s harbor deepening is one of a handful of infrastructure projects designated “nationally and regionally significant” by the Obama Administration and slated for fast-track completion.

Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.

SHIPPING SCHEDULE

These are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean Terminals in the next week. Sailing schedules are provided by Georgia Ports Authority and are subject to change.

Terminal Ship name Arrival

GCT CMA CGM JAMAICA Today

GCT MOL GENEROSITY Today

GCT CSCL BRISBANE Today

GCT NYK RUMINA Today

OT NEW PRIDE Today

OT GRANDE GABON Today

GCT EVER DIVINE Saturday

GCT OOCL ANTWERP Saturday

GCT E.R. PUSAN Saturday

GCT HANJIN LOS ANGELES Saturday

GCT CHARLESTON EXPRESS Sunday

OT CARMEN Saturday

GCT HANJIN MADRID Monday

GCT POLARIS J Monday

GCT APL AGATE Monday

GCT MSC TOKYO Monday

GCT YM BUSAN Monday

GCT MSC JUDITH Monday

GCT ROME EXPRESS Monday

GCT NYK JOANNA Monday

GCT MAERSK DHAHRAN Tuesday

GCT MOL ENCORE Tuesday

GCT ZIM TEXAS Tuesday

GCT NYK DENEB Tuesday

GCT NYK DEMETER Tuesday

GCT NYK KAI Tuesday

GCT CMA CGM SAMSON Tuesday

OT GEIRANGER Tuesday

GCT MOL TYNE Wednesday

GCT SEA-LAND CHAMPION Wednesday

GCT HYUNDAI DYNASTY Wednesday

OT STAR JAPAN Wednesday

GCT RANJAN Thursday

GCT ISLANDIA Thursday

GCT MAERSK MALACCA Thursday

GCT SEOUL EXPRESS Thursday

GCT ZIM SAVANNAH Thursday

GCT CSCL VANCOUVER Thursday

GCT MAERSK IOWA Thursday

GCT HANJIN MALTA Thursday

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A Bluffton advertising agency was tapped by the state Thursday to promote South Carolina’s $15 billion tourism industry with a contract worth an estimated $57 million.

The contract will go to BFG Communications of Bluffton, said Marion Edmonds, a spokesman for the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. For years, the contract had been handled by Greenville-based Leslie Advertising and its successor, the bounce Agency.

BFG has more than 250 employees and its clients range from Coca-Cola to Warner Brother Entertainment and Hanes Brands. Edmonds said BFG was selected from a group of four finalists, all South Carolina ad agencies. He said the bounce Agency is closing.

The initial contract period runs for six months and then it will be extended for six years.

The Budget and Control Board estimates that over that time, the contract could be worth about $57 million.

Edmonds said PRT’s spring ad campaign is already set but the public will see BFG’s imprint beginning with the fall advertising effort. The new contract takes effect on Jan. 15 after a standard 10-day period in which others can protest the award.

PRT Director Duane Parrish said the agency will continue its emphasis in advertising on the undiscovered and unique experiences South Carolina offers.

“BFG demonstrated it understands the breadth and depth of this opportunity,” he said.

“Our job will be simply uncover these hidden gems and showcase them with all the passion we have for the friendly people, intriguing places and immense opportunities offered throughout this great state,” said Kevin Meany, the president and CEO of BFG Communications.

A $2.5 million media campaign gearing up this year is aimed at attracting visitors to lesser-known areas, including smaller towns people bypass on the way to more traditional tourist destinations, state parks, drive-ins, and rural attractions such as the Cherokee Foothills Trail and the Jocassee Gorges.

Step Up Savannah adds new board members

Eleven new members will join the Step Up Savannah, Inc. board of directors in January. The new members’ terms began Tuesday and they will serve for three years. The board also elected its officers for 2013, who serve for one year.

Step Up Savannah Board Officers for 2013 include: Michael Traynor, publisher, Savannah Morning News, president; Pamela Howard Oglesby, West Savannah community activist, vice chairman; John Wills, president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service, treasurer.

New board members and their affiliations include:

Arthur Best, workforce development director, Economic Opportunity Authority; Scott Center, president, National Office Systems, Inc.; Tabatha Crawford-Roberts, founder, Right Track Consulting Services; April Joy Hetzel, proprietor, Mint Green Tag Sale Company; Patricia Lyons ,president, Senior Citizens, Inc.; Maureen McFadden, director, Department of Family & Children Services; Chris Miltiades, president, Workmen’s Circle Credit Union; John Neely, president, Colliers International; Al Scott, chairman, Chatham County Commission; Pat Shay, president, Gunn, Meyerhoff, Shay; Gloria Williams, president, Cuyler Brownville Neighborhood Association.

A complete list of board members is available on Step Up’s Website: www.stepupsavannah.org

Amusement park hopes for tax break under new law

ROSSVILLE — A northwest Georgia amusement park hopes to open a new water park with a tax break under a new Georgia law.

The Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park hopes to break ground in January on the new five-acre water park just south of the Tennessee-Georgia line, The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.

Park officials also hope to know by then whether they’ll get a $198,050 tax break on the water park’s equipment under Senate Bill 386, a new Georgia law that exempts projects of “regional significance” from state and local use taxes.

The water park could be the first project to get the tax break, said state Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga.

“The project is the type of project they’re looking for, because it is a great regional impact,” Mullis said.

Brian Williamson is deputy commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, which will have a hand in deciding whether Lake Winnie gets the tax break.

“It’s an eligible project, and we look forward to reviewing the application,” Williamson said.

DBA sets January luncheon

The Savannah Downtown Business Association’s January luncheon will take place Wednesday at Satisfied, 301 W. Broughton St. Networking will begin at 11:30 am followed by lunch at noon. Guest speakers Ga. Reps. J. Craig Gordon and Ron Stephens will discuss state issues affecting the business community. Cost is $25 for members and $35 for non-members. Reservations required at www.SavannahDBA,com.

DETROIT — Strong U.S. sales in December capped a remarkable year for the auto industry — especially Japanese brands — and 2013 should be even better.

Sales of new cars and trucks are expected to total 14.5 million after all carmakers announce figures on Thursday. That is 13 percent better than 2011 and the best performance in five years.

In 2012, Americans had plenty of incentive to buy new cars and trucks. Unemployment eased. Home sales and prices rose. And the average age of a car topped 11 years in the U.S., a record that spurred people to trade in. Banks made that easier by offering low interest rates and greater access to loans, even for those with lousy credit.

“The U.S. light vehicle sales market continues to be a bright spot in the tremulous global environment,” said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, a Detroit-area industry forecasting firm.

Year-end deals on pickup trucks and the usual round of sparkling holiday ads helped December sales jump 10 percent to more than 1.3 million, auto pricing site TrueCar.com predicted. That would translate to an annual rate of more than 15.6 million, making December the strongest month of 2012.

Toyota, which has recovered from an earthquake and tsunami in Japan that crimped its factories two years ago, said Thursday that sales jumped 27 percent for 2012. December sales were up 9 percent. Unlike 2011, the company had plenty of new cars on dealer lots for most of last year.

Honda sales rose 24 percent for the year. Nissan and Infiniti sales were up nearly 10 percent as the Nissan brand topped 1 million in annual sales for the first time.

Volkswagen led all major automakers with sales up a staggering 35 percent.

Chrysler, the smallest of the Detroit carmakers, had the best year among U.S. companies. Its sales jumped 21 percent for the year and 10 percent in December. Demand was led by the Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV, Ram pickup and Chrysler 300 luxury car.

But full-year sales at Ford and General Motors lagged. GM’s rose only 3.7 percent for the year, while Ford edged up 5 percent. For December, GM sales rose 5 percent, while Ford was up 2 percent.

GM executives said the company has the oldest model lineup in the industry, yet it still posted a sales increase and commanded high prices for its cars and trucks. The company plans to refurbish 70 percent of its North American models in the next 18 months and expects to boost sales this year.

North American President Mark Reuss said the company won’t give away cars and trucks with discounts like it has in the past, especially when it’s in the midst of its biggest product update ever.

“Give us 18 months and you’re going to see the whole portfolio turned,” said Reuss.

Ford said that even though the fiscal cliff deal raised tax rates on individuals making more than $400,000 and couples making more than $450,000 a year, it doesn’t see a huge impact on auto sales.

Its chief economist, Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, said only 2 percent of new-vehicle buyers have income in that upper tax bracket, and they tend to purchase even if there is a change in their after-tax income.

She said Ford is more concerned about an increase in the payroll tax, which is scheduled to bounce up to 6.2 percent this year from 4.2 percent in 2011 and 2012. That amounts to a $1,000 to $1,500 tax increase per household, she said.

“We will look at that closely because it will crimp spending in the months ahead,” she said.

December featured year-end deals on GM’s big pickup trucks; the company offered discounts of up to $9,000 to help clear growing inventory. The move worked. GM cut its full-size pickup supply by more than 20,000 in December to about 222,000.

Overall, though, analysts said the industry eased up on promotions such as rebates and low-interest financing. Car and truck buyers paid an average of $31,228 per vehicle last month, up 1.8 percent from December 2011.

The year’s sales of 14.5 million were far better than the bleak days three years ago when they fell to 10.4 million, a 30-year low as the economy tanked and GM and Chrysler went through bankruptcy protection. But sales still aren’t back to the recent peak of around 17 million in 2005.

The Polk auto research firm predicted even stronger U.S. sales for 2013, forecasting 15.3 million as the economy continues to improve. Polk, based in Southfield, Mich., expects 43 new models to be introduced, up 50 percent from last year. New models usually boost sales.

The firm also predicts a rebound in sales of large pickups and midsize cars. All eight of the top manufacturers are strong and introducing new vehicles, and that should bring competition and lower prices in those segments, according to Tom Libby, lead North American analyst for Polk.

But the firm’s optimistic forecasts hinge on Washington reaching an agreement on government debt limits and spending cuts.

WHY CAR SALES ARE STRONG IN THE U.S.

DETROIT — U.S. auto sales hit a five-year high in 2012, as low interest rates, improving consumer confidence and — most important — some great new cars drew buyers into dealerships.

Sales of new cars and trucks are expected to reach 14.5 million for 2012, up 13 percent from the year before. That not quite a return to the boom times of 2005, when sales hit 17 million. But sales are 40 percent higher than they were at the depths of the recession in 2009.

Here are the highlights and lowlights of 2012, and what’s coming from the industry in 2013:

WINNERS: Volkswagen saw a 35-percent jump in sales in 2012, one of the biggest increases in the industry. The new Passat midsize car was the driver, with sales up 413 percent over 2011. Chrysler’s sales jumped 21 percent thanks to strong sales of the Dodge Caravan minivan and the Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV.

LOSERS: Both General Motors and Ford gained sales in 2011 when the earthquake hurt their Japanese competitors. But the Japanese snatched those sales back in 2012, and GM and Ford lagged behind the industry. GM saw a 4 percent sales increase for the year, hurt by weak truck and Cadillac sales. Ford’s sales were up 5 percent after new versions of some of its biggest sellers — the Ford Escape SUV and Fusion sedan — had to be recalled for safety problems. But they still had plenty of bright spots. Car and SUV sales were solid. New models like the Ford C-Max hybrid and the Buick Verano small car were well received.

RISING STOCKS: GM and Ford investors had a happy finish to 2012. Ford’s stock price is trading at more than $13, up 22 percent over the past year. It has climbed steadily since October, when the company announced an overhaul of its struggling European operations. GM’s stock price has jumped 42 percent in the past year and is now nearly $30. The carmaker turned a strong profit over the summer. It also restructured in Europe and has started buying back the government’s stake in the company.

WELCOME BACK, JAPAN: Those who wrote off Japanese carmakers after Toyota’s recalls in 2010 and earthquake-related car shortages in 2011 were wrong. Japanese companies, who struggled after the earthquake, got their U.S. supplies back to normal in the first few months of 2012 and never looked back. Toyota’s U.S. sales rose 28 percent and the Camry sedan had its best year since 2008. Honda’s sales rose 24 percent.

HOT CARS: The Chevrolet Sonic, GM’s first really competitive small car, quickly became the best-selling subcompact in the U.S. last year. Sales hit 81,247. Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle surged 400 percent to 28,654 after a more aggressive, masculine design hit showrooms. The latest version of the Honda CR-V, a favorite family hauler, set an annual sales record of 281,652. The Toyota Prius jumped 73 percent to 236,659 thanks to new wagon, subcompact and plug-in versions.

THINKING SMALL: Small cars were big sellers as gas reached $3.60 per gallon, which AAA said was the most expensive annual average on record. The Ford Focus compact jumped more than 40 percent and outsold Ford’s midsize Fusion. Honda Civic sales jumped 44 percent and nearly outsold the Accord. Sales of the Fiat 500 mini car more than doubled.

PICKUPS PICK UP: After four years of lackluster sales, big pickups started to gain traction late in the year. Home construction began to recover. That directly affects pickup sales because builders feel more confident and replace old trucks. Those trucks needed replacing; the average U.S. pickup is more than 11 years old. Sales of Ford’s F-Series rose 10 percent for the year. Chrysler Ram sales rose 20 percent, and the Toyota Tundra was up 23 percent. Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends for the TrueCar.com auto pricing site, said businesses buy trucks when they see new ones on the road. “When a couple of businesses buy, other businesses see this as a ‘go’ sign,” he said.

POWER OUTAGE: Electric cars continued to struggle because of high price tags and worries about a lack of places to charge up batteries. GM cut production of the Chevrolet Volt in the spring and later began offering big discounts to juice sales. The Volt ended 2012 with total sales of 23,461, which was triple its sales in 2011. But the electric Nissan Leaf was up just 1.5 percent to 9,819, far short of Nissan’s goal of selling 20,000 Leafs in the U.S. in 2012.

FISCAL CLIFF: Carmakers don’t expect the tax increase on people making more than $400,000 a year to impact sales. Ford’s chief economist says only 2 percent of new-vehicle buyers are in the top tax bracket. Audi of America President Scott Keogh says the increase won’t cut disposable income enough to hurt luxury sales. He says the average income of an Audi buyer is about $191,000, not in the status-conscious top tax bracket. “We are not what I would call a frivolous, over-the-top vanity purchase,” he said.

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. job market showed resilience in three reports Thursday, suggesting it may able to withstand a federal budget battle that threatens more economic uncertainty in coming months.

A survey showed private hiring increased last month, while layoffs declined and applications for unemployment benefits stayed near a four-year low.

The data led some economists to raise their forecasts for December job growth one day before the government releases its closely watched employment report.

“The job market held firm in December despite the intensifying fiscal cliff negotiations,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “Businesses even became somewhat more aggressive in their hiring at year end.”

The most encouraging sign came from payroll provider ADP. Its monthly employment survey showed businesses added 215,000 jobs last month, the most in 10 months and much higher than November’s total of 148,000.

Economists tend to approach the ADP survey with some skepticism because it has diverged sharply at times from the government’s job figures. The Labor Department releases its employment report Friday. But some economists were also hopeful after seeing businesses were less inclined to cut jobs last month.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said that the number of announced job cuts fell 43 percent in December from November, and overall planned layoffs in 2012 fell to the lowest level since 1997.

The decline in layoffs coincided with a drop last month in the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits. The four-week average was little changed at 360,000 last week. That’s only slightly above the previous week’s 359,750, which was the lowest since March 2008.

Most economists expect the Labor Department report will show employers added about 150,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate stayed at 7.7 percent.

Stronger gains

Some economists saw potential for stronger gains after seeing Thursday’s data.

Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, raised his forecast for job growth in December to 190,000 jobs, up from 150,000.

Credit Suisse increased its forecast to 185,000, up from 165,000.

“Given that we have restraints, the labor market data do appear to be improving,” said Dana Saporta, an economist at Credit Suisse.

Still, many economists remained cautious about where the job market is headed.

While Congress and the White House reached a deal this week that removed the threat of tax increases to most Americans, they postponed the more difficult decisions on cutting spending. And the government must also increase its $16.4 trillion borrowing limit by late February or risk defaulting on its debt.

Congressional Republicans are pressing for deep spending cuts in return for any increase in the borrowing limit. President Barack Obama has repeatedly said wants the issues kept separate.

The economy has added about 150,000 jobs a month, on average, over the past two years. That’s too few to rapidly lower the unemployment rate.

Hiring probably won’t rise above the current 150,000 per month trend until after the borrowing limit is resolved, economists say.

A similar fight over raising the borrowing limit in 2011 was only settled at the last hour and nearly brought the nation to the brink of default.

“That’s not an environment where you’re likely to be taking risks,” such as boosting hiring, said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight.

Even with modest gains in hiring, the unemployment rate remains high. It fell to 7.7 percent in November from 7.9 percent in October. But that was mostly because many of the unemployed stopped looking for jobs. The government counts people as unemployed only if they are actively searching for work.

The number of people receiving jobless benefits fell to 5.4 million in the week ended Dec. 15, the latest data available. That’s down about 70,000 from the previous week. The figure includes about 2.1 million people receiving emergency benefits paid for by the federal government. The White House and Congress agreed earlier this week to extend that program for another year.

There are signs the economy is improving. The once-battered housing market is recovering, which should lead to more construction jobs this year. Companies ordered more long-lasting manufactured goods in November, a sign they are investing more in equipment and software. And Americans spent more in November. Consumer spending drives nearly 70 percent of economic growth.

At the end of my City Talk column on Sunday, I noted that some key concerns about the quality of life for residents of the downtown area would be ameliorated if more folks were simply living downtown.

The need for greater residential density in our urban neighborhoods has been a consistent refrain of this column for many years. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part, but the need for increased density seems more widely accepted than it used to be.

In part, this is purely a political calculation. While residents of historic neighborhoods have considerable clout, there simply aren’t enough voters living in the Historic District, Thomas Square or adjacent neighborhoods to determine who holds any single seat on Savannah’s City Council.

But there are much more fundamental reasons to encourage increased density.

The neighborhoods bounded by Victory Drive, East Broad Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the river once had about three times the population of today.

The core of the city is dotted with vacant lots and unoccupied properties, and we’ve also seen over many decades a sharp decline in household size.

These trends have been reinforced by others, especially widespread automobile ownership and the growth of the suburbs.

Viewed in isolation, the decline in residential density downtown might seem like a pretty good thing, especially for residents who want as much quiet and privacy as possible.

But Savannah’s urban design and historical land-use patterns dictate a certain ratio of commercial versus residential properties.

We have a number of important commercial corridors downtown, including Broughton Street, River Street, Bay Street, MLK, Abercorn Street and Bull Street. There are key pockets of commercial activity elsewhere too, including the City Market area and the Downtown Design District along Whitaker Street.

This balance of residential and commercial uses has changed relatively little since Savannah was founded. The design worked well for a couple of centuries, but the decline in residential density and other cultural trends in the latter half of the 20th century devastated the downtown commercial sector.

To put it simply, there aren’t anywhere near enough downtown residents to support all the downtown commercial areas.

The void has largely been filled by tourists, which has prompted commercial investment that caters primarily to that sector. Zoning codes have skewed things further by encouraging hotels rather than apartments.

I’m painting with a broad brush in this short column. Obviously, you can find all sorts of exceptions, and it’s worth noting that commercial traffic varies considerably by neighborhood and by time of day.

But we’d have more neighborhood businesses in the greater downtown area if we had more residents in those neighborhoods.

We’d simply have a stronger neighborhood fabric.

City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net and http://www.billdawers.com. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.