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Yahoo to get more power perks, GM sells Delphi shares

Sit Yahoo, sit! The tech firm could be settling down in western New York.
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Sit Yahoo, sit! The tech firm could be settling down in western New York.

Yahoo could be targeting western New York as a new hub for its data operations on the East Coast, reports James Heaney at the Buffalo News.  That prediction comes at the state power authority is slated to provide the firm with more low-cost hydropower to help it expand its existing facility in Lockport:

Scott Noteboom, vice president of engineering and operations, wrote to John S. Dyson, a member of the NYPA’s governing board, last week and expressed confidence that the additional [hydropower] allocations will enable the company to “successfully accomplish our goal of making Western New York Yahoo’s core U. S. East Coast data center presence.” “Accomplishing this goal will differentiate the Western New York region as one of the very few locations in the world [fewer than 10] where Yahoo will host the full gamut of Yahoo properties,” Noteboom said. The Lockport data center already is the most heavily subsidized business in the region’s history. It is in line for about $200 million in tax breaks — including no property tax payments for 10 years — and discounted hydropower projected to save the company $58 million. The federal government also provided a $10 million stimulus grant.

GM sells Delphi shares.

As part of its effort to "simpify [its] balance sheet," GM has sold off its shares of Delphi for $3.8 billion, according to Velvet Spicer at the Rochester Business Journal.  It's the final volley in the back-and-forth between GM and Delphi, which started in 1999 when Delphi spun off:

In 2009, the Treasury Department approved a $2.8 billion withdrawal from GM’s escrow account so the company could purchase a membership interest in its former division. GM received roughly $1.7 billion to invest in Delphi, as well as $1.1 billion to acquire Delphi’s global steering business, some domestic facilities and other related payments.

Shipping

Shipping on the St. Lawrence Seaway has started again, reports Debra Groom at the Post-Standard, and officials at the Port of Oswego are expecting a big year:

Its executive director, Jonathan Daniels, said the 2010 shipping season was the first time the Port of Oswego brought in revenue of more than $3 million. Employment last year at the port hit 96 and a payroll $1 million for the first time. For the second straight year, “we were moving cargo every day. I had longshoremen here every day,” Daniels said. “We’re probably looking at a 15 to 20 percent increase (in revenue) last year over our best year ever (which was 2005-06),” Daniels said.

Tracking digital footprints

Vincent Sherry at the Buffalo News has a profile of a firm that investigates people using social media, to help clients (like employers) learn more about the real you. 

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