CHARLESTON, W.Va. --
Uncertainty and fear are words heard often these days when talk turns to the economy and stocks.
As Mark Luschini said in a presentation in Charleston on Tuesday, accurate forecasting is especially difficult in the current environment because it is subject to many variables.
Luschini is chief investment strategist at broker-dealer Janney Montgomery Scott. "Stocks are hardly expensive at this level," he said. Yet uncertainty is rampant. "Nothing is baked into the stock market right now except pessimism," he said.
This backdrop makes it especially heartening to witness companies and individuals who continue to make investments in West Virginia.
A few recent examples:
Huntington Banks, which has been through a very rough patch, has added 47 employees in West Virginia this year. Earlier this month, Steve Steinour, the bank's chairman and chief executive officer, said he expects the bank to add more staff in the months ahead.
Toyota affiliate Hino Motors is increasing production at its assembly plant in Williamstown. Last week, Hino unveiled its 2011-model medium-duty truck. "It is selling well ahead of our initial forecasts," said Sumio Fukaya, chairman of Hino Motors Manufacturing and president of Hino Motors Sales.
Roger Conley and his son, Jeff, decided to pick up the pieces after trailer-truck manufacturer Benson International Corp. pulled out of Mineral Wells. In June, they established Conley Fabrication and hired four Benson veterans. They hope to add more.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. --
Uncertainty and fear are words heard often these days when talk turns to the economy and stocks.
As Mark Luschini said in a presentation in Charleston on Tuesday, accurate forecasting is especially difficult in the current environment because it is subject to many variables.
Luschini is chief investment strategist at broker-dealer Janney Montgomery Scott. "Stocks are hardly expensive at this level," he said. Yet uncertainty is rampant. "Nothing is baked into the stock market right now except pessimism," he said.
This backdrop makes it especially heartening to witness companies and individuals who continue to make investments in West Virginia.
A few recent examples:
Huntington Banks, which has been through a very rough patch, has added 47 employees in West Virginia this year. Earlier this month, Steve Steinour, the bank's chairman and chief executive officer, said he expects the bank to add more staff in the months ahead.
Toyota affiliate Hino Motors is increasing production at its assembly plant in Williamstown. Last week, Hino unveiled its 2011-model medium-duty truck. "It is selling well ahead of our initial forecasts," said Sumio Fukaya, chairman of Hino Motors Manufacturing and president of Hino Motors Sales.
Roger Conley and his son, Jeff, decided to pick up the pieces after trailer-truck manufacturer Benson International Corp. pulled out of Mineral Wells. In June, they established Conley Fabrication and hired four Benson veterans. They hope to add more.
Frontier Communications Corp. bought Verizon's landlines in West Virginia and 13 other states last month, pledging to invest or use a total of a half-billion dollars in West Virginia in coming years.
Entrepreneur Jim Justice has invested more than $100 million in The Greenbrier resort. That has prompted a range of other investments, from property improved by private homeowners to AT&T's launch of its third-generation mobile broadband network in Greenbrier County.
Kanawha Scales & Systems Inc. is preparing for a $1.5 million expansion of its facilities at the Rock Branch Industrial Park near Poca. "We're cautiously optimistic that the economy might be slightly on the up tick, and in the next year or so we'll see more coming back," Robert Foy, the company's chief financial officer, said earlier this month. "We want to be in line and ready for that when it happens, and be able to up our employment and so forth to meet the demand."
No doubt many factors have helped pull us out of the not-too-distant past, when West Virginia led the nation in unemployment. And make no mistake: Everything is not coming up roses.
That said, let us not fail to appreciate the good news.
Reach George Hohmann at busin...@dailymail.com or 304-348-4836.
