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Tuition outlook: who’ll pay, who’ll save: area schools look to give more students a break.(higher ED): An article from: ColoradoBiz

Tuition outlook: who'll pay, who'll save: area schools look to give more students a break.(higher ED): An article from: ColoradoBiz

This digital document is an article from ColoradoBiz, published by Wiesner Publications, Inc. on August 1, 2010. The length of the article is 1495 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Tuition outlook: who'll pay, who'll save: area schools look to give more students a break.(higher ED)
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Tags: Area, Article, break.higher, ColoradoBiz, From, give, look, More, Outlook, Save, Schools, Students, Tuition, who'll

Outlook for Nursing Jobs in NJ

While it’s true that the economy has been tough over the past few years, the signs are bright for nursing jobs in New Jersey. New Jersey nursing jobs, and the healthcare sector in general, are growing, according to several state sources. In a report by the New Jersey Hospital Association, the state’s hospitals employ almost 145,000 in the state, and healthcare is the largest industry for job growth.

New Jersey has 73 acute-care hospitals and those provide nursing jobs in NJ to qualified applicants. While the economic landscape in many sectors hasn’t been good in 2009, reports showed that the health services and education sectors gained 9,200 jobs in the hard-hit year.
Jobs for registered nurses are expected to grow in New Jersey, with a total growth of 16.4 percent expected in the decade between 2006 and 2016, states a NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development report. The report projects that registered nurse jobs in NJ will number 98,600 by 2016. Other nursing jobs in NJ and healthcare jobs in general in the state will continue to grow.

The average hourly rate for nursing jobs in NJ was above the national average, coming in at $34 per hour at for-profit hospitals and $36 per hour at non-profit facilities, according to a 2009 survey done by ADVANCE for Nurses. Eighty-one percent of NJ nurses also reported receiving paid benefits from employers. Advance practice nurses in New Jersey reportedly raked in the highest hourly rate, at $44.17 per hour, while nursing administrators in NJ trailed slightly behind at $44/hour.

New Jersey is a good state for nurses to call home. In the northern part of the state, you’d be just a bus trip or quick ride into New York City, with all of its shopping, landmarks and bustling metropolitan attractions. The shore of New Jersey can also be a refuge for NJ nurses, from the beaches of northern New Jersey all the way down to Cape May.

If you’re seeking a nursing job in NJ, do research on the facility ahead of time, and if you’re thinking of relocating, make sure that you would like the area you’ll be moving to. For nursing jobs in New Jersey, there are plenty of facilities spread throughout the state, so you’re sure to find an area that fits your liking, whether it be along the Jersey shore or in a suburban or urban setting. Even though the economy isn’t the greatest right now, nursing jobs in NJ are still available, so if you’re interested, get your resume together, start researching the jobs you’d like and polish your interview skills.

Tags: Jobs, Nursing, Outlook

Alternative Energy: Outlook On Alternative Energy

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY OUTLOOK

The Alternative Energy industry is going through a recovery after absorbing the global recession and the descending fall in global crude oil prices. Earlier this year, quite a few alternative energy companies were in the trough. Though these alternative energy companies have recovered from their lows, their valuations are still radically lower than their 52-week highs.

The growth of alternative energy companies is closely tied to the fortunes of the economy. In its latest release, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted that total U.S. electricity usage will decrease by 3.3% in 2009 before growing by 1.3% in 2010 as the improving economy urges a gradual recovery in electricity sales. In fiscal 2008, annual U.S. photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity grew by 63% year-over-year, bringing the cumulative installed capacity to 792MW.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) — the U.S. trade association representing close to 500 companies in the solar energy industry — Germany ranked first followed by Spain, Japan and U.S. in terms of cumulative installed solar electric power as of year-end fiscal 2008. However in fiscal 2008, Spain (2.46GW in 2008) beat Germany (1.86GW) in terms of new installations. World solar PV installations reached a record high of 5.95GW in 2008, representing growth of 110% over 2007.

According to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) — the world industry association for solar photovoltaic electricity market — the cumulative global installed PV capacity stood at almost 15GW, compared to only 9GW in 2007.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY OPPORTUNITIES

Alternative Energy Environmental Advantage: Solar power is one of the most benevolent electric generation resources. Solar cells create electricity without air or water emissions, noise, vibration, habitat impact or waste generation.

Fuel Risk Advantage: Unlike fossil and nuclear fuels, solar energy has no risk of fuel price instability or delivery risk. Although there is variability in the amount and timing of sunlight in the day, season and year, a properly sized and configured alternative energy system can be designed to be highly dependable while providing a long-term, fixed-price electric supply.

Locational Advantage: Unlike other renewable resources such as hydroelectric and wind power, solar power is generally located at a customer’s site due to the common availability of sunlight. As a result, solar power limits the expense and energy losses linked with the transmission and distribution from large-scale electric plants to the end users. For most residential consumers in search of an environment-friendly power alternative, solar power is currently the only viable choice as it can be sourced in urban and rural environments.

Subsidy Programs: Governments, most notably that of China, have improved their financial support for alternative energy and solar projects. China is aiming at increasing its installed solar power capacity to 2GW by 2011 from 140MW capacity at the end of fiscal 2008. To satisfy this objective, the Chinese government offers 50% of the cost of investment of solar power projects. For solar projects in remote areas, the government subsidizes 70% of the project cost. A company under our coverage benefiting from this move includes Solarfun Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (SOLF – Snapshot Report).

Through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) passed in February 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department has implemented a alternative energy program to deal out cash grants in lieu of the investment tax credit for renewable energy projects. Recent focus on renewable sources will greatly benefit green crusader companies like Rentech Inc. (RTK – Snapshot Report). Also, the Department of Energy (DOE) in the U.S. has implemented a loan guarantee program to help developers obtain financing for solar power projects.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY WEAKNESSES

Recent Start-ups: A large number of alternative energy companies are recent start-ups with limited resources. As such, quite a few depend on their customers’ ability to finance solar projects.

Global Recession: The global economic crisis has affected alternative energy sales and earnings growth. Weakness in the debt and equity markets, for as long as it lasts, will raise costs of capital for firms in this emerging sector and may hinder project financing, working capital requirements and new research and development.

Fortune Tied to Crude: Alternative energy stock prices generally rise and fall in direct proportion to the price of crude oil. While in times of high oil prices this may present an opportunity, it also increases instability in the sector.

Excess Capacity: Industry-wide excess solar cell and module capacity have led to stockpiling across the board. As a result, we think the performance of alternative energy companies such as Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR – Analyst Report), JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd. (JASO – Analyst Report), A-Power Energy Generation System (APWR – Snapshot Report) and LDK Solar Company Ltd. (LDK – Snapshot Report) — laden as they are with high inventory levels — will remain under pressure in the near term.

German Roll-back: Germany, one of the prime solar markets with a lucrative subsidy alternative energy program, is considering a roll-back of its grants. This will affect companies such as First Solar Inc. (FSLR – Analyst Report) and SunPower Corporation (SPWRA – Snapshot Report), who generate a substantial portion of their sales from Germany.

Tags: Alternative, Energy, Outlook

Gloomy Outlook As Irish Racing Cuts Back

Ireland’s racing industry was preparing to face the full force of the economic storm last night, after the sport’s ruling body announced significant reductions in prize money as part of an extensive package of cost-cutting measures.

Horse Racing Ireland’s budget for 2009 will cut total prize money, a key indicator of the health of any racing industry, by €4.2m to a total of €56.5 m, a drop of just over 7%.

Ireland’s racing industry has enjoyed unprecedented growth over the past 15 years, benefiting from the economic boom in a country where racing has a substantial following at every level of society. Yesterday’s news follows a significant cut in the government’s Horse and Greyhound Fund, announced in Ireland’s budget last month, and suggests that, for the moment at least, Irish racing’s growth has been stopped in its tracks.

HRI will also seek to cut integrity costs by €5.8m, with “most of the savings to be achieved from greater efficiencies rather than a reduced level of activity” according to a press statement released by the authority yesterday.

Other proposals to reduce costs include a freeze on capital developments at racecourses, with no new projects receiving approval “in the short term”. The Curragh’s planned €100m redevelopment was postponed earlier this month.

HRI will seek savings of €1.3m within its own organization, including a 10-month pay freeze for all staff and Tote Ireland employees, and freeze all grants paid to industry bodies, such as the Irish Farriery School and Irish Horse Welfare Trust, at their 2008 levels. The scheme under which breeders are rewarded for the subsequent success of their horses will also be discontinued with effect from January.

“Nobody likes to be making these sort of decisions,” Brian Kavanagh, HRI’s chief executive, said yesterday, “but the view we take is that they are inevitable and necessary to get our house in order and put us in position to get back to growth again. It’s not the end of the world, but it is the first time probably in the last 15 years that we’re moving off a pattern of growth and into negative territory, but that’s the environment we’re in over here, and in other countries too. We decided that we would put it all together and get all the pain over with in one go, rather than drip-feed the announcements bit by bit.”

Kavanagh believes that the underlying strength of the Irish racing and bloodstock industries will keep owners in the game, despite the cut in prize money.

“Of course a 7% cut is not welcome and the unknown is what might happen with sponsorship,” Kavanagh said.

“But there are still plenty of positives and our prize money still compares pretty favorably with what is on offer in the UK, particularly with sterling the way it is now. We still have a base value for any race of €7,500 and we have worked very hard to improve the program. Ten per cent of our races are Listed, Group or Graded races and that is an incentive to keep decent horses in training here.”

Yesterday’s announcement will inevitably lead to speculation that similarly harsh measures will be required in the British industry. However, while the HRI is heavily dependent on government money, British racing has a wider range of income streams.

“Ireland is a different market and a different model,” Nic Coward, the chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said yesterday.

“Unlike many other racing nations, which are dependent on one income stream for 80% or more of their income, British racing has a good, strong mixture of income streams and, at times like these, that really does show its worth.

“These are tough times and sponsorship is coming under pressure, but you only have to look at how the Open meeting at Cheltenham performed to see what an appetite there is for a day’s racing in Britain at the moment.

“Particularly on the jumps side, there are some courses that are innovating constantly. No one is closing their mind to these issues, but we are working hard to make sure we’re ahead of the game.”

Tags: Back, Cuts, Gloomy, Irish, Outlook, Racing