Quick Takes

BRUNNER TO SPEAK: Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is to speak at the Dec. 15 meeting of the Community Improvement Corp. Board of Trustees.

The meeting will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers at 626 N. Fourth St. downtown. The meeting will be followed by the CIC's holiday gathering.

NEW DIRECTOR: Weirton Medical Center has hired Ralph Maliszewski as director of performance improvement. He also is responsible for risk management, case management, infection control, education, performance improvement and Joint Commission on Accreditation compliance.

Maliszewski most recently was director of quality services for West Penn Allegheny Health System-Forbes Hospital and brings more than 15 years of experience to the position.

He has a masters degree in health management systems and bachelors degrees in health planning and administration and nursing.

Maliszewski is a licensed, registered nurse in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and is a member of the adjunct faculty at Waynesburg University.

Maliszewski and his family are residents of Butler, Pa.

TOPS FOR MONTH: Jefferson Behavioral Health System has named therapist David Prosen and prevention and education specialist Mary Krauskopf as employees of the month for November.

The agency selects employees of the month from nomination and consideration by their peers.

EGCC HONOR: Frank Mioduszewski of Wintersville was selected as employee of the month for November at Eastern Gateway Community College.

In 1992, Mioduszewski began teaching part time at the college. In August 2007, he became coordinator of student activities.

Mioduszewski earned his bachelor's degree at Youngstown State University and his master of business administration degree from the Franciscan University of Steubenville.

BEST OF COUNTY: The second annual Best of Jefferson County Awards event will be held March 29 at St. Florian Hall.

The event, sponsored by Progress Alliance, begins with a social hour at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Ticket information will be announced.

"This dinner will give us a chance to define dedication, accomplishment and recognition," said Ed Looman, Progress Alliance executive director. "Our 2010 dinner will be about celebrating the positives of our great county."

To nominate a business or individual for a Best of the County award, visit the Progress Alliance Web site at www.theburb.org or pick up a form at the Progress Alliance offices at 630 Market St. downtown.

SBA names W.Va. minority honoree

MORGANTOWN - The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Kathy Clinton, president and owner of Performance Results Corp. of Morgantown as the West Virginia 2009 Minority Small business Person of the Year.

Clinton said she SBA provided her support in starting her business in 2000. She began with three employees that April and has grown to more than 190 employees in 16 cities across 13 states with nearly $15 million in revenue in 2008. PRC offers corporate and government support services.

Salon announces mineral line addition

STEUBENVILLE - A Nail's Charm, 2178 Sunset Blvd., has added the Contour Minerals line of mineral makeup to its offerings.

Owner Tracie Snodgrass may be contacted at (740) 264-3450 or (740) 381-1907. The salon's Web site is www.anailscharm.com.

Harley workers OK plant-saving deal

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Harley-Davidson says it will no longer pursue a plan to move some operations to Kentucky after workers at the motorcycle maker's central Pennsylvania plant agreed to a new seven-year contract.

Harley-Davidson CEO Keith Wandell said the company's board decided Thursday to restructure its operations at the York plant, its largest motorcyle assembly plant. It plans to lay off about half of the plant's work force even as it consolidates work there rather than move.

The company based in Milwaukee says the restructuring will cost approximately $200 million over three years.

It expects to spend about $90 million in capital improvements on the York plant. The company has said the plant is too inefficient and costly.

Workers approved the contract Wednesday. It included concessions including wage freezes.

China output continues to grow

BEIJING - China's manufacturing activity grew for a ninth straight month in November amid heavy stimulus spending but the growth rate was unchanged from October, an industry group reported Tuesday.

The state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its monthly purchasing managers index, or PMI, stood at 55.2 on a 100-point scale. Numbers above 50 show manufacturing activity expanding.

''The November PMI is level with the previous month, possibly indicating the economic boom is starting to stabilize after reaching a fairly high level,'' a government economist, Zhang Liqun said in a statement issued by federation.

Beijing's $586 billion stimulus has helped to boost growth by pumping money into the economy through spending on public works projects. Economic growth rose to 8.9 percent over a year earlier in the quarter ending in September and the World Bank is forecasting 8.4 percent growth for the full year.

The government plans to shift emphasis to encouraging private investment and consumer spending in the second year of the stimulus, Chinese leaders said in a statement last week following an annual planning meeting.

Japan sets separate stimulus budget

TOKYO - Japan's government says it will compile an extra budget aimed at supporting the deflation-plagued economy.

Takahiro Asaoka, an official for the Cabinet Office, said the size of the supplementary budget would be at least $31 billion. The government will announce details later in the week, he said.

The budget is to finance new economic measures, which will focus on boosting employment. Asaoka said the extra budget will also include measures aimed at tackling a strong yen.

Marathon Asset joins toxic buyers

WASHINGTON - The Treasury Department says an another large investment company has raised sufficient capital to join the government in buying toxic bank assets to help spur more normal lending.

Marathon Asset Management LP, which was founded by Bruce Richards and Louis Hanover in 1998, raised the $500 million minimum to begin operations.

With the addition of New York-based Marathon, the selected companies have raised $5.07 billion which the Treasury Department has matched dollar for dollar, using resources from the $700 billion financial bailout program.

Besides the $10.13 billion in total equity capital, Treasury has provided the same amount in debt capital, boosting the total purchasing power of the program to $20.26 billion, the department said.

Treasury also said it soon expects to announce a final company has qualified to participate in the Public-Private Investment Program, or PPIP, which has been plagued by delays while analysts continue to doubt how successful it will be in buying banks' bad assets.

The Obama administration, however, maintains that the effort will draw private capital into the effort to purchase banks' toxic assets, which keeps taxpayers from shouldering the entire burden of the program.

From staff and wire reports

(Send news items or photographs for inclusion in the Sunday Business section to Paul Giannamore, Business Editor, 401 Herald Square, Steubenville, OH 43952; or fax to (740) 284-7355 or via e-mail at pgiannamore@heraldstaronline.com. We cannot guarantee the return of photographs. Questions? Call Giannamore at (740) 283-4711, ext. 357.)