New Mexico Business Weekly

Reports: Hewlett-Packard may cut 25,000 to 30,000 jobs

Hewlett-Packard is considering cutting 25,000 to 30,000 jobs as consumer demand for PCs and services drops, according to media reports Thursday afternoon. Bloomberg News reported that HP may cut as many as 25,000 jobs, or 8 percent of its workforce. Targeted cuts reportedly include 10,000 to 15,000 jobs in Hewlett-Packard’s enterprise services group, which sells information technology services. Bloomberg cited anonymous sources who said the plans aren’t final and may change. Some other media...

Leavitt Partners wins $1M contract to plan New Mexico insurance exchange

The New Mexico Human Services Department has awarded a 12-month, $1 million consulting contract to a Utah firm to help it plan how to build the state’s health insurance exchange. Leavitt Partners of Salt Lake City won the contract through a competitive bidding process and will assist the state with grant applications, technical work and overall development of New Mexico’s health insurance exchange, HSD said in a news release. The firm will also help the state apply for more federal insurance...

Telecom merger outlook: Sprint CEO Hesse weighs in

Sprint Nextel Corp. hopes to complete a major network upgrade set to wrap up in late 2013 before exploring any big merger deals, according to a report on Reuters.com. But Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said the company might end up proceeding with a merger sooner in order to reap savings or make sure Sprint is a viable competitor in a deal. Hesse said he thinks the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department, who fought last year’s merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA, would be more open...

Shipley takes president’s reins at BCBSNM

Kurt Shipley has been named president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico. Shipley joined Blue Cross in 1991 and has served as interim leader of the health insurer since earlier this year, when former president Liz Watrin resigned. As president, Shipley will be responsible for sales, marketing, health care management, network operations and government and community relations, BCBS said. Blue Cross, which insures more than 400,000 New Mexicans, is owned by Health Care Services Corp. It’s...

Dish Network's new ad-skipping service draws fire from networks

A digital video recorder embedded in Dish Network’s service is causing major networks such as CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC to call out Dish Network owner Charles W. Ergen, according to a report in the New York Times. The technology, called Auto Hop, allows viewers to skip over advertisements on recorded prime-time network shows without channel flipping or fast forwarding. Network executives met in New York this week to talk about their TV shows to advertisers. On Wednesday morning, CBS Corp. Chief...

Mesa del Sol unveils Aperture Center microgrid

Public and private sector officials from Japan joined New Mexico officials and Mesa del Sol representatives Thursday morning to unveil a microgrid that will power the master-planned development’s Aperture Center. Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) invested about $10 million to build the microgrid, which will use on-site solar, fuel cell, natural gas and backup battery storage systems to power the 78,000-square-foot building. NEDO has budgeted $22 million...

Copper heist shutters GAAR building

Albuquerque’s latest copper heist on Thursday shuttered The Realtor Building at 1635 University Blvd. NE. The building houses the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors and the Commercial Association of Realtors-New Mexico. GAAR’s website said the Realtor Building would be closed Thursday due to the theft, and that updates would be posted. Officials with GAAR and CARNM could not immediately be reached for comment. The two groups are the state’s largest residential real estate brokerage...

Verizon to end unlimited data plans for users switching to 4G

This summer, Verizon Wireless will require customers with unlimited data packages who want to upgrade to 4G service to use the company’s new tiered plans instead, according to Verizon CFO Fran Shammo. According to a report on CNN Money, Shammo shared the news at the JP Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference in Boston. The new pricing model will allow customers to buy a distribution of data that can be used by all the machines on a customer’s account. Verizon discontinued allowing new...

Wells Fargo NM’s largest 7(a) lender in recent months

Wells Fargo Bank was New Mexico’s largest Small Business Administration 7(a) lender for the first six months of the fiscal year, according to the SBA. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) made 25 SBA 7(a) loans totaling nearly $4.8 million in the state during the six months ending March 31, the bank said. That compares to 14 loans for $4.2 million for the same period in 2011. Companies that qualify for SBA 7(a) loans have average annual revenue of less than $20 million and 500 or fewer employees. “Now...

State’s monthly oil and gas lease sale nets $11M

The New Mexico State Land Office’s May 11 oil and gas lease sale in Roswell generated $11.1 million. The sale included 27 tracts in Lea, Eddy, San Juan and Sandoval counties, all of which were purchased in the monthly auction. The highest winning bid came from WPX Energy Production LLC of Tulsa, Okla., which paid $2.56 million for 643 acres in Sandoval County. This month’s sale, held at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, generated substantially more than the March and April auctions,...