Local News - Austin Business Journal

In what may be one of the first signs that Austin consumers are being hit hard by the financial crisis, the city’s take from sales taxes fell 5 percent in October.

Retail gasoline prices in Austin have fallen an average of 22 cents over the last week as refiners increase the supply of fuel on the market after recovering from Hurricane Ike last month.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration has awarded $739,832 to PeopleFund to help make the nonprofit’s new Center for Economic Opportunity LEED certified.

Medicus Insurance Co. has named Mark Johnson vice president and chief financial officer.

More than 4,000 people attended last weekend’s Lake Travis In-the-Water Boat Show at the Rough Hollow Yacht Club & Marina.

Wells Fargo & Co. is seeking to reassure Wachovia Corp. employees, indicating that massive layoffs are not a part of its acquisition plan. (WFC) (C) (WB) (BAC) (JPM)

CB Richard Ellis Inc. has laid off an undisclosed number of employees as part of a national restructuring plan. (CBG)

Gains by European exchanges propelled the Dow to start on an up note on Thursday morning, but by late afternoon it dropped 313.73 points or 3.39 percent to 8,944.37.

The board of election management and voting systems company Hart InterCivic Inc. has agreed to sell the company to the senior management team.

Austinites who celebrate Halloween are expected to spend an average of $53 on candy and decorations for the holiday this year, about 13 percent more than the typical consumer nationally, according to a new survey from Visa Inc.

AngelouEconomics has expanded its management team with the addition of two executives.

Interior Mexican eatery El Sol y La Luna will move to East Sixth Street next spring, the latest Austin business to relocate to the city’s entertainment district corridor.

Chase Bank and Washington Mutual Inc. customers can now access the newly combined banks’ ATM network. (JPM)

Advertising agency T3’s check out time with Marriott Hotels & Resorts has arrived.

Discussions among Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and federal regulators over how to divvy up Wachovia Corp. hit a snag Wednesday over several issues, The Wall Street Journal reports. (WFC) (C) (WB)

Revenue forecasts for states across the nation continue to dim, likely leading to widespread budget cuts, according to the State University of New York's Rockefeller Institute of Government.

Alcohol is big business in Texas, according to a study released Wednesday by The Perryman Group.

A Florida partnership has bought the 129-unit Fountainhead apartment property in South Austin.

Simon Property Group has named longtime property management professional Mary Spaulding general manager over five of the company’s area properties. (SPG)