Business and Economy

At the 2012 North American International Auto Show, it's clear that the industry's love affair with alpha-numeric designations hasn't waned. There's the ATS, the 700C, the MKZ. Now comes the CTX, a new line of Craftsman riding lawn mowers. They are fast, powerful and loaded with amenities.

"Everybody knows that Detroit's the national stage for cars — Motor City is where autos come from. So this show made perfect sense to come here and launch the tractor," says Onney Crawley, Craftsman's director of brand management for lawn and garden.

Twinkies maker Hostess Brands Inc., is again seeking protection from its creditors, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as the company tries to cope with high debt and rising costs of labor and raw materials.

Hostess, which also makes Ho Hos, Sno Balls, and Wonder Bread, is a privately held company based in Irving, Tex. It owes millions to suppliers and labor unions. The company has reportedly found some financing to keep it running during bankruptcy proceedings.

For our Newscast desk, Larry Abramson reports:

There's been a collective notion swirling among New Hampshire politicos and pundits that this year's Republican primary just doesn't stack up to past events. Candidates aren't as anxious to go to town hall meetings and shake hands at nondescript diners. By and large, they're not throwing astronomical sums of cash into unending TV ads. Yes, they're here, touting the importance of the early New England vote.

It's hard for us to believe, but StateImpact New Hampshire launched just five short months ago. During that time, we've worked to bring you data-driven reports and analysis focused how business and the economy in New Hampshire work. Our goal is to bring you original journalism, to dig deeper into the big stories of the day, and to bring you the stories you didn't even know were there. And, we've tried to do it in as interesting and as accessible a way as possible.

We're going to do more of the same in the New Year.

With Christmas and Hanukkah wrapped-up, we've officially reached the pre-New Year's lull. This brief respite from the regularly scheduled holiday cheer is when many people take the opportunity to consider their accomplishments and failures over the past year, and resolve to do better in the future. Other people just go to work for a few days and get really, really bored at their desks as they countdown to their next party.

Either way, it's a bit of a restless period, isn't it?

Some sectors of the New Hampshire economy are taking longer to rebound from the recession.

Particularly industries that rely on discretionary income, like many of the 20 small airports in the state.

Nashua’s Municipal Airport is one of the state’s oldest and busiest.

But it’s been years since this airport operated to its capacity.

Now a new $16 million construction project may give the airport the economic lift it needs.

It’s a cold, but sunny December morning at the Nashua Municipal Airport, also known as Boire Field.

A New Hampshire developer plans to renovate two mostly-abandoned apartment buildings in Franklin and turn them into affordable housing for working class families. The company, New England Family Housing, plans to buy the 30-unit building for $615,000.

Often, when prices go down, the number of properties sold goes up.  That was the general story during the past four months.  Not in November.  The median price dropped a bit to about  $193,000 and the number of sales ticked down about 2 percent.  Sellers are getting about 5 percent less than they did a year ago.

The realtors’ association says the latest data point to a market that is slowly stabilizing.  The number of foreclosures is headed down.  Analysts say in a year or so, the market will have worked through many of those lower priced homes.

The state commissioner of transportation warns that if the federal government moves ahead with a plan to cut $40 million of New Hampshire’s yearly highway funds—the completion of I-93 will be placed on hold, indefinitely.  One portion that remains unfinished is exit 3 near Windham.

Many businesses there say the uncertainty of I-93’s future is hurting the local economy.