Outdoor recreation participation up 3 percent in U.S.

(Dec. 21, 2012) -- More than 90 million U.S. residents age 16 and older participated in some form of wildlife-related recreation in 2011, up three percent from five years earlier, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released Thursday. In total, wildlife recreationists spent $144.7 billion in 2011 on their activities, accounting for about one percent of the nation's gross domestic product.

Thor purchases assets of Federal Coach

(Dec. 21, 2012) -- Thor Industries, Inc. announced yesterday that its Champion Bus, Inc. subsidiary has purchased the bus operation assets of Federal Coach for $6.8 million in cash. Champion plans to move the assets and begin production of Federal Coach buses at its Imlay City, Mich., production facility in early calendar 2013.

Confront employee performance head on

(Dec. 21, 2012) -- Some managers have no problem with conflict -- some even seem to like it. They dive into any situation without worrying about hurt feelings or repercussions. For other managers, it’s more challenging. If conflict is really not your forte, you’ll want to make sure you aren’t subconsciously doing things to avoid it. Let’s say you notice some obvious performance issues from your most recent hire -- we’ll call him Hal.

StagParkway sold to Linsalata Capital Partners

(Dec. 20, 2012) -- Linsalata Capital Partners, a Cleveland-based private equity firm, announced that it has acquired StagParkway, Inc., from Ares Capital Corporation . The acquisition of StagParkway is the first platform investment in the recently raised Linsalata Capital Partners Fund VI, L.P. (LinCap VI), a $427 million fund focused on lower middle market transactions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.