From all of us at Far West Capital, we wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! We look forward to helping you grow your company in 2013!
We hosted our first event at our new El Paso office last month and it was a great success! Professionals from the trucking industry joined us to hear and learn about CSA safety rules and regulations from Sam Johnson, senior safety consultant from Parker Services. Compliance issues have become a headache for trucking companies and attendees benefited by learning how to stay in compliance. Thank you to everyone who attended! If you have any feedback or more questions about regulations, please let us know.
Our bank friends at Plains Capital Bank (link: www.plainscapital.com) merged on November 30th with – HILLTOP HOLDINGS, Inc. – listed on NYSE as HTH. Plains Capital will still operate under the brand Plains Capital Bank. We are not expert stock investors, (this is code for “do your own homework and don’t rely on us because we don’t know jack and we don’t own any of the stock”) but assuming you have an interest in looking at Texas investment opportunities; you might want to put this one on your radar. This story is interesting because the main principal Gerald Ford is a well-known bank investor with a successful track record. It’s hard to believe that this is the last bank acquisition for HILLTOP HOLDINGS!
The Elf on the Shelf book has turned into a tradition for many families with young children. The book comes with an elf that watches over daily activities within the house – mainly whether kids are being naughty or nice – tells Santa the events of the day while everyone is asleep, and ends up (placed by the parents) in a different location to be found by kids in the morning. The elf tradition has skyrocketed due to sharing creative placement locations on Pinterest. There are even adult versions of elf placement, but we’ll leave you to find those yourself.
If you’ve read our past newsletters, you know we love our barbecue and have a strong opinion about where to find the best barbeque in the region. So, when news of Justin Timberlake (yes, the famous singer and actor) broke about the possibility he might bring his upscale Memphis-style barbecue restaurant called Southern Hospitality to Austin, our ears perked up. Currently in New York, the restaurant opened in 2007 to lackluster reviews but that’s not stopping him from expanding. The company announced a 30-city expansion over the next five years. If Southern Hospitality does land in Austin, it better watch out. Stellar local barbecue restaurants, and an existing Austin restaurant with the same name and known for its tasty southern comfort style food, are strong competition.
The movie ‘The Hobbit’ came to the big screen last week, bringing the Gollum character back. Gollum was created through the performance of actor Andy Serkis, who has a wide filmography, and you’d probably recognize him from his roles in ‘The Prestige’ and ‘Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.’ Eighty cameras, a special suit, and lots of other high tech equipment were used to capture all the movements and facial expressions. It’s interesting to see how they transformed a man into a creature. Serkis also performed as Kong in the 2005 King Kong remake and Ceasar in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes movie.
Here’s a peek into what goes on at the Far West Capital Christmas Party. After great food, drinks, and conversation, we showed our “feats of strength” in the gym.
What’s to come in 2013 for the banking and lending industries? Cole wrote an informative article detailing his predictions in the latest issue of Commercial Factor, International Factoring Association’s magazine. Check out the full article here.
Publications love to compile “Best of” lists at the end of the year and we love reading them! Take a look at these interesting lists.
Austin, Texas has come a long way. In 2012, we welcomed 65,500 new residents, created 26,300 new jobs, founded 1,120 new businesses and saw $722 million in venture capital investment. The predictions for 2013 are very optimistic, especially on the coattails of successful events like SXSW, ACL and Formula 1. Enjoy this video and see exactly how much Austin has changed.
We love the holiday season at Far West Capital! However, we know the stress involved in selecting just the right gift for loved ones can cause holiday heartburn. When we ran across this Washington Post article, we wanted to share it with you. The Ultimate Gift Givers Guide to the Top Gifts of the Year provides gift ideas dating back to 197,000 BCE (we can only guess that means “Before Christ Exists”) to current day.
Congratulations to The University of Texas at Austin volleyball team on winning the NCAA championship title! The Longhorns last played for the national title in 2009 and won one other time in 1988.
Since the average person puts on 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, we thought it would be helpful to pass this along. If you are in the market for a workout facility, be sure and check out Anytime Fitness. We like it because you have 24-hour access and facilities are small and unintimidating. No muscle heads and no Zumba moms. Big glitzy facilities may seem like a good idea, but most are not ideal for long-term success. This guy had a good workout and left with 3 phone numbers.
At Far West Capital, we believe you deserve to grow your business and hope you enjoy this quick TED talk video that teaches eight principles for success. We wish you well and look forward to the good things to come next year!
