Business briefs

Banks based in Raceland, Gonzales merging
RACELAND (AP) — The parent companies of Community Bank in Raceland and United Community Bank in Gonzales, which share the same majority ownership, plan to merge.
Under the agreement, officials say United Community Bancshares Inc. is being merged into Community Bancorp of Louisiana Inc. The combined holding company will operate under the name Community Bancorp of Louisiana Inc. and be headquartered in Raceland.
United will be added to the beginning of the Community Bank name in Raceland, symbolizing the unity of the two banks. Company officials said Monday no other major changes are expected.
The merger will create a bank holding company with more than $600 million in total assets that serves six south Louisiana parishes.

Lamar shareholders voting on REIT in Nov.
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Lamar Advertising Co. shareholders will vote in mid-November on whether the outdoor advertising giant will convert to a Real Estate Investment Trust.
Lamar’s board of directors has already approved a plan to reorganize the company’s business operations to qualify as a REIT for 2014.
The trusts don’t pay corporate income tax on profits as long as 90 percent of profits go to shareholders.

Navy awards ship
design grant to UNO
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The University of New Orleans has received a $210,000 grant from the Navy s Office of Naval Research to test information gathering and analysis techniques intended to improve warship design.
The goal for warship designers is to produce a vessel that can be repurposed numerous times throughout its lifespan.
The focus of this research is to enhance predictions of the likelihood of future changes in warfare that would affect warship requirements.
The grant’s principal investigator is associate professor of management Cherie Trumbach.
She will work on the project with colleagues from the university’s School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.

China manufacturing growth in September low
BEIJING (AP) — China’s manufacturing activity in September held steady at the previous month’s low level, indicating the world’s second-largest economy faces risks to growth, a survey showed Tuesday.
HSBC Corp.’s monthly purchasing managers’ index stood at 50.2 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 indicate expansion. It was unchanged from August’s three-month low.
The figures suggest China faces headwinds as communist leaders try to shift to growth based on domestic consumption instead of trade and investment. They have publicly ruled out a full-scale stimulus but have pumped money into public works construction to avert job losses.
Economic growth of 7.5 percent over a year earlier in the quarter ending in June was stronger than Western economies but barely half of 2007’s peak of 14.2 percent. Manufacturing, housing sales and other indicators suggest growth might be weakening.
“We think risks to growth are still on the downside and warrant more accommodative monetary as well as fiscal policies,” said HSBC economist Hongbin Qu in a statement.
Export orders grew at their fastest pace since March 2010 but output growth decelerated and employers cut staffing levels for an 11th straight month.