Investor’s Business Daily (08/14/12) Vance Cariaga

On Assignment, a staffing firm that provides consultants to information technology, health care, and life sciences clients, recently acquired the information technology staffing services company Apex Systems for $600 million. Although the price may seem a bit high given that On Assignment’s revenue was just $597 million in 2011, the acquisition boosted its stock price by 27% and promises to expand its customer base. According to Avondale Partners analyst Randy Reece, “It gets the company more into the mainstream of the IT staffing market.”

PR Newswire (08/14/12)

TeamHealth Holdings Inc. has acquired the operations of Delphi Healthcare Partners and its related entities. Delphi currently operates 42 health care staffing programs in 19 states; the existing management team will continue to serve current hospital clients from the Morrisville, NC, corporate office.

Virtual Strategy Magazine (08/14/12)

Atlanta-based American CyberSystems Inc. has acquired CrossUSA, based in Burnsville, MN. The acquisition expands the ACS reach geographically and vertically by adding rural outsourcing solutions and recruiting expertise to the ACS consortium of companies. As part of the acquisition, the new entity will retain the CrossUSA name and continue to service all existing customers through the infrastructure of parent company American CyberSystems.

MarketWatch (08/15/12) Steve Goldstein

Industrial production picked up in July after two months of slight growth, the U.S. Federal Reserve reported today in the latest reading that shows the economy in the third quarter got off to a decent start. Industrial production picked up 0.6% in July after small 0.1% monthly gains in May and June. The 0.6% gain was as expected in a MarketWatch-compiled poll of economists. Capacity utilization rose to 79.3% in July from 78.9% in May—the highest level since April 2008.

Bloomberg (08/15/12) Caroline Fairchild

Manufacturing in the New York area unexpectedly contracted in August for the first time since October, indicating U.S. factories are burdened by the global economic slowdown. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Empire State Index declined to minus 5.9 this month from 7.4 in July. The median estimate in a survey of Bloomberg economists was 7.0. Readings less than zero signal contraction in the index.

A slowdown in demand from consumers in the first half of the year, limited capital spending, and a build-up in inventories gives factories little reason to boost production. Orders for the region’s manufacturers fell to the lowest level in almost a year, showing the industry that spurred the recovery from recession is facing a bigger hurdle from a weaker global economy.

SurfKY.com (08/14/12)

People Plus has finalized its takeover of Dari Integrity Resources Inc.’s Calvert City, KY, office. People Plus, which now operates eight offices in Kentucky, will assume ongoing contracts and hire existing employees.