From the Editor: Crazy times, but businesses move quickly to adapt
In recent weeks, we’ve witnessed one of the more stressful periods for the economy and for our own personal safety.
In three decades of covering business, only the period after 9/11 seemed more turbulent, more scary to me. The stock market crash of 1987, the dot-com collapse and the great recession each brought new challenges. In each case, governments, businesses and people themselves found ways to cope and rebuild, as we will with the COVID-19 crisis.
This issue was well into the planning stages when the crisis started boiling. Our staff sprang into action, covering the pandemic’s effect on the Maine business community both for our Daily email and now for this issue.
There’s a brief story about three manufacturers that converted production to create essential goods, including protective masks and “isolation rooms” that can be used by hospitals. See Page 8.
Renee Cordes has a story about conscious capitalism, which seems to take on a greater importance at a time when we expect companies to lead and “do the right thing.” See Page 14.
Laurie Schreiber looks at a financing system that relies on retirement savings plans, themselves hard hit with the Dow’s recent correction. As sources in her story note, it will be interesting to see how the real estate market will respond to this latest crisis. See Page 22.
Maureen Milliken talks to the head of the Finance Authority of Maine, another institution that had to quickly respond to the business disruption of late. FAME and other entities, including local governments, have jumped in to provide hard-hit retailers and other small businesses with microloans. See Page 20.
This issue also features two lists, of the Maine’s largest banks (Page 24) and Maine’s largest credit unions (Page 30).
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