REDNews January 2015 - Southeast Cover January 2015 | Page 18

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Continued from page 16

SAN ANTONIO 2 0 1 5 E CO NO MIC F O R E CA S T
many companies do
not do much hiring
during the research
phase of R&D.
Private Equity
•  he private equity
T
market is currently
seeing its highest IPO
activity since 2007.
Committed capital
is over $500 billion
right now, which is an
amazing number.
•  urchase price
P
multiples for

Ken Trebett, JD, Board Chair of BioMed SA

18 | REDNews.com

Rad Weaver

General Joe Robles (Retired)

Financial Services
•  ow interest rates
L
have pros and
cons for those in
financial services.
Current low
rates don’t cause
problems for
those businesses
offering credit at
high rates, but
can be detrimental
to businesses’
President & CEO of USAA
balance sheets if
the cost of credit rises or spikes.
•  sharp rise in interest rates would be
A
detrimental to business. Roberts cited Europe’s
current economic situation as an example of
what could happen in the U.S. due to recent
volatility in the markets.
•  hose who are at or near retirement want to
T
see interest rates go up to get more out of
their savings and fixed instrument investments
because without an increase in rates, retirement
is going to be more challenging.
•  urrently life insurance ownership is at a 50C
year low in the U.S.
•  he busiest areas for USAA are in the digital
T
and mobile spaces. “We will do $500 million
in transactions on mobile devices this year.”
Robles suggested that the business world adjust
to meet the needs of millennials and move
to newer ways of doing business or younger
customers and employees will choose to go
elsewhere.
•  n the fraud
O
security front,
there is a new
technology in the
U.S that’s been
used extensively
in Europe, called
chip and PIN that
embeds a chip in
all credit cards
and requires a PIN
to use. This chip
President Emeritus of the Texas Biomedical Institute
provides better
security to credit and debit card owners to
reduce fraud and theft
BioTechnology
•  iomedical provides one out of every six jobs
B
in San Antonio with more than 40,000 jobs
gained in the sector in the last 10 years.
• he biomedical center accounts for $29 billion
T
in economic activity and is the largest economic
center in the city
•  revett expressed concern over federal cutbacks
T
on R&D spending. The National Institute of
Health’s purchasing power has gone down
25 percent over the last decade. San Antonio
does not have abundant jobs available to new
Ph.D.s in the area with research facilities, since

CEO of McCombs Partners
companies in the
sub-$250 million of
enterprise value are at
their highest level in
more than 10 years.
We have strong debt
markets, with debt to
EBITDA at 2.5 and
sub-debt at 3.7 times,
which is the highest
in 10 years. There’s
also plenty of money
for making deals with
the cash balances of
strategic acquirers at
$1.3 billion.
•  here are four key
T
areas of focus:
automotive, retail,
energy, and real estate
• The transportation
sector makes for
solid investing due
to consolidation that
allows for greater
equity from those
companies, which
hasn’t been available
for the last few years.
•  he current low cost of
T
capital allows for more
innovation and product
creation.