The Barnum Financial Group, with offices in Westport and 17 other locations statewide, was chosen as one of the 25 “Best Places to Work in Connecticut for 2010” by the Hartford Business Journal at its annual awards ceremony Thursday evening in Waterbury.

Barnum, located at 265 Post Road West, topped the list of the top five large companies, followed by Comcast Cable in Berlin, Yale-New Haven Hospital, the Henkel Corporation in Rocky Hill, and Robinson and Cole LLP in Hartford.

According to the HBJ, the listing was determined by an independent survey company, Best Companies Group, which works to identify and recognize companies “which have been successful in creating and maintaining workplace excellence.”

“Best Places to Work continues to be one of our most exciting events,” said Gail Lebert, HBJ publisher. “We are honored to celebrate these winning companies and aim to give them well-deserved recognition for their perseverance and drive in these times.”

Xeni Tzolis: “We started to run out of things.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) James Lomuscio for WestportNow.com
By James Lomuscio

Today, Xeni Tzolis, owner of Westport’s Sherwood Diner, is catching his breath. So, too, is Carmelo Mioli, owner of Westport Pizzeria on Main Street. A few doors down, Lee Papageorge, owner of Oscar’s Delicatessen, also feels a return to normalcy.

Last weekend’s nor’easter that left thousands of Westporters without power brought an increase of as much of 50 percent in customers to eateries that had electricity.

They came in search of food, warmth and a place to relax amidst a backdrop of downed trees, wires and blocked roads. “It was definitely nonstop Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Tzolis whose family has owned the diner for 33 years.

Tzolis said the Sherwood, open from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. weekdays, averaged about 1,000 more customers per day since Sunday, “about a 30 percent increase, and we started to run out of things.”

Connecticut’s Department of Labor reported Westport’s unemployment rate in January was 6.5 percent, up from 5.5 percent the previous month.

In its latest statewide survey of towns, the department said of Westport’s labor force of 12,751, there were 833 persons out of work.

The comparable figures for December showed 12,622 in the work force with 695 out of work.

A year ago, the state said Westport had 12,682 in the labor force with 693 unemployed, or 5.5 percent.

JP Morgan Chase & Co is the world’s largest hedge-fund firm by assets, according to a new report from Pensions & Investments magazine.

JP Morgan, which owns Highbridge Capital Management LLC, managed a total of $53.5 billion at the end of 2009, according to a survey that the magazine published on its Web site. Highbridge oversaw $32.5 billion and JP Morgan’s Asset Management unit had $21 billion in hedge-fund assets.

Bridgewater Associates LP, based in Westport,  ranked second with $43.6 billion in hedge funds assets. It had been ranked No. 1 a year ago after dethroning JP Morgan. (See WestportNow April 23, 2009)

The magazine said Bridgewater was among the hedge fund managers that showed healthy growth during the period, rising 21 percent.

This was the view of the east bank of the Saugatuck River in central Westport today from one of the rooms at the Inn at National Hall as it closed down indefinitely. Checkout time at 11:30 a.m. passed without fanfare, according to hotel’s resident manager, and his orders were to turn off the lights and lock the doors. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com

Workers at Stop & Shop today accepted a new three-year contract proposal, ending the threat of a strike at the supermarket chain.

The 5,000 members of Westport-based Local 371 voted in New Haven while those of Local 319 based in Farmington with 10,000 members voted in Hartford.

The two sides had been negotiating for weeks and late Saturday company officials and union negotiators announced they had reached a tentative agreement.

The company employs 36,000 workers in New England.