VISTA Today Daily News Business Briefs are concise stories that bring you up to date with what’s going on around Chester County.

Gawthrop Greenwood Attorney Pens Top 50 Article For Entrepreneur.com

Stephen R. McDonnell, a partner at Gawthrop Greenwood law firm, in West Chester, has published a trending article on Entrepreneur.com detailing how to properly fire an employee.

The article lists the ten key steps that need to be taken when firing an employee without exposing yourself to litigation. McDonnell, who has represented Fortune 500 companies, contractors and individuals in a variety of litigation matters, says in the article that before you even think of uttering the words “You’re fired“, you had better be sure they will stand up in court.

The article, which has made it into the Top 50 stories, outlines basic procedures such as distributing an employee handbook and properly documenting employee transgressions. He also points to issues that can be overlooked in the heat of the moment, such as handling the termination with dignity. See here for the full article.

Chester County Resident And Comcast Founder Ralph Roberts Mourned By Many

Newlin Township and all of Chester County are mourning the loss of a great and visionary member of the community, Ralph Roberts, who died of natural causes at the age of 95.

Founder of Comcast, Roberts started the company in nearby Bala Cynwyd in 1963, building it to the iconic status holds today after buying AT&T’s cable systems. Within moments of learning of his death, leaders in business and media from around Philadelphia, the country and world reacted to the loss through social media, talking of his kindness and pioneering spirit.

In a statement, Comcast expressed their sympathy for his wife, children and grandchildren, and recognized the 95-year-old man for building “Comcast into one of America’s greatest companies.” Declan Ganley, an Irish entrepreneur, posted “The vision, courage, guts to break with convention & entrepreneurial spirit of those like #RalphRoberts, help make the world a better place.“

United Technologies Stock Downgraded To Sell

Zacks Investment Research has downgraded United Technologies from a hold to a sell, despite the stock currently having a forward P/E of 16.4x and long-term earnings growth forecast of 9.8%.

With the decision on whether to spin-off or sell Sikorsky Aircraft Corp still undecided, United Technologies is facing a plethora of challenges. The company has already reduced its optimistic 2015 earnings estimate of $7.05 to $6.55 per share on reduced revenues of as low as $58 billion from the high of $66 billion previously predicted.

The trigger for the revised forecast is due to expected one-time separation costs and lower contributions from Sikorsky due to weakness in the oil and gas markets. Most of the earnings estimates for the company have been revised downward in the past 30 days. Over the last year, it has underperformed the S&P 500 with an average return of -1.7% compared to 7.2% for the benchmark index.

YardiRENTmaximizer Helps Hankin Group Price Competitively

Exton-based Hankin Group has added YardiRENTmaximizer to its web-based Yardi Voyager property management and accounting platform.

This will allow it to optimize revenue management and increase rent income from its multifamily properties. The change will mean that site managers no longer have to rely on manual calculation methods and can update rental prices more often in order to take advantage of changes in market conditions.

Michael Hankin, chief operating officer for Hankin Group stated, “After only 90 days using YardiRENTmaximizer, we’ve seen an effective rent growth of 5%. We really appreciate the support we get from the YardiRENTmaximizer team. It’s so advantageous to have their analysis and input on how we are pricing our properties relative to our markets and business goals.”