Government, Politics and the Economy
Obama Supports Bank Fees for Risk and Wealth Surtax for Healthcare
President Obama signaled his support for a proposal to impose fees on some of the nation’s largest financial firms to cover losses from risky transactions and avert another market meltdown. He also said that a surtax on the wealthy fits with his ideas on paying for healthcare. Bloomberg.com
GOP Financial Services Overhaul
Republicans have developed their own version of legislation aimed at overhauling regulations of the financial-services industry. The GOP version relies more on free-market principles than on additional... [Read Full Article]
Government, Politics and the Economy
Treasury to Buy SBA Loans
The Treasury Department is finalizing its plans for a $15 billion initiative to stimulate SBA lending by using federal bailout money to buy up SBA loans. WashingtonPost.com
Global Warming Bill Will Hit Homeowners and Small Business the Hardest
A Heritage Foundation analysis of the Waxman-Markey global warming bill predicts the bill will result in sky-high costs averaging $393 billion annually and destroying over a million jobs from 2012 to 2035. Heritage.org
Management and Operations
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Government, Politics and the Economy
Seidman: I Don't Want the Recession to End Yet
According to Dov Seidman, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of LRN, we need more time to understand where our economy went wrong and to get Wall Street back into proper perspective. BusinessWeek.com
Next Six Months Will be Tough for Obama
In his first six months as President, Barack Obama got a $787 billion economic stimulus package, $750 billion for the financial crisis, and a down payment on a $1 trillion overhaul of the healthcare system. With greater policy hurdles before him, the next six mo... [Read Full Article]
Government, Politics and the Economy
Small Business Groups: Cut Payroll Taxes to Help Small Business
A plan under consideration by the White House to redirect TARP money from the financial industry to the small-business sector is getting a lukewarm reception from small-business advocacy groups who say that a payroll tax break could bring faster relief to struggling entrepreneurs. WSJ.com
CreditSights: CIT May Need as Much as $6 Billion to Avoid Bankruptcy
CIT Group Inc., the troubled 101-year-old small business lender, may need as much as $6 billion to avoid bankruptcy after the government refused to give the firm another bailout. Bloomberg.com ... [Read Full Article]
Government, Politics and the Economy
Mobius: Derivatives and Stimulus Money May Trigger New Financial Crisis
According to Templeton Asset Management Ltd.’s Mark Mobius, a new financial crisis will develop from the failure to effectively regulate derivatives and all the extra global liquidity from the government's stimulus spending. Bloomberg.com
Survey: Small Business Optimisim Slips, Expect Slow Recovery
The NFIB's monthly index of small business optimism slipped one point to 87.9 last month. It had gained 7.9 points since March, indicating a view the the economy was stabilizing. FoxBusiness.com
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