Government and Economy
Bernanke Offers More Measures to Save the Economy
The Federal Reserve chairman has outlined even more measures to help us all cope with the ailing global economy.
Small Business Stimulus
Given the results of the federal government's handling of the economic crisis, there is a question that needs to be asked: Why is the SBA missing from the pool of policy solutions?
Start-ups Prove an Important Employment...
By Charles M Cooper · January 14 2009
small business brief, small business, economy, management
Did I miss something? I mean, wasn’t all this money supposed to help the economy, protect jobs, ease foreclosures and clean up the sub-prime mortgage mess? Wasn’t all this spending supposed to build confidence in the financial system and break the logjam in credit? Yet here we are, $350 billion into the bailout—and that is not counting the billions that had already been spent to bailout, stimulate, rescue (or whatever other verb you wish to insert)—the economy and so far, here is what we have to show for it:
The highest unemployment in 34 years and more to come
A whipsawing stock market in a downward spiral
The credit logjam is still entrenched
The threat of deflation
Problems finding venture capital for start-ups
The auto industry begging for a piece of the pie
Companies changing their businesses to qualify for a bailout
Little consumer or investor confidence
Really ticked-off taxpaye...
By Charles M Cooper · December 05 2008
small business, taxes, congress, paulson
Politics and Government
Bush: "I'm Sorry" for the Economic CrisisWASHINGTON (AP) - President George W. Bush expressed remorse that the global financial crisis has cost jobs and harmed retirement accounts and said he'll back more government intervention if needed to ease the recession.
Bernanke: Better Non-bank Failure Framework NecessaryFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday that further interest-rate cuts are "certainly feasible," but he warned there are limits to how much such action would revive the economy.
Paulson: Other Rescue Program...
By Charles M Cooper · December 01 2008
small business brief, marketing, small business, economy
Politics and Government
What Change Really Means to Small Business?
Many small business owners are skeptical of President-elect Obama's tax proposals and the long-term direction he wants to take with the economy.
Paulson, Bernanke Defend $700 Billion BailoutWASHINGTON (AP) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke waged a stout defense of their management of a $700 billion financial bailout on Capitol Hill Tuesday, just one week after the administration abandoned the original strategy behind the rescue.
Bernanke: Borrowing Conditions Still Far From Normal
Federal R...
By Charles M Cooper · November 18 2008
small business brief, small business, economy, blog
Politics
Days from the Election: Candidates Talk-up Health care and Taxes Democrat Barack Obama is attacking his opponent's health care policies. Republican John McCain is rallying opposition to Obama's tax plans. They are both scouring battleground states like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Ohio in an effort to woo independents. Bloomberg
Business Groups Seek Pension Fund Relief from Congress Business groups from across the country have asked Congress to revise pension fund rules to counter problems posed by current market conditions. Among the things they want are lower levels of funding for the plans and clarification as to whether they can smooth out reported market values. Reuters
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By Charles M Cooper · October 30 2008
small business brief, small business, bernanke, credit
It is officially called H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. It is also called the Wall Street Bailout Bill, the Rescue Bill, the largest Federal power grab in US history, the socialization of the US Financial sector, and, of course, the crap sandwich. As of a few moments ago, the legislation passed the House on a 263-171 vote. Wall Street rallied at the news while down on Main Street, folks are getting ready for a piece of that sandwich.
The Core Proposals Have Not Changed, Just the Wrapping
The heart of the bill, that lovely great $700 billion Wall Street Bailout, is still there. This, of course, means that one of the primary objections to the original bill is still very much in place. True, the Senate version makes the bailout more palatable—raising the FDIC insurance cap to $250,000 for example—but not in any way that really takes care of core objections. What the Senate did was to tie a number of other popular bills to the failed...
By Charles M Cooper · October 03 2008
small business, congress, mortage crisis, paulson
Think back to 1929. Amazing things happened in 1929: Martin Luther King Jr. was born. Popeye made his debut, Hoover was inaugurated as President, Al Capone was arrested on a concealed weapons charge and the stock market crashed. The Roaring Twenties, that glittering period of greed and excess that marked the second decade of the 20th century, came to an end on October 28th and 29th 1929, when the market not merely crashed, it embarked on a month-long slide into oblivion.
The culprit, ultimately, was speculation. By August 1929, brokers were routinely lending small investors more than 2/3 of the face value of the stocks they were buying. Over $8.5 billion was out on loan, more than the entire amount of currency circulating in the U.S.The rising share prices encouraged more people to invest; people hoped the share prices would rise further. Speculation thus fueled further rises and created an economic bubble. A bubble burst eventually and this was no diff...
By Charles M Cooper · September 22 2008
small business, congress, mortage crisis, paulson
