Washington Informer
Busniess Archive (201)
Maryland State Delegate Herman Taylor (l) presented a business award to 22 awardees at the Minority Business Enterprise Awards at the National Harbor on Fri., Oct. 2. Awardees included Denise Rolark Barnes (second from left), publisher of the Washington Informer Newspaper; with Delegate Veronica Turner, chair, Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland; and Obie Patterson, president, Maryland Black Caucus Foundation. Photo by Maurice G. Fitzgerald“The greatest source of job creation is small businesses and I believe we have a president and a Congress dedicated to growing this economy,†said Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D- District 4). “I believe we are on the cusp of job creation in the global economy.â€
The Awards Reception was sponsored by the Maryland Black Caucus Foundation and the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. Delegate Herman Taylor (D- District 14) served as the host for the event.
“We take the lifting up of Black businesses very seriously, and we continue to fight for our fair share of dollars in our community,†Taylor said. “We are looking for more than a level playing field; we need to start advancing on that field.â€
Taylor also indicated that he is “testing the waters†for a possible run for Congress in Maryland’s 4th District.
One major area in which minority participation is lacking is the gaming industry. Despite some initial opposition to bringing slot parlors into the state, a referendum was passed during the November elections that paved the way for slot machines.
The unemployment rate has hit double digits for the first time since 1983 - and is likely to go higher. The 10.2 percent jobless rate for October shows how weak the economy remains even though it is growing. The rising jobless rate could threaten the recovery if it saps consumers' confidence and makes them more cautious about spending as the holiday season approaches.
The October unemployment rate - reflecting nearly 16 million jobless people - jumped from 9.8 percent in September, the Labor Department said Friday. The job losses occurred across most industries, from manufacturing and construction to retail and financial.
The October unemployment rate - reflecting nearly 16 million jobless people - jumped from 9.8 percent in September, the Labor Department said Friday. The job losses occurred across most industries, from manufacturing and construction to retail and financial.
Should the federal government help finance expansion of U.S. health coverage by taxing products such as sugary soft drinks? Polls show at least 50 percent public support for taxes on soft drinks and rises as high as 72 percent when respondents believe revenues would be used for programs to help the poor. Support for the tax is highest among African Americans and Hispanics; and is stronger in low-income than in higher-income groups.
Proponents of taxing high-sugar soft drinks say it will improve Americans' health while helping to pay for health care reform that ensures all Americans have regular access to doctors and slows health care cost growth. Even President Barack Obama has indicated support for this "sin tax" to help lower high rates of U.S. obesity. Over the next 10 years, it will cost as much as $1.5 trillion to finance the proposed health care reform initiative.
Proponents of taxing high-sugar soft drinks say it will improve Americans' health while helping to pay for health care reform that ensures all Americans have regular access to doctors and slows health care cost growth. Even President Barack Obama has indicated support for this "sin tax" to help lower high rates of U.S. obesity. Over the next 10 years, it will cost as much as $1.5 trillion to finance the proposed health care reform initiative.
The clock is ticking for first-time homebuyers scrambling to take advantage of an $8,000 tax credit set to expire on Nov. 30 – unless Congress decides to extend it. Last week, the White House said its economic team is evaluating the credit’s impact on home sales and will make a recommendation to President Barack Obama.
The National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders have launched marketing campaigns touting the credit and have pushed Congress to keep it going. But some lawmakers are balking at the cost, which may hit $15 billion – more than double the amount projected in February’s economic stimulus bill.
The National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders have launched marketing campaigns touting the credit and have pushed Congress to keep it going. But some lawmakers are balking at the cost, which may hit $15 billion – more than double the amount projected in February’s economic stimulus bill.
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Busniess Archive
Written by by Chris Levister - Special to the NNPA from Black Voice News
Written by by Chris Levister - Special to the NNPA from Black Voice News
Louis C. Davis, Jr. Courtesy PhotoDavis joined the AARP DC staff in January 2006 with more than a decade of political outreach and grassroots organization experience in the District. Previously, he was a senior project manager for World Vision, where he managed the strategic planning processes, and development of a new vision statement for this international organization operating in over 80 countries. He has also served as an Appropriations Assistant/Senior Legislative Support for U.S. Representative José E. Serrano of New York. His awards include the National AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families, for his 1993 legislative work to fund treatment and research for women, infants, children and youth through Title IV of the Ryan White CARE Act, the nation’s largest federally funded program for people living with HIV-AIDS. Before coming to the District, Davis worked in the office of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington.
Davis holds a BA in political science from Knox College and a Master of Public Administration from The George Washington University Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. He has been a volunteer for ten years at the Children’s National Medical Center here in the District.
Davis was accepted into the 2008 class of Leadership Greater Washington (LGW), a professional networking association of regional leaders, and was elected to represent his class on the LGW board of directors for 2008-09.
In President Barack Obama’s stimulus speech on Tuesday, Dec 8, he said he’s trying to get Congress to pass legislation creating a tax credit for employers who hire new workers. But The Wall Street Journal reports that while business owners across the country appreciate the effort, they need more specifics, and more customers.
“Giving me a tax credit if I hire somebody? That’s not a really big incentive for me,†one business owner tells the Journal. “We need customers in the door.â€
The Congressional Oversight Panel, which was created last October to oversee the government’s bailout program, issued a report on the TARP program on Wednesday, finding that while problems remain, the program “can be credited with stopping an economic panic.â€
“Giving me a tax credit if I hire somebody? That’s not a really big incentive for me,†one business owner tells the Journal. “We need customers in the door.â€
The Congressional Oversight Panel, which was created last October to oversee the government’s bailout program, issued a report on the TARP program on Wednesday, finding that while problems remain, the program “can be credited with stopping an economic panic.â€
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported November 19, that a record number of loans—1 in 7—is delinquent, up from 1 in 10 a year ago. The numbers also show that 1 in 22 families in the U.S. is in the process of losing their home, up from 1 in 34 a year ago.
Based on those figures, the country's now on track for 2.9 million foreclosure starts in this year alone.
John Robinson, a management consultant, got a pink slip nearly a year ago and he's still unemployed. For him it was the beginning of the end of things as his family knew it. With his job gone and his wife still home on maternity leave he tried everything he could to get another job.
Based on those figures, the country's now on track for 2.9 million foreclosure starts in this year alone.
John Robinson, a management consultant, got a pink slip nearly a year ago and he's still unemployed. For him it was the beginning of the end of things as his family knew it. With his job gone and his wife still home on maternity leave he tried everything he could to get another job.
Published in
Busniess Archive
Written by Courtesy of the Final Call, News Report, Nisa Islam Muhammad
Written by Courtesy of the Final Call, News Report, Nisa Islam Muhammad
First, in the name of the holiday, the giving.
Food banks and soup kitchens are more stocked than usual this year, thanks to an extra $100 million in resources from the stimulus, on top of the $250 million originally budgeted by the federal government, reports The New York Times.
It’s a good thing, too—a recent survey by Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, found that requests for emergency food assistance were up by 30 percent from last year.
Food banks and soup kitchens are more stocked than usual this year, thanks to an extra $100 million in resources from the stimulus, on top of the $250 million originally budgeted by the federal government, reports The New York Times.
It’s a good thing, too—a recent survey by Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, found that requests for emergency food assistance were up by 30 percent from last year.
Be careful when banks offer to do you a favor. It could cost you up to $35 each time they pay a charge if you don't have enough money in your account to cover it. Called “Courtesy Overdraft Services,†banks provide this “favor†as a help to clients who are faced with having transactions denied.
“If the bank bounces the check, the consumer will pay a fee to the bank; the consumer will likely pay a fee to the person to whom the check was written; the consumer may also face late payment fees and delinquencies if the check was written to pay a bill; and the consumer may also be at risk of violating state laws pertaining to bad checks,†testified Richard Hunt of the Consumers Banking Association before the House Committee on Financial Services on Oct. 30.
“If the bank bounces the check, the consumer will pay a fee to the bank; the consumer will likely pay a fee to the person to whom the check was written; the consumer may also face late payment fees and delinquencies if the check was written to pay a bill; and the consumer may also be at risk of violating state laws pertaining to bad checks,†testified Richard Hunt of the Consumers Banking Association before the House Committee on Financial Services on Oct. 30.
Published in
Busniess Archive
Written by Courtesy of the Final Call, News Report By Misa Islam Muhammad
Written by Courtesy of the Final Call, News Report By Misa Islam Muhammad
A pot of stimulus money set aside for small-business loans has run out, CNN Money reports. Congress gave the Small Business Administration $375 million to help small businesses get loans in a tough credit market. That money was used to waive the fees usually charged to banks that want the SBA to guarantee loans they make to small businesses.
The money also went to raise the cap on how much of the loan the SBA would guarantee, to 90 percent of the loan. Despite the incentives, CNN Money reports that the number of bank loans backed by the SBA in the year that ended Sept. 30 still fell by a third from the previous year.
An organization that describes itself as “the nation’s principal voice for the medical group practice profession†has warned that the government risks “squandering†the billions of stimulus dollars set aside for health information technology.
The money also went to raise the cap on how much of the loan the SBA would guarantee, to 90 percent of the loan. Despite the incentives, CNN Money reports that the number of bank loans backed by the SBA in the year that ended Sept. 30 still fell by a third from the previous year.
An organization that describes itself as “the nation’s principal voice for the medical group practice profession†has warned that the government risks “squandering†the billions of stimulus dollars set aside for health information technology.
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