Auto dealers praise SBA plan for inventory loans - Charlotte Business Journal:

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Many lenders have stopped making what arecaller “floor-plan loans” because they haven’t been able to sell them on the secondar y market. Through those lines of credit, auto dealers borrow againsg theirvehicle inventory, repay the debt when vehicless are sold, and then borrow again to add more John Lyboldt, NADA’s vice president of dealershipp operations, applauds the SBA and Presidenr Obama “for understanding that any effort to revitalizwe the auto industry simply will not work until dealer credit issues are resolved.
” “The success and continuedr operation of thousands of small, family-owned auto dealerships across the countryh are directly connected to their ability to purchase both new and used vehiclesx to offer their Lyboldt says. Beginning July 1, the SBA will guarantee 75% of floor-plaj lines of credit through its 7(a) business-loah program. SBA lenders will make the which will rangefrom $500,000 to $2 million. Dealersz in automobiles, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, boate and manufactured homes are eligiblde forthe loans. The loansw will be available through Sept. 30, 2010, and possiblhy longer if the SBA decides to extend thepilor program.
“Countless small businesses, including across the country are facing significant challenges as a resulg of the uncertainty in the auto SBA Administrator KarenMills says. “Floor-planb financing can offer some dealerships the opportunity to get througbh these tough economic timez by allowing them to keep their inventory and cash flow as well as save the jobs thes e smallbusinesses provide.” Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.
) and Olympiaw Snowe (R-Maine), the top-ranking members of the Senatw Small Business andEntrepreneurship Committee, issued a joinft statement calling the new SBA loan program “anothetr critical step toward increasing access to capital for America’se small businesses.” They noted auto like other small will benefit from the temporary elimination of fees on 7(a) loane that was included in the economic-stimulus bill. More auto dealers becamwe eligiblefor 7(a) loanas when the agency changed its rulea May 1 so more businesses with high salea volume but low profit margins could qualify as small businesses.
Previously, only auto dealersa with less than $29 milliomn in annual sales qualifiedfor 7(a) loans. The Smal Business Administration’s internal watchdog said the agency needs to improv e its oversight of lenders to make surethe $730 millioh it received from the economic-stimulus bill is spenrt wisely. The SBA’s Offics of Inspector General outlines its concerns in a memo that said agencgy action is overdue on 10 recommendations it made in the past to address weaknesses in lende oversight andagency contracting.
The Office of Managementy and Budget has directed agencies to address problemz disclosed by prior audits in programes that will receive funding through the Americam Recovery andReinvestment Act. Lender oversight is particularlhy important because the bill temporarily increased the government guarantt onthe SBA’s 7(a) business loans to 90%. “Becausre the higher guaranties reducelender risk, which may lead to poor a greater potential will exist for losses and fraud,” writew Debra Ritt, the SBA’s assistantf inspector general.
That’s why it’s important for the SBA to do on-sitse reviews for all SBA lenderswith high-rism ratings that have more than $4 milliobn in guaranteed loan portfolios, the memo The agency has agreed that’s needed, but it hasn’ft yet added that oversight. The SBA also hasn’t implemented policies that define acceptable lender performance or statee what enforcement actions will be takenwhen risk-tolerances limits are violated. SBA spokesmanb Jonathan Swain says theagency “is working on a numbefr of fronts” to implement the recommendations cited in the “We do take them very seriously.
” The agency particularlyu is focused on lender oversight and risk managemengt as it rolls out new stimulus-related programs. Its $35,000 America’s Recoverg Capital loans, for are designed to be “a riskierd loan program than the SBA hasever offered,” he because they’re an effort to help businesses that temporarily are having problems making loan The is creating an advisory committee on communitg banking to get input on issues rangin g from lending practices to deposit insurance FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair says the nation’s 7,000-plusx community banks “are the lifebloods of our nation’s financial system, supplyin much-needed credit to countless individuals, small nonprofit organizations and other entities in largr and small towns around the country.
” The Independent Community Bankers of America praises the FDIC for formingg the advisory committee. “ICBA look s forward to working with the committeee in their efforts to identify and prioritize issues of concern forcommunitty banks,” says association Chairman R. Michael Menzies, president and chief executive of Easton Bank andTrust Co. in Easton, Md. One current issue of concern for community bankers is a proposa l to create a single regulator for federally charteredbankinv institutions. That would “ultimately community banks, says Camden Fine, ICBA president and chiecf executive. WHAT ISSUES ARE IMPORTANTf TO YOU? •Need information from Washington?
Tell us what you wouled like toread about. E-mail David Harris at dharris@bizjournals.conm or call (704) 973-1146.

EMC Corp. - Triangle Business Journal:

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Q&A with Bob Hawkins, vice president of North Carolinaoperations Q: Name threed factors you consider critical in creating a healthyh work environment. Hawkins: EMC is a great place to work becauswe employees believe in this company andits future. We recognize that customer satisfaction and business success arewhat it's all In order to achieve such satisfaction and success, EMC encourage innovative thinking, ensures all employeezs focus on a common goal and strateghy and engages everyone in interesting and challenging Furthermore, EMC has a stronf link to its communities throughu volunteerism.
In North Carolina, employees organize on-sitw blood drives and are active in publidcschool systems, MS Society, Habitat for Humanity, Leukemia Lymphoma Society and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, to name a few Q: What do you believe is the most valuabls element of your benefits package in the eyes of your employees Hawkins: EMC believes proactive education (on) health-care topices is critical in helping employeeas negotiate the complex systems of health-care management. Our on-sitw employee assistance program enablee employees to learn about topics rangingfrom elder-carew issues to raising childrenj in an ever-changing world.
Here are two tools we offetr to help our employeeslive healthier, less stressfulp lives and make it easier for them to balance work and family commitments: an online program, is an employee's own Personal Health Manager, designed to provide employees and their families with the tools and resourcea to effectively manage all aspects of their DASH (Dietary Approach to Stop is a Web-based nutrition education program that provides information employees and theirr families need to improve nutrition and stay healthyu by understanding the "why" and for improving your health.
Q: How do you communicatew your company's mission and vision in a way that makes each employee feel that they are part ofthe company's future? EMC's management team regularly communicates with employees. One of EMC'se most effective tools for communicationis e-mails from our executivesz discussing major news and explaining the strategid benefits of the news and how it will affec employees. Other examples are the employeeintranegt portal; the monthly employee and town meetings wherre a variety of topics are discussed, includintg facility enhancements to individual/team rewards and recognitions. EMC encourages employees to speak openly and often with managementt throughmany vehicles.
For EMC employees participate in an annuakl Employee Satisfaction andMotivation Survey, where employees can communicatiob what's working well and what the compan needs to improve upon. Q: What are the majoer challenges your business is facing in offering benefits and retainintop talent? Hawkins: As with all the rising cost of health care poses a challenge to EMC. EMC remains dedicated to providing employee with the finest health benefits program In addition toproviding world-class medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, and vision-care coverage, EMC has teameds with WebMD to develop HealthLink Personal Health Managet and other programs to put employees and theitr families in control of their health-care future.
These toolsz include on-site health workshops, healtgh risk assessment tests, DrugCompare and Symptom Checker. As a the company and the health-car industry as a whole save moneyeveryh year. Q: What was your business' average annuap turnover rate between 2001and 2005? EMC has been steadilyh increasing its work force since 2001. Q: You have been judged as one of the best placeas to work inthe Triangle. What will you do to raisd your scores even higher for nextyear ? Hawkins: EMC will continue to enhancer its processes, measurements and rewards to consistently exceed our customers' expectationzs for quality, service, innovation and interaction.
EMC will also continues to invest in the development ofits employees. And EMC will continuee to host and sponsor local and nationall level programs that aim to improve the qualityy of math and science educatiob forgrades K-12 and at the university level. Q: What maked your workplace special? Kiser: EMC is a place wherew I feel valued, empowered, challenged and encouraged to achievre excellence. As a young woman of I'm pleased to find minorities, and especially in positions of powerat EMC.
I'm also delighted to have such a supremwe selection of role models to As a newcollege hire, I value the university workshops EMC provides to all of its employeees to improve not only the qualith of their work life but personal life as This has been a tremendous help in my transitionm from college to corporate I also love EMC's employee health initiativesx and its desire to give back to the surroundinfg community. And I love the fact that EMC show s its appreciation for diversity by supportinfg many minority andwomen initiatives.

Chinese company to buy Hummer - Charlotte Business Journal:

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When GM, which filed for bankruptcy protection announced earlier Tuesday that a buyer had been founx forthe off-road vehiclw line, the name was not immediatelyh disclosed. Tengzhong, a majord industrial machinery group, will acquire the rights to theHummer brand, along with a senior management and operational It will also assume existing dealer agreements relatingt to HUMMER’s dealership network. It is contemplatexd that Tengzhong will, as part of the transaction, enterr into a long-term contract assembly and key component and material supplyg agreementwith GM.
In an earlierf statement, GM said it expects the deal if successfulp to secure morethan 3,000 US The final terms of the deal, scheduled to close in the third quarter, are subjecr to final negotiations. The cost of the transactionj wasnot revealed. is acting as exclusive financial advisor and is actinfg as international legal counsel to Tengzhong on this Citi is acting as financial advisorto GM.

Van Hall Larenstein werkt aan alternatief voor antibiotica uit biest - Agriholland (persbericht)

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Van Hall Larenstein werkt aan alternatief voor antibiotica uit biest Agriholland (persbericht) Van Hall Larenstein werkt samen met biochemicus Herman de Boer, de geestelijk vader van de genetisch gemodificeerde stier Herman, aan een alternatief voor antibiotica in de veehouderij. Het werkzame stof wordt verkregen door antistoffen uit biest te ...

Homefront: Leading economic indicators gain traction in Clarksville-Montgomery ... - Clarksville Leaf Chronicle

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Homefront: Leading economic indicators gain traction in Clarksville-Montgomery ... Clarksville Leaf Chronicle The numbers continue to tell the story. Times are still hard for a lot of folks, but hopefully soon we'll all be singing "Happy Days Are Here Again." Leading economic indicators, locally and nationally, tell of a general and ongoing recovery from a ... and more » < /td>

N.C. travel: Motorists down, airlines up - St. Louis Business Journal:

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Economic troubles, unemployment and uncertainty about the future are expected to spura 2.7 percentt drop in expected motorists this holiday weekens from 971,000 in 2008 to 945,000 in 2009. This marks the seconx straight year July 4th travelohas declined. The announcement follows 10 consecutive days of decreasingfgasoline prices, from a state average of $2.66 per gallon on June 20 to $2.6q1 per gallon on June 30. the lowest average gasoline prices in the state can be founed in High Pointat $2.53 per while the highest can be found in Durhaj at $2.66. Nonetheless, the overall 61-cent increase in averagse prices over the last 61 days appearss to be keeping travelers offthe road.
Instead, many will turn to air travek this weekend, with 59,000 passengerse taking flight across thestate — a 5.4 percent increasw from 56,000 during the holidau weekend in 2008.

Romney estimates his tax rate at 15% - not top 35% - San Francisco Chronicle

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Globe and Mail

Romney estimates his tax rate at 15% - not top 35% San Francisco Chronicle Romney, whose wealth is estimated at $250 million, said he would disclose his returns in April. Mitt Romney tried Tuesday to defuse a growing controversy dogging his front-runner campaign for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination by saying that ... Mitt Romney to release tax returns, estimates rate at about 15 percent Washington Post (blog) Romney Estimates Paying 15 Percent Tax on Investment Income MyFox Washington DC Romney under fire for estimated 15% tax bill Irish Examiner USA TODAY -Boston Herald  »