Congressmen, Palm Beach County small businesses discuss how to win Pentagon contracts
By Emily Roach, The Palm Beach Post, Fla.
Feb. 22--JUPITER -- South Florida business owners shared ideas with the U.S. House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, exploring ways to make small- and medium-sized businesses more competitive in the half-trillion dollar industry of defense spending.
U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, hosted a roundtable discussion with Armed Services Committee member Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., and Small Business Committee Chairman Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., at the Florida Atlantic University campus in Jupiter. West sits on both committees.
"Specifically the panel is looking at contracting and regulatory impediments that face the defense industry, how to best use incentives and mandates to increase small and disadvantaged business participation, how to reduce the barriers to entry in the defense industry, and what can be done to increase competition, which we believe will spur innovation, " said Shuster, who chairs the committee's Panel on Business Challenges Within the Defense Industry.
More than a dozen South Florida companies bracketed the congressmen at nearby tables, with more seated around the outside of the room. Media members were excluded after opening statements.
Graves said seven in 10 jobs in the country are in small businesses and those companies need a better playing field to compete for federal contracts, especially with the biggest player, the Department of Defense.
"The issue of making sure small businesses are really getting their fair share of contracting versus big businesses" is a primary concern, said Mark Llano, president and CEO of Source One in Wellington. The former Marine said one topic was how to give more advantage to veteran-owned businesses.
David York, CEO of United Electronics in Davie, which provides mobile power equipment to military operations, said he wants the process to be fair for his 62-employee company. He hires vets, meets all standards, and manufactures all products in the United States. But not all who hold contracts do, he said.
"If you're going to write a standard, enforce a standard," he said before the hearing started.
Read More»TD Bank introduces new checking account suite for small business
TD Bank, a provider of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services, has introduced the TD Business Checking, to provide small business owners with more checking choices and better control of their money.
The new product offering consists of three checking accounts with tiered features, and enables small business owners to choose the account that best suits the needs of their business.
"Providing convenient banking products and legendary customer service to local small businesses is what distinguishes TD Bank as a leading small business bank," said Fred Graziano, Head of Regional Commercial Banking, Government Banking and Small Business, TD Bank.
"We conducted extensive research and gathered substantial customer feedback to design a new checking suite for small businesses of all sizes that offers industry-leading value, including more convenience and attractive benefits," said Ravi Subbaraya, Head of Business Banking Product Management, TD Bank.
According to the company, the following checking accounts are now offered through TD Business Checking: TD Business Simple Checking - recommended for startup or smaller businesses with low balances and fewer transactions, TD Business Convenience Checking Plus - recommended for mature or medium-sized businesses (annual revenues greater than $100,000) with moderate deposit balances and more transactions and TD Business Premier Checking - recommended for mid-to-larger businesses (annual revenues of $500,000 or more) looking for a relationship-based product that rewards them for their higher deposit balances. Rewards include safe deposit box discounts, free check images on paper statements, and discounts on business loan rates.
All TD Business Checking accounts provide free TD Bank BusinessDirect Online Banking with bill pay and information and transactions; instant-issue Debit/A card usable at more than 1,870 TD Bank ATMs from Maine to Florida.
The TD Business Checking accounts are available for both new and existing customers. Small businesses customers who already have checking accounts with TD Bank can choose to keep their existing accounts or switch to the new product suite.
"We're providing each customer with an abundance of information and comparison tools to help make choosing a business checking account simple and hassle-free," said Subbaraya.
"TD Bank is a one-stop banking provider for small business owners from Maine to Florida, offering full-scale solutions and easy-to-use products delivered by local professionals," said Graziano. "With expanded conveniences and a variety of business checking choices, TD Bank is committed to helping small business owners focus on what's most important: the success of their business."
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
Read More»Central bank, AMLC to face Senate probe
By Jefferson Antiporda, The Manila Times, Philippines
Feb. 23--SENATE President Juan Ponce Enrile on Wednesday directed the concerned Senate committee to investigate the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC)
for possible violation of the bank secrecy law by accessing bank records of individuals without a court order.
Enrile learned about the supposedly illegal incursion into bank accounts when a witness in the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona revealed that the BSP and AMLC audited the Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) from September to November 2010 and the bank accounts of Corona were among those reviewed by the audit team.
According to PSBank President Pascual Garcia 3rd, the AMLC observed that Corona's account was not classified as "politically exposed people" or PEP.
"I'm not against any examining as required by the law, but if they looked into the accounts of anybody in this country, then what are the Republic Acts that imposed secrecy on certain matters of this country? Is this not violation of our laws? Is this not an intrusion of the bill of rights? Is this not violation of rule of law in this country?" Enrile said during the Senate session on Wednesday morning.
The Senate chief maintained that the AMLC and the BSP has no authority to look into or scrutinize bank accounts without a court order.
"The people are involved, our depositors are involved, our banking system is involved . . . This is a serious matter. Only totalitarian countries can look into the private affairs of their people. We are not. We are democratic society," Enrile said.
The Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies chaired by Sen. Sergio Osmena 3rd was tasked to conduct the inquiry.
Sen. Edgardo Angara also expressed his concern over the practice of classifying PEP in the implementation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
"I have been wondering about this category of 'Politically Exposed Persons', and its impact and implications on a group of citizens being classified as such, in terms of credit extensions, withdrawals and special treatment," Angara said.
Angara, the vice chairman of the Senate committee on finance, expressed his concerns over the possible deprivation of credit and limited access to other services of a person included in this category.
Read More»YoBucko talks money for 20-somethings
When it comes to managing money, there's no lack of advice online, on everything from figuring out a budget to calculating your retirement plan.
But for 20-somethings? Not so much.
And that's the concept behind YoBucko.com, a new personal finance website aimed squarely at those in their 20s. It's the brainchild of Eric Bell, a 28-year-old Washington, D.C., entrepreneur who sees a void in personal finance guidance for his generation.
What Bell lacks in years, he's made up in passion for personal finances. While in college, Bell started money-management workshops at four universities in his native Arkansas. After graduating in 2006 ("one of the last group of graduates to easily get jobs"), he spent four years in the private banking division of Citigroup. Now finishing an MBA program at Georgetown University, he just finished two years as president of the Greater Washington, D.C., Jumpstart Coalition, a national nonprofit that promotes financial literacy in schools.
It all led to November, when he founded YoBucko, which offers advice to 20-somethings on budgets, debt, savings, insurance and more.
He recently talked by phone with McClatchy Newspapers about his website and his generation's attitudes on work, taking risks and the recession's lasting impact. Here's an excerpt:
QUESTION: Where did (the YoBucko name) come from?
ANSWER: I wanted a name that made people laugh. There's so much out there on personal finances but not a lot you can laugh about ... . Real problems come from personal finances. But people aren't receptive to the message if they can't smile about it.
Q: Why focus on 20-somethings?
A: I focus on 20-year-olds and up because I am one. I understand the challenges they're facing ... . When I was in college, I wanted to take classes on money management but nothing was available. ... I'm trying to get in front of problems and (help prevent) a lot of what we've seen with credit card debt, bad mortgages, etc.
Q: Like many college graduates, you're saddled with $100,000 in student loans, the legacy of finishing your Georgetown University MBA. Does that make you more -- or less -- credible with your audience?
Read More»The Philadelphia Inquirer Al Heavens column
By Al Heavens, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Feb. 19--Since reporting the details of President Obama's latest housing recovery plan, I have been inundated with e-mails and calls from homeowners looking to refinance their mortgages to record low rates through the Federal Housing Administration.
The volume, along with regular appeals from readers asking me to intercede for them with lenders and servicers, are proof positive the financial crisis is far from over.
The problem is that Congress, including a Republican House majority hostile to the plan, has to approve it first, and that may not happen.
The need for congressional action is twofold.
The first reason is that the administration wants banks to be charged what Obama called "a small fee" to pay the $5 billion to $10 billion cost of refinancing millions of mortgages rather than add to the deficits that threaten the economy, as Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told the House Budget Committee two weeks ago.
The second is that Congress must authorize the expansion of FHA capacity to refinance these mortgages, including establishing a way to insure these loans separately from the rest of the agency's portfolio to limit the risk to the more solid ones.
Two years ago, when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress, the administration proposed charging lenders a fee to pay the costs of modifying loans. That idea didn't pass.
In addition, despite denials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FHA solvency remains an issue for many economists. If the situation reaches the tipping point, it would end in another multibillion-dollar taxpayer bailout.
There may be as many as 10 million U.S. borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth. Just setting up a mechanism to handle them would take months, because existing "Home Affordable" programs don't appear to have been up to the task.
All I'm saying is, don't count on this one.
Why? After the announcement, HUD kept forwarding to me -- unsolicited -- testimonials from academics and others on the program's viability.
Yet, if House Speaker John A. Boehner (R., Ohio) says "no way" 90 minutes before Obama even announces the program, all the favorable comments in the world won't change the outcome.
Read More»Congress’ payroll tax deal a rare bipartisan effort
WASHINGTON -- Congress on Friday overwhelmingly approved extending a payroll tax cut for 160 million workers through the end of the year, probably the biggest accomplishment lawmakers will be able to savor in 2012.
The rare bipartisan agreement, which also provides jobless benefits to the long-term unemployed and preserves Medicare payment rates to physicians, came without the hostility that has scarred economic debates since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009.
The House of Representatives voted 293-132 to approve the plan. Minutes later, the Senate agreed 60-36.
Under the bill, Social Security taxes for workers will remain at their current 4.2 percent level this year on wages up to $110,100. The rate was scheduled to go up by 2 percentage points next month. Friday's fix assures that the average worker earning $50,000 a year would continue to get a weekly break of $20.
Medicare payments to doctors, which had been scheduled to drop by 27.4 percent, will stay at current levels. Extended unemployment benefits for people who have been out of work for long stretches will continue, though for shorter periods.
Obama planned to sign the bill "right away when I get home," he told an audience at a Boeing plant in Everett, Wash., where he was wrapping up a three-day West Coast swing that included eight campaign fundraisers. He was due to return to the White House at 12:45 a.m. EST Saturday.
The legislation was crafted with unusual speed and bipartisan cooperation. Congress' approval rating has hit record lows in recent Gallup polls -- it was 10 percent earlier this month -- and most lawmakers face re-election in the fall.
Serious budget issues remain. Congress is supposed to approve an outline for the fiscal 2013 federal budget by mid-April, but few expect that to happen. Most anticipate little, if any, serious action on major deficit-cutting until after the November elections.
Friday was a day for lawmakers to show that they could get something done, though most conceded that it was a small step.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said, "This is an economic relief bill, not a growth bill."
"It's not perfect but it is certainly the right thing to do now," added Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "Our economy is still struggling, big time."
Read More»