plus 4, Democrats want to curb banks’ overdraft fees - San Mateo Daily Journal |
- Democrats want to curb banks’ overdraft fees - San Mateo Daily Journal
- Economic troubles of Toledo area unyielding - Toledo Blade
- Big day for prep sports..and we're covering it live - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- Impact fee cuts could cost Hernando schools $630,000 - St. Petersburg Times
- Stocks dive as consumers spend less - Tulsa World
| Democrats want to curb banks’ overdraft fees - San Mateo Daily Journal Posted: 31 Oct 2009 03:29 AM PDT WASHINGTON — Senior congressional Democrats say legislation is still needed to limit how lenders charge customers who overspend on their accounts, even though some big banks have already curbed high-fee overdraft programs. Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, on Friday joined Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., in calling for legislation that would require banks to ask customers whether they want overdraft protection. "Don't do favors for people without asking them," said Frank, D-Mass., at a hearing on a House overdraft bill introduced by New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney. Most banks automatically allow customers to overdraft their accounts, then charge them $25 to $35 per infraction. Banks say that customers want the protection, rather than being denied a purchase at the cash register. In recent weeks, several major U.S. banks, including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., have said that they will allow customers to "opt out" of their overdraft programs. The House and Senate bills under consideration would go further by requiring that fees be proportional to the cost of the overcharge. The legislation also would prohibit banks from imposing more than one overdraft fee a month, or six per a year. The recently announced policies by banks seemed too little, too late for federal regulators and lawmakers who say tougher rules should be imposed. By the end of the year, the Federal Reserve is expected to issue new regulations on overdrafts. Congressional Democrats say they want new rules codified into law. During Friday's hearing, consumer advocates hailed the proposed law while bank representatives said it was unnecessary. Michael Menzies, president of Maryland's Easton Bank and Trust Company, said eliminating overdraft protection for many customers will mean denying charges and embarrassing customers or forcing them to rely on high-cost payday lenders. "While community banks always seek to treat customers honestly, the same expectations must hold true in reverse: customers should not — and generally do not — expect a free pass when a bank covers their overdrafts," Menzies said. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Economic troubles of Toledo area unyielding - Toledo Blade Posted: 31 Oct 2009 07:32 AM PDT A top White House economic adviser said Friday that the federal government's recovery efforts may have saved or created a million jobs nationwide, but until there is sustained job growth, "there's no major turnaround to brag on." Still, he said, "when it comes to every economic challenge we face, there's not one single bullet we're shooting at it." lvellequette@theblade.com or 419-724-6091. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Big day for prep sports..and we're covering it live - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Posted: 31 Oct 2009 08:15 AM PDT Eight Wisconsin organizations will receive a total of $420 million in federal tax credits intended to stimulate economic growth and create jobs in low-income areas. The New Markets Tax Credit awards will go to Waveland Community Development LLC, Milwaukee, $100 million; Wisconsin Community Development Legacy Fund Inc., Madison, $85 million; First Ring Industrial Redevelopment Enterprise Inc., West Allis, $70 million; Johnson Community Development Co., Racine, $50 million; M&I New Markets Fund LLC, Milwaukee, $40 million; Wisconsin Business Growth Fund Inc., Madison, $35 million; Milwaukee Economic Development Corp., Milwaukee, $25 million; and Urban Revitalization & Brownfield Redevelopment Fund, Madison, $15 million. The credits have been used in the Milwaukee area to attract investors to projects such as the Lena's Food Stores chain and the Iron Horse Hotel near the Harley-Davison Museum. Wisconsin Community Development Legacy Fund approved deals this year to retain more than 500 permanent jobs in the state's manufacturing industry, according to Gov. Jim Doyle. To date, that fund has allocated $175 million in credits to 21 companies across Wisconsin. »Read Full Article This content has passed through fivefilters.org.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Impact fee cuts could cost Hernando schools $630,000 - St. Petersburg Times Posted: 31 Oct 2009 08:08 AM PDT By Tony Marrero, Times Staff Writer BROOKSVILLE — To the majority of School Board members, giving up some impact fee money is a worthy sacrifice for the good of the county's economy. Now, with some sense of the actual cost, board members have to decide whether the County Commission's idea of an economic stimulus is still palatable. Commissioners agreed unanimously Tuesday to craft an ordinance that would lower impact fees for residential, commercial and industrial construction to 2001 levels for 12 months. The move came at the urging of local builders, who said lower fees would be the incentive many hesitant property owners need to start building. Rolling back residential impact fees to 2001 levels — essentially cutting them in half — would mean a hit to the school district of about $630,000 this fiscal year, according to figures from the district's facilities department. The impact would be about the same next year and start to increase slightly in 2011-12 as growth returns, bringing the possible loss in revenue to at least $3 million if the reduction remains until 2013-14, according to district estimates. The fees are one-time costs imposed on new buildings to offset the costs of government services that construction brings. The school district collects only residential fees, but that still accounts for $4,266 of the current $9,200 fee. The County Commission's plan would bring the total impact fee to $4,800. The commission took the action with the backing of the School Board, which has no control over impact fee amounts. The board voted 4-1 in October to throw its support behind a reduction, though board members did not specify how much and stopped short of supporting a full moratorium. The School Board is slated to discuss the county's proposed ordinance during a 2 p.m. workshop Tuesday. "I think we can put up with that for a year or two," board member Sandra Nicholson said of the plan. "I'm not sure it wouldn't be better for the whole community to have at least a partial reduction." • • • But there are other considerations that warrant caution, school officials say. Mainly this: On the district's shoestring budget and lack of reserves, $630,000 is a lot of money. "I do have some concerns," interim superintendent Sonya Jackson said. "The budget is tight, and we really want to try to make sure that this whole process works out for what will be in the best interest of the district." Revenue from impact fees has already declined because of the brutal housing market. The district's impact fee fund balance, which stands this year at $5.7 million, would go into the red by the 2011-12 budget year if the impact fee reduction were extended until then, according to figures from a presentation prepared for the board's meeting. That fund includes $1.2 million set aside this year — and still available — for land acquisition and $500,000 budgeted in the following three years. The district does not have a "land bank" of parcels to build on to meet future growth needs, facilities director Bo Bavota said. More concerning, officials say, is that the district had also planned to put impact fee money toward a nearly $1.9 million annual debt service payment for capital projects for at least the next four years. If impact fee money disappears, the debt service payment will have to be paid using the land acquisition money and capital improvement funding collected from a 1.5-mill property tax levy, officials said. "There will be no money to buy land, that's for sure," Bavota said. The tax levy funds are already tight because they are committed to capital debt service and to maintaining the district's facilities, said chief financial officer Desiree Henegar. "What concerns me — and I will be the first to tell the board — is you're shifting the funding need from one fund to another, which dries up some of your resources," Henegar said. "We have to look at our currently funded projects, and something's going to have to give." Henegar compared the district to a consumer with maxed-out credit cards. "We're pretty much leveraged," she said. "We can't borrow any money." Henegar also worries about the specter of cuts by the state to per-student funding this year and in future years due to possible revenue shortfalls. That has an impact on the general fund, which has only a $1 million rainy-day balance. "We live each day not knowing what's going to happen at the state level," she said. • • • There is a legal concern, too. Florida's concurrency law requires school districts to plan for the future by establishing and maintaining adequate facilities for the projected enrollment. The district has a five-year plan and an interlocal agreement with the county and the city of Brooksville to meet student capacity requirements by the 2013-14 school year. Even with planned construction projects, nearly every elementary school is projected to be at 100 percent capacity by then, said Amber Wheeler, the district's manager of growth planning. "If you keep cutting funding, we may not be able to meet that level of service," Wheeler said. Board member Pat Fagan supported a reduction in impact fees, though he said Thursday he still needed to review the backup material for Tuesday's meeting. Still, Fagan said he's willing to sacrifice at least some money for the economy. "I just feel like we need to do our share, and if it calls for cutting back on building at the moment until we know times have changed, then we need to do it," Fagan said. He said he does have concerns about a proposed provision that would allow the fees to be paid when the building's certificate of occupancy is issued rather than when the building permit is pulled, as is the current practice. That, Fagan said, could decrease the likelihood of receiving the funding in a timely manner. Board member Dianne Bonfield was the lone vote against a reduction. Bonfield has said she feels a need to put the district's finances first. Board member James Yant said he doubts the district will wind up sacrificing much money. He called projections for impact fee revenue for the next few years optimistic at best. Young people don't want to live here because there are few jobs, and older would-be residents are scared away by high taxes, Yant said. "I don't think people are going to come to build houses," he said. Tony Marrero can be reached at tmarrero@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1431. "I think we can put up with that for a year or two. I'm not sure it wouldn't be better for the whole community to have at least a partial reduction." Sandra Nicholson, School Board member [Last modified: Oct 31, 2009 11:05 AM] This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Stocks dive as consumers spend less - Tulsa World Posted: 31 Oct 2009 07:11 AM PDT NEW YORK — Grim signals about consumer spending ripped through the markets Friday, sending stocks tumbling as investors raced for safe havens.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite index ended with losses for October, breaking a streak of seven months of gains. The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 250 points, erasing a gain of 200 Thursday and ending the month flat. Drops in key barometers of the health of consumers — what they're spending, what they're earning and how they're feeling — fanned worries that an economic recovery celebrated by the market only a day earlier won't last. The huge reversal in market sentiment reflected how desperate stock investors are to reach conclusions about how the economy is doing, and how quickly they are willing to abandon those convictions. The about-face from Thursday to Friday in the S&P 500 index, the benchmark for many mutual funds, was the sharpest swing since February. "I think you have a market that is ultimately looking for its direction," said Bob Froehlich, senior managing director at Hartford Financial Services. "We really are at the inflection point. You tend to have an overreaction to both extremes." A day after a euphoric rally pushed stocks up the largest amount in three months, on Friday investors fretted that strapped consumers won't be able to carry on a recovery in the economy that has been driven by government spending and companies boosting profits through cost cuts.
Investors fled to safer assets like the dollar and Treasurys. The Dow fell 249.85, or 2.5 percent, to 9,712.73, its lowest close since Oct. 5. It was the Dow's biggest one-day percentage drop since July 2 and left the index with a meager gain of 0.005 percent for the month. The broader S&P 500 index fell 29.92, or 2.8 percent, to 1,036.19, its biggest percentage loss since July 2. The Nasdaq dropped 52.44, or 2.5 percent, to 2,045.11. Six stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, a virtual reversal of the tide that swept stocks higher Thursday when the government said the economy grew faster than expected in the summer. Indicators of investor skittishness surged. The Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, known as the market's fear gauge, soared 23 percent to its highest level since July. Stocks began skidding after the Labor Department said personal spending fell 0.5 percent in September. The drop was in line with forecasts, but it was also the largest slide in nine months and followed a 1.3 percent jump in August fueled by the government's popular Cash for Clunkers car rebate program. The government also said that personal income, the fuel for future spending, was flat in September compared with August. A drop in the mood of consumers added to the day's bad news. The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 70.6 in October from 73.5 in September. The reading was revised higher from an early estimate and was roughly in line with expectations. "Until we get to better employment numbers, it's hard to get real income growth and real spending ... and we're just not there yet," said Kurt Karl, chief U.S. economist at Swiss Re. Friday was the end of the fiscal year for many mutual funds. Fund managers often sell some investments to minimize taxes for shareholders. Bank stocks were hardest hit as traders worried about the fate of commercial lender CIT Group Inc. Billionaire investor and bondholder Carl Icahn agreed to support the company's restructuring plan and provide it with a $1 billion line of credit, but investors are still worried that the company could file for bankruptcy protection. The stock tumbled 24 percent. Citigroup fell 22 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $4.09 after a CLSA analyst warned that the bank would write down as much as $10 billion in its fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp. lost $1.15, or 7.3 percent, to $14.58. It was the biggest decliner among the Dow industrials. All 30 Dow stocks fell. For the week, the Dow lost 2.6 percent, its worst drop since mid-June. The S&P 500 index fell 4 percent, its biggest slide since mid-May. It lost 2 percent for October but is still up 53.2 percent from a 12-year low in March. The Nasdaq fell 5.1 percent for the week and 3.6 percent for October. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold fell, while oil tumbled $2.38 to $77.49 a barrel. Bond prices surged, pushing their yields lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.39 percent from 3.50 percent late Thursday. Stocks have lost ground the past two weeks as worries about the economy escalated. Without stronger evidence that the labor market is improving and consumers are feeling more comfortable about spending, investors will likely have trouble extending the market's gains. Trading is likely to remain volatile in the coming week amid a flood of major economic news, including the Institute of Supply Management's readings on the manufacturing and services industries, sales reports from major retailers and the Labor Department's October employment report — arguably the month's most important piece of economic data. The Federal Reserve will convene a two-day policy meeting Tuesday. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
The heaviest selling came in areas that have been stalwarts of the market's powerful climb since March: financials, technology, energy and industrials. The safest areas, like health care, consumer staples and utilities, fared somewhat better.
| You are subscribed to email updates from Add Images to any RSS Feed To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
.gif "OBAT KUAT")
.gif)
No comments:
Post a Comment