Category: News and Views
Landrieu, Snowe Bill to Create Jobs and Increase Small Business Lending
For those of us treading water, this is a hopeful sign.
the “Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act of 2009” would increase the small business loan limit to as high as $5.5 million and extend for a year the fee eliminations and increased guarantee set to expire under the Recovery Act.
Specifically, the “Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act of 2009” would:
- Increase the loan limit on 7(a) loans from $2 million to $5 million;
- Increase the loan limit on 504 loans from $1.5 million to $5.5 million;
- Increase the loan limit on microloans from $35,000 to $50,000 and increase the maximum loan made to a microloan intermediary from $3.5 million to $5 million;
- Allow the 504 loan program to refinance short-term commercial real estate debt into, long-term, fixed rate loans;
- Extend the authorization to provide 90 percent guarantees on 7(a) loans and fee elimination for borrowers on 7(a) and 504 loans through December 31, 2010; and
- Direct the SBA to create a website where small businesses can identify lenders in their communities.
Bank robber hypnotized tellers | globalpost.com
Galina Korzhova was arrested, said Anton Kornoukhov, a spokesman for police in the southern city of Volgograd, on suspicion of hypnotising a bank teller in the nearby town of Volzhky into giving her more than $80,000. She is suspected of having robbed up to 30 additional banks in what Russian media have called a “grand tour” around the country.
User Backlash Forces Facebook Privacy Tweaks, Again | Technomix | Fast Company
Facebook’s privacy policy and their sharp treatment of it’s nearly half billion users is creating a huge backlash as the company attempts to push more and more private data into the public eye. I know I’m getting tired of dealing the daily interface changes, how about you?
Read the article about the partial security roll back and how Mark Zuckerberg’s personal information got out into the open here.
Bernie Madoff – King of Thugs | WSJ.com
3D Illusion Chalk Drawings (GALLERY)
Julian Beever is a chalk artist in the U.K. who specializes in three dimensional optical illusions. They are fantastic and very cool works of art.
Badvertising: Stop the 5 Biggest Threats to Online Privacy | Fast Company
Submitted by: Snidley
Not only a discussion of the threats, but some good solutions for them. I added ‘Better Privacy’ to Firefox and was amazed at how many flash cookies I had on my computer.
Consumers have trouble finding falling prices|money.cnn.com
The government says consumers are paying less for their everyday needs compared to a year ago. But if it feels like your dollar is not going as far as it used to, you’re not alone.
Somali sea gangs lure investors at pirate lair | Reuters
THE INVISIBL
E HAND OF THE MARKET MOVES UPON THE WATERS…
This is a classic example of why capitalism will never go away. It’s efficient and it rewards initiative. A pirate leader, what you might call a ‘vulture capitalist’, describes the market:
“The shares are open to all and everybody can take part, whether personally at sea or on land by providing cash, weapons or useful materials … we’ve made piracy a community activity.”
And just like any capital market, shareholders wait breathlessly for returns:
Piracy investor Sahra Ibrahim, a 22-year-old divorcee, was lined up with others waiting for her cut of a ransom pay-out after one of the gangs freed a Spanish tuna fishing vessel.
“I am waiting for my share after I contributed a rocket-propelled grenade for the operation,” she said, adding that she got the weapon from her ex-husband in alimony.
“I am really happy and lucky. I have made $75,000 in only 38 days since I joined the ‘company’.”
Two questions: I wonder what Adam Smith would think? And, when is Merrill Lynch going to start offering pirate funds?
Design Crisis » The Lichtenstein Look
Warning: Some may require Dramamine before reading this article. This is a cafeteria, by the way. Imagine keeping your food down in this environment.
You have got to see these photos. NOTICE: May cause vertigo..
Dispatches From The Front 