| Capital Access lending a hand
When Rhonda Hatfield needed a loan to open a child-care center in southeastern Jefferson County four years ago, she ran into a roadblock that she believes is familiar to many startups: "Banks don't want to work with them until they have proven themselves," she said. "If you don't have someone backing you, you can't move ahead." But Hatfield found a friend in Capital Access Corp.-Kentucky, a not-for-profit organization that helped her secure a $1 million loan package from a bank and the U.S. Small Business Administration through its "504" loan program. .
Tax cuts - but anger over broken pledges
JOHN Swinney used the SNP's first budget yesterday to make a determined pitch for middle Scotland - unveiling populist, tax-cutting measures designed to win over householders and small businesses. In a budget that effectively buried the image of the SNP as a left-wing, tax-and-spend party, the finance secretary rewarded council-tax payers and private firms. .
Sell stocks? Hang on? An investor's dilemma
The economy is weakening, the stock market is slumping and there's plenty of bad news. It's easy to feel confused. If you sell stocks that are way down, you could be getting out at the bottom and miss the rebound. On the other hand, you can feel foolish hanging on to a stock that just keeps dropping. It may seem as though you would benefit from lightening up on stocks in a falling market and loading up when shares are rising. But for most of us, the expenses to buy and sell are too high and we aren't in a position to catch trends early enough. Plus, the costs of guessing wrong can be devastating. Miss big gains at the start of a bull market, and you'll never make up those lost profits. Does that mean you should be a completely passive investor relying on a few index funds? Some academics would say yes, but I think action is warranted in certain circumstances.
Ballinger fete marches on despite dismal weather
Kit Hurt and his daughter and grandchildren were among the crowd in 30-degree weather and freezing wind watching the parade in Ballinger on Saturday. "Since they went to all the trouble to have it, we needed to be here to support it," said Hurt, a life-long Ballinger resident and owner of Kit's Body Shop. "That's what it takes in a small town." Despite cold wind and drizzle, Ballinger held its 19th annual Christmas at Olde Ballinger on Saturday. Many families and deer hunters came to Ballinger to do some visiting and Christmas shopping at the same time. The parade started things off at 10 a.m., and the festivities surrounding the courthouse square commenced after the parade went through. Food and craft booths beckoned to visitors, along with a huge tent set up for entertainment and an escape from the weather.
Remarks by Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. before the U.S.-Africa Business Summit on the Remarkable Change and ...
Cape Town, South Africa--Good evening. Thank you, Dr. Sturchio, for the kind introduction, and thank you to the Corporate Council on Africa for the opportunity to speak to such a notable gathering of business, government and academic leaders.
Africa is a unique continent: diverse in people and heritage, with some of the most spectacular geography and biodiversity on the planet. All too often, however, those who do not know Africa well associate the continent with issues like famine, conflict and disease. Tonight, I will talk about a much different Africa, one with which I suspect most of you are more familiar � a continent of diverse nations increasingly defined by economic opportunity and promise.
Most importantly, I will talk about an Africa where leaders are taking control of their own economic futures and continuing to move beyond reliance on donors.
New hand to assist those in world of business
BORDER small and medium business operators have the opportunity to lift productivity and become more globally competitive with an Australian Industry Productivity Centre now on the Border. The centre’s program, which is a Federal Government initiative, is operating from the Australian Industry Group office in David Street, Albury. Business adviser Tim Farrah, who is servicing the Hume-Riverina area, said the program was recently launched by the Industry, Tourism and Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane. "In this day and age of international businesses that compete in the Australian market, small businesses in Albury and Wodonga really are competing against companies around the world," he said. "The only way to handle this is to see how our local businesses are coping and run sustainable programs to help them." Albury Precision Engineering is the first Border company to benefit from the new program.
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