Business and Investing

Posted on Tuesday, 19th July 2011 by Jesse Walker

– The Federal Reserve faces a high bar for further monetary stimulus in the absence of deflation risks, but could maintain rock-bottom borrowing costs for a long time, a top central bank official said on Monday.

Dennis Lockhart, president of the Atlanta Fed, told Fox Business Network in an interview that the U.S. central bank’s policy was already supporting the economic recovery, despite recent weakness in the labor market.

“What the Fed can do is to sustain its current policy until it’s clear that we are seeing really much stronger growth and we’re seeing progress in bringing unemployment down,” Lockhart said.

Asked about the Fed’s pledge to keep interest rates at very lows levels for an “extended period,” he said it could translate into much longer than just a couple of policy meetings.

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Tags: Fed, Fed Keep
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Posted on Tuesday, 19th July 2011 by James Martin

JUPITER, Florida (July 15, 2011) — Weiss Ratings, an independent rating agency of U.S. financial institutions and sovereign debts, has downgraded the debt of the United States government from C to C-minus.

The C-minus rating for the U.S. reflects a continued deterioration in the weaknesses cited in the Weiss Ratings release of April 28, 2011, including heavy debt burdens, shaky international stability, and poor economic health.

Weiss Ratings senior financial analyst Gavin Magor commented: “Our downgrade today is not contingent on the outcome of the debt ceiling debate in Washington. It is driven exclusively by the numbers, which indicate that, in addition to a decline in the long-standing weaknesses we noted three months ago, the U.S. has already lost the golden halo that helped guarantee liquidity and acceptance of its government securities in global markets.”

On the Weiss Ratings scale, which ranges from A (excellent) to E (very weak), a C-minus rating is the approximate equivalent of a triple-B-minus on the scales used by other credit rating agencies, or approximately one notch above speculative grade (junk).

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Tags: Debt, United States, Weiss Ratings
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Posted on Tuesday, 19th July 2011 by Christopher Allen

Owing to the growing attention people are paying to physical appearance, the field of cosmetic surgery has continued to rise as well. In fact, liposuction Houston has become a major operation done to men and women alike. Here are some tips on how to get those desirable results for a slimmer and more contoured you.

Doctors and their facilities have made themselves reachable through the internet through their websites. Indeed, prospect clients can view the details provided in the pages to get a scoop on the offers of the clinics. But a better way of getting a shortcut to a good facility is by asking referrals from experienced people who have themselves gotten positive results.

Because there are many techniques available for performing the procedure, it is necessary that clients get an elaboration on all of these from the surgeons themselves.

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Tags: Houston, Liposuction Houston
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Posted on Tuesday, 19th July 2011 by James Martin

Find out how to invest and protect your investments in this slippery sector.

During the oil crisis of the 1970s and the rapid rise of oil prices during the early part of the 21st century, concerns surrounding the use and availability of this non-renewable resource greatly increased in the minds of many. One theory that always seems to creep up when oil prices rise is the idea of peak oil, which is a hypothetical date at which the world’s crude oil production will peak. Every day after this would mean lower production levels and an ever decreasing supply.

Simply put, when the world’s oil producers combined can no longer increase their oil output, we will have reached peak oil. Oil will be increasingly difficult to find and extract because there will be less of it and fewer deposits to find.

Although the steady depletion of oil is a certainty if we assume oil is a finite resource, optimists don’t see peak oil through the doom-and-gloom perspective of some.

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Tags: Oil, Oil When
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Posted on Monday, 18th July 2011 by Jesse Walker

MOSCOW — A Russian court has ordered U.K. oil major BP PLC and its joint venture TNK-BP Holding to provide documents in preparation for a lawsuit related to a proposed alliance with OAO Rosneft , a group of TNK-BP minority shareholders said Wednesday.

The order comes after a deal between BP and Russian state oil company Rosneft to form a strategic alliance collapsed in May, as BP’s Russian partners in TNK-BP–a consortium of Soviet-born businessmen known as Alfa-Access-Renova–said BP must pursue all projects within Russia through the joint venture.

TNK-BP sought to replace BP in the tie-up with Rosneft, which included developing three Arctic offshore blocks and a $16 billion share swap, but BP directors on the TNK-BP board voted against that proposal.

In May, a Tyumen arbitration court rejected the shareholders’ motion seeking access to documents from BP and TNK-BP, but has now told BP unit BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd.

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Tags: Lawsuit, Lawsuit Bp
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Posted on Monday, 18th July 2011 by Jesse Walker

TAKING THE PULSE: European pharmaceutical companies are set to present mixed second-quarter performances in the coming days, with analysts and investors expecting companies to elaborate further on planned restructuring and how some will handle imminent sales declines due to patent expiries in the years ahead.

All face regulatory hurdles and pricing pressures following health-care reforms in the U.S. and Europe that leave many with few options other than to pursue new avenues of growth and adapt to the post-blockbuster era, making sense of a vast array of new scientific breakthroughs and technologies. The weakened dollar should help those reporting in the U.S. currency, notably Swiss drug maker Novartis AG , which kicks off the reporting season Tuesday, and U.K.-based AstraZeneca PLC .

European pharmaceutical companies reporting second-quarter results in coming days include:

Novartis AG — July 19, 0500 GMT

MARKET EXPECTATIONS: Novartis is expected to post a 26% rise in net profit to $3.04 billion, partly due to the recent full takeover of eye-care company Alcon, which is also set to boost revenue 24% to $14.49 billion.

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Tags: European Pharma, Mixed
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Posted on Monday, 18th July 2011 by Christopher Allen

BNY Mellon Monday said it will provide $150,000 through its Powering Potential charitable giving program to support Dollar Energy Fund’s Hardship Program during its 2011-2012 program year, providing direct utility assistance to low-income residents of southwestern Pennsylvania through a dollar-for-dollar match with partnering utilities.

New York City-based BNY Mellon is among Pittsburgh’s largest financial institutions. It has supported the program for the past three years, investing more than $600,000, which includes matching funds.

The Hardship Program is designed to provide services for families that do not qualify for other utility assistance programs or require more support than the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program can provide. For these individuals to maintain or restore their basic gas, electric and water services, Dollar Energy Fund collaborates with 13 utility partners in Pennsylvania. Las

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Tags: Dollar Energy, Dollar Energy Fund, Energy Fund, Fund
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Posted on Monday, 18th July 2011 by James Martin

It’s easy to get confused by the daily deluge of information. For the past several weeks, the news on global economies and financial markets has been especially volatile …

Greece was on default watch. But after ramming through more austerity promises, they were hailed to have dodged the bullet.

Then Italy was put in the line of fire. Its government bonds came under attack. And all of the sudden Spain and Italy’s vulnerability put Greece and the weak countries in the euro zone back on default watch.

After a euro-zone finance ministers’ meeting this week, the Dutch Finance Minister said a Greek default was possible. Shortly thereafter, his European counterparts said it wasn’t.

Then the focused shifted to the Fed …

In the Fed minutes, eager stock market bulls took the Fed’s discussion on the prospects for another round of QE as a done deal. What they did

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Posted on Monday, 18th July 2011 by Christopher Allen

The business, previously called Cen-Tex CDC, will use the money for small business lending and economic development services statewide. The nonprofit also recently became one of the first six lenders nationally to offer the federal Community Advantage loan.

BCL of Texas has facilitated more than $300 million in business lending since it was launched in 1990 from SBA San Antonio District encouragement.

Business and Community Lenders of Texas, or BCL of Texas, received $1.5 million from the government as part of the Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

The business, previously called Cen-Tex CDC, will use the money for small business lending and economic development services statewide.

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Posted on Monday, 18th July 2011 by Christopher Allen

Most homeowners understand how important making timely payments on their mortgage note modification loans can be. For many, their home loan is one of the most important debts that they have and may be the largest purchase that they will ever make. It is important to be responsible when repaying your mortgage note to prevent negative actions like liens and foreclosures.

Loss mitigation handles all types of Mortgage note modification agreements including foreclosure, real estate short sales, mortgage refinance, and deferred payments. Borrowers often find it difficult to speak to a human being at their lender. If mortgagors are unable to speak to a loss mitigator within 5 business days, they should ask to speak to a senior loan officer or submit a certified letter to the bank. Borrowers are required to submit a “Request for Modification and Affidavit” (RMA) document to their lender. Mos

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Tags: Loan, Mortgage Note, Mortgage Note Modification, Note Modification
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