Unemployment would be above 14 percent in Pennsylvania and approaching 16 percent nationally if not for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other federal action taken in the wake of the recession, according to a new report released by the Keystone Research Center Thursday.
But still more needs to be done, said the Harrisburg-based think tank in its annual “State of Working Pennsylvania” report.
"Our economy is a product of conscious policy choices," Mark Price, labor economist for the center, said. "Federal policy stopped the economic free fall. And policy choices at the national and state level will powerfully shape the future health of the economy for middle-class families."
Actions taken by the Federal Reserve, Bush and Obama administrations, and Congress have all helped curb unemployment, Price said. Early last year, before passage of the federal Recovery Act, Pennsylvania was losing nearly 30,000 jobs each month. The state by contrast has added 64,000 jobs during the first half of this year. Pennsylvania also benefited from Congress’ recent extension of federal Medicaid assistance to states and additional school funding to preserve teacher jobs, which kept the state from losing as many as 12,000 more jobs.
But Pennsylvania needs to add about 300,000 jobs to replace those lost since the recession began. The state’s unemployment rate, which as of July was 9.3 percent, is expected to be at 7.2 percent in 2014 — a full seven years after the recession began. The state’s job deficit and a deficit in the buying power of the middle class are both greater threats than closing the federal deficit, according to Stephen Herzenberg, center economist and executive director.
"The federal deficit is the wrong enemy," Herzenberg said. "Our economy will recover only when we put Americans back to work and pay them a fair wage."
Several recommendations were made in the report, including: Extending resources for Pennsylvania’s Way to Work Program set to expire Sept. 30, access to capital for small business, extension of unemployment insurance benefits as long as unemployment remains so high that it is impossible for many jobless workers to find jobs and allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire and repurposing the funds to other areas to create jobs.
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The number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance fell more than expected last week, according to a weekly government report released Thursday.
There were 473,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Aug. 21, down 31,000 from an upwardly revised 504,000 the previous week, according to the Labor Department’s weekly report.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting new claims to fall to 485,000.
Claims had been stuck in the mid- to upper-400,000 range for about nine months, but spiked above 500,000 for the first time since November in last week’s report.
"The latest numbers provide a sigh of relief to stressed financial markets and at least uphold the possibility that the economy can avoid a double-dip recession," said economist John Lonski, of Moody’s Economy.com. "But we still need to establish a declining trend for jobless claims so we can feel more confident in the economic recovery."
The 4-week moving average of initial claims — a number that tries to smooth out week-to-week volatility — was 486,750, up 3,250 from the previous week.
Lonski said that figure needs to break below 450,000 and set new lows in order to improve the outlook for the job market, which he is optimistic about.
"Given that business sales rebounded in July after two months of decreases, companies may hold on to more employees, if not hire more," he said business card templates. "So it’s conceivable that that latest decline in jobless claims will be the first in a series of such declines."
Continuing claims: The government said 4.46 million people continued to file unemployment claims for their second week or more, during the week ended Aug. 14, the most recent data available. That’s down 62,000 from an upwardly revised 4.52 million the week before.
Continuing claims reflect people who file each week after their initial claim until the end of their standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks. The figures do not include those who have moved to state or federal extensions, or people who have exhausted their benefits but are still out of a job.
The 4-week moving average for ongoing claims fell by 28,000 to 4.51 million.
State-by-state: Jobless claims in eight states declined by more than 1,000 in the week ended Aug. 15, which is the most recent state data available. Claims in California dropped the most, by 5,275. The state attributed the drop to fewer layoffs in the service and manufacturing industries.
Claims jumped by more than 1,000 in Wisconsin and Puerto Rico.
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Attorneys general in 17 states are demanding that craigslist remove its adult services section to make sure prostitution and child trafficking ads don't appear.
A joint letter from AGs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. said that even though the San Francisco-based company would lose revenue, no amount of money "can justify the scourge of illegal prostitution and the suffering of the women and children who will continue to be victimized, in the market and trafficking provided by Craigslist."
In November craigslist added protections that include making posters provide a legitimate phone number and pay a fee to post in the erotic services portion of the site high risk personal loans.
Craigslist has already been subpoenaed by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who wants proof that it is taking action to stop prostitution ads.
In a posting on its site, craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster wrote that the company is "working intensively … with experts and thought leaders at leading nonprofits and among law enforcement on further substantive measures we can take."
The post says that craigslist "is committed to being socially responsible, and when it comes to adult services ads, that includes aggressively combating violent crime and human rights violations, including human trafficking and the exploitation of minors."
Dell Inc. has agreed to buy 3Par in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $1.15 billion, the companies said Monday.
Dell will pay $18 per share for 3Par's common stock, an 86 percent premium over Friday's closing price of $9.65.
Fremont-based 3Par is a maker of high-efficiency IT storage systems.
The boards of both companies have approved the terms.The deal is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to customary closing conditions.
The transaction is expected to be accretive to Dell's non-GAAP earnings in its fiscal year 2012.
After falling into the red in the second quarter and revising its 2009 results to show an even deeper loss, Espirito Santo Bank got some relief in the form of $10 million in capital from its parent company.
Portugal-based Banco Espirito Santo injected $10 million into its Miami-based subsidiary in the second quarter, according to its filing with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. That boosted its capital ratio to well above regulatory requirements.
It also helped soften the blow of the bank’s recent stumbles.
On June 1, Espirito Santo Bank restated its 2009 results to show a $3.3 million loss. It originally reported a $2.3 million loss for that year. The change came because the bank revised its expense to reserve for future loan losses to $9.2 million, increased from the originally reported expense of $8.2 million.
Sometimes, when banks review the problem loans, they recognize drops in the appraised values of the collateral properties, which causes them to go back and take additional reserves.
In the second quarter, Espirito Santo Bank lost $431,000, but it was still in positive territory for the year because it earned $954,000 in the first quarter.
The bank fell into the red mostly because its expenses to reserve for problem loans grew while it collected less revenue from net interest income.
Espirito Santo Bank made progress in reducing its level of problem loans. As of June 30, the bank had $19 million in noncurrent loans, representing 5.25 percent of its total loans. As of March 31, it had $26.2 million in noncurrent loans, representing 6.87 percent. The bank has restructured many of its loans that were delinquent.
The bank’s $7.3 million reserve for future loan losses covered 38 percent of its noncurrent loans at midyear. The restatement of its 2009 results increased that coverage ratio significantly from where it was originally at year-end.
Espirito Santo Bank was the 21st-largest bank chartered in South Florida as of March 31, with $569 million in assets. By June 30, it had grown to $580 million in assets. Its deposits were up to $480 million from $478 million over that period. However, the bank’s loans dropped to $355 million from $375 million.
Two new eateries have signed leases to move into the renovated Rainbow Vista Apartments building in Moiliili.
Kokoro Tei, a Japanese restaurant that specializes in bento lunches, is scheduled to open in August, said Emalia Pietsch of Colliers Monroe Friedlander. The restaurant will move into the Diamond Head side of the three-story building on S. Beretania Street, she said.
Domino’s Pizza also signed a lease with landowner Kamehameha Schools to occupy a ground-level retail space.
Pietsch said Domino’s is scheduled to open in late fall or early winter.
The two restaurants will join Teddy’s Bigger Burgers, which opened in Rainbow Vista in May.
James H. Batmasian, one of Boca Raton’s largest landowners, is filing multiple foreclosures against another of the city’s largest property owners.
In May, Batmasian bought four problem loans that Boca Raton-based Paradise Bank made to developer Gregory Talbott. He also secured a $4.5 million mortgage from the bank to support that purchase.
It didn’t take Batmasian long to decide what to do with those loans.
On July 15, Batmasian filed three foreclosure suits against Talbott – bringing the troubled developer’s foreclosure tally up to 14 properties.
The largest case was against Talbott personally, and his wife, over a $3.2 million mortgage. Batmasian wants to take over their 3,000-square-foot, waterfront home at 541 Kay Terrace.
Another case was against Talbott and his 400 East Palmetto Park Road LLC over a $3 million mortgage granted in 2007 no faxing payday loan. If Batmasian succeeds, he would seize the 7,425-square-foot retail building at the same address. The tenant is clothing store Maus & Hoffman.
In the third lawsuit, Batmasian is suing Talbott and his 400 East Royal Palm Road LLC concerning a $975,000 mortgage covering the 1,455-square-foot house at the same address.
The fourth mortgage sold by Paradise Bank, which Batmasian has not foreclosed on so far, is a $202,500 loan to Talbott Aviation over a hanger condo unit at Boca Raton Airport.
Something tells me that Talbott has been grounded.
The Internal Revenue Service is too busy trying to punish taxpayers instead of helping them navigate the complex tax system, according to a government official who watches out for taxpayers.
The report to Congress by Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson said that taxpayers looking for help from the IRS only get through on the phone 70% of the time, and have to wait 11 minutes for a response when they actually do get through.
"The IRS is failing to address the needs of taxpayers who are experiencing economic difficulties and has not revised collection policies that harm taxpayers, thereby undermining its goal of increasing voluntary compliance," Olson wrote.
Olson said the IRS has ramped up spending on "hard core" enforcement and handing out levies in recent years, while spending has declined on the type of services that help Americans understand how to pay their taxes. She said that seems misguided, because in many cases the IRS is punishing Americans who had a good tax history before falling into hard times because of the recession.
She said the real problem with compliance is the difficulty in negotiating an increasingly complex tax system. This is because payments from new programs — including the stimulus, Making Work Pay, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and hybrid car credit — have put added pressure on the IRS by creating a backlog of additional work cash advance loan no fax.
"Many of these provisions have created taxpayer confusion, generated considerable telephone and correspondence volumes, … caused IRS processing delays and programming problems, produced several refund fraud schemes and resulted in several spikes in the Taxpayer Advocate Service’s caseload," wrote Olson.
She said the 70% response rate to taxpayer calls was actually an improvement, up from 53% in the prior year. That compared to an 87% response rate to calls five years ago.
The advocate acknowledged that the job of the IRS has gotten more difficult in recent years, causing the under-funded agency to strain under the added responsibilities of administering new services. She suggested that the IRS develop a strategic plan acknowledging its "dual role as part tax collector and part benefits administrator" in its effort to seek more funding.
IRS officials were not immediately available for comment.
Brown & Brown Inc. bought the Meridian Group of New York Inc. and Eberhart & Co. Insurors Inc. late Friday for undisclosed terms.
Meridian Group, with annual revenue of $1.3 million, provides life, health and other employee benefits products and services to individuals, businesses, public entities, nonprofit organizations, unions and associations throughout New York state.
Meridian Group’s staff will combine its operations into Brown & Brown of New York’s Rome, N.Y., office.
Eberhart & Co. Insurors — doing business as Eberhart Co. of Roswell, Ga payday loans., with revenue of $1 million — will join Brown & Brown Insurance of Georgia’s existing office in Duluth. Eberhart Co. has served business and individual insurance needs in the Atlanta metropolitan area since 1969.
Daytona Beach-based Brown & Brown Inc. (NYSE: BRO) and its subsidiaries offer insurance and re-insurance products and services, as well as risk management, third party administration, managed health care, and Medicare set-aside services and programs.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo remains the overwhelming favorite to become New York’s next governor yet voters want to hear more from him on the state’s budget woes.
That message is from a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.
Overall, 64 percent of New York voters, against 21 percent, want the Democratic candidate to weigh in on the protracted fiscal situation. Broken down by party, Republicans say (68-20) percent Cuomo isn’t explaining enough, an opinion shared by Democrats (58-26) percent and independent voters (71-15) percent.
“Imagine that: Voters want to hear more from a politician. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been too quiet on how we would solve Albany’s budget mess, which he’ll inherit — if he’s elected,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
Despite his silence, Cuomo maintains a 72-16 percent approval rating and holds a commanding lead on two Republican challengers. Quinnipiac has Cuomo in front of former Congressman Rick Lazio, 58-26 percent, up from 55-26 percent April 13. When put against Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino, Cuomo’s advantage is 59-23 percent, compared to 60-24 percent in a previous poll.
Lazio, the endorsed GOP candidate, tops Paladino in a Republican primary 46-17 percent, with 28 percent undecided.
The poll results on the governor’s race and other issues, including the U.S. Senate seat held by Kirsten Gillibrand and President Barack Obama’s job performance can be found here.
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