[fusion_text]FedEx will not deliver thousands of presents on time for Christmas Day
It blamed too many last-minute orders and bad weather for the delays
Furious parents blasted FedEx for spoiling their children’s Christmas
Some late deliveries will take place in limited areas on December 25
By OLLIE GILLMAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 20:23 EST, 24 December 2015 | UPDATED: 03:18 EST, 25 December 2015
Millions of children across America will rush down their stairs on Christmas morning to find a pile of presents waiting for them under their trees.
But for thousands of families there will be less gifts than they planned – after FedEx admitted it did not make all of its scheduled deliveries on time for the big day.
With just hours to go until Christmas, the delivery service admitted defeat, infuriating scores of customers whose festive plans are now ruined.
Bill to restart BEIP payments angers some NJ businesses
DECEMBER 20, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The passage last week of a bill that would restart incentive payments to about 270 New Jersey companies owed hundreds of millions of dollars for creating jobs in New Jersey sounds, at first glance, like good news for the companies.
Yet the legislation has upset some of the businesses by including a delayed payment schedule that means some won’t get their money for years.
The state stopped funding the Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP) more than two years ago, after underfunding it and skipping payments for years because of budget constraints. The revived program changes the method of payment, from rebates needed to be provided for in the state budget, to tax credits, which are reductions in taxes the businesses have to pay.
But the new system’s delayed payment schedule has only renewed criticism from the companies affected, which are now owed $785 million.
Payments not made between 2008 and 2013, for example, will now be paid in five installments, beginning in 2017 and concluding in 2021 – more than a decade after some first became due. Payments not made in 2014 and 2015, won’t be paid until 2019, and all payments for the next five years will be paid at least three years after they are accrued.
Sponsors of the bill, which passed both houses of the Legislature on Thursday and is expected to be signed by Governor Christie, say the payment delays are needed to cope with an estimated total obligation of $1.267 billion once all the bills are paid by 2025. The estimate comes from the state Economic Development Authority, which manages the state economic development programs.
But the delays are too long for some companies already irate that they reshaped their business – in some cases moving into New Jersey from out of state – based on a commitment that the state hasn’t kept.
“That’s absolutely asinine, literally,” said Thomas Churchill, vice president for operations at Model Electronics in Ramsey, of the delayed payment schedule.
Churchill, whose company remanufacturers audio navigation and other auto parts, added, “If they are doing it over a period of time, it becomes monotonous, and idiotic. It becomes very, very hard to manage, and it’s probably not worth the cost.” He said spreading payments over several years makes calculating how much money the company receives, and the taxes owed on it, more complicated and burdensome.
Churchill’s company moved from Rockland County, N.Y., to Bergen County in 2005 with the help of a grant for $468,000 over 10 years, contingent on bringing 85 new jobs to the state. After he fulfilled that commitment, the state at first paid the annual rebate checks on schedule, but the company has not received a check since getting the company’s 2011 incentive payment.
Another business owner, who is owed payments but declined to be identified, welcomed the bill but added: “However, I cannot get excited for something that is four years away, and six years after the first payment was due initially.” In a reflection of how the BEIP history has damaged confidence in the state’s development efforts, the owner added: “I am sure anything can happen and change by then anyway, as it did two years ago.”
Lawmakers have agreed to lift the four-decade-old ban on crude oil exports as part of a spending and tax package announced by congressional leadership on Tuesday night, according to a GOP lawmaker.
In exchange, Republicans agreed to extend a series of expired or expiring renewable energy tax breaks. Both the wind production tax credit and the solar investment tax credit won five-year extensions in the tax and spending package unveiled on Tuesday, the GOP lawmaker said.
Lifting the crude oil ban was a key goal for Republicans, who have said American oil producers should have expanded access to the international market at a time of low prices and new competition from Iranian oil.
Democrats have long proposed trading the renewable energy credits for crude oil exports, though until recently there was little movement on getting an exports-tax credit package to the Senate floor.
But Republicans were aggressive in pushing to including the crude oil bill in the end-of-the-year tax overhaul and spending bills. Democrats worked to tie exports to renewables in the package, with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) saying Tuesday morning that Republicans were weighing a Democratic offer to accept either both provisions or neither of them.
Export supporters say the possibly of Iranian oil hitting the global market as sanctions are lifted on the country would hurt American producers. Ending the export ban, a policy instituted to respond to the OPEC oil embargo in the 1970s, would help level the playing field, they said.
The White House has opposed lifting the export ban on its own, saying the Commerce Department already has the right to approve exports on a limited basis.
Ridgewood NJ, A Ridgewood attorney says that he is planning on filing a class action lawsuit against the manufacturers and distributors of hoverboards a this years popular holiday gift.
Attorney Joe Santoli tells the Ridgewood blog that he plans to file the suit against hoverboards in New Jersey, New York and California. Whats a Hoverboard you ask ? Hoverboards are a motorized, two-wheel, skateboard-sized vehical that users stand on. They have been a very hot gift item with millennials.
Santoli’s suit claims that hoverboards are unreasonably dangerous because they use lithium batteries that are “notoriously unstable” and “prone to fire.” He says that there have been numerous reports of fires related to the boards. Santoli claims that there have been 10 Hoverboard fires this year .
Santoli is looking to talk to purchasers of ALL hoverboards since they ALL have the potential to cause serious bodily injury due to not only the fire risk but also to the inherent instability of riding them. He can be reached at 201-926-9200 .
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is currently investigating reports of hoverboard fires, some of which have been captured on video and gone viral. Spokeswoman Patty Davis called it a high-priority investigation because of the scooter’s sudden popularity.
Earlier this month several airlines have banned the hoverboards in checked or carry-on luggage due to the alleged fire risk.
Santoli’s suit will demand the immediate recall of the hoverboards and refunds of the full purchase price for consumers who bought them.
The specter of a destabilizing run on debt is haunting markets
By
JOHN CARNEY
Updated Dec. 13, 2015 3:22 p.m. ET
The debt world is haunted by a specter—of a destabilizing run on markets
Last week, this took on more form even if there weren’t concrete signs of panic. Only one mutual fund manager, Third Avenue Management, has said it would halt redemptions to forestall having to dispose of assets in a fire sale. The rest of the industry has been quick to say that while redemptions are elevated, particularly in high-yield bond funds, there doesn’t seem to be a rush to for the exits.
Still, growing angst comes as the oil-price rout continues and the U.S. Federal Reserve appears ready to raise rates. This has investors worried—and starting to ask the fearful question: “Who’s next?”
Goldman Sachs, for one, put out a note Friday warning Franklin Resources “is most at risk” given the large high-yield holdings of its funds, poor performance and large outflows. On Friday, its shares fell sharply. Meanwhile, there were unusually large declines Friday in the value of exchange-traded funds that track high-yield debt.
The idea of a “run” on mutual funds might sound strange. Typically, runs are associated with highly leveraged banks engaged in maturity transformation, funding long-term loans with short-term debt. Nearly all the programs designed to avoid destabilizing runs—from deposit insurance to the Fed’s discount window to liquidity requirements—are built for banks.
Ridgewood NJ, Many state governments, including NJ, have funds set aside to train your workforce at no cost to you. The intent is to create a better skilled workforce that will translate into better productivity and increased profitability for these companies.
These extraordinary state programs allow you to realize income with no strings attached and without deviating from your company’s day-to-day activities. These programs are intended for most companies regardless of size.
In today’s economy, trained and effective workers can mean the difference between a competitive business and an extinct business. The Customized Training initiative is a component of the Workforce Development Partnership program and is funded by a small allocation from employers and workers.
TNT Educational Services is in the business of securing government funding by way of training grants and offering a wide range of training classes targeting an increase of productivity at no cost to the company. Bergen IT LLC (www.bergenit.net) is partnering with TNT Educational Services (www.tntedu.com) in order to become a provider of technology training.
To Request additional Information, please call Bergen IT at – 201-689-1823 or email[email protected]
By Susan Jones | December 4, 2015 | 8:44 AM EST
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says economy added 211,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent.
(CNSNews.com) – The number of Americans not in the labor force last month totaled 94,446,000–a slight improvement from the 94,513,000 not in the labor force in October–and the labor force participation rate increased a tenth of a point, with 62.5 percent of the civilian noninstitutional population either holding a job or actively seeking one.
(The labor force participation rate of 62.4 percent in September and October was the lowest in 38 years.)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says economy added 211,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent.
In November, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation’s civilian noninstitutional population, consisting of all people 16 or older who were not in the military or an institution, reached 251,747,000. Of those, 157,301,000 participated in the labor force by either holding a job or actively seeking one.
PUBLISHED: 20:18 EST, 2 December 2015 | UPDATED: 03:44 EST, 3 December 2015
Once, it was enough to put a notice in the newspaper when your child was born. But Mark Zuckerberg, the multi-billionaire founder of Facebook, likes to do things differently.
So he welcomed his newborn daughter, Max, into the world with an open letter on his social media site, in which he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, pledged to donate almost all their £30 billion fortune to charity during their lives.
The happy couple talked rather smugly about how their first child gave them cause to reflect on the future, saying they were inspired by their desire to build a better world and because they have a ‘moral responsibility to all children in the next generation’.
This summer’s market mayhem caused Americans to buy gold bars and coins at levels unseen since the financial crisis.
When people are scared about the economy and financial markets, they rush to gold. Boy, were they worried in recent months.
U.S. demand for gold bars and coins surged 207% during the third quarter, the World Gold Council said on Thursday.
The skyrocketing demand signaled a level of interest in gold investment “not seen since the global financial crisis,” the group said.
The U.S. Mint backs up that assessment. It said gold Eagle coin sales surged to nearly 400,000 ounces last quarter, the highest level in more than five years.
FIVE YEARS AGO, EVERYBODY WAS EXCITED ABOUT THE IDEA OF USING TECH TO BORROW THINGS LIKE POWER DRILLS. IN PRACTICE, THOUGH, NOT SO MUCH.
BY SARAH KESSLER
“How many of you own a power drill?” Rachel Botsman, the author of the book The Rise Of Collaborative Consumption, asked the audience at TedxSydney in 2010. Predictably, nearly everyone raised his or her hand. “That power drill will be used around 12 to 15 minutes in its entire lifetime,” Botsman continued with mock exasperation. “It’s kind of ridiculous, isn’t it? Because what you need is the hole, not the drill.”
After pausing for a moment as the audience chuckled, she provided the obvious solution.
“Why don’t you rent the drill? Or rent out your own drill to other people and make some money from it?”
Back then, this version of what Botsman called collaborative consumption, or what would become better known as “the sharing economy,” seemed like a warm and fuzzy inevitability. American consumerism had been tamped by one of the worst recessions in history, concerns about the environment were growing, and new online networks provided a connective thread that could help us get by on less by sharing things with our neighbors. “We now live in a global village where we can mimic the ties that used to happen face to face, but on a scale and in a way that has never been possible before,” Botsman explained, and these new systems allowed us “to engage in a humanness that got lost along the way.” We were now, she said, experiencing “a seismic shift from individual getting and spending towards a rediscovery of collective good.”
House Republicans frustrated Obama hasn’t appointed vice chair of supervision for Fed
BY: Ali Meyer
November 5, 2015 4:35 pm
The Federal Reserve’s zero-interest rate policy “absolutely” helps the Obama administration, Rep. Sean Duffy (R., Wis.) told the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday.
“Whether that’s the sole intent, I can’t get in the mind of Chair Yellen,” Duffy said. “Does it help the Obama administration? Absolutely.”
“But monetary policy only goes so far,” he said. “At some point we have to get the fiscal policy right and we get stopped at every turn when we try to reform our tax code with this administration. It definitely has a benefit, but I don’t know if that’s the sole intent of Ms. Yellen.”
The House Financial Services Committee, on which Duffy serves, discussed at a hearing Wednesday the Fed’s lack of a vice chair of supervision. This position was created by the Dodd-Frank Act to keep the Federal Reserve accountable to Congress, and it has been more than 1,900days since President Obama has been required to appoint someone to fill it.
By keeping interest rates near zero, the Federal Reserve allows the government to continue to finance its debt without worrying about paying high interest on that debt. “The ultra-low interest rates on Treasury debt, with the three-month T-Bill rate now at zero, have allowed the federal government to act as if deficit financing is a free lunch,” explains James Dorn, a fellow specializing in monetary policy at the Cato Institute.
“It’s certainly propping up part of the economy,” said Rep. Scott Garrett (R., N.J.). “And that was the testimony of Secretary Lew and [Chair] Yellen, saying that we see higher prices in the commodities and also on the street as well. And to the extent that this endures to the benefit of this administration, that they’re able to say as they did yesterday in the hearing that things are just going well in the economy and people are profitable – sure.”
“This complete lack of transparency and accountability is an affront to anyone who believes that government should operate as a fair and open servant to the American people “, Scott Garrett
Garrett Bill to Shed Light on FSOC Passes Committee Activities
Nov 4, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, issued the following statement after the Financial Services Committee passed his bill, H.R. 3557, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) Transparency and Accountability Act:
“The Financial Stability Oversight Council is a powerful government body created by Dodd-Frank that holds closed-door meetings, refuses to publish substantive transcripts, and stonewalls requests from Congress when we need more information about its operations. This complete lack of transparency and accountability is an affront to anyone who believes that government should operate as a fair and open servant to the American people. With the committee passage of my bill, the FSOC Transparency and Accountability Act, the American people are one step closer to seeing behind the shroud of this secretive and unaccountable government body.”
The FSOC Transparency and Accountability Act would:
Subject the FSOC to the Government in the Sunshine Act
Subject the FSOC to the Federal Advisory Committee Act
At all FSOC meetings, allow for the participation of all members of the Commissions and Boards represented
Require that any vote taken by the principal of a Commission or Board represented must first be taken by that Commission or Board and the principal must then in turn vote that same decision at the Council
Allow for Members of Congress on the Congressional oversight committees of FSOC to be able to attend all FSOC meetings
Biggest quarterly drop since the aftermath of the financial crisis
This U.S. earnings season is on track to be the worst since 2009 as profits from oil & gas and commodity-related companies plummet.
So far, about three-quarters of the S&P 500 have reported results, with profits down 3.1 percent on a share-weighted basis, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. This would be the biggest quarterly drop in earnings since the third quarter 2009, and the second straight quarter of profit declines. Earnings growth turned negative for the first time in six years in the second quarter this year.
The damage is the biggest in commodity-related industries, with the energy sector showing a 54 percent drop in quarterly earnings per share so far in the quarter, with profits in the materials sector falling 15 percent.
The picture is brighter for the telecom services and consumer discretionary sectors, with EPS growth of 23 percent and 19 percent respectively so far this quarter.
When compared with analyst expectations, about 72 percent of companies have beaten profit forecasts. That’s only because the consensus has been sharply cut in the past few months, Jeanne Asseraf-Bitton, head of global cross-asset research at Lyxor Asset Management says in a telephone interview.
For the year as a whole, S&P 500 earnings are expected to fall 0.5 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. For 2016, earnings growth is now seen at 7.9 percent, down from 10.9 percent in late July.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, issued the following statement after voting for H.R. 1090, the Retail Investor Protection Act:
Rep. Garrett speaks in support of the Retail Investor Protection Act
and the retirement savings of hard working New Jersey families on the House Floor.
“Today the House stood up for New Jersey families who are scraping and saving their hard-earned money to have a comfortable retirement by giving them the ability to make investment choices that are right for them. If the Department of Labor (DoL) rule goes forward, access to good financial advice will become a privilege enjoyed only by the wealthy. The Retail Investor Protection Act will ensure that the DoL’s proposed rule won’t inflict even more damage on middle and lower income Americans who are seeking guidance from a financial professional about their retirement savings.”
Background:
The DoL’s proposed rule changes to The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) could limit the access of middle and lower income Americans to retirement planning and investment guidance. Because of the heightened liability for providers contained in the rule, account minimums will rise – in some cases to as high as $100,000 – leaving millions of Americans without access to their financial advisor. The Retail Investor Protection Act would prohibit the Secretary of Labor from issuing any regulation that would define when an individual would be considered a fiduciary until 60 days after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issues a final rule which would govern standards of conduct for dealers and brokers under the Dodd-Frank Act.
TAX CREDITS: TOO HIGH A PRICE TO ATTRACT COMPANIES, KEEP THEM IN NEW JERSEY?
OCTOBER 26, 2015
JOHN REITMEYER
Companies and critics explore the pros and cons — and costs — of incentives used to convince corporations not to move out of state
When Panasonic was seeking a new location for its corporate headquarters after four decades in Secaucus, moving to downtown Newark was not the original plan, according to chief executive officer Joe Taylor.
Offices in San Diego, Chicago, and Atlanta were all under consideration, but after intense lobbying from politicians here — and the enticement of an $80 million state economic-development tax incentive — Taylor decided to keep the company and its 1,000 employees in New Jersey, choosing to relocate in downtown Newark.
Now, Taylor said 60 percent of the company’s employees are taking the train to work, meaning their cars are off New Jersey’s already choked and potholed highways. Panasonic also has an agreement with city government to give local residents a first crack at job openings.
“I’m a huge proponent of economic development,” Taylor said while participating in a panel discussion during NJ Spotlight on Cities, a daylong conference held earlier this month at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark that focused on the state of New Jersey’s cities.
“I think tax credits are critically important,” he said. “I think other kinds of credits are critically important.”
