regime uncertainty

US Small Business Owners’ Hiring Intent Plunges to 2008 Lows

"U.S. small-business owners expect to add fewer net new jobs over the next 12 months than at any time since the depths of the 2008-2009 recession, according to this November's Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey. Small-business owners' net hiring intentions for the next 12 months plunged to -4 in November, down from +10 in July and matching the previous record low recorded by the Wells Fargo/Small Business Index of -4 in November 2008." Continue reading →

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Coerced Foreign Tax Compliance Is Killing American Jobs

"No doubt thanks in part to FATCA, foreign direct investment in the US for the first half of 2012 declined by 39.2% over the prior year, and China surpassed the US as the world’s largest recipient of global foreign direct investment for the first time since 2003. At a time when Washington should be pursuing policies designed to attract foreign investment capital to American shores, politicians seem intent on driving it away." Continue reading →

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US Bank Run Imminent? FDIC Expanded Deposit Insurance Ends Dec 31st

"With the media fixated on the fiscal cliff, no one seems to be noticing the fact that the FDIC’s expanded 100% coverage for insured deposits ends January 1st, 2013. As of January 2013 the FDIC stops offering 100% coverage for all insured deposits. That amounts to $1.6 trillion in deposits, 85-90% deposited with the TBTF mega banks. Once the insurance ramps back to $250,000 the FDIC risk amelioration offered to large depositors will cause them to flee from the insecurity of the much reduced FDIC coverage." Continue reading →

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How The Alternative Minimum Tax Could Slam You

"This year, unless Congress applies a new patch, the AMT will apply to nearly half of people with incomes of $75,000 to $100,000. Without action, an estimated 27 million more tax filers could find themselves paying an average of $3,700 more in taxes for 2012. And yes, the financial hit applies to this tax year. Even if the new, incoming Congress applies an AMT patch after January, experts say it will be an accounting nightmare. It's difficult to undo the tax once the filing season has begun in January, and at the least, it would result in long processing delays of all returns." Continue reading →

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Why The U.S. Job Market Remains Terribly Bleak

"Full time work is about to get scarcer. The reason? By hiring part-time workers who put in less than 30 hours per week, employers can avoid a mandate dictated by the new health reform law: either provide expensive health insurance or pay a fine equal to $2,000 per worker. Avoiding the mandate becomes even more attractive for low-wage employees, since they can get highly subsidized insurance in the newly created health insurance exchanges. Even though employers will have the option of paying a $2,000 fine, does anybody think the fine is likely to stay that low?" Continue reading →

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Guy Who Started Alabama’s Secession Petition Wants His Topless Car Wash Back

"'I'm working poor. And I work -– I've never taken a dime from the government. I'll starve before I take a handout. That's what being a true American is all about.' Belcher blamed the government for shutting down his former business. Belcher said his Euro Details car wash, which featured topless women, was successful for a decade on Halls Mill Road in Mobile. But he said he was arrested and charged with obscenity by city officials in 2001. 'The government ripped my business away, and now they're choking America to death with rules and regulations,' he said." Continue reading →

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Christie administration files suit against 8 businesses accused of price gouging

"Governor Chris Christie, Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa, and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs today announced that the State has filed civil lawsuits against eight New Jersey businesses, accusing them of unlawful price gouging while consumers were in need of fuel, shelter, and other essentials during the Hurricane Sandy state of emergency. The defendants include seven gas stations and one hotel. Violations of the price gouging statute are subject to civil penalties of up to $10,000 for the first offense and up to $20,000 for subsequent offenses." Continue reading →

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Injustice Gone Wild

"40 to 50 federal agents and police officers stormed the facilities of Mountain Pure Water and held employees at gunpoint, the crime? None. The mission: obtaining paperwork. Duncan Outdoors, Gibson Guitars and many others have suffered similar gestapo attacks from federal agents and the IRS that Mountain Pure Water suffered. This is being labeled as Small Business Bullying and the practice has sky rocketed ever since Eric Holder became the Attorney General under the Obama administration." Continue reading →

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Firings Highest Since 2010 as Ford to Dow Face Slump

"Ford Motor Co. (F) and Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) joined a growing number of companies firing thousands of workers as sluggish U.S. growth and Europe’s deepening recession lead to a persisting slump in sales. North American companies have announced plans to eliminate more than 62,600 positions at home and abroad since Sept. 1, the biggest two-month drop since the start of 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The reductions coincide with a majority of U.S. companies missing analysts’ third-quarter revenue estimates and a focus on jobs in the final weeks of the U.S. presidential campaign." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFirings Highest Since 2010 as Ford to Dow Face Slump