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Small business borrowing woes hurt jobs - (www.reuters.com) A majority of U.S. small businesses are having
a tough time accessing funding, holding back job growth and stunting economic
growth, Duncan Niederauer, chief executive of NYSE Euronext, said in an
interview. New York Stock Exchange parent NYSE released the results of an
annual survey on Monday on the economy, business and job creation. It included
340 CEOs from companies listed on NYSE Euronext markets from 26 countries, and
285 U.S. small
business owners. It was the first time in the survey's eight
years that Main Street business owners were included, and 47 percent of them
said their capital needs were being met marginally or not at all. Just 21
percent said they have sufficient capital.
Money Market Funds at Risk? - (www.nytimes.com) A SWAT team of top regulators
was formed after the financial crisis to swoop in and stamp out big risks
lurking in the financial system. Should the mutual fundindustry fear this team as it
tries to protect one of its biggest products from further reform? The
Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday that it would have to drop
its proposed overhaul of the money market mutual fund industry after it was a
clear that a majority of its commissioners would not support the reforms.
Investors use money market funds like banks accounts, a theoretically safe
place to park cash for short periods. But many investors fled the funds during
the financial crisis in 2008. Regulators have therefore wanted to impose
changes they think would prevent such runs.
Unemployment woes hit hard for displaced workers, Labor Dept.
study shows - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Many workers are nervous
about their livelihoods despite the economic recovery — and for good reason, it
turns out. Among those workers who lost a good job because of the struggling
economy over the past three years, roughly one in four found a job that pays as
well, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department. The others
remained unemployed, stopped looking for work or accepted jobs at lower wages. “This
data is telling a story of unemployment inflicting long-term damage for a lot
of people,” said Michael Mandel, an economist at the Progressive Policy
Institute, a centrist think tank. “This won’t turn around until wages overall
start rising — and so far, we haven’t seen any strong signs of that.”
Fed mulls open season on bond buys to help economy - (www.reuters.com) The Federal Reserve is
considering a new approach to unconventional monetary policy that would give it
more leeway to tailor the scale of its stimulus to changing economic winds. While
fresh measures are not assured and the timing of any potential moves are still
in question, some officials have said any new bond buying, or quantitative
easing, could be open-ended, meaning it would not be bound by a fixed amount or
time frame. "I am inclined to think that if the Fed decides on more QE it
would be of the open-ended variety," said Michael Feroli, chief U.S.
economist at JPMorgan and a former Fed economist.
Spain Deficit Pain Bites Consumers As Rajoy Steps Up Cuts -
(www.bloomberg.com) Spanish Prime Minister Mariano
Rajoy’s austerity drive will intensify this week as a sales-tax
increase tightens the squeeze on consumers whose spending is already
plummeting. The move to raise the value-added tax on Sept. 1 will follow a
flurry of data showing pressure building on household finances in the euro
area’s fourth-biggest economy, home to a third of its unemployed. A report
today showed mortgages fell
25.2 percent from a year ago in June after a 30.5 percent drop in May.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry today said spending on prescription
drugs fell 23.9 percent from a year ago in July, the steepest
drop since the series started in 1999, after the government last month
increased the share patients pay for pharmaceuticals.
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