Government Archives - Zxcoachoutlet

Government insurance for hurricanes and floods going broke

October 12, 2020

Real estate is the most valuable asset most people will ever possess, and insuring against natural disasters like floods and storms is common sense.

Or so you might think. Two government-mandated programs are in financial straits, with critics asking if they should exist at all.

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is still kicking the financial can down the road to avoid raising rates because coastal property owners do not want to pay their fair share. Meanwhile, San Antonio-area homeowners are allowing their federal flood insurance to lapse as memories of past floods fade.

When disaster strikes—and we know it will—taxpayers will be left picking up the tab for others’ foolish decisions.

TOMLINSON’S TAKE: Unscrupulous developers will strike back against flood measures

The windstorm association, a quasi-government entity known as TWIA (TWEE-ah), provides coverage to more than 190,000 properties in 15 coastal counties that no private company will insure. That includes

How much government money does Trump plan to spend on his reelection?

October 9, 2020

| No Comments

| money

You may be curious why the administration doesn’t simply take its time and make sure that the program, which would surely be received gratefully by senior citizens, is implemented effectively and smoothly. Except you’re probably not actually curious about that because you recognize what’s happening: Trump wants this done before Election Day to capitalize on that goodwill in the form of votes.

None of this is subtle. Sure, a White House spokesman told Politico that the plan “has nothing to do with politics.” It’s just that the team is trying to figure out how to make it happen before Nov. 3, a date with no special significance whatsoever.

When this was first proposed, the New York Times reported that pharmaceutical companies balked at the idea of distributing what they referred to pejoratively as “Trump cards”: cash handouts tied explicitly to the president. But Trump’s team made very clear that the

Tradeweb Government Bond Update – September 2020

October 8, 2020

| No Comments

| business

August’s government debt sell-off proved to be short-lived. Amid a flurry of central bank and economic news, 10-year government bond yields fell in September, with some pushed further into negative territory.

Italy’s 10-year bond mid-yield saw the largest decline, plunging 26 basis points to finish the month at 0.82%. Yields on Portugal and Spain’s benchmark notes also posted significant drops, decreasing by 15 basis points to 0.26% and 0.25%, respectively. While Portuguese Finance Minister Joao Leao said the economy was recovering better than expected, the European Commission still predicts a GDP contraction of 9.8% this year. Similarly, Spain’s GDP is expected to contract by 10.9% this year, however, the country’s Economy Minister Nadia Calvino forecasted an expansion of more than 10% in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the German 10-year Bund yield fell by nearly 12.5 basis points to close at -0.53%. Data from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office showed that consumer

Cash No Longer King in Italy as COVID Helps Government Push for Plastic | Investing News

October 8, 2020

| No Comments

| business

By Elisa Anzolin and Gavin Jones

ROME/MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s love affair with cash is fading. The coronavirus is turning Italians off notes and coins and the government is launching a raft of incentives to accelerate the trend, believing plastic payment can curb rampant tax evasion.

The Treasury estimates some 109 billion euros of tax is evaded annually, equal to about 21% of the revenue actually collected. The government believes the problem can be tackled by boosting digital payments which, unlike cash, leave a trace.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is offering refunds on some money spent electronically, tax breaks for outlets with card machines and a new 50-million euro ($58.93 million) state lottery for card users only.

The coronavirus, which forced the government to lock down the economy between March and May, is helping his efforts.

“We have seen a surge in digital payments since the lockdown, I think mainly

Australia to Run Record Budget Deficit as Government Cuts Tax, Boosts Job Support | Investing News

October 7, 2020

| No Comments

| business

By Sam Holmes and Colin Packham

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia pledged billions in tax cuts and measures to boost jobs on Tuesday to help pull the economy out of its historic COVID-19 slump in a budget that tips the country into its deepest deficit on record.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s conservative government has unleashed A$300 billion in emergency stimulus to prop up growth this year, having seen the coronavirus derail a previous promise to return the budget to surplus.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday announced A$17.8 billion in personal tax cuts and A$5.2 billion in new programmes to boost employment in a recovery plan aimed at creating one million new jobs over the next four years.

Those measures are forecast to push the budget deficit out to a record A$213.7 billion, or 11% of gross domestic product, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021.

“There is no economic recovery

The Energy 202: Trump administration dinged by government watchdog for pandemic relief for oil companies

October 7, 2020

| No Comments

| business

That royalty relief was supposed to go to wells that would have otherwise shut down because of the sharp decline in oil prices. The idea was to make sure that normally profitable wells were not plugged permanently because of the health crisis.

But the GAO, in a report released Tuesday, said the Trump administration failed to properly take the economic viability of wells into account when deciding which wells got relief — and probably ended up offering aid to oil producers that did not need it, shortchanging taxpayers in the process.

“This is exactly the time the government should be spending money,” said Frank Rusco, the watchdog agency’s director of natural resources and environment. “But we’re about good government. And if you do it, do it in a smart way.”

When oil prices plummeted this spring, the Trump administration offered a 60-day reprieve on royalty payments in more than 500

Crowdfunding Success Indicates Small Businesses And Startups Worthy Of Government Matching Program

October 7, 2020

| No Comments

| business

crowdfunding, regulation crowdfunding, Reg CF, JOBS Act, investment crowdfunding — The crowd signaling its support of a small business or startup by providing it with debt of equity … [+] investments.

getty

Community-focused investing has funded local small businesses and startups across the US. Since 2016, half a billion dollars has been raised from investment crowdfunding, generating $2 billion in economic activity and supporting 100,000 jobs.

According to Regulation Crowdfunding by Congressional District: A Report Card by Crowdfund Capital Advisors, Congress can encourage this more by creating the Main Street Recovery Co-Investment Fund. The United Kingdom has already done this to great success. It worked so well that Fund was re-upped twice, including to support small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

A critical lesson from the 2007-2009 financial crisis was that access to capital for small businesses matters. Small businesses were hit harder than large companies by the Great Recession. During and for a period after the financial

China’s ‘three red lines’ strike delicate balance between curbing real estate debt and local government finances

October 6, 2020

| No Comments

| business

As China moves to tackle excessive borrowing in the real estate sector, it is walking a tightrope between providing cash-strapped local governments with revenues from land sales and keeping a lid on rising house prices.

Chinese regulators in August tightened funding conditions for 12 major property developers, setting caps on the amount of debt they could hold in relation to cash on hand, the value of their assets and as a proportion of equity in their businesses – dubbed “the three red lines”.

Last week, mainland financial newspaper the 21st Century Business Herald reported authorities had asked large banks to keep the proportion of property loans below 30 per cent of all new loans, citing unidentified sources.

Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.

Property sales growth has surged this year, helping the economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

How Two Young Entrepreneurs Pushed Their Way Into Government Contracts

October 6, 2020

| No Comments

| personal

Aspetto, Robert Davis, Abbas Haider, Under 30, entrepreneurs, small business, Air Force — Aspetto’s Robert Davis (left) and Abbas Haider

Courtesy of Aspetto

^When Covid-19 hit, Aspetto cofounder and CEO Abbas Haider, like lots of small-business owners, was nervous that business would fall. After all, the biggest buyers for his company’s bullet-resistant clothes and tactical gear were federal agencies, which he figured would be focused elsewhere. “We thought a lot of the funding from defense contracts was going to go to PPE,” he says. “We thought business was going to hurt during Covid.”

Instead, Fredericksburg, Virginia-based Aspetto’s business boomed. It now expects revenue to reach $12.5 million this year, up from less than $2 million in 2019, when he company hit a rough spot. Haider and his cofounder Robert Davis, both 30, are already beginning to line up contracts for 2021 (they say they have $14 million worth secured now), when they expect revenue to surpass $25 million. Since the beginning of

Top India Court Asks Government to Outline Interest Waiver Plans

October 5, 2020

| No Comments

| business

(Bloomberg) — India’s top court asked the government and banks how they plan to waive deferred interest on loans for small borrowers and whether similar relief measures could be provided to other sectors.

© Bloomberg
A metro train travels along an elevated track as residential buildings stand in the background at night in the outskirts of New Delhi, India, on Sunday, July 7, 2019. India’s new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman resisted calls for a fiscal boost to spur a weakening economy, sticking instead to a plan to narrow the budget deficit over time by keeping spending in check.

The Supreme Court on Monday asked lawyers from the government and Reserve Bank of India to submit information on the measures they plan to take on waiving some of the interest and recasting loans for stressed borrowers. The court will listen to this feedback on Oct. 13.

Load Error

Prime Minister Narendra