Friday, January 29, 2010

“UPDATE 2-US Republicans, business urge Obama to act on trade - Reuters” plus 3 more

“UPDATE 2-US Republicans, business urge Obama to act on trade - Reuters” plus 3 more

UPDATE 2-US Republicans, business urge Obama to act on trade - Reuters

Posted: 28 Jan 2010 12:46 PM PST

* Republicans urge Obama press harder on trade deals

Stocks

* US trade official says fixing Korean deal difficult

* Republicans pledge cooperation on export control reform (Updates with new comments, edits)

By Doug Palmer and Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Republicans and business leaders on Thursday pressed President Barack Obama to make good on his goal of doubling exports by moving quickly to win congressional approval of long-delayed trade pacts with Panama, Colombia and South Korea.

The Republicans noted that Obama had stopped short of asking lawmakers to approve the waiting trade deals, even though he called for closer trade ties with these countries during his State of the Union speech on Wednesday evening.

Obama also outlined a new national export initiative aimed at getting more farmers and small businesses involved in trade with the goal of doubling exports over five years.

Republican Representative David Dreier said he asked White House economic adviser Larry Summers right after Obama's speech when the trade pacts with Panama, Colombia and South Korea would be sent to Congress for a vote.

"His (Summers') response was, he hoped soon," Dreier told a news conference.

"I said, we are here waiting. Every single day that we wait, we are losing jobs in the United States of America because we don't have ... opportunities to break into those new markets," Dreier said.

The Republicans said they could work with Obama to get the trade deals approved and reform U.S. export controls, another issue the president mentioned in his speech.

The U.S. export control system is meant to keep sensitive technologies from falling into the wrong hands. But has not been updated in decades, prompting critics to say this hurts some U.S. companies unnecessarily.

At a separate event, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis said the Obama administration still had "a lot of work to do" to resolve concerns about the Korean agreement, the biggest of the three deals.

Obama's words about the trade pacts were seen as an overture to Republicans and business groups that have criticized him for inaction on trade.

But he faces strong opposition to the trade agreements from many lawmakers in his own party who have vowed to oppose the deals ever since they were negotiated by the administration of former President George W. Bush.

PROBLEMS WITH TRADE DEALS

Democrats complain Colombia has not done enough to stop violence against trade unionist and they want changes in Panama's tax haven laws and labor regime.

Midwestern lawmakers, including some Republicans, are unhappy with auto provisions of the Korean agreement they say fail to tear down barriers that keep American cars out.

U.S. trade officials are "working assiduously with Congress" on how to fix the Korean agreement, Marantis said after a speech focused on U.S.-Asian trade.

U.S. trade officials also met recently with Ford Motor Co (F.N) President Alan Mulally, whose company is the loudest industry opponent of the Korean pact.

U.S. Wheat farmers -- reliant on exports for half their sales -- said they were anxious for the Colombia pact to pass, noting Canada will soon ratify a similar deal, which would give it a leg up in that market.

"I have no idea what the timeline is, but I think it's a very good and very positive first step to hear that these are part of his agenda, that these issues are on his radar," said Rebecca Bratter, policy director with U.S. Wheat Associates.

Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, said urged Obama to swifty fix problems with all three agreements pacts and send them to Congress for votes.

The council's members include big exporters like Boeing (BA.N), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Caterpillar (CAT.N).

Obama said on Wednesday the United States could not afford to sit "on the sidelines" while other countries are busily negotiating deals.

Reinsch and the Republicans picked up on that, saying the United States would lose to competitors such as China, Canada and the European Union if it does not approve the trade deals.

Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton, editing by Philip Barbara)

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United Airlines 4Q loss shrinks; business travel picking up - Chicago Sun-Times

Posted: 27 Jan 2010 06:21 AM PST

MINNEAPOLIS -- United Airlines says business travel is improving, echoing comments from rivals Delta and American.

UAL Corp., which runs the nation's third-largest airline, says it lost $240 million during the fourth quarter. That's much smaller than the $1.32 billion loss during the same period last year.

Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells says business and premium traffic is strengthening. She says better traffic plus lower costs put United on the road to "closing the profitability gap."

An improvement in business travel is one of the key things analysts have been watching for as a sign that United's prospects are getting brighter.

Revenue fell 7.8 percent to $4.19 billion.

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UPDATE: Court tosses 6.5M verdict against business owners - WKBT

Posted: 28 Jan 2010 06:05 AM PST

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- An appeals court has thrown out a $6.5 million jury verdict against business owners accused of taking excessive compensation as their firm became insolvent.

A jury had ordered Daniel Virnich and Jack Moores to pay damages to Communications Products Corp., a Lancaster-based maker of stereo speakers they once owned.

The two extracted more than $10 million from the firm over several years. After CPC defaulted on a bank loan, a receiver sought to recover money from Virnich and Moores for the corporation.

The District 4 Court of Appeals says the lawsuit is not allowed.

An attorney for the receiver, Robert Kasieta, says the decision gives a "green light to corporate looting."

Previous Story - Posted January 28, 2010 at 8:09 AM
Court to rule in Wisconsin corporate pay case

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- An appeals court is expected to rule Thursday on whether the former owners of a manufacturing firm must pay back millions of dollars in excessive compensation.

A jury has ordered Daniel Virnich and Jack Moores to pay back $6.5 million they were paid while their Lancaster-based company failed to pay its bills.

The case has been closed followed in business circles because it could rewrite laws governing corporations and their relationships with banks, vendors and their own employees.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court deadlocked 3-3 on whether to uphold the jury's ruling last year. That decision sent the case back to the Madison-based District 4 Court of Appeals, which plans to issue its ruling Thursday.

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SBA's Deadline to Apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans is March 1 - Yahoo Finance

Posted: 28 Jan 2010 11:13 AM PST

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding small businesses affected by the severe storms, flooding, tornadoes and straight-line winds that occurred between May 3-20, 2009 that March 1 is the filing deadline for Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

Small businesses and most private non-profit organizations in the following counties are eligible to apply for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Lee, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike and Wolfe in Kentucky; Buchanan, Dickenson and Wise in Virginia; and Mingo in West Virginia.

Loans are available up to $2 million for eligible entities that suffered substantial economic injury from the disaster. These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. These loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

The interest rate on these loans is 4 percent, with a maximum term of 30 years. The SBA determines the amount of economic injury and the terms of each loan based on the financial circumstances of the borrower. Eligibility for the program is based on the size and type of business, and its financial resources.

To obtain a loan application, interested business owners should contact the SBA's Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the hearing-impaired) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST or by sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business disaster loan applications can also be downloaded from www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Victims may visit the SBA's secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ to apply for disaster loans.

The deadline for economic injury applications is March 1, 2010.

For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Programs, visit our Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.

Release Number: 10-207, KY 11766

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