Small Business Borrowing Falls to Lowest Point Since October Small business borrowing fell in April to its lowest point since October and was down five percent from April 2016, according to the Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index. The drop is seen as an indicator of potentially slowing economic growth. To read the full article in Reuters, click: U.S. Small Business Borrowing Drops to Six Month Low.
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Economists Express Concerns About Global Growth The majority of economists polled by Reuters say that global economic growth is slowing in both developed and developing markets. Their main concern is trouble in China. Rahul Karunakar examines the results and how still, most economists said there is an “insignificant” chance of a global recession this year. To read the full article in Reuters, click: Momentum Fading for Global Economic Growth and Inflation: Poll.
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In an optimistic prediction from Reuters, middle market M&A activity should carry lots of opportunities throughout 2014. The positive outlook comes after a combination of more certainty with respect to Fed tapering and fewer concerns about government stalemates. The prediction also relies heavily on the observation that companies previously focused on cost savings have begun to shift their attention to strategic growth opportunities. This transition is taking place at a time when there is a large amount of capital in the pockets of both debt and equity investors. At the same time, demand for floating-rate credit assets is at record…
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Congress Needs to Reduce, if Not Eliminate, Support of the Mortgage Market in Order to Encourage Private Capital to Enter the Market, Says Agency Head Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco said that Congress needs to take action to significantly reduce, if not eliminate, the government’s continued support of the mortgage market and make it more palatable for private capital to enter the market, Reuters reported March 19, and Appraiser News Online highlighted this week. DeMarco made his comments March 19 before the House Financial Services Committee. The Appraisers News Online explains:
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Judge Cuts Apple Award Versus Samsung, Sets New Damages Trial Poornima Gupta and Erin Smith report at Reuters report that Apple Inc had a major setback in its mobile patents battle with Samsung Electronics. On Friday, March 1st, a federal judge slashed a $1.05 billion jury award by more than 40 percent and set a new trial to determine damages. Here’s more:
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Intent: Not to Constrain Economic Growth Which Could Lead to Future Revenues David Lawder and Kim Dixon report that The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday said Senate-passed legislation to avert the “fiscal cliff” would add nearly $4 trillion to federal deficits over a decade, largely because it would extend low tax rates for almost all Americans.
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Although 2013 Rates Are Still Unclear, Smart Planners Are Making These Moves Today Laura Sanders at the Wall Street Journal reports that the annual scramble to make smart tax moves before December 31 is proving especially vexing this year, since Congress still hasn’t settled 2013 tax rates on income, investments, large gifts, and estates. Deductions and other breaks are in doubt. And some questions—such as the applicability of the alternative minimum tax—are still unsettled for 2012. Nonetheless, tax planning is possible. Some suggestions:
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Today Individual Federal Gift Law Exemption is $5.12M. In Months it May Drop to $1M. Result: Surging Demand for Appraisals. Lou Carlozo at Reuters reports that faced with the possibility of the lifetime gift tax exemption dropping precipitously next year and the estate tax rate rising, wealthy individuals are rushing to transfer their assets to family members. More:
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The U.S. likely will fall back into recession if scheduled spending cuts take effect and Bush-era tax cuts are allowed to expire this year, the Congressional Budget Office said. If the U.S. falls off this “fiscal cliff,” the economy will probably contract 1.3% in the first half of 2013, the CBO said. CNN Financial Times / Alphaville New York Times NPR Reuters USA Today Wall Street Journal Yahoo! Finance Is there an upside? Depends if you like disco. Styx’s Tommy Shaw: “Around ’75 when the recession hit, club owners started going to disco because it was cheaper…
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You’ve probably already read this story—Facebook Co-Founder Renounces U.S. Citizenship in Advance of IPO, Saving Millions in U.S. Taxes —heard about it on the radio, or seen it on TV. But Paul L. Caron of The TaxProf Blog has done a remarkable job of aggregating all the media responses to the story from about 20+ outlets, and linking to previous posts this week on the developing story. On Thursday: Bloomberg: Schumer Proposes Tax on People Like Facebook’s Saverin: U.S. Senator Charles Schumer proposed legislation that would impose a 30% capital gains tax on people like Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin unless…