Category: Effects
There are certainly good arguments that can be made against the provisions in the JOBS Act to loosen the regulations around public fundraising for companies. I’ve even made one of them here myself, concerning the inevitable rise in fraud that will ensue as bucket shops and boiler rooms leap into action. I also noted that this is all about trade offs: it might be that greater funding availability is worth that rise in fraud. It might not be as well, that’s a judgement call, one on which you entirely at liberty to make up your own minds.
However, there are also arguments that are entirely ridiculous and Yves Smith has just used one of them:
Obama seems determined to roll back the few remaining elements of the New Deal. As we’ve recounted, he’s keen to cut Medicare and Social Security; he said as much in a dinner with leading conservative luminaries shortly after his inauguration. And his JOBS Act, which guts securities law protections on smaller stock offerings, is touted as a way to increase employment by helping to fund smaller businesses. In reality, the only jobs it is likely to create will be due to the resulting explosion in
Read More from the Article Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/03/27/yves-smiths-ridiculous-argument-against-the-jobs-act/?feed=rss_home
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Assemblyman V. Manuel Perez and his Select Committee on the Renewable Energy Economy in Rural California are in the Coachella and Imperial valleys today with desert officials, a tour of renewable energy sites, including in Palm Springs and at the Salton Sea, and a public hearing set to be held later in El Centro.
Desert Sun renewable energy reporter K Kaufmann is along for the ride today and will continue you posting updates, so look for those throughout the day. She can also be followed on Twitter @kkaufmann
Perez’s staff said before the visit that it’s more of a fact-finding tour to identify issues where the Legislature might be able to help promote clean energy development in the state’s rural areas.
Along with Perez, State Assemblymembers Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara), and Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) were slated to attend.
The group enjoyed a welcome dinner Thursday evening from a group of valley business and civic leaders, including Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, RBF Consulting — an environmental-energy consulting firm – and Kaiser Restaurant. Along with good food, the committee got a presentation of local renewable energy issues.
Today, though,
Read More from the Article Source: http://www.mydesert.com/article/20120316/BUSINESS/120316003/Assemblyman-Perez-leads-officials-Palm-Springs-area-renewable-energy-tour?odyssey=nav%7Chead
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A big-screen version of classic Dr. Seuss children’s book “The Lorax” rang up a massive .7 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales over the weekend, the biggest movie debut so far this year.
The popularity of the 3D animated “Lorax” far exceeded industry forecasts and helped lift total box-office receipts ahead of last year for the ninth weekend in a row.
Danny DeVito provides the voice of the small orange Lorax who guards the trees in the film based
Read More from the Article Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_dr_seuss_story_lorax_wins_box_office165506236/44716789/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/dr-seuss-story-lorax-wins-box-office-165506236.html
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine official says “Friday Night Lights” star Taylor Kitsch was not hassled at Manila’s airport recently, as the Canadian actor indicated this week.
Kitsch said Wednesday on the “Late Show with David Letterman” that customs officers stopped him at the airport and ordered him back to Japan because his passport didn’t have enough pages to stamp his arrival. He was to finish filming Oliver Stone’s “Savages” in the Philippines.
Kitsch said he was let in only after proving with his iPhone that he was an actor.
Philippine Customs chief Ruffy Biazon wrote in his blog Friday that no
Read More from the Article Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_philippines_no_airport_hassle_taylor_kitsch074521761/44709071/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/philippines-no-airport-hassle-taylor-kitsch-074521761.html
BY CASSANDRA SWEET AND RYAN TRACY
A solar-panel maker in line for 0 million in federal loan guarantees said Wednesday it was laying off 280 workers and putting off plans for a new factory, in the latest sign of trouble for the Obama administration’s renewable-energy program after last year’s collapse of Solyndra LLC.
Abound Solar of Loveland, Colo., has drawn down about million of taxpayer-guaranteed funds; further funds could be delayed if the company misses milestones as a result of changes to its business plan.
The company said it would stop making solar panels at its existing Colorado factory and focus on upgrading the equipment …
Read More from the Article Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204571404577253892734336230.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Yesterday morning, a group of about 20 students stood on the steps of Beardshear Hall. Standing in a line, they held up a number of signs that spelled out “Pres Leath ISU welcomes you” and chanting phrases such as “hey, ho, dirty coal has got to go”. They then flipped their signs around and revealed a new message to their audience — “move us beyond coal.”
The “Beyond Coal” movement started on campus five years ago upon the discovery that Iowa State’s coal plant was dumping its fly ash into the Des Moines River. The goal of this movement is to work towards the full utilization of renewable energy resources and to eliminate the burning of coal on campus. Since last November, members of student organization ActivUs have been actively collecting signatures from students and faculty to jump start this process. Yesterday they hosted a press conference
Read More from the Article Source: http://iowastatedaily.com/cystainability/article_0f79409c-5e36-11e1-9524-001871e3ce6c.html
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
Advocates of conservation and renewable sources such as solar and biomass are split over what sponsors are calling “modest” energy legislation in the belief that even a small start would cause those efforts to snowball.
A bill (HB 7117) that cleared the House Finance and Tax Committee on Wednesday and a similar measure (SB 2094) that’s moving through the Senate wouldn’t set specific goals such as the 20 percent level for renewables by 2020 once envisioned by former Gov. Charlie Crist.
Instead, the
Read More from the Article Source: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9SU6RM00.htm
BY RYAN TRACY
The Obama administration is attempting to persuade U.S. corporations about the benefits of investing in renewable energy, in an effort to help the industry after a government grant program expired.
The Energy Department-led effort includes a planned March 13 meeting at which senior financial-firm executives and Energy Secretary Steven Chu would speak, documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal show. The 79 invitees include some of the largest companies in the U.S., from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Walt Disney Co., according to the documents.
The idea is to tell companies with big tax bills about the “attractive rates of return …
Read More from the Article Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203646004577215163265069078.html