Mandatory continuing legal education is here. Starting Jan. 1, every lawyer licensed to practice in New Jersey, including judges, law school professors and limited-license in-house counsel, must take a minimum of 24 hours of continuing legal education courses every two years, the state Supreme Court declares in a newly adopted rule.
Rule 1:42, which was proposed and put out for public comment in October, is the culmination of a two-year long study by the court's Ad Hoc Committee on Continuing Legal Education. [See notice to the Bar.]
Under the rule, lawyers may satisfy the requirements with all "alternative verifiable learning formats," including videotape, satellite simulcast and the Internet. Reciprocal credit will be given for courses taken from other jurisdictions.
Twelve credit hours can be carried over from one cycle to the next, except for courses in the area of ethics or professionalism, which must make up four of the requisite 24 credits in every cycle. Lawyers who serve on a district ethics committee will get credit for two of those four hours.
The court also abolished outright the Skills and Methods Course, until now required of all newly admitted attorneys. But new admittees will have to "bridge the gap" during their first two-year cycle by choosing subjects from a special list.
Compliance with mandatory continuing legal education, or MCLE, will be on the honor system, with lawyers required to certify every two years that they have fulfilled their obligation. They must also "maintain all necessary records and documentation to demonstrate such compliance in accordance with regulations adopted under these Rules."
Self-reporting, which was favored by the State Bar Association, was not part of the MCLE system as originally proposed. The ad hoc committee, chaired by former N.J. Supreme Court Justice Peter Verniero, wanted a "transcript method," a central uniform tracking system with providers sending in attendance records. Another rejected idea, suggested by the Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the state's largest single provider of such services, would have put ICLE in charge of tracking compliance.
The self-monitoring will cost lawyers $4 per year, which will be added to the annual attorney registration fee. The court said the money was needed because under the transcript method, it could have collected up to $2 per credit for out-of-state courses or those using alternative learning formats, money foregone under the self-reporting approach. So it imposed the $4 fee to pay for staff to administer MCLE and for such costs as a computer database and tracking system.
Extensions of time to comply will be available on a case-by-case basis "for good cause shown," including illness.
Though the two-year cycle will not start until Jan. 1, 2010, lawyers are entitled to credit for certain courses taken as far back as Jan. 1, 2009. The retroactive credit, which was announced by the court on Aug. 13, is available for courses taken to become a certified attorney, skills and methods courses, out-of state CLE courses and possibly others.
The court also created an 11-member Board on Continuing Legal Education, chaired by Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto, that will administer the program and promulgate the governing regulations. Board members, who serve staggered, three-year terms, are immunized from suit over their board activities.
The board's duties include deciding which courses and activities qualify for credit, designating education providers and setting the fees that will be charged to attorneys and providers to fund the administration of the program. The board has instructions to revisit the $4 fee after the first two years and decide if an annual assessment is still needed.
To make sure MCLE is up and running as of Jan. 1, the board is authorized to act before it adopts controlling regulations. For instance, it can determine the MCLE subject areas and what credit to give for completed skills and methods courses. But until it puts rules in place, it can only approve courses that require attorney attendance, ruling out online instruction for the interim.
Verniero, now with Sills Cummis & Gross in Newark, says "I feel very good about the end result" and he praised the court, saying it "took the time necessary to create an ad hoc committee to review various proposals and to be very comprehensive in its approach."
State Bar president Allen Etish released a statement saying the association is proud the final rule incorporated many of the bar association's recommendations, "most notably that attorneys are allowed to track their own coursework," and it "will be looking for ways to provide our members additional opportunities to accumulate meaningful and affordable CLE credits through the programming of our sections, committees, and at our Mid-Year and Annual Meetings."
With the adoption of R. 1:42, New Jersey joins 42 other states, according to the American Bar Association, that require some form of continuing legal education.
By Mary Pat Gallagher
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
New Jersey lawmaker targets tax exclusions
Every year, New Jersey gives away millions, perhaps billions, of dollars through tax credits, deductions, and exemptions collectively known as tax expenditures.
The tax breaks include everything from exempting employee-retirement-fund contributions from income taxes to special tax credits for certain corporations.
While many - and perhaps even all - might advance worthy goals, no one knows how much New Jersey is spending through these tax expenditures.
That is because the state is one of nine that offer no public accounting of such spending.
Sen. Barbara Buono (D., Middlesex), chairwoman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, wants that to change.
Buono introduced a bill earlier this month to require that the governor's annual budget message include a state tax-expenditure report, including a list of the state's tax credits, deductions, and exemptions, and how much each costs the state. She said the measure was especially crucial now, in light of the state's dire fiscal situation.
"It's another form of spending, and it's revenue forgone," Buono said. "It doesn't receive the level of scrutiny that direct expenditures do. The danger is most of these are written into the tax code where they are continued indefinitely, unlike annual appropriations, which usually last one year."
Buono said she planned to post the bill, which she said was based on the best practices identified in a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on tax-expenditure reports, for discussion when the budget committee meets on Jan. 4.
Most other states and the federal government produce tax-expenditure reports, though they vary widely in quality.
The reports help lawmakers and the public keep track of forgone revenues that otherwise might get lost in the shuffle of the tax code.
The tax breaks can amount to big money: Washington state has reported a loss of nearly $99 billion a year in state and local tax expenditures and Oregon nearly $29 billion, according to Mary Forsberg, interim president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, which has argued for years that New Jersey should require a tax-expenditure report. Pennsylvania's most recent tax-expenditure report runs more than 100 pages.
As states throughout the country try to replace dramatically fallen revenue, lawmakers in at least one, Oklahoma, have targeted tax breaks as a potential source of new funding. Among the legislators already in support of Buono's bill is Sen. Shirley Turner (D., Mercer).
Turner sponsored a bill, signed by Gov. Corzine in November 2007, to require the state treasurer to produce an annual report with information on development subsidies, a small subset of the information Buono's bill seeks.
But the treasurer has never produced the report required by the law, Turner and Buono both say. The office of Treasurer R. David Rousseau did not return calls for comment Thursday.
Turner said she wrote to the treasurer in August and again Wednesday asking about the report but had received no response.
"It is very disappointing as well as frustrating when there are laws on the books that are being ignored, and the treasurer doesn't seem to think that it's important to comply with something as important as millions and millions of taxpayer dollars that are being given to corporations with no accountability," Turner said. "I think taxpayers have a right to know exactly how their dollars are being spent."
Turner said she was inspired to create the law after hearing about a company that received state subsidies to create jobs in New Jersey that moved to New York City before fulfilling its obligations.
"They were taking the money, and they were running," Turner said.
Forsberg, of New Jersey Policy Perspective, said tax-expenditure reports are critical to understanding how the state allocates its resources. Every dollar of forgone revenue can mean higher taxes for someone else, or fewer services.
"It's important for people to realize that the state is losing money as a result of decisions that are never revisited," Forsberg said.
One example of a tax expenditure that is costing state taxpayers a significant amount of money is a long-standing agreement between New Jersey and New York regarding residents of one state who work in the other, Forsberg said. Under the agreement, residents pay income taxes to the state where they work. Forsberg said that in 2004, when the numbers were last available, the agreement cost New Jersey about $1.5 billion a year, a number she said was likely higher now.
Most of the people who live in New Jersey but work in New York pay more to New York than they would to New Jersey, which means that if New Jersey could end or rework the agreement, the state could receive more in income taxes while its individual residents would pay less, Forsberg said.
"Considering that income taxes in New Jersey are dedicated to property-tax relief, that's a lot of money that would be a very helpful thing for New Jersey to have," Forsberg said.
According to the Treasury Department, New Jersey has never done a formal tax-expenditure report.
In 2006, the state Division of Taxation compiled a list of many tax expenditures, finding 121 sales-tax exclusions, 44 gross-personal-income-tax exclusions, and 28 corporate-business-tax exclusions. The list did not attempt to estimate what each exclusion was costing taxpayers.
By Adrienne Lu
The tax breaks include everything from exempting employee-retirement-fund contributions from income taxes to special tax credits for certain corporations.
While many - and perhaps even all - might advance worthy goals, no one knows how much New Jersey is spending through these tax expenditures.
That is because the state is one of nine that offer no public accounting of such spending.
Sen. Barbara Buono (D., Middlesex), chairwoman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, wants that to change.
Buono introduced a bill earlier this month to require that the governor's annual budget message include a state tax-expenditure report, including a list of the state's tax credits, deductions, and exemptions, and how much each costs the state. She said the measure was especially crucial now, in light of the state's dire fiscal situation.
"It's another form of spending, and it's revenue forgone," Buono said. "It doesn't receive the level of scrutiny that direct expenditures do. The danger is most of these are written into the tax code where they are continued indefinitely, unlike annual appropriations, which usually last one year."
Buono said she planned to post the bill, which she said was based on the best practices identified in a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on tax-expenditure reports, for discussion when the budget committee meets on Jan. 4.
Most other states and the federal government produce tax-expenditure reports, though they vary widely in quality.
The reports help lawmakers and the public keep track of forgone revenues that otherwise might get lost in the shuffle of the tax code.
The tax breaks can amount to big money: Washington state has reported a loss of nearly $99 billion a year in state and local tax expenditures and Oregon nearly $29 billion, according to Mary Forsberg, interim president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, which has argued for years that New Jersey should require a tax-expenditure report. Pennsylvania's most recent tax-expenditure report runs more than 100 pages.
As states throughout the country try to replace dramatically fallen revenue, lawmakers in at least one, Oklahoma, have targeted tax breaks as a potential source of new funding. Among the legislators already in support of Buono's bill is Sen. Shirley Turner (D., Mercer).
Turner sponsored a bill, signed by Gov. Corzine in November 2007, to require the state treasurer to produce an annual report with information on development subsidies, a small subset of the information Buono's bill seeks.
But the treasurer has never produced the report required by the law, Turner and Buono both say. The office of Treasurer R. David Rousseau did not return calls for comment Thursday.
Turner said she wrote to the treasurer in August and again Wednesday asking about the report but had received no response.
"It is very disappointing as well as frustrating when there are laws on the books that are being ignored, and the treasurer doesn't seem to think that it's important to comply with something as important as millions and millions of taxpayer dollars that are being given to corporations with no accountability," Turner said. "I think taxpayers have a right to know exactly how their dollars are being spent."
Turner said she was inspired to create the law after hearing about a company that received state subsidies to create jobs in New Jersey that moved to New York City before fulfilling its obligations.
"They were taking the money, and they were running," Turner said.
Forsberg, of New Jersey Policy Perspective, said tax-expenditure reports are critical to understanding how the state allocates its resources. Every dollar of forgone revenue can mean higher taxes for someone else, or fewer services.
"It's important for people to realize that the state is losing money as a result of decisions that are never revisited," Forsberg said.
One example of a tax expenditure that is costing state taxpayers a significant amount of money is a long-standing agreement between New Jersey and New York regarding residents of one state who work in the other, Forsberg said. Under the agreement, residents pay income taxes to the state where they work. Forsberg said that in 2004, when the numbers were last available, the agreement cost New Jersey about $1.5 billion a year, a number she said was likely higher now.
Most of the people who live in New Jersey but work in New York pay more to New York than they would to New Jersey, which means that if New Jersey could end or rework the agreement, the state could receive more in income taxes while its individual residents would pay less, Forsberg said.
"Considering that income taxes in New Jersey are dedicated to property-tax relief, that's a lot of money that would be a very helpful thing for New Jersey to have," Forsberg said.
According to the Treasury Department, New Jersey has never done a formal tax-expenditure report.
In 2006, the state Division of Taxation compiled a list of many tax expenditures, finding 121 sales-tax exclusions, 44 gross-personal-income-tax exclusions, and 28 corporate-business-tax exclusions. The list did not attempt to estimate what each exclusion was costing taxpayers.
By Adrienne Lu
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Johnnie Walker Strides in New Jersey
Black Label Celebrates 100th Anniversary and Appoints New Jersey Native to Lead Local Initiative
Johnnie Walker Black Label is launching a new initiative that brings events, promotions and new business opportunities to New Jersey. In May, the deluxe Scotch Whisky kicked off its 100th anniversary celebration with the theme, "100 Years of Progress." In continuation of the centennial birthday, the brand turns the focus local and highlights the Garden State's Latino community -- with one of New Jersey's own at the program's helm.
Latinos exert a powerful force in New Jersey, making an ideal environment for the endeavor. Currently making up more than 16 percent of the population, they represent the fastest growing segment in the state. In addition, New Jersey houses the 5th largest concentration of Latino businesses in the country, which numbered over 52,000 in 2008, predicted to double by 2010. As business leaders, consumers, homeowners and active community members, Latinos make essential social, cultural and economic contributions that help the state thrive.
"Latinos represent achievement and progress in New Jersey, two characteristics that Johnnie Walker Black Label also exemplifies," says Gerry Rojas, New Jersey Hispanic Brand Ambassador for Johnnie Walker and proud New Jerseyite. The initiative celebrates the accomplishments of New Jersey Latinos and creates new opportunities for business owners in the spirits industry to excel. It also invites everyday residents to join the celebration. "Whether they are coming together for family festivities, networking, cultural events or just a well-deserved evening out, Johnnie Walker is uniting people from every part of the diverse Latino community by providing access to some of the best places and events that New Jersey has to offer," Rojas says.
New Jersey's Striding Man
Rojas' vast experience in the Latino market has primed him to be the ideal Hispanic Brand Ambassador for Johnnie Walker in New Jersey. Having grown up in Union City, West New York and North Bergen, he brings first-hand familiarity with the business and entertainment landscape, and he also touts a credentialed record.
An industry veteran with nearly a decade of experience in sales, brand development and marketing, Rojas is a pioneer in Latino marketing who entered the field when multicultural marketing was still in its inception, shortly after the 2000 census results raised awareness of the Hispanic consumers' potential. He lead some of the first broad-scale corporate marketing initiatives incorporating the emerging Latino consumer and spearheaded the development of a new multicultural division of an established event agency, which brought branded entertainment expertise to the Latino demographic.
For New Jersey, this means exciting strides to come from Rojas and Johnnie Walker Black Label. "People who live, work and play in New Jersey can look forward to new options provided by Johnnie Walker," Rojas says. "We're excited to give businesses more of the tools they need to get ahead and to support fun events that give people more occasions to get together around art, music, food and heritage, courtesy of Johnnie Walker." Watch for a calendar of Johnnie Walker events coming soon.
Learn more about Johnnie Walker at www.johnniewalker.com.
For more information about Johnnie Walker events across New Jersey kicking off in January 2010, email Onda.Comm@gmail.com.
ABOUT JOHNNIE WALKER®
Johnnie Walker® is the world's most powerful whisky brand. Its portfolio features five award-winning whiskies -- Red Label®, Black Label®, Green Label®, Gold Label®, and Blue Label® -- imported and distributed in the United States by Diageo North America. More than 4 bottles of Johnnie Walker are consumed every second, and more than 120 million bottles are sold every year in more than 200 countries. The product line covers a broad range of occasions for the whisky drinker from every day to special moments. The five premium brands represent a range of prices and tastes that share a remarkable 180-year history and a commitment to quality. Additional information about Johnnie Walker may be found at www.johnniewalker.com.
ABOUT DIAGEO
Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, and Crown Royal, as well as Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines. Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 200 markets around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit http://www.diageo.com. Celebrating life, every day, everywhere, responsibly.
SOURCE Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker Black Label is launching a new initiative that brings events, promotions and new business opportunities to New Jersey. In May, the deluxe Scotch Whisky kicked off its 100th anniversary celebration with the theme, "100 Years of Progress." In continuation of the centennial birthday, the brand turns the focus local and highlights the Garden State's Latino community -- with one of New Jersey's own at the program's helm.
Latinos exert a powerful force in New Jersey, making an ideal environment for the endeavor. Currently making up more than 16 percent of the population, they represent the fastest growing segment in the state. In addition, New Jersey houses the 5th largest concentration of Latino businesses in the country, which numbered over 52,000 in 2008, predicted to double by 2010. As business leaders, consumers, homeowners and active community members, Latinos make essential social, cultural and economic contributions that help the state thrive.
"Latinos represent achievement and progress in New Jersey, two characteristics that Johnnie Walker Black Label also exemplifies," says Gerry Rojas, New Jersey Hispanic Brand Ambassador for Johnnie Walker and proud New Jerseyite. The initiative celebrates the accomplishments of New Jersey Latinos and creates new opportunities for business owners in the spirits industry to excel. It also invites everyday residents to join the celebration. "Whether they are coming together for family festivities, networking, cultural events or just a well-deserved evening out, Johnnie Walker is uniting people from every part of the diverse Latino community by providing access to some of the best places and events that New Jersey has to offer," Rojas says.
New Jersey's Striding Man
Rojas' vast experience in the Latino market has primed him to be the ideal Hispanic Brand Ambassador for Johnnie Walker in New Jersey. Having grown up in Union City, West New York and North Bergen, he brings first-hand familiarity with the business and entertainment landscape, and he also touts a credentialed record.
An industry veteran with nearly a decade of experience in sales, brand development and marketing, Rojas is a pioneer in Latino marketing who entered the field when multicultural marketing was still in its inception, shortly after the 2000 census results raised awareness of the Hispanic consumers' potential. He lead some of the first broad-scale corporate marketing initiatives incorporating the emerging Latino consumer and spearheaded the development of a new multicultural division of an established event agency, which brought branded entertainment expertise to the Latino demographic.
For New Jersey, this means exciting strides to come from Rojas and Johnnie Walker Black Label. "People who live, work and play in New Jersey can look forward to new options provided by Johnnie Walker," Rojas says. "We're excited to give businesses more of the tools they need to get ahead and to support fun events that give people more occasions to get together around art, music, food and heritage, courtesy of Johnnie Walker." Watch for a calendar of Johnnie Walker events coming soon.
Learn more about Johnnie Walker at www.johnniewalker.com.
For more information about Johnnie Walker events across New Jersey kicking off in January 2010, email Onda.Comm@gmail.com.
ABOUT JOHNNIE WALKER®
Johnnie Walker® is the world's most powerful whisky brand. Its portfolio features five award-winning whiskies -- Red Label®, Black Label®, Green Label®, Gold Label®, and Blue Label® -- imported and distributed in the United States by Diageo North America. More than 4 bottles of Johnnie Walker are consumed every second, and more than 120 million bottles are sold every year in more than 200 countries. The product line covers a broad range of occasions for the whisky drinker from every day to special moments. The five premium brands represent a range of prices and tastes that share a remarkable 180-year history and a commitment to quality. Additional information about Johnnie Walker may be found at www.johnniewalker.com.
ABOUT DIAGEO
Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, and Crown Royal, as well as Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines. Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 200 markets around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit http://www.diageo.com. Celebrating life, every day, everywhere, responsibly.
SOURCE Johnnie Walker
Japanese Business Group Travels Long Distance to See New Jersey American Water Plant
A 14-member management team from Japan's Nippon Soda company, requested that their visit to the United States include a visit to New Jersey American Water's Canal Road water treatment plant in Somerset, NJ. The Japanese were just the latest in a line of international visitors that have come to New Jersey American Water in 2009 to see what many consider to be a flagship water treatment facility.
Accompanied by a translator, the Japanese business men and women traveled from New York City to see how the northern New Jersey plant uses a unique mix of technologies to treat up to 80 million gallons of drinking water per day.
Production Manager Oleg Kostin, who managed the initial construction of the facility briefed the group on the plant's history, and its integration into New Jersey American Water's system. "I feel like I birthed this plant," said Kostin. "It's my baby." It was a comment that, translated, drew quite a few laughs from the Japanese guests.
"The group members were delighted with the warm reception they received in New Jersey," said Howard Sigman of the Consulate General of Japan. "In fact, they said the visit to the Somerset facility was the highlight of their trip to the US."
New Jersey American Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 2.5 million people. Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 15 million people in 32 states and Ontario, Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.
SOURCE New Jersey American Water
Accompanied by a translator, the Japanese business men and women traveled from New York City to see how the northern New Jersey plant uses a unique mix of technologies to treat up to 80 million gallons of drinking water per day.
Production Manager Oleg Kostin, who managed the initial construction of the facility briefed the group on the plant's history, and its integration into New Jersey American Water's system. "I feel like I birthed this plant," said Kostin. "It's my baby." It was a comment that, translated, drew quite a few laughs from the Japanese guests.
"The group members were delighted with the warm reception they received in New Jersey," said Howard Sigman of the Consulate General of Japan. "In fact, they said the visit to the Somerset facility was the highlight of their trip to the US."
New Jersey American Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 2.5 million people. Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 15 million people in 32 states and Ontario, Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.
SOURCE New Jersey American Water
Display Ad Recovery Bodes Well For Yahoo: Analysts Cite Auto, Finance, 'Price Integrity'
Reiterating an "overweight" buying recommendation for shares of Yahoo stock, the influential securities research team at JP Morgan this morning issued a report to investors suggesting that an imminent recovery in the online display advertising marketplace could be the "catalyst" for a rebound at the online portal giant.
"In 2009, one of the hardest hit Internet sectors has been display advertising. At Yahoo, owned-and-operated display advertising revenues were down 12% in the first three quarters of 2009 and accounted for roughly 25% of gross revenue in third quarter (and a substantially higher percentage of profitability). Thus, we think a recovery in display advertising dollars could be a catalyst for Yahoo's stock," the analysts wrote, noting that positive signs are mounting, including an improvement in key vertical ad categories, such as automotive and finance, which account for roughly 25% of Yahoo's online advertising revenue.
"Revenue from those two verticals was down more than 15% during the first nine months," the researchers noted, adding, "However, based on our industry checks, we think auto and finance advertisement trends are improving in the fourth quarter. Additionally we think the comps are getting easier. Therefore we think our owned and operated display advertising estimate for 1.5% growth in fiscal 2010 could be too conservative."
Another positive sign for Yahoo is the fact that big premium publishers are shifting their focus to "price integrity," which JPMorgan said should help bolster Yahoo's display advertising business, as well. Specifically, the analysts cited Time Warner's spin-off of AOL, and reports that CBS plans to discontinue selling its premium online ad inventory via third-party ad networks.
"We believe these moves by larger publishers will improve price integrity for the display advertising market as a whole," the analysts wrote. "Considering Yahoo is the largest display ad publisher, we see it as a likely beneficiary of pricing improvements."
"In 2009, one of the hardest hit Internet sectors has been display advertising. At Yahoo, owned-and-operated display advertising revenues were down 12% in the first three quarters of 2009 and accounted for roughly 25% of gross revenue in third quarter (and a substantially higher percentage of profitability). Thus, we think a recovery in display advertising dollars could be a catalyst for Yahoo's stock," the analysts wrote, noting that positive signs are mounting, including an improvement in key vertical ad categories, such as automotive and finance, which account for roughly 25% of Yahoo's online advertising revenue.
"Revenue from those two verticals was down more than 15% during the first nine months," the researchers noted, adding, "However, based on our industry checks, we think auto and finance advertisement trends are improving in the fourth quarter. Additionally we think the comps are getting easier. Therefore we think our owned and operated display advertising estimate for 1.5% growth in fiscal 2010 could be too conservative."
Another positive sign for Yahoo is the fact that big premium publishers are shifting their focus to "price integrity," which JPMorgan said should help bolster Yahoo's display advertising business, as well. Specifically, the analysts cited Time Warner's spin-off of AOL, and reports that CBS plans to discontinue selling its premium online ad inventory via third-party ad networks.
"We believe these moves by larger publishers will improve price integrity for the display advertising market as a whole," the analysts wrote. "Considering Yahoo is the largest display ad publisher, we see it as a likely beneficiary of pricing improvements."
Monday, December 14, 2009
Thanksgiving Travelers Drove Close and Stayed With Family
In a snapshot poll taken in the three days leading up to the American Thanksgiving break, Ipsos Marketing's travel and tourism division found that 19% of Americans planned to travel out of town this Thanksgiving, which was down slightly from the number who traveled for Thanksgiving in 2008. Even though Thanksgiving is one of the most important travel periods of the year, a large majority of Americans are not Thanksgiving travelers, as 78% didn't travel last Thanksgiving and 79% had no plans to travel this Thanksgiving.
Despite the economic downturn, 35% of travelers planned to spend more money this year as compared to 2008 on their Thanksgiving travel. Those who planned to spend less in 2009 accounted for 13% of all travelers while the remaining 41% planned to spend as much in 2009 as they did in 2008.
Dave Pierzchala, Vice President of Ipsos' travel team explains, "Thanksgiving travel is as much of a tradition as turkey with all the trimmings and these results show that the need to be with friends and family does not disappear even in strained financial times."
Thrifty Thanksgiving travelers say that this year they
• 22% planned to stay with friends and family instead of a hotel
• 17% planned to drive instead of fly
• 14% planned to take shorter trips (14%)
• 41% said that nothing changed for their Thanksgiving travel plans this year
Dave Pierzchala, Vice President of Ipsos' travel team explains, "In the current economic times Americans are finding ways to continue to connect with loved ones and in some cases the pull-out couch or long car ride is the necessary sacrifice."
Among Americans who had no travel plans this Thanksgiving, a primary reason is that:
• 25% had the pleasure of hosting their friends and family
• 13% planned to avoid travel this Thanksgiving because it was too expensive
• 5% said too crowded
• 5% are watching their travel budget
• 3% have suffered a loss of employment
• 21% simply didn't want to travel this Thanksgiving
An Ipsos online study conducted from November 23, 2009 to November 26, 2009 with 1,114 U.S. adults (18+). The results are considered accurate within 2.94 percentage points, 19 times out of 20
Despite the economic downturn, 35% of travelers planned to spend more money this year as compared to 2008 on their Thanksgiving travel. Those who planned to spend less in 2009 accounted for 13% of all travelers while the remaining 41% planned to spend as much in 2009 as they did in 2008.
Dave Pierzchala, Vice President of Ipsos' travel team explains, "Thanksgiving travel is as much of a tradition as turkey with all the trimmings and these results show that the need to be with friends and family does not disappear even in strained financial times."
Thrifty Thanksgiving travelers say that this year they
• 22% planned to stay with friends and family instead of a hotel
• 17% planned to drive instead of fly
• 14% planned to take shorter trips (14%)
• 41% said that nothing changed for their Thanksgiving travel plans this year
Dave Pierzchala, Vice President of Ipsos' travel team explains, "In the current economic times Americans are finding ways to continue to connect with loved ones and in some cases the pull-out couch or long car ride is the necessary sacrifice."
Among Americans who had no travel plans this Thanksgiving, a primary reason is that:
• 25% had the pleasure of hosting their friends and family
• 13% planned to avoid travel this Thanksgiving because it was too expensive
• 5% said too crowded
• 5% are watching their travel budget
• 3% have suffered a loss of employment
• 21% simply didn't want to travel this Thanksgiving
An Ipsos online study conducted from November 23, 2009 to November 26, 2009 with 1,114 U.S. adults (18+). The results are considered accurate within 2.94 percentage points, 19 times out of 20
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Dunkin' Donuts manager accused of stealing $20,000 at Atlantic Highlands store
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS — A manager at the local Dunkin' Donuts has been charged with stealing more than $20,000 from the business, police said.
Oscar Israel Mateos, 26, of Red Bank, who worked as a manager at the shop for about five years, was arrested Saturday by Patrolman Brian Phair, police said.
Mateos was charged with theft by failure to make required disposition of property.
Detective Sgt. Thomas Stone said Mateos was in charge of making the day's bank deposits, and while he gave his boss bank slips that he had filled out, he never deposited the money in the bank.
Stone said the owner of the Dunkin' Donuts called police after he realized there was a problem with his account. Mateos is charged with stealing the money in October and November and the investigation is continuing, police said.
Oscar Israel Mateos, 26, of Red Bank, who worked as a manager at the shop for about five years, was arrested Saturday by Patrolman Brian Phair, police said.
Mateos was charged with theft by failure to make required disposition of property.
Detective Sgt. Thomas Stone said Mateos was in charge of making the day's bank deposits, and while he gave his boss bank slips that he had filled out, he never deposited the money in the bank.
Stone said the owner of the Dunkin' Donuts called police after he realized there was a problem with his account. Mateos is charged with stealing the money in October and November and the investigation is continuing, police said.
Friday, December 4, 2009
N.J. auto insurance rates still highest, but ...
The average Garden State resident paid 4 percent less in auto insurance premiums in 2007 than the previous year — and 9 percent less than the peak year of 2004, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners reported this week. Nationally, rates fell by only 5.6 percent between 2004 and 2007.
That's the good news. Despite the downward trend, New Jersey drivers continued to pay the highest premiums of any state in the nation — $1,103 per vehicle.
Part of New Jersey's decline in premiums is attributable to legislative reforms in 2003 that helped lure firms that wouldn't do business here. The state made changes to its assigned risk pool of drivers and allowed companies to offer bare-bones polices.
In 2002 alone, seven auto insurance companies bailed out of New Jersey, bringing the total number of companies that had fled the state in the previous decade to 25. The insurance rules made it impossible for some people to get insurance at all. For those who could, the limited competition resulted in escalating premiums.
Today, eight out of the top 10 largest firms write policies in New Jersey. Unfortunately, the policies aren't cheap. Only three other states had average per-vehicle premium costs in excess of $1,000 in 2007 — Louisiana, New York and Florida. The cheapest rates in the nation were in North Dakota, where the average premium was $511.
Several explanations are offered by auto insurers for why New Jersey has the highest rates: generous medical reimbursements, higher auto repair costs, a higher proportion of luxury cars and heavily congested roads.
Those elements aren't likely to change any time soon.
For now, the best thing to do to keep your premiums down is to shop around, explore the discounts offered by various insurers and keep your driving record clean.
That's the good news. Despite the downward trend, New Jersey drivers continued to pay the highest premiums of any state in the nation — $1,103 per vehicle.
Part of New Jersey's decline in premiums is attributable to legislative reforms in 2003 that helped lure firms that wouldn't do business here. The state made changes to its assigned risk pool of drivers and allowed companies to offer bare-bones polices.
In 2002 alone, seven auto insurance companies bailed out of New Jersey, bringing the total number of companies that had fled the state in the previous decade to 25. The insurance rules made it impossible for some people to get insurance at all. For those who could, the limited competition resulted in escalating premiums.
Today, eight out of the top 10 largest firms write policies in New Jersey. Unfortunately, the policies aren't cheap. Only three other states had average per-vehicle premium costs in excess of $1,000 in 2007 — Louisiana, New York and Florida. The cheapest rates in the nation were in North Dakota, where the average premium was $511.
Several explanations are offered by auto insurers for why New Jersey has the highest rates: generous medical reimbursements, higher auto repair costs, a higher proportion of luxury cars and heavily congested roads.
Those elements aren't likely to change any time soon.
For now, the best thing to do to keep your premiums down is to shop around, explore the discounts offered by various insurers and keep your driving record clean.
New Jersey Losing $22,000-a-Day With Swap for Bonds Never Sold
New Jersey taxpayers are being saddled with a bill of about $657,000 a month from Bank of Montreal for an interest-rate swap approved by state officials and linked to bonds that were never sold.
The 11th-largest U.S. state by population, which is cutting expenses to close a $1 billion budget deficit, will pay Canada’s oldest lender $23.5 million. The sum, about the same as the salaries for 113 teachers over three years, will allow it to avoid a $50 million penalty for canceling the contract, which was tied to planned sales of school-construction bonds.
The interest rate swap, an agreement between borrowers to exchange fixed and variable-rate payments on a set amount of debt, was arranged in 2004 to protect taxpayers against rising borrowing costs. The strategy backfired after officials decided against issuing the securities.
“This is a classic case of a strategic error,” said Robert Brooks, a finance professor at the University of Alabama- Tuscaloosa and author of a book on derivatives. “It’s arrogant to believe that you have such a command of the future that you know with certainty what is going to happen.”
The payments, which work out to $21,892 a day for three years, show how elected and appointed officials failed taxpayers by agreeing to financial strategies they didn’t fully understand. New Jersey spent $21.3 million in 2008 to exit three contracts signed when James Florio and James McGreevey were governors. The state’s transportation trust fund is giving almost $1 million a month to a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partnership in an agreement linked to bonds that were redeemed.
Penalties and Losses
New Jersey isn’t alone. Borrowers from Massachusetts to California are struggling with billions of dollars in swap penalties and losses at the same time that budget deficits expand to an estimated $350 billion in 2010 and 2011, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The derivatives, mostly interest-rate swaps used to exchange fixed payments for variable rates, have grown to as much as $300 billion annually, the Alexandria, Virginia-based Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board said in an April report, citing information from market participants.
Derivatives have created “unprecedented financial stress” for some of the 500 municipal issuers that sold variable-rate debt and purchased swaps from banks to lock in borrowing costs, according to an October report by Moody’s Investors Service. The biggest users of the arrangements are Pennsylvania, California, Texas and Tennessee.
The U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating whether Wall Street banks conspired with brokers to rig bids on the contracts.
Forward-Starting Agreement
Jefferson County, Alabama, is on the edge of bankruptcy mostly because of a $3 billion sewer project in which fixed-rate bonds were refinanced into floating-rate securities hedged with interest-rate swaps. Larry Langford, the former Democratic mayor of Birmingham, was convicted of federal corruption charges Oct. 29 for accepting bribes in exchange for giving underwriting contracts to a banker friend while he was county commission president.
New Jersey’s 2004 school-bond swap with Bank of Montreal was linked to a $250 million bond originally scheduled to be sold in 2007. The so-called forward-starting agreement was one of 15 such contracts the state set up to help finance construction.
The issue was deferred to 2009 because the school program wasn’t borrowing fast enough to use swaps coming due in 2007, according to treasury spokesman Tom Bell.
Fixed Rate
Under its contract, New Jersey agreed to pay the bank a fixed rate of about 4.6 percent, or $967,000 a month, on the $250 million principal. In return, it would receive unspecified variable-rate payments based on a percentage of the one-month London interbank offered rate, according to Treasury Department spokesman Tom Vincz.
The one-month rate was 0.23 percent on Dec. 3, down from 1.9 percent when the Bank of Montreal swap was set up, according to the British Bankers Association One-Month Libor U.S. Dollar Index. Libor is a benchmark for the cost of loans between banks.
In pushing the swap off to 2009, New Jersey agreed to a 9 basis-point reduction in its fixed interest rate and the bank changed the floating-rate formula to a lower percentage of Libor. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
When the revamped agreement took effect on Nov. 1, the state faced payments of $833,000 a month, Vincz said in an e- mail. Treasury officials allowed the bank to suspend floating- rate payments while lowering New Jersey’s fixed-rate cost to 3.1 percent, or $656,770 monthly, through November 2012.
Typical School
The cost would cover the $23.6 million price of a typical elementary school, according to New Jersey Schools Development Authority reports. It would also pay 113 teachers’ salaries for three years, based on data reported by the state Teachers Pension and Annuity Fund.
“It is obscene,” New Jersey Governor-elect Christopher Christie said at a Nov. 16 news conference in Trenton, referring to financial strategies such as swaps pursued largely during McGreevey’s term from 2001 to 2004. “It is extraordinary to me that someone could do that much damage in less than three years.”
McGreevey, who resigned in 2004 after saying he was gay, didn’t respond to phone messages left at his home and the office of his partner, Mark O’Donnell, at real-estate developer Kushner Cos. in New York City. The former governor also didn’t return a message left at the Episcopal All Saints Parish in Hoboken, New Jersey, where he serves as an assistant while seeking a Master of Divinity degree at Manhattan’s General Theological Seminary.
$3.4 Billion
John McCormac, Christie’s transition team economic development and growth adviser who served as state treasurer when most of New Jersey’s swaps were arranged, hung up when asked about them on Nov. 11.
“OK, thanks for calling,” McCormac, mayor of Woodbridge Township, said before disconnecting.
New Jersey refinanced $3.4 billion of debt tied to derivatives last year, according to a report from the state Treasury Department’s Office of Public Finance.
The renegotiated swap lets New Jersey avoid a termination fee, estimated at $50 million in an Oct. 31 state report. It will allow the original swap to be reinstated if officials want to sell school-construction bonds in 2012, Vincz said in the Nov. 16 e-mail.
Diligent Work
“We are working diligently to manage and reduce the cost of the swap portfolio this administration inherited,” he said. “This temporary solution limits swap costs for a three-year period, after which time the state will retain the option of applying the original terms with a future borrowing as a hedge against rising interest rates.”
“We are not in a position to comment, out of an obligation of confidentiality to the client,” Kim Hanson, a spokeswoman for Bank of Montreal, said in a phone interview.
Peter Nissen, a financial adviser in Marlboro, New Jersey, who worked on the swap while at Public Financial Management, the state’s Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based adviser, declined to comment.
Marty Margolis, managing director at PFM, said in a phone interview that Nissen worked independently on the contract and hasn’t been associated with the company for more than two years.
“That swap was done by someone who hasn’t worked for the company for several years,” Margolis said. “I know nothing about it.”
Except for two deals to stem losses from existing derivative contracts, New Jersey has entered into no new swaps since Governor Jon Corzine, the former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs, took office in 2006, according to Vincz. Christie, a former U.S. prosecutor, defeated Corzine last month and is to be sworn in Jan. 19.
UBS Contract
New Jersey paid $21.3 million last year to end three derivative contracts connected to bonds for business-incentive grants, the River Line Light Rail project from Trenton to Camden and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. On Nov. 18, the Delaware River Port Authority, a bistate agency that runs toll bridges and a rail line to Pennsylvania, agreed to give Zurich-based UBS AG $111 million if the authority can’t issue variable-rate debt to make use of an existing swap by February.
The state Transportation Trust Fund Authority is paying almost $1 million monthly to Goldman Sachs Mitsui Marine Derivative Products L.P., a partnership of the New York-based bank and Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings Inc., under a swap agreement made during McGreevey’s administration in 2003. The derivatives were linked to $345 million in auction- rate bonds sold to finance road and rail projects.
Fixed-Rate Debt
While New Jersey replaced the debt with fixed-rate securities in 2008, the derivative payments aren’t scheduled to expire until 2019. The state plans to sell $150 million in variable-rate bonds on Dec. 7 to make use of part of the swap.
The state treasury “should continue to aggressively manage the termination, conversion and management of swaps that this administration inherited, while dealing with the realities of the most difficult credit conditions in history,” Corzine’s former spokesman, Steve Sigmund, said in an e-mail on Oct. 22.
New Jersey passed up borrowing costs of 4.6 percent to 4.9 percent when it opted to issue variable-rate bonds tied to swaps during McGreevey’s tenure, a 2008 state analysis shows. The net interest cost on the debt was about 4 percent while the original derivative agreements were in effect, according to the report.
Revenue Bonds
The yield on 25-year fixed-rate revenue bonds is now 4.98 percent, up from a yearly low of 4.69 percent in early October, according to a Bond Buyer Index.
Derivatives can save taxpayers money over longer periods if they’re managed properly, said Peter Shapiro, managing director of Swap Financial Group LLC, in South Orange, New Jersey, an adviser to companies and governments.
“Will municipal officers ever take for granted that floating-rate bonds will be dull, boring and predictable means of finance?” he said in a phone interview. “No, and they probably never should have.”
The 11th-largest U.S. state by population, which is cutting expenses to close a $1 billion budget deficit, will pay Canada’s oldest lender $23.5 million. The sum, about the same as the salaries for 113 teachers over three years, will allow it to avoid a $50 million penalty for canceling the contract, which was tied to planned sales of school-construction bonds.
The interest rate swap, an agreement between borrowers to exchange fixed and variable-rate payments on a set amount of debt, was arranged in 2004 to protect taxpayers against rising borrowing costs. The strategy backfired after officials decided against issuing the securities.
“This is a classic case of a strategic error,” said Robert Brooks, a finance professor at the University of Alabama- Tuscaloosa and author of a book on derivatives. “It’s arrogant to believe that you have such a command of the future that you know with certainty what is going to happen.”
The payments, which work out to $21,892 a day for three years, show how elected and appointed officials failed taxpayers by agreeing to financial strategies they didn’t fully understand. New Jersey spent $21.3 million in 2008 to exit three contracts signed when James Florio and James McGreevey were governors. The state’s transportation trust fund is giving almost $1 million a month to a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partnership in an agreement linked to bonds that were redeemed.
Penalties and Losses
New Jersey isn’t alone. Borrowers from Massachusetts to California are struggling with billions of dollars in swap penalties and losses at the same time that budget deficits expand to an estimated $350 billion in 2010 and 2011, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The derivatives, mostly interest-rate swaps used to exchange fixed payments for variable rates, have grown to as much as $300 billion annually, the Alexandria, Virginia-based Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board said in an April report, citing information from market participants.
Derivatives have created “unprecedented financial stress” for some of the 500 municipal issuers that sold variable-rate debt and purchased swaps from banks to lock in borrowing costs, according to an October report by Moody’s Investors Service. The biggest users of the arrangements are Pennsylvania, California, Texas and Tennessee.
The U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating whether Wall Street banks conspired with brokers to rig bids on the contracts.
Forward-Starting Agreement
Jefferson County, Alabama, is on the edge of bankruptcy mostly because of a $3 billion sewer project in which fixed-rate bonds were refinanced into floating-rate securities hedged with interest-rate swaps. Larry Langford, the former Democratic mayor of Birmingham, was convicted of federal corruption charges Oct. 29 for accepting bribes in exchange for giving underwriting contracts to a banker friend while he was county commission president.
New Jersey’s 2004 school-bond swap with Bank of Montreal was linked to a $250 million bond originally scheduled to be sold in 2007. The so-called forward-starting agreement was one of 15 such contracts the state set up to help finance construction.
The issue was deferred to 2009 because the school program wasn’t borrowing fast enough to use swaps coming due in 2007, according to treasury spokesman Tom Bell.
Fixed Rate
Under its contract, New Jersey agreed to pay the bank a fixed rate of about 4.6 percent, or $967,000 a month, on the $250 million principal. In return, it would receive unspecified variable-rate payments based on a percentage of the one-month London interbank offered rate, according to Treasury Department spokesman Tom Vincz.
The one-month rate was 0.23 percent on Dec. 3, down from 1.9 percent when the Bank of Montreal swap was set up, according to the British Bankers Association One-Month Libor U.S. Dollar Index. Libor is a benchmark for the cost of loans between banks.
In pushing the swap off to 2009, New Jersey agreed to a 9 basis-point reduction in its fixed interest rate and the bank changed the floating-rate formula to a lower percentage of Libor. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
When the revamped agreement took effect on Nov. 1, the state faced payments of $833,000 a month, Vincz said in an e- mail. Treasury officials allowed the bank to suspend floating- rate payments while lowering New Jersey’s fixed-rate cost to 3.1 percent, or $656,770 monthly, through November 2012.
Typical School
The cost would cover the $23.6 million price of a typical elementary school, according to New Jersey Schools Development Authority reports. It would also pay 113 teachers’ salaries for three years, based on data reported by the state Teachers Pension and Annuity Fund.
“It is obscene,” New Jersey Governor-elect Christopher Christie said at a Nov. 16 news conference in Trenton, referring to financial strategies such as swaps pursued largely during McGreevey’s term from 2001 to 2004. “It is extraordinary to me that someone could do that much damage in less than three years.”
McGreevey, who resigned in 2004 after saying he was gay, didn’t respond to phone messages left at his home and the office of his partner, Mark O’Donnell, at real-estate developer Kushner Cos. in New York City. The former governor also didn’t return a message left at the Episcopal All Saints Parish in Hoboken, New Jersey, where he serves as an assistant while seeking a Master of Divinity degree at Manhattan’s General Theological Seminary.
$3.4 Billion
John McCormac, Christie’s transition team economic development and growth adviser who served as state treasurer when most of New Jersey’s swaps were arranged, hung up when asked about them on Nov. 11.
“OK, thanks for calling,” McCormac, mayor of Woodbridge Township, said before disconnecting.
New Jersey refinanced $3.4 billion of debt tied to derivatives last year, according to a report from the state Treasury Department’s Office of Public Finance.
The renegotiated swap lets New Jersey avoid a termination fee, estimated at $50 million in an Oct. 31 state report. It will allow the original swap to be reinstated if officials want to sell school-construction bonds in 2012, Vincz said in the Nov. 16 e-mail.
Diligent Work
“We are working diligently to manage and reduce the cost of the swap portfolio this administration inherited,” he said. “This temporary solution limits swap costs for a three-year period, after which time the state will retain the option of applying the original terms with a future borrowing as a hedge against rising interest rates.”
“We are not in a position to comment, out of an obligation of confidentiality to the client,” Kim Hanson, a spokeswoman for Bank of Montreal, said in a phone interview.
Peter Nissen, a financial adviser in Marlboro, New Jersey, who worked on the swap while at Public Financial Management, the state’s Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based adviser, declined to comment.
Marty Margolis, managing director at PFM, said in a phone interview that Nissen worked independently on the contract and hasn’t been associated with the company for more than two years.
“That swap was done by someone who hasn’t worked for the company for several years,” Margolis said. “I know nothing about it.”
Except for two deals to stem losses from existing derivative contracts, New Jersey has entered into no new swaps since Governor Jon Corzine, the former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs, took office in 2006, according to Vincz. Christie, a former U.S. prosecutor, defeated Corzine last month and is to be sworn in Jan. 19.
UBS Contract
New Jersey paid $21.3 million last year to end three derivative contracts connected to bonds for business-incentive grants, the River Line Light Rail project from Trenton to Camden and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. On Nov. 18, the Delaware River Port Authority, a bistate agency that runs toll bridges and a rail line to Pennsylvania, agreed to give Zurich-based UBS AG $111 million if the authority can’t issue variable-rate debt to make use of an existing swap by February.
The state Transportation Trust Fund Authority is paying almost $1 million monthly to Goldman Sachs Mitsui Marine Derivative Products L.P., a partnership of the New York-based bank and Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings Inc., under a swap agreement made during McGreevey’s administration in 2003. The derivatives were linked to $345 million in auction- rate bonds sold to finance road and rail projects.
Fixed-Rate Debt
While New Jersey replaced the debt with fixed-rate securities in 2008, the derivative payments aren’t scheduled to expire until 2019. The state plans to sell $150 million in variable-rate bonds on Dec. 7 to make use of part of the swap.
The state treasury “should continue to aggressively manage the termination, conversion and management of swaps that this administration inherited, while dealing with the realities of the most difficult credit conditions in history,” Corzine’s former spokesman, Steve Sigmund, said in an e-mail on Oct. 22.
New Jersey passed up borrowing costs of 4.6 percent to 4.9 percent when it opted to issue variable-rate bonds tied to swaps during McGreevey’s tenure, a 2008 state analysis shows. The net interest cost on the debt was about 4 percent while the original derivative agreements were in effect, according to the report.
Revenue Bonds
The yield on 25-year fixed-rate revenue bonds is now 4.98 percent, up from a yearly low of 4.69 percent in early October, according to a Bond Buyer Index.
Derivatives can save taxpayers money over longer periods if they’re managed properly, said Peter Shapiro, managing director of Swap Financial Group LLC, in South Orange, New Jersey, an adviser to companies and governments.
“Will municipal officers ever take for granted that floating-rate bonds will be dull, boring and predictable means of finance?” he said in a phone interview. “No, and they probably never should have.”
Probe finds lucrative perks for some in New Jersey
TRENTON, N.J. — The economic downturn hasn't stopped some local governments in New Jersey from paying out generous bonuses and severance packages to employees, including six-figure cash payouts to workers in fiscally distressed cities and towns.
A State Commission of Investigation report released Tuesday concludes the lucrative perks paid to some local government workers are costing New Jersey taxpayers millions of dollars.
The report comes the day Gov. Jon Corzine is expected detail how he intends to close an unanticipated state budget gap, which could include withholding December aid payments to municipalities.
"Enough is enough," Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Lou Greenwald said after reading the report. He said it's time for towns to stop blaming the state for rising property taxes and make some tough budgetary decisions.
The SCI spent nearly a year examining the compensation and benefits paid to public employees in 75 towns, counties and local authorities.
The panel found examples of waste, excess and abuse in 80 percent of the entities it investigated, and sometimes found the hidden perks tucked into complex contract language and difficult to detect. It estimated the cash benefit payouts at $39 million in the municipalities it examined.
For example, 20 workers in Camden cashed in unused time and left their jobs with $115,000 each. New Jersey's most impoverished city has received $258 million in distressed cities aid in the past six years.
Five employees got $780,000 in unused leave in Rockaway Township in Morris County, even after budget cuts forced the elimination of a police department position.
And, in Edison, where six firefighters were laid off to help close a $8 million budget deficit in the current fiscal year, the municipality paid out $3.9 million in lump-sum payments for unused leave over the five previous years.
Corzine's office did not immediately return a call for comment.
"I've been around this state for my entire life, I had no idea, no idea that they were permitted to do that," Gov.-elect Chris Christie said of buyouts of unused sick time. "They should give it back. It's not right. This is the stuff that drives the voters crazy."
The more egregious examples cited in the report include employees who are paid to take time off for weddings and baptisms (West New York) — or to go Christmas shopping (Union City). Police in Hoboken can qualify for up to five days off for donating blood while those in Fort Lee can earn two days off for demonstrating marksmanship on the firing range.
The independent SCI, chaired by former Attorney General W. Cary Edwards, has looked into public employee abuses periodically over the past 15 years, and has recommended reforms. A similar investigation in 2006 focusing on excessive compensation for public school administrators, yielded a legislative change that brought administrators under the same restrictions as state workers, who can cash in a maximum of $15,000 in sick leave at retirement.
Aside from such incremental steps, however, "there has been no concerted effort to rein in lavish, unreasonable and excessive public employee benefit costs in a comprehensive fashion," the report concludes.
A State Commission of Investigation report released Tuesday concludes the lucrative perks paid to some local government workers are costing New Jersey taxpayers millions of dollars.
The report comes the day Gov. Jon Corzine is expected detail how he intends to close an unanticipated state budget gap, which could include withholding December aid payments to municipalities.
"Enough is enough," Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Lou Greenwald said after reading the report. He said it's time for towns to stop blaming the state for rising property taxes and make some tough budgetary decisions.
The SCI spent nearly a year examining the compensation and benefits paid to public employees in 75 towns, counties and local authorities.
The panel found examples of waste, excess and abuse in 80 percent of the entities it investigated, and sometimes found the hidden perks tucked into complex contract language and difficult to detect. It estimated the cash benefit payouts at $39 million in the municipalities it examined.
For example, 20 workers in Camden cashed in unused time and left their jobs with $115,000 each. New Jersey's most impoverished city has received $258 million in distressed cities aid in the past six years.
Five employees got $780,000 in unused leave in Rockaway Township in Morris County, even after budget cuts forced the elimination of a police department position.
And, in Edison, where six firefighters were laid off to help close a $8 million budget deficit in the current fiscal year, the municipality paid out $3.9 million in lump-sum payments for unused leave over the five previous years.
Corzine's office did not immediately return a call for comment.
"I've been around this state for my entire life, I had no idea, no idea that they were permitted to do that," Gov.-elect Chris Christie said of buyouts of unused sick time. "They should give it back. It's not right. This is the stuff that drives the voters crazy."
The more egregious examples cited in the report include employees who are paid to take time off for weddings and baptisms (West New York) — or to go Christmas shopping (Union City). Police in Hoboken can qualify for up to five days off for donating blood while those in Fort Lee can earn two days off for demonstrating marksmanship on the firing range.
The independent SCI, chaired by former Attorney General W. Cary Edwards, has looked into public employee abuses periodically over the past 15 years, and has recommended reforms. A similar investigation in 2006 focusing on excessive compensation for public school administrators, yielded a legislative change that brought administrators under the same restrictions as state workers, who can cash in a maximum of $15,000 in sick leave at retirement.
Aside from such incremental steps, however, "there has been no concerted effort to rein in lavish, unreasonable and excessive public employee benefit costs in a comprehensive fashion," the report concludes.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Toll Bros. loses $111 million in Q4
Toll Brothers Inc.'s stock tumbled Thursday after the luxury homebuilder reported a disappointing year-end loss and said it expects its sales in fiscal 2010 to decline at least 7 percent.
Toll's stock fell more than 7 percent, or $1.47 a share, to $18.02.
CEO Robert Toll said homebuyer demand was strong from March through August, but has been "choppy" since then. He also said he expects to see the usual holiday slowdown in prospective shoppers, and little help from the expanded federal tax credit for homebuyers.
"You just have to bite the finger, be patient, and wait until you see what comes out in the latter part of January, all of February and in the early part of March," he said.
The cautious outlook from Toll, which builds in 21 states, runs counter to wider industry trends. Sales of new homes have increased six out of the past seven months, according to government data. They dipped in September, but surged in October to the highest level in more than a year.
The industry has been buoyed by an $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, which was extended last month and expanded to include $6,500 for existing homeowners.
But Toll said he didn't expect to see much of a boost in business from that.
The builder did have some good news, however. The company posted a 42 percent jump in new sales contracts and a healthy cancellation rate of just 7 percent.
Toll said the company has been able to trim incentives and even raise prices slightly in several Northeast markets, including Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, and parts of New York City.
"We've had some pretty good action recently in Florida, but we're still a little slow to pull that gun from the holster," Toll said.
Incentives have helped the builder drum up sales in the San Francisco Bay area, but business remains sluggish elsewhere in California and other markets such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Chicago, Toll said.
And that ate into profits. The Horsham, Pa.-based builder's lost $111.4 million, or 68 cents a share, between August and October, largely due to continued write downs on the value of its land holdings and staff reductions. Excluding those charges, the builder almost broke even. In the year-ago quarter, which included a larger amount of write downs, Toll lost $78.8 million, or 49 cents a share.
Revenue for the quarter fell 30 percent to $486.6 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 46 cents a share on revenue of about $450.1 million.
For Toll Brothers' full fiscal year, the net loss was $755.8 million, or $4.68 per share, which included write downs of $848.9 million. For fiscal 2008, the builder lost $297.8 million, or $1.88 per share.
Total revenue dropped to $1.76 billion from $3.15 billion.
Toll's stock fell more than 7 percent, or $1.47 a share, to $18.02.
CEO Robert Toll said homebuyer demand was strong from March through August, but has been "choppy" since then. He also said he expects to see the usual holiday slowdown in prospective shoppers, and little help from the expanded federal tax credit for homebuyers.
"You just have to bite the finger, be patient, and wait until you see what comes out in the latter part of January, all of February and in the early part of March," he said.
The cautious outlook from Toll, which builds in 21 states, runs counter to wider industry trends. Sales of new homes have increased six out of the past seven months, according to government data. They dipped in September, but surged in October to the highest level in more than a year.
The industry has been buoyed by an $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, which was extended last month and expanded to include $6,500 for existing homeowners.
But Toll said he didn't expect to see much of a boost in business from that.
The builder did have some good news, however. The company posted a 42 percent jump in new sales contracts and a healthy cancellation rate of just 7 percent.
Toll said the company has been able to trim incentives and even raise prices slightly in several Northeast markets, including Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, and parts of New York City.
"We've had some pretty good action recently in Florida, but we're still a little slow to pull that gun from the holster," Toll said.
Incentives have helped the builder drum up sales in the San Francisco Bay area, but business remains sluggish elsewhere in California and other markets such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Chicago, Toll said.
And that ate into profits. The Horsham, Pa.-based builder's lost $111.4 million, or 68 cents a share, between August and October, largely due to continued write downs on the value of its land holdings and staff reductions. Excluding those charges, the builder almost broke even. In the year-ago quarter, which included a larger amount of write downs, Toll lost $78.8 million, or 49 cents a share.
Revenue for the quarter fell 30 percent to $486.6 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 46 cents a share on revenue of about $450.1 million.
For Toll Brothers' full fiscal year, the net loss was $755.8 million, or $4.68 per share, which included write downs of $848.9 million. For fiscal 2008, the builder lost $297.8 million, or $1.88 per share.
Total revenue dropped to $1.76 billion from $3.15 billion.
Nothing but Nets! NJ’s worst ever
The New Jersey Nets were pounded into NBA infamy last night in East Rutherford, N.J., falling 117-101 to the Dallas Mavericks for their 18th straight loss to start the season.
The Nets passed the 1988-89 Miami Heat and 1999 Los Angeles Clippers, who both dropped their first 17 games. New Jersey’s next chance to end the streak comes tomorrow night at home against the Charlotte Bobcats.
“At this point, I feel the streak has definitely gotten the best of us. It’s really not starting to get to us now,” guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said. “So when a team goes on a run, we kind of, it’s almost like we give up, which is really unfortunate but that’s what it looks like to me. We kind of give up and just lay down instead of trying to fight.”
Dallas shot 81 percent in the first half, the first NBA team to make 80 percent of its shots in a half since the Denver Nuggets hit 82 percent against the Clippers on April 4, 2006, according to STATS, LLC.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points, and Jason Kidd had 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Mavericks. Douglas-Roberts scored 24 points for the Nets.
Interim coach Tom Barrise was at the bench for New Jersey, but eneral manager Kiki Vandeweghe will be taking over the coaching duties for the remainder of the season.
The Nets passed the 1988-89 Miami Heat and 1999 Los Angeles Clippers, who both dropped their first 17 games. New Jersey’s next chance to end the streak comes tomorrow night at home against the Charlotte Bobcats.
“At this point, I feel the streak has definitely gotten the best of us. It’s really not starting to get to us now,” guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said. “So when a team goes on a run, we kind of, it’s almost like we give up, which is really unfortunate but that’s what it looks like to me. We kind of give up and just lay down instead of trying to fight.”
Dallas shot 81 percent in the first half, the first NBA team to make 80 percent of its shots in a half since the Denver Nuggets hit 82 percent against the Clippers on April 4, 2006, according to STATS, LLC.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points, and Jason Kidd had 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Mavericks. Douglas-Roberts scored 24 points for the Nets.
Interim coach Tom Barrise was at the bench for New Jersey, but eneral manager Kiki Vandeweghe will be taking over the coaching duties for the remainder of the season.
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