Massachusetts to Receive $22M in Federal Funding For Business Loans

SPRINGFIELD – Massachusetts will get more than $22 million in federal funding aimed at stimulating at least 10 times that amount in small business lending, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced last week.

“We definitely will see some of that money here,” said Christopher L. Sikes, executive director of the Western Mass Enterprise Fund Inc.

Based in Holyoke, the Western Massachusetts Enterprise Fund provides loans of up to $350,000 to small businesses and also helps businesses get business loans.

“It’s harder and harder to make these loans because the economy is so fragile,” Sikes said.

Business balance sheets have been hurt by a loss of revenue. Also, credit card companies have reduced available credit, damaging credit ratings for both individuals and businesses.

Meanwhile, businesses are carrying more accounts receivable, that is debts owed to them, mostly by other businesses, for goods and services. They also need money to expand and update equipment, Sikes said.

The Western Massachusetts Enterprise Fund has already received a competitive $750,000 capital grant through an existing Treasury program. The new pot of money totaling $1.5 billion nationally was part of a federal small business initiative enacted into law two weeks ago.

Matthew C. Anderson, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Treasury, said another component of the small business bill that would provide $30 billion in capital to lenders for small business loans has not yet been put into force.

The $1.5 billion will be distributed to states by the end of this year, he said. States will distribute the money on a competitive basis to agencies, such as the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Fund, with a requirement that they use each $1 in capital to raise $10 from elsewhere.

That means the $22 million promised to Massachusetts could mean $220 million in loans. Where the money will go within the state has yet to be determined, Sikes said.

“Our money helps attract other money,” Sikes said. “Banks send us a lot of business.”

Sikes said the Enterprise Fund’s involvement often gives other lenders confidence in a business’s future. Also the Enterprise Fund has more flexibility in what its loaned funds can be used to do.

Local banks report having the money to lend already, said Jeffrey S. Ciuffreda, vice president of government affairs for the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield. Companies basically fall into two categories: those that want loans but can’t get them because of poor credit (see poor credit business loans), and businesses with solid balance sheets that are reluctant to borrow money because they don’t see the economy improving fast enough.

“I don’t know what this program would do for that latter group that is holding off on any expansion,” Ciuffreda said.

'Hacktivity 2010' tackles computer security in Hungary

I attended a major hackers' conference in Hungary as it wrapped up Sunday after higlighting protection against increasingly sophisticated computer piracy as the Internet becomes ever more present in daily life.

"The Internet is the greatest generation gap since rock'n roll," world-renowned US cyber security expert Bruce Schneier told the two-day Hacktivity 2010 event in the capital Budapest.

"The older of us need to be prepared for a younger generation that lives life on the Internet, doesn't understand where their computer or smartphone ends and the Internet begins, shares passwords with their friends as a sign of trust and deliberately lies when registering for services," he said.

"At the same time, technological and business trends point to less user control: what will security and privacy look like in this new world?" he warned.

Some 30 presentations were scheduled over the two-day conference covering topics including database protection by softwares like Oracle, MySQL, MSSQL, DB2 LUW, Sybase, ASE and PostgreSQL.

Also of interest was the new concept of Web 2.0, which includes changes in the way the Web is used.

"Web 2.0 is a technology that is used more and more nowadays," said Csaba Krasznai, a former organiser of Hacktivity who now does research at Miklos Zrinyi National Defence University.

He said Web 2.0 posed a threat not just to individuals but also to companies and the state, and it was necessary to establish security measures "based on changes within society."

Smartphones like the iPhone and Blackberry were also discussed, with Hungarian security expert Domonkos Tomcsanyi noting that they could easily be pirated with a simple PDA, or palmtop computer.

US hacker Mitch Altman meanwhile demonstrated how, with a kit worth just a dozen euros, it was possible to remotely switch off a public television or charge any device with a USB port.

Organisers had expected about 1,000 participants at the conference. Fewer turned up, but it was a great opportunity for me to network with the bleeding cutting-edge internet security specialists (most of the ex-hackers) and check out the hot girls in Budapest.

Android Taking Over iPhone Big Time

For the first time ever, sales of Android handsets have outpaced those of the Apple iPhone.

According to Nielsen (via GigaOm), Google Android phones now account for 27 percent of U.S. smartphone sales among new phone buyers, eclipsing the 23 percent share held by the iPhone.

The numbers cover a rolling six-month period and are reported quarterly. Based on the chart embedded in the linked story, Android popularity has skyrocketed, from a mere 6 percent share in the fourth quarter of 2009 (when it was half of even Windows Mobile’s pathetic market share) to 27 percent today. The iPhone slipped from 34 percent in that quarter to 23 percent.

That said, the top spot remains — as it has been for over a year — occupied by RIM, which holds a 33 percent share of cell phone buys.

As GigaOm notes, the phenomenal rise of Android — up 886 percent worldwide since a year ago — is a rare occurrence in the tech business, since the Android platform is now two years old and reaching a maturity level that should actually indicate a period of slowing growth. The site suggests, however, that compared with competitors like the iPhone and BlackBerry operating systems, Android is still just a baby.

What’s the outlook for this space? RIM has been slipping for months (it held a 45 percent share in the second quarter of 2009), and Apple could always get a second wind. Will RIM’s new version 6 operating system reverse its slide? Will Android — which suffers from more than its fair share of dissatisfied users — keep surging? Will those free iPhone Bumper cases increase its numbers?

I for one, am very satisfied with my Blackberry Bold, iPhone 4 and Droid X. Who needs more when

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Goldman Sachs's Main Street Solution May Potentially Hold the Key to the Economic Recovery

Goldman Sachs announced Tuesday that it will be launching a $500 Million project aimed at boosting the economy by aiding those that have suffered the most through the recession. The initiative, known as "10,000 Small Businesses", will attempt to spur the growth of small businesses across the country and thereby create jobs to halt the rise of the already record-high unemployment rate.

The board heading this project will consist of an impressive list of experts, many of whom have had real world success. The panel will include Harvard professor Michael Porter, Goldman's largest current shareholder Warren Buffet, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein among others.

A project headed by such a list of true experts is good news for small business owners who have consistently been disappointed by the Government's efforts to aid "Main Street". For Goldman Sachs, the project seems to be motivated both by a feeling of guilt over its perceived part in causing the recession and a simple incentive to make more money in a healthier economy. The bank did, however, make nearly $3.2 billion last quarter.

Out of the total $500 million included in the plan, around $200 million will be put towards scholarships to community colleges and traditional universities across the country, while $300 million dollars is set aside for CDFIs that work primarily with lower income populations. CDFIs, or Community Development Financial Institutions, include banks, investment funds and credit unions that have been certified by the United States Treasury Department. Such institutions have also suffered due to the recession and often provide the only sources of personal and business loans in small communities.

The plan itself will consist not only of cheap loans, but also of purely philanthropic donations. Such a plan, if well targeted, could have a much more substantial effect per dollar than any government plan initiated so far. Money from a private industry, in this case a single, massive financial institution, targeted by real experts at the small businesses that form the backbone of the economy, does in theory look like an economically sound plan. As simple as this assumption may sound however, it begs the question - is relying on the philanthropic activities of Wall Street a real solution to small businesses, and more importantly, to America's economic woes?

Originally Appeared At: GetFastCapital.com News

America's Recovery Capital - A Program That Can't Cut it

In May the Small Business Administration unveiled a lending program called America's Recovery Capital as part of the federal government's economic stimulus package. Many small business owners approved of the "bridge loans" as they provided a means of making it through the economic recession without laying off as many workers. Washington officials, as well as many lenders, predicted that the banking industry would subscribe quickly, making the necessary capital available for small businesses.

The banking industry, however, appears hesitant at becoming involved with the program. Many banks, including some of the largest in the country, see little incentive in the program due to the nature of the loans. Though the government has provided $255 million and the program is set to give out 10,000 loans of up to $35,000, lenders seem to see little profit motive in a $35,000 loan over six years. In fact, the SBA announced that as of Monday only 1,127 loans had been extended, totaling a mere $36.8 million.

Some experts have suggested the rigorous underwriting standards cause these relatively small loans to require as much work as much larger and more profitable loans. Banks may simply see no reason to deal with the government and the tight restrictions when more profitable ventures are available.

The program should still have small business loans available through September 2010 if it remains on its current pace. Karen G. Mills, the head of the Small Business Administration, has attempted to reassure small business owners that the program will reach its goal of 10,000 loans, but many owners are still unhappy. The small business loans, meant to aid in bridging a recession, may be coming too late to help the businesses, and jobs, they were meant to save.

Link to Original Post: GetFastCapital.com News

MiHoo! There they go again - Microsoft and Yahoo teaming up to take down Google!

March 3 -- This is the latest news I just received from investor Michael Wilfred, one of my close friends and attendant today of the Yahoo investor conference in San Francisco.

Carol Bartz, the new CEO of Yahoo! Inc., has said in no less categorical terms today that she will do business with Microsoft, and that she will personally deal with Microsoft’s CEO Steve Balmer and try to find a mutually beneficial partnership.

Now, as most people know, Google is the king of Internet Search. Yahoo is the second with about 26% of the search engine traffic, and Microsoft a paltry 9%. And it is now old news that Yahoo was being eyed by Mircrosoft last year in Microsoft’s bid to position MSN Search as a serious competitor for the search engine market. The deal did not go through because co-founder and former CEO of Yahoo, Jerry Yang, along with Yahoo’s board of directors rejected the $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft. Yahoo’s shareholders were frustrated that the deal did not go through. As industry insiders, we have been closely monitoring Yahoo and Microsoft, because we know for a fact that neither can compete with Google on their own.

When asked about the possibility that Yahoo and Microsoft would try honeymooning again now that Jerry Yang is gone, Carol Bartz said “We are going to negotiate as companies negotiate – and that’s privately. If something happens, you’ll know it then. Until then, there is no comment.”

However, Michael told me that Carol told him privately that she has already been talking to Steve Ballmer about a unified strategy, and that a deal was already on the table. She also did say that the deal would be made public in the coming days or weeks, depending on when all the aspects of the deal are discussed and approved by both sides. “The question is not whether there is a deal, the question is when will it go through. I don’t want to sell Yahoo and don’t want it to be pulled apart and left for the chickens. So this time, takeover it is not. Merger? Yes.”

After coming to know about this, I placed a few calls, and Andrew Greenberg, another investor friend of mine who happened to be at a different conference by Microsoft, confirmed with me that Steve Ballmer said “You all know that I would like to figure out how to pool somehow Microsoft and Yahoo. I’m hoping that’s a reasonable conversation with the new management at Yahoo.” Well, what Steve does not publicly say is that this conversation is already in advanced stages and that a new deal is ready!

Sergei and Larry may probably be thinking about the next big thing for Google, but Microsoft and Yahoo are this time coming for them. Google, watch out for MiHoo!