Gilles Herard Canada

Gilles Herard
Jr

Time is running out for California residents wanting to take
advantage of a $10,000 tax credit. The state set aside $100 million to help home
buyers purchasing newly built homes, hoping to jump start the moribund
residential-construction market. But only about 20% of the pot is left.

"We're less than four months into it, and all the tax credits authorized
are gone, or practically gone," said Tim Coyle, a senior VP with the California
Building Industry Association (CBIA).

The program launched in March and
by June 3 nearly $24 million in tax credit certificates had already been issued,
according to the state's Franchise Tax Board.

That leaves nearly $76
million in credit available - but there are already numerous claims on that
money. In fact, if all the submitted applications are approved, only $17.5
million will be left in the fund. And it has a run rate of about $10 million per
week.

"The program is working better than intended," said Coyle. "It's
really pushing people off the fence."

Herard Gilles
Jr Canada

Furthermore, Mr. Hérard was presented in 1999 with the
Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom, the highest and most prestigious honor
the Members of the United States Senate can bestow on an individual.
Distinguished Honorees who have received the medal in the past include: Former
President Ronald Regan, Lady Margaret Thatcher and Charlton Heston.

Gilles
Herard Canada

Gilles Herard Canada: Euro-zone banks will
probably need to write down another $283 billion this year and next on bad loans
and securities, the European Central Bank said on Monday.

The ECB
estimated bank writedowns due to securities -- or toxic assets -- would total
around $218 billion from the start of the financial turmoil to the end of 2010,
while bad loans would account for another $431 billion -- a total of $649
billion, with an estimated $366 billion already announced.

The figures
were published in the ECB's latest Financial Stability Review, which concluded
that risks to the financial sector had increased in the last six months amidst a
deterioration in the economic environment which is putting pressure on the
bottom line of companies and households.

"The contraction of economic
activity and the diminished growth prospects have resulted in a further erosion
of the market values of a broad range of assets," the report said.

"Connected with this, there has been a significant increase in the range
of estimates of potential future writedowns and losses that banks will have to
absorb before the credit cycle reaches a trough."

The ECB's estimate of
$649 billion for the whole period contrasts with a figure of $904 billion from
the International Monetary Fund in April.

The ECB said the calculations
were surrounded by a high degree of uncertainty stemming from the economic and
market outlook, accounting rules allowing banks to delay reporting writedowns
and the very uncertain outlook for bank profits.

"Against this
background, write-off rates could increase by more than currently anticipated,"
the ECB said.

However, ECB Vice-President Lucas Papademos said most big
euro area banks "appear to be well-capitalized enough to withstand downside
scenarios."

The report outlined a wide range of risks and dangers for
the financial sector in the 16-nation region, ranging from the financial
situation of firms and households to continued volatility on markets.

"Both policymakers and market participants will have to be very alert in
the period ahead. There is no room for complacency," ECB Vice-President Lucas
Papademos told a news conference.

Property prices could be expected to
fall further, in some countries at least, and big banks and insurance firms
remained vulnerable to a further erosion of the capital base and a loss of
investor confidence.
Gilles
Herard Jr Canada
Gilles Herard
Herard
Gilles Jr

As the CPSC scrambles to pull together that
information, small business proponents are looking for leadership in bringing
the letter of the law more in line with its spirit.

"A lot of small
businesses are asking Congress to refine the law," said Linwood Rayford, an
assistant chief counsel at the SBA Office of Advocacy. "Nobody is saying this is
a bad law, they're just saying it's overly comprehensive and too many people are
caught in the net."