New York SBDC Research Network

Obtained From:   CNN The crisis unofficially began a decade ago today, with JPMorgan's shocking deal to rescue Bear Stearns for $2 a share after the investment bank suffered deep losses tied to its mortgage investments. Bear was the first major investment bank to fail, but it would not be the last.  Now, with a buoyant economy finally starting to lift some of the United States' most depressed pockets, CNNMoney is taking a look back at the 10 years following the financial meltdown that stretched around the globe — and signs that something similar might again be on the horizon, as Congress and regulators begin to loosen some of the rules they put in place to fix and prevent the problems.  "We're sitting here, 10 years later, with a short-term memory that doesn't seem to recall how we got into that mess," Taylor says. "We got into that mess because of the lack of regulation, and now we're talking about making banks less accountable. It makes no se

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In the Spring of 2012 Adam Hoeksema, Co-Founder of ProjectionHub, was working on his personal taxes using TurboTax when it hit him, “If TurboTax could take a highly complex process like preparing a tax return, and make it simple enough for someone other than a tax professional to complete, there must be a way to make the process of creating financial projections much easier as well.” More HERE .

The mission at SBA is to to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of the nation. USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov, the official web portals of the U.S. government, have put together helpful information on how to get help for difficult financial times. If times are tough for you and your family, or your employees, sign up for the e-mail updates below: • Sign up in one-click for information to get help with difficult financial times and to receive featured updates from USA.gov . • En Español - Suscríbase con un clic para obtener información que lo puede ayudar a superar dificultades económicas y recibir actualizaciones de GobiernoUSA.gov. USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov will highlight government resources that will help you with unemployment, jobs, training, housing, debt and credit, family issues, health care and insurance.

How did it come to pass that in 2008 our nation was forced to choose between two stark and painful alternatives — either risk the collapse of our financial system and economy, or commit trillions of taxpayer dollars to rescue major corporations and our financial markets, as millions of Americans still lost their jobs, their savings, and their homes? The Commission concluded that this crisis was avoidable—the result of human actions, inactions, and misjudgments. Warnings were ignored. “The greatest tragedy would be to accept the refrain that no one could have seen this coming and thus nothing could have been done. If we accept this notion, it will happen again.” Get the Report

Federal Reserve statistical releases and historical data have been divided into two pages: Statistics and Historical Data and Surveys and Reports. Principal Economic Indicators •Consumer Credit - G.19 •Factors Affecting Reserve Balances - H.4.1 •Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization - G.17 •Money Stock Measures - H.6 Bank Assets and Liabilities •Aggregate Reserves of Depository Institutions and the Monetary Base - H.3 •Agricultural Finance Databook - E.15 •Assets and Liabilities of Commercial Banks in the U.S. - H.8 •Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and Agencies in Foreign Banks•Charge-Off and Delinquency Rates on Loans and Leases at Commercial Banks •Insured Commercial Bank Assets and Liabilities, Domestic and Foreign Offices •Survey of Terms of Business Lending - E.2 Business Finance •Commercial Paper •Finance Companies - G.20 •New Security Issues, State and Local Governments •New Security Issues, U.S. Corporations •Stock Market, Selected Statistics Exchange Rates an

Marketing, sales and customer service don’t share information, according to Economist Intelligence Unit surveys . A series of surveys across six industries— financial services, technology, telecommunications, utilities, consumer goods and retail —reveals that most companies still fall short when trying to deliver value consistently in all the functions that interact with customers. In other words, cautionary tales.

Last night, I watched the segment on "60 Minutes" that cast light on just how much vigilance is required to protect electronic sytems designed to operate critical financial, social and defense systems in this country (and elsewhere). It was sobering to watch, to say the least. News lives in an echo chamber, it seems. An article from last week's PCWorld dwelled on the proliferation of cyber theft into the world of small and medium-sized businesses and organizations. The bulk of the article focuses on the FBI's awareness of the growth in ACH (automated clearinghouse) fraud, where thieves manipulate online banking systems to create false payees, whereby significant sums can be then transferred out of the country by (sometimes unwitting) online payroll clearinghouse operations. Vigilance, again, is the key word here. Many of these scenarios unfold by an employee unknowingly triggering malware embedded into an email (the article cites the example of Microsoft sending out