The U.S. Senate yesterday failed yet again to approve a measure that would extend solar tax credits, which are due to expire at the end of 2008.
As Reuters notes, a measure which would have extended the tax credits for eight years failed a key procedural vote.
In a statement, Solar Energy Industry Association president Rhonse Resch warned that a failure to extend the tax credit could damage the domestic solar industry:
Over the years, in response to growth, both organic and through acquisition, banks and financial services organisations have built separate IT systems to support the different parts of the business. In addition to this, the industry has undergone considerable consolidation, yet many IT environments remain “silo-ed” for a considerable amount of time as integrating disparate systems can be a challenging and complex task.
The US Federal Reserve, America’s central bank, has extended the run of its temporary discount window of cheap financing for investment banks until the end of January 2009.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 166.5 points to 11,564.1 following the Federal Reserve’s announcement.
The Fed’s Primary Dealer Credit Facility — known as the discount window — opened to securities firms in March in a bid to boost confidence in Wall Street banks as losses from the housing crisis snowballed, depleting their capital reserves.
Chase Auto Finance said Tuesday it will stop financing leases for Chrysler cars and trucks at the end of the month to keep its lease portfolio small amid a decline in the value of leased vehicles.
Spokeswoman Mary Kay Bean said the unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. will continue to make loans for retail sales with Chrysler’s dealers, but it will no longer offer leases on Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep products.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ford Motor Co. is raising the price of leases on some trucks and sport utility vehicles because of the losses the automaker’s lending arm is taking.
(Omaha World-Herald (NE) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 25–Everyone is encouraged to save, but one question people might pose: What is saving?
Is it putting money aside to buy a dishwasher, television set or iPod without having to use a credit card?
Is it money placed in a 401(k) retirement fund or the stock market?
Is it enough cash in an emergency fund to cover three to six months of living expenses in the event of job loss or disability?
OLYMPIA, Wash. — It’s July and new laws and taxes are kicking into effect in Washington.
Driving while holding a cell phone could now add $124 to a ticket when a driver is stopped for another offense. Drivers should use a speakerphone or handsfree device to keep their hands on the wheel.
The gasoline tax goes up a penny-and-a-half to 37.5 cents. This is the last step of a 9.5 cent increase that has been phased in since 2005 to pay for nearly 300 specific projects.
The DOW opened at a two year low Monday morning, adding worries to a market that’s already nervous about record oil prices.
United Bank Chief Investment Officer Fred Tipper says record oil prices and a drop in financial stocks are two big drivers to the sluggish market.
He says that while many investors are panicking and selling off, that’s not the best plan.
Tipper’s two biggest tips are to make sure you have a diversified portfolio and to stay calm and remember your long term investment goals.
Chances are, you fall into one of two investing camps: passive or active.
Passive investors like to invest in index funds. They typically buy the entire stock market, or most of it, via funds based on the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 — and accept average market returns.
In contrast, active investors aim to beat the market, making most or all of their investments outside indexes. For example, they may invest in a bundle of carefully selected individual stocks, or select mutual funds that concentrate on a specific subsector of the market, such as small-cap stocks, energy stocks, or foreign regions.
The big-bang farm loan relief announced in the UPA government’s election year budget just got bigger. The government on Friday said it would waive farm loans to the tune of Rs 71,680 crore, nearly 20 per cent more than the Rs 60,000 crore of relief announced in the budget.
Instead of the earlier estimate of 3 crore small farmers, full waiver would now accrue to nearly 3.7 crore of them. And the number of farmers, who would have to reschedule most of their loans is now estimated at 60 lakhs, down the earlier estimate of 1 crore.
The US central bank has auctioned a further $75bn (?38bn) of short-term loans to help the financial sector.
Offers for $90.88bn-worth of loans from 77 bidders were tabled during the auction, the Federal Reserve said.
The auction, the 15th since December, is part of the Fed’s attempts to help banks through the credit crunch.
Banks have been reluctant to lend to each other since the crisis, sparked by a collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market, took hold of the market.
Monday’s auction came days after the Fed decided to leave US interest rates on hold at 2% despite signs of falling consumer confidence and continuing problems in the housing market.