The U.S. Census Bureau reported today that October 2009 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $326.2 billion, up 1.2 percent (+/-0.7%) from the revised September level, but were down 9.6 percent (+/-1.6%) from the October 2008 level. The September preliminary estimate was revised upward $2.0 billion or 0.6 percent. October sales of durable goods were up 0.8 percent (+/-1.4%)* from last month, but were down 11.1 percent (+/-2.6%) from a year ago. Sales of computer and computer peripheral equipment and software were up 5.8 percent from last month and sales of electrical and electronic goods were up 5.3 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were up 1.6 percent (+/-0.7%) from last month, but were down 8.3 percent (+/-1.1%) from last year. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 5.9 percent from last month and sales of farm product raw materials were up 5.1 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

Dubai ring-fenced prized assets such as Emirates airline (EMIRA.UL) from the $26 billion debt restructuring of Dubai World, denting fragile investor sentiment and raising questions on slated assets.

The move came before the troubled state-owned conglomerate’s meeting with main bank creditors on Monday to discuss a request to delay repayments that has shaken global markets and damaged the reputation of the Gulf’s business hub.

Top officials in the region downplayed the emirate’s debt woes. Bahrain’s central bank governor said the kingdom’s exposure to Dubai World (DBWLD.UL) was limited to $281 million, while the biggest lender in Qatar and Deutsche Bank both said they had no exposure.

Qatar’s prime minister, whose country is one of the region’s biggest investors, blamed exaggeration by the media for amplifying the impact of Dubai’s debt.

Dubai’s finance chief said that Dubai World might sell some assets to finance its commitments, but that the emirate’s government would not chip in with any disposals of its own.

Gordon Silver, one of Nevada’s oldest law firms, today announced that Shauna M. Hughes has joined the firm as Of Counsel and will be involved with matters within Administrative, Gaming and Government Affairs Practice Group.  Ms Hughes joins Jeff Silver in representing Gordon Silver clients before state and local government regulatory agencies, with her particular emphasis on matters before the Nevada Legislature in Carson City.

Ms Hughes, who received her Juris Doctorate from Vermont Law School, formerly was City Attorney in Henderson, Nevada, where last year she received the State Bar of Nevada James M. Bartley Distinguished Public Lawyer Award and the Clark County Bar Association Liberty Bell Award. She is also a graduate of John Carroll University.

Gregory E. Garman, Managing Partner, said “We are pleased to have Shauna Hughes join Gordon Silver and we look forward to the contributions she will make to the firm, our clients, as well as the new practice group she will help develop.”

About Gordon Silver

As one of Nevada’s oldest and largest law firms, Gordon Silver has continued to develop and grow much like the state itself. The firm’s roots run deep and its reputation is well known. Today, Gordon Silver is an accomplished and impressive full-service law firm that takes great pride in its ability to attract and retain top attorneys.

Gordon Silver holds Martindale-Hubbell’s highest “A-V” rating for ethical standards and legal ability – a significant accomplishment demonstrating the highest level of professional excellence. Gordon Silver attorneys are consistently recognized for their expertise and ability with a string of accolades that includes ongoing listings among Mountain State Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA.

Unemployment rates were higher in October than a year earlier in all 372 metropolitan areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Fifteen areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, while 13 areas registered rates below 5.0 percent. The national unemployment rate in October was 9.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 6.1 percent a year earlier. Among the 369 metropolitan areas for which nonfarm payroll employment were available, 361 areas reported over-the-year decreases in employment and 8 reported increases.

Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., reported the highest unemployment rate in October, 16.7 percent. The large areas with the next highest rates were Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., 14.6 percent, and Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., 13.0 percent. Fifteen additional large areas posted rates of 10.0 percent or more. The large areas with the lowest jobless rates in October were Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.2 percent, and Oklahoma City, Okla., and Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.- N.C., 6.5 percent each. All 49 large areas registered over-the-year unemployment rate increases of at least 1.5 percentage points. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., had the largest jobless rate increase from a year earlier (+7.3 percentage points). The next largest rate increases occurred in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. (+5.2 percentage points each), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (+5.1 points), and Birmingham-Hoover, Ala. (+5.0 points).

This morning CBO released an analysis of how health insurance premiums might be affected by enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as proposed by Senator Reid on November 18, 2009. The marketplace for health insurance is complex and many-faceted, and the impact of a proposal on premiums cannot be readily summarized in one or two numbers. The analysis, which was prepared in conjunction with the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), looks separately at the average effects on premiums in 2016 for coverage purchased individually (in the “nongroup” market), coverage purchased by small employers, and coverage provided by large employers. However, many individuals and families would experience changes in premiums that differed from the changes in average premiums in their insurance market. Table 1 in our analysis summarizes the major components of CBO and JCT’s estimate of the changes in average premiums that would result from the legislation.

The analysis focuses on the effects of the legislation on the average premium per person—that is, per covered life, including dependents covered by family policies. The analysis examines the effects of the proposal in 2016 in order to indicate the impact that it would have once its provisions were fully implemented. As with other types of projections involving significant changes in the nation’s health insurance system, a substantial degree of uncertainty surrounds any estimates of the legislation’s impact on future premiums. Read the rest of this entry »