PRINCETON, NJ, Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Tickerspy (http://www.tickerspy.com), an investing website featuring over 250 unique, proprietary Indexes, announced the creation of the Business Development Company (BDC) Stocks Index, which includes among its components The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), Apollo Investment (Nasdaq: AINV), Prospect Capital (Nasdaq: PSEC), Ares Capital (Nasdaq: ARCC) and Pennant Park Investment (Nasdaq: PNNT).

To gain immediate access to the Chinese Internet Stocks Index, a complete list of its components, and various charts and related metrics, please visit the following link:

http://www.tickerspy.com/index/Business-Development-Company-(BDC)-Stocks?refer=prn14

The Business Development Company (BDC) Stocks Index is up 4.3% versus 1.5% for the Samp;P 500 over the last month, as investors look to these uniquely structured firms for their high payouts and potential for appreciation.  Components in the Business Development Company (BDC) Stocks Index offer an average yield of 7.8%, and the Index as a whole has outperformed the Samp;P 500 by over 6% since the start of 2008.  

Tickerspy Indexes use a net asset value calculation and cover a wide range of market sectors and segments, including dry bulk shipping stocks, Canadian energy trusts, gold and silver stocks, alternative energy stocks, money center banks, and many more.  Tickerspy also offers various other high-yield Indexes, including for closed-end funds, royalty trusts, MLPs, REITs and several others.

About Tickerspy:

Tickerspy is a free, stock market-focused website that lets users track proprietary Indexes and institutional holdings.  Tickerspy members can also track each others portfolios and share investment ideas and news.  In addition, Tickerspy members receive a free, customized daily email that includes portfolio performance, alerts, and news on the stocks they are tracking.

NOTE: This release was published by Indie Research Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor with CRD #131926.  Interested parties may visit adviserinfo.sec.gov for additional information.  Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.

CONTACT: Marcia Martin, tickerspy, +1-888-278-5515

SOURCE Indie Research Advisors, LLC

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The US Small Business Administration’s commercial mortgage refinancing program officially gets underway today, but it does not appear that too many New York companies will be rushing to get their applications in.

The temporary initiative, authorized under the Small Business Jobs Act, expands the SBA’s 504 program, which usually is for firms undergoing expansion. As with all 504 loans, the borrower commits 10 percent equity, a lender puts in 50 percent and a Certified Development Company–in New York, that’s usually Empire State Certified Development Corp.–contributes 40 percent.

Because funds are limited to $15 billion, the SBA is initially limiting the program to businesses with immediate refinancing needs due to balloon payments due before Dec. 31, 2012.

Patrick MacKrell, president of the ESCDC, said he does not believe too many New York businesses are in that category.

“In order for the program to be really helpful, people would have to have mortgages with relatively short maturities,” he said. “Banks in New York tend to be more conservative and have longer maturities on their loans. We are expecting some activity, but not a lot. Maybe six applications a month.”

MacKrell said one large bank checked its data base for the SBA’s criteria and a found a total of just $50 million in eligible loans.

“And that is for the entire East Coast,” MacKrell said. “And I bet most of them were not in New York.”

The SBA may eventually extend the refinancing program to businesses with balloon payments due after 2012, or those that can demonstrate strong need in other ways. MacKrell said that would increase activity in New York.

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LANDOVER, Md., Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — AITHERAS, LLC, the Landover, Maryland-based regulatory readiness firm and an 8(a) minority-owned business, has announced that it, along with iGATE Corporation, has been awarded a Mentor-Protege agreement from the Department of the Treasury and the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU).

The Mentor-Protege Program is designed to perform Department of the Treasury contracts and subcontracts, foster the establishment of long-term business relationships between these entities and Treasury prime contractors, and increase the overall number of these entities that receive Treasury contract and subcontract awards. Treasury and OSDBU believe that the Mentor-Protege program offers small businesses an unparalleled opportunity to accelerate their development, thereby strengthening the US economy.

Andrew Milisits, Managing Partner and Founder of AITHERAS, LLC said, The awarding of this one-year contract will assist us substantially in our efforts to grow our business with the Department of the Treasury, through the partnership, support and mentorship of iGATE. In collaboration with iGATE, we can now offer an extensive list of services to Treasury. Under the mentorship of iGATE, we are confident that we will be able to enhance and strengthen our capabilities.

Phaneesh Murthy, iGATE President and Chief Executive Officer, said, Through this partnership, we believe we will be able to expand our business as we reinforce our commitment to support small minority businesses that share our space.

The Mentor-Protege Programs motivate and encourage firms to assist small businesses (SB), including HUBZone small businesses (HUBZone), small disadvantaged businesses (SDB), women-owned small businesses (WOSB), veteran-owned small business (VOSB), and service disabled veteran-owned small businesses in enhancing their capabilities.

About AITHERAS, LLC

AITHERAS, LLC, a Landover, Maryland-based regulatory readiness firm, provides enterprise solutions including electronic document management, IT operations management and testing, regulatory validation and compliance. The company is an 8(a), minority-owned business as defined by the Small Business Administration.

About iGATE

iGATE is the first Business Outcomes driven integrated Technology and Operations (iTOPS) solutions provider with a global delivery model. iGATEs unique business model aligns with the clients strategic objectives to achieve operational efficiencies, increase cost variability and rationalize their current operating environment. With industry expertise spanning decades, iGATE has developed the right solutions with its Business Outcomes driven approach for industry verticals – Banking, Insurance, Manufacturing, Retail, Health Care, Media amp; Entertainment and Telecom amp; Hi-Tech.

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When Johnny Hwin was looking to
raise money for his San Francisco social-media marketing company
last year, he found a better way to expand: sell it.

Hwin’s six-month-old startup, Damntheradio Inc., was
acquired by New York-based FanBridge on New Year’s Eve for a
price in the “low seven figures,” Hwin said. Damntheradio
helps companies like Warner Music Group Corp. and Sony Corp. and
bands like Linkin Park create “media rich” Facebook fan pages.

The sale “made sense from a product level and a business
level,” said Hwin, who is now vice president of business
development for FanBridge. “We’re pretty stoked.”

Hwin isn’t alone. The number of small businesses being
acquired is increasing this year as the economy recovers from
the recession, according to firms that monitor the transactions.

“It really picked up in January,” said Peter Siegel,
founder of BizBen.com, a website that lists about 7,000 small
and midsize businesses for sale. “I think there was just pent-
up demand. A lot more buyers have come into the market because
the prices are so low, and they wanted to pick up some
bargains.”

In January, 62 small and midsize businesses changed hands
in San Francisco, almost double the 34 deals that closed a year
earlier, according to Dublin, California-based BizBen.com. For
all of 2010, 535 companies sold, compared with 502 in 2009.
Siegel says 2011 should see more gains.

“I’m projecting a 30 percent increase over last year,” he
said.

Fewer Bankruptcies

The number of failing firms has declined as well. Small-
business bankruptcies fell 18 percent nationally in the fourth
quarter from a year earlier, according to a report by Equifax
Inc. It was the sixth straight quarter of declines since peaking
in the second quarter of 2009.

Part of the gain in small-business purchases in 2010 was
due to an increase in lending guarantees from the US Small
Business Administration, which supports companies through loan
programs and disaster assistance, said Mark Quinn, director of
the agency’s San Francisco district office. Nationally, the SBA
lent more than $10.4 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 31.

“That’s the largest quarter of lending we’ve ever done in
history,” Quinn said. “Just in December, we did a billion
dollars of lending in California.”

SBA Loans

The boost was also due in part to the Small Business Jobs
Act, which President Barack Obama signed in September. The act
created a $30 billion program to help community banks make more
loans to small companies. It also increased the loan limit to $5
million from $2 million and reduced its fees.

“The folks that were coming to me last year were saying
that they were struggling and needed some additional lending
just to keep them in operation,” Quinn said. Now business
owners want to grow, though it’s difficult to secure financing
because revenue and profit fell so much during the recession
that banks are hesitant to approve loans, he said.

As a result, small business owners are able to entice more
buyers by offering their own financing, said Mike Handelsman,
general manager of BizBuySell.com in San Francisco, an online
marketplace for buying and selling small businesses.

“Banks are lending, but they’re much more conservative
than they were in 2008,” Handelsman said. Even with the
rebound, only about half as many small businesses sold in 2010
as in a typical year before the recession. “There’s still a
lack of capital readily available for business buyers, and until
that comes back, we’re not going to see the number of
transactions that we saw a few years ago.”

Seller Financing

Some of the San Francisco companies for sale on
BizBuySell.com that offer seller financing include a museum-
quality art-framing service for $600,000, an all-natural grocery
store in the Castro District for $275,000 and a dental office
for $160,000.

Purchases of small businesses increased noticeably in the
last three months of 2010, Handelsman says, thanks to business
owners lowering their prices and posting better financial
results than before.

“It takes a while for people to accept reality and realize
that valuations are lower than they were,” he said. “And
businesses are doing better, so people are starting to think
again about exiting.”

To contact the reporter on this story:
Ryan Flinn in San Francisco at
rflinn@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net

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CLEVELAND

President Barack Obama says he wants to learn about the success and the failures of small business people to better understand what the federal government can do to help the private sector prosper.

Obama is in Cleveland to promote his retooled economic pitch, which focuses on government initiatives that foster innovation and entrepreneurship.

Obama was accompanied by various members of his Cabinet, who planned to lead breakout sessions with small business owners to discuss topics ranging from job training to clean energy and exports.

He said he wanted the government to be a good partner to implement small business ideas.

The trip is one of a series Obama has taken to key states as he seeks to build support for spending plans in his budget for education and infrastructure.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. APs earlier story is below.

Last week it was Silicon Valley. This week, President Barack Obama is putting the spotlight on the small businesses of Americas heartland.

The president and a team from his Cabinet are scheduled to attend a forum Tuesday at Cleveland State University with more than a hundred small business leaders from Northeast Ohio.

White House officials say the forums goal is to brainstorm with small business leaders about how to boost economic growth through fostering entrepreneurship, expanding exports and advancing clean energy technology. The forum also will look at whether small businesses have access to the capital and capable workers that they need to grow.

The experience of a small business can really give you insight into how we can continue to focus and refine our activities, Small Business Administrator Karen Mills said.

Mills is expected to announce that the administration will hold round-table sessions with small business owners across the country, seeking suggestions on how to reduce obstacles and streamline regulations to encourage innovation. The sessions are planned for Atlanta, Boston, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and Silicon Valley as well as Austin, Texas; Durham, NC, and Boulder, Colo.

Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the presidents Council of Economic Advisers, last week solicited ideas for the small business forum in a posting on the White House blog. He said past postings from the public for White House advisers had been rather colorful at times — apparently too colorful. This is going to be a family program in Cleveland, so I encourage you to participate responsibly, he said.

Breakout sessions at the forum include one on access to capital, led by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner; another on clean energy, led by Energy Secretary Steven Chu; and yet another on exports featuring Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

Obama has been getting out of Washington each week lately to push his competitiveness agenda. His proposed budget for the coming year would trade cuts in some domestic programs for increases in education, infrastructure and research that he says will help the country compete in the global economy. The administration says small businesses and entrepreneurs are critical to fostering economic growth.

But the presidents proposed budget has drawn complaints from Republicans who want much steeper cuts and from small business advocates concerned about Obamas plan to allow the expiration of tax cuts after 2012 for families making more than $250,000 a year. The National Federation of Independent Business says the change in individual tax rates, which would take effect in two years, would be devastating to the 75 percent of small-business owners who are taxed on business income at the individual rate.

NFIB senior vice president Susan Eckerly said the group welcomes the presidents focus Tuesday on small business, saying hes devoted far more attention to big business. But she said the presidents budget was tone-deaf to the needs of small businesses because it would set the estate tax level too high and allow Bush-era tax cuts to expire.

——

Online:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/02/16/advise-advisor-austan-goolsbee-and-small-business

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WASHINGTON Boulder was among eight cities chosen by the Obama administration for a small business roundtable discussion to hear what regulatory barriers are keeping them from growing, White House officials said Tuesday.

Officials said Boulder was chosen for geographic diversity and they do not yet have a date for the round table.

Federal officials will both invite small business owners and entrepreneurs and allow people to email requests to attend, said Jonathan Swain, at the Small Business Administration.

The roundtables are meant to be a trenches-level listening tour to hear what small business owners need from the federal government to make it easier to expand.

One of President Obamas goals outlined in his January State of the Union address included paring down the reams of federal regulations from tax forms to making the new health care law easier to implement that bog down a small business owner.

All of what we hear will be compiled and included in a report back to the president, Swain said Tuesday. Were looking at outdated and overburdened regulations.

The idea was applauded by Republicans, and Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, said he wants to lead an effort to cut down on regulations.

The Small Business Administration announced the roundtables Tuesday morning during President Obamas trip to Ohio, where he is on a jobs tour.

Other cities chosen: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Durham, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and the Silicon Valley.

Allison Sherry: 303-954-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC), which represents the interests of nearly 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses and over 200 local chambers of commerce nationwide, applauds the Small Business Administrations (SBA) leadership in amending the 8(a) program to better reflect and address the challenges that Hispanic-owned businesses face today.

On February 11th, the SBA published a Final Rule that will result in many significant changes and improvements in the operation of the SBA 8(a) Program.#160; USHCC President amp; CEO, Javier Palomarez greeted the release of the new 8(a) Rules with enthusiasm saying:#160; These new Rules bring about important changes in the 8(a) program that will improve it and make it more fair by correcting a number of glaring deficiencies that will ultimately render the program more effective.

The SBA 8(a) program is a nine-year business development program for small disadvantaged businesses that provides program participants access to government contracting opportunities, allowing them to develop experience as prime contractors in the federal marketplace.#160; In FY09, 8(a) firms#160;received $18.6 billion in federal prime contract awards.

In releasing the new 8(a) Rules for the SBA, Administrator Karen Mills stated that, The changes in the Rules governing the 8(a) Program are designed to better ensure that the benefits flow to the intended recipients and help prevent waste, fraud and abuse.#160; The new Rules become effective March 14th, 2011.

The new rules cover a variety of areas of the program, including:

About the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Founded in 1979, the USHCC actively promotes the economic growth and development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and represents the interests of nearly 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States that generate nearly $400 billion annually. It also serves as the umbrella organization for more than 200 local Hispanic chambers in the United States and Puerto Rico.

For more information or to register for the USHCC Legislative Summit, visit: http://www.ushcclegislative.com/

SOURCE United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

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RELATED LINKS

http://www.ushcc.com

http://www.ushcclegislative.com

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NJ Governor Plans To Announce $200 Million In Small Business Tax Cuts

Written by Resources for Entrepreneurs Staff

Published: 2/22/2011

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is planning to announce the states annual budget Tuesday, which is expected to include $200 million in cuts for small businesses.

Despite vetoing a bill proposed by Democrats that would spur job creation and introduce tax-cutting measures, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has good news for small businesses.

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An SBDC Helping Businesses With Social Media

The Iowa Western Community College Entrepreneurial Small Business Development Center teaches small businesses how to engage their customers online.

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And last year, nearly a quarter of Australian adults restricted their online shopping to domestic websites, said a Forrester Consulting study Business of Australian Online Retail.

Retailers hit by online shopping

Book retailers across the globe have been hit in recent years due to the popularity of online shopping and electronic books.

Online payment service PayPals managing director Frerk-Malte Feller said in the last six months of 2010, 500,000 new customers signed up for an account and began shopping online.

This is driving growth for Australian online retailers and we are seeing that on average the transactions of our 35,000 merchants accepting PayPal are growing at 19 per cent year-on-year, he said.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy today described the collapse of Australias largest booksellers as a tragedy but said new jobs would be created as the internet evolved.

Speaking after an Online Retail Forum in Sydney, Senator Conroy said: Its a tragedy that any company is going out of business and equally that people could lose their jobs.

Im sure there are a whole variety of complex reasons why companies go out of business.

But he said technology changed industries and new jobs were often created.

Technology marches on and there will be a transformation, there will be new jobs, he said, adding that companies needed to be multiple platform now that consumers were online.

Bricks-and-mortar to online

There is a conspicuous absence of traditional retail players in Australia online, said eBay managing director Deborah Sharkey.

But it is still not too late for traditional bricks-and-mortar stores to join the online marketplace in time for the roll-out of the National Broadband Network, which is expected to boost the number of online shoppers, the Online Retail Forums e-tailer panel said.

Online retailers faced the same challenges as their bricks-and-mortar counterparts, but saved on marketing and rental costs, Deals Direct co-founder Paul Greenberg said.

There are patent benefits; the overarching promise of e-commerce is (having an open store) anywhere, anytime which is a compelling concept that few businesses have grasped.

The efficiency of the online model is very hard to dispute, because of the concept of not paying retail rents and your shop never closing and the greater choice and variety of products you can sell online.

Local stores that carry an established brand may even have an advantage over up-and-coming e-tailers despite being late to the online game, said Grays Online chief executive officer Cameron Poolman.

One of the benefits of being slow (to online retail) is you can copy whats happening in other countries.

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