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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Securities and Exchange Commission will need to hire about 800 new people to carry out the Wall Street reform legislation, the head of the regulatory agency plans to tell lawmakers.

SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro will testify before a House Financial Services subcommittee Tuesday, discussing oversight of the agency and future challenges under the financial reform act President Obama plans to sign into law this week. Her prepared remarks were posted online by the subcommittee.

Full Story at Companies hire jobless and can get $8.5B in tax credits – Jul. 12, 2010

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Businesses have hired an estimated 4.5 million Americans who have been jobless for at least eight weeks, making these firms eligible for approximately $8.5 billion in tax credits, according to a Treasury report released Monday.

The tax credits are part of the $13 billion Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, which Congress passed in March.
Under the act, employers who hire workers who have been jobless for at least 60 days are exempt from the 6.2% payroll tax charged per worker — for the rest year. In addition, companies can claim a tax credit of up to $1,000 for each employee who stays at least a year.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — There’s at least one stimulus program that’s creating jobs and winning praise from both sides of the political aisle.

A little-known Recovery Act initiative is expected to put more than 200,000 unemployed people back to work in 32 states and the District of Columbia. It’s called the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Fund, and it subsidizes jobs with private companies, nonprofits and government agencies.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A year ago, California dealt with its budget crisis by handing out hundreds of thousands of IOUs to contractors and taxpayers. This year, it’s threatening to cut state workers’ wages to the bone.

Most of California’s 240,000 state employees could see their salaries temporarily cut to the federal minimum wage because government officials can’t reach agreement on a new fiscal-year budget for the financially troubled state.

Full Story at msnbc.com

An odd scene has been playing out lately in the offices of mortgage brokers and bankers around the country.

Mortgage rates have sunk to levels not seen in more than a half-century — a seductive 4.58 percent for an average 30-year fixed loan. Yet brokers and lenders report not a flood but a trickle of customers.

So what’s going on?

Call it a tale of the haves and have-nots.

Full Story at msnbc.com

BEDFORD, Ohio — Factory owners have been adding jobs slowly but steadily since the beginning of the year, giving a lift to the fragile economic recovery. And because they laid off so many workers — more than two million since the end of 2007 — manufacturers now have a vast pool of people to choose from.

Yet some of these employers complain that they cannot fill their openings.

Full Story at msnbc.com

Michigan’s depressed economy nearly toppled Grand Rapids-based awning maker Prestige Products. Then in April, the company’s fortunes changed dramatically when executive Brian Rickel got a phone call from an old contact at BP. It was 10 days after BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig had exploded, and BP needed help containing the gush of oil. Six weeks later, Prestige has rented a factory, filled it with millions of dollars of new equipment, and hired 74 workers (it employed only six as of April). Using material similar to the vinyl in awnings, Prestige is churning out 12,000 feet a day of booms, the floating barriers that help contain oil slicks. Prestige hopes to double its output — if it can hire 50 additional workers.

Full Story at msnbc.com

New Orleans restaurant owner Ralph Brennan had only recently started to see business pick up following Hurricane Katrina and the recession when he was hit with another blow: the Gulf oil disaster.

Since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and began spewing oil off the coast of Louisiana, Brennan says the price he pays for shrimp has gone up around 25 percent, and oyster prices have almost doubled.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — After 12 years on the job, Derek Christian tired of selling cleaning supplies at Procter & Gamble and yearned to become an entrepreneur. So in 2007, he acquired My Maid Service, a cleaning company in Lebanon, Ohio, that catered to the needs of an affluent clientele in Cincinnati.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON – The economic rebound last quarter turned out to be slower than first thought, one of the reasons unemployment is likely to stay high this year.

The economy grew at a 3 percent annual rate from January to March, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was slightly weaker than an initial estimate of 3.2 percent a month ago. The new reading, based on more complete information, also fell short of economists’ forecast for 3.4 percent growth.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The massive expansion of requirements for businesses to file 1099 tax forms that was hidden in the 2,409-page health reform bill took many by surprise when it came to light last month. But it’s just one piece of a years-long legislative stealth campaign to create ways for the federal government to track down unreported income.

The result: A blizzard of new tax forms that the Internal Revenue Service will begin rolling out next year.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — More than 80% of U.S. school districts are expected to eliminate jobs and more than half will likely freeze hiring during the upcoming school year, an education organization said Tuesday.

Based on a survey of school administrators from 49 states, a total of 275,000 education jobs are expected to be cut in 2011, according to the American Association of School Administrators.