Big banks still not lending

Big banks still not lending
Loan volume at the 21 largest recipients of government funding fell 7% during the month of April, according to a survey by the Treasury Department.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Lending at the nation's top banks slowed in April, according to a government report published Monday, driven in part by continued deterioration in the U.S. economy.

The dollar amount of new loans issued by the 21 biggest recipients of taxpayer funds under the government's Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP, fell 7% to $273 billion from nearly $295 billion during the month of March.

Regulators attributed part of the decline to lower demand for new commercial and industrial loans, which fell nearly 29% during the month as U.S. businesses broadly avoided acquisitions, building plants and buying inventory.

Weakness was also notable across a wide variety of consumer loan categories, including first mortgages and credit cards. Of the 21 banks that took part in the survey, 15 reported a decline in loan originations, according to the Treasury Department.
Banks have been under pressure to increase lending since the government provided billions of dollars in aid to help prop up the industry last fall.
Consumers and businesses continue to argue that credit remains tough to come by, but banks maintain they are lending even as the appetite for new loans has dropped.
Instead, consumers seemed to be focused on paying down debt in April, regulators said Monday. The total amount of outstanding loans in the survey fell 0.8% to $4.34 trillion from $4.38 trillion in March.
One new feature of the monthly survey was a reading on small business lending. The government said that the amount of new small business loans was roughly $8 billion in April, although it did not provide numbers for small business lending from the previous month.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/15/news/companies/tarp_banks_lending/index.htm?postversion=2009061516

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The Doing Business project...
provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 181 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level.

Compiled with the help of 6,700 business experts and government officials around the world, "Doing Business 2009" analyzes how difficult it is to comply with 10 different sets of business regulations that affect company lifecycles, from startup to closure. The World Bank's research team examined the number of procedures required to start a business and the ease and cost of transactions such as obtaining construction permits, hiring workers, getting credit, paying taxes, enforcing contracts and declaring bankruptcy. Each category is given equal weight to create an overall "ease of doing business" index and ranking.
http://www.doingbusiness.org/

Doing Business 2009 -- Full report now available for download! Azerbaijan was the top reformer in doing business, while Eastern Europe and Central Asia led the world’s regions in regulatory reforms, according to Doing Business 2009. Download the entire 211-page report to learn more about reforms and other changes to the business environment in 181 economies.
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Study: Singapore is No. 1 spot in the world for small businesses
The U.S. ranks third in a World Bank survey of the friendliest regulatory environments for startups and small companies. (Source CNN Money, read Article)

With the world in economic turmoil and the quest for a new 21st century economy gainig momentum, these reports provide (this report) very usefull information for business people, start ups, entrepreneurs, innovators and inventors who want to be part of the new business wave.
A hundred years ago a wave of innovation happened, almost 50 years ago a new wave started in California in what later became Sillicon Valley. The spirit of these entrepreneurs and innovators is still very much alive but lots of them today are simply looking for the best places to set up business.

For our Dutch readers we would like to point out that The Netherlands is not even in the first 20 of the best places to do business.

Do you want to know what Obama is focussing on?

Obama's green energy push spotlights Ohio biz
Obama's stimulus sales trip this week will feature Cardinal Fastener, a manufacturing company that has reinvented itself for the alternative-energy future.

(CNNMoney.com) -- Never mind Joe the Plumber; meet John the Manufacturer. That's what President-elect Barack Obama will be doing Friday, when he stops in Ohio to pitch his $825 billion economic recovery and job creation package.
While in Bedford Heights, Ohio, Obama will be touring the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Company, a local manufacturing company that supplies steel screws, washers and bolts to industries such as construction and mining. The company is a carefully chosen poster child for Obama's stimulus plans: While so many manufacturers struggle with slowing sales, Cardinal Fastener is growing and adding staff, thanks to its focus on the green energy industry.
"People call it the next automotive industry for the United States," said John Grabner, 56, president and owner of Cardinal.

The small company is about to take the spotlight on a big stage - Grabner had to cut short an interview because a batch of Secret Service agents showed up at his door