Word: credititis
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...little over a year ago, the credit crisis caused the municipal-bond market to grind to a halt. Shell-shocked investors pulled back from even munis, which are normally considered a relatively safe bet. Bond yields soared. Local governments were forced to delay raising money. And auctions of short-term variable-rate muni securities failed. (Read "Five Painless Ways to Cut Expenses...
...Many credit BABs with reviving the muni-bond sector. Since the program was announced in mid-February, muni-bond interest rates, which are what local governments have to pay to borrow, have fallen dramatically. The typical municipality is now paying 3.7% when they issue a bond, down from as high as 4.5% in January, before the BABs program was announced, according to Barclays Capital. Some of the drop in yields reflects the improvement in the economy in general, and the easing of the credit crunch. But muni-bond-market observers say BABs have played an important role as well...
...meltdown in the credit markets, the housing collapse, the weak U.S. dollar and depressed consumer confidence have all taken a particularly harsh toll on small businesses. Many small companies rely on credit cards for capital because they don't have access to debt or equity capital as public companies do, and many are seeing these credit lines trimmed or even pulled altogether by skittish banks...
...flip side, if the beaten-down U.S. dollar boosts demand for domestic products from overseas buyers, many small businesses won't be able to take advantage of it. "Your ability to meet that demand depends upon your access to credit," says Joseph Brusuelas, a director and senior economist at Moody's Economy.com...
...than 20 employees, account for 25% of all jobs, but they generated 40% of the [job] growth in the last expansion in 2001," says Brusuelas. He believes the Obama Administration needs to guarantee bigger loans to small firms through the Small Business Administration, and offer either a significant tax credit or tax cut to companies that hire new workers...