Zackery Kouwe writes in the Sunday New York Times - “Nearly a year after the federal rescue of the nation’s biggest banks, taxpayers have begun seeing profits from the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid that many critics thought might never be seen again.

The profits, collected from eight of the biggest banks that have fully repaid their obligations to the government, come to about $4 billion, or the equivalent of about 15 percent annually, according to calculations compiled for The New York Times.

These early returns are by no means a full accounting of the huge financial rescue undertaken by the federal government last year to stabilize teetering banks and other companies.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

James M. Odato writes in todays Albany Times Union - “Gov. David Paterson and Civil Service Commissioner Nancy Groenwegen briefly seized a new power to let agency heads appoint people they wanted to hundreds of jobs. But State Judge Joseph Teresi’s July 25 order in a lawsuit shot down their move to reclassify professional titles to be exempt from civil service list hiring.

The action, dealing with 29 medical titles held by 1,700 people, would have “opened the floodgates for the placement of many other titles which require licensure,” said Public Employees Federation President Kenneth Brynien, who sued Groenwegen, Paterson and Civil Service.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

Alexander Bolton of TheHill.com writes -”The nation’s largest labor union and some allied Democrats are pushing a new tax that would hit big investment firms such as Goldman Sachs reaping billions of dollars in profits while the rest of the economy sputters.

The AFL-CIO, one of the Democratic Party’s most powerful allies, would like to assess a small tax — about a tenth of a percent — on every stock transaction.

Small and medium-sized investors would hardly notice such a tax, but major trading firms, such as Goldman, which reported $3.44 billion in profits during the second quarter of 2009, may see this as a significant threat to their profits.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

Peter Slevin of the Washington Post writes - “Charles J. Barnett’s fears about a federal health-care overhaul are outrunning his hopes.

From his perch as the chief executive of a nonprofit hospital network that draws patients from 11 counties in central Texas, Barnett sees plenty of problems in desperate need of fixing, especially in a state with a higher proportion of uninsured — nearly one in four — than any in the country. He has hopes for reform, particularly a larger pool of insured customers.

But then the what-ifs take over. ”

Read the rest of the stoy click here.

In an op-ed in today’s Poughkeepsie Journal Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of the Business Council of New York State, Inc, tell the Journal’s readers that we must view health care reform through a “New York Lens”.

“When you listen to the debate about health-care reform in Washington, do you sometimes get the feeling you’ve heard this before? If so, maybe it’s because here in New York we’ve had a lot of these conversations already.

When it comes to the challenges of health care and how to pay for it, New York is ahead of the curve, well past much of the nation in health-care infrastructure, medical education and research, insurance mandates, health-care and insurance taxes, an expansive Medicaid program and taxpayer-supported plans for the uninsured. Far from perfect, our system is extremely expensive compared to most other states. That is why our representatives in Congress have to be sure to view the national health-care debate through a New York lens.

Imagine, for example, a new federal policy applied in a state without insurance mandates or special taxes for charity care or programs for the uninsured.

That same policy applied here, where all those things already exist, could mean new taxes and regulations on top of the programs we already have in place. This will result in added costs, making health insurance in New York even more expensive, and leaving more New Yorkers uninsured.

Read more »

Janet Hook of the L.A. Times writes - “Lawmakers agree on such ideas as barring insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting ailments. That has them eyeing an incremental approach should a broader plan fail.

With a virtual civil war raging over parts of President Obama’s healthcare agenda, the smoke of battle has obscured a surprising fact: Democrats and Republicans actually agree on a bundle of proposals that could make medical insurance better for millions of Americans.

The consensus proposals include such popular ideas as barring insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting injuries and illnesses, cutting insurance coverage off when a policyholder gets sick and imposing a lifetime cap on benefits.”

Read the rest of the story click here.

It goes without saying that landowners and gas companies stand to gain in the development of the Marcellus Shale. What was striking to me when I attended the landowner coalition rally last Sunday were the many sponsors from businesses unrelated to the actual drilling process. Several banks, law firms, environmental consulting firms, investment firms and others had booths and employees donating their time to a movement that they hope will produce an economic surge for their communities. In fact, one brochure that I picked up was entitled ‘Planning for Prosperity’. These communities are hoping and planning for the tidal wave of prosperity that the Marcellus Shale will bring.

I’ve been researching and writing about the potential economic growth that will occur when drilling begins. What I saw on Sunday were some of the people who work hard to get by in these rural communities encouraged and hopeful that one day soon drilling will begin and the prosperity they are planning for will actually materialize. A rising tide lifts all boats. All businesses in the Marcellus play stand to gain and are planning for it.

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Jennifer Levine has been invited by The Business Council to be a guest contributing author to the Capital Business Blog to enhance our readers understanding of the Marcellus shale issue and the job creating opportunities that surround it.

Jennifer Levine, recently worked at the New York State Assembly for a member whose district includes five counties in the Marcellus play where she gained exposure to this issue. Previously, she worked in government relations for MCI Communications in Washington, D.C. Jennifer can be reached at jklevine@nycap.rr.com

Business Council member company The Travelers has released a study showing the trends in social media that may expose some businesses to new risks.

“A key finding in the survey shows that one out of eight respondents indicated that they post work-related information on social media Web sites. In fact, 30 percent feel it is acceptable to post information online about their employer as long as they believe it is true. Survey results also showed that more than 75 percent of those who post anything personal online said they were “not at all” or “not very concerned” about information posted online causing professional damage,” says The Travelers release.

Read the full release and find the study here.

Jeff Murray reports on the Stargazette.com - “Schlumberger Technology Corp. has yet to answer all of the questions Horseheads officials have about a new natural gas drilling service facility in the village.

But those answers should be available within a week, a consultant working with the company told the village planning board Tuesday.

It was standing room only again at Tuesday’s meeting, as residents who are concerned about the potential environmental impact of the $30 million project showed up to gather more information about Schlumberger.

Unlike the last meeting, when residents spent more than an hour asking questions and commenting on the project, planning board Chairman Raymond Fortier stated at the beginning of the meeting that there would be no public comments allowed this time.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

Michael O’Brien writes on TheHill.com - “A top labor official said Monday that President Obama and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel have indicated that they will not bring up “card check” legislation until after healthcare reform is done in Congress.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, the expected incoming president of the influential union, pledged during a web chat on the liberal blog firedoglake that organized labor would work to pass healthcare reform in order to move onto one of its top priorities, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).”

The Business Council want to remind its members not o think that the battle is won; take this as “pressure pays off” and it is hard to fight many different battles all at once. Keeping Card Check off the agenda until health care reform is done is one step closer to our goal of making sure card check isn’t on any agenda. 2010 is an election year and some members will find it harder to cast a vote on this in an election year.