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This report, from the Institute for Supply Management, is among the most-watched economic surveys by stock and bond traders because a) it is one of the first to come out each month, b) it is a great gauge of the U.S. economic health, c) it has been a consistent measure for decades, and d) is from the private sector, so the government can't manipulate the numbers.
The ISM Report on Business grew from a small-scale survey in 1931 to a snapshot that encompasses more than 300 companies in a wide range of industries. The ISM polls business managers, asking them to evaluate changes in factors like production, new orders, inventories and prices and contrasts them with their answers from the previous month. Then, the answers are crunched and spit out as an index. If the number comes in north of 50, it suggests the economy is expanding (a good sign). Under that level, and it's shrinking (not so good).
Traders love this report because it usually sets the tone for all the other data that is released each month. (Only the monthly federal Employment Situation report tends to have as much impact on the markets.) Sometimes, its components are more important than the whole. If stock and bond traders are worried about inflation, they'll look at what the survey said about the prices companies are paying for goods and the wages they're paying their workers to see signs that prices might be rising.
The ISM figures originally tracked just manufacturing data, but the group started polling service industries in the 1990s. That report, though, doesn't have the same market punch as the manufacturing numbers, but could as the service economy continues to grow in the U.S.
We end on a historical note: For years, the ISM numbers were actually known as "napalm," because the ISM used to be the National Association of Purchasing Managers. But many in the market (and in the organization itself) weren't keen on being associated with a Vietnam-era weapon.
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Monday, May 05, 2008
SBA Disaster Loan Deadline Is June 2
Comtex
ATLANTA, May 5, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ ----Small Business Owners Still Have Time to Apply
ATLANTA, May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding businesses that June 2 is the filing deadline for federal economic injury disaster loans that are available to small businesses located in the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky as a result of drought conditions and higher than normal temperatures that occurred February 1, 2007 and continuing.
"When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, SBA issues a declaration to assist small businesses affected by the same disaster," said Frank Skaggs, Director of SBA Field Operations Center East.
Under this declaration, SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to farm-related and nonfarm-related small business concerns and small agricultural cooperatives that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. Farmers and ranchers are not eligible to apply to SBA but nurseries are eligible to apply for economic injury disaster loans for losses caused by drought conditions.
Eligible small businesses may qualify for loans up to $1.5 million. These loans are available at a 4 percent interest rate with loan terms up to 30 years. SBA determines eligibility for the program based on the size and type of business and its financial resources. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based upon each applicant's financial condition. Under this disaster declaration, SBA cannot provide loans to agricultural producers.
Interested business owners should contact SBA's Customer Service Center by calling 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing-impaired) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from http://www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
Completed loan applications must be returned to SBA no later than June 2, 2008.
For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Programs, visit our website at http://www.sba.gov.
SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration
http://www.sba.gov
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
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