FOX Translator
No data currently available.
No data currently available.
If you throw all the products we buy and the services we use in one basket, then add up the price tag, that's the Gross Domestic Product, which is the primary metric economists use to assess the economic health of a country or region.
The easy part of calculating GDP is the calculation itself: C+I+G+(X-M)=GDP. Got it? No? Well, add Consumption, Investment by companies, Government purchases, and then take the product of eXports (calling it 'E' would lack sexiness) minus iMports ('I' was taken). Viola! GDP.
Still don't get it? Well, knowing the components helps. Consumption is the biggest component, and it's a tally of the cost of all the goods and services we buy. Investment is what companies spend on the real assets they own, plus the value of the inventory that we haven't gobbled up through consumption. Government purchases are what the Feds pay money for (whether it be highways or fighter jets, though big social programs, like welfare, aren't counted). And then we calculate the difference between the goods and services we¿re sending to other countries and the stuff we're bringing in.
Good. That explains it, except there's a catch. Inflation has a habit of distorting the numbers, so economists talk about either Nominal GDP or Real GDP. In fact, Real GDP isn't necessarily "real" for most folks, since it takes any inflation out. Nominal GDP includes the effects of inflation. (There's something called the implicit price deflator which is a calculation using the two, but we'll spare you the details.)
So, now that we know GDP, why do we want to? Well, it's good to compare different markets. And watching the trend shows whether a given economy is growing (good), stagnating (not so good), or shrinking (very not so good). When GDP goes down two quarters in a row, we're officially in a recession.
For the record, GDP is released at the end of each month, with most reporting ¿preliminary¿ data for the previous month. But you won't get final GDP numbers for the fourth quarter of a year until the very end of the first quarter of the next year. After all, it's not an easy number to calculate.
Home / Markets / Industries / Media
Friday, August 01, 2008
SBA's Deadline to Apply for Physical Damage Disaster Loans Is September 2
Comtex
ATLANTA, Aug 01, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ ----The U.S. Small Business Administration reminds homeowners, renters, businesses and non-profit organizations of the deadline to submit disaster loan applications for damage caused by the Queen Anne's Gate Apartments fire that occurred on June 14, 2008. The deadline to file an application for physical damage is September 2, 2008.
Homeowners, renters, businesses and non-profit organizations in the counties of Bristol, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Worcester in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Providence County in the State of Rhode Island are eligible to apply to SBA.
SBA offers loans up to $200,000 to repair disaster damaged primary residences. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to replace personal property such as furniture, appliances and clothing. Loans to businesses of all sizes and non-profit organizations are available up to $2 million to repair damage to real estate, inventory, machinery and equipment. Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) are also available to small businesses, and non-profit organizations of all sizes unable to pay bills or meet operating expenses because of the disaster.
Interest rates are as low as 2.687 percent for homeowners and renters and 4 percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based upon each applicant's financial condition.
Additionally, disaster victims with insurance should not wait for an insurance settlement before applying to SBA. If victims do not know how much of their loss will be covered by insurance or other sources, SBA will consider making a loan for the total loss up to its loan limits, provided the borrower agrees to use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay their SBA loan.
SBA also offers mitigation funds to disaster victims. SBA's mitigation funds are designed to help borrowers fund protective measures which may prevent damages of the same kind in the future. To help fund these protective measures, borrowers may request up to 20 percent of their verified physical losses.
Disaster victims may obtain an application by calling the SBA's Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing-impaired), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT or by emailing our customer service center at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX. 76155.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical damage is September 2, 2008. The deadline to return economic injury applications is April 3, 2009.
For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Programs, visit our website at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance
SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration
http://www.sba.gov
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
Market Snapshot
| Symbol | Last Price | Netchange | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
