Finance Blog number 1

The Cambridge Energy Alliance has named Josh Hassol as its chief executive, the group announced Monday.

Hassol comes to CEA with several years of experience in policy and planning for municipal, state and federal governments. Most recently, he was a program manager with the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Washington, D.C.

The year-old nonprofit sponsored by the city of Cambridge has laid out an ambitious goal to eliminate 150,000 tons of greenhouse gasses and cut peak energy demand in the city by 50 megawatts. CEA sponsors energy efficiency audits for homes and businesses across Cambridge.

“I am fortunate to be joining an organization that has spent the past year building the critically important infrastructure necessary for success,” Hassol said in a statement easy quick payday loans. “This is a talented and dedicated team. I am grateful to be part of it.”

South Korea's inflation accelerated faster than expected in July to the highest in almost 10 years, adding pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates.

Consumer prices jumped 5.9 percent from a year earlier, following June's 5.5 percent increase, the statistics office said in Gwacheon today. That's higher than the 5.7 percent median estimate of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Prices gained 0.7 percent from June.

Record fuel and food costs are stoking inflation across Asia, prompting policy makers in India, Indonesia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Thailand to boost borrowing costs even as the region faces fallout from a global slowdown. The Bank of Korea has kept rate unchanged this year and Governor Lee Seong Tae said last month inflation will be high for a “significant period'' and economic growth will slow.

“A rate rise seems necessary to prevent inflation expectations from rising,'' said Chun Chong Woo, an economist at SC First Bank Korea Ltd. in Seoul. “A further increase is unlikely, but it depends on oil prices.''

Governor Lee and his colleagues kept their benchmark rate at 5 percent on July 10 as they sought more time to weigh the threat of faster inflation against the risk of slower economic growth. The bank last raised rates in August 2007, and the next decision is due Aug. 7.

The central bank aims to keep inflation between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent, on average, for the three years to 2009.

Core Inflation

Core inflation, which strips out oil and food costs, gained 0.5 percent from June and 4.6 percent from a year earlier, the biggest annual increase since July 1998.

The won fell 0.2 percent to 1,014.50 won versus the dollar at 1:30 p.m. in Seoul. The five-year government bond yield declined 4 basis points to 5.82 percent. The Kospi stock index dropped 1.5 percent to 1,570.70.

Prices for oil products jumped 35.5 percent in July from last year, pushing up costs for industrial goods by 11.4 percent today's report showed free credit report.com. Industrial goods include televisions, gasoline and cars.

GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., General Motors Corp.'s South Korean unit, said yesterday it will raise domestic vehicle prices by about 2 percent on average to recoup higher costs for steel and other raw materials. Korea's biggest carmakers, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., said earlier last month they would boost prices.

Inflation Focus

President Lee Myung Bak has shifted his priority to fighting inflation from spurring economic growth as his popularity slumps amid public anger over soaring living costs and his decision to lift a ban on U.S. beef imports.

Faster inflation is eroding confidence and domestic demand by eating into household incomes and squeezing corporate profits.

The economy expanded 4.8 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace in more than a year. Spending by households, which are burdened with record debt, fell 0.1 percent in the quarter, the first decline in four years.

Factory output rose 6.7 percent in June from a year earlier, the smallest gain in nine months. Sales of consumer goods fell 1 percent, the first drop in two years. A leading index of economic indicators, which forecasts business activity, rose 1.2 percent from a year earlier, the smallest gain in five years.

Increased shipments to China and other emerging markets will help keep South Korea's economy from cooling too much as domestic demand slows, the Bank of Korea said on July 1.

Overseas shipments, which make up more than half of gross domestic product, surged 37.1 percent in July from a year earlier, the most in four years, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said today.

Source

The Council on Revenues lowered its growth forecast on Thursday, which will lead to more restrictions on state spending.

The council said that state tax revenues will grow 1 percent during the fiscal year, which began July 1, down from the 2 percent growth prediction given in May. The revision will result in a loss of approximately $46.4 million in revenue.

The forecast for fiscal year 2010 also was lowered from 4.3 percent to 4 percent, a loss of approximately $16 million. The council cited the slump in visitor arrivals for the revisions free credit report and score.

Escalating fuel prices and contracting city revenues prompted the City of Farmers Branch to announce 28 job cuts on Thursday.

As part of the staff reduction, 20 current employees are losing their jobs and eight vacant positions will be cut from the city's budget, the City of Farmers Branch confirmed in a press statement.

Most departments will be impacted in some way by the cuts, with no particular department feeling the brunt of the staff reductions, a spokesman for Farmers Branch said.

City Manager Gary Greer stressed Thursday that public safety positions will not be affected, and staffing levels in that area will be maintained.

Farmers Branch offered employees losing their jobs severance pay, as well as health care coverage that expires at the end of the city's fiscal year on Sept. 30.

The announcement comes a short few weeks after the city eliminated 14 other positions by offering voluntary severance packages. The voluntary packages included severance pay and health care benefits lasting through the end of the fiscal year. The 14 staff members who accepted the packages lessoned the impact of Thursday's cuts.

“There is no single factor that precipitated this event,” Greer said. “A reduction in force is a very serious matter that has not been entered into lightly but is necessary in the face of multiple factors so that this organization can continue to move forward, providing the service and fiscal responsibility that it is known for.”

Greer and the city cite numerous factors for prompting the city's budget shortfall, including a $430,000 decline in city landfill revenues, fuel expenses that are up $162,000 annually, electricity costs that are 30 percent higher, retirement-related expenses totaling $120,000, special legal fees priced at $424,000, escalating health insurance costs, flat interest income and sales tax revenue, worker compensation adjustments and a new fire station that has added $1 million to the operating budget cash advance. Savings from the staff reduction will not be realized until the city's next fiscal year begins on Oct. 1, a spokesman for the city said Thursday.