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Business/Economy

  • Healthcare reform: Insurers must cover birth control with no copays

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration says health insurance plans must cover birth control for women with no copays.

    The requirement, affecting most insurance plans, is part of a broad expansion of women's preventive coverage. Breast pumps for nursing mothers, an annual "well woman" physical, counseling on how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and other services will also be covered at no cost to the patient.

    The new benefits won't take effect for at least another year, Jan. 1, 2013, in most cases. Insurers are expected to pass the cost on to their customers through slightly higher premiums.

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  • Obama signs debt bill after final Senate vote--video extras

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate emphatically passed emergency legislation Tuesday to avoid a first-ever government default, rushing the legislation to President Barack Obama for his signature just hours before the deadline. The vote was 74-26.

    Obama signed the bill little more than an hour later.

    Tuesday's vote capped an extraordinarily difficult Washington battle pitting tea party Republican forces in the House against Obama and Democrats controlling the Senate. The resulting compromise paired an essential increase in the government's borrowing cap with promises of more than $2 trillion of budget cuts over the next decade.

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  • Stock futures fall as debt stalemate continues

    NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock futures fell Wednesday as lawmakers remain at odds over how to avoid a debt default. A weak report on long-lasting manufactured goods also weighed on stocks.

    House Speaker John Boehner had planned to hold a vote on his debt-limit plan on Wednesday. But that was postponed after conservative lawmakers scoffed at the proposal and congressional budget officials said it would have cut spending less than advertised. The White House had also threatened to veto Boehner's plan. A deal still appears a long way off.

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  • Boehner: House will compromise on debt limit

    WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that Republicans controlling the chamber are willing to compromise on legislation increasing the government's borrowing authority.

    "Frankly, I think it would be irresponsible on behalf of the Congress and the president not to be looking at back-up strategies for how to solve this problem," Boehner said. "At the end of the day, we have a responsibility to act."

    Asked whether GOP lawmakers supporting the House "cut, cap and balance" debt limit measure would be unwilling to ultimately compromise, Boehner said, "I'm sure we've got some members who believe that, but I do not believe that would be anywhere close to the majority.

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  • Fitch affirms county utility system revenues at 'A-'; outlook stable

    Fitch Ratings affirms the 'A-' rating on Los Alamos (the Utility) approximately $47 million utility system revenue bonds, series 2004 and 2006. The Rating Outlook on all bonds is Stable.

    RATING RATIONALE:

    --Stable Financial Performance: The combined utility continues to generate healthy profit margins averaging 7.2% since fiscal 2006, and reported low system leverage (4.8 times [x] debt-to-funds available for debt service [FADS]), adequate debt service coverage (1.42x) and healthy liquidity (125 days cash on hand [DCOH]) in 2010;

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  • Unemployment rises to 9.2 percent as hiring stalls

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring slowed to a near-standstill last month. Employers added the fewest jobs in nine months and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent.

    The economy generated only 18,000 net jobs in June, the Labor Department said Friday. And the number of jobs added in May was revised down to 25,000.

    The latest report offered stark evidence that the recovery will be painfully slow. Businesses added the fewest jobs in more than a year. Governments cut 39,000 jobs. Over the past eight months, federal, state and local governments have cut a combined 238,000 positions.

    Two years after the recession officially ended, companies are adding fewer workers despite record cash stockpiles and healthy profit margins.

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  • Business owners should contact County Recovery Center

    Los Alamos County has opened the County Recovery Center.

    The Community Development Department has people to answer the phones - what they want to know is contact information for business owners and or the key people you need to bring in to town to get your businesses up and running.

    Many businesses have already been contacted, but if you own a business in Los Alamos and have not already been contacted the number to call is 663-1861.

     

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  • Unemployment falls locally, statewide

    The unemployment rate in New Mexico took a big tumble in May, although job growth wasn’t a factor in the fall.
    The state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 6.9 percent in May, according to the state’s Department of Workforce Solutions. That number was significantly down from 7.6 percent in April and 8.3 percent in May 2010.
    However, job growth hasn’t been part of the drop in unemployment. Between May 2010 and May 2011, nonfarm payroll employment has dropped by 6,300 jobs, or 0.8 percent, the worst clip in the nation.
    Despite the losses, statewide employment was still considerably stronger than the nation as a whole. The U.S. currently has a 9.1 percent unemployment rate.

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  • Business Watch: Investors can bring cash, other benefits

    Business owners who obtain outside equity – whether from family, friends or institutional investors – quickly learn money has strings attached.
    Most outside equity providers want to get repaid over a reasonable period of time and at a very good rate of return. In exchange for capital, they obtain a piece of the company, thereby becoming business partners.
    For a growing business, the advantages of this kind of capital are numerous. Equity significantly improves a company’s balance sheet and provides resources for hiring marketing staff, developing new products, purchasing equipment and other needs.

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  • Oil drops as international reserves are tapped

    NEW YORK (AP) — Oil plunged nearly 5 percent Thursday after the International Energy Agency said it will release 60 million barrels of oil from its reserves to make up for a loss of Libyan exports in global oil markets.

    The IEA, which includes the U.S., will release 2 million barrels per day over the next 30 days. Half of that will come from U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which currently holds 727 million barrels in underground caverns along the Gulf Coast.

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