By David Matthau/NJ 101.5
September 6, 2011

Even with all the recent financial uncertainty, Lut. Governor Kim Guadagno continues to cris-cross the Garden state, meeting with CEO’s and Corporate Big-Wigs, promoting Jersey as a great place to do business.

She says despite the economic slowdown, “we’re moving in the right direction – no matter what goes on, on Wall Street, in Washington, I like to focus on things I can change, and what I can change is the attitude of people in New Jersey and businesses, about doing business in New Jersey – make them feel welcome here – make them feel we want them here…hopefully we’ll attract them here because we’re getting our fiscal house in order.”

She says “we’re streamlining government – I give my cell phone out – you’ve heard me do it on a number of different occasions, because I cannot think of a more clear message to people than to give out the cell phone number of the person who’s in a position to streamline government and streamline answers…what we have here in New Jersey is certainty – you will get an answer from this administration.”

Guadagno adds “there is no job that I won’t go fight for- there is no business I won’t go try to help – there is no company I won’t reach out to, and there is no entity who wants to come to New Jersey who I will not meet with…people want to find a place where the economy is stable – and that is New Jersey.”

By Andrew Tangel/The Record
August 29, 2011

Governor Christie’s office announced a series of measures Sunday night to assist businesses and employees hit hard by Hurricane Irene.

The state will offer short-term financing, information on temporary space and technical assistance, among other programs, a statement from the governor’s office said.

“We will work to protect the assets of our state’s businesses, provide the necessary temporary support to our workforce and sustain our economic vibrancy,” Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno said in the statement.

Here are some of the programs announced:

• Access to lines of credit of up to $500,000 for businesses that need cash to improve damaged property while awaiting insurance proceeds.

• Grants for businesses to help with on-the-job training costs for new workers hired specifically to assist in disaster-related activities, such as landscaping and tree removal, construction, insurance claims, building supplies sales, materials transport, utility work, staffing call and claims centers, and infrastructure clearing and repair.

• Use of Business Resource Centers at the state’s 17 local One-Stop Career Centers for telephone and Internet access.

• Disaster unemployment benefits for workers who lose their jobs because of the storm.

In the statement, Christie’s office said it would also dispatch Rapid Response team members to Disaster Recovery Centers to assist displaced workers.

The state will also make available services through New Jersey Youth Corps to assist non-profit, public and governmental entities for disaster relief and cleanup, it said.

TRENTON, N.J. (Aug. 9, 2011) – In support of the Christie Administration’s commitment to entrepreneurial development within the  technology industry, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) today announced a request for interest and ideas from the State’s technology community to help advance a technology accelerator program.  The initiative will aim to provide a competitive environment for technology-focused entrepreneurs to showcase their products, ideas and business acumen in a mentor driven program for an opportunity to receive funding. 

“The EDA is actively looking to partner with interested stakeholders to move forward with this program that is modeled on initiatives in other states that have successfully engaged the community to support promising entrepreneurs,” said EDA CEO Caren S. Franzini.  “We look forward to hearing from New Jersey’s technology community on how to best craft a program that will invest financial and technical assistance resources in order to advance novel ideas and business models, promote early stage business ventures and accelerate the growth of technology businesses in the State.” 

The outreach to the State’s technology community specifically requested that interested parties submit an overview of how the New Jersey model could be developed based on the following integral components

• Overall structure of the initiative, including overview of all partners and their role in the initiative. Overview should include partners’ experience and success in investing in early stage business models;

• Advocacy role of the EDA as a State partner in advancing the initiative;

• How this initiative will leverage private matching dollars;

• Ability of the partners to support businesses formed in New Jersey as well as attracting business ventures from other States;

• Ability of the partners to engage the technology service industry in providing mentorship opportunities.

The program will be funded with $450,000 over three years through the EDA, which has a history of successful investment in the technology and life sciences sector. EDA’s investments are expected to earn a reasonable rate of return, and funds in which the EDA invests should demonstrate an ability to leverage private investment dollars at a minimum ratio of 3:1.  Through its Edison Innovation Fund, the EDA has provided $27.7 million in direct, equity-like investments to 45 technology and life sciences companies that have created an estimated 1,143 new jobs and leveraged over $118 million in total investment in New Jersey’s economy.  The EDA recently enhanced its Edison Innovation Fund portfolio to benefit early stage, emerging technology and life sciences companies that have attracted capital through angel and venture capital investors. 

To further help New Jersey regain and grow its reputation as a home for innovation, Governor Christie increased available funds from $30 million to $60 million through the innovative Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program in the FY 2012 budget.  The Governor also recently signed into law a measure to increase the R&D credit to 100 percent.   Previously, R&D spending in New Jersey was used to offset up to 50 percent of corporate tax liability. The new law will allow critical and economically-beneficial R&D spending in the state to be used to offset all of the corporate tax liability. 

For more information, visit https://www.njeda.gov/techaccelerator  

Submissions of interest or a framework for ideas for the technology accelerator initiative should be sent to TechAccel@njeda.com by September 15, 2011. For questions on the request for interest, contact EDA Director of Technology & Life Sciences Kathleen Coviello at (609) 858-6713.             

To learn more about opportunities for business growth throughout New Jersey, visit the state’s business portal at www.NewJerseyBusiness.gov.

BusinessWire
August 25, 2011

Survey data for the second quarter of 2011 suggests an improved job outlook for small businesses

MCLEAN, Va., Aug 25, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Capital One Small Business today released the results of its Small Business Barometer survey for the second quarter of 2011. The quarterly survey polls small businesses across the nation, gauging their current financial condition and business projections for the next six months. Survey results from Capital One’s survey for the second quarter, suggests that many U.S. small businesses are experiencing gradual, but continued improvement in financial performance. The small business leaders surveyed also report growing confidence in the economic environment, which appears to be contributing positively to hiring and investment decisions for their business in the near term.

“Our second quarter survey results suggest that many small businesses are seeing sustained improvement in business performance. This is a trend we’ve seen developing over the last few quarters and, while the pace has been modest, it has been generally consistent and that’s definitely something we like to see,” said Peter Appello, Executive Vice President of Small Business Banking at Capital One Bank. “While there continues to be a level of caution as businesses think about expenditures, we are seeing a small but healthy uptick this quarter in the percentage of small businesses planning to hire and increase spending on business development and investments over the next six months. Although most of those businesses planning to hire will keep expansion modest, these results are encouraging for the second half of the year.”

Hiring Outlook

In the second quarter, an increased percentage of small businesses from across the country reported plans to hire additional employees over the next six months. Plans for expanding the payroll, however, are modest.

— Over one-third (35 percent) of the small businesses polled in the second quarter of 2011 plan to add employees to the payroll over the next six months. This number is up six percentage points from the first quarter of 2011 and shows the highest percentage of small businesses planning to hire since the first quarter of 2010.

— The large majority (78 percent) of those businesses planning to hire over the next six months expect to hire between one-10 employees. Eleven percent of respondents believe they will hire 10-20 new employees in the near term.

— Including replacing employees who have left the company, 56 percent of the small businesses polled have hired over the past six months, but only 14 percent of those businesses have hired more than 10 employees over that time period.

— When asked about the primary factor driving hiring decisions, the top answers were: replacement hires (43 percent), hiring to support growth or expansion (21 percent) and increase revenue or sales (16 percent).

— Only eight percent of the small businesses surveyed report that concerns about credit access is a consideration as they make their hiring decisions.

Economic Outlook, Financial Performance and Spending

The survey results for the second quarter of 2011 suggest that small businesses continue to experience improving business performance and remain relatively optimistic about economic conditions, particularly as concerns about rising fuel costs have eased relative to the first quarter of this year. With an improved business outlook, a higher percentage of the small businesses surveyed are planning to increase spending on business development and investments in the near term.

— In the second quarter, 44 percent of small businesses polled believe that economic conditions for their business are improving. This number has increased a total of 12 percentage points year-over-year. Only nine percent of small businesses polled believe economic conditions are getting worse.

— About half (48 percent) of small business owners surveyed report that their firm’s financial position is better than it was one year ago, up five percentage points from the first quarter of 2011 and 11 percentage points higher on a year-over-year basis. Forty-two percent of small businesses surveyed say that their firm’s financial position has held steady relative to one year ago. Only nine percent of small businesses report that their financial position has worsened over the past year, compared to 19 percent in the second quarter of 2010.

— Twenty-seven percent of small businesses polled report plans to increase spending on business development and investments over the next six months, up 4 percentage points from the first quarter of this year. Nevertheless, the majority (64 percent) of respondents plan to keep spending at current levels in the near-term.

— Only 16 percent of small businesses surveyed say that they expect fuel prices will place “extreme” or “quite a lot” of pressure on their business over the next six months, down 10 percentage points relative to the first quarter of 2011.

Availability of Financing

The survey results suggest that the availability of credit and financing for small businesses continues to grow and fulfilling capital needs is becoming less of a concern for small businesses.

— Eighty-five of U.S. small businesses surveyed report that they are able to access the financing they need, consistent with results from the first quarter of 2011 but 12 percentage points higher on a year-over-year basis. Only 16 percent of businesses polled have tried to obtain financing in the past 12 months.

— Only 16 percent of small businesses in the survey say that securing the capital needed to continue operations will be one of the biggest challenges they face over the next six months.

Survey Methodology

The findings reported in this release are from a telephone survey conducted by the opinion research firm, Braun Research of Princeton, NJ. Braun Research interviewed a nationally-representative sample of 1,904 for-profit small businesses in the U.S., weighted to Dunn and Bradstreet counts of all businesses nationwide by employee size and geography. Samples were also taken in New York, New Jersey, Louisiana, Texas and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Small businesses are defined as those with less than $10 million in annual revenue. The interviews were conducted from June 13-July 1, 2011. All interviews were conducted by telephone at their places of business. One respondent per business was contacted. The margin of error is ± 2.3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Interviews were monitored at random. Sampling for this study was conducted using a national sample of businesses drawn from InfoUSA. All interviews were conducted using a computer assisted telephone interviewing system. Statistical weights were designed from the United States Department of Commerce to ensure proper inclusion of all SIC codes.

About Capital One

Capital One Financial Corporation ( www.capitalone.com ) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., had $126.1 billion in deposits and $199.8 billion in total assets outstanding as of June 30, 2011. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “COF” and is included in the S&P 100 index.

SOURCE: Capital One Financial Corporation

By Aaron Moselle/WHYY Newsworks
August 23, 2011

By Kathleen Lynn/The Record
August 22, 2011

New Jersey businesses plan to step up hiring over the next six months, a new survey by Capital One Bank found.

At a time when the state’s unemployment rate is at 9.5 percent, more than half of large businesses surveyed reported plans to hire over the next six months. That’s a big jump from last year and earlier this year. About a third of small businesses reported plans to hire within the next six months, compared with only 21 percent in the first quarter of the year.

“We are seeing a healthy uptick in the percentage of New Jersey businesses that are planning to hire during the second half of 2011,” said Doug Kennedy, New Jersey president for Capital One. He called it “an encouraging sign of growth and recovery.”

Capital One also found that about half of small-business managers said economic conditions were improving, up significantly from a year earlier. And 53 percent of large businesses polled believe that economic conditions are improving.

The survey also found improved credit access for small businesses.

Consumers, also surveyed by Capital One, seemed less optimistic. Only 13 percent said their personal financial situation improved over the previous 12 months, while 36 percent said they were worse off. And three out of five said finding a job is “hard” or “nearly impossible.”

More than 40 percent said their savings decreased over the previous six months.

By Jared Kaltwasser/NJBIZ
August 18, 2011

A new state pilot program aims to slash the energy bills of hospitals, manufacturers and other large energy consumers while helping to meet the state’s energy efficiency goals.
The Board of Public Utilities on Thursday announced the launch of the Large Energy Users Pilot Program. The $20 million program allows qualified applicants to receive up to $1 million to offset the cost of making energy efficiency upgrades to existing buildings.

Greg Reinert, a BPU spokesman, said the money for the program will come from the Clean Energy Program, which receives funding from the Societal Benefits Charge included in ratepayers’ electricity bills.

Lee A. Solomon, BPU’s president, said in a prepared statement that the new program aligns with the goals set out in Gov. Chris Christie’s Energy Master Plan draft.

“The Draft 2011 State Energy Master Plan identified energy efficiency as a priority in our efforts to reduce energy costs for all ratepayers, and improve the reliability of the regional grid,” Solomon said. “This pilot program encourages the level of investment required to achieve significant energy savings for large energy users, while advancing the state’s goal of reducing energy consumption.”

Reinert said the BPU believes the program will ultimately create jobs by lowering large employers’ energy bills.

To qualify, an energy user must have made at least $300,000 worth of Societal Benefits Charge payments in 2010, and the user must have an annual billed peak demand of at least 400 kilowatts.

The exact award a user receives will be based on the total cost of the project as well as energy savings, though no individual award will exceed $1 million.

Program participants can also apply for funding from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which has set up a revolving loan fund to provide low-interest loans of between $250,000 and $2.5 million for energy efficiency upgrades.

Applicants to the Large Energy Users Pilot Program must submit a pre-qualification document by Sept. 26 to be considered. After a review, the BPU said 25 applicants will be selected to submit a full draft energy efficiency plan to reserve funding for their projects. Details are available on the state’s Clean Energy Program website.