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St. Louis Business & Technology News
www.slfp.com/SLFPBIZp.htm "When you think Saint Louis, think Saint Louis Front Page," a weekly publication covering the news and events in the greater St. Louis area. 
St. Louis Front Page P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com To advertise, contact: advertising@slfp.com 
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New SBA Small Business Numbers Include Billions to Corporate Giants PETALUMA, CA, (PRNewswire) August 28, 2005 - The American Small Business League reports that the Small Business Administration released the highly controversial 2004 federal small business contracting statistics on Thursday, August 25, 2005. The SBA is claiming $69.23 billion or 23.09 percent in federal contracts had been awarded to small businesses during fiscal year 2004. The latest SBA small business statistics ignore the findings of seven separate government investigations and two private studies that have all concluded the SBA has dramatically overstated the government's true level of contracts with small businesses by reporting billions in awards to many of the largest firms in the country as small business awards. A 2004 investigation by the SBA's own Office of Advocacy found the SBA had reported billions in awards to such firms as Hewlett-Packard, Northrop- Grumman, Titan Industries, Raytheon and Buhrmann, a Dutch firm with 18,000 employees, as small business awards. The report concluded "vendor deception" was one of the reasons for the dramatic abuses. The SBA's own Office of Inspector General has released the results of three investigations in the past year that found the SBA has intentionally included awards to large businesses in their small business contracting statistics. Report 5-14 was prompted by a request from Senator John Kerry. It stated, "The SBA awarded four of the six high dollar procurements, reported as small business procurements, to large companies at the time of the procurements." SBA Inspector General report 5-15 stated, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal Government today is that large businesses are receiving small business procurement awards ..." Report 5-16 was prompted by information provided by Lloyd Chapman, President of the California-based American Small Business League. It concluded that the SBA had allowed large businesses to receive small business contracts through "false certifications." Chapman said, "The SBA has intentionally inflated the 2004 small business statistics in two ways. They have understated the actual federal acquisition budget by up to 100 billion dollars to make the percentage look larger than it actually is. They have also included billions in awards to Fortune 1000 firms and other large businesses in their small business statistics. Their own Inspector General has caught them falsifying the numbers." An investigation by the Washington, DC-based Center for Public Integrity concluded that the SBA had reported over $47 billion in awards by the Department of Defense to some of the nation's top defense contractors as small business awards. Missouri Receives $600,000 in Grants From Dept of Labor JEFFERSON CITY, (SLFP.com), August 28, 2005 - Missouri has received more than $600,000 in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Labor. Missouri received $500,000 for tax projects for Internet employer registration. The Internet Employer Tax Registration System will provide new employers with secure, private and convenient methods for filing employer registration information, determining employer liability, and offering a link to file tax and wage reports on-line. This approach will save the Missouri Division of Employment Security from keypunching data, allow employers to register on-line for unemployment tax, and will give liable users the opportunity to file reports via the Internet at the same time by linking to the agency's tax and wage reporting system. The Internet enabled Employer Tax Registration System will allow employers doing business with the Division of Employment Security to register and file forms, report data, and communicate on-line via a website. Missouri was also awarded $108,035 following the passage of the State Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) Dumping Prevention Act of 2004. The law requires states to implement laws that deter employer tax rate manipulation and impose penalties for those found guilty of violating the laws. This grant will help Missouri implement procedures to prevent and detect unemployment insurance tax rate manipulation schemes. The law was designed to combat "shell" transactions involving artificial manipulation of corporate structures or employees to reduce state tax payments in a process called dumping, which shifts costs to other employers Mortgage Rates Continue to Drop Lower ST. LOUIS, (PRNewswire-FirstCall) August 28, 2005 - Fixed mortgage rates declined for the second consecutive week. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage decreased from 5.88 percent to 5.86 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large lenders. The 30-year fixed rate mortgages in this week's survey had an average of 0.35 discount and origination points. The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate declined slightly from 5.50 percent to 5.47 percent, while the average jumbo 30-year fixed rate mortgage slipped from 6.07 percent to 6.04 percent. The average 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage decreased from 5.56 percent to 5.47 percent, and the one-year ARM dropped slightly to 4.92 percent from 4.94 percent one week ago. Mortgage rates had risen six weeks in a row, from the beginning of July into mid-August. Now they have gone down for two weeks. Here are the differences between then and now: On June 30, the Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates, and long-term rates responded (finally, the Fed would say) with a sustained rise. The economy seemed strong; investors expected a rise in inflation in the long term, and long-term interest rates rose in response. Then petroleum prices went up sharply. Consumers responded as investors feared they would, by holding more tightly to their wallets -- except when they were refueling their cars or buying houses. Last week the federal government posted a disappointing report on retail sales in July, and this week the government said that orders for big-ticket, durable goods fell 4.9 percent in July. That was a much bigger drop than expected. Investors responded to that weakness by fleeing for the safety of treasury bonds, which bid up their prices and pushed down their yields. Rates for mortgages, which are closely tied to treasury yields, also fell. Fixed mortgage rates remain low, and so too do monthly payments. Six months ago, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 6.15 percent. At the time, the monthly payment on a $165,000 loan was $1,005.23. With the average rate now 5.86 percent, the monthly payment on the same $165,000 loan is $974.46. Return to St. Louis Front Page  
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