| BUSINESS SURVEY: DIFFERENT TAKES ON TAXES Two-thirds of those surveyed ...
Poll results: Asked of Review-Journal/Las Vegas Business Press readers in an online survey. The Review-Journal and Las Vegas Business Press sent this business survey to more than 2,000 local businesses in December. The questionnaire was distributed to subscribers of the newspaper's Push e-mail service, as well as members of local trade groups, including the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Nevada State Education Association wants the gaming industry to pay more taxes to support schools in Nevada. The casino industry, however, argues that the tax on most large gaming companies should not increase from 6.75 percent to 9.75 percent because the industry already funds its fair share of the state budget. As a businessperson, do you support raising the state's gaming tax? Yes -- 51.6%
No -- 42.6%
The gaming industry also argues that if state legislators do decide additional funds are necessary, any tax increase should be broad-based and apply to all businesses, not just casinos.
LaBarca fights WICC for radio show title
Cumulus Media submitted its application for a service mark on "Italian House Party," on Dec. 27, 2007, and received a certificate of registration from the secretary of the state 15 days later. Cumulus' certificate of registration expires on Dec. 27, 2012. According to Cumulus' application, the mark is intended for "promotion and publicity," and the first place it was ever used was in Connecticut on Nov. 1, 1989. In response to a question on the state's application, Linda McCarthy, WICC's business manager, states the mark "appears on signs, in print advertising and online advertising" and that "no" applications to register the mark or any portions of it have been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Commercial Recording Division form also asks applicants to confirm "to the best of the applicant's knowledge, no other person has the right to use such mark in this state either in the identical form or as to be likely to cause confusion or to cause mistake or deceive purchasers." Lastly, the certificate of registration requires the applicant to declare "under the penalties of false statement" that the statements made in the application are true.
Thailand starts by-elections in Northeast
According to the election law, a candidate who was issued with a red card will be disqualified in the by-elections, while a candidate with a yellow card still can re-contest the by-elections. So far, a total of seven red cards and nine yellow cards have been issued to 16 candidates of the PPP, the Democrat Party, the Chart Thai Party and the Matchimathipataya Party. A second by-elections was expected to be held on Jan. 20 and after two rounds of by-elections, the first parliament meeting is scheduled to be held on Jan 22. However, the election commission now is still focusing on a suspected election fraud case on Yongyuth Tiyaphairat, the deputy leader of the PPP. The commission said if he is red-carded, his PPP may face dissolution.
Teter using her fame for charitable causes
Teter's Olympic gold made her one of the most popular women's athletes in the world. She appeared on the cover of magazines, in commercials, on talk shows, including the memorable maple syrup shot appearance with Kimmel. Everyone wanted a piece of Teter and she loved it, in part because it was so much fun, but most because it meant she could start giving back. Later that year, she launched a line of Vermont syrup — her family had made it for years — called Hannah's Gold, and donated the profits to World Vision, a Christian relief organization that helps impoverished families around the world. That wasn't good enough for Teter, though. Wanting to know exactly where the money was going, she worked with organizers to sponsor an entire village so she could keep track of the progress.
House prices dip for fourth month as it takes longer to sell homes
The less volatile year-on-year measure showed a rise of 2.3%, the lowest since June 2006. The survey coincides with predictions that this year will see the first house price drop since 1995. Forecasters at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) believe the average house price will fall 2.5% - or more than £8,000 - in 2008. This echoes other recent reports of a slowdown. The survey shows the average time to sell a home was 8.5 weeks in January, the longest since it began seven years ago. Still, the property information group pointed out that the extent of house price falls decreased in January, with estate agents reporting lower prices across less than a quarter of the country, compared with 31% in December. "Weak confidence among would-be purchasers continues to put downward pressure on house prices, although the scale of the recent falls is relatively small when put in the context of gains over the past few years," said Richard Donnell, Hometrack's research director.
States launch mortgage-broker tracker
The system is mandatory for brokers doing business in those states, and state regulators can penalize brokers for operating without a license. Although the effort is a welcome step toward more uniform regulation, it won't be enough to satisfy those in Congress who want tighter national standards, says mortgage industry consultant Howard Glaser. Lending-reform legislation does face tough odds this year, but Glaser said the consensus emerging from Democrats and Republicans is clear: More oversight of mortgage brokers is necessary. "To have true uniformity, you would need to have a federal rule," Glaser said. "It shouldn't make a difference where you live." The state system applies to mortgage brokers and loan officers at state-regulated banks, but not employees at nationally supervised banks.
Ahram! Akhbar Gomhuria!
Does the recent shake-up at the nation's leading state-owned newspapers and magazines really signal the start of a new age in Egyptian media? Top editors at the three biggest publishing houses are adamant that it does — and show a surprising interest in tackling problems on the fiscal side of business.By Noha El-Hennawy .
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