Small Biz: Sec Makes It Easier for Firms to Fundraise
Small and midsized businesses now have more options for attracting funds for an expansion, said J.D. Harrison in The Washington Post. The Securities and Exchange Commission this week approved rule changes contained in the JOBS Act—signed into law three years ago—that will allow companies to raise “up to $50 million a year, up from a long-standing cap of $5 million,” through small public offerings. The SEC will also exempt firms in need of capital from registering with state financial regulators in every state in which prospective shareholders reside, simplifying the fundraising process.
Media: BBC fires Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson
British TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has lost his job as host of the BBC’s hit car show, Top Gear, said Henry Mance in the Financial Times. BBC brass fired the controversial Clarkson after determining that the star had “launched an unprovoked physical attack” on one of his producers, reportedly because he couldn’t order a steak dinner at a hotel. Top Gear, with a global audience of 350 million, is one of the BBC’s most lucrative programs, earning hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue each year.
Tech: Google taps Morgan Stanley’s CFO
Ruth Porat, one of Wall Street’s top female executives, will soon head up Google’s finances, said Michael Liedtke in the Associated Press. Currently the chief financial officer of Morgan Stanley, Porat, 58, will move to Google next month following the retirement of Patrick Pichette, the tech giant’s CFO for the past seven years. Porat, a 28-year veteran of Morgan Stanley, is widely respected on Wall Street for “helping the bank regain its financial stability” after the 2008 financial crisis.
Housing: New-home sales at seven-year high
“In a hopeful sign for the housing market,” sales of new homes surged in February to their highest level since early 2008, said Lucia Mutikani in Reuters.com. Contract signings for single-family homes jumped 7.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 539,000 units, the Commerce Department said, and January’s sales were also revised slightly up. The gains came “despite cold and snowy weather slamming large parts of the country” in the first months of the year. A sustained pickup could nudge homebuilders to increase construction, which would be a boon to the overall economy.
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