Biz Buzz

DATCU was recently named as one of the Best Companies to Work for in Texas 2010.

The awards program was created in 2006 and is a project of TEXAS MONTHLY, the Texas Association of Business (TAB), the Texas State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (TSC-SHRM) and Best Companies Group, according to an announcement released today.

The Best Companies to Work for in Texas 2010 list is made up of 85 companies. The winners are selected from company culture and employee responses. DATCU was named the 14th best company in 2006, 4th in 2008, and 2nd in 2009. According to the release, the final 2010 rankings will be announced in January followed by an awards ceremony later in the month.

For more information on the Best Companies to Work for in Texas program, visit www.BestCompaniesTX.com or contact Jackie Miller at 877-455-2159.

Today, the U.S. Government updated Recovery.gov, the Web site they use to track funding designated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Through the Web site, taxpayers may now view each fund recipient in their city and state and find out how they are using recovery funds.

The State of Texas was granted $16,880,053,426 in recovery funds in February. Of those, $4,321,561,394 has been paid out to date leaving $13,150,869,871 funds still available in forms of federal contracts, grants and loans, according to the site data. Data on the site was provided by federal agencies receiving Recovery Act funds.

Already we found discrepancies in the information provided - there is close to $12,558,492,032 funds still available in the State not $13,150,869,871 as the site states.

Here is a preliminary overview based on the information available for the Denton area by typing zip code 76201.

University of North Texas

Amount: $498,525
Award Description: Upgrading the NMR facilities at the University of North Texas.

Amount: $430,000
Award Description: CAREER: Fundamental Insights into Deformation of Lightweight Alloys from Discovery-Class Atomistic Simulations

Amount: $249,265
Award Description: II-EN: Infrastructure Acquisition for Statistical Power, Leakage, and Timing Modeling Towards Realization of Robust Complex Nanoelectronic Circuits

Amount: $231,431
Award Description: Gravitational Force Spectroscopy of Single Myosin Molecules

Amount: $150,000
Award Description: US-Chile IRES: Integrating Ecological Sciences and Environmental Ethics for Biocultural Conservation in the Temperate Sub-Antarctic Region of Southwest

Texas Woman's University

Amount: $2,972,729
Award Description: GRANT PROGRAM

Amount: $336,688
Award Description: GRANT PROGRAM

Amount: $74,223
Award Description: CAMPUS-BASED /FWS

Amount: $35,157
Award Description: GRANT PROGRAM

Amount: $27,729
Award Description: GRANT PROGRAM

Amount: $24,010
Award Description: GRANT PROGRAM

Amount: $2,457
Award Description: GRANT PROGRAM

Amount: $2,366
Award Description: GRANT PROGRAM

Amount: $0
Award Description: CAMPUS-BASED /FWS

Amount: $0
Award Description: GRANT PROGRAM

Denton Independent School District

Amount: $94,923
Award Description: HEAD START

Denton County Sheriff's Office

Amount: $368,482
Award Description: FY 2009 Recovery Act JAG Program

After October 15, 2009, the Recovery.gov will provide recipient data and will include grants and loans provided to each recipient on October 30.

The Federal Reserve Board announced it will begin a statistical study of household finances to update data collected before the economic downturn began in late 2007.

The 2009 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) will attempt to re-interview participants from the Board's most recently completed survey; the last one was in 2007 with 4,422 random participants from 79 metropolitan and rural counties in the U.S., according to a press release on Monday.

"It may seem that everything that needs to be known about recent economic changes is already known," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in a letter to potential respondents in a press release. "But, we would benefit from a more detailed understanding of what has happened across the broad range of types of households. For that, we need to look directly at changes for individual households."

The survey will be conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), a social science research organization at the University of Chicago that will collect data from July 25 through December 31 of this year and will look at issues related to credit constraints, small business performance, housing, mortgages and expectations about the future of the economy in general including household's finances.

Chairman Bernanke assured the participants the highest priority of privacy.

Read the letter Chairman Bernanke mailed to the sample households urging their participation in the re-interview study.

Let's call it happy news.

The US Department of Labor announced today the federal minimum wage will increase to $7.25 effective next Friday, July 24.

The increase will affect 30 states including the state of Texas.

"This well-deserved increase will help workers better provide for their families in the face of today's economic challenges, said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis via a press release on Thursday, "I am especially pleased that the change will benefit working women, who make up two-thirds of minimum wage earners."

According to the release, a family with a full-time minimum wage earner would see its monthly income increase by about $120.

"The benefits are not just for full-time workers. About half of minimum wage workers are part-timers, and they, too, are going to see a very welcome boost to their incomes," said the release.

The last minimum wage change occurred in July of 2008, when the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was amended and increased the hourly pay to $6.55 from $5.85 in 2007.

How is the economy doing?

The Federal Reserve Bank gave its recent highlights through the Biege Book today. The report, published eight times a year, provides a summary of economic conditions gathered through interviews with economists, bank experts, market experts and other sources.

Here are some of the conditions for the Eleventh District which includes the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

- Small signs of stabilizing at low levels in a couple industries - manufacturing, retail, residential construction and financial activities;
- "Drought conditions and low margins continue to put a financial strain on District farmers and ranchers," according to the report;
- Prices of crude oil continued to increase from $40 to $50 per barrel, an increase possibly driven by news of additional fiscal and monetary stimulus and data indicating greater stability in the economy;
- Labor markets continued to be weak and employment levels were flat;
- Auto dealers reported flat sales over the past six weeks, with year-over-year demand down (close to 40 percent);
- Although construction and real estate had low activity, respondents felt home prices for Texas metro areas were holding up much better than other areas around the county;
- "Farmers are holding back on planting crops especially in the dryland areas, and plantings of cotton and sorghum were slightly behind normal," according to the report.

Click here to view the complete report.

The Pew Research Center finally confirmed what we want to know. Do you care about the financial crisis? Do you understand it?

In their latest finding released today, the center News IQ survey (a survey used to test the knowledge of the facts related to the current economic situation) found that the American public is quite informed about the facts related to the current economic situation.

Here are some to the findings:

• 83 percent know the government assistance to banks and to other financial institutions is aimed at getting them to lend more money, not less money.
• Roughly seven-in-ten, 71 percent, correctly identify China as the foreign country holding the most U.S. government debt.
• Notably, more Americans know the current unemployment rate than the current level of the Dow Jones Industrial Average: 53 percent can correctly estimated the (national) unemployment rate at about 8 percent (the rate was 8.1 percent in February, but is projected to rise to 8.5 percent in March).
• That compares with 40 percent who correctly estimated the level of the Dow average at 8,000. This is slightly lower than awareness of the Dow average in the Pew Research Center's December 2008 News IQ survey, when 45 percent could correctly answer the question.

In a survey released today, close to 20 percent of all homeowners or 30 percent of those holding mortgages had to sell their home for less than what they owe. The study was published by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

According to the report, roughly six-in ten (61 percent) of those who say they are upside down on their mortgage are white, 12 percent are black and 18 percent are Hispanic. By comparison, 84 percent of mortgage holders who say their home would sell for at least the value of their mortgage are white, 6 percent were black and 6 percent were Hispanic.

The survey also found that those who feel upside down on their mortgages report more financial strain that those who are not.

A copy of the report is available at: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1128/homeowners-mortgage-underwater

The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported today January retail sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) for January increased 0.5 percent.

"While 2009 got off to a surprising start, it's going to be difficult for retailers to maintain this momentum," said NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells in the press release. "We expect the first half of the year to present challenges while giving way to sustained growth in the fourth quarter."

Also in its release today, the U.S. Commerce Department reported retail sales (which include non-general merchandise categories such as autos, gasoline stations and restaurants) increased 1.0 percent seasonally adjusted from December but decreased 9.0 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

According to the NFR release, shoppers are just focusing on purchasing necessities.

It is quite difficult to get news out of the Denton post office. They hardly share their good deeds or good fortunes. But every now and then we can just do wonders. So here it goes...

Denton is the first office in the Southwest area to achieve Model Office status for the Southwest Area's Critical Review Compliance.

In the seven categories tested under the review, Denton achieved perfect scores of 100 percent in collections, City F2, Rural, FA2, and Human Resources. Additionally the post office achieved scores of 98.2 percent in finance, 97.1 percent in customer service and 92.3 percent in marketing.

"The critical review processes work when all functions within a unit work together. No one part can be successful without everyone pulling and working together," Denton Postmaster Les Phipps said in a June press release (like I said, they don't share their good news).

The Denton office employs 180 personnel, which includes 46 city and 42 rural routes, eight pieces of automation, a Bulk Mail Entry Unit and four Post Office Finance units. Denton provides 57,109 deliveries to customers in 10 zip codes.

Residential foreclosure postings and their rates of increase continue to run neck and neck in Denton and Collin counties.

Collin County edged over Denton County's figures for the upcoming January auctions by having 479 residences posted for foreclosure, which is up 18 percent from the 405 posted a year ago. In Denton County, 455 residential foreclosures were posted, about 16 percent more than the 392 homes listed for the January 2008 auction. Last month, residential foreclosures were down slightly to 435, which was about 3 percentage points below the numbers filed for December 2007 auction.

Denton County had seen a decline in same-month-to-same-month postings in each of the last two months for both the November and December auctions, according to George Roddy Sr., president of Foreclosure Listing Service.

However, figures for the January auction are up by 5 percent, records show, indicating the bottom may not have been reached in the housing market.

-- Dawn Cobb

In efforts to help with the economic crisis, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to a range between zero to .25 percent.

"Since the Committee's last meeting, labor market conditions have deteriorated, and the available data indicate that consumer spending, business investment, and industrial production have declined. Financial markets remain quite strained and credit conditions tight. Overall, the outlook for economic activity has weakened further," the Federal Reserve said in today's press release.

With the holiday season in full force, retailers are ready to welcome holiday returnees with open arms.

According to the National Retail Federation's 2008 Holiday Returns Survey released yesterday, retailers are becoming more accommodating by adjusting their returns policies and shoppers are returning the favor by giving gift receipts with holiday gifts.

"Nearly 60 percent of shoppers said they include either the original receipt or a gift receipt at least some of the time, slightly higher than 57.5 percent who said the same last year," according to the press release by NFR.

In addition, the survey found that nearly nine out of ten Americans - 87.2 percent of them - felt retailers' return policies were fair.

In last month's NRF's annual Return Fraud Survey, more than half - 52 percent - of the respondents said they felt retailers' return policies were more lenient during the holiday season than during the rest of the year.

The Holiday Returns Survey also found gift recipients to be content with their gifts - 65.2 percent did not return any gifts last year.

The annual survey was conducted by BIG Research, a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights.

For some stress free return tips from the NRF to help you during the holiday season, click here.

The Beige Book came out this afternoon. The Federal Reserve District report focusing on current economic conditions continued to describe the economy for the 11th District as weak in October and in the first half of November. According to the report, District 11, which includes the Dallas/Fort Worth area, had been impacted by the weakness of the national economy and the credit market crisis.

"Almost all respondents voiced concern about the near-term outlook with expectations of improvement ranging from about four to twelve months away," according to the report.

Here are some of the findings:

• Prices - retailers offered discounts to help their business stay afloat while other businesses resisted increasing their prices and passing that cost to their consumers.


• Labor market - continued to have mass layoffs, cut hours and temp positions. Manufacturing more than any other industry was affected. Manufacturers still reported declines.
  


• Retail sales - Electronics appear to be leading the way, but respondents said they that their market would continue to be weak through the holiday season, "and many respondents said they are cutting back capital expenditures for 2009."


To view the complete report, click here.

The Beige Book came out yesterday. The Federal Reserve District report focusing on current economic conditions did not all provide any sign of that the economy will improve any time soon.
For the 11th District, which includes the DFW area, the economy slowed down in late August and September.
Most areas across the board were affected including the labor market, manufacturing conditions, transportation and especially retail.
"Outlooks were more pessimistic than in the last survey, with respondents citing many 'unknowns' on the horizon," according to the report.

Here are some of its findings:

• Labor market remained steady. Several layoffs were reported in the metal industry, residential construction related manufacturing and auto dealers.
• Manufacturing conditions also suffered, "One company had laid off salaried workers for the first time in 20 years," according to the report.
• Back to School sales did not provide the usual bump and businesses expect to have a slow holiday season.
• Temporary staffing of light industrial manufacturing workers was strong. Yet request for employees in software and web services slowed down.
• Legal services were also affected with real estate and financial transactions declining sharply.

To view the complete report, click here.

Providing the latest news . . .

The Federal Reserve voted unanimously to keep the interest rate at 2 percent despite rumors that it would reduce rates because of yesterday's somber economic news (Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy, Bank of America's buyout of Merrill Lynch & Co. and problems emerging at one the largest insurance companies in the country - American International Group).

The last time the Federal Reserve reduced rates was in March when it decided to lower the rate (75 basis points) to 2-1/4 percent.

See the official statement

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) released their latest housing report last week. According to the NCTCOG, over 45,000 housing units were added in North Central Texas in 2007. For 2008, the report estimates, 221,715 housing units are located in Denton County - 143,096 single family and 60,004 multi-family housing units with 12,698 categorized as other types of housing. This reflects a projected increase of 32 percent since 2000. Dallas County had a projected increase of 12 percent while Tarrant County increased by as much as 22 percent.

The NCTCOG report is based on cities in the North Central Texas region with populations of 1,000 or more. Additionally, in order to derive at the recent year estimates, the NCTCOG gathered data using 2000 Census information with city reports compiled from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007.

To see full report please visit:

http://www.nctcog.org/ris/demographics/housing/2008Housing.pdf

The National Association of Realtors reported today that the pending home sales index for the month of July fell by 3.2 percent to 86.5. In the past couple of months, the index had read 89.4 in June while in May it had increased by 5.8. The current index according to the NAR is below July 2007 when it stood at 92.8.

According to the press release provided by the NAR, Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the association said, home sales continue to fluctuate.

"Pending home sales are oscillating month-to-month, with the long-term trend essentially flat," he said. "Overly stringent lending criteria imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the past month no doubt held back contract signings."

Locally, the Real Estate Center reports that 742 homes (single-family, townhouses and condominiums) sold in Denton County in the month of July at an average price of $198,800 compared to 718 houses sold the previous month.

For more information:

National Association of Realtors
http://www.realtor.org/

Real Estate Center
http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/hs/hs212b.htm

It appears that those retail checks may be helping the retail industry a little.

In a report that came out today, the National Retail Federation announced that the retail industry sales for May rose 3.8 percent unadjusted over last year and 0.9 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month.

May retail sales released today by the U.S. Commerce Department show total retail sales (which include non-general merchandise categories such as autos, gasoline stations and restaurants) increased 1.0 percent seasonally adjusted from the previous month and increased 3.0 percent unadjusted year-over-year according to the release. The report credited sales at electronic and appliance stores including clothing and clothing accessory sales for giving the economy a little boost.

According to the NRF, most shoppers used their tax rebate to hit discounter and grocery stores last month. Sales at grocery stores increased 0.6 percent seasonally adjusted from April and 8.5 percent unadjusted year-over-year. General merchandise stores sales increased 1.2 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month and 7.4 percent unadjusted from last year.

Let us know how you are spending your rebate check. Send your comments to kramirez@dentonrc.com. Your comments will be posted on our blog.

Keeping you informed,

Karina Ramírez
940-566-6878
kramirez@dentonrc.com

For the first six months of 2008, residential foreclosures in Denton County are up 35 percent over the same period last year, according to a report from Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.
Second quarter postings rose across North Texas with Denton County second among 10 counties at a gain of 32 percent. Rockwall County was the only one to top Denton County with a gain of 39 percent.
For June, Denton County showed a 13 percent increase from the previous year with records showing 437 foreclosure postings for the upcoming auction on the first Tuesday of the month, compared to 386 in June 2007. Records show June 2008 residential foreclosure postings are 39 percent higher than June 2006, 53 percent higher than June 2005 and 117 percent higher than June 2004.

Sales tax allocations for the city of Denton were up three-tenths of a percentage point, according to records. The city’s sales tax allocation budget for March was $2,024,237. The city received $2,030,605 for the month, about $6,368 or .31 percent above the projected budget. The amount received also was about $12,624 or .63 percent above the $2,017,981 received in March 2008.
To date, city records show sales tax allocations are up 1.88 percent or $192,409 above budget and 2.29 percent or $233,883 above the last fiscal year at the same time.

Keep in touch!

Dawn Cobb
Managing Editor
Denton Record-Chronicle
940-566-6879
dcobb@dentonrc.com