Month: September 2006

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Sports Stadiums: Do Franchises Really Need Public Financing to Build Their New Stadiums

I. Introduction

Many people have spent a summer night or a Sunday afternoon at the ballpark or stadium watching their favorite teams.  These stadiums are an integral part of a professional sports franchises operations.  In recent years there has been a surge in new stadiums being built by teams as they take advantage of the willingness of cities to provide public financing.  Since 2000 there have been 17 new stadiums built for National Football League and Major League Baseball teams. [1].  In addition, several teams are in discussions for the building of new stadiums in the next few years. [2].

II. Analysis

Of those 17 new stadiums only one, SBC Park in San Francisco, was built entirely with private funding. [3]. Sports teams have on average have been able to get 70% of the costs of building a new stadium financed through public funding. [4]. This generally allows sports franchises

… Read the rest
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Where to Open a Business: Consideration of Living Wage Ordinances

 A company must keep three factors in mind when trying to decide where to open its doors, “location, location, [and] location.” [1]. Closely related to location, a company might consider traffic flow, highway access, and the presence of other businesses in the area. [2].  The applicable minimum wage is an unlikely consideration for a company that is in the process of selecting a location, but that may soon change. Federal law sets a minimum wage floor, but States can pass their own statutes raising the federal minimum wage. [3]. On the rise, however, is the presence of local ordinances that index minimum wage levels to cost of living increases or that target specific companies. [4]. This article will first briefly examine two such ordinances, one from Santa Fe and one from Chicago, and it will then set out options for companies wishing to do business in cities that have some … Read the rest

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Fun With The Tax Code: Changes Abound in 2006 Tax Year

I. Introduction

They
say that death and taxes are the two sure things in life. That may very
well be the case, but taxes and tax law are ever changing. Rates are
regularly moved up or down new taxes are added and certain taxes are
eliminated. For the 2006 tax year, Congress made several changes that
will have an impact on people as they get their financial records
together and start preparing their taxes for the April deadline. Some
of the changes that Congress made include; The Pension Protection Act,
The Energy Tax Incentives Act and The Tax Increase Prevention and
Reconciliation Act.[1]. The article focuses on whether changes to tax
law will actually be beneficial to individual taxpayers.

II. Analysis

The
Pension Protection Act was signed into law for the purpose of revising
tax rules related to pension plans and individual retirement accounts
(IRAs).[2]. ne provision of the act

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Where Have You Gone Doogie Howser M.D.? A Nation Turns Its Lonely Eyes To You. [1].

Collin Delaney, Staff Writer

A brief examination of the fiduciary, ethical, and professional paradigm shifts experienced by the health-care provider following the September 11th terrorist attacks.

As our nation recently observed the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, one cannot help but reflect on the fundamental changes that have occurred since. Foreign and domestic policies have undergone watershed transitions, the effects of which are still being understood. Health-care in the United States, specifically the role of the health-care provider, is no exception. 
Significant shifts have occurred and continue to occur in regard to how the government interacts, influences, and regulates health-care. New issues in medical ethics are now being vociferously debated. Even the day-to-day expectations of physicians and hospitals have seen marked change.  
While certainly no one with any experience in health-care will classify the pre-September 11th period as simple, the inordinate complexity of health-care administration seems to be

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China Approves Citibank-led Consortium’s buy-into Guangdong Development Bank

China’s approval of the Citibank consortium’s buy-into Guangdong
Development Bank ends a year-and-a-half battle for control of the bank.
[1]

The Citigroup consortium, which includes China’s largest insurance
company and one of China’s largest electricity distributors, offered
approximately three billion dollars for an eighty five percent stake in
Guangdong Bank. [2]

The
Citibank consortium beat out its closest rival a consortium led by
France’s Societe Generale. [3] U.S. based, private investment firm, The
Carlyle Group, pulled out of the bidding. [4] Despite a last minute
attempt to get back into the race, Ping An Insurance's bid was hobbled
when they tried to make large donations to the Guangdong provincial
government a portion of their bid. [5]

Despite their leadership position in the consortium, Citibank will
only take a 19.9 percent stake in Guangdong Development Bank, as
Chinese law currently forbid a single foreign bank from owning more
than 20 percent … Read the rest

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Tax Mogul H&R Block Tempts Fate by Branching into the World of Everyday Banking

I. Introduction

Tax preparation giant H&R Block
announced at the beginning of this month that in response to lawsuits
brought by angered taxpayers about the company's Refund Anticipation
Loan (RAL) program, it will be revamping the program in an effort to
reduce consumer cost as well as, presumably, it's own litigation
costs.[1]  But will the plan work? 

II. Operation

The H&R Block RAL program operates as follows.  First, the
taxpayer turns over his tax return information to H&R Block, who in
turn computes the anticipated refund.  Then, H&R Block presents the
taxpayer with a paperwork from one lending institution with whom it
contracts which offers to pay out the amount of the anticipated refund
(less fees that amount to annualized interest rates from 40% to more
than 500%) the same or next day as a loan.  In return for providing the
lending institution with the consumer, the lending institution and

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Has the Bubble Burst? Economic Implications of a Buyer’s Market

For the past several years, residential real estate has been a seller's market.  With low interest rates and not enough houses to go around, sellers could expect to receive top dollar for their homes and could turn their homes around fairly quickly once they put their homes on the market.  In early January, the National Association of Realtors projected that existing home sales would fall this year by 4.4%, but as of early September, that forecast has dramatically decreased, with existing home sales for 2006 projected to fall 7.6% below sales in 2005. [1]  The market looks even worse for new home sales, with a 16% fall expected this year.  [2]  Indeed, it is a buyer's market, and if the bubble really has burst, the economic implications could be far-reaching.   

The market surge, which was initially brought on in the late 1990s by low interest rates and easily obtainable

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New Life in an Old Method: A Concise Railroad Law Primer

The reality of the modern world is that fuel prices are enormous compared with averages from as little as ten years ago, and it is improbable that they will decline anytime in the near future.  [1]  One consequence of current fuel prices is the higher cost of freight and passenger transportation around the country.  Carriers must adjust their rates according to a confusing maelstrom of fluctuating fuel costs, federal security requirements pertaining to the war on terrorism, and the instability of steady customers in the lukewarm economy.  [2]  A solution may be as simple as looking to a transportation method that is over a century old and is conveniently located in nearly all major American markets – the railroad system.  Railroad freight and passenger services, and the laws that accompany them, are probably unfamiliar to many practicing attorneys because of the multitude of other transportation options that sellers have preferred

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No One at the Helm: Trustee Appointed to Manage Death Row Records

Suge Knight’s hopes of maintaining control of Death Row Records
during its Chapter 11 reorganization were dashed on July 7, 2006, when
United States Bankruptcy Judge Ellen Carroll placed the company under
the management of a case trustee. Judge Carroll cited gross
mismanagement of the record company’s finances, stating, "it seems
apparent that there is no one at the helm." [1]

The Death Row case illustrates a pervasive tension in corporate
reorganizations: at what point does the interest of the creditors trump
the vested control of management, which may have driven the company
insolvent in the first place? Under certain conditions, the bankruptcy
court has the power to transfer control of the estate from the
debtor-in-possession to a trustee under section 1104(a) of the
Bankruptcy Code. [2]

The Death Row Records Bankruptcy

Rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight epitomizes the life of ruthlessness
and violence glorified in the gangsta rap genre … Read the rest

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A Warning to Foreign Companies Entering “Sensitive” U.S. Markets

I. Introduction

While the
United States generally pushes for more open access for its investors
to foreign markets, the sight of foreign companies trying to invest in
"sensitive" areas of the U.S. economy has drawn a very different
reaction.  Two recent acquisition attempts illustrate this point:
CNOOC's, a Chinese oil and gas company, attempted acqusition of Unocal
and Dubai Ports World's attempted takeover of security for a number of
eastern and southern ports.

II. Analysis

On
June 23, 2005, CNOOC announced its attempted acquisition of Unocal, an
California-based independent oil and gas company. [1]  The Chinese
company's offer was $18.5 billion, which was roughly $2 billion more
than Chevron,the next highest bidder, offered, reflecting a premium of
about $1.5 billion over the value of Chevron's offer. [2]  CNOOC made
an all-cash offer of $67 per share compared to Chevron's lower combined
cash and stock offer of $61.26. [3]

Even before

… Read the rest