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Posts published in “Business/Finance”

Obama Nominates Congressman Melvin Watt to Lead Mortgage Agency

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2013
President Obama congratulated Representative Melvin L. Watt, left, after nominating him on Wednesday to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – President Obama on Wednesday nominated Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, to become the overseer of the government-backed mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  If approved by the Senate, Mr. Watt would replace Edward J. DeMarco, who has been acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency for more than three years.

Mr. Watt is a lawyer who has represented North Carolina in Congress for the last two decades.  If he won Senate confirmation, he would become a powerful economic policy maker, as the housing market recovers and the White House contemplates the government’s future role in it.  “Mel understands as well as anybody what caused the housing crisis,” Mr. Obama said in a ceremony in the State Dining Room of the White House. “He knows what it’s going to take to help responsible homeowners fully recover and he’s committed to helping folks just like his mom,” who attended the ceremony, and whom Mr.Obama characterized as “Americans who work really hard, play by the rules, day in and day out, to provide for their families.”

Los Angeles Mayor Holds Transportation Contractors Accountable for Hiring Blacks

By goodblacknews on April 27, 2013

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

The Metro Transportation Authority (MTA) in Los Angeles pledged significant African American participation during the construction phase of the Metro Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor and also signed a project labor agreement to ensure that Blacks received adequate employment representation.  But contractors have drastically underperformed in the hiring of African Americans in the first phase of the Crenshaw Advanced Utilities Relocation PLA for Targeted Worker Attainment.
According to MTA internal documents obtained by the Los Angeles Sentinel, which revealed the number of individual hires, Blacks ranked lower than any other demographic group.  After Mayor Antonio Villraigosa required the promoting of African American hiring during the construction phase, the number of Blacks hired in the month of February nearly doubled the percentage of the previous two months to 5.81 percent  for February and escalated again in March to report its greatest gains yet reaching almost 8 percent.
“Finally, I think we are moving in the right direction because more African Americans are now included in the work force,” said Mayor Villraigosa. “However, I am not satisfied and will not be until I see that African Americans who live in this community are employed and reflected in the bottom line.  “I believe that it is only appropriate that residents of this community be active participants and work on this rail system being built. I want to see the number of people hired that represents the population of the community. They deserve it and I demand it. My legacy as mayor of the City of Los Angeles rides on it.”
article by Kenneth Miller, Los Angeles Sentinel via postnewsgroup.com

SékouWrites Launches BumperCandy.com, Automotive Website For Women

By goodblacknews on April 25, 2013
SekouWrites (photo by Brittney M. Walker)

Author, journalist, former Uptown Magazine editor and founder of SimplyRides.com, SékouWrites, has expanded his automotive-lifestyle business with the launch of BumperCandy.com, a multicultural women’s-interest website featuring beautiful cars and the lifestyle that comes with owning them. BumperCandy.com joins SimplyRides.com under the banner of Sékou’s newly created Dubbnet Networks, an assortment of automotive lifestyle websites tailored to audiences with unique interests.

“Ironically, my childhood career goal was to be a car designer,” says Sékou about his new-found path. “Later, when I was the Managing Editor of Uptown Magazine, I edited the car section to reach an audience of folks who are interested in cars but aren’t very interested in what’s under the hood. Once I started writing the car section myself, several women told me that they liked the way I covered automotive and I realized there was a niche for readers who care about the aesthetics and lifestyle associated with automobiles but don’t like to get bogged down by car jargon.”

Ed Gordon Media Announces National Syndication of ‘Conversations With Ed Gordon’

By goodblacknews on April 25, 2013

ed gordon

NEW YORK, NY – Ed Gordon Media announced today the syndication of “Conversations with Ed Gordon,” a quarterly, one-hour special with award-winning journalist and renowned interviewer, Ed Gordon, serving as host and executive producer. The specials will be aired nationally, including on all ten NBC owned and operated affiliates. The first special begins airing April 28, 2013.  Airdates, times and markets can be found on www.edgordon.net/conversations.htm.

Gordon, known for in-depth and exclusive interviews, will do it again with a stellar line-up of guests for the first special. Comedian Kevin Hart, one of today’s hottest entertainers, talks with Gordon on location in Los Angeles about his record-breaking concert tour and hit television show. Hart also confronts recent criticism surrounding a controversial “color” joke.
kevin hart & ed gordonKevin Hart on why he doesn’t address media/social network criticism:
“They want to make something out of nothing.  So if you give ammunition, which is a reply, an excuse or a constant apology, you’re setting yourself up for more comments.”
On wanting to be on the list of the greatest comedians of all-time:
“As long as my name is in there, I don’t care if it’s dead last, as long as I am in there. That means people understood my work ethic and understood that I love to do what I am doing now…making people laugh and that’s it.”

African Students Create Anti-Malaria Soap, Win Business Competition

By goodblacknews on April 22, 2013

malaria soap cropped
Moctar Dembele (pictured right) and Gerard Niyondiko (pictured) have won the Global Science Venture (GSVC) competition for creating an anti-malaria repellent soap, reports CP-Africa.  Burkina Faso native Dembele and Burundi native Niyondiko created Faso Soap from different herbs, including karate citronella. According to the product profile:

In many countries of tropical Africa, malaria is the leading cause of death for the population. It represents 30-40% of hospital admissions and up to 40% of public health expenditure.
Solution:  Production and marketing of soap “mosquito,” based on shea butter and enriched with essential oils of lemongrass and concern, to protect its users from malaria.
Impact:  Reduction massive number of people affected by malaria, especially among the poorest and basic hygiene.

According to Niyondiko, the soap will initially be available in African countries hit hardest by malaria. “The soap will be available first here, and then given to NGO.”
Watch the Faso Soap GSVC pitch below:

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/63409639 w=500&h=281] 

“We want a simple solution, because every one uses soaps, even in the very poor communities,” Dembélé added.
Dembele and Niyondiko have not only helped Africa with their creation, they’ve also made history.
They are also the first non-Americans to win the GSVC, which challenges students across the world to create their own business plans for social ventures. The grand prize is $25,000.
According to the World Health Organization, the African continent accounts for 85 percent of malaria cases and 90 percent of malaria deaths worldwide. Eighty-five percent of those deaths occur in children under 5 years old.
article by Hannington Dia via newsone.com

Morgan Freeman Starrer ‘Oblivion’ Takes Off With $38.2 Million Stateside; "42" Earns another $18 Million

By goodblacknews on April 21, 2013
‘Oblivion’ Takes Off With $38.2 Million Stateside
According to Variety.com, Universal Pictures segued a solid $61 million overseas debut for “Oblivion” last weekend into an estimated $38.2 million Stateside opening, a better-than-expected result that lifts the film’s worldwide total to $150.2 million.  Internationally, “Oblivion” has earned so far $112 million.
The $120 million-budgeted Tom Cruise/Morgan Freeman science fiction flick launched a week ago overseas to lengthen its playtime before Disney begins rolling out “Iron Man 3″ on April 24. The Marvel tentpole bows May 3 domestically.  
Warner Bros.’ second-frame holdover “42″ only dropped 34% for an estimated $18 million three-day gross. The film has reached $54 million and counting.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

New Crowdfunding Site Specializes In Funding African-American Ventures

By goodblacknews on April 19, 2013

BlackCrowdFunding.net
African-Americans have little-to-no representation in the technology sector, especially when it comes to dot-com businesses. Fortunately, William Michael Cunningham has created a platform specifically for African-Americans and women of all races.BlackCrowdFunding.net allows is a new crowdfunding platform that allows people to contribute to ventures created by African-Americans and/or women of all races.
In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Cunningham discussed the nature of his business. “Most people start a business by taking out loans on their houses or going to friends and family and raising money that way,” Cunningham said. “If you’re in a demographic where your housing wealth has been impacted significantly negatively, then that’s less of an option with respect to raising capital.”
Crowdfunding has been known to launch very successful projects, including the YouTube series “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl.” Cunningham said that crowdfunding presents a more promising option. Incase you’re unfamiliar with the term crowdfunding, it’s a method by which an entrepreneur can raise money for his or her start-up online by collecting small investments or donations from a large number of people. “The idea is that crowdfunding is a tool that can be used to get resources to low to moderate income communities in way that we haven’t seen before,” Cunningham said.
The site already has a number of ventures seeking funding, including an education on identity theft, a boutique, a garden, and a pride t-shirt, and more.
article by Maria Lloyd via techyville.com

Byron Allen Leases Space for Two New TV Sitcoms

By goodblacknews on April 19, 2013

ByronAllen
Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios announced the lease of 75,000 square feet of production space in Culver City, Calif. on Thursday, which the company plans to use for its 35th and 36th television series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
These will be the studio’s third and fourth brand new scripted sitcoms in less than two years, and once again, Allen is going forward with the half-hour syndicated shows without pilots for either, THR reported.
They will be funded by his own company, with an initial guaranteed order of 104 episodes of each, or 208 episodes in total. Allen won’t reveal numbers, but THR puts the cost of production for the shows at roughly $350,000 to $400,000 each, which by major network standards is a bargain these days. That is a minimum investment of $72.8 million for the 208 episodes.
Regarding his cost-effective productions, Allen boasts he has never canceled a show. “The way I see it we’re the Walmart of television,” says Allen. “We make it very efficiently but we don’t cut costs on writers or actors.”
Allen, a stand-up comic who has built (and still wholly owns) a company with over $100 million in annual revenues, has already found financial success with his first two scripted shows, “The First Family” and “Mr. Box Office.” They joined the corporate line-up of 30 unscripted shows that Entertainment Studios has created and sold since 1993.

New ‘Soul of the South’ Network to Launch in May

By goodblacknews on April 18, 2013

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6eY7WpOmoE&w=420&h=315]
The Soul of the South Network, targeting African-American viewers, announced Thursday it will launch in 30 markets on May 27 after closing an initial round of funding for $10 million raised from the state of Arkansas and private investors, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The new network will be distributed initially by over-the-air stations and on digital channels on the broadcast spectrum but also plans to air on cable and expects its stations to qualify under FCC must-carry rules (which mandate nearby cable systems must carry it) because it is local and offers unique news programming.
Soul-of-the-South-Network
“Our distribution footprint covers at least 70 percent of all African-American households in the south and in Chicago and Philadelphia, which we call sister regions,” says Doug McHenry, the Hollywood-based producer of films including “New Jack City” and “House Party” and TV shows including “Malcolm & Eddie,” who is the new network’s president of entertainment.
By the end of this summer, Soul of the South expects to be in 50-60 markets with a high concentration of African-Americans, reaching 30-40 million households.
At launch over Memorial Day weekend, the network will not have any original programming outside of an active news presence in its local markets. McHenry says execs are in active negotiations with three Hollywood studios about licensing appropriate programming, including past situation comedies, dramas, documentaries and movies.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé Named to Time 100 ‘Most Influential’ List, Reach Billionaire Status

By goodblacknews on April 18, 2013
(Photo courtesy of Mark Seliger for TIME)

(Photo courtesy of Mark Seliger for TIME)

Power couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé have recently been making lots of headlines lately, and now the rapper is gracing the cover of Time.  Both he and wife Beyoncé have been named by the magazine as two of the world’s most influential people.
The annual feature lists 100 of the world’s most prominent figures, in no particular order, who have made the biggest global impact over the past year.  The issue, which includes Jay-Z on one of seven covers, also provides brief profiles that capture the essence of each qualifier.