|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Last week ICPA issued its borrowing/capitalization package that includes the arrangements we have made with the Small Business Development Centers [SBDC] in the state who will assist marketers in organizing their financials in preparation to meet with banks for private sector loans and loan guarantees offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration [SBA] and the Connecticut Development Authority [CDA]. Representatives of the SBDC, SBA. CDA, Connecticut Bankers Association, Citizens Bank and Rob Simmons, Governor Rell's Business Advocate all met with ICPA last week to finalize the package and guidance on assistance available to heating oil retailers. ICPA also set up a website for member's reference with all the same materials, found at > http://www.icpa.org/icpa_sbdc/index.html Last Friday America woke up in a financial place it has never seen before. The world-wide credit crunch everyone faced while we were putting all this together just got more difficult with the issues involving Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sixty percent (60%) of Americans now believe the U.S. economy is not fundamentally sound, and voters are evenly divided on whether any laws passed by Congress will make things better, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. The Bush Administration proposed a $700 billion bailout of the banking industry and to forestall a meltdown of the nation's financial system. The sweeping government proposal to buy up to $700 billion in bad mortgages may not be enough for all banks teetering on the brink of failure. Sen. Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, said Congress is being asked to approve the "mother of all bailouts." Shelby said it will end up costing more like $1 trillion when the costs of the government taking over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and insurance giant American International Group are added. This debt has triggered the worst credit crisis in decades, causing credit markets to essentially freeze up last week despite the fact that the Fed joined with major central banks around the world to pump billions of dollars of reserves into the financial system. The United States is, as of this writing, $9.6 trillion in debt. The estimated $700 billion financial system bailout will require raising the federal debt limit to the neighborhood of $11.1 trillion. The 2007 GDP of the U.S. economy was $13.86 trillion. Not to worry about Uncle Sam going bankrupt as the total net worth of the United States is around $50 trillion. At least we can make the debt service payments - but as baby boomers retire we won't be paying for much else. The U.S. government is the world's largest debtor and is the world's largest borrower. If you don't think you'll need any help borrowing a few hundred thousand for the coming winter to keep your cash flow moving, take a look at the ICPA package again before the U.S. borrows everything that is available and the Chinese stop buying the bonds we issue to finance this mess. James Madison, the principal author of the Constitution, once said that if all men were angels there would be no need for government. Rescuing the nation's financial system is going to give us more than a full measure of new government intervention in capital markets. For more information contact Gene at gene@icpa.org or call ICPA toll free at 1-866-521-ICPA
ICPA's fall Chapter meeting schedule is being released now as ICPA prepares to visit with members in the field to discuss their needs from ICPA. Here is our schedule:
For more information contact David Chu at chu@icpa.org or call ICPA toll free at 1-866-521-ICPA Hurricane Ike hit the Gulf Coast of the United States and, while the commodities markets declined before, during and after the hurricane - the physical markets did anything but go down. ICPA informed the Governor's Office, Department of Consumer Protection, Office of the Attorney General and Legislative leadership about the situation in the Gulf of Mexico and what was happening in markets to our south. Governor Rell, to beat the AG to the papers with her press release, first announced the DCP investigation of price increases by saying the owners of LukOil, CITGO, etc etc were the object of the inquiry. Trouble is, the subpoenas for price data didn't go to Vladimir Putin in Russia about LukOil - they went to local Connecticut jobbers first. Later in the week AG Blumenthal announced he was also sending subpoenas to wholesale suppliers and would coordinate his investigation with DCP. ICPA issued some guidance from legal counsel on Friday;
Legal Counsel for DCP in charge of the investigation is Anthony Santoro, at (860) 713-6085. Legal Counsel for the AGs Office in charge of the investigation there is Tom Saadi at (860) 808-5400. For more information contact Chris at chris@icpa.org or call ICPA toll free at 1-866-521-ICPA
Boiler
& Furnace $500 Rebate Program Now Being Offered The Office of Policy and Management has released the information for the $500 rebate program for the replacement of oil fired heating systems that are at least 84% AFUE. The program is retroactive to July 1, 2007 and continues to July 1, 2017 while funds are available. Rebates up to $500 will be made directly to consumers and are determined by income. For more information and an application click here> http://www.ct.gov/opm/cwp/view.asp?a=2994&q=420476&opmNav_GID=1808. If
you have questions feel free to contact OPM directly at
1-866-940-4676. Zero
Interest Heating System Program Available HEATING
OIL DEALER HOME Energy Audit PrograM On August 28th, ICPA ran a comprehensive seminar delivered by Bob Hedden and sponsored by NORA to begin training prospective energy conservation specialists who look beyond just the HVAC system to the whole home envelope for energy conservation measures. Look for more of these to come. For more information contact Gene at gene@icpa.org or Chris at chris@icpa.org or call ICPA toll free at 1-866-521-ICPA Some may not be familiar with Operation Fuel and, if you're not familiar with what Operation Fuel is and what it does please pay close attention here. Operation Fuel provides emergency energy assistance to elderly, disabled and low-income working poor families who are facing financial crisis and are not eligible for, or have exhausted their government benefits. These people have no other resources except Operation Fuel to keep their homes warm, and the lights on. Operation Fuel partners with communities, businesses, government and individuals to ensure people in need have access to year-round energy assistance. During the late 1970’s, a world-wide oil embargo caused an escalation in home energy costs, particularly home heating oil. Although federal and state governments had developed energy assistance programs for poor families, low-income, working poor families who were not eligible for government help and in crisis were left out in the cold. In 1977, Operation Fuel was created as a temporary crisis intervention program, a collaborative effort among then Governor Ella Grasso, Father Thomas Lynch and leaders in the banking, insurance, and utility industries. The mission was to raise funds to help those who fell through the gaps in government programs. More than 30 years later we are still devoted to the needs of the community and responding to an energy crisis—the ever rising cost of home heating oil and skyrocketing utility rates are pricing low-income Connecticut families completely out of the energy market. Operation Fuel, headquartered in Bloomfield, operates through more than 70 Fuel Banks around the state, and the list is here > [http://www.operationfuel.org/NetworkCoverage_2007-08.pdf] Heating Oil retailers are paid their full delivered price for the fuel they sell consumers who have been APPROVED for Operation Fuel benefits, so this marks another safety net program that retailer's customers can use. Consumers who need help can either call 211, or call the Fuel Bank located on the list above and apply for benefits. This is NOT, repeat NOT, the CEAP/LIHEAP program. For more information contact Gene at gene@icpa.org or Chris at chris@icpa.org or call ICPA toll free at 1-866-521-ICPA
ICPA Employee Benefits Plans - ICPA endorses the benefits plans offered by Group Benefit Administrators of Connecticut. These include new health insurance plans such as health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement accounts (HRAs).
Group Benefit Administrators of Connecticut (GBAC) consults with businesses of all sizes to customize benefits programs that meet their needs and budget. They have successfully provided health insurance solutions for petroleum marketers in Connecticut, in order to contain rising health insurance costs, while ensuring that employees retain the benefits they are accustomed to receiving. In addition, they offer third-party administration services through their sister company, PBS, to administer cafeteria plans, flex spending accounts, and health savings accounts. To learn more, please Contact Joe Bucci, GBAC, 23 Maiden Lane, North Haven, CT 06473; Telephone: 800-942-4003, Fax: 203-985-1717, Email: j.bucci@gbac.com, website www.gbac.com. For more information contact David Chu at chu@icpa.org or call ICPA toll free at 1-866-521-ICPA
OSHA/DOT HAZMAT Certification Training-Full Day Operations Certification DOT HAZMAT certification includes training on transportation of hazardous materials, shipping papers, and Homeland Security requirements. OSHA certification includes training at the Awareness and Operations levels. Awareness level certification applies to any employee who may come into contact with hazardous materials and needs to know how to take defensive actions. Operations level certification trains employees who need to know how to clean up (dam, dike, divert) small releases. Register at > http://www.icpa.org/store/products_view.php?url_product_id=422 OSHA/DOT HAZMAT Certification Training-Half Day Operations Re-Certification DOT HAZMAT certification includes training on transportation of hazardous materials, shipping papers, and Homeland Security requirements. OSHA certification includes training at the Awareness and Operations levels. Awareness level certification applies to any employee who may come into contact with hazardous materials and needs to know how to take defensive actions. Operations level certification trains employees who need to know how to clean up (dam, dike, divert) small releases. Register at > http://www.icpa.org/store/products_view.php?url_product_id=423 DEFENSIVE DRIVER TRAINING COURSE - October 8, 2008, 1.00PM – 4:30 PM, ICPA This seminar will train your drivers to survive the hazards of the road and return from their deliveries or service calls safely. This training is specifically geared to transporters of petroleum products. While helping to protect against loss of life and damage to property, this training also helps to prevent financial loss by helping drivers avoid costly traffic tickets, reduce insurance claims, and reduce costs associated with poor driving habits. These costs include increased fuel consumption, vehicle repair, replacement and maintenance. Register at > http://www.icpa.org/store/products_view.php?url_product_id=428 For
more information contact David Chu at chu@icpa.org
or call ICPA toll free at 1-866-521-ICPA
On
Sept 18th the bill that PMAA members led the fight to pass, H.R. 6604,
the “Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act of
2008,” passed by a vote of 283 to 133. A few technical adjustments
were made to H.R. 6604 to keep the bill within the jurisdiction of the
Agriculture Committee, otherwise the bill is identical to the version
considered under suspension of the rules on July 30, 2008 which failed
to obtain the necessary two-thirds votes for passage. SENATE TAX EXTENDER LEGISLATION DELAYED A WEEK As reported earlier this week, the Senate was expected to take up energy tax extender legislation using H.R. 6049, the House passed version as the vehicle to extend dozens of expiring tax breaks, but now the measure will have to wait until September 23. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) prevented the bill from reaching the floor because the legislation did not include additional disaster aid for Hurricane Ike victims in Texas. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA) promised Senator Cornyn that more aid would be available once the government thoroughly assesses the damage in areas affected by the storm. Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said yesterday that the energy tax
extenders will get 60 minutes of debate on September 23 followed by a
vote to fully offset the costs of the bill. The Senate legislation
would extend the one dollar per gallon production tax credit for
biodiesel and the ten cent per gallon credit for small biodiesel
producers through 2009. The bill also extends the one dollar per
gallon production tax credit for diesel fuel created from biomass.
Diesel fuel created by co-processing biomass with other feedstocks
would be eligible for the 50 cent per gallon tax credit. The
legislation would also close “splash and dash” loophole. HOUSE PASSES THE NEW DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP ENERGY BILL Earlier
this week the House passed H.R. 6899, the Comprehensive American
Energy Security and Consumer Protection by a vote of 236 – 189.
Republicans, who objected to the bill because it would not open up all
areas for offshore drilling, used a procedural motion to stall the
measure, but that vote failed 191 – 226. The legislation permits oil
and gas drilling beyond 100 miles and between 50 to 100 miles if
adjacent coastal states allow it. New drilling within 50 miles would
not be permitted and H.R. 6899 does not lift the current ban on
drilling off the coast of Florida. The measure requires the U.S.
government to exchange 70 million barrels of light, sweet crude oil
from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and swap it with heavier
crudes. House leadership drafted the legislation to provide political
cover for moderate Democrats who needed to go on the record to say
that they support offshore drilling. For more information contact Gene at gene@icpa.org or call ICPA toll free at 1-866-521-ICPA
*At $310 per ton, delivered, premium pellets with less than 5% moisture content For more information contact Gene at gene@icpa.org or call ICPA toll free at 1-866-521-ICPA
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
