Economic Health of the Franchise Industry is Stronger Compared to a Year Ago

A new economic index that provides a current reading of the economic health of the franchise sector -The Franchise Business Index (FBI) - increased 0.3 percent in February to 107.7 (Jan 2000=100) - the sixth consecutive monthly gain, the International Franchise Association announced today. The index was up 1.4 percent compared with February 2011.

Designed to provide more consistent and timely tracking of the growing role of franchise businesses in the U.S. economy, the index was developed by IHS Global Insight on behalf of the IFA. The FBI combines indicators of growth in the industries where franchising is most prevalent and measures of the general economic environment for franchising.

"The franchise industry is a unique business sector and a vitally important contributor to the U.S. economy spanning some 300 lines of business, supporting nearly 18 million jobs, 825,000 establishments and providing for over $2.1 trillion in economic output," said IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira. "Measuring the strength of the franchise industry through the Franchise Business Index provides another indicator of the health of the economy as a whole. While the index shows we are moving in the right direction, more certainty in the tax and regulatory environments would help franchise businesses grow faster, creating more jobs and economic output at the local, state and national levels."

Following a period of flat to declining values in mid-2011, the FBI turned up in September and has shown increases of 0.3 percent in three of the last five months.

Increases among the components of the index tied to the labor market and small business optimism contributed most to the February gain in the FBI. An improvement in consumer demand, which had been flat at the end of last year, gave a small boost to the index. Credit conditions showed no change in February.
IFA also released an update to its 2012 economic outlook prepared by IHS Global Insight in December 2011. The updated forecast shows little change from the initial forecast.

"Since our December 2011 forecast report was prepared, there have been a number of positive economic releases," said James Gillula, managing director at IHS Global Insight. "However, negative factors that could restrain an economic rebound remain."

The revised forecast indicates that the number of franchise establishments in the United States will increase by 1.6 percent in 2012, down slightly from the original forecast of 1.9 percent. Employment and economic output growth forecasts are unchanged at 2.1 percent and 5 percent respectively.
IFA plans to update the Franchise Business Economic Outlook on a quarterly basis beginning in 2012 instead of just an annual outlook.

Index, Jan 2000 = 100

Source: IHS Global Insight, March 2012

About The IFA Franchise Business Index
The Franchise Business Index is a measure of the economic environment for franchise business activity constructed with timely economic indicators that provide a current reading of the industry's health. It combines indicators of the growth or decline of industries where franchise activity has historically been concentrated with measures of the demand for franchise business services and the general business environment.

The components of the IFA Franchise Business Index for the U.S. include:

• Employment in Franchise-intensive Industries* (BLS) 
• Number of Self Employed* (BLS) 
• Unemployment Rate* (BLS) 
• Consumer Demand in Franchise-Intensive Services* (BEA) 
• Small Business Optimism Index* (NFIB) 
• Small Business Credit Conditions Index* (NFIB) 

Research for the IFA Franchise Business Index and the quarterly forecast reports is underwritten by a generous grant from Jani-King International to the IFA Educational Foundation.

*For more information about the components and the methodology, click here.

March 22, 2012 – International Franchise Organization, www.franchise.org  

See original article here:  

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Will the JOBS Act help small business?

JOBS Act clears Senate, back to House for final passage

A bipartisan effort to make it easier for smaller businesses to access investment cash was back on track after clearing the Senate, but not without grave warnings from opponents who insisted it would open the door to a new era of fraud.

Senators added a provision that would bolster investor protections on the emerging practice of crowd-funding – soliciting pools of investors online and from social media. The bill passed overwhelmingly, 73-26, but broader efforts to amend it had been turned back by GOP-led opposition.

President Obama has given the measure qualified support, and it now returns to the House where GOP leaders expect swift passage, sending it to the White House next week as a rare bipartisan victory.

“We are heartened by the important investor protections added to the crowdfunding provision and will be vigilant in monitoring this and other elements to ensure the overall bill achieves its goal of helping entrepreneurs while maintaining protections for investors,” said Jay Carney, the White House Press Secretary, in urging Congress to quickly finish the bill.

Both Republicans and Democrats want to show voters they are working to improve the nation’s unemployment rate, with the GOP particularly characterizing the Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups, or JOBS Act, as legislation that would help smaller companies expand and create jobs.

“The bipartisan JOBS Act will cut through Washington red tape and help these small businesses and startups grow, expand and create jobs right away,” said the bill’s champion, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who had dismissed as “phantom investor protection issues” the Senate’s efforts to change the bill to address concerns from AARP, federal regulators and others that weakening regulations could lead to fraud.

Passage in the Senate came after a tumultuous week that splintered Democrats, whose leaders were reluctant to halt a bill that had broad political support, including from powerful investment banking interests. Only 23 lawmakers had voted against the earlier version of the bill this month in the House.

The JOBS Act aims to help smaller businesses attract investment capital by loosening federal regulations, some stemming from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that supporters of the bill say can be onerous and costly.

One provision in the legislation would make it easier for businesses launch initial public offerings by phasing financial reporting requirements with the Securities and Exchange Commission over five years or until the company achieves more than $1 billion in annual revenues. The SEC chief said this exemption was too broad, and would allow even large firms to bypass federal regulation.

“We will rue the day we rammed this through the House and Senate,” said Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, who broke with party leadership in voting against the bill.

Senators did, however, find bipartisan support attach an amendment that would require crowd-funding websites, which can pool up to $1 million in investments by selling stock online, to use register with the SEC.

The change would also require disclosure by investment promoters as a way to prevent anonymous “pump-and-dump” operations, and it would cap the annual amount individuals can invest.

That amendment was a bipartisan effort from Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) of Colorado and Sen. Scott Brown (R-Ma.), is expected to remain when the House considers the bill next week.

But even Merkley voted against the final product, calling it a “paved highway to predatory scams.”

March 2, 2012

By Lisa Mascaro, L.A. Times

See original online story here. 

 

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4 Questions to Ask Before Venturing Into a Self-Directed IRA

Prospective investors must understand the risks, as well as the specific rules, governing these accounts.

The stock market has posted tremendous gains during the past three years, with the S&P 500 gaining nearly 30% on an annualized basis and many more aggressive funds posting even gaudier returns than that. 

But because the financial crisis was so bruising--and because stocks have exhibited plenty of volatility since they bottomed out--many investors are still feeling lukewarm on stocks. New flows into bond funds have been robust, and investors have also been gravitating toward commodities and alternatives investments. Equity funds, by contrast, continue to see redemptions, even when you factor in relatively strong inflows into equity exchange-traded funds.

Against that backdrop, the notion of a self-directed IRA might seem promising. Such vehicles enable investors to buy into asset classes that are often outside of the purview of fund companies and brokerage firms--including non publicly traded real estate, private equity, precious metals, and partnerships and joint ventures. These investments might exhibit radically different performance patterns than stocks and bonds, a quality that bear-market-battered investors could be craving.

In some respects, all IRAs are self-directed, in that as the account owner, you're entirely in control of what you put inside of your account. And on the surface, self-directed IRAs have features that are comfortably similar to conventional IRAs that hold stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. The contribution limits are the same, rollovers from other IRAs are permitted, and you can opt for a traditional or Roth version.

Some articles about self-directed IRAs make it sound like the big brokerage firms and mutual fund companies are in an evil cabal designed to keep you out of the best-performing investments. However, investing in a self-directed IRA isn't as simple as sending a check to Fidelity or Vanguard and tuning out; instead, it's far from it. In addition to analyzing the investment merits of a prospective self-directed IRA investment, it's also important to consider how the inclusion of a single, possibly large, and undiversified investment interacts with your other holdings. You also need to be aware of the different rules governing these accounts because you could run into serious trouble if you run afoul of them.

  

Here are some of the key questions to consider before taking the plunge into the world of self-directed IRAs.

What will it cost?

If you hold stocks or mutual funds in an IRA, your costs will be pretty transparent: mutual fund management fees and any commissions you might pay to buy and sell. Self-directed IRAs charge another layer of fees because you must go through a custodian, who in turn will invest in the assets on your behalf. As a result, there's typically a setup fee for a self-directed IRA as well as ongoing administrative costs; these costs can vary widely by custodian, so you really need to do your homework. And if you choose to set up a limited liability company that your IRA invests in, thereby giving you more control over your investments, your start-up costs are apt to be even higher. Your ongoing administrative costs might be lower, however. Of course, investing in mutual funds or individual stocks isn't free, but taken together, the extra costs associated with self-directed IRAs mean that your investments will need to perform that much better than traditional stocks and funds just to pull ahead.

How does it fit with the rest of your portfolio?

 
Even if you're sold on the merits of an investment you'd like to put inside of a self-directed IRA--such as a rental property or gold bars--it's still important to consider how it fits within the context of your overall portfolio. Are you sinking a disproportionate sum of your money into a single asset? Property holdings are among the most common investments held inside self-directed brokerage accounts, and real estate guru Ilyce Glink points out that a reasonable rule of thumb is that real estate holdings--including a primary residence--should compose no more than 25% of a person's net worth.

Do you thoroughly understand the rules?

Self-directed IRAs come with a whole separate set of rules, the majority of which are designed to prohibit self-dealing, which is, essentially, obtaining use from an asset even though you're receiving a tax deferral on it. Say, for example, you buy an apartment building in a self-directed IRA, but your son is living in one of the units. You're receiving tax-deferred income on your rentals, but you're also receiving a benefit at the same time. If the Internal Revenue Service gets wind of this self-dealing, the entire sum in that IRA could be considered taxable and subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty because you've effectively distributed your IRA holdings prematurely. Consult with a qualified legal or financial advisor to ensure that your self-directed IRA investment is on the up and up and that you're hewing to the rules on an ongoing basis.

Could an ETF accomplish the job with fewer complications?

True, self-directed IRAs allow you to invest in assets that mutual funds don't invest in, such as individual plots of farmland and residential properties on which your IRA can, in turn, earn income. However, it's worth noting that many of the asset classes that had historically been the domain of self-directed IRAs are now available in some fashion via exchange-traded funds and conventional mutual funds. Investors can now buy ETFs that invest in private equity firms, gold, and farmland, for example. Of course, such funds might not be a pure play on a given asset; for example, private equity ETFs and funds invest in publicly traded private equity firms. But the fund format provides more diversification potential than you'd be able to obtain by sinking a large sum into a single property or company as well as fewer administrative obligations and costs.  

Article by Christine Benz, posted March 12, 2012 on www.news.morningstar.com. See original article here.

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For information on how to use a self-directed IRA to purchase a franchise, visit www.theirainstitute.com.  

Christine Benz is Morningstar's director of personal finance and author of 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances and the Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds: 5-Star Strategies for Success.

Screening For Diabetes Using Blood From Periodontal Disease

Article Date February 15, 2012

Oral blood samples drawn from deep pockets of periodontal inflammation can be used to measure hemoglobin A1c, an important gauge of a patient's diabetes status, an NYU nursing-dental research team has found. Hemoglobin A1c blood glucose measures from oral blood compare well to those from finger-stick blood, the researchers say. The findings are from a study funded by an NYU CTSI (Clinical and Translational Science Institute) grant awarded to the research team last year.

Hemoglobin A1c is widely used to test for diabetes. According to guidelines established by the American Diabetes Association, an A1c reading of 6.5 or more indicates a value in the diabetes range.

The NYU researchers compared hemoglobin A1c levels in paired samples of oral and finger-stick blood taken from 75 patients with periodontal disease at the NYU College of Dentistry. A reading of 6.3 or greater in the oral sample corresponded to a finger stick reading of 6.5 in identifying the diabetes range, with minimal false positive and false negative results. The findings were published in the Journal of Periodontology.

"In light of these findings, the dental visit could be a useful opportunity to conduct an initial diabetes screening - an important first step in identifying those patients who need further testing to determine their diabetes status," said the study's principal investigator, Dr. Shiela Strauss, associate professor of nursing and co-director of the Statistics and Data Management Core for NYU's Colleges of Nursing and Dentistry.

Dr. Strauss added that some patients may find the oral blood sampling in a dentist's office to be less invasive than finger stick sampling.

The one-year study utilized a version of a hemoglobin A1c testing kit that was initially developed specifically to enable dentists and dental hygienists to collect finger-stick blood samples and send them to a laboratory for analysis. The testing kit was adapted to enable analysis of both oral blood and finger-stick samples. Dr. Strauss points out that the hemoglobin A1c testing method requires only a single drop of blood to be collected, applied to a special blood collection card, and mailed to the laboratory when dry.

"There is an urgent need to increase opportunities for diabetes screening and early diabetes detection," Dr. Strauss added. "The issue of undiagnosed diabetes is especially critical because early treatment and secondary prevention efforts may help to prevent or delay the long-term complications of diabetes that are responsible for reduced quality of life and increased levels of mortality risk."

The research is part of a series of NYU nursing-dental studies examining the feasibility of screening for diabetes and other physical illnesses in the dental setting.

Dr. Strauss plans additional research on oral blood hemoglobin A1c testing involving a broader pool of subjects and dental practice sites.

Dr. Strauss's study is dedicated to the memory of the late Alla Wheeler, Clinical Assistant Professor of Dental Hygiene, who played a major role in an earlier NYU nursing-dental study on the link between diabetes and periodontal disease.

  

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.  Online article can be found here.

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Co-investigators on the study included Ms. Janet Tuthill, clinical assistant professor of dental hygiene at NYU College of Dentistry; Dr. David Rindskopf, professor of educational psychology at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York, Dr. Jack A. Maggiore, president of Healthy Life Laboratories; Dr. Robert S. Schoor, clinical associate professor of periodontology and implant dentistry at the NYU College of Dentistry; Dr. Stefanie Russell, clinical assistant professor of epidemiology and health promotion at the NYU College of Dentistry; and Dr. Mary Rosedale, assistant professor of nursing at the NYU College of Nursing.

New York University. (2012, February 15). “Screening For Diabetes Using Blood From Periodontal Disease.” Medical News Today. Retrieved from

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241630.php.

Dentists Could Screen 20 Million Americans For Chronic Physical Illnesses

An article published last December on medicalnewstoday.com indicates that nearly 20 million Americans annually visit a dentist but not a general healthcare provider, according to an NYU study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

The study, conducted by a nursing-dental research team at NYU, is the first of its kind to determine the proportion of Americans who are seen annually by a dentist but not by a general healthcare provider.

This finding suggests dentists can play a crucial role as health care practitioners in the front-line defense of identifying systemic disease which would otherwise go undetected in a significant portion of the population, say the researchers.

"For these and other individuals, dental professionals are in a key position to assess and detect oral signs and symptoms of systemic health disorders that may otherwise go unnoticed, and to refer patients for follow-up care," said Dr. Shiela Strauss, an associate professor of nursing at the NYU College of Nursing and co-director of the statistics and data management core for NYU's Colleges of Nursing and Dentistry.

During the course of a routine dental examination, dentists and dental hygienists, as trained healthcare providers, can take a patient's health history, check blood pressure, and use direct clinical observation and X-rays to detect risk for systemic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

The NYU research team examined the most recent available data, which came from a nationally representative subsample of 31,262 adults and children who participated in the Department of Health & Human Services 2008 annual National Health Interview Survey, a health status study of the U.S. population, which at that time consisted of 304,375,942 individuals. Physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants were among those categorized as general health care providers for the purposes of the survey.

When extrapolated to the U.S. population, 26 percent of children did not see a general health care provider. Yet over one-third of this group, representing nearly seven million children, did visit a dentist at least once during that year, according to survey results.

Among the adults, one quarter did not visit a general healthcare provider, yet almost a quarter -- nearly 13 million Americans -- did have at least one dental visit. When combined, adults and children who had contact only with dentists represent nearly 20 million people.

Ninety-three percent of the children and 85 percent of the adults had some form of health insurance, suggesting that while many of those who did not interact with a general healthcare provider may have had access to general health care, they opted not to seek it.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.  Original article can be found here:  

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References:

Coauthors on the study included Dr. Michael C. Alfano, executive vice president of New York University and former dean of the NYU College of Dentistry; Dr. Donna Shelley, clinical associate professor of cariology and comprehensive care at the NYU College of Dentistry and clinical associate professor of medicine and associate director of research at the NYU Langone Medical Center Division of General Internal Medicine; and Dr. Terry Fulmer, dean of the Northeastern University Bouvé College of Health Sciences, and former professor and dean of the NYU College of Nursing.