Before most legislation is passed, the CBO has a chance to review it. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

When any bill that affects the federal budget begins to make its way through Congress, it makes a stop that, more often than not, the public does not see. The Congressional Budget Office is an independent, non-profit governmental agency that reports to Congress, but is not controlled by Congress. The Congressional Budget Office reviews the estimated effects of all legislation – saying if the legislation will require the government to borrow money, be budget-neutral, or save money. The CBO report can make or break legislation – and the CBO report on healthcare has put an unusual spotlight on this office. So how does the CBO work, and what does the latest CBO report on health care say?

How does the Congressional Budget Office work?

The CBO was created in 1974 with the passage of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and President pro tempore of the Senate jointly appoint the director of the CBO for a four-year term. It is the job of the CBO to issue periodic reports about fiscal policy, to provide projections about the current budget, and to analyze the effect proposed legislation would have on the national budget and national debt, as requested by members of Congress.

To this end, the Congressional Budget Office employs an army of accountants and fiscal analysts who study everything from tax debt to private money lenders. The CBO was created to be non-partisan and independent of Congress, so the reports it issues would not be as easily altered by the political maneuvering in Congress.

The CBO stance on health care reform

The Congressional Budget Office does not officially take political stances. Instead, it provides objective financial analysis related to the bills currently in Congress. However, the CBO is allowed to state facts as its reports see them. On the CBO Health wesbsite, the header states:

The federal budget is on an unsustainable path, primarily because of the rising cost of health care and the aging of the U.S. population.

As reported by the Washington Post, the most recent CBO report on heath care – which is due to be officially released later today – indicates that the reconciled Senate health care bill finds that that particular bill would cut the U.S. deficit by $1.3 trillion over 20 years, and would cover 95 percent of U.S. citizens.

Getting more information about the Congressional Budget Office

The CBO is a huge governmental agency that issues a number of reports, estimates, and opinions throughout the year. If you would like to get more information about the CBO, its stance on health care, or see a copy of CBO reports, you can start with the Congressional Budget Office web site. Get a copy of any CBO publication on the publications page. Full cost estimates are also available on the Cost Estimates site. To contact the Congressional Budget Office, you can email them at communications@cbo.gov or call 202-226-2602.

Federal Reserve building, Washington, D.C.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke opposes a draft bill now in the Senate which would remove much of the central bank’s supervisory role and limit its authority to regulation of large bank holding companies. The bill, proposed by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, would limit the Fed’s supervisory authority to banks with more than $50 billion in assets. Smaller banks would be regulated by the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. By contrast, under a House version of the bill, the Federal Reserve would keep most of its bank supervisory duties.  Neither bill would have any bearing on personal installment loans from private money lenders.

Bernanke: Fed promotes stability

Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee that the central bank does not want the responsibility of regulating only those banks that are “too big to fail.” CNN Money quotes Bernanke as saying that the Fed’s oversight of all banks “significantly improves its ability to carry out its central banking functions, including making monetary policy, lending through the discount window, and fostering financial stability.” According to Business Week, Bernanke contends that the Fed is “uniquely suited to supervise large, complex financial organizations and to address both safety and soundness risks and risks to the stability of the financial system as a whole.”

Dodd: Continued risk of bailouts promotes instability

Dodd, who has been highly critical of the Fed’s banking supervision, hopes the proposed bill will prevent future crises requiring taxpayer-funded bailouts of large banking firms. Bernanke, however, believes that the central bank should retain oversight of banks of all sizes.

The Federal Reserve currently oversees about 5,000 bank holding companies and about 850 state member banks. Supervisory authority is delegated to 12 regional Fed banks by the Board of Governors in Washington. Under Dodd’s draft bill, the Fed would supervise only about 35 of the largest financial institutions. Legislators are scheduled to review and amend Dodd’s draft bill on March 22.

NorthgateArinso operates many call centers. Photo from Flickr.

In a live webcast this morning, NorthgateArinso, a British-owned Human Resources Management firm announced that it will be purchasing the HR division of US-owned Convergys (NYSE: CVG). This purchase will add 2,300 employees to NorthgateArinso’s staff of 5,000. The $100 million price tag means Convergys will be getting a quick payday from NorthgateArinso. NorthgateArinso’s purchase will also help Convergys’ plans to refocus is business strategy on its customer-care and information management divisions.

NorthgateArinso focuses on Human Resources services

NorthgateArinso’s main business is Human Resources management for a wide variety of clients. On NorthgateArinso’s website, they point out that these services include recruiting, training, payroll services, and HR software. They have clients and business operations in 31 countries and service almost one-fifth of Fortune 500 international companies, including AstraZenea and Cadbury.

Convergys focuses on Customer Care services

Convergys is a much larger company than NorthgateArinso, with over 75,000 employees. Their two main businesses focus on managing customers and information. According to the Convergys website their business includes providing customer support in 35 languages for many large and small companies, include General Motors and Comcast.

NorthgateArinso will become 2nd largest provider

With the purchase of Convergys’ HR division, NorthgateArinso will be vaulting past Oracle to become the 2nd largest provider of Human Resources outsourcing in the world. According to the Times Online, when this purchase completes in the 2nd quarter of the year, NorthgateArinso will be taking on at least some of the HR duties for large companies such as Dupont, Johnson & Johnson, and Honeywell.

Convergys recently NorthgateArinso-purchased division

The CEO of Northgate stated in this morning’s webcast (available here) that while the HR division of Convergys had lost over $500 million in the last few years, the division had been recently restructured and NorthgateArinso will only be purchasing the profitable parts of the company.

The Stock Outlook for the NorthgateArinso purchase

NorthgateArinso is owned by Northgate Information Solutions, a software company listed on the London Stock Exchange as NIS. Their stock price has remained steady over the last few years at about 95.25 – and according to Personnel Today, private money lenders and equity firms have invested significant amounts of cash in the company. Convergys’ press release also states that they expect this sale will lead to stock earnings.

Image from Flickr.

White Castle clearly has very devoted fans and customers. However, for people on the West Coast, White Castle remains a bit of a mystery. We can buy their famous “Slyders” in frozen form at the grocery store,  but it’s still tough to understand the fascination with White Castle. Here are 10 fun facts that will help you get to know the White Castle chain.

1. White Castle came first

Before McDonald’s, Burger King and Arctic Circle, there was White Castle, the first American hamburger fast-food chain. The first White Castle opened in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921. The first building looked much like the one in the photo and was made to look like the Chicago Water Tower.

2. True pioneers of fast food

Walter A. Anderson and cook Edgar Waldo “Billy” Ingram started White Castle. Anderson was the first to use the assembly line concept in the kitchen, which gave rise to the modern fast food industry.

3. Another major contribution

Besides instituting standardized operations at chain locations, Anderson is also credited with inventing the hamburger bun.

4. The cause for the castle

When White Castle started up in the ’20s, many U.S. residents were still wary of eating meat because of literature about the meatpacking industry. The gleaming white, porcelain castle facade of White Castle was meant to present an image of upscale cleanliness.

5. The White Castle press

In 1925, White Castle began printing its own employee magazine called “White Castle Official House Organ.”

6. All in the family

Ingram bought out Anderson in 1933, and the White Castle company has remained in the family ever since. White Castle is currently owned by Ingram’s grandson.

7. First but not highest

McDonald’s is, of course, the fast food chain with the highest revenue in the U.S. However, White Castle — the pioneer of the fast food industry — is currently second. Though White Castle has remained small compared to other fast-food chains, its refusal to take on debt through private money lenders or any other means has helped keep it in the black.

8. Starting from scratch

Because White Castle was the first hamburger fast-food chain in the U.S., it had to establish its own centralized bakeries, meat supply plants and warehouses.

9. More inventions

Ingram also invented the fast-food worker paper hat that was so ubiquitous in the 1950s and is still used at some fast-food places today. He invented it, and started a company to make it, in 1932.

10. Current events

Recently, a White Castle executive, Dave Rife, was on the reality show “Undercover Boss.” He posed as an entry-level worker at several at two restaurants, a bakery and a factory. At the factory he managed to destroy 4,800 buns.

No doubt these candy-coated characters will make a Super Bowl appearance. Image from Flickr.

Super Bowl commercials have always gotten just as much attention as the Super Bowl itself, and this year it appears perhaps they are getting even more attention than the Super Bowl. CBS refused to run an ad for a gay dating web site and agreed to run a pro-life spot featuring Tim Tebow. Obviously, this has stirred up some controversy, as many Super Bowl commercials have done in the past.

Prices for Super Bowl ad spots this year were $2.5 to $3 million for a 30-second spot, just slightly higher than last year. CBS sold the last few remaining spots for Super Bowl ads today. Paying $3 million for a commercial sounds like a huge chunk of change — until you take into account the fact that nearly 100 million people watched the Super Bowl last year. Even if businesses need help from private money lenders to get their Super Bowl commercials on the air, it will probably pay off.

How much does CBS make on Super Bowl ads?

Last year, sales of Super Bowl ads brought in $213 million. Because CBS executive said sale prices were slightly higher this year, the grand total should exceed last year’s. CBS says it sold roughly the same number of spots this year as it did last year, when it sold 69 spots. There are still a few spots left during the pre-game broadcast.

Personally, I am neither a Colts fan nor a Saints fan, but you can bet I’ll be watching the game anyway. I am hoping there will be friends and barbecue involved, and it will be the first time since I’ve gotten a DVR that I’ll willingly watch the commercials, too. For all the money that companies spend on air time for Super Bowl commercials, they spend several times that much on making the commercials themselves. I am looking forward to seeing what the creative types come up with this year.

Meryl Streep is nominated for her performances in "It's Complicated" and "Julie and Julia." Image from wikimedia.

If you’re going to pay the outlandish movie theater ticket prices nowadays,  you’d better make sure it’s for a good movie. You practically have to visit private money lenders to take the family to the movies. And what better way to make sure you catch a quality film than to pick one that has been nominated for a Golden Globe?

What do “Nine,” “Up in the Air,” The Blind Side,” “The Princess and the Frog,” “Avatar,” “It’s Complicated,” “Crazy Heart,” “The Young Victoria,” “Invictus,” “Brothers,” “A Single Man,” “The Lovely Bones,” “The Last Station” and “Sherlock Holmes” have in common? They’re all Golden Globe Award nominees, and they’re all in theaters now or  coming soon.

Box office bling

That’s a whole lot of award-nominated films that will be pulling in ticket sales. I wonder if filmmakers wait until the end of the year to release their best stuff so they can take advantage of the extra boost in sales that comes from being up for an award and in theaters at the same time?

If you want to get the most bang for you buck, try checking out one of the films that are nominated for multiple awards. “Up in the Air” has six nominations, “Nine” has five and “Avatar” has four. If “Nine” isn’t at your local theater, don’t worry; it expands to wide release Christmas Day. “Up in the Air” expands on Wednesday.

So much drama!

If you’re into dramatic films, you’ve got lots of award nominees to choose from. “Up in the Air” is listed as both a drama and a comedy, it got amazingly good reviews and it stars George Clooney. That might be your best bet. Of course, Clooney was nominated for Best Performance for “Up in the Air.” “Brothers” got a nomination thanks to Tobey Maguire, who is nominated for Best Performance for his role in the film.

Jeff Bridges was nominated for “Crazy Heart” and Morgan Freeman was nominated for “Invictus.” “The Blind Side” was nominated for Best Picture, and Sandra Bullock was nominated for Best Performance for that film.Emily Blunt was nominated for her performance in “The Young Victoria,” and Helen Mirren was nominated for “The Last Station.”

Laugh it up

Strangely, though “Nine” was nominated for five awards, including Best Picture, it has gotten terrible reviews. Who to trust, the critics or the judges? “Nine” is the only musical among nominess for Best Picture, Comedy or Musical. “It’s Complicated” is up against “Nine,” and it hits theaters Friday. (Yes, Christmas.) “It’s Complicated” also was nominated for Best Screenplay.

“Avatar” is a sci-fi adventure flick, and it was nominated for Best Picture in the drama category, but I’m sure there are some laughs in there. “Avatar” also got James Cameron a Best Director nomination, and James Horner was nominated for Best Original Score. and Best Original Song.

Dr. Oz image from Flikr.com.

Oprah Winfrey’s influence is so great that CNBC created a special highlighting it called “The Oprah Effect.” After serving five years as on-call doctor to “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Dr. Oz is getting his own show, “The Dr. Oz Show.” This show has been planned and in the works for a year, and many people are delighted the anticipation is over and they can finally watch “The Dr. Oz Show.”

Apparently even people familiar with The Oprah Effect can’t prepare for it, and the web site for “The Dr. Oz Show” is “down for maintenance,” meaning it crashed, “due to extremely high traffic.” Luckily, Oprah’s web site is accustomed to heavy traffic, so you can look up which station “The Dr. Oz Show” will be airing on in your area.

‘The Dr. Oz Show’ goes national

Private money lenders would be wise to invest in “The Dr. Oz Show,” as it is already apparent that it will be a big hit. The show is syndicated, so it’ll be shown on various networks at various times across the country. Reuters reports that the first episode of “The Dr. Oz Show” today will discuss erogenous zones and overcoming sexual dysfunction.

Later this week on “The Dr. Oz Show,” the seasoned heart surgeon Dr. Oz will cover Swine Flu, anti-aging secrets and overweight pets. For all of you out there who are as obsessed with “Project Runway” and Tim Gunn as I am, the articulate fashion guru himself will give a pair of women makeovers Thursday. Throughout the week, Dr. Oz will also attempt to freak us out about germs in purses and bathrooms and such.

Dr. Oz, Kate Gosselin on ‘The View’

This morning on “The View,” Kate Gosselin sat in as a guest co-host and Dr. Oz made a pre-”Dr. Oz Show” appearance to preview what he’d be talking about on his show today. He said he wants to create “an embarrassment-free zone” on “The Dr. Oz Show” where people can openly discuss all types of health issues without feeling uncomfortable.

If you haven’t seen Dr. Oz on “Oprah” before, Oprah.com has all kinds of clips up right now to give you an idea of what Dr. Oz is like.

More about Dr. Oz

Unlike Oprah’s one-time buddy Dr. Phil, who is not actually a doctor, Dr. Oz is a world-renowned cardiac surgeon, has co-authored five books, he is vice-chair of the Department of Surgery and Professor of Surgery at Columbia University, and he directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

In a time when so many people without any qualifications or any helpful messages for society are getting their own shows every day, it’s refreshing to see that someone who actually knows what he is talking about will be educating the midday masses. I hope that people switch off the soap operas and reality show marathons to tune in to “The Dr. Oz Show,” where they just might learn something.

Old Country Buffet filed for Chapter 11 in January 2008, but emerged with reduced debt in April 2009.

People say recession sparks innovation, creativity, responsibility, and all other sorts of optimistic-sounding things. It also causes failure, collapse, bankruptcy and all other sorts of apocalyptic-sounding things.

It also causes complications, such as leaving franchise owners to figure out how to deal when their parent company goes bankrupt. Sometimes the parent company manages to get back on its feet, and sometimes it shuts down. Either way, the franchise owner is still responsible for his or her store, and left with the decision of what to do when selling a tarnished brand.

CNN Money published a list of franchises that went bankrupt since the recession became official. Some came back and some didn’t.

Mrs. Fields Famous

The Mrs. Fields Famous brand, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the parent to 1,200 Mrs Fields Cookies and TCBY stores. Last August, the company filed for Chapter 11.

Lucky for the franchises,  which continued to operate throughout the bankruptcy proceedings, only a couple of months later,the company was on the road to recovery. I don’t know if they  used private money lenders or what, but it  managed to restructure its $196 million in debt down to $50 million.

Cork and Olive

Small Florida parent company Cork and Olive wasn’t so lucky. Cork and Olive, which was made of eight company stores and nine franchises, filed for bankruptcy in June 2008.

The company stores shut down, but the franchises are still soldiering on. CNN Money reports that “the franchisees meet regularly to discuss how to keep their brand alive without the parent company.”

Bennigan’s

Texas-based family dining restaurant Bennigan’s filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy — that’s right, the bad kind — in July 2008. All of the corporate locations were shut down. CNN Money says:

Its 138 franchisees were left in PR hell, struggling to convince patrons that they were still open for business.

However, private equity firm Atalaya Capital company acquired the brand in October and reopened the corporate stores quickly, many of which are now operated as franchises.

Bally Total Fitness

This gym just can’t seem to catch a break. The nationwide franchise, based in Chicago, has filed for bankruptcy more than once. CNN Money reports:

It was a déjà vu for the health club chain in December 2008 when it filed for Chapter 11, a mere 14 months after emerging from its first Chapter 11 filing in July 2007. Just weeks ago, Bally signed an agreement to emerge from bankruptcy by restructuring the $1.5 billion in debt it had accrued and by granting 94% of the company’s equity to lenders such as J.P. Morgan.

Fatburger

This one gets a little complicated. Two subsidiaries of Fatburger Corp, Fatburger Restaurants in California and Fatburger Restaurants in Nevada, filed for bankruptcy in April. However, parent company Fatburger Corp. did not file for bankruptcy. Confusing matters more, that parent company, Fatburger Corp., is based in California.

Furthermore, Fatburger Restaurants in California and Fatburger Restaurants in Nevada accounted for 72 percent of Fatburger Corp’s total revenue. So what now? Good question. CNN says “The company’s 90 franchise owners are waiting to see what happens next.”