U.S. Chamber of Commerce | nashvillepost.com

Proxy access may be delayed

An SEC plan to help open up public companies' boards to director nominations from qualified investors looks likely to be delayed until 2012 after the agency said it needs to resolve a lawsuit by two business groups.

Oct 6, 2010 11:14 AM

Perhaps, but logic doesn't get you re-elected

Mark Zandi says the residential real estate industry needs to "give back" to the rest of the economy by supporting a tightening of the tax breaks that have helped home buyers for decades. Such a move, he said, is the most logical way to close a chunk of the government's budget deficit.

If that didn’t work, Zandi also tried to appeal to the industry’s self-interest. He said that housing, as one of the most interest-rate sensitive sectors, should be particularly worried about growing federal deficits, which will push up rates in the long run.

Jul 22, 2010 9:49 AM

US Chamber praises Tennessee ECD efforts

A report commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Chamber Foundation praises Gov. Phil Bredesen and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber's efforts in developing a job-creating business climate in Tennessee. From the state's presser:

The report specifically calls out strategies initiated by Governor Bredesen, like the Jobs Cabinet, as a unique approach to reducing bureaucracy and red tape for companies investing in Tennessee and spotlighted the Volunteer State as a success story in job creation, pointing to a one year period in which the state announced four $1 billion dollar projects creating 3,000 new jobs. “I believe a key part of Tennessee’s success is the state’s willingness to take partisanship out of the equation when it comes to job creation,” said Governor Bredesen. “We’ve worked closely with members of the General Assembly from both sides of the aisle to create a business-friendly economic climate in Tennessee and that approach has yielded results.”

In addition, the report calls out the TNInvestco program as an "innovative approach" to developing venture capital to help grow state businesses.

Jul 20, 2010 11:55 AM

Businesses fight against health reform

The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to spend $50 million in advance of fall elections to push against health care reform legislation, the last half of which President Obama signed into law yesterday.

“The Chamber is going to carry a message across the country that says the health care debate is not over,” Thomas J. Donohue, the business lobbying group’s president and CEO, said in a letter sent to the chamber’s board members late Monday. The law “is a major step in the wrong direction and will prove to be a serious drag on our economy and the nation’s fiscal solvency,” Donohue wrote.

Mar 31, 2010 10:01 AM

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Biz groups spend big to kill off health reform

With the end in sight for health reform, a coalition of business groups is deploying up to $10 million in advertising that focuses on the plan's impact on the job market. The commercials will be aired primarily in Democratic districts.

The burst of TV advertising adds to the total of more than $200 million spent on ads last year, making the health-care debate the largest single advocacy campaign ever, according to Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks issue advertising. Both sides in the debate spent about equally on ads last year, according to Evan Tracey, the nonpartisan group's president.

Mar 10, 2010 12:53 PM