Business/negocío Business & Opportunity Updates ECONOMIC INJURY DISASTER LOANS The Small Business Association (SBA) has designated COVID-19 as a qualifying event for the provision of Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for businesses and private nonprofits in affected communities. Texas is currently working with SBA to qualify for this declaration. Additional information about Economic Injury Disaster Loans can be found here, https:// disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Information/EIDLLoans Please submit your Economic Injury Worksheet to: TDEMPARecovery@ tdem.texas.gov BUSINESS COUNSELING Small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs can discuss their business ventures and get expert advice from the SBDC staff. All information will be held in strict confidence. For a counseling sessions call (806) 745-1637. FREE PRACTICE EXAMS Study guides for tests Learna-Test, a database of practice examinations, is available at the Lubbock Public Library, 1306 9th St. Hundreds of practice examinations, including SAT, ACT and elementary, middle school and high school skills improvement tests, plus graduate entrance exams, are available. LOW INCOME TAXPAYER CLINIC The TTU School of Law operates a “FREE” Low Income Taxpayer Clinic year around to provide assistance relating to issues involving controversies with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The LITC does not assist in any criminal tax matters, or prepare tax returns. For more info call (806) 834-7972 or toll free (800) 420-8037.
Isabel Guzman to Lead
Small Business Administration resident-elect small and mid-sized P Joe Biden picked businesses, according to California official Isabel her LinkedIn biography. Casillas Guzman to lead the Small Business Administration, according to people familiar with the decision. Guzman served as a deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to the administrator at the SBA during the Obama administration, and has run her own small businesses. Since April 2019 she’s been director of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate, part of that state’s Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Before working at the SBA Guzman was a director of strategic initiatives at ProAmerica Bank, a commercial bank that serviced
ProAmerica was acquired by Pacific Commerce Bancorp in 2018. Guzman is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. She’s the first Latina named to a cabinet-level post by Biden, adding to the diversity of a team he’s pledged would “look like America.” Her nomination will require Senate confirmation. The president-elect has already chosen three Hispanic men: Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of homeland security, Xavier Becerra as secretary of health and human services, and Miguel Cardona as secretary of education.
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Hispanics' Consumer Confidence
Declines in 4th Quarter
ispanics in the United States H did not end 2020 with an optimistic view
of their financial situations, even as new COVID-19 vaccines are expected to help the nation recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 79.3, about six points shy of the third quarter mark, according to the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI) in FAU's College of Business. The fourth quarter number, while about the same as the general population's consumer confidence sentiment published by the University of Michigan, is nearly 22 points lower than it was a year ago before the start of the pandemic. "Hispanics may be less optimistic due to the fact that the Latino unemployment rate is higher than the overall unemployment rate in the United States," said Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., director of FAU BEPI. The fourth quarter poll found that 47 percent of Hispanics said they are better off financially today than a year ago, compared to 57 percent
Copyright 2021 by Latino Lubbock Magazine
who felt that way during the third quarter. In addition, 62 percent of respondents said they expect to be better off financially in the next year, while 69 percent of respondents felt that way in the third quarter. The latest survey also revealed that fewer respondents feel it is a good time to buy big-ticket items, while more respondents believe the cost of living has gone up.Still, Hispanics appear confident in the long-run economic outlook, with 66 percent saying they expect it to be good in the next five years. That's up nine points from the third quarter. The poll is based on a sampling of 617 Hispanics, 18 years of age and older, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020. The margin of error is +/- 3.95 percentage points. The survey was administered using both landlines via IVR data collection and online data collection using Dynata. Responses for the entire sample were weighted to reflect the national distribution of the Hispanic population by region, education, gender, age and income, according to latestAmerican Community Survey data. The polling results and full cross-tabulations can be viewed at www.business.fau. edu/BEPI. (En español, p. 19)
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Wear Your Mask! ¡Usa tu máscara!
February/febrero 2021, Vol. 15, Issue 2
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