iBi - December 2009

The Double Bottom Line

Formed earlier this year, the Central Illinois Angels investment group is officially open for business. There are currently 46 members of the group who are looking to invest in new companies in the Peoria area and beyond. The Angels will bring expertise, experience, contacts and capital to help emerging and growing businesses.

iBi Focus

Finance

  • Riding Out the Storm

    The end of the year has arrived—thank goodness! No doubt about it, 2009 was a challenging year, and 2010 will be as well. But thankfully, the fear that the world economy would come crashing down—a common notion just a year ago—did not come to fruition.

Area Bankers Assess Economic Impact

iBi asked seven area bankers for their perspectives on the Great Recession, TARP and other federal programs, new and proposed regulations, and the outlook for next year.

Pulling Back From the Brink
by Don Johnson

During the past year, the world economy faced its greatest crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, with a repeat of that unfortunate experience uncomfortably close.

To gain a better understanding of the issues surrounding the conversion of an IRA into a Roth IRA, we have brought together a roundtable of tax, estate planning and investment professionals to provide their insights on this topic.

Borrowing money is usually the last thing a business owner or aspiring entrepreneur wants to do. But sometimes a business owner must borrow money to grow a business, start a new venture or simply survive hard times.

What happened to our economy, and what should investors do now?

If the U.S. economy were a medical patient, the attending doctor might conclude that some of its vitals are strong, and some are definitely improving.

TIF, EDA, SBA, IFA, IFF, GAP, RLF, BDF, HCDC…Are you feeling a bit lost in the alphabet soup?

On a daily basis, I listen to and counsel individuals carrying the burden of credit card debt.

What Can We Learn from One Another?

One of the more popular witticisms has been “government should be run like a business.” Very rarely does one see a similar claim that business should be run like government.

Microcredit Spurs Entrepreneurship

Thanks to a chance meeting between an ambitious Peruvian woman and an ISU student, Ekkekko will soon be providing microcredit to entrepreneurs who would otherwise have no chance of receiving financial services from the formal banking sector.

The Peoria area has not followed the national trend at any point in the downturn, and there is some doubt that we will follow it in the recovery.

Beginning in 2010, the income limitations for a conversion from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA have been eliminated.

If you are one of the lucky workers with an employer-sponsored disability income policy, you are more fortunate than most. It is better to have group coverage than not.

Region

Workplace

Health

  • The Key to a Healthy, Successful Bottom Line
    by Vickie Parry
    OSF Saint Francis Medical Center

More...

iBi Balance

With breakfast, lunch and dinner options ranging from danishes and crepes to creamy garlic chicken and meatball sub sandwiches, Travis Mohlenbrink’s Cracked Pepper Catering and Bakery has it all.

It’s easy to forget how stressful the holidays can be until you’re stuck in the thick of it.

Gratitude Increases Productivity... Free Shipping Day... The Health Benefits of Pet Ownership... The Do’s and Don’ts of Job Descriptions... Tackle Holiday Debt...