New U.K. relationship may boost state's economy: Deal announces UK Trade & Investment to establish base in Georgia

Gov. Nathan Deal and Lord Stephen Green, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, announced today (May 18) from London that UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) will establish an office in Georgia to promote trade and foreign direct investment opportunities between the United Kingdom and the state.

“The United Kingdom is and will remain a strong business partner for the state of Georgia. The ties that bind us grow stronger each year, benefiting both economies,” said Gov. Deal. “In this mission to the United Kingdom, I hope to build on our firm foundation of friendship and trust to further opportunities that will create jobs and profitable investment opportunities.”

UKTI, part of the British Government, helps U.K.-based companies succeed in international markets and overseas companies bring high-quality investment to the country. The UKTI will be co-located with the British Consulate-General in downtown Atlanta. An officer is in place temporarily for the months of May and June to undertake preparation for the launch of the full-time trade office opening in early July with a team of two full-time trade officers. UKTI has been operating in Georgia through regular visits of trade officers from its Miami location.

“Trade and investment is at the heart of the UK’s growth strategy and we see great prospects for further growth of British business links with Georgia and across the Southeast,” said Lord Green. “That is why we are pleased to announce today an expansion of our UK Trade and Investment team in Atlanta to further develop these opportunities to the benefit of jobs in both our countries.”

Deal and Lord Green made the announcement during the governor’s first international mission since taking office. His visits to Liverpool and London are helping develop strategic partnerships with the United Kingdom to support job growth in both countries.

“The British government is delighted to be hosting Gov. Deal on this visit. The governor’s visit will help to advance additional opportunities to expand this successful economic partnership to the benefit of both our countries,” said Her Majesty’s Consul General, Annabelle Malins, who is accompanying the visit.

“We do a lot of business in and with the U.K. and establishing the new trade and investment office is a natural outgrowth of that relationship,” said Chris Cummiskey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, who is traveling with Deal on the mission.

The United Kingdom ranks as the sixth-largest export market and eighth-largest import market for Georgia. The state exported nearly $990 million there in 2010, with top exports including electrical machinery, wood pulp, aircraft or spacecraft, paper and machinery. Imports from the U.K. totaled close to $2.3 billion and consisted primarily of pharmaceutical products, nonrailway vehicles, electrical machinery, machinery, and aircraft or spacecraft.

More than 100 Georgia companies have operations in the U.K. and around 565 British facilities operate in Georgia, including 110 manufacturing locations. These U.K.-affiliated companies employ close to 35,000 Georgians. Through the Department of Economic Development, Georgia maintains both a business office and a tourism office in the U.K.

This program follows a series of high-level visits: Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta visited London in November, U.K. Minister Alistair Burt visited Georgia in December and a Liverpool delegation led by the University of Liverpool visited Georgia in January. Daily flights between Atlanta and London operate out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

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New GBPI Report Finds Investment in Disease Prevention Could Save $426 Million for Healthcare Payers in Georgia in Five Years

The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) released a report today examining potential return on investment for public health interventions in Georgia. The report, Prevention for a Healthier Georgia: Investments in Disease Prevention Yield Significant Savings, Stronger Communities, finds that strategic investments in disease prevention could result in significant savings to Georgia's health system and its payers, including employers and the state budget.

Based on a model developed at the national level by the Urban Institute, TFAH and GBPI estimate that an annual investment of $10 per Georgian in community-based programs to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and prevent smoking could generate savings of more than $426 million annually within 5 years. This would amount to a return of $4.77 for every $1 invested. Of the $426 million, Georgia's Medicaid program could see $16 million in annual savings, while private payers such as employers and employees could see savings of nearly $270 million.

"The distribution of the savings suggests that both the public and private sectors should be investing in community-based public health programs in Georgia," said Tim Sweeney, Healthcare Analyst with GBPI. "But monetary savings are only part of the story - healthier individuals and communities mean a healthier workforce and a healthier economy," Sweeney added.

"Health care costs are crippling our economy. Keeping Georgians healthier is one of the most important, but overlooked ways we could reduce these costs," said Jeff Levi, PhD, Executive Director of TFAH. "This study shows that with a strategic investment in effective, evidence-based disease prevention programs, we could see tremendous returns in less than five years -- sparing millions of people from serious diseases and saving billions of dollars."

TFAH and GBPI also released polling data showing Georgian's broad support for prevention investments to address health issues. The polling, performed by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies on behalf of TFAH and the Healthcare Georgia Foundation, found prevention to be a top reason to increase government funding for health issues. In particular, 68 percent of Georgians polled said that "diseases related to obesity" are very important for government to focus on.

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The Brattle Group Projects $1.5 to $2.0 Trillion Investment Needed in the U.S. Electric Utility Industry by 2030

PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. utility industry will have to invest between $1.5 and $2.0 trillion between 2010 and 2030 to maintain current levels of reliable energy service for customers throughout the country, according to a new report issued today by The Brattle Group. The findings are detailed in "Transforming America's Power Industry: The Investment Challenge 2010-2030," presented today by Peter Fox-Penner, a principal of The Brattle Group, at the Edison Electric Institute's 43rd Financial Conference. The report was sponsored by the Edison Foundation.

"This study highlights the investment challenges confronting the power industry in the coming decades," said Dr. Fox-Penner. "The industry is facing enormous investment needs during a period of modest growth, high costs, and very substantial policy shifts," he explained.

All types of new generation capacity will be needed, including natural gas, coal, nuclear, and renewables. Nearly 40 gigawatts of new renewable capacity will be needed just to meet state requirements. Significantly, capital spending to upgrade distribution and transmission facilities nationwide may surpass investment in new generation, the study found. Spending on "smart grid" technologies to ramp up efficiency -- along with new power lines to integrate renewable electricity sources -- will account for much of that spending.

"The good news is that as a result of this very significant investment, our economy and utility customers will get more efficiency and control over their electricity use, lower-carbon generation, and a higher-technology, more resilient and reliable electric grid," Dr. Fox-Penner said.

The report, which follows highly publicized preliminary results introduced in April 2008 at an Edison Foundation conference, analyzes four possible scenarios that measure the impact of energy efficiency and demand response program implementation on investment needs and new plant construction. In the base case scenario, which does not account for new climate policies, the total investment needs are projected to reach $1.5 trillion. Implementation of a federal carbon policy would significantly increase the capital cost and change the mix of new generation capacity; for instance, a simplified model of one scenario with carbon controls would require an increase in total capital spending to $2 trillion.

Another key finding in the study is a large potential reduction in the need for new generation capacity, due to the faster than previously estimated implementation of energy efficiency and demand response programs. In the preliminary results, energy efficiency was estimated to potentially reduce new capacity by 17%. In the final results, the potential reduction in new capacity is projected to be approximately 38%. However, reductions in new required capacity will not correlate to an equal reduction in total investment due to the offsetting costs of implementing the efficiency programs.

"It is important to emphasize that while energy efficiency and demand response programs can significantly reduce the need for new generation capacity, they cannot eliminate the need for new power plants," Dr. Fox-Penner observed.

Marc Chupka and Robert Earle, principals of The Brattle Group, directed the study which is available at www.brattle.com and www.edisonfoundation.net.

The Brattle Group provides consulting services and expert testimony in economics and finance to corporations, law firms, and public agencies worldwide. Areas of expertise include antitrust and competition; electric power, natural gas, and petroleum; valuation and damages; and regulation and planning in network industries. For more information, visit www.brattle.com.

The Washington-based Edison Foundation is dedicated to bringing the benefits of electricity to families, businesses, and industries worldwide.

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Second Economic Stimulus Package: Emory Economists Weigh In

The American economy may need a second stimulus package, but whatever decision is made about what form it takes had better be made quickly, says Emory global finance expert Jeffrey Rosensweig, director of the Global Perspectives Progam at Goizueta Business School.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke "is doing all he can, but he's having to overcome the negative economic and financial market news reverberating and building in waves around the globe," says Rosensweig. Making matters worse, he says, are investors, "who are often whipped up by the media's love of 'gloom and doom,' and are self-inflicting even deeper wounds by their fear-induced selling. This panicked selling turns negative forecasts into self-fulfilling prophecies."

Rosensweig thinks that the actions being taken, and likely to be taken, will eventually stabilize the financial markets and thaw what were frozen credit markets. "An easing of the credit crunch is already showing up in analyses of various interest rates," he says. Rosensweig's guarded optimism stems from his belief that that Bernanke has shown his commitment "to do everything it takes to turn this thing around."

Rosensweig continues to assert that: "Fighting the financial crisis will take good coordination globally, and political cooperation both within and across nations is essential. But there is no time to dither."

A former student of Bernanke's at MIT, Rosensweig is associate professor of international business and finance and director of the Global Perspectives Program. A former senior international economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Rosensweig specializes in global strategy, global economics and international finance.

Stimulus Calls for Government Investment Spending

Any new government stimulus package should be aimed at government investment spending, says Emory economist Hashem Dezhbakhsh. "Two ways to expand spending are through government purchases or through transfers to consumers," he says. But with retail spending already down, and many people worried about jobs, mortgages, debt and the future, consumers are unlikely to start spending more based on a one-time check from the government.

"I honestly think that if government wants to stimulate spending, it should look at the kind of things we did after World War II. Invest in roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects. When you do this kind of construction, it helps create jobs and demands for goods, services and materials that just doesn't happen otherwise."

Unrestrained Regulation Could Stall Economy

Economist Paul Rubin warns that whatever form a stimulus package takes, the federal government may be on track for over-regulating in the wake of recent failures in the economy. "The problem with government regulation is not that clever economists can't draft good regulations; the problem is that what usually gets adopted is more a matter of political expediency than what actually might work," he says.

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Sallie Mae Launches ‘Education Investment Planner’ to Help Families Build a Customized Plan to Pay for College

BUSINESS WIRE --Sallie Mae, the nation’s leading saving- and paying-for-college company, today launched a new, free online tool that makes understanding the total cost of college and how to pay for it easier for students, parents, financial aid professionals and guidance counselors. The Education Investment Planner, available at www.SallieMae.com/plan, enables families to:

• Estimate the full cost of a college degree: Find out how much four years for a bachelor’s degree, two years for a master’s degree, or other programs will cost at a specific school, including the average growth of tuition over time.
• Build a customized Plan to pay for college through a combination of their own money, federal and state grants, scholarships and, if necessary, federal and private student loans.
• Compare schools: Compare actual costs for approximately 5,500 colleges and universities—not only tuition, but also average room and board expenses, fees, books and supplies.
• Determine if they need student loans and, if so, estimate what their monthly payments could be after graduation—and project how much a graduate would need to earn to keep payments manageable.

Sallie Mae developed the Education Investment Planner in response to feedback from customers and higher education policy advocates indicating that families need better ways to assess the cost of college and their choices for footing the bill. New data from a Gallup survey conducted in May and June, commissioned by Sallie Mae, found that 41% of families did not consider students’ expected income after graduation on their decision to borrow for college and another 29% said expected income made no difference their borrowing decision. Another study, Sallie Mae’s 2007 Survey of Parents of College-Bound Freshmen, indicated that parents want an honest assessment of the total cost of college: 39 percent of all respondents said the most helpful information from the financial aid office was “an honest assessment of total costs over four years,” and 32 percent said “basic information about federal loans, private loans, and payment plans.”

“Sallie Mae offers this free online tool to help families make more informed choices about school selection by understanding upfront how to pay for it without going beyond their means,” said C.E. Andrews, president, Sallie Mae. “So often we think of financial aid in a one-year snapshot. We developed the Education Investment Planner as part of Sallie Mae’s commitment to financial literacy and to helping students and parents understand the full cost of a college degree.”

The Education Investment Planner takes families through a series of questions, prompting users to model various funding sources, including 529 college savings plans, parent and student savings and income, scholarships, federal and state grants, institutional aid and other sources. It helps families follow Sallie Mae’s “1-2-3 approach” to paying for college: first, use free money such as scholarships and grants; second, fully explore federal student loans; and third, fill any remaining gap with private student loans.

“The college search and selection process is one of the most daunting tasks undertaken by high school students and their families, and the Education Investment Planner is a terrific step forward—simple to use and a great confidence booster for families as they explore how to estimate costs and plan into the future,” said Brian Ralph, vice president for enrollment management, Queens University of Charlotte, in North Carolina. “As someone who works with prospective and current students, I know that students who plan well are less likely to struggle financially during their college experience, resulting in higher rates of student success and graduation. This new site will be a great resource to supplement the college planning process.”

Using the Education Investment Planner, families considering student loans can explore various options and estimate monthly repayment amounts, better understand repayment terms and learn what beginning salary is needed to keep payments manageable—before borrowing a penny.

“Now is the right time for families to start thinking about their students’ futures, and having a free planning tool that helps educate families on how to save and pay for college is crucial,” said Tom Burton, immediate past president of the Ohio Middle School Association. “Starting early is the best way to make sure there are no surprises years down the road when it’s time for college.”

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