Don’t miss out: Too few people are participating in a survey designed to get flood recovery aid to Louisiana homeowners who need it, The Associated Press reports. Completing the survey is the first step to receive aid from the $1.3 billion Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program. To get victims of last year’s flood to participate, the program has started door-to-door neighborhood canvassing to encourage impacted homeowners to fill out the survey. The program’s staff are walking neighborhoods, wearing official vests and carrying tablet computers to survey homeowners onsite. The effort will continue until mid-August. All homeowners with flood damage are encouraged to complete the survey even if they don’t think they qualify for aid. The survey is available online, by calling 1-866-735-2001 or by visiting a Restore Louisiana housing assistance center in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Hammond and Monroe.
On the roster: Rouses Markets, which has become Baton Rouge’s largest grocer over the past year, is now the official supermarket of the New Orleans Saints. The NFL team and Thibodaux-based company announced a multi-year partnership late Thursday. Under the deal, Rouses will be an associate partner of 2017 New Orleans Saints Training Camp presented by Verizon, providing an area for fans to cool off during the team practices. Rouses will also immediately begin to participate in a “Back To Football” campaign with Saints-themed promotions through September. Sweepstakes, in-game promotions and branding are also all a part of the deal. “We live, eat and play local,” says Rouses CEO Donny Rouse in a prepared statement. “We’re die-hard Saints fans. This is more than just a sponsorship. It’s a partnership between two home teams and a shared commitment to everything Gulf Coast.”
Cashing in: The last time big U.S. banks made so much money, the financial world was heading toward the brink of collapse. This time, it’s stiff regulation that’s in danger. As Bloomberg reports, 10 of the nation’s biggest lenders—including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America—together made $30 billion last quarter, just a few hundred million short of the record in the second quarter of 2007. The achievement comes just as the industry’s long campaign against post-crisis rules finds traction with the Trump administration. In the second quarter, banks saw their profits propped up by lending operations even after a surge in revenue from more volatile trading units subsided. The second quarter wasn’t a fluke. Even looking at the past 12 months, profits are still near the same level as 2007. Read more.
