Help wanted: Louisiana is looking for lending organizations to dole out aid to qualifying small businesses impacted by the March and August 2016 floods. As The Associated Press reports, the state’s flood recovery task force says the Office of Community Development is seeking nonprofits, community development financial institutions and federal credit unions to administer partially forgivable loans through the Restore Louisiana Small Business Program. The application period opened Friday and will continue through April 11. Program information and criteria are available online through the state Disaster Recovery Unit website.
Hall of fame: Louisiana’s latest class of political legends was inducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame on Saturday. The USA Today Network of Louisiana reports that the late civil rights legend Rev. T.J. Jemison and the late lobbyist Maurice “Bud” Mapes, both of Baton Rouge, were inducted into the hall of fame along with former Louisiana House Speaker Jimmy Dimos of Monroe, West Monroe’s longest-serving mayor Dave Norris and political columnist Jim Beam of Lake Charles. Read the full story.
Falling down: Oil hovered around three-month lows on this morning, as rising U.S. inventories and drilling activity offset optimism over OPEC’s efforts to restrict crude output. Reuters reports Brent crude was down two cents on the day, at $51.35 a barrel by 8:23 a.m., having hit a session trough of $50.85, its lowest level since Nov. 30. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell eight cents to $48.41 a barrel.The price has fallen by more than 8% since last Monday, its biggest week-on-week drop in four months, and analysts say the slide may not have much further to run. “The market is bearish because sentiment has turned. The risk is still towards the downside, but we are nowhere near the precipice,” says Tamas Varga of PVM Oil Associates. Read the full story.
