Growing global: Beginning today, the Southern United States Trade Association is accepting applications for funding assistance toward promoting food and agriculture products internationally. SUSTA, through the federal Market Access Program, reimburses companies up to 50% of their export promotional costs to help them become competitive in global markets. To be eligible, companies must be considered small according to U.S. Small Business Administration standards, have yearly sales of at least $100,000 and promote a brand-name product that is of at least 50% U.S. agricultural origin. To learn more, go to susta.org or call 504-568-5986.
Mobile satire: Red Shtick Magazine, the Capital City’s publication dedicated to satire and irreverent humor, is now totally digital with the launch of a new website—theredshtick.com—and app for mobile devices. Publisher Jeremy White says the website will be updated daily with fresh content from the publication’s many contributors and will also allow interaction between registered users via a commenting section. White says the website will soon feature video content and podcasts, which will be recorded regularly beginning this month. However, White says the website is not fully functional on Internet Explorer and suggests visitors “get with the program and switch to a modern browser.”
Holding pattern: The Federal Reserve’s policy-making committee took no new steps to support the economy at a meeting that ended today, although the committee signaled in a statement that it was ready to take new action if job growth does not improve, reports The New York Times. The Fed says the pace of economic growth had slowed over the summer and that it expects the unemployment rate to fall “only slowly.” Nonetheless, the Fed chose to defer action at least until the committee’s next meeting in September. To read more, click here.
