Finance news. My opinion.

Pranab Mukherjee earned a reputation as a trouble shooter in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s cabinet since 2004 by resolving spats among ministries and coalition partners. Now he’s got the job of reviving the economy.

The 73-year-old Congress party veteran was appointed finance minister yesterday, a position he has been acting in since January as Singh, 76, recovered from surgery. He held the defense and then the foreign portfolio for the bulk of Singh’s first term.

Mukherjee, who ran a closed economy as the finance minister in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet from 1982 to 1984, inherits one that is now open and exposed to the global recession. He has called for “accelerating” reforms in banking and insurance to make the economy more competitive and accelerate growth.

“He is a deliverer,” said Alastair Newton, a political analyst at Nomura International Plc in London. “He will have challenges in the economic portfolio given the political realities — market expectations are high.”

The Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark stock index surged by a record 17 percent on May 18, the first day after Singh’s re- election, as investors bet the resounding victory will enable the new finance minister to ease foreign investment rules and sell state assets — policies that were stalled by Singh’s communist partners in his previous term.

Congress has the support of 322 lawmakers in the lower house of parliament, with the party getting 206 lawmakers of its own. That’s the most since 1991, when Singh as finance minister abandoned Soviet-style state planning and introduced free-market policies that have helped India’s economy quadruple in size.

‘Strong Endorsement’

The victory was as much Mukherjee’s as Singh’s. As the No. 2 in the cabinet, he backed the prime minister’s policies ranging from creating jobs in rural areas and writing off farmers’ loans to closer ties with the U.S., renewing a relationship that began in the early 1980s when he appointed Singh as the central bank governor.

“Despite the strong endorsement from voters, the finance minister may have a tough job pushing through some much-needed reforms,” said Nikhilesh Bhattacharyya, an economist at Moody’s Economy.com in Sydney. “It’s very hard for politicians, for example, to do away with subsidies, which may result in a backlash. Expectations should be tempered.”

India spends one trillion rupees ($21 billion), or a tenth of its budget, on food, fuel and other subsidies each year in a country where the World Bank estimates three-quarters of the people live on less than $2 a day. About 13 percent of spending goes to defense and 20 percent to pay interest on national debt. That leaves little for other needs, such as health, education and power plants, boosting borrowings.

Ballooning Deficit

The federal government budget deficit was at 6 percent of gross domestic product for the year ended March 31, more than double the target of 2.5 percent of GDP.

Moody’s Investors Service places India’s long-term local currency rating at Ba2, two levels below investment grade, and lower than the ratings assigned to Colombia, Romania and Kazakhstan no fax payday advance. S&P has a BBB- long term credit rating on India, the lowest investment-grade level.

Investors will be looking at how much fiscal stimulus Mukherjee, who was on the boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in the 1980s, can provide in his first policy statement — the budget for this year — expected in early July.

Singh’s government said before the elections that stimulus of at least another 1 percent of GDP is needed to prop up an economy that’s growing at its slowest pace since 2003.

Policy Conflicts

Mukherjee, who first became a minister in 1973, estimated in February that India may need to raise a record 3.62 trillion rupees from bond sales in the fiscal year that started April 1. The central bank governor Duvvuri Subbarao said May 22 that borrowings have “already expanded rapidly” and that it goes against his efforts to keep borrowing costs low.

“The government faces a challenge to balance two conflicting issues — to stimulate the economy while preventing fiscal position from further erosion,” said Takahira Ogawa, S&P’s director of sovereign ratings. “There is a possibility for the government to implement various measures to further expand the economy and consolidate the fiscal situation.”

Singh’s administration, which doesn’t need communists’ support for a majority in parliament, could raise as much as $20 billion from sale of state-run companies, according to Rashesh Shah, chief executive officer of Edelweiss Capital Ltd.

Asset Sales

Among the companies that could be placed on the block are NHPC Ltd., India’s largest producer of electricity from water, explorer Oil India Ltd. and fuel retailer Hindustan Petroleum Corp., according to Mumbai-based brokerage Religare Capital Markets Ltd.

Still, analysts such as Seema Desai at Eurasia Group, a London-based political-risk advisory firm, expect economic changes will be “selective and gradual.”

“There is a significant segment within the party that is suspicious of sweeping pro-market reforms,” Desai said.

Mukherjee, who last year successfully rallied China, Japan, Russia and 42 other nations to end India’s nuclear isolation and resume supplies without signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, needs to bring the same acumen to gain support of his party colleagues, many of whom are still tied to the original socialist principles of the Congress party.

At stake is a bill to raise the foreign investment ceiling for Prudential Plc and other insurers to 49 percent from 26 percent, and other proposed legislation aimed at removing a 10 percent cap on the voting rights of foreign investors in non- state banks. The government also wants to allow global retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. into India.

“Mukherjee is a seasoned politician with excellent skills to bring people around,” said N. Bhaskara Rao, chairman at the Centre for Media Studies in New Delhi. “Expectations from him will be high.”

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Bank of England Deputy Governor Charles Bean said policy makers face a “tricky judgment” on when to exit its money-printing strategy as the lending squeeze keeps Britain’s economy mired in recession.

“It is possible that the supply of credit will remain impaired for some while,” Bean said in a speech in Sheffield, England yesterday. “We are still some way from having banks that feel sufficiently secure that they can lend normally, and investors that have enough confidence in the banks to provide them with sufficient funds.”

Bean said the central bank has flexibility in how it unwinds its strategy to aid the economy by buying assets with newly created money, and will be guided by its 2 percent inflation target. The Monetary Policy Committee can also raise the benchmark interest rate from the current record low of 0.5 percent, he said.

“It is not necessary to unwind the asset purchases before raising bank rate,” he said. “The timing of the withdrawal of the monetary stimulus will be governed by the need to meet the MPC’s inflation objective, not by the government’s financing needs,” he said.

Bean noted the bank may also stagger gilt sales by swapping them for short-term central bank bills.

Policy makers voted this month to increase to 125 billion pounds ($197 billion) the bank’s asset purchase program to fight Britain’s worst recession in a generation. Standard & Poor’s yesterday cut its outlook on the U payday loan cash advance loan.K.’s top AAA credit rating to negative from stable for the first time ever after the slump hammered tax receipts and swelled the government’s deficit.

Purchase Effects

The asset purchases have had a “beneficial impact” in cutting spreads on commercial paper and corporate bonds, and in boosting issuance of company debt, Bean said. He noted that the strategy may be helping to push down the cost of borrowing between banks, through it will “take some time” before policy makers can assess the full effects on the economy.

“Business surveys around the world do suggest that the rate of contraction in activity has been moderating over that past few months and that business confidence has started to improve,” Bean said. “So the bottom in economic activity may not be far off.”

The bank’s actions and the drop in the pound may also help the economy, Bean said.

“Our latest assessment is that the combined stimulus from policy easing and the lower value of sterling should be sufficient to lead to growth resuming as we move towards the end of the year,” he said.

Still, the squeeze on credit across the economy remains “very much at the forefront of our concerns,” Bean said.

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China may resume interest-rate cuts from mid-year as consumer and producer prices fall and hopes fade for a rapid rebound in the world’s third-biggest economy, Capital Economics Ltd. said.

Deflation means “real rates have risen sharply,” London- based economist Mark Williams said in a note e-mailed late yesterday. “If the recovery disappoints, further interest-rate cuts could resume from the middle of the year.”

Credit Suisse Group AG said this week that China’s recovery began to stall in the second half of last month and the World Bank cautioned against “premature” enthusiasm. Those views contrast with a 44 percent rally in the Shanghai Composite Index, driven by optimism that government-led investment will revive growth after trade collapsed.

The key one-year lending rate is 5.31 percent after five cuts in the final four months of last year. The first was as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy and the central bank followed up with the biggest single reduction since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

Williams predicts 81 basis points of cuts in both lending and deposit rates by year’s end after consumer prices fell for three straight months and producer prices declined by a record in April.

“Huge growth” in new project announcements because of the government’s 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package may not yet have generated spending gains of the same size, Williams said business card design. “While growth appears to have stabilized, there is no sign of a rapid rebound.”

Stocks May Fall

China’s economic recovery is slowing further this month, raising concern that the rebound won’t be as “strong as many recently have hoped” and adding to the likelihood of a decline in stocks, according to Credit Suisse.

Retail industries including electronics and department stores have weakened, adding to a slump in power consumption, Dong Tao, a Hong Kong-based economist, said in a report.

“The pace has slowed, even reversed in some sectors,” Tao said. “The trend has become more visible in May.”

Manufacturing may falter in coming months after expanding in March and April, Tao said. The Purchasing Manager’s Index, or PMI, rose to 53.5 in April from 52.4 in March. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion.

“The PMI runs a risk of slipping below 50 over the next few months,” Tao wrote.

China’s economy expanded 6.1 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace in almost a decade. Overseas shipments declined 22.6 percent in April from a year earlier, the customs bureau said last week.

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Malaysia’s central bank said it will lower the country’s 2009 economic forecast amid a worse-than- expected slump in exports, predicting the nation will recover in the second half of the year.

“The export contraction was much greater than was earlier envisaged,” Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Singapore on May 9. “This more significant contraction of the export sector will require a revision of the numbers. The important part is the domestic sector continues to grow.”

Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy is facing its first contraction in more than a decade, with the central bank currently forecasting it may shrink 1 percent this year or expand that much. The 1.5 percentage points of interest-rate cuts since late November and the government’s 67 billion ringgit ($19 billion) of stimulus measures are enough for now, Zeti said.

“Right now the assessment is that there will be an improvement in the second half of the year, especially in the fourth quarter,” she said. “Unless that assessment changes, then the current rate is the appropriate rate.”

Asian governments have pledged to pump more than $950 billion into their economies through increased expenditure, tax cuts and cash handouts to kick-start local consumer and business spending. Growth in Asia including Japan, Australia and New Zealand will probably slow to 1.3 percent this year, from 5.1 percent in 2008, the International Monetary Fund said May 6.

Measures ‘Sufficient’

Malaysia’s stimulus plans are “sufficient” and if implemented aggressively and efficiently, will help the economy resume growth in the second half of this year after a “marked contraction” in the first six months, Zeti said. The government has the capacity to do more if needed, she added.

Bank Negara Malaysia kept its overnight policy rate unchanged at 2 percent in April following three consecutive reductions from Nov. 24 to Feb. 24.

The worst global economic slump since World War II has battered Asian exports, including Malaysian-produced Intel Corp. computer chips and IOI Corp. palm oil. The country’s industrial production fell for a seventh month in March, dropping 14.4 percent from a year earlier, a report showed today. Exports slumped 15.6 percent.

Once the world economy improves, Asia “holds the greatest promise for a stronger recovery,” Zeti said. “Our financial system continues to function, and therefore when conditions in the global environment stabilize, I believe that Asia will see a rapid recovery fast cash advance.”

Asian Currencies Rise

Malaysia’s GDP growth may revive to a 4 percent-to-5 percent pace once the global economy recovers, she said, without specifying a time frame.

The ringgit rose to a four-month high of 3.4965 against the dollar today as all of Southeast Asia’s five most-used currencies advanced on optimism the global recession is easing.

“The market expects to see improvements going forward,” said Suresh Kumar Ramanathan, a rates and currency strategist at CIMB Investment Bank Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. “The dollar is selling off as risk appetite is coming back.”

Zeti didn’t say by how much the 2009 economic forecast would be changed. She said the central bank will unveil the new estimates when it releases first-quarter economic data, due later this month.

“The domestic economy is still holding its ground,” Zeti said. “If we didn’t have a domestic sector, the contraction would have been so much more severe.”

Low Interest Rates

Global central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve have slashed interest rates to help spur economic growth and sustain consumer spending. Indonesia’s central bank on May 5 lowered its benchmark interest rate for a sixth straight month.

“Interest rates are likely to remain low for an extended period of time and this can have negative implications,” Zeti said. “For us, we also have to consider the return on savings. We are a high-savings economy,” where deposits account for about 180 percent of GDP, she said.

Malaysia scrapped its fixed-exchange rate of 3.8 ringgit against the dollar in July 2005 in favor of a managed float against the currencies of its major trading partners.

The ringgit “has seen greater volatility” against the dollar, Zeti said. Still, “our currency has been relatively stable against most of the currencies in this region. Malaysia does not have a target level, we don’t even have a band against which we operate.”

Malaysia’s ringgit fell 1.4 percent this year against the dollar, the worst performance among the 10 most-traded currencies in Asia outside Japan.

“The currency should reflect the underlying fundamentals,” she said. “If the underlying fundamentals hold the promise to improve, and going into next year especially, then the currency should also reflect that performance.”

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In Detroit, the unthinkable — an automaker bankruptcy — has become very thinkable.

President Obama is giving General Motors 60 days to come up with a more aggressive plan to cut costs and debt. Chrysler is only getting half that time to work out a combination with Italian automaker Fiat. If they fail, the government will force them into bankruptcy court.

On Tuesday, new GM (GM, Fortune 500) CEO Fritz Henderson said the company might be in bankruptcy even quicker than that if negotiations with creditors and the United Auto Workers union don’t go well.

Americans have grown used to the bankruptcy of airlines, retailers and other businesses. But a bankruptcy of one or more of Detroit’s Big Three could have a much more wide-ranging impact on the U.S. economy. Here’s what a bankruptcy could mean for car owners, dealers, auto workers, suppliers, lenders and U.S. taxpayers.

Consumers

The government has announced it will stand behind the warranties for new GM and Chrysler cars. But that would do little good to somebody trying to sell a model that winds up being discontinued. The loss in resale value could be tremendous.

After GM and Chrysler killed off Oldsmobile and Plymouth, two-year old vehicles of those discontinued brands were worth as much as a similar five-year old model at the companies’ other brands, according to used car price tracker Kelly Blue Book.

And if either company was forced to go out of business due to bankruptcy, it would cost people a lot more to buy a new car. Even with demand for new cars at a 26-year low, a shutdown of all GM or Chrysler plants could soon create a shortage of new cars.

That would allow other automakers to pullback from the record average of $3,169 in cash-back and other incentives now being offered to buyers. Jesse Toprak, industry analyst with sales tracker Edmunds.com, estimates that average incentives could fall by about $1,000 per vehicle within a year or two if GM and Chrysler were forced to halt operations.

Auto Workers

The popular assumption is that bankruptcy would give GM the power to get out of their labor contracts with the United Auto Workers union and other unions that put them at a competitive disadvantage to nonunion automakers such as Toyota Motor (TM). The truth is far more complicated.

Heidi Sorvino, head of the bankruptcy practice in the New York office of law firm Smith, Gambrell & Russell, said it is much tougher for a bankrupt company to shed its labor contracts than other obligations.

The threat of bankruptcy gives management far greater leverage at the negotiating table. But the legal process is cumbersome enough that management at bankrupt companies typically find it quicker to reach a new labor deal than have the court impose one. Bankrupt automaker Delphi took nearly 21 months to reach a new deal with the UAW after its bankruptcy filing.

So while GM might get better contracts in bankruptcy than they would outside of bankruptcy, the 54,000 UAW members would not be at the mercy of whatever the company wanted to impose on them.

John Weykamp, an auto restructuring expert at accounting firm Crowe Horwath said retirees at GM would probably continue to have health care coverage, although the company would likely not have to put as much money into the trust funds that are being set up to pay for that coverage. And he doubts the union would be pushed by management to accept significant pay cuts.

Dealerships

Both companies have announced plans to cut their bloated network of dealerships, which were established when they had a much larger share of the nation’s new car market. But cutting ties with dealers is an expensive process, given the strength of state-by-state dealer franchise laws. GM spent about $1 billion to drop its Oldsmobile brand, most of it to buy out dealers.

Bankruptcy could make it easier for the companies to get out of those dealership agreements, although Sorvino said that dealers would still have the ability to challenge such a move in court.

"It’s not a slam dunk," she said about using bankruptcy as a tool to get around franchise laws.

But the bigger problem could be finding money for the dealers that stick around. Dealers need financing to buy vehicles they hold in inventory, and it’s not clear whether lenders such as GMAC, now an independent bank holding company, would continue to provide dealers with that crucial financing if GM was bankrupt business

Sony Ericsson sparked fresh fear of crumbling consumer demand on Friday when the world’s No 4 handset maker said it would sell barely half of the phones it sold last quarter.

Shares across the wireless sector dropped sharply on the news — compounded by smaller rival Palm’s overnight report of slumping quarterly sales — and by 1229 GMT (8:29 a.m. EDT), Ericsson was down 8.7 percent and Nokia was down 5.5 percent.

Sony Ericsson said it expects to sell just 14 million phones in January-March, hit by weak demand and retailers cutting their inventories. Analysts polled by Reuters in January expected between 15.5 million to 21.8 million phones sold.

“Investors are questioning the whole market now, even though I think the issue for Sony Ericsson is more company specific,” said Jari Honko, analyst with eQ Bank.

Overnight, U.S. rival Palm Inc reported a widening loss for the December-February quarter and said revenue sank 70 percent from a year ago.

The cellphone industry has entered its toughest year ever as consumers rein in spending and retailers try to clear inventories of unsold phones after bleak Christmas sales.

“The market, overall, continues to be very challenging,” said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.

Fears over the future of the mobile market also sent shares in chipmakers sharply lower, with Infineon down 6 fast cash loans.6 percent and STMicro 5 percent lower.

VERY WEAK QUARTER

Sony Ericsson said it expected to make a pretax loss of 340-390 million euros ($459 million-$526 million) in the quarter as it heads into a second year of losses.

“It’s a real catastrophe. Those are very big losses and they are probably losing a lot of market share,” said Greger Johansson, from analyst firm Redeye.

“It’s obvious that the volumes are much lower than the market had thought. And first and foremost, the losses are much, much bigger,” he said.

Sony Ericsson, the no. 4 global handset maker after Nokia, Samsung and LG, said it expects gross margins to decline both year-on-year and sequentially.

“What is happening now is that everyone will be forced to cut their forecasts for Sony Ericsson and Ericsson,” said analyst Hakan Wranne from Swedbank.

Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight said Sony Ericsson was suffering most from the weak portfolio and the challenging market conditions it faces in European markets. 

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Energy and mining stocks gave lift to the Toronto stock market in early trading, while New York markets were weak in the wake of earnings warnings and another indication of huge job losses in the United States during January.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index moved ahead 52.6 points to 8,681.2 after a flat showing Tuesday.

The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 6.83 points to 876.08 and the Canadian dollar moved up 0.06 cent to 81.35 cents US.

New York's Dow Jones industrials inched up 1.5 points to 8,079.9 on top of a 142-point rise.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 3.96 points to 1,520.26 after gaining 22 points while the S&P 500 added 2.6 points to 841.1.

The Walt Disney Co. reported a 32 per cent decline in quarterly profits amid a downturn that chief executive Robert Iger called "likely to be the weakest economy in our lifetime."

Iger also suggested that a broad-based decline of the DVD business was occurring as consumers shifted viewing habits onto the Internet and other formats and Disney shares fell $1.31 to US$19.31.

Costco Wholesale Corp. said its profit for the quarter ending in February will "substantially" miss Wall Street estimates due to poor sales and margins. Same store sales declined two per cent and the retailer now expects earnings for its fiscal second quarter to miss the consensus estimate of 70 cents per share.

It also said it will not provide earnings guidance for the rest of the fiscal year and its shares fell $3.60 to US$42.52.

Kraft Foods shares lost $2.50 to US$26.24 after it said fourth-quarter profit fell 72 per cent due to costs related to a restructuring program.

The maker of Velveeta, Oreo cookies and Maxwell House coffee cut 2009 guidance to $1.88 per share from $2 per share. Analysts expect a profit of $2.02 per share.

Panasonic Corp., is slashing 15,000 jobs and shutting down 27 plants worldwide to cope with plunging demand for its TVs, semiconductors and other electronics products.

It also announced a net loss of 63.1 billion yen or US$709 million for the October-December quarter and lowered its forecast for the fiscal year through March to a net loss of 380 billion yen or US$4.2 billion, its first annual loss in six years.

Two days before the release of January employment data, the latest ADP Employment Report in the U.S. showed that 522,000 jobs were lost in January. That is in line with consensus forecasts.

The TSX energy sector climbed 0.5 per cent as the March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1 to US$41.78 a barrel. Suncor Inc. (TSX: SU) gained 26 cents to $23.79.

The April bullion contract on the Nymex moved up $11 cash advance.90 to US$904.40, lifting the gold sector 1.5 per cent. Goldcorp Inc. (TSX: G) rose 89 cents to $35.69.

The base metals sector climbed one per cent as Teck Cominco Ltd. (TSX: TCK.B) advanced 14 cents to $4.65.

Shares in HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX: HBM) were eight cents higher to $4.83 after the company said that the unions at its operations in Flin Flon and Snow Lake, Man., have voted to ratify new three-year collective agreements effective Jan. 1, 2009.

The financial sector was the biggest TSX drag, down one per cent with Scotiabank (TSX: BNS) off 37 cents to $29.82.

The Dutch parent company of ING Canada Inc. (TSX: IIC) is selling a $2-billion stake in the Canadian subsidiary. The sale will not affect ING Group's current ownership of ING Bank of Canada, known as ING Direct, which is a separate and distinct company from ING Canada. ING Canada shares tumbled $5.11 or 15 per cent to $28.68.

Shares in Research In Motion (TSX: RIM) slipped 35 cents to $67.92 after top executives reached a deal to settle a dispute with the Ontario Securities Commission over the company's past stock option practices.

The OSC will hold a hearing Thursday to consider the settlement that includes co-chief executives Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis and several other executives and directors. The OSC has accused RIM and several individuals, including Balsillie and Lazaridis, of receiving back-dated stock options.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSX: MFI) shares were down five cents to $10.61 after it said Tuesday that it plans to restate and refile its 2007 consolidated annual financial statements to lower its earnings due to an understatement of future tax costs related to the sale of its animal nutrition business. The company said it will report earnings for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007 of $194.9 million or $1.50 per diluted share, down from previously reported earnings of $207.1 million or $1.59 per diluted share.

Railpower Technologies Corp. (TSX: P), Quebec-based maker of eco-friendly locomotives, says it is seeking court protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. Its U.S. subsidiary, Railpower Hybrid Technologies Corp., is also seeking creditor protection. Its shares plunged 1.5 cents to 6.5 cents.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 2.7 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 2.3 per cent.

Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.8 per cent, Germany's DAX index was up 1.1 per cent, and France's CAC-40 rose 1.35 per cent.

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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent an open letter on Thursday to all members of the California Congressional delegation urging them to vote in favor of the $700 billion federal financial bailout package, formally called the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

“This plan is critical to the well being of every community in California and across the nation. Swift action in Congress is needed to restore confidence in our financial system,” the letter states.

“This is how serious the situation is: Our State Treasurer warns that the credit market has already frozen up to the point that it chills even the state of California’s ability to meets its short-term cash flow needs,” he wrote, adding that the state will be unable to sell voter-approved bonds for highway, school, housing and water construction projects.

He says the “situation is urgent” and that the crisis demands swift and bipartisan leadership.

California members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted 29 to 24 in favor of the failed bailout package on Monday. This is how they voted, as reported by the Associated Press:

• Voting for the legislation:

Democrats: Howard L. Berman (Valley Village), Lois Capps (Santa Barbara), Dennis Cardoza (Atwater), Jim Costa (Fresno), Susan A. Davis (San Diego), Anna G. Eshoo (Menlo Park), Sam Farr (Carmel), Jane Harman (Venice), Michael M. Honda (San Jose), Zoe Lofgren (San Jose), Doris Matsui (Sacramento), Jerry McNerney (Pleasanton) George Miller (Martinez), Nancy Pelosi (San Francisco), Laura Richardson (Long Beach), Jackie Speier (Hillsborough), Ellen O fast cash advance. Tauscher (Alamo), Maxine Waters (Los Angeles), Henry A. Waxman (Beverly Hills).

Republicans: Mary Bono Mack (Palm Springs), Ken Calvert (Corona), John Campbell (Irvine), David Dreier (San Dimas), Wally Herger (Chico), Jerry Lewis (Redlands), Dan Lungren (Gold River), Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (Santa Clarita), Gary G. Miller (Diamond Bar), George Radanovich (Mariposa).

• Voting against the legislation:

Democrats: Joe Baca (Rialto), Xavier Becerra (Los Angeles), Bob Filner (Chula Vista), Barbara Lee (Oakland), Grace F. Napolitano (Norwalk), Lucille Roybal-Allard (East Los Angeles), Linda T. Sanchez (Lakewood), Loretta Sanchez (Garden Grove), Adam Schiff (Burbank), Brad Sherman (Sherman Oaks), Hilda L. Solis (El Monte), Pete Stark (Fremont), Mike Thompson (St. Helena), Diane Watson (Los Angeles), Lynn Woolsey (Petaluma).

Republicans: Brian P. Bilbray (Carlsbad), John T. Doolittle (Roseville), Elton Gallegly (Simi Valley), Duncan Hunter (Alpine), Darrell Issa (Vista), Kevin McCarthy (Bakersfield), Devin Nunes (Tulare), Dana Rohrabacher (Huntington Beach), Ed Royce (Fullerton).

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The trade group representing the state’s manufacturing industry is joining the fight to keep new restrictions on the payday lending industry intact.

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association on Monday endorsed a yes vote on Issue 5 to maintain restrictions on the state’s payday lending industry created through House Bill 545. A no vote would strip away a 28 percent annual interest rate cap and reinstate the maximum 391 percent allowed before H.B. 545 went into effect at the beginning of September.

Detailing its opposition to the referendum, the association used similar reasoning that sparked state lawmakers’ push to impose the lower interest rate cap.

“Congress already has capped the interest rates that payday lenders can charge military families,’’ association President Eric Burkland said in a statement. “Ohio manufacturers want those same benefits extended to all Ohio families.’’

Lined up with Gov. Ted Strickland and leaders of both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly to support the new restrictions are the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Ohio Roundtable, Habitat for Humanity and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, among others.

The payday industry group working to bring the measure to the ballot, Ohioans for Financial Freedom, has the backing of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Grocers Association and other small businesses in the state.

Ohioans for Financial Freedom turned in about 422,000 signatures backing the referendum at the end of August, but it hit a snag last week when it agreed to toss out about 13,000 signatures collected by a California company that failed to file required paperwork prior to gathering voter signatures paydayloans. Opponents of the payday group, however, have said they’re confident the measure will come before voters in November even if the Financial Freedom must make a last-minute move to collect more signatures.

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The good news for recent college graduates is that, despite the slumping economy, there are still several industries that are hiring young graduates at a brisk pace, according to a new study by MonsterTrak, the student division of Monster Worldwide Inc.

The top five industries for entry-level workers are sales and business development, which accounts for almost a quarter of all postings for entry-level workers and includes jobs in account management, real estate and advertising; accounting and finance; training and instruction; information technology and software development; and medical and health pay day advance.

Maynard, Mass.-based Monster (Nasdaq: MNST) also found that there was a 200 percent increase in entry-level postings related to the health care and medical fields.

Also, white collar entry-level jobs in sales and business development, as well as accounting and finance, still account for a large percentage of entry-level postings.

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