BATON ROUGE, La. — Today, Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc. released its annual ranking of top pro-business states, with Louisiana rising to No. 18 in the U.S. Louisiana has climbed 22 spots in Pollina’s ranking since 2008. Beyond the overall ranking, Louisiana now stands No. 2 in the U.S. (up from No. 10 in 2010) for incentives and economic development agency performance.

Pollina ranks the 50 states on more than 30 factors, including business taxes, workforce training programs, workers compensation costs, economic development incentives, energy costs, marketing programs and state economic development efforts. In 2010, Louisiana earned Pollina’s inaugural Most-Improved State designation, based on the state’s improved performance from 2008 to 2010.

Louisiana moved from No. 40 in 2008 to No. 27 in 2009 and No. 20 last year. The latest Louisiana advancement to No. 18 continues the state’s economic momentum across a slate of third-party business climate rankings, including the Pollina report.

“Our work to foster the best business environment so more companies invest in Louisiana and create jobs for our people is paying off,” said Gov. Bobby Jindal. “This is great news for Louisiana, but we will not rest and we will continue to aggressively pursue more businesses to create jobs here so our sons and daughters can pursue their dreams right here at home.”

Since 2008, LED has secured economic development projects resulting in the creation of more than 45,000 new jobs, more than $10 billion in capital investment and hundreds of millions of dollars in new sales for small businesses across the state. Along the way, Louisiana has won State or Co-State of the Year designations from such publications as Southern Business & Development (the past three years in a row) and Business Facilities (2010), which also has honored Louisiana FastStart™ as the nation’s No. 1 workforce training program in 2010 and 2011. Site Selection, based on 2010 economic development projects, ranked Louisiana No. 3 in the nation and No. 1 on a per capita basis, and the magazine in May of this year named Louisiana Economic Development as the best-performing state economic development agency in the country.

Last year, the Pollina report stated that, “Louisiana has shown astounding progress (and) is on its way to the economic development Super Bowl.” According to the 2011 Pollina report, “Last year’s Most Improved State, Louisiana, is still riding the rocket, shooting up nine positions from No. 27 to No. 18 since 2009. Keep an eye on this state; it’s making the right moves.”

Louisiana’s improved ranking from 2008 to 2011 is based on a variety of factors, including the creation of LED’s Business Expansion and Retention Group; the creation or enhancement of targeted business incentive programs, such as the new Retention and Modernization Program and the recently enhanced Digital Media incentive; the launch of Louisiana FastStart; LED’s enhanced website, OpportunityLouisiana.com; recent marketing campaigns; and improved perceptions of Louisiana among top site selection consultants and corporate executives.

Of all 50 state economic development agencies, Louisiana features “easily the most highly trained staff in the nation,” according to the Pollina report. “It is easy to see why Louisiana was the Most Improved State for 2010 and continues a rapid rise as a pro-business state.”

Pollina scored the 50 states in two stages: Stage I evaluates labor, taxes, education and several other factors; Stage II evaluates incentive programs, including those for existing or expanding businesses and for small businesses, and the performance of state economic development agencies. Virginia ranks No. 1 in the 2011 study, with South Carolina (No. 9) the only other Southern state in the Top 10. California ranked last.

“While we are very pleased with our progress, we are going to continue working hard to reposition Louisiana as one of the very best states in the U.S. in which to start, grow or relocate a business,” said LED Secretary Stephen Moret. “We are just getting started. We think this improvement in how Louisiana is perceived in the business world is only the beginning of much bigger gains to come.”

About Pollina Corporate Real Estate
Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc. is a full-service brokerage and consulting firm, representing corporations in real estate matters on a national and international basis. The firm has advised Fortune 500 clients and startup ventures in commercial real estate matters since 1981.

NEW ORLEANS — Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined Gameloft S.A. executive Samir El Agili to announce the establishment of a major new game development studio in New Orleans by Gameloft, one of the world’s largest publishers of digital and social games. Based in Paris, Gameloft will create 146 jobs during the next decade with jobs over time averaging more than $60,000 a year, plus benefits.

Louisiana Economic Development began active negotiations with Gameloft officials in New York in 2010; and in less than a year, the company selected Louisiana over multiple other locations. Louisiana’s digital media tax credits initially interested Gameloft, and an effective talent recruitment strategy led by Louisiana FastStart™ helped finalize the deal. Gameloft operates more than two dozen studios worldwide and employs about 4,000 people in game development. The company gained recognition as the 2011 Developer of the Year for mobile games from PocketGamer, a U.K. publisher that tracks trends in the industry.

Gov. Jindal said, “Gameloft’s decision to establish a major new development studio in New Orleans is one of the most exciting project wins in Louisiana’s recent track record of growing digital media projects. We’re excited to bring one of the world’s leading publishers of digital and social games to our state, and we’re particularly excited that our young people in New Orleans no longer have to look beyond our state’s borders to find some of the most exciting career opportunities in the world.”

In its first year, Gameloft will hire 20 employees and has set a goal of publishing at least one shipped title created entirely by its local team in New Orleans. The company has yet to determine where its permanent studio in New Orleans will be, but it will open Oct. 1 in temporary space. By the second year, it will employ 53 skilled professionals in game development, and that number will grow to more than 100 by the fourth year.

“As we seek to expand our presence in the U.S. we are looking for the most talented gaming professionals to help us maintain our position as an industry leader in digital and social games,” said Samir El Agili, Gameloft general studio manager for the U.S. and Latin America. “New Orleans presents the perfect opportunity to not only draw from a rich talent pool, but to incorporate the unique and world-class culture in which the studio resides into our own as well.”

To secure the Gameloft studio project, LED offered the company performance-based grants of $1.5 million at the outset to cover the costs of establishing the studio; $2 million, payable in 10 annual installments, to offset leasing or financing costs for the studio; and $200,000 to defray relocation costs borne by the company in setting up its New Orleans operation. The company examined a number of metro markets in the U.S. as possible sites for its next game studio, but New Orleans emerged as the front-runner and the final choice on the strength of Louisiana’s digital media incentives, which provide tax credits of up to 35 percent on Louisiana-based payroll, and on the ease with which the company has been able to interest high-quality talent to work in New Orleans.

Ranked as the No. 1 workforce development solution in the U.S., Louisiana FastStart created a job recruitment website for Gameloft that in a short time attracted 700 skilled, qualified applicants, 60,000 page views and nearly 2 million impressions on the Web with the aid of an aggressive social media campaign.

“Time and again, the value of Louisiana FastStart for prospective employers has risen to the top ranks of reasons why companies choose to expand or relocate to Louisiana,” LED Secretary Stephen Moret said. “Gameloft certainly is no exception, and we’re delighted that we could prove to this leading game development company, as we have to businesses in many other sectors, that Louisiana truly can deliver a talented, ready and capable workforce from day one.”

“Gameloft’s decision to open a major studio in greater New Orleans is an emphatic validation of the potential for software development in our region,” said Michael Hecht, president and CEO of Greater New Orleans Inc. “Further, it demonstrates the unprecedented effectiveness of the partnership that exists between the state, GNO Inc. and our local partners. Gameloft was a team effort, and we can expect many more victories together.”

To apply for Gameloft positions, job seekers should visit http://www.jobsinnola.com.

About Gameloft
Founded in 1999, Gameloft S.A. is based in Paris, employs more than 4,000 developers and distributes its games in 100 nations. Gameloft creates games for all digital platforms, including mobile phones, smartphones and tablets (including Apple iOS and Android devices), set-top boxes, connected TVs and consoles. Gameloft partners with leading international brands and also operates its own game franchises. For more about the company, visit Gameloft.

BATON ROUGE, La. — For the second straight year, Louisiana FastStart ranks as the nation’s best state workforce training program in a newly released report fromBusiness Facilities magazine. Louisiana FastStart beat competition from other Top 10 finishers Georgia (No. 2), North Carolina (No. 3), New Mexico (No. 4), Nebraska (No. 5), Florida (No. 6), Alabama (No. 7), South Carolina (No. 8), Nevada (No. 9) and Maine (No. 10) to claim the top spot in the newly released 2011 Rankings Report.

For the 2011 Workforce Training ranking, Business Facilities considered states’ workforce training incentives, their success in securing projects, their coordination of workforce training between economic development organizations and higher education, and several other factors.

Gov. Jindal said, “Louisiana FastStart is one of the reasons our economy continues to outperform the South and the nation. We created the program to revamp our workforce development system and offer a faster, higher-quality workforce solution so companies will invest here and create opportunities for our people. This is great news for our state, but we will not rest until Louisiana is the best place to create jobs and raise a family.”

Launched in 2008 as part of Gov. Jindal’s comprehensive workforce development reform plan, Louisiana FastStart was created within Louisiana Economic Development to enhance the state’s ability to attract jobs with business expansions and business recruitment at a faster pace than the South on a regular basis.

“We are extremely excited about the Business Facilities 2011 rankings,” said Jeff Lynn, Louisiana FastStart executive director. “We are committed to providing our clients with the most innovative, value-added workforce solutions for their new or expanding operations.”

In addition to the No. 1 FastStart ranking, Louisiana scored high in several other categories in the Business Facilities 2011 report: Economic Growth Potential, No. 2 [after being ranked outside the Top 10 in 2010]; Best Business Climate, No. 7 [up from No. 8 in 2010]; and Cost of Labor, No. 10 [same ranking as 2010]. Also, the New Orleans metro area ranked in the Top 5 for the Logistics/Distribution/Shipping Hubs category.

“We continue to be impressed with the diversity and coordination of economic development efforts across the state of Louisiana,” said Jack Rogers, editor-in-chief ofBusiness Facilities. “For the second year in a row, Louisiana has topped the chart in our Workforce Training Leaders category on the strength of its widely praised FastStart program. But even this worthy achievement was overshadowed by Louisiana’s astounding breakthrough into the top tier of our Top 10 listing for Economic Growth Potential. The state surged all the way to second place in the Growth Potential tally, while notching a very respectable seventh place in Best Business Climate. This was complemented by a traditional Top 10 finish in our Cost of Labor ranking.”

LED Secretary Stephen Moret said, “FastStart has become one of Louisiana’s top selling points for business expansions and business recruitment projects. With FastStart, we are able to deliver a high-quality, flexible, fully trained workforce better and faster than any other state in the U.S. Through FastStart we are helping more and more companies to meet and often exceed their production ramp-up and productivity targets, which means FastStart is helping companies improve their profitability and overall success. Additionally, FastStart is helping position Louisiana to successfully attract and cultivate leading digital media and software development companies, which represents a new economic growth frontier for Louisiana.”

Staffed with experienced industry training and human resources experts, Louisiana FastStart provides customized workforce solutions — such as employee recruitment, screening, training development and training delivery — from pre-employment through post-employment phases at new or expanding facilities. Services are offered through LED at no cost to eligible Louisiana companies [typically those creating at least 15 new manufacturing jobs or 50 new service-related jobs in an economic-driver business]. Louisiana FastStart’s partners include the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, Louisiana Workforce Commission, selected Louisiana universities and a variety of private-sector training experts.

Louisiana FastStart has delivered or is delivering comprehensive workforce solutions for a wide variety of companies across Louisiana, including companies such as Electronic Arts Inc., Stupp Corp. and The Baton Rouge Coca-Cola Bottling Co. in Baton Rouge; SNF in Iberville Parish; Blade Dynamics and Folgers in New Orleans; Shaw Modular Solutions, Aeroframe Services, Sasol and Northrop Grumman in Lake Charles; Ormet in Ascension Parish; Cameron Valves in Ville Platte; Globalstar Inc. in Covington; ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston in Delhi; Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Ronpak Inc. and Moonbot Studios in Shreveport; CenturyLink and Gardner Denver in Monroe; Schumacher Group and Pixel Magic in Lafayette; Roy O. Martin in Chopin; and Zagis USA in Lacassine.

Louisiana FastStart clients describe the program as a critical component for not only meeting timetables set for the start of business operations, but for consistently beating those deadlines.

“It’s been incredible how fast they’ve hit the ground running,” said Roger Porter, CEO and president of Aeroframe Services in Lake Charles. “It’s absolutely a breath of fresh air. I’ve been operating in several states with other business entities and never seen anything like this, so we’re excited.”

“For us, really, Louisiana FastStart has been so responsive that it’s been almost on us to try to keep up with them,” said Paul Granberry, director of North American Generics Operations for Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in Shreveport. “They’ve been there from day one saying what do you need us to do, here’s our thoughts, here’s what we can do — and we’ve really found it’s been us trying to make sure that we can get the information back to them quick enough for them to be able to support us.”

“Louisiana FastStart had us up and running in nothing flat,” said Peter Dalton, CEO of Globalstar Inc.

When presenting his Fortune 1000 company’s financial results for the third quarter 2009 to Wall Street analysts, Gardner Denver Inc. President and CEO Barry Pennypacker said, “We were able to accelerate the relocation of certain manufacturing cells from Sheboygan, Wis., to Monroe, La., mainly due to the outstanding training support provided by the State of Louisiana [via FastStart], which has been integral to the success of this project.”

Louisiana FastStart has differentiated itself as a premier workforce-solutions provider by implementing comprehensive, highly customized solutions and by using the latest training methodologies and technologies to ensure that companies meet or exceed their workforce quality and productivity targets.

For example, Louisiana FastStart is the first state workforce training solution that is using the Apple iPad as a training platform to deliver standard operating procedures, work instructions and streaming video to employees within a validated quality management system. The approach allows employees to use training aids that are portable and instantly updatable at any location within an organization, but safe via a secure software system or intranet.

With support from Louisiana FastStart, Shreveport-based companies Twin Engine Labs and Moonbot Studios recently partnered to create a new iPad app, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.” The app was developed completely in Louisiana with 100 percent Louisiana talent. It recently received accolades from a variety of publications around the country, including the San Francisco Chronicle andThe New York Times, which have highlighted it as one of the best examples of the next generation of interactive children’s books. Wired.com called it a “game-changer.” Lampton Enochs, managing partner of Moonbot Studios, said, “We’re a startup company. We didn’t necessarily have the wherewithal to go down that path and create the iPad book. But with help from FastStart, we were able to create the (Morris Lessmore) iPad book. We submitted a second app to Apple just days ago, and that will be approved, we hope, and launched in the next couple of weeks.”

With expertise in high-wage industries — such as automotive, aerospace, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and corporate headquarters — Louisiana FastStart also has become one of Louisiana’s top competitive advantages in site selection competitions for major job-creating projects.

Louisiana FastStart has received positive national recognition from other publications. For example, in its February/March 2010 issue, Area Development magazine recognized Louisiana FastStart as one of three elite workforce programs in the South (along with Alabama’s AIDT program and Georgia Quick Start). The Area Developmentarticle noted, “Other states have attempted to model programs like Louisiana FastStart, AIDT and Quick Start, but find it challenging if they lack expertise across a wide range of industries, plentiful and experienced industry advisors, a well-connected technical college system or a history of exceeding expectations when it comes to building relationships with industry.”

BASTROP, La. — Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal and DG Foods CEO Duffy McKenzie celebrated the opening of a DG Foods LLC plant that reclaims part of a dormant paper mill and puts hundreds of Louisiana residents back to work in Morehouse Parish.

Two years after International Paper closed a pulp mill, DG Foods announced it would invest $9.7 million in an 88,000-square-foot building at the former IP site, with the investment leading to full employment of 317 people in early 2012. In opening the plant this summer, DG Foods already has hired 200 people.

Gov. Jindal said,”When IP closed its mill, this community came together to help each other and put together a game plan to get our people employed and back on their feet as quickly as possible. We said that when one part of our state hurts, our entire state hurts – and I made a promise to be with you for the long haul until people got back to work. Bringing DG Foods to Bastrop is part of our promise to help Morehouse Parish recover following the closure of IP while also ensuring that our people can stay here at home, raise their families and pursue their dreams.”

Louisiana Economic Development estimates the 317 new direct jobs will result in 936 new indirect jobs in the Northeast Region, for a total of 1,253 total new jobs.

“DG Foods is excited to open our new facility in Bastrop,” McKenzie said. “The city of Bastrop and the State of Louisiana have been excellent to work with. They have been true partners in seeing this project through to this point. We look forward to a bright future with the City of Bastrop and Morehouse Parish.”

DG Foods began operations in late June with an initial shift and added another shift on July 5. The company plans to have all 317 jobs filled by the first quarter of 2012. Final renovations to the facility are projected to be complete by Sept. 1.

To secure the expansion, LED offered an incentive package to DG Foods that includes customized workforce training from Louisiana FastStart™ and a performance-based loan from LED’s Rapid Response Fund of $700,000 for the building acquisition, as well as a performance-based, forgivable loan of $2.85 million for building improvements from LED’s Economic Development Loan Program. DG Foods also is expected to utilize the Enterprise Zone and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.

“The project would not have occurred without key leaders at the state and local levels combining efforts to identify a suitable business prospect, a feasible building site, and an incentive package that worked for the company and all parties involved,” LED Secretary Stephen Moret said. “DG Foods represents an excellent diversification of the local manufacturing base and holds the potential to reverse and stabilize much of the economic loss Bastrop and Morehouse Parish sustained with the closing of the IP mill.”

About DG Foods
Headquartered in Hazlehurst, Miss., DG Foods LLC was formed in 2004 by three poultry executives with combined experience of more than 75 years in the poultry industry. Currently, DG Foods employs more than 500 employees companywide and handles in excess of 250 million pounds of product annually.

COVINGTON, La. — Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined Globalstar to mark the company’s milestone in exceeding 100 Louisiana jobs with the company’s headquarters relocation from Silicon Valley to Covington. One year after announcing the move to Louisiana, the company now employs 114 direct jobs. Gov. Jindal said the company, which recently launched the first six of its second-generation mobile communications satellites, is on track to reach 185 jobs at its Covington headquarters by the end of 2011 and 593 jobs with an average annual salary of $70,000, plus benefits, by 2020. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the 593 new direct jobs will result in the creation of approximately 800 new indirect jobs, for a total of more than 1,300 new jobs in Louisiana.

Gov. Jindal said, “Only in Louisiana has our rapidly growing economy won us a No. 1 ranking by Southern Business and Development magazine for the last three straight years. Only in Louisiana do we have the No. 1 worker-training program in the country and the honor of being named Business Facilities magazine’s 2010 State of the Year. We are also proud to say that only in Louisiana do we now have the official headquarters of Globalstar — which has now surpassed a major milestone by creating more than 100 jobs for Louisiana workers to date. My No. 1 priority is to make Louisiana the best place to create jobs and to raise a family, and we won’t rest until everyone can say with confidence that only in Louisiana do we give every business all the tools they need to compete and succeed.”

“As we are launching our new satellite constellation, our move to Louisiana was just another step toward rebuilding Globalstar into the world’s pre-eminent provider of high-quality commercial and consumer mobile satellite voice and data services,” said Jay Monroe, executive chairman and interim CEO of Globalstar Inc. “Relocating to Covington helped reduce our operating costs as we executed our next-generation strategic initiatives. We also benefited greatly from our move thanks to LED’s progressive digital interactive media incentives and tax credits. We considered relocating our headquarters to numerous states, but the overall advantages of moving here were simply too compelling to ignore. Once again I would like to thank Gov. Bobby Jindal, (LED Secretary) Stephen Moret, their respective staffs and all levels of local government involved for their enthusiastic support and responsiveness in helping bring Globalstar to the Gulf Region.”

Further building on today’s milestone of more than 100 Louisiana jobs, Globalstar expects to reach a total of 593 jobs with an average salary of more than $70,000 by 2020. Louisiana provided an incentive package that included $4.36 million in relocation assistance over a two-year period and $3.69 million in lease payment support over a 10-year period to secure the headquarters relocation project. All of those funds are performance-based and require Globalstar to meet payroll targets set out in a 2010 agreement with the state. Globalstar is located in the former Wink Engineering building in Covington.

As it develops software critical to the deployment of its mobile satellite communications products, Globalstar is expected to make use of Louisiana’s Digital Interactive Media and Software Tax Credit, worth up to 25 percent of certified development expenditures and up to 35 percent when applied to Louisiana-based payroll expenditures. Globalstar also is being assisted by the Louisiana FastStart™ program, the state’s customized workforce screening, hiring and training solution that’s ranked best in the nation by Business Facilities magazine.

Gov. Jindal said that Louisiana is one of only three states in the nation that can tout having a rapidly growing information sector, including growth in software design, digital publishing and telecommunications.

“Globalstar is a true reflection of the New Louisiana economy, evolving and diversifying with technology companies that record sales all over the globe and that generate new wealth for Louisiana and high-paying career opportunities for our people,” said Moret. “We’re pleased that Globalstar, along with many other expanding and relocating companies, recognizes the unique opportunity that investing in Louisiana and its talented workforce represents.”

About Globalstar
Globalstar Inc., through phones that look and act like mobile or fixed phones, delivers Code Division Multiple Access satellite signals that connect people and send information across more than 120 countries. The company has a customer base of about 400,000 mobile satellite voice and data subscribers and recently invested more than $1 billion in developing and deploying a second generation of mobile communications satellites.

A debt collector must approach estate collection with compassion. Collecting on accounts from the deceased is an incredibly sensitive matter, requiring a delicate appreciation for seeking recovery of legitimate financial obligations and for the context in which such collections are undertaken. Collection efforts regarding a financial obligation where a consumer has passed must comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and state law.

The FDCPA expressly prohibits debt collectors from engaging in any harassment or abuse; from making any false, deceptive or misleading representations; and from using any unfair means in connection with the collection of a debt from any person, including the executor or representative of an estate or other relative.

In order to comply with the FDCPA, a collector may not imply or assert an individual, other than the deceased, is obligated to pay the debt of the deceased unless the collector has obtained information that indicates otherwise.

In order to commence collection from the decedent’s estate or through probate, a collector must contact the administrator or executor of the decedent’s estate, often referred to as the personal representative. The law permits debt collectors to contact relatives or other third parties to identify the personal representative.
The personal representative is afforded the full protection of the FDCPA. This includes the ability to cease communications with the collector regarding the debt. If a collector receives a written notice from the personal representative requesting the collector cease communication or refusing to pay the obligation, the collector is obligated to comply with this request.

If a collector seeks payment of a debt from proceeds or an estate administered by a personal representative, the debt collector must provide a validation notice informing the personal representative of certain information regarding the existing obligation. The communication should include the Mini-Miranda as well as any state-required text.

In situations when the estate is insolvent or unable to pay all debts, state law further determines the order in which creditors are satisfied. In these cases, the personal representative will sell some of the estate’s property to pay the outstanding debts. After liquidation if claims still remain, the assets are divided and distributed to the creditors proportionally. Although personal representatives have the authority to act on behalf of the estate, a personal representative generally is never personally liable for the decedent’s debt.

Collecting the debt of a deceased consumer presents many unique issues for debt collectors. Therefore, it is important to develop policies and procedures to assist in the collection process. It is possible for creditors to recover debts from deceased consumers, but due to the specific time parameters, it is of the utmost importance that debt collectors act with compassion, diligence and efficiency.

http://www.acainternational.org/?cid=100043

In the first quarter of 2009, approximately $4.2 billion in account placement was received.  This represented 34.6 percent increase over the first quarter of 2008.

Emil Hartleb, Executive Director stated, “From many indications, the trend continues for increasing commercial account placement, however, the increase in account placement for the first quarter of 2009 when compared to the fourth quarter of 2008 was modest, only about 1.3 percent.  This may signal a future slow-down in account placement as companies may have cleaned out their marginal customer accounts and placed them for collection, or it may be a statistical aberration in that the fourth quarter represented an unusually large placement volume that bucked the seasonal trend.  We need more data to assess whether a trend is developing for a slow-down in placements.”

Hartleb added, “These times continue to be problematic for American business as bankruptcies rise and a greater number of customer accounts on companies’ aged trial balances move to the sixty and ninety day columns representing an increase in Day Sales Outstanding (DSO) and a decrease in cash flow.  Companies are becoming more selective in their credit decisions and watching and reacting faster to slow paying customers.”

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The Commercial Collection Agency Association (CCAA) is an association of 105 commercial collection agencies that have been CERTIFIED by the Commercial Law League of America.  They represent the leaders in the commercial collection or business-to-business collection industry, handling about seventy percent of the commercial accounts placed for collection.  The Commercial Law League of America is the nation’s oldest creditors’ rights organization, founded in 1895.

Members of the CCAA subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics and undergo an intensive and continuing certification process.  For more information on CCAA, the certification process and its members, go to the Website: www.ccaacollect.com or call Emil Hartleb at (973) 239-0721.

Tolling grimly higher, the recession snatched more than 650,000 Americans’ jobs for a record third straight month in February as unemployment climbed to a quarter-century peak of 8.1 percent and surged toward even more wrenching double digits.

The wintertime blizzard of layoffs — nearly 2 million lost jobs in just three months — is destroying any hope for an economic turnaround this year while feeding insecurities among people who still have jobs as well as those who desperately want to find work.

Employers slashed payrolls by a net total of 651,000 last month — the third month in a row that job losses topped 600,000. It was the first time that’s happened in government record-keeping dating to 1939.

Based largely on soaring oil and grain prices in the first three-quarters of the year, Louisiana’s worldwide merchandise exports set a new record in 2008, recording the second largest percentage increase of any state, according to a report issued today by the World Trade Center of New Orleans.

The value of the state’s exports reached a new high of $41.9 billion in 2008, according to the WTC report, compared to $30.3 billion in 2007. Louisiana’s export growth of 38.3 percent last year was more than triple the overall U.S. rate of 11.8 percent. In 2004, the year prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the state’s exports were $19.9 billion. The increase in total vessel weight for Louisiana’s exports in 2008 was 1.8 percent more than in 2007, compared to total U.S. vessel weight growth of 14.0 percent.

Agricultural products, petroleum and coal, chemicals, processed foods, and machinery ranked as Louisiana’s top five export sectors in value in 2008, all of which registered gains of 25% or higher over 2007. The state’s principal export markets last year were Mexico, China, Japan, the Netherlands and Canada.

The WTC report was generated by the World Institute of Strategic Economic Research (WISER) from U.S. Census Bureau data. It covers the exports of both Louisiana originating products and some major commingled bulk commodities (especially grain and coal) produced in other states that are shipped abroad from Louisiana’s ports and recorded as Louisiana exports because of the difficulty of identifying the actual states of origin.

Emil Hartleb, Executive Director of CCAA indicated that in 2008, CCAA members received a record $14.3 billion dollars in business to business accounts placed for collection representing over nine million accounts.

CCAA members reported that the collectability of accounts placed for collection has declined.  Hartleb indicated that, “CCAA members are negotiating a greater number of payment plans for the liquidation of delinquent debt as business debtors are facing a cash flow crunch.”

Hartleb further indicated that CCAA members expect that through the second quarter of 2008 there will be a continuing rise in accounts placed for collection and a continuing deterioration in collectability.

When asked what businesses can do in this environment, Hartleb stated the following:

Be prepared to negotiate longer payment plans with delinquent and slow paying customers.

Keep payments on a weekly or bi-weekly basis so you are in more frequent contact with the delinquent customer and on top of the situation.

Get the payment plan in writing.  Be sure that any agreement confirms the amount owed and that there are no offsets against the account to avoid any controversy should litigation become necessary.

If the customer defaults and won’t take steps or cannot take steps to resume payments, don’t delay review the account for placement with CCAA member.