How about some good financial news? Really! I’m not kidding.

No, it doesn’t mean this current economic downturn is over — but it is a step in the right direction. Last week, two initial public offerings for technology-based companies got off to a positive start. The companies (OpenTable, an online restaurant reservation service; and SolarWinds, which makes network management software) could be harbingers of good things to come.

Venture capitalists have seen little, if any, recent return on their investments. Only six venture-supported start-up companies went public last year. That was the lowest since 1977 and a dramatic freefall from the 86 IPOs in 2007 and the 100-plus prior to the bursting of the technology bubble.

Experts say the changed financial landscape will prevent a return to the IPO glory days of the past decade. Why? New banking and accounting rules make it more difficult to go public; big banks bought many of the smaller banks that were active in taking start-ups public; and with additional pressures, fewer banks and investors are spending time researching the smaller companies.

But those experts would like to eventually return to an average of 50 IPOs a year. And this could be a start in the right direction.

The National Center for Policy Analysis analyzes how proposed attempts to help the country via more taxes and more regulation could punish America’s small businesses.

The  NCPA contends:

We need policies that encourage small-business owners to invest in their businesses, hire more people and continue to grow their businesses.  Unfortunately the administration’s proposal to raise taxes on those earning $250,000 or more will create burdens and barriers to small-business growth and success, says Neese:

• Under those new tax plans, 1.3 million small-business owners would pay more taxes.
• These small businesses are not subject to the 35 percent corporate income tax rate.
• Instead, they report "flow-through" income from sole-proprietorships, partnerships, and S-corporations on individual tax returns.
• The total tax bill for small businesses as a result of these tax increases would be $30.1 billion.

If this small-business tax increase becomes reality, many small-business owners will not be able to expand their businesses.  Not only will they not be able to hire more people, in many instances they will be forced to lay off workers.  They won’t be able to buy new equipment.  They won’t be able to invest in their communities, says Neese.

At the National Center for Policy Analysis, we have been working on some solutions that can encourage success now:

• Make income tax cuts permanent; for example, lower tax rates, especially at the margin, encourage work, investment and reduce tax avoidance.
• Cut payroll taxes; taxes eat up one-third or more of a small business’s income — reducing the payroll tax will have an immediate impact on small businesses, enabling more investment to grow the business.
• Health insurance portability; health insurance is a major expense for businesses, so Congress should allow people to carry their health insurance from job to job by allowing small-business owners the opportunity to purchase individually owned health insurance with pretax dollars.

The Argosy in Lawrenceburg is about to get an overhaul and, unlike many business-related overhauls over the past year, this one will actually create jobs.

Cincinnati’s Business Courier explains:

When Penn National Gaming this summer opens its $326 million expansion at Lawrenceburg, it will be celebrated for the 125 contractors it employed during construction.

And the 250 new employees now being hired to operate the Hollywood-themed attraction.

And the glitzy trappings of the Vegas-scale gaming parlor, with its 300 plasma screens and 60-foot video board.

And the fancy décor, with its indoor replicas of the Hollywood Bowl, a city park and an urban streetscape.

But few will recognize the new Lawrence­burg casino for what it really is: an act of self-defense.

“This will expand our boundaries,” said Tony Rodio, general manager of the Penn National property on the Lawrenceburg riverfront, which will change its name from Argosy to Hollywood upon its opening in mid-July.

During a recent tour of the nearly finished casino, Rodio said the 270,000-square-foot expansion and its Hollywood rebranding will be part of a larger attempt by Wyomissing, Pa.-based Penn National to lay down roots in Cincinnati. Rodio wants to reclaim customers lost to two new horse-track casinos in Indianapolis and prevent encroachment by developers who have staked claims to potential casino sites from Louisville to Wilmington…

The casino will have 800 more slots, two dozen more poker tables and a VIP lounge that can host up to 110 people for dinners and private parties. Its 60-by-8-foot serpentine video screen will play movie trailers, promotional messages and memorable movie scenes on a 24-7 scrolling loop.

The health care debate is underway in Washington. Most experts expect some type of reform to emerge. With that in mind, all need to hope that what is put in place (with this most difficult of issues) is a step in the right direction.

I can’t help but be a little concerned when seeing a comment from Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that HELP (see below) committee staffers are putting together a plan that is "Massachusetts on steroids." He refers to the 2006 state legislation that requires universal coverage, includes heavy regulation and has proven more costly than anticipated. We’re sure the rhetoric will continue from both sides, but that is certainly not a good sign early in the process.

Now for that HELP, as in Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee. The acronym doesn’t inspire confidence. Help is needed, but will HELP provide the answers?

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the legislation enacted following the Enron meltdown, will now be reconsidered by the Supreme Court. The Washington Post reports:

The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to consider a challenge to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the centerpiece of the government’s response to the watershed accounting scandals at Enron and Worldcom.

The case tests the constitutionality of a nonprofit oversight board created to regulate auditors of public companies. Plaintiffs in the case, including a Nevada accounting firm, allege that the oversight board was endowed with unchecked government powers.

If the court agrees, it could force Congress to reopen the debate over one of the most sweeping pieces of business legislation since the 1930s. Supporters say the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has helped protect investors; critics say it has imposed costly burdens on corporations.

The court accepted the case for consideration in the term that begins in October.

Congress enacted Sarbanes-Oxley after big accounting firms such as the now-defunct Arthur Andersen failed to protect shareholders from a wave of accounting manipulations that made corporations look healthier and more profitable than they really were. Until 2002, the accounting profession was largely responsible for making its own rules and overseeing itself.

Hat tip to Reason Magazine’s blog.

And just so you know: If you’re like most business and are still trying to grasp the complexities of this law, you could probably use our book, The Sarbanes Oxley Act: A Practical Guide for Companies, which is authored by attorneys from Ice Miller.

Inside Indiana Business asked Speros Batistatos, President/CEO of the South Shore Convention & Visitors Authority, about the impact an Olympiad in Chicago could have on "da region" and the state.

IIB reports:

Organizers with Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic games will outline their plans today in northwest Indiana. South Shore Convention & Visitors Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Speros Batistatos says a formal study has not been commissioned, but he believes the global sporting event could pump "tens and tens of millions of dollars" into the region’s economy. He also says the Olympics would be the largest single event ever for northwest Indiana’s hospitality industry.

Listen to the audio clip here for more.

"PC Load Letter?!?!" 

Do you really need to print all those e-mails? A new report says probably not, and the federal government doesn’t need to either. Government Executive has the scoop:

The government can generate substantial savings by reining in superfluous printing, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The report, which is based on a survey of 380 federal employees, found that the government spends nearly $1.3 billion annually on printing. Of that, about $440 million — more than four times the amount President Obama recently asked agency managers collectively to eliminate from their administrative budgets — is spent on pages that don’t need to be printed, the survey found.

The study — conducted by Lexmark International Inc., a Lexington, Ky., printing supply company, and Alexandria, Va., marketing firm O’Keeffe & Co. — recommends that agencies set clear printing policies, establish strong enforcement procedures and begin switching from paper to digital records.

Just 10 percent of survey respondents said their agencies had a formal printing policy, and just 20 percent reported that their agencies had restrictions on color printing, which can be more expensive than typical black-and-white printing…

Some agencies already have started cutting back. The Homeland Security Department expects to save more than $40,000 in part by printing fewer copies of the fiscal 2010 budget and posting the material online. The Agriculture Department’s chief financial officer is developing a Web-based utility billing system that could save more than $670,000 annually, according to budget documents released last week…

On average, federal employees print 30 pages of paper every work day — or 7,200 pages annually, the survey found. Respondents estimated that they discarded 35 percent of the pages the day they printed them. Ninety-two percent of respondents acknowledged they did not need all the material that they printed, and more than two-thirds said they could print less if they tried.

And it would likely also benefit private companies to consider establishing a printing policy. You can save cash and reduce waste — "The More You Know" (bing bing bong bing).