They have AFI been processing 25 to

They have shares afi been processing davey havok examines 25 to 30 loansper day at about $9 million to $10 million per day, and now itis over $70 million per day. Refinancing is now 90 percent ofbusiness when it is usually 50 to 60 percent, he said. Thomsen said they look to hire 200 people in the next year,so with a current workforce of approximately 350 employeesnationwide this would be growth of almost 55 percent. "These are historically low rates and people are looking totake advantage of them, so we need to hire to support thebusiness," he said. (Editing by James Dalgleish) Stocks Bonds Global Markets. NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday that the government could best spur an economic recovery by guaranteeing municipal debt and encouraging community banks to lend to small businesses.The independent mayor, who is seeking a third term in office, said Democratic President-elect Barack Obama's plan to pour billions of dollars into roads, bridges, and mass transit would have only a trickle-down effect on the broader economy."It's terribly important for our future," Bloomberg said on his weekly Friday radio show.

But building projects are not quick solutions for righting the economy, he said.While infrastructure spending will add construction jobs, many of the people now joining the unemployment lines work in offices, stores and restaurants, he said."Those people aren't going to drive backhoes; they just aren't going to do it," said the mayor.Small business are the true job-creators, he said, and the government should give local banks incentives to lend to these employers, perhaps by guaranteeing 90 percent of the loans."That's where you create jobs and you're going to do it overnight," he said.Bloomberg has campaigned along with Republican California Gov afi t shirt . Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Pennsylvania Gov Ed Rendell for more infrastructure dollars decemberunderground . But he also believes that instead of waiting for federal funds, the rest of the nation should emulate New York and "reach in their pockets" to borrow money to expand transportation links.Although Bloomberg has repeatedly cut the city's budget and slowed spending on schools and roads, the city will spend $10 billion on such projects this year alone, he said."I'm not so sure the federal government has to send a lot of money to the states or cities to get infrastructure going," Bloomberg said.States such as California and agencies such as the New York-New Jersey Port Authority have been unable to sell municipal bonds since the credit crunch brought down the insurance companies that guarantee munis.To overcome that problem, Bloomberg said, the government should guarantee municipal debt or subsidize interest rates for states, cities, hospitals and turnpikes miss murder . It could also change laws so that more people would invest in this debt.Forcing the borrowing back to the local level would ensure that local residents, instead of Congress, select which projects are built, he said."If they want a Bridge to Nowhere, the public in the area can do it with their own money," Bloomberg said, referring to the costly Alaska bridge to an island with so few residents that it became a punchline.The Federal Reserve has repeatedly rejected pleas from California to backstop the muni market jade puget .

But Obama and his transition team are pushing to have the central bank buy municipal bonds.(Reporting by Joan Gralla; Editing by Dan Grebler) . Jan 9 (Reuters) - The number of publicly-traded companiesthat filed for Chapter 11 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2008 rosemore than 74 percent compared with 2007, BankruptcyData said on Friday totalimmortal . Bonds  |  Funds News  |  ETFs News Of the 136 public bankruptcy filings in 2008, 12 were inthe banking and finance industry, and the total pre-bankruptcyassets of these 12 companies was about $1.1 trillion, accordingto a statement released by the website lyricsx . BankruptcyData said excluding financial companies,there were 124 filings in 2008 with $65 billion in assetscompared to the 2007 figure of 71 public company bankruptciesand just $7.3 billion outside the financial sector . The combined pre-bankruptcy assets for 2008 stood at about$1.159 trillion, the highest since 1980, and seven of the topten bankruptcies were in the financial services industry, thestatement said.