The Gulf of Mexico Alliance, a partnership of those five states, says the region contributes $3 billion annually to the U.S. economy. That includes more than 40% of the nation's domestically produced crude oil and natural gas, as well as roughly 70% of U.S.-caught shrimp and oysters.

In addition, the Mississippi basin provides food, shelter and breeding grounds for about 40% of North America's duck, goose, swan and eagle populations, according to the alliance. And it's the winter home for much of the continent's waterfowl.
Brad Fortier, a financial planner affiliated with LPL Financial Inc. in New Orleans, says one of the lessons from the spill is that some of his clients could use business interruption insurance.

Small Broker-Dealer Market Shrinking
(Dow Jones) The lingering downturn is slimming the ranks of smaller and less sound regional and independent broker-dealers.
Like other industries, the broker-dealer business is experiencing "a low-end washout," says Bing Waldert, a director at consultancy Cerulli Associates. "Tough times are tough on those who aren't financially sound."

While no one tracks the number of regional or independent broker-dealers that have gone out of business, analysts who track the industry say that at least a dozen have closed their doors because of insufficient capital or issues with complex investments like private placement in just the last six months.

Overall, the industry has shrunk, but much of that has resulted from consolidation. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority oversaw 4,676 brokerage firms in May 2010, down from 5,005 in 2007, according to the regulator's Web site. Those numbers include various types of brokerages.

Among the struggling firms is Jesup & Lamont Inc., which in June said it would terminate all nonessential personnel with the exception of a few executives and some other limited staffers. FINRA ordered the small investment bank and brokerage firm, which has 200 total employees, to cease its securities business, except for the liquidation of transactions, because of its failure to meet net capital requirements.

Another small broker-dealer, Chicago Investment Group, is merging with Newbridge Securities Corp., said Bob Acri, a former president of the firm who stepped down about a year ago. The issues facing the company-which had about 60 advisors a year ago-were similar to those Jesup & Lamont faced, Acri said. "There was a requirement to boost up capital," he said, "and the merger was the best way to do it."

Acri now is president of Chicago-based Kenilworth Asset Management, a registered investment advisor. He believes a combination of factors is putting pressure on smaller broker-dealers, including the economic downturn, an increased focus by regulators on broker-dealers' net capital positions and more coordination between regulators.

His firm just had its first audit by Finra and about three-quarters of the time was spent on documents related to the company's net capital, he said.

A Florida-based broker-dealer, GunnAllen Financial Inc., was shut down by FINRA earlier this year after it fell below mandatory net capital requirements. The firm later filed for bankruptcy. Great American Advisor, a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Great American Financial Resources Inc., a member of the Great American Insurance Group, has also said it plans to exit the retail broker-dealer business next month to focus on its core insurance and annuity operations.