Dollars and Sense, a News is my Business podcast

Nonprofit organization Causa Local Founder Ana María Cintrón talks about the mission to provide alternative access to capital for small and medium businesses in Puerto Rico.

Through crowdfunding and loans, local operations like Molcajete Foods are able to get their businesses off the ground, says Roberto Rivera, one of the three founding brothers of the Caguas-based manufacturing operation.

Dennis Román, vice president of the Sila M. Calderón Foundation’s Centro para Puerto Rico discusses the nonprofit’s missions and programs to promote entrepreneurship and self-reliance among the island’s youth and low-income women.

In this episode, attorneys Vito Gagliardi, Bill Hughes and Luis Rivera-Marín discuss plans for the Porzio, Bromberg & Newman law firm, which recently opened a practice in Puerto Rico, where it plans to expand its reach and that of its Porzio Life Sciences subsidiary.

The firm seeks to provide legal, business and commercial compliance solutions in the region, zeroing in on the highly regulated pharmaceutical industry. The attorneys also said they will work with Act 20/22 beneficiaries in Puerto Rico in their affairs with the Internal Revenue Service.

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U.S. Small Business Administration Regional Administrator Steven Bulger is visiting the island this week as a curtain raiser to the start of this year's Emerging Leaders program, which so far has graduated more than 90 local companies, said SBA District Director for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Yvette T. Collazo.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis is working on establishing a clear picture of Puerto Rico's economy, and laying down a uniform methodology in line with U.S. mainland states and territories, countries across the world.

In this episode of "Dollars & Sense," Kristy Howell, economist with the BEA, provides more insight on the preliminary numbers released this week. Local economist Juan Castañer, from local analysis firm Estudios Técnicos, reacts to the findings.