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WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2008 – Improvements in the security situation south of Baghdad have enabled economic and political progress, and the continued development of the Iraqi security forces will advance those gains, a U.S. commander said yesterday. Progress across those multiple fronts is interconnected, Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, deputy commanding general for operations for Multinational Division Center, explained during a call with military bloggers. “If this were an organism, it would be a symbiotic effect that we have through these different factors operating in concert with each other to achieve an overall more positive effect,” Buchanan said. The general...

While Illinois' Senators, Obamis and Durbin, prepared for the party at Barackopolis; while Senator Obama's friend and mentors, Gover Rod Blagojevich and Emil Jones prepared for the party at the Barackopolis; state agencies in Illinois announce the layoff of ...

Just caught a story on MSNBC about parking prices at Invesco field for Obama's speech. They were charging $80-$90. They had pasted an 8 or 9 over the 1 so they were charging 8 or 9 times the regular rate. Kind of ironic that they paying that much to go hear Obama talk about how people can't afford gas and the economy is so bad. When will the democrats go after 'Big Parking"

In its preliminary 2Q08 GDP estimates, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, the countryÂ’s gross domestic product was revised up at an annual rate of 3.3% for the April-June period, exceeding analystsÂ’ initial estimates of a 1.9% increase as well as economistsÂ’ forecast of a 2.7% gain. Constant dollar GDP is now up 2.2% versus a year ago. The acceleration in real GDP growth in 2Q08 reflects a larger decrease in imports of 7.6% compared with a decrease of 0.8% in the 1Q08, and an acceleration in exports of 13.2% in the second quarter, compared with an increase of 5.1%...

Economy: We keep looking for the much-anticipated recession, but it doesn't seem to have gotten here yet. Could it be that many of those expecting a downturn were wrong, and the economy's not going into the tank?Going out on a limb to predict what the economy will do is a tricky business. It's possible, though by no means likely, that the economy briefly lapsed into recession late last year or early this year, based on weak GDP data, falling home sales, rising oil prices and a jump in unemployment. We won't know for sure until months — maybe years —...

Spring's economic strength unlikely to last given slowdowns overseas, struggling consumers WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy pulled out of a dangerous rough patch in the spring, thanks largely to strong exports, but the rebound isn't expected to last. Economic slowdowns overseas could make exports tail off just as Americans are hunkering down after the bracing impact of rebate checks wanes, plunging the country into another rut later this year.

Barack Obama's tax advisers recently posted a piece in the Wall Street Journal about their candidate's tax plans. Their article was designed to triangulate, painting their candidate as a tax cutter and the Republican opposition as a secret tax raiser. It was well written and well argued — not that you can really trust anything you read about what candidates will or will not do once in office. In any case, I was discussing the piece with a person whose politics are certainly left of center. She said to me something along the following lines: I'm really not sure I...

Economy rebounds at better-than-expected pace in the spring, mostly spurred by exports The economy shifted to a higher gear in the spring, growing at its fastest pace in nearly a year as foreign buyers snapped up U.S. exports and tax rebates spurred shoppers at home. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product, or GDP, increased at a 3.3 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter. The revised reading was much better than the government's initial estimate of a 1.9 percent pace and exceeded economists' expectations for a 2.7 percent growth rate. The rebound comes after two dismal quarters....

<p>Second-quarter GDP revised up to a surprising 3.3% annual growth; initial jobless claims declined last week. More soon.</p>

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The ranks of unemployed workers soared more than 20 percent in 25 New York counties in the first half of 2008, even in wealthy suburbs around New York City such as Westchester and Nassau, a report said Thursday. < > New York's economy is dependent on the fortunes of the Wall Street finance industry, so the state's tax collections have plunged with the profit-drought now withering banks and brokerages. Democratic Gov David Paterson recently persuaded the legislature to cut $427 million of spending and prune the three-year deficit by $2 billion to $24.4 billion. < >

Above is Yahoo! headline. Stocks jump on better-than-expected gross domestic product reading, decline in jobless claims NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks extended their advance in early trading Thursday after a better-than-expected reading on the nation's economy and a drop in jobless claims. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 150 points. Stocks gained as oil prices, up in early trading, reversed course.

The US economy grew at a revised 3.3% annually in the second quarter of 2008, the Commerce Department said, much higher than its first estimate of 1.9%. The rebound was linked to strong US exports, helped by the weak dollar, while government tax rebates also boosted consumer spending. GDP grew at a rate of 0.9% in the first quarter, after a 0.2% contraction in the last three months of 2007. The Federal Reserve has warned the economy will remain weak this year. "While we're not out of the woods yet, maybe we're beginning to see some sunlight," said John Wilson,...

Contrary to all the political rhetoric that's been on the airwaves in the past weeks and months, it seems that some revisions are in order. That is, the U.S. economy is rebounding like crazy. The 2nd quarter of 2008 is now showing a 3.3% growth rate, owing, in large part to the stimulus checks that went out earlier this year. (read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/economy/economy-boosted-exports-q-economy-expands/) Oh sure, the mainstream media would like the public to think that the economy has tanked. If that were true, which it isn't, then the liberals could run around the country again saying, "It's the economy, stupid."...

The U.S. economy was much stronger in the spring than first thought because of better exports and less inventory liquidation by businesses, according to a government report that surprised economists. Gross domestic product rose at a seasonally adjusted 3.3% annual rate April through June, the Commerce Department said Thursday in a new, revised estimate of second-quarter GDP. Originally, the government had estimated second-quarter 2008 GDP climbed 1.9%. First-quarter GDP increased 0.9%. snip

Every August, the Census Bureau's release of the latest income and health insurance figures results in a political uproar, but this year the political class seems almost embarrassed by the good news. Median household income rose slightly in 2007, the poverty rate held steady and the number of uninsured even dropped slightly. Even so, a closer inspection of the numbers shows some dark clouds around the silver lining -- though not of the sort that those warning of another Great Depression usually find. Begin with health insurance coverage. Census found that 45.7 million people, or 15.3% of the population, were...

Demand for expensive goods unexpectedly rose in July, making a second consecutive surge, while an indicator of capital spending by businesses leaped higher. Orders for durable goods increased 1.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted $219.26 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Some of the jump was due to stronger demand for aircraft, but even excluding transportation sector bookings, all other durable orders rose a promising 0.7%. Durables are manufactured goods designed to last at least three years. Orders in June were revised higher, also rising 1.3%; previously, June durables were seen rising 0.8%.

Signaling that some businesses have still been spending despite tight credit and a slow economy, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new orders for U.S.-made durable goods surged in July, rising 1.3%. Strong transportation equipment demand boosted the result, Commerce reported. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been looking for a gain of 0.2%. Excluding transportation goods, July's new orders rose 0.7%. Durable goods are big-ticket items designed to last three years or more. As such, new orders are very sensitive to economic expectations and serve as useful leading indicators of growth.

August 27, 2008 The Four Horsemen of Economic Apocalypse By Dick Armey Like most conservatives, I look at the looming November election with a certain sense of gloom. While Senator McCain has a good shot at taking the White House, Democrats look certain to expand their majorities in both the House and Senate by considerable margins. As the Democratic Party gathers in Denver this week, it will lay out an aggressive policy agenda worthy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The 111th Congress has the potential to pass legislation of the magnitude of the New Deal and Great Society; indeed, we may...

ON JULY 5, 1930, a letter from Will Rogers was published in The New York Times. "We sure had a great Fourth, especially after we picked up our morning papers and found that Congress had adjourned the night of the third," it began. "But our enthusiasm was immediately dampened, for the Senate are to meet again Monday, so that means that prosperity will pick up only 50 percent. "This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as we do when the baby gets hold of a hammer," Rogers continued. "It's just a question of how...

Economy: Average U.S. income fell when George Bush took office in 2001. Naturally, Democrats and the media unfairly blamed him for it. But now Americans are better off than when Bill Clinton was president.According to the latest data from the Internal Revenue Service, average adjusted gross income in 2006 hit $58,029 in 2006 dollars. It was the first time that average income had exceeded the peak year of 2000, the year before incomes began to decline. The average income in 2006 was 1.2%, or $739, higher than in 2000, when incomes were swollen by capital gains from a roaring market,...

One of the most contentious issues of late has been the question of whether increased drilling for oil would reduce the price of oil today. Certainly increased drilling will not bring an immediate increase in the supply of oil. But many people, even so-called experts, believe that the effect on the pump price would not be felt until the oil is actually at the pump, possibly years later. In fact, the price will fall well before the first hole is drilled. Even the possibility of increased drilling will bring down the price of oil. It already has. Speaker Nancy Pelosi...

The FDIC said 117 banks and thrifts were considered to be in trouble in the second quarter, up from 90 in the prior quarter. The FDIC doesn't reveal the names of the banks on the list, but it does give the total assets of these institutions...

Perhaps the most sensible voting member, Dallas Fed President Fisher thinks there is a 50-50 chance our recent inflation spike is a "one-off" event: "The real concern I have as a central banker is whether or not [inflation] begins to affect the mentality of spending patterns by consumers [and] pricing patterns by producers...I don't know the answer to that question - it's sort of 50-50" whether the inflation gains will prove a "one-off event

NEW YORK - Americans became more optimistic in the economy amid declining gas prices in August, marking the biggest jump in two years.

Democrats convened in Denver on Monday with the economy's woes muscling to the top of political concerns, as reflected in further drops in stocks and housing prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 241.81 points, or 2.1%, to 11386.25, amid continuing worry over the economic and credit problems. Inventories of unsold homes rose to a record, while prices continued to slip, threatening to delay the housing market's recovery. Sen. Barack Obama, whom the party will nominate for president this week, addressed one of the key issues, the parlous state of the government-sponsored buyers of mortgages. "I don't think we can...

In the same way that investors always put their money where it should have been, the news media always focuses on yesterday's problems. Much has been made of high inflation, runaway commodity prices and a return to 1970's stagflation. We believe the greater threat is the present asset price deflation. Houses, buildings and stocks are not inflating at all. Treasury bill yields have collapsed, long bond yields have fallen and risk spreads on a variety of assets, from GSE's to commercial mortgages, have widened to near Bear Stearns panic levels. These are all strong signs of deflation, not inflation. Many...

It seems like a no-brainer: Raising taxes is bad. It's a shame that Barron's is one of the few outlets to pick up on it. An economic plan floated out by Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, Ill., would raise taxes on incomes above $250,000 - with the highest rate at 39.6 percent - and redistribute the wealth to the poor and middle-class. But that would be a big mistake, according to an article by Jim McTague in the August 25 issue of Barron's. "It's almost as if Obama wants to repeat the mistakes of Herbert Hoover," McTague wrote. "During...

So Bill Clinton is miffed that he won't be allowed to speak about the economy, because it was was so great during his administration. At least, that's the prevailing liberal mythology, which the MSM repeats so often that people have come to accept it as fact. But just for the record: During the election cycle of 1992, Bill Clinton hammered Bush the elder relentlessly for having caused the “worst economy of the last 50 years.” But in fact, as CNN’s Brooke Jackson subsequently reported in 2001: “Three days before Christmas 1992, the National Bureau of Economic Research finally issued its...

New York and 11 other states are suing federal environmental regulators over greenhouse gas emissions from oil refineries, the New York attorney general's office said on Monday. The suit, led by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, charges that the Environmental Protection Agency violated the federal Clean Air Act by refusing to issue standards, known as new source performance standards, for controlling global warming pollution emissions from oil refineries. Note: Other states in the suit are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. New York City and Washington D.C. also joined in...

... Five weeks ago, after being targeted by gossip again, the chairman and chief executive of Lehman Brothers fired off a memo to his 25,000 staff worldwide....By the time many Lehman employees reached the end of Fuld’s memo, they concluded that he had just put the business up for sale. ...A sale mandate has been circulated regarding the invest-ment-management business, much of which is accounted for by Neuberger Berman, bought in 2003 for $2.6 billion.......now the biggest player on the London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and most of the world’s other big bourses. In London, Fuld has spent millions since 2000...

Luring a deep pool of new residents came easily to Nevada two years ago, when job formation clocked in at 5 percent a year. Today, with job growth flat and national headlines trumpeting collapsing local housing prices and delayed resort projects, the Silver State should experience tougher times attracting fresh blood. But local experts say Nevada continues to lead much of the country in growth despite recent declines in in-migration. That sustained growth, they add, could pose wide-ranging implications for the state's economy, from a potential increase in unemployment to a boost in taxable sales. Pinning down how many new...

http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080824/NEWS18/80824029&OAS_sitepage=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews

American investors catch a cold from frozen auction-rate securities Last Updated: 11:27pm BST 24/08/2008 Serge Birbrair is just one of hundreds of thousands of Americans stung by the securities market scandal. James Quinn reports All Serge Birbrair wanted to do was to pay his daughter's college fees. For the retiree, who fled the former Soviet Union in 1979, funding his child through university was not only a matter of principle but one of pride. Having saved and invested sensibly for decades, paying the fees should not have been a problem. But that was before he invested in auction-rate securities (ARS),...

There is no denying that the job market is weak. The Department of Labor has reported that 432,000 people filed for unemployment benefits in the past week - making this the fifth straight week that jobless claims topped the 400,000 mark. And so far this year, there has been a loss of 463,000 jobs. Yet, some are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel on the job front. Economists at the University of Michigan said in a report released yesterday that 900,000 jobs will be added next year and that 2.6 million more will be created in...

...Obama would have the top 1% of income-tax payers handing over an average of $93,700 more - to $652,900. McCain would reduce the group's taxes by $48,860 to $510,320. While appealing, it fails to address the impact such a blow to the super-rich's disposable income could have: These folks tend to plow a lot of their money into businesses -- from family operations to blue-chip stocks -- to say nothing of shopping trips and travel. In other words, cutting their after-tax income could deal another blow to an already-hobbled economy. Investment strategist Michael Aronstein notes a similar plan, implemented by...

Below is Wilson's full statement. "With his selection of Joe Biden, Senator Obama has made crystal clear his commitment to raising taxes. The Obama-Biden ticket has a long history of voting for and advocating tax increases on those making as little as $42,000 a year. New Jerseyans already pay more in state and local taxes than anyone else in the nation. Senators Obama and Biden want to make sure that we also pay more in federal taxes too. That idea will be about as popular as Corzine's toll hike plan and makes John McCain's no tax increase platform all that...

With the U.S. suffering from low GDP growth, job losses, a credit crunch and weak housing activity, Barack Obama's tax plan would help or hurt, depending on which economist you ask. Obama would boost the tax burden over current policy, shift the tax burden to higher earners, and result in higher marginal rates for the top earners and for some in the middle class. His plan would raise taxes by $627 billion over 10 years, based on likely assumptions, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the liberal Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution....

Mr Obama's choice of running mate, announced yesterday, on the face of it seems sensible. Joe Biden may be known in Britain for plagiarising one of Neil Kinnock's speeches back in the mists of political time, but to many Americans he will be seen as filling important gaps in the Obama team. At 65 he compensates for Mr Obama's relative youth and as chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee he makes up for the candidate's acknowledged lack of experience on the international stage. Some of Mr Obama's other policy positions are also problematical. He has an old-style "tax the...

We now know what Obama has in store for the American economy. Let's start with energy. His is the traditional Democratic tilt in favour of renewables, ethanol and conservation. But with the polls showing that more than 70% of Americans favour opening offshore America and federal lands to drilling, Obama panicked. He now says he will go along with a comprehensive deal that includes new taxes on oil companies in return for a relaxation of restrictions on offshore drilling, so long as it is done in an environmentally sensitive way, which means that there will be no offshore drilling. As...

"I WOULD LET THE TAX CUTS FOR ALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS LAPSE" Yepsen: SENATOR, HOW DO YOU PAY FOR YOUR IDEA (ED: socialized medicine)? Biden: YOU PAY FOR MY IDEA BY DOING THREE OR FOUR THINGS, DAVID, AND ALSO YOU GO AFTER THE DEBT THIS WAY. I WOULD FUNDAMENTALLY -- YOU HAVE TO HAVE A FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE IN AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AND A FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE IN TERMS OF THE TAX POLICY. I WOULD LET THE TAX CUTS FOR ALL OF THE MIDDLE CLASS LAPSE. I WOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD WITH THE NEW TAX CUT CALLED FOR BY ELIMINATING THE...

There has been a lot of loose talk in liberal circles that the current housing crunch, inflation, and spike in energy prices somehow prove that the free market is fatally flawed. Markets haven’t worked, the argument goes, so bigger government is surely the answer. It doesn’t take a genius to show that there is already massive intervention in the housing and energy markets, and that the current bout of inflation is also driven by government policies set by Congress, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury. The United State’s economy, far from being a completely free market, is already massively regulated....

Consumer prices are rising at their fastest pace in more than a decade in both the U.S. and the euro zone. But it's affecting workers on the two sides of the Atlantic in very different ways. Unions are more powerful in the 15-nation euro zone than in the U.S., and many laws and practices there are more worker-friendly. That's part of the reason why many European workers are keeping up with inflation better than their U.S. counterparts. Wages and salaries in the euro zone were 3.4 percent higher in the first quarter than in the year-earlier period, matching the first-quarter...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryAugust 23, 2008 President's Radio Address   President's Radio Address  Audio  En Español       In Focus: EnergyTHE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Before they left Washington for their August recess, Congress failed to take action on an issue that is currently of great concern to Americans: high prices at the gas pump. The fundamental reason for high gasoline prices is that the supply of oil is not keeping pace with demand. To reduce pressure on prices, we need to increase the supply of oil, especially oil produced here at home. So in June, I called on Congress to...

The U.S. government, like so many creaky monarchies and dubious regimes in history, may be conspiring to repudiate its own debt, suggests a former vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. U.S. Treasury debt obligations have long been considered the most secure and most certain of repayment in full, including interest. It's part of the reason the dollar has stayed strong, and why the United States has been able to borrow so much, so cheaply, for decades. Increasingly, that trust is for the first time becoming questionable. "Congress, with the complicity of the White House and the Fed,...

Arizona Sen. John McCain said the U.S. should fast track construction of nuclear power plants. The Republican presidential candidate said Wednesday the U.S. should follow the lead of France, which relies heavily on nuclear power, building plants in five years instead of the 15-year or more years it now takes in the U.S. McCain argues that more nuclear power as well as more domestic oil drilling and development of new energy sources will help the U.S. reduce dependency on foreign oil.

The longest period of economic growth since the industrial revolution is over, official figures disclosed on Friday. The data showed the economy shuddered to a halt in the three months to July for the first time in 16 years and immediately led to predictions of significant interest rate cuts to revive the country's economic fortunes. The slowdown has come as the pressure on families' finances reaches new heights because of the rising cost of living. It means Britain is almost certainly in a recession that will last until at least the end of the year, experts said. Some analysts predicted...

Financial Entities On The Brink Lehman (LEH)Washington Mutual (WM)Fannie Mae (FNM)Freddie Mac (FRE)Corus Bank (CORS)BankUnited (BKUNA)Downey Savings (DSL)Wachovia (WB)Regions Financial (RF)MBIA (MBI)Ambac (ABK)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil prices fell more than 5.4 percent on Friday in the biggest one-day slide since 2004 as dealers turned their focus to rising supply levels and weakening global demand. A rebound in the U.S. dollar encouraged the sell-off, applying downward pressure across the commodities markets by weakening the purchasing power of buyers using other currencies, dealers said.

<p>NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street capped a volatile week with sharp gains Friday as oil retreated from this week's rally and after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said inflation pressures are likely to moderate. The Dow Jones industrial average rose nearly 200 points.</p>

THE FED Bernanke sends soothing message on inflation Fed chief says price pressures likely to moderate this year and next JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. (MarketWatch) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sent a soothing message to global markets Friday, saying inflation was on track to moderate in coming months, and triggering a rally in stocks on speculation that means the Fed will keep interest rates low for the near future. Recent developments in commodity prices and the dollar, combined with slower growth, should lead inflation pressures to ease, Bernanke told policymakers and leading economists attending the Fed's annual retreat in Jackson...