Economy
Archive: < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > Last ›
8/13/2009 | Economy
Associated Press
Retail sales disappointed in July and the number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week. The latest government reports reinforced concerns about how quickly consumers will be able to contribute to a broad economic recovery.
"There is really no positive spin to put on these numbers," Jennifer Lee, an economist with BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a research note. "The U.S. consumer remains very weak. The jobs situation, while slowly improving, is still dismal."
The Commerce Department said Thursday that retail sales fell 0.1 percent last month. Economists had expected a gain of 0.7 percent.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
8/11/2009 | Economy
USA Today
Stagnant unemployment, shrinking tax revenue and a struggling economy threaten to quadruple the size of last year's federal budget deficit, raising more questions about the timing of costly proposals to overhaul health care.
As the White House and Congressional Budget Office (CBO) prepare to release new deficit estimates this month, several economists say the news is likely to be as bad as or worse than forecasts.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
8/3/2009 | Economy
Associated Press
President Barack Obama's treasury secretary said Sunday he cannot rule out higher taxes to help tame an exploding budget deficit, and his chief economic adviser would not dismiss raising them on middle-class Americans as part of a health care overhaul.
As the White House sought to balance campaign rhetoric with governing, officials appeared willing to extend unemployment benefits. With former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan saying he is "pretty sure we've already seen the bottom" of the recession, Obama aides sought to defend the economic stimulus and calm a jittery public.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers both sidestepped questions on Obama's intentions about taxes. Geithner said the White House was not ready to rule out a tax hike to lower the federal deficit; Summers said Obama's proposed health care overhaul needs funding from somewhere.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
7/21/2009 | Economy
FinancialTimes.com
Sharply falling tax revenues across the US have left states facing fresh budget shortfalls and threatening further painful spending and service cuts following previous multiple rounds of belt-tightening.
In the first quarter of the calendar year, tax collections dropped by 11.7 per cent, the largest fall on record, according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Of 50 states, some 45 reported declines.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
7/15/2009 | Economy
Reuters
U.S. government officials are weighing a plan that would let borrowers who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments avoid eviction by renting their homes instead, sources familiar with the administration's thinking said on Tuesday.
Under one idea being discussed, delinquent homeowners would surrender ownership of their homes but would continue to live in the property for several years, the sources told Reuters.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
7/13/2009 | Economy
Bloomberg
President Barack Obama said his $787 billion stimulus bill “has worked as intended” as he pushed back against Republican criticism that his recovery program has failed to rescue the economy. In the weekly Republican response, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia said the stimulus bill was “full of pork- barrel spending, government waste and massive borrowing cleverly called ‘stimulus.’”
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
7/13/2009 | Economy, Taxes
FinancialTimes.com
McDonald’s is to leave London for Geneva, joining the growing ranks of US companies moving their European headquarters to take advantage of preferential intellectual property tax laws.
The fast-food group, which will open its head office in the Swiss city in the autumn, said the move had been almost a year in the planning.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
7/2/2009 | Economy
Reuters
U.S. employers cut 467,000 jobs in June, far more than expected, while the unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent, the government said on Thursday in a report that showed a labor market continuing to struggle with a deep recession.
The June job losses were more than 100,000 greater than the 363,000 consensus of Wall Street economists polled by Reuters and broke a four-month trend of moderation in job losses.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
6/29/2009 | Economy, Governmental Control
Reuters
Financial products should be treated like medicines and sold to consumers only when they are certified safe to prevent a repeat of last year's financial meltdown, the world's central bankers said on Monday.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which acts as a forum for central banks, said government efforts to revive the global economy might have only a temporary impact because banks are not being pushed hard enough to fix their underlying problems.
Banks' lending and other practices, including the approval of risky mortgages in the United States, led the global economy into the worst recession in decades. Governments have poured trillions of dollars into rescuing the financial system and easing a recession that has cut through company workforces.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
6/26/2009 | Economy, Global Warming
The Wall Street Journal
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put cap-and-trade legislation on a forced march through the House, and the bill may get a full vote as early as Friday. It looks as if the Democrats will have to destroy the discipline of economics to get it done.
The biggest doozy in the CBO analysis was its extraordinary decision to look only at the day-to-day costs of operating a trading program, rather than the wider consequences energy restriction would have on the economy. The CBO acknowledges this in a footnote: "The resource cost does not indicate the potential decrease in gross domestic product (GDP) that could result from the cap."
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
6/23/2009 | Economy, Governmental Control
The New York Times
"First and foremost, [Obama] says the Federal Reserve will become the official 'system risk regulator'... But in principle the Fed had exactly this kind of leadership role before -- and under both Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke it was a reckless cheerleader and facilitator for the unsustainable real estate boom. If the Fed had been stronger before, the crisis now would be worse."
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
6/22/2009 | Economy
The Observer
Staff at Goldman Sachs staff can look forward to the biggest bonus payouts in the firm's 140-year history after a spectacular first half of the year, sparking concern that the big investment banks which survived the credit crunch will derail financial regulation reforms.
A lack of competition and a surge in revenues from trading foreign currency, bonds and fixed-income products has sent profits at Goldman Sachs soaring, according to insiders at the firm.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
6/19/2009 | Economy, Governmental Control
Bloomberg
President Barack Obama’s plan to create a U.S. insurance office after the $182.5 billion bailout of American International Group Inc. may take powers from the states that have overseen the industry for more than 135 years.
Obama called for the creation of a federal Office of National Insurance within the Treasury Department to monitor the industry, represent U.S. interests in international insurance agreements, and look for gaps in state oversight. The proposal was announced this week as part of Obama’s planned overhaul of the U.S. financial regulatory system.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
6/17/2009 | Economy
The Wall Street Journal
As he prepares to release the most extensive proposals to change financial regulations since the 1930s, President Barack Obama is a bit anxious.
Anxious, that is, for people -- and specifically for his conservative critics -- to know he isn't the heavy-handed meddler some suspect.
"I think the irony … is that I actually would like to see a relatively light touch when it comes to the government," he said Tuesday in a White House interview.
It is a counterintuitive case to make when his government is a majority shareholder of General Motors, and when he will propose Wednesday new oversight of big financial institutions, new capital requirements for banks and a new consumer-protection agency for small investors.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
6/9/2009 | Economy
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama assured the nation his recovery plan was on track Monday, scrambling to calm Americans unnerved by unemployment rates still persistently rising nearly four months after he signed the biggest economic stimulus in history.
Obama admitted his own dissatisfaction with the progress but said his administration would ramp up stimulus spending in the coming months. The White House acknowledged it has spent only $44 billion, or 5 percent, of the $787 billion stimulus, but that total has always been expected to rise sharply this summer.
"Now we're in a position to really accelerate," Obama said.
He also repeated an earlier promise to create or save 600,000 jobs by the end of the summer.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
4/28/2009 | Economy
The Denver Post
The U.S. economy, which was showing tentative early signs of a recovery, faces a potentially grave new threat: swine flu. A widespread outbreak could batter the tourism, food and transportation industries in particular, deepening the recession in the United States and possibly worldwide.
With the U.S. and the global economies already fragile, another severe blow could reverse any prog ress made in easing the recession.
Simon Johnson, former chief economist to the International Monetary Fund and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, envisions only a "small hit" to economic activity in the U.S. — a few tenths of 1 percentage point.
But if the problem in the U.S. persists for months, spreads broadly and leads to widespread flu cases or deaths, the damage could be more severe
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
4/23/2009 | Politics, Governmental Control, Economy
The Hill
President Obama showed his hand this week when The New York Times wrote that he is considering converting the stock the government owns in our country’s banks from preferred stock, which it now holds, to common stock.
This seemingly insignificant change is momentous. It means that the federal government will control all of the major banks and financial institutions in the nation. It means socialism.
When the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) intervention was first outlined by the Bush administration, it did not call for any transfer of stock, of any sort, to the government. The Democrats demanded, as a price for their support, that the taxpayers “get something back” for the money they were lending to the banks. House Republicans, wise to what was going on, rejected the administration’s proposal and sought, instead, to provide insurance to banks, rather than outright cash. Their plan would, of course, not involve any transfer of stock. But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) undercut his own party’s conservatives and went along with the Democratic plan, ensuring its passage.
But to avoid the issue of a potential for government control of the banks, everybody agreed that the stock the feds would take back in return for their money would be preferred stock, not common stock. “Preferred” means that these stockholders get the first crack at dividends, but only common stockholders can actually vote on company management or policy. Now, by changing this fundamental element of the TARP plan, Obama will give Washington a voting majority among the common stockholders of these banks and other financial institutions. The almost 500 companies receiving TARP money will be, in effect, run by Washington.
And whoever controls the banks controls the credit and, therefore, the economy. That’s called socialism.
Obama is dressing up the idea of the switch to common stock by noting that the conversion would provide the banks with capital they could use without a further taxpayer appropriation. While this is true, it flies in the face of the fact that an increasing number of big banks and brokerage houses are clamoring to give back the TARP money. Goldman-Sachs, for example, wants to buy back its freedom, as do many banks. Even AIG is selling off assets to dig its way out from under federal control. The reason, of course, is that company executives do not like the restrictions on executive pay and compensation that come with TARP money. It is for this reason that Chrysler Motors refused TARP funds.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
4/7/2009 | Economy, Politics
Telegraph.co.uk
A single clause in Point 19 of the communiqué issued by the G20 leaders amounts to revolution in the global financial order.
"We have agreed to support a general SDR allocation which will inject $250bn (£170bn) into the world economy and increase global liquidity," it said. SDRs are Special Drawing Rights, a synthetic paper currency issued by the International Monetary Fund that has lain dormant for half a century.
It has been a good summit for the IMF. Its fighting fund for crises is to be tripled overnight to $750bn. This is real money.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director, said in February that the world was "already in Depression" and risked a slide into social disorder and military conflict unless political leaders resorted to massive stimulus.
He has not won everything he wanted. The spending plan was fudged. While Gordon Brown talked of $5 trillion in global stimulus by 2010, this is mostly made up of packages already under way.
But Mr Strauss-Kahn at least has resources fit for his own task. He will need them. The IMF is already bailing out Pakistan, Iceland, Latvia, Hungary, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia, Bosnia and Romania. This week Mexico became the first G20 state to ask for help. It has secured a precautionary credit line of $47bn.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
4/7/2009 | Economy, Governmental Control
Bloomberg
General Motors Corp. is speeding up preparations for a possible bankruptcy filing even as directors seek deeper savings this week to avoid that outcome, people familiar with the plans said.
The bankruptcy readiness focuses on forming a new company from GM’s best assets if necessary, said the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. The cost-cut discussions center on how to go beyond GM’s proposal to slash debt by 46 percent and shed 47,000 jobs in 2009, and will include talks with Treasury officials, the people said.
The moves are a response to President Barack Obama’s March 30 rejection of GM’s bid to keep $13.4 billion in federal loans. With bondholders and the United Auto Workers balking at concessions, a push for more savings makes bankruptcy more “probable,” Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson has said.
GM’s board met today and yesterday, and more discussions are planned inside GM and with the Obama administration, the people said. Obama gave the biggest U.S. automaker 60 days to restructure, without specifying what steps were needed to stem $82 billion in losses since 2004.
Planning for a court filing was ratcheted up in February as a precaution against a defeat for GM’s bid to keep its U.S. loans, the people said. Detroit-based GM said it prefers to restructure outside bankruptcy court.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
4/2/2009 | Economy, Foreign Policy, Politics
Associated Press
Leaders from around the globe made headway Thursday on tackling the world's worst financial crisis since the 1930s, with early signs of agreements to give more money to the International Monetary Fund and to take a closer look at regulating hedge funds.
Two people close to the negotiations said leaders had agreed on giving more fund to the IMF so it could help developing economies reeling from currency woes and the effects of the global downturn. They also said France and Germany had successfully persuaded the Group of 20 leaders to back stronger financial regulations to avoid a repeat of the current crisis.
As President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined other leaders at a working breakfast in the city's east Docklands district, protesters began gearing up for a second day of demonstrations, gathering outside the London Stock Exchange near St. Paul's Cathedral.
Riot police took up their positions as well, ringing the stock exchange.
Obama and Brown expressed confidence Wednesday that world leaders would come up with a strong agreement to address financial regulation, growth, and troubled banks.
But that optimism was marred by a split with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who refused calls for more government spending and insisted the meeting must instead take concrete steps on tougher financial regulation.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Paul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT Publications
James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res