Economic 'slowdown' continues in US

Auto Industry Asks Congress for $50 Billion; Insists This Isn't a Bailout
Posted: Sep. 08, 2008 10:09 a.m.
The Big Three Detroit automakers have begun lobbying Congress for up to $50 billion in loans that would help them adjust to a market that demands more fuel-efficient vehicles. But the automakers insist the loans would not amount to a government bailout of the struggling auto industry.

The AP explains, "With Congress returning this coming week from its summer break, the industry plans an aggressive lobbying campaign for the low-interest loans. The situation is growing dire after months of tumbling sales, high gasoline prices and consumers' abandoning profitable trucks and sport utility vehicles." Congress has technically authorized $25 billion in loans "to help the companies build fuel-efficient vehicles such as hybrids and electric vehicles." But the government hasn't provided money to fund that program. "With credit tight, automakers and suppliers now want lawmakers to come up with the money for the program -- and expand the pool of money available to $50 billion over three years." Click Here To Read The Whole Piece
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Republican red faces as regulators close bank
By Andrew Ward in Washington and Joanna Chung in New York
Published: September 8 2008 03:11 Last updated: September 8 2008 03:11

A bank with ties to the family of John McCain was shut down by federal regulators on Friday, marking the 11th US bank failure this year and threatening to cause ripples across the presidential election campaign.

Andrew McCain, son of the Republican presidential nominee, was a director of Nevada-based Silver State Bank until resigning in July for “personal reasons”.

He was a member of Silver State’s audit committee, which has responsibility for overseeing the bank’s financial accounts.

Silver State was heavily exposed to construction and land development loans that have come under pressure as the housing market slumps. Click Here To Read The Whole Piece
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Bush bails out US mortgage giants
By Stephen Foley in New YorkMonday, 8 September 2008
The Bush administration ripped up years of laissez-faire economic policies last night and launched a government takeover of two of the most powerful mortgage companies in the US. The move is designed to forestall a collapse in house prices that could plunge America into a new Great Depression and trigger chaos on the world's financial markets. Click Here To Read The Whole Piece
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U.S. job losses point to economy in recession
BY CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN carrie.mason-draffen@newsday.com
September 6, 2008
The U.S. economy turned in a worse performance than economists had predicted for August, with bigger job losses and the highest unemployment rate in five years. The latest report once again raised the specter of a recession. The nation lost 84,000 jobs in August, compared with July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was far more than the 75,000, economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had predicted. The unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent, higher than the 5.7 percent analysts had expected. "It certainly increases the probability that we really are in a recession," William Poole, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The national economy has now lost jobs for eight consecutive months. Click Here To Read The Whole Piece
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Home foreclosures reach record high
Fri Sep 5, 2008 12:20pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home foreclosures and the rate of homes entering foreclosure rose to record highs in the second quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Friday.
"The national foreclosure numbers continue to be driven by the hardest-hit states continuing to get much worse," Jay Brinkmann, the association's chief economist and senior vice president for research and economics, said in a news release. Click Here To Read The Whole Piece
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