President Obama's speech to Congress, urging GOP to end putting politics ahead of jobs.
Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts
Friday, September 9, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Perry Fires in All Directions As New Kid on the GOP Presidential Block
It did not take Texas Gov. Rick Perry long to catch fire in the polls, climbing atop a new Rasmussen survey to claim the title of GOP front-runner from Mitt Romney.
The poll, taken after the Iowa beauty pageant known as the Ames Straw Poll, puts Perry at 29%, Romney at 18%, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann at 13% and Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 9%. Some 16% of the respondents were undecided in the poll of 1,000 people conducted Monday night.
Perry can expect to take fire from some of the other camps, with his name atop the leader board now. Already the Romney campaign is pegging Perry as a candidate with little real world experience or working knowledge of running a business.
However, when given the chance today to comment directly, Romney took the high road, saying there will be plenty of time to engage Perry at "10 to 15 debates."
Meanwhile, The White House has some advice for Perry when it comes to taking a cheap shot that sounded a lot like a threat (see below this update) aimed at Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke:
"When you’re President or you’re running for President you have to think about what you’re saying, because your words have greater impact. And President Obama and we take the independence of the Federal Reserve quite seriously, and certainly think threatening the Fed Chairman is probably not a good idea," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
end update
---[
Texas Gov. Rick Perry caught people's attention with one of his tough-guy cowboy rants when he trained his fire on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, calling a Fed plan to bail out the economy and loosen credit markets "almost treason."
At a campaign stop last night in Iowa, the GOP presidential candidate appeared to threaten Bernanke.
"If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don’t know what you all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas," Perry said.
The Fed is considering another round of quantitative easing of the money supply to help the U.S. economy rebound. Perry calls the so-called QE3 program printing money to help President Obama's re-election.
Earlier on the stump Perry called into question Obama's patriotism when he was asked if he believes the President loves this country. "I dunno, you need to ask him," Perry replied.
Since hitting the campaign trail Perry has tried to highlight his service in the Air Force at the expense of Obama, who did not serve in uniform. Perry went so far as to suggest Obama does not command the respect of the troops.
"I think people who have had the same experiences connect with people who have had the same experiences. That’s human nature. If you polled the military, the active duty and veterans, and said 'would you rather have a President of the United States that never served a day in the military or someone who is a veteran?' They’ve going to say, I would venture, that they would like to have a veteran,” Perry said.
"The President had the opportunity to serve his country. I’m sure at some time he made the decision that isn’t what he wanted to do," Perry added.
The Texas governor made no mention of Obama's biggest military fete to date: The killing of Osama Bin Laden in a mission that the President approved and followed every step of the way. "He staked his presidency on that mission," a senior U.S. official said shortly after the raid on Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.
The poll, taken after the Iowa beauty pageant known as the Ames Straw Poll, puts Perry at 29%, Romney at 18%, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann at 13% and Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 9%. Some 16% of the respondents were undecided in the poll of 1,000 people conducted Monday night.
Perry can expect to take fire from some of the other camps, with his name atop the leader board now. Already the Romney campaign is pegging Perry as a candidate with little real world experience or working knowledge of running a business.
However, when given the chance today to comment directly, Romney took the high road, saying there will be plenty of time to engage Perry at "10 to 15 debates."
Meanwhile, The White House has some advice for Perry when it comes to taking a cheap shot that sounded a lot like a threat (see below this update) aimed at Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke:
"When you’re President or you’re running for President you have to think about what you’re saying, because your words have greater impact. And President Obama and we take the independence of the Federal Reserve quite seriously, and certainly think threatening the Fed Chairman is probably not a good idea," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
end update
---[
Texas Gov. Rick Perry caught people's attention with one of his tough-guy cowboy rants when he trained his fire on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, calling a Fed plan to bail out the economy and loosen credit markets "almost treason."
At a campaign stop last night in Iowa, the GOP presidential candidate appeared to threaten Bernanke.
"If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don’t know what you all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas," Perry said.
The Fed is considering another round of quantitative easing of the money supply to help the U.S. economy rebound. Perry calls the so-called QE3 program printing money to help President Obama's re-election.
Earlier on the stump Perry called into question Obama's patriotism when he was asked if he believes the President loves this country. "I dunno, you need to ask him," Perry replied.
Since hitting the campaign trail Perry has tried to highlight his service in the Air Force at the expense of Obama, who did not serve in uniform. Perry went so far as to suggest Obama does not command the respect of the troops.
"I think people who have had the same experiences connect with people who have had the same experiences. That’s human nature. If you polled the military, the active duty and veterans, and said 'would you rather have a President of the United States that never served a day in the military or someone who is a veteran?' They’ve going to say, I would venture, that they would like to have a veteran,” Perry said.
"The President had the opportunity to serve his country. I’m sure at some time he made the decision that isn’t what he wanted to do," Perry added.
The Texas governor made no mention of Obama's biggest military fete to date: The killing of Osama Bin Laden in a mission that the President approved and followed every step of the way. "He staked his presidency on that mission," a senior U.S. official said shortly after the raid on Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Obama Launches Summer Push-Back Tour
After a weekend of playing the punching bag, President Obama is hitting back with a three-day bus trip through the Midwest that includes five town halls and a lot of bruising shots at what he casts as a do-nothing GOP-led Congress.
Rolling out the artillery at his first stop this afternoon in Cannon Falls, Minn, Obama said, "I'm not here just to enjoy the nice weather. I'm here to enlist you in a fight. We are fighting for then future of our country and that is a fight that we are going to win."
Obama needs to make sure America's debt fatigue does not become Obama fatigue. His approval rating hit a new low over the weekend, dipping to 39%. The mainstream media and the GOP field of presidential wannabees quickly latched on to the Gallup number.
The GOP candidates, in high-profile speeches in Iowa and South Carolina, focused on questioning Obama's leadership in a stinging barrage that drew cheers, but failed to further sink the President's poll numbers. The Gallup daily tracking poll actually ticked upwards by two points today to 41%.
Obama hopes to counterattack by striking back at the most unpopular entity in Washington: The GOP-led House and filibuster-prone Senate Republicans, which have a dismal 28% approval rating, according to a Gallop survey last month.
The President and his advisors believe there is plenty of evidence that the Republicans are stalling at moving forward with a jobs agenda, instead focusing on protecting the rich from paying their fair share of taxes.
Driving home his point, Obama served up a menu today of pending and proposed legislation that Congress could pass immediately to help spur job-creation, including a payroll tax cut, tax credits for companies that hire war veterans, creation of an infrastructure bank to rebuild America and put builders and constructions workers back to work, international trade deals and patent reforms to make it easier to turn ideas into businesses.
"So there is no shortage of ideas to put people to work right now. What is needed is action on the part of Congress, a willingness to put the partisan games aside and say we're going to do what's right for the country, not what we think is going to score some political points for the next election," Obama said.
Obama picked up some support from the biggest name in Wall Street circles, when mega-investor Warren Buffett wrote an op-ed for The New York Times titled, "Stop Coddling the Super-Rich."
"While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks," Buffett wrote.
Rolling out the artillery at his first stop this afternoon in Cannon Falls, Minn, Obama said, "I'm not here just to enjoy the nice weather. I'm here to enlist you in a fight. We are fighting for then future of our country and that is a fight that we are going to win."
Obama needs to make sure America's debt fatigue does not become Obama fatigue. His approval rating hit a new low over the weekend, dipping to 39%. The mainstream media and the GOP field of presidential wannabees quickly latched on to the Gallup number.
The GOP candidates, in high-profile speeches in Iowa and South Carolina, focused on questioning Obama's leadership in a stinging barrage that drew cheers, but failed to further sink the President's poll numbers. The Gallup daily tracking poll actually ticked upwards by two points today to 41%.
Obama hopes to counterattack by striking back at the most unpopular entity in Washington: The GOP-led House and filibuster-prone Senate Republicans, which have a dismal 28% approval rating, according to a Gallop survey last month.
The President and his advisors believe there is plenty of evidence that the Republicans are stalling at moving forward with a jobs agenda, instead focusing on protecting the rich from paying their fair share of taxes.
Driving home his point, Obama served up a menu today of pending and proposed legislation that Congress could pass immediately to help spur job-creation, including a payroll tax cut, tax credits for companies that hire war veterans, creation of an infrastructure bank to rebuild America and put builders and constructions workers back to work, international trade deals and patent reforms to make it easier to turn ideas into businesses.
"So there is no shortage of ideas to put people to work right now. What is needed is action on the part of Congress, a willingness to put the partisan games aside and say we're going to do what's right for the country, not what we think is going to score some political points for the next election," Obama said.
Obama picked up some support from the biggest name in Wall Street circles, when mega-investor Warren Buffett wrote an op-ed for The New York Times titled, "Stop Coddling the Super-Rich."
"While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks," Buffett wrote.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Can The Fed End The Market Tailspins?
updated at 5 p.m. edt
The Dow gained 429 points in a late rally today after the Fed left interest rates unchanged on day that saw a bumpy roller-coaster ride with more than 700-point swing before it was all over.
After the nose-dive yesterday it all spelled a market and economy chocked with volatility. The Dow closed up by 4% at 11,239.77.
The S&P 500 jumped 53 points in positive territory for a 4.7% gainmm to finish at 1,172.53. The Nasdaq was up 124, or 5.3 percent, to closer at 2,482.52
Updated at 2:45 p.m. edt
The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged today, but there were clearly jitters on Wall Street when the monetary policy-setting board warned of increased economic risks.
The New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ went south on the news after posting gains for most of the day, but then rebounded. The roller-coaster ride was an indication of market volatility amid economic uncertainty.
"The (Federal Open Market) Committee now expects a somewhat slower pace of recovery over coming quarters than it did at the time of the previous meeting and anticipates that the unemployment rate will decline only gradually toward levels that the Committee judges to be consistent with its dual mandate," the Fed's statement said.
"Moreover, downside risks to the economic outlook have increased," the statement added.
The Fed also said it would keep interests rates low "at least through mid-2013."
end update
---[
The Federal Reserve is meeting this afternoon in Washington amid the global markets tanking, but it is unclear whether there is anything that the monetary policy-setting board can do to stop the market madness.
After Wall Street had a mini-crash yesterday there was plenty of volatility overnight in the Asian markets, which mostly saw another big dip, and the European markets are again on a roller-coaster ride of there own.
Add in that the Dow Futures are on a wild up-and-down swing of their and it all spells another shaky day for Wall Street investors.
The Fed will deliver its interest-rate decision at 2:15 p.m. edt, and banks and investors are wonder whether there will be any hint of a third round of quantitative easing, known as QE3 -- a sort of stimulus program in which the central banks buy up stocks and other paper to try to stabilize the markets.
The Dow gained 429 points in a late rally today after the Fed left interest rates unchanged on day that saw a bumpy roller-coaster ride with more than 700-point swing before it was all over.
After the nose-dive yesterday it all spelled a market and economy chocked with volatility. The Dow closed up by 4% at 11,239.77.
The S&P 500 jumped 53 points in positive territory for a 4.7% gainmm to finish at 1,172.53. The Nasdaq was up 124, or 5.3 percent, to closer at 2,482.52
Updated at 2:45 p.m. edt
The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged today, but there were clearly jitters on Wall Street when the monetary policy-setting board warned of increased economic risks.
The New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ went south on the news after posting gains for most of the day, but then rebounded. The roller-coaster ride was an indication of market volatility amid economic uncertainty.
"The (Federal Open Market) Committee now expects a somewhat slower pace of recovery over coming quarters than it did at the time of the previous meeting and anticipates that the unemployment rate will decline only gradually toward levels that the Committee judges to be consistent with its dual mandate," the Fed's statement said.
"Moreover, downside risks to the economic outlook have increased," the statement added.
The Fed also said it would keep interests rates low "at least through mid-2013."
end update
---[
The Federal Reserve is meeting this afternoon in Washington amid the global markets tanking, but it is unclear whether there is anything that the monetary policy-setting board can do to stop the market madness.
After Wall Street had a mini-crash yesterday there was plenty of volatility overnight in the Asian markets, which mostly saw another big dip, and the European markets are again on a roller-coaster ride of there own.
Add in that the Dow Futures are on a wild up-and-down swing of their and it all spells another shaky day for Wall Street investors.
The Fed will deliver its interest-rate decision at 2:15 p.m. edt, and banks and investors are wonder whether there will be any hint of a third round of quantitative easing, known as QE3 -- a sort of stimulus program in which the central banks buy up stocks and other paper to try to stabilize the markets.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Obama Gets Do-Over With Foreclosures by Extending Grace Period
The Obama administration finally got the wake-up call that banks are doing little to counter the housing crisis that is still destroying the American dream of home ownership.
The Federal Housing Administration today ordered banks to extend the mortgage-payment grace period for unemployed homeowners to 12 months for the FHA and Making Home Affordable Program guaranteed loans.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said the FHA new policy was required since few lenders took it upon themselves to voluntarily offer 12-month forbearance periods to unemployed homeowners. Banks have provided a four-month grace period, which amounts to spit in a bucket in a lousy economy like this one.
"We have been disappointed that more services haven’t gone beyond the four months. The reason we took this step now is that in every case that they are doing this, that they go to that 12 months," Donovan said.
"Part of why we are doing this, is to set a single standard, is to try to push the broader market to extend their unemployment programs and forbearance programs," Donovan said.
Obama, who is finally beginning to take a hard look in the rear-view mirror, admitted yesterday during his Twitter Town Hall that his administration’s policies aimed at countering the housing crisis were "not enough."
"The continuing decline in the housing market is something that hasn’t bottomed out as quickly as we expected," Obama said.
"And so we’re going back to the drawing board," he added.
Some observers believe Obama is taking another crack at easing the housing crunch as part of a re-election strategy, while others think he may have finally realized that he has given Wall Street and the banks a big wet kiss, even as their greed has turned the American Dream into a nightmare.
The Federal Housing Administration today ordered banks to extend the mortgage-payment grace period for unemployed homeowners to 12 months for the FHA and Making Home Affordable Program guaranteed loans.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said the FHA new policy was required since few lenders took it upon themselves to voluntarily offer 12-month forbearance periods to unemployed homeowners. Banks have provided a four-month grace period, which amounts to spit in a bucket in a lousy economy like this one.
"We have been disappointed that more services haven’t gone beyond the four months. The reason we took this step now is that in every case that they are doing this, that they go to that 12 months," Donovan said.
"Part of why we are doing this, is to set a single standard, is to try to push the broader market to extend their unemployment programs and forbearance programs," Donovan said.
Obama, who is finally beginning to take a hard look in the rear-view mirror, admitted yesterday during his Twitter Town Hall that his administration’s policies aimed at countering the housing crisis were "not enough."
"The continuing decline in the housing market is something that hasn’t bottomed out as quickly as we expected," Obama said.
"And so we’re going back to the drawing board," he added.
Some observers believe Obama is taking another crack at easing the housing crunch as part of a re-election strategy, while others think he may have finally realized that he has given Wall Street and the banks a big wet kiss, even as their greed has turned the American Dream into a nightmare.
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