Posts on ‘August 17th, 2009’

So, is our long national nightmare over? Has the housing market finally hit bottom? There has been some muted — albeit exhausted — cheering from homeowners in recent weeks. But before we break out the champagne, look out for further potential problems just down the road. The good news? According to the closely watched Case-Shiller [...]

It’s unclear whether the economy has hit bottom or not. Investment markets are moving up. Jobless rates didn’t get any worse. “Cash for clunkers” has given the auto industry a real boost. And stimulus funds are slowly making their way into the real world. So, at the risk of tempting fate, it’s probably safe to [...]

How consumers behave during this year’s back-to-school shopping season could give us our first taste of what’s to come for the economy. More and more economists believe the worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression will come to an end in the third quarter. But there is still much disagreement about what the recovery will [...]

President Barack Obama’s weekend concession on a health care “government option” drew complaints from liberals and scarce interest from Republicans and other critics on Monday, a fresh sign of the daunting challenge in finding middle ground in an increasingly partisan political struggle. The White House insisted there had been no shift in position, adding the [...]

President Barack Obama insisted Monday he still wants to scrap what he calls a discriminatory federal marriage law, even as his administration angered gay rights activists by defending it in court. The president said his administration’s stance in a California court case is not about defending traditional marriage, but is instead about defending traditional legal [...]

South Carolina Republican Bob Inglis, frustrated by a restive crowd at a recent forum to discuss health care reform, suggested people turn off the TV when Fox News Channel’s Glenn Beck came on. Judging by the escalating boos and catcalls, squirting lighter fluid on burning coals would have been wiser. Beck is a hero to [...]

South Carolina Republican Bob Inglis, frustrated by a restive crowd at a recent forum to discuss health care reform, suggested people turn off the TV when Fox News Channel’s Glenn Beck came on. Judging by the escalating boos and catcalls, squirting lighter fluid on burning coals would have been wiser. Beck is a hero to [...]

Obesity is the elephant in the room of health care reform, a public health catastrophe that kills more than 100,000 Americans a year, cost the nation $147 billion last year and threatens to shorten U.S. life expectancy for the first time since the Civil War. Whatever Washington does this year to reduce medical spending seems [...]

BART management and union leaders reached a tentative contract agreement Sunday evening, averting a threatened strike that would have crippled this morning’s commute. The two sides announced the deal less than six hours before train operators and station agents had planned to walk out and shut down the regional commuter rail system. “It’s the greatest [...]

Experts who track hate groups across the U.S. are growing increasingly concerned over violent rhetoric targeted at President Obama, especially as the debate over health care intensifies and a pattern of threats emerges. Share Contentious health care debate heightens concerns for Obama’s safety.The Secret Service is investigating a Maryland man who held a sign reading [...]