Unemployment applications drop to a 4-year low

WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of people seeking unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell to the lowest point in almost four years last week, the latest signal that the job market is steadily improving. Weekly applications for unemployment benefits dropped 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the fourth drop in five weeks and the fewest number of claims since March 2008 — six months before Lehman Brothers collapsed and only a few months into the Great Recession. The four-week average, which smooths out fluctuations in the weekly data, fell for the fifth straight week to 365,250. The average has fallen nearly 13 percent in the past year. The consistent decline indicates…

Detroit Mayor to Declare City on Brink of Bankruptcy

(theGRIO) DETROIT - The city of Detroit could face potential bankruptcy by next Spring if significant cuts are not made. Mayor Dave Bing is set to address the city’s long-mounting financial crisis this evening. “Mayor Bing inherited a city in fiscal, operational, and ethical crisis,” Mayoral spokesman Dan Lijana said. “Rather than continuing business as usual and sweeping problems under the rug, Mayor Bing has taken on the tough issues and had an honest dialogue with Detroit about our fiscal challenges.” An audit by Ernst & Young, which was ordered by the city and paid for with taxpayer money, showed that the city’s finances are so slim that even laying off 2,200 employees would delay insolvency…

How Obama Can Seek Higher Ground on Jobs

(theGrio) President Obama is scheduled to discuss his recuperated plan to create jobs this week as the unemployment dilemma continues to plague economic progress. It’s important to note that personal income and Social Security taxes account for 82 percent of government revenue, which goes a long way in explaining budget deficits and catastrophic debt projections. Truth be told, there’s very little the White House can do to reduce the unemployment rate in a short period of time. The government may have created the predecessor to the Internet in the 1960s through DARPA, but it took several decades before the private sector capitalized on this new technology. The stimulus package prevented layoffs at the state and local level,…

President Obama Faces Re-Election Challenges Amid Tough Economy

Tough economic climate as Obama seeks 2nd term WASHINGTON  — President Barack Obama faces a long re-election campaign having all but given up on the economy rebounding in any meaningful way before November 2012. His own budget office predicts unemployment will stay at about 9 percent, a frightening number for any president seeking a second term. Obama’s prospects aren’t entirely grim, however. The GOP, heavily influenced by the tea party, may nominate someone so deeply flawed or right-leaning that, Democrats hope, Obama can persuade Americans to give him a second chance rather than risk the alternative. Democrats say the man who ran on hope and change in 2008 will have to claw his way toward…

What Does S&P’s Downgrade Mean For You?

(theGrio) Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States’ credit rating on Friday evening, ending speculation that mounting budget deficits and political gridlock would have unprecedented repercussions. Nobody knows for certain how the markets will react, other than the obvious, that three decades of reckless fiscal policies and 30 second sound bites of damnation have consequences. It’s important to understand that bonds are rated according to their ability to return an investors’ principal and make all agreed upon interest payments in a timely manner. While a consumer’s credit worthiness is measured by Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, the United States is subject to the rating agencies Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. The recent debt ceiling debate shed…

Unemployment Rate Dips, Economy Adds 117K Jobs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring picked up slightly in July and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent, an optimistic sign after the worst day on Wall Street in nearly three years. The Labor Department says employers added 117,000 jobs last month. That’s an improvement from the past two months. The mild gain may ease investors’ concerns after the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted more than 500 points over concerns that the U.S. may be entering another recession. Still, the economy needs twice as many net jobs per month to rapidly reduce unemployment. The rate has topped 9 percent in every month except two since the recession officially ended in June 2009. The unemployment rate fell…

Obama Is The Prime Target in Debt Ceiling Blame Game

(theGrio) As we near the end of the debt ceiling negotiations, Americans have once again gotten a peek inside the often ugly legislative process in Washington. Not surprisingly, people don’t like what they see. But with the deal nearly done, liberals and conservatives alike are raising questions about the leadership provided by their principals — John Boehner in the House, Harry Reid in the Senate, and President Barack Obama. All three faced daunting leadership challenges in this crisis, and none came out unscathed. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saw his leadership challenged in the closing hours of the debate by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who killed Reid’s standalone bill with a filibuster threat, then went…

Is America in Danger of Becoming Detroit?

(theGrio) Detroit is in dire straits these days, and the Motor City could give us a hint as to where America is headed. Faced with limited resources, a $155 million deficit and a declining population, that city’s mayor, Dave Bing, is implementing what he calls the Detroit Works Project. Under the plan, more populated neighborhoods with a better chance of making it will receive more city services than those overrun by abandoned homes. Fire, police and emergency medical services will remain the same throughout the city, and plans to contract the city, depopulate empty areas and relocate people to concentrated areas have been abandoned. Meanwhile, the city will focus on demolishing crumbling, vacant buildings, and improving…

Is Obama Winning the Debt War By Playing Tough?

(theGrio) A new poll suggests that President Obama has hit his stride in the budget battle with Congressional Republicans. And maybe the voters like the fighting spirit they’ve seen in Obama these days. Although the Quinnipiac University poll on the economy and the nation’s financialmess is not all rosy for the president, it is very encouraging for him as the election season heats up. Fifty-six percent of voters in the survey say they disapprove of Obama’s handling of the economy, as opposed to 38 percent who give him a thumbs up. However, people also trust him more than Republicans in Congress to handle the economy, at a rate of 45 percent to 38 percent. Moreover, according to the…

Obama: ‘We will get this done by August 2′

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama declared on Monday there would be no deal on raising the government’s debt limit if Republicans won’t compromise, and he said he would not sign a short-term extension – raising the stakes on volatile negotiations with the clock ticking toward a Aug. 2 deadline. “I don’t see a path to a deal if they don’t budge. Period,” the president said in a challenge to his political opponents, accusing Republicans of having a “my way or the highway” posture. Asked whether or not he would veto legislation temporarily increasing the debt ceiling, the president said: “I will not sign a 30-day, or 60-day, or 90-day extension.” The president warned that…