HeadlinerNews Roundup

News Roundup -- The Great Housing Rout of 2008!

Jamie Davis — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:52:41 -0400

This week, the June home sales figures were released showing even a worse month than had been anticipated. Home sales and home prices both showed significant declines with no end in sight. Congress' homeowner and mortgage company bailout may be too little too late and even a hike in the minimum wage is being considered a joke. It's time for the roundup!

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News Roundup -- Dancing with Fannie and Freddie

Jamie Davis — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:02:29 -0400

This past week, while there were rumors of troubles with mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve issued an extened line of credit to the two foundations of the U.S. mortgage system. The federal government also issued announcements about proposed lending restrictions and rules to help curb future subprime lending practices.

Some experts also point to indicators that the U.S. government is not likely to make any more major bailouts of Wall Street financial companies. I'd still like to see what is being done to bailout the thousands of U.S. borrowers who are facing the loss of their homes due to their own poor decisions.

Either way, this a good topic for this week's roundup!

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News Roundup -- I Saw Salmonella Live in Vegas!

Jamie Davis — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0400

With the great salmonella scare of 2008 entering week 3 and beyond with no answers in sight and nearly 1,000 people infected, the Headliner News Roundup team looks at the facts so far and also the hysteria surrounding the myths. Also, follow this link for more information about the disease, salmonella, and how to protect yourself without the hysterics!

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News Roundup -- I'll Take My Everglades With Less Sugar

Jamie Davis — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0400

A landmark deal took place this week that is one of the largest government land buy-backs in history. The state of Florida spent 1.7 billion dollars to buy out U.S. Sugar's corporate holdings on 300 square miles of land. This land will be reclaimed as wetlands in an effort to stabilize the fragile everglades nearby.

This is a great topic for this week's roundup!

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News Roundup -- Rescue Me, My Confidence is Slipping

Jamie Davis — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:13:07 -0400

This week, a report was released stating that U.S. consumer confidence levels have reached a 16 year low. This amidst turmoil in the finacial markets and congressional consumer lending bailouts and threatened presidential vetoes.

Will the recession level out and the economy begin to recover or are continued hard times on the way? I think it's time for the round-up!

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News Roundup -- Campaign Finance Money Refused

Jamie Davis — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:18:42 -0400

Barrack Obama stunned some observers last week by refusing to use the public campaign funds set aside for the general election. He had previously stated he would not do so. Now, campaign finance experts say that this points to the underlying problem in the current campaign funding environment and why serious reform is needed to promote a fair general election. McCain denounces move.

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News Roundup -- Too Little Babies and Health Care

Jamie Davis — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:18:02 -0400

This week's Headliner News Roundup looks at a report that points to an alarming trend in low birth weight babies in the United States. The report also points out that the U.S. has a health care system that is near the bottom of the list for the world's industrialized nations. Scary reports in an election year when health is likely to be among the key issues in the coming years with so many Americans uninsured and no reliable health care available.

This is definately a good topic for the roundup!

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News Roundup -- Big Gas Price, Big Food Price, Big Headache

Jamie Davis — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:58:33 -0400

This week the United Nations held a summit on world hunger and an interesting topic dominated some of the key discussions there, the way that biofuel investment is driving up the cost of staple food goods. That's right, the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel is not just driving up the cost of transporting food around the world, it is also making the wholesale prices for basic food items higher because of their use as a biofuel ingredient.

Other side effects of the high price of gas includes the grounding of the SUVs of the skies, the Boeing 737 and 747 fleets are being grounded in favor of smaller and lighter aircraft. Of course the price of new cars is heavily influenced by the cost of the fuels needed to make that car go, too.

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News Roundup -- Buffett's Recession Buffet

Jamie Davis — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:00:00 -0400

While the White House continues to preach good economic times ahead, some movers and shakers in the financial markets are starting to the use the "R" word openly. Warren Buffett said we are already in a recession in a recent interview.

Despite continued economic bad news the federal government continues to hold the line that we should spend more to bolster the economy. Will that bail us out? The Federal Reserve committee members have used uncharacteristically blunt wording to say no more rate cuts, so that avenue of rescue is out.

Summer is on the way, a time of vacations and housing construction -- or is it? At least one report states that gasoline prices aren't the only thing consumers will have to contend with this summer. Almost all prices are predicted to increase -- from basic food items to cleaning products. This is definately a good week for the Headliner News Roundup!

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News Roundup -- Making the World Safe for Pirates

Jamie Davis — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:00:00 -0400

With so much of the world's attention focused on the Iraq war and the continued conflict in Afghanistan, there is not much pressure to deal with other hot spots. Off the Eastern Coastline of Africa, the world shipping industry is having to deal with modern day pirates. That's right! I said Pirates! What are we going to do about issues like this?

The U.S. and France issued a resolution to allow member nations of the U.N. to have the authority to police these waters directly. The U.K. offered a resolution to increase support and numbers for the U.N. forces in Somalia in an effort to support that government's internal security forces. Which option offers the best solution?

I think it's time for the roundup!

News Roundup -- More Oil Not Solution to High Oil Prices

Jamie Davis — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:09:26 -0400

This week, the price of oil jumped to a new high again. Now at $128 dollars a gallon, the increases show no signs of slowing. Even the announcement that the Saudi's would increase production by a moderate 300,000 barrels a day did little to slow the increase.

President Bush, in the middle of a Middle East trip, met with King Abdullah to discuss how the price of oil was hurting the U.S. economy. He noted that we still had untouched reserves in the U.S. that were under disputed protection by federal environmental rules.

Treasury Secretary Paulson talked about a stabilization of the economic and financial markets despite the continued rise in energy prices.

A lot of issues here and certainly a good topic for the round-up!

News Roundup -- Oh My, My, Myanmar!

Jamie Davis — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:27:49 -0400

This past week's devastating storm hits Myanmar with reports of more than 60,000 people dead or missing. This country desparately needs help but the military government is playing footsie with the world aid community and won't let the aid get to the people in the most need on the coastline. The world community, including the U.S. military is questioning the value of giving aid when it won't go where it's most needed. I think this news item is a good one for the roundup!

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News Roundup -- The Rising Prices of War

Jamie Davis — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:44:27 -0400

President Bush sent an invoice for an additional $70 billion to Congress this week in hopes to stabilize the war spending long enough for the next president to get their bearings before having to deal with the problem. All of this while the jobless rate continues to climb along with the price of gas.

I think it's time for the roundup!

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News Roundup -- Abstinence Only Ed Only Works for Parents

Jamie Davis — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:48:56 -0400

This week medical and educational experts testified to congressional lawmakers about the failings of abstinence only sex education. They urged democrats in the house and senate to cut funding for these programs. Sex education without abstinence only focus --- Blasphemy!

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News Roundup -- No Games Around Polygamy

Jamie Davis — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:41:52 -0400

With all of the uproar last week in the taking of 416 children from their parents in a Texas polygamist sect compound amidst allegations of child abuse, I would have thought that there was some substance to the allegations, right?

Even Texas, with its express lane checkout for the death penalty, should have some consideration for probable cause. But, as the judge begins to hear the State's case for retaining custody of these children, there is still no complaining witness despite initial claims of a 16 year old child bride who called for help.

I think this is a great item for this week's roundup!

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News Roundup -- Fly Friendly (but slightly less safe) Skies!

Jamie Davis — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:34:26 -0400

Just a few weeks after the latest financial scare on Wall Street, another major U.S. industry is likely to be in need of a bailout. Will the Federal government have to move in and prop up the airlines without telling them that they don't have to fix their planes? I think it's time for the roundup!

Thanks to GoToMeeting.com for sponsoring the show. Visit GoToMeeting.com/podcast for a free 45 day trial.

News Roundup -- Bernacke's Recessionless Recession

Jamie Davis — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 06:00:00 -0400

This past week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernacke spoke to a joint Congressional Committee for the economy. He laid out his outlook for the coming year and the future looks a bit bleak. If his expected economic slow down occurs, the possibility of a recession may well become reality.

This is all happening while the nation's foreclosure rate continues to climb, with some areas experiencing 10 to 20% forclosure rates in certain low income communities. Many of these people bought homes for the first time a few years ago when the sub-prime lending boom was in full swing.

The Commerce Department also is offering gloomy news, with a recent report detailing U.S. factory orders down double what was expected. The two months now reported in 2008, January and February are both significantly down.

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Thanks to GoToMeeting.com for sponsoring the show. Visit GoToMeeting.com/podcast for a free 45 day trial.

Prime Minister Prime for the Roasting

Jamie Davis — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 06:00:00 -0400

Prime Minister al Maliki of Iraq has sworn to fight on against militia troops in Basra despite questions about the effectiveness of the Iraqi troops to accomplish that task. With U.S. troops turning over responsibility for more security responsibilities over the coming months, questions about the readiness of the Iraqis to take over are coming up. The truce set in place by the U.S. with al Sadir's militias has fallen apart and opponents say that the violence is being orchestrated by the government to destroy opponents in upcoming elections.

Check out the rest of the article here.

With the next U.S. administration almost certainly to be decided around the war in Iraq. Problems there could continue to force confrontation here as well.

News Roundup -- Canada Says Bring NATO or We Go!

Jamie Davis — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:00:00 -0400

The 2500 Canadian troops in the southern part of Afghanistan are awaiting some long expected help from NATO forces as a condition of their remaining there. This is all amidst a new Taliban spring offensive. Listen to this episode of the Headliner News Roundup to find out more.

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News Roundup -- Financial Crunchies - Eat it while it's hot!

Jamie Davis — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:52:01 -0400

Last week I looked at the Bear-Stearns bailout by the Fed and JP Morgan Chase bank. Now the bailout has turned into a buy out with the price for Bear Stearns set at just $2 per share. The Fed responded to the news with another interest rate cut amid other items of bad economic news on jobs and housing growth. Looks like it's time to bone up on the reasons for the credit crunch.

Credit Crunch for Dummies Article

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