Jan 30, By JEANNINE AVERSA

WASHINGTON (AP) – The economy shrank at a 3.8 percent pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, as the deepening recession forced consumers and businesses to throttle back spending.

Although the initial result was better than economists expected, the figure is likely to be revised even lower in the months ahead and some believe the economy is contracting in the current quarter at an even faster pace.

The new figure, released Friday by the Commerce Department, showed the economy sinking at a much faster clip in the October-December period than the 0.5 percent decline logged in prior quarter.

Jan 26, By JEANNINE AVERSA

WASHINGTON (AP) – It’s already been a lousy year for workers less than a month into 2009 and there’s no relief in sight. Tens of thousands of fresh layoffs were announced Monday and more companies are expected to cut payrolls in the months ahead.

A new survey by the National Association for Business Economics depicts the worst business conditions in the U.S. since the report’s inception in 1982.

Thirty-nine percent of NABE’s forecasters predicted job reductions through attrition or “significant” layoffs over the next six months, up from 32 percent in the previous survey in October. Around 45 percent in the current survey anticipated no change in hiring plans, while roughly 17 percent thought hiring would increase.

Thu Jan 22, 2009 6:34pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. agency responsible for keeping the public safe from harmful drugs and foods was added to a list of “high-risk” areas of the federal government because it may not be able to adequately do its job, the Government Accountability Office said on Thursday.

The GAO said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was being hampered by globalization, more complex products and laws that have made it more difficult for the FDA to ensure the safety of pharmaceuticals, biologic drugs and medical devices.

The GAO releases this list at the start of each new Congress to help lawmakers set priorities.

Story from BBC NEWS: Published: 2009/01/21

Barack Obama is begining his first full day as US president, in the midst of an economic crisis and two wars.

Within hours of his inauguration, he requested a halt to military trials at the Guantanamo detention camp. One judge has already suspended a case.

Despite celebrating his inauguration through the night, Mr Obama plans to meet economic and military advisers.

He is expected to discuss plans for an $825bn rescue economic package – as well as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Mr Obama became America’s 44th president – and its first black leader – at noon on 20 January, and attended numerous events to mark the historic occasion as millions of supporters also enjoyed a party atmosphere.

By Ryan J. Donmoyer Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) —

Eighty-three of the 100 largest publicly traded U.S. companies, including Citigroup Inc., PepsiCo Inc. and General Motors Corp., had units in multiple tax havens in 2007, a government study said. Among those companies were some recipients of federal bailout money.

The Government Accountability Office said in a report dated Dec. 18 and released today by two senators that four companies, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Bank of America Corp., and News Corp., had more than 100 subsidiaries in low-tax or no-tax countries. The first three companies received or will receive shares of a $700 billion financial rescue package approved by Congress.

Jan 15, 8:00 AM (ET) By ALAN ZIBEL

WASHINGTON (AP) – More than 2.3 million American homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year, an 81 percent increase from 2007, with the worst yet to come as consumers grapple with layoffs, shrinking investment portfolios and falling home prices.

Nationwide, more than 860,000 properties were actually repossessed by lenders, more than double the 2007 level, according to RealtyTrac, a foreclosure listing firm based in Irvine, Calif., which compiled the figures.

Moody’s Economy.com, a research firm, predicts the number of homes lost to foreclosure is likely to rise by another 18 percent this year before tapering off slightly through 2011.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 By Bret Baier

Paying the Price
It is believed President-elect Obama’s inauguration will be the costliest in history — around $150 million — despite the recession. President Bush has declared a state of emergency to free up federal funds to help the district cope with the soaring cost of the event.

There has been little outcry over the hefty price tag so far — unlike four years ago when the cost of President Bush’s second inauguration provoked liberal outrage($49 million). Salon.com described the event, in an piece by Eric Boehlert on Jan. 20, 2005, as “Bush’s overblown celebration,” the think tank Center for American Progress called it “lifestyles of the rich and heartless,” and an article in the London Guardian by Paul Harri on January 9, 2005, said it was “an unashamed celebration of red America’s victory over blue America.”

By Associated Press Writer Michael R. Blood, Mon Jan 12, 5:40 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – Mike Reilly spent his lifetime chasing the California dream. This year he’s going to look for it in Colorado.

With a house purchase near Denver in the works, the 38-year-old engineering contractor plans to move his family 1,200 miles away from his home state’s lemon groves, sunshine and beaches. For him, years of rising taxes, dead-end schools, unchecked illegal immigration and clogged traffic have robbed the Golden State of its allure.

Is there something left of the California dream?

“If you are a Hollywood actor,” Reilly says, “but not for us.”