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U.S. Budget

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Four Things the Debt Ceiling Deal Doesn't Fix

By , Behavioral Trading Specialist, Money Morning -

Everyone in the Capitol is patting themselves on the back and glad-handing for the news media, rattling on about “fighting the good fight.” Sure, we’ve avoided default… for just 112 more days. Most of us won’t even pay four phone bills by the time the “crisis” gets brewing again. As ridiculous as that fact is, it gets worse. You see, the “Great Band-Aid Treaty” doesn’t actually do anything to address the fundamental challenges facing our economy right now.

Here are the four biggest issues that Congress ducked out on...

The Most Important Numbers to Know Today 

By , Money Morning -

By themselves, they don't seem to mean much: 630,000, 700%, $3.65 million, 19. But once you see them in context, you'll realize why these numbers matter. Besides, where else can you read about frontier markets, Bitcoins, and a phantom Twitter stock

all in one place?

How the Fiscal Cliff will Deal a Blow to U.S. Defense Industry

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

The fiscal cliff is taking down more than U.S. taxpayers - it will tear through the U.S. defense industry.

At the end of this year, current tax policies are set to expire and new ones will go into effect at the start of 2013. What Americans can expect if the policies are not extended is a painful combo of tax increases and spending cuts that will thrust the struggling U.S. economy back into a recession.

If U.S. lawmakers fail to act, scores of economists agree what we'll get is a $600 billion drag on the already sluggish economy. The tax implications have been widely discussed, but there has been little chatter about the impact on the defense sector, which stands to sorely suffer since it is subjected to half of the proposed spending cuts.

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Under the Weather: Winter Storms Hit Cities and Businesses in the Wallet

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning • @DavidGZeiler -

The unusual ferocity of winter storms this year, as well as where and how often they have struck, has put as much strain on some corporate and municipal budgets as heavy snow on a roof.

Whether it's climate change, a freak weather pattern or mere coincidence, no one denies the impact that severe weather has had on the United States in recent years - or the past several months, for that matter.

Extreme weather has affected every corner of the world. Historic floods in December and January in Queensland, Australia destroyed or damaged more than 30,000 homes. Bad weather in the United Kingdom caused insurance claims to double from last year, as colder temperatures caused pipes to burst and icier roads contributed to an increase in auto accidents

The United States has been affected, as well.

Read More…

Question of the Week: Investors Prepare for State and Local Governments' Tight Budgets

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

It's been 25 years since state and local governments across the United States were in such bad shape - and the budgetary pain is far from over.

The state-funding gap is growing, local governments lost 76,000 jobs last month, and property tax receipts are slated to fall for years.

"While the recession might have officially ended on the national level, cities are in the eye of the storm and the problems are intensifying," Christopher Hoene, a director at the National League of Cities, told The Financial Times.

A study released last week showed that big U.S. cities could face a painful financial squeeze: Their pension plans are under-funded to the tune of $547 billion.

Read More…

We Want to Hear From You: Are You Vulnerable to the Budgetary Woes of Your State and Local Governments?

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

It's been 25 years since state and local governments across the United States were in such bad shape - and the budgetary pain is far from over.

The state-funding gap is growing, local governments lost 76,000 jobs last month, and property tax receipts are slated to fall for years.

"While the recession might have officially ended on the national level, cities are in the eye of the storm and the problems are intensifying," Christopher Hoene, a director at the National League of Cities, told The Financial Times.

A study released this week showed that big U.S. cities could face a painful financial squeeze: Their pension plans are under-funded to the tune of $547 billion.

Read More…

Money Morning Mailbag: Will Elections and a Resignation Open the Door for U.S. Budget Changes?

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

Administration officials announced this week that the White House Budget Director Peter Orszag plans to leave U.S. President Barack Obama's Cabinet before work on the next U.S. budget begins, which could be some time in the next few weeks. Orszag would be the first member of President Obama's Cabinet to exit.

The U.S. budget is under scrutiny as the budget deficit is forecast to hit $1.6 trillion by 2011. A President-appointed panel is currently working on budget reduction plans to be presented in a report due in December.

Orszag's strategies as former head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) supported a stop to deficit spending, but once he was placed in the budget driver's seat, making significant cuts was nearly impossible with recovery progress slow and unemployment high. Orszag instead ended up helping outline the $787 billion stimulus package in 2009.

Read More…

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