Economy

Source: www.mybudget360.com --- 1 hour ago
So much horrible policy has occurred since the Economy entered recession that the majority of Americans are shell shocked with each day of news. It used to be that a billion dollars in toxic assets was enough to garner some movement out of the market. Now, we talk about trillion dollar deficits as if they were normal. Take for example the ridiculous home buyer tax credit. Let us set aside for a second that massive home buying and speculation led us into this financial crisis in the first place. The home buyer tax credit was basically a gift to people for doing something they were already going to do. Keep in mind that even without the tax credit, people were going to buy homes. But this is what we are left with: “( Las Vegas Sun ) It’s awful policy,” says Andrew Jakabovics, associate director for housing and economics at the liberal Center for American Progress. “It’s incredibly expensive. It’s not well targeted.” … “ We paid $8,000 to at least 1.5 million people to do something they were going to do anyway,” Jakabovics says. … “A heck of a lot of people would have bought the house anyway,” says Ted Gayer, an economist at the Brookings Institution. … The tax break, due to expire at the end of November, is on track to cost $15 billion, twice what Congress had planned. In other words, it will cost $43,000 for every new homebuyer who would not have bought a house without the tax break.” This is policy gone bad like milk left out on a h ...

Source: boardingarea.com --- 3 hours ago
BREAKING NEWS! “Continental Airlines will discontinue offering free food to Economy-class passengers on the majority of its domestic flights in the United States and Canada and on flights to some leisure destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean… “Our traditional free-food model has served us well for many years, but we need to change to reflect today’s market and customer preferences,” Jim Compton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a statement. The airline plans to offer “a variety of high quality, healthy food choices” for sale in Economy class. Prices and menus have not yet been determined and will be announced before the new program begins in the fall. In addition to most domestic flights in the U.S. and Canada, the food-for-purchase program will apply to leisure destinations such as Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the Caribbean Islands, Continental spokeswoman Christen David said. Complimentary food will still be offered on flights to business destinations such as Mexico City, Mexico. The differentiation between offerings on leisure and business routes is driven by economics, David said via e-mail. “Leisure markets don’t produce the ticket revenue that can continue to support the complimentary food model,” she said”" (via cnn.com ) by Marnie Hunter Pointswizard.com Spin : Click here to read the rest of – Continental Airlines cuts back on free food in Economy-class ...

Source: techblogstoday.com --- 7 hours ago
# money </div –> During a weak Economy, people may be reluctant spend hard-earned money on investments and risk losing it all. Money blog Steadfast Finances says there’s no need to be fearful of investing as long as you’re smart about it. More » Go to Source ...