NATIONAL NEWS

White House social secretary Rogers leaving: aide

Rogers is personally close to first lady Michelle Obama and is part of a group of Chicagoans who came to Washington with President Barack Obama.

The official had no further details on Rogers’ departure.

HEALTHCARE

Race to Pin Blame For Health Costs

A battle over who to blame for rising health-care costs is escalating, as groups seek to pin the problem on each other and say none of the health-care legislation under consideration does enough to solve it.

U.S. spending on health care reached $2.5 trillion in 2009, according to federal estimates. It is expected to jump to $4.5 trillion in 10 years.

Obama Shows Testy Side at Health Care Summit

Of all the hats President Obama tried on at Thursday’s seven-and-a-half-hour health care summit, it appeared the one he was most comfortable wearing was that of the prickly professor.

In between playing the roles of moderator and deal-maker, the president took several opportunities to dress down his classroom of Republican critics. Through a series of awkward clashes between him and the Republicans, the summit may have served more to portray Republicans as intransigents intent on stonewalling a bill no matter what, than it served to pave the way for a compromise.

US STOCK MARKET

US HOT STOCKS: CKE Restaurants, AIG, Gap, Athenahealth, DTS

U.S. stocks rose Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 10 points to 10331, the Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 1.5 points to 1104 and the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 3.3 points to 2237. Among the companies whose shares are actively trading are CKE Restaurants Inc. (CKR), American International Group Inc. (AIG) and Gap Inc. (GPS).

Private-equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners has agreed to take private CKE Restaurants (CKR, $11.13, +$2.22, +24.92%) for about $619 million, but the company will have six weeks to find a higher offer. The deal comes as the parent of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast-food chains has struggled, especially with Carl’s Jr. In the four weeks ended Jan. 25, same-store sales at Carl’s Jr. slid 9%. CKE has been averse to the deep discounting that some rivals have been doing to prevent sales declines. Rival restaurant owners Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK, $21.13, +$0.80, +3.94%) and Sonic Corp. (SONC, $8.49, +$0.15, +1.80%) also rose.

COPENHAGEN — A much-anticipated global meeting of nearly 200 nations — all seeking what has so far been elusive common ground on the issue of climate change — got under way here on Monday with an impassioned airing of what leaders here called the political and moral imperatives at hand.

Tightening Fears Send Stock Futures Lower

U.S. stocks rose slightly Monday, as gains in the utilities and health-care sectors were offset by concerns over whether interest-rate increases could come sooner than previously expected.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 8 points, to 10397 in early trading. American Express was one of its best performers, up 1.3% following an upgrade of credit-card companies by analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. However, Bank of America slipped 1.2%, and General Electric fell 1.1%.

How About a Public Option With Private Insurance?

Here’s an angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin question to kick off the week: If the public option offers private insurance, is it still the public option?

To win the favor of few key centrists wary of creating a government-backed insurance plan, Senate Dems may shift from the pure-play public option — a government-run insurance plan — to a plan more like the one used to cover federal employees. The basic idea: Allow people to choose from an array of private non-profit insurance plans, in a system overseen by a government office. To get some idea of how this might work, check out the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

N.Korea fires missiles, declares ‘no sail’ zone

SEOUL, Oct 12 (Reuters) – North Korea has fired five short-range missiles off its east coast and declared a ‘no sail’ zone in the area from Oct. 10-20, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted a government source as saying on Monday.

South Korean government officials were not immediately available for comment.

US Celebrates Columbus Day

Americans are celebrating Columbus Day Monday.

Columbus Day is a federal holiday observed on the second Monday in October, marking the anniversary of arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas.

Lobbyists Out in Full Force as Senate Prepares to Vote on Health Care Bill Tuesday

As the Senate Finance Committee prepares to vote Tuesday on its version of health care legislation, White House officials say they have momentum as the narrative shifts from whether a bill will pass to what it will contain.

But, even as conservative commentators admit that health care overhaul will happen, lobbyists are leading a final push to sidetrack the legislation.

A new report by health industry lobbyists at America’s Health Insurance Plans, prepared by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, concludes that health coverage costs for families would increase by 111 percent in the next 10 years under provisions proposed by the Senate Finance Committee. That means costs would jump, on average, to $25,900 for families by 2019, and to $9,700 for individuals.

US Stocks Slightly Higher As Busy Earnings Week Begins

U.S. stocks were trading slightly higher Monday after last week’s strong gains and as a busy week of earnings gets underway.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by about 3 points. The Dow gained 4% last week, snapping a string of two straight weekly declines, ending trading on Friday at its highest level since Oct. 6, 2008. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 1075.06. The Nasdaq also rose 0.3% to 2147.81.

The dollar, which has been on a long-term slide, was slightly stronger against the euro and the yen. The Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of major currencies, is down 5.9% year-to-date.

Stephen Pope, chief global market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe, said a weaker dollar is “allowing non-dollar based investors to acquire U.S. assets and ‘cheap valuations’ when reflected back into their base currency. The S&P 500 is on a price/earnings basis trading at a discount to the MSCI World Index of 23 developing countries.”

• Stan Liebowitz, PhD., author of Anatomy of A Train Wreck & Director for the Analysis of Property Rights and Settlement
• Richard Bitner, author of Confessions of a Subprime Lender and Associate Publisher for Housing Wire Magazine
• Gerald P. O’Driscoll, Jr., Senior Fellow Cato Institute
• Ira Silver, PhD., Texas Christian University, Neeley School of Business

The 2009 economy is breaking records and not necessarily the ones we’d like it to break. As we navigate the recession, McCuistion and the program panelists discuss the extremity of the problem, the effectiveness of government policies and the future.

We are in what could be described as a post war recession.  People are feeling the crunch of increased debt, and so they are working to get out of debt. This causes a strain on the housing market and other markets that rely on acquired debt in order to stay afloat.

In September 2008 the recession officially became a serious issue.  However, on a percentage basis, the 1982 recession actually resulted in a greater job loss than what the American market has experienced thus far.  And although the stock market has had its failings, the decline may not be  as bad as some may think.   In the United States the market generally goes up each  year  and 2008 was not much different.  In 2009  growth will likely drop 1-1.5% .

Housing is one critical component of the recession, because most housing markets are imbalanced from an inventory perspective.  In order for the market to improve, there  needs to be a general belief that the market has hit rock bottom. However, as public policy  pushes towards foreclosure moratoriums, it will likely be 3-4 years before this happens.

The panelists go on to explain the meltdown of the mortgage industry and what led to the 2009 economy and what it will take to move forward. Citing moral hazards, reckless lending, investing and negative interest rates that caused the boom cycle, they  reassure viewers that pessimists are usually wrong.

Also covered during this television segment are the positive and negative sides of the Fed’s decision to expand the money supply,  changing  interest rates, and each panelist’s predictions of the 2009 economy as well projections for the future state of the economy.

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02.15.09 – 1723