Financial crises

Holiday travelers waited a little longer to book their flights this year, likely holding out for better deals and waiting to see if they would still have a job. Travelocity reports that the average advance purchase fell to 55 days for Thanksgiving travel this year. That's 2.6 days later than last year's average.  

U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg, is an early cosponsor of legislation that would end the Troubled Asset Relief Program, more commonly known as the Wall Street bailout, on Dec. 31 and deny any extension of the program by the Treasury Department. "President Bush proposed the TARP program to help steady our banking system through a time of uncertainty and stress not seen in our economy since the Great Depression," Shuster said in a release. "The program was designed to be limited but like so many g

President Bush proposed the TARP program to help steady our banking system through a time of uncertainty and stress not seen in our economy since the Great Depression   -Bill Shuster

 

Investors can't shake their fears that the economy isn't keeping up with the stock market. Stocks fell for a third straight day Friday as a disappointing outlook from computer maker Dell Inc. suggested that an economic recovery could be uneven. The major indexes all had moderate losses, leaving the Dow Jones industrials with a slim 0.5 percent weekly gain while broader indexes slid.

Investors seem to need a constant reassurance with where we are in the economic recovery   -Brett D'Arcy

 

--The stock market ended a down week with light selling as investors grew uneasy about a rising dollar and spiking demand for the safest government debt. After two strong weeks, investors tried unsuccessfully to extend the market's rally after major stock indexes closed at 13-month highs on Tuesday. Disappointing reports on housing and worries about flagging demand at technology companies sapped strength from the market's eight-month rally.

Investors seem to need a constant reassurance with where we are in the economic recovery   -Brett D'Arcy

 

I was having lunch recently with a client. Through three years we've weathered several imminent threats to her company due to potentially explosive crisis situations. But none had materialized into a full-scale crisis.  

Perhaps the best way to view President Barack Obama's lengthy trip to Asia is to see it as something of a get-acquainted exercise in a part of the world where the United States still has perceived interests and a substantial military presence of dubious value to the United States. If it turns out to be a prelude to acknowledgment of stubborn realities that leads to changes in policies, that might be encouraging. If not, it will look more like an opportunity for the president to give speeches and not much  

The trio called themselves the "3 Hebrew Boys" after the biblical tale of three men who were thrown into an inferno after refusing to bow to a statue, but emerged unscathed because of their faith. The three preyed on debt-plagued investors to ensnare them in a Ponzi scheme - "robbing Peter to pay Paul," Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Moore has said. The men called their scheme a ministry, telling people their mailed-in investments would earn fantastic rewards that would pay off their mortgages, car loans  

As the holidays approach, Reid said, those without jobs feel an even greater sense of urgency to find work. "People get a little more testy," she said. "We just have to soothe them and try to solve as many problems as we can during what little time we have."

Given the kind of times we're in, I wouldn't call that really unexpected   -Sam McClary

 

Facing threats the city will run out of cash by January, the City Council on Friday signed on to the sale of $250 million in bonds to pay down a $300 million deficit. The council voted 6-2 to approve the plan from Mayor Dave Bing, which will give officials breathing room to develop long-term fixes to the city's budget mess. Bing has warned the deficit could balloon to $700 million if leaders took no action.

We have an obligation today just to keep the lights on   -Councilwoman Barbara Rose Collins