The Federal National Mortgage Association, more commonly known as Fannie Mae, announced on Tuesday that it would require a further $7.8 billion in federal aid from the US Treasury Department in order to stay afloat, after reporting third-quarter losses of up to $5.1 billion.
It costs the state of New Jersey more money to incarcerate just one inmate in prison for a year than to fund one Princeton’s student tuition fees during the same period in college. Across the US, there has been a disturbing rising trend whereby more and more money is being spent on the prison system as compared to education spending. The US also has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly 25 percent of the world’s prisoners being found in the country.
The United States will lose its top AAA credit rating status from another major credit rating agency by the end of this year if Congress fails to agree upon a credible long-term plan that addresses the US deficit problem, forecasted Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists in a research note published on Friday.
Poverty rates continue to rise in the United States, with the Southern States most badly affected. According to the United States Census Bureau, the number of people living in poverty increased from 42.9 million in 2009 to 46.2 million during the same period in 2010.
At least 32 states experienced an increase in the number and percentage of people in poverty between 2009 and 2010, with 20 states experiencing a second consecutive annual increase.
The Obama administration has ordered federal agencies to do a complete expense review for conferences after an internal audit by the US Justice Department discovered “extravagant and wasteful” spending by the agency in 2009.
According to a report done by its own Office of Inspector General on Tuesday, the Justice Department spent $121 million on conferences from 2008-2009, exceeding its own spending limits.
New York City police may continue to restrict access to Wall Street for a third consecutive day, requiring workers and residents to present their identification after protestors staged a peaceful weekend demonstration at New York’s financial district.
The events of September 11 2001 forever altered the course of human history. Till today, Americans continue to bear the bulk of the cost for the tragedy – both economically and socially. However in the aftermath of 9/11, it has been disheartening to note that a large portion of the cost could have been avoided.
The US isn’t defaulting, but the stock market has not cheered anyway. US stocks fell hard Tuesday, marking their longest losing streak since the heart of the 2008 credit crisis, on investor worries about upcoming federal spending cuts and a likely stall in the recovery. The eight-day losing stretch was the longest since weeks after the collapse of Lehman Bros. and, by some measures, the peak of the US credit crisis.
US President Barack Obama announced a last minute deal between Republican and Democratic leaders to reduce the US deficit and avoid a default, but warned that measures might not be sufficient to prevent a credit rating downgrade.
According to a report by the BBC, Obama said the deal would cut $1 trillion of spending over the next 10 years, and a committee would be set up to report by November a proposal to further reduce the deficit.
The US government’s snapshot of the labour market showed only 54,000 jobs were created in May. The lowest since September. Employers are spooked by a volatile economy and are hitting the brakes on hiring.
