economic crisis

Foreclosures were supposed to pause between Thanksgiving and the new year, but for hundreds of thousands of homeowners, like Julio Angulo of suburban Virginia, they still face losing their homes this month.

The rise of online discounting, layaway programs, the reluctance of stores to haggle and, most important, the economic crisis could make this year’s Black Friday a dismal shopping day. But some analysts say that what has become for many consumers a ritual of the holiday season will keep cash registers busy.

The statements are dribbling in slowly, but the common verdict from members of Congress surrounding the economic team put together by President-elect Barack Obama seems to be one of undying love — from both sides of the aisle.
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the team “has the makings of the [...]

Congressional Democrats haven’t had much luck with efforts to move stimulus legislation this week. Plans to pump billions of dollars into public works projects and state Medicaid programs went precisely nowhere. And a push to provide Detroit’s sputtering automakers with emergency cash never got over the hurdle of GOP opposition.
Party leaders will go into Thanksgiving [...]

It’s the last bit of news that his colleagues want to hear, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday floated the possibility that Congress could remain in Washington into December if efforts to help the ailing auto industry fail this week.
Lawmakers had hoped to tackle the Detroit bailout quickly and be gone by [...]

Congressional Democrats may be pushing for some concessions from the finance industry in return for the billions they’re receiving in taxpayer bailouts, but President George W. Bush has other ideas. From today’s Washington Post:

Democratic congressional leaders are increasingly unhappy with how the $700 billion rescue plan is being implemented. They want banks to make more loans to consumers and businesses, not continue to pay dividends to shareholders. A storm of new regulations may be coming.

Yesterday, it was Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass,), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, blaming mortgage servicers for a failure to modify loans, thereby prolonging the nation’s foreclosure crisis.
Today, it’s Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, accusing lenders of hoarding federal funds, thus prolonging the nation’s credit crisis.

With the economy this bad, people obviously are cutting back on their spending. But they’re also changing their spending patterns, and those choices sometimes provide a clearer picture of the economy than a detailed set of statistics.
First, the gift card. Once a staple of Christmas stockings, the gift card is losing its popularity, mostly because [...]

We wrote recently that Democrats could have a tough time passing their big-ticket priorities next year because some freshman members — many of whom represent moderate districts — will likely join the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition in opposing deficit spending.
Scrap that.