News
FOX News | US consumer borrowing up $10.4 billion in July, but Americans cut back again on credit cards
Americans cut back on using their credit cards in July for the second straight month, while taking on more debt to buy cars and attend school.
Bloomberg | Boehner Seeks to Force Senate to Take Health Care Vote
House Republican leaders said they will try to force the Democratic-led Senate to vote on defunding President Barack Obama’s health-care law before the House will agree to enact a stopgap government-funding measure.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Fortune | Government banks $15 billion on Citigroup bailout
On Monday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said it was selling $2.4 billion in Citi bonds. The bank debt is the last remaining piece of Citi (C) that is owned by any government agency tied to the bailout of the firm in the wake of the financial crisis five years ago. The FDIC got the bonds in return for insurance it provided Citi in late 2008 against losses on $301 billion worth of toxic investments.
Washington Times | The other approaching war
Congressional insiders were surprised when the Treasury Department announced that the federal borrowing limit would be reached in mid-October. They had previously thought that they had at least until November, and probably until December, to air out their many arguments before finding a workable compromise.
Mercatus | The Budgetary Impact of Recent US Wars
Wars are always more expensive than officials and lawmakers promise. It is important to ask what any intervention by the United States in Syria would cost and how the bills would be paid.
Blogs
Roll Call | Can Republicans and Democrats Avoid a Shutdown?
Top Republicans and Democrats are hoping to find a way out of a shutdown showdown this month, with the likeliest scenario a short-term bill that funds the government at this year’s levels and leaves Obamacare unscathed.
