By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
A private survey shows U.S. companies added just 119,000 jobs in April, the fewest in seven months.
Fitch Ratings agency downgraded Britain's rating on Friday from triple-A to AA+, a recognition of the nation's weak economic future and growing debt.
Britain on Friday became the latest major developed country to lose its top AAA credit rating, following a downgrade issued by Fitch, a London-based ratings agency.
Surging stock prices and steady home-price increases finally have allowed Americans to regain the $16 trillion in wealth they lost to the Great Recession. The gains are helping support the economy and could lead to further spending and growth.
Moody's decision last week to downgrade Great Britain's credit rating surprised no one, including the markets, which largely shrugged the news off. The credit-rating agency arrived late to the party, just as it did in the United States and in several of the eurozone's distressed countries.
While lawmakers in Washington braced for disaster, the nation's big three credit rating agencies yawned at the sequester cuts set to kick in Friday, saying the trims won't hurt the credit-worthiness of the federal government as long as Congress doesn't stop there.
A top U.K. official has answered a Moody's downgrade of its AAA credit rating with a vow to double down on efforts to tackle debt.
Mesfin Fekadu's picks:
Mesfin Fekadu's picks:
General Motors is boosting its cash with $11 billion in new credit lines, a move that could mean the automaker is preparing to buy back its shares from the federal government dating back to the 2009 bailout.
Wall Street stock markets and Atlantic City casinos shut down, hundreds of flights were canceled, and numerous companies postponed earnings announcements. The short-term economic impacts of Hurricane Sandy were already evident by Monday evening, but the ultimate bill for the struggling nation's economy could take a while to add up.
Sprint dug a hole for itself when it bought Nextel in 2005 in one of the worst deals in telecom history. Now, a deep-pocketed friend from overseas could help the company climb out of its hole and reinvigorate its fight against AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
At first glance, it looked as if the elections might be a slam-dunk for Republicans this year, given the way presidents in recent history have fared in the face of poorly performing economies. But as the GOP is finding out, today's economy is a double-edged sword that is cutting both for and against President Obama.
Stocks fell on Friday after news that U.S. consumers spent more last month only because higher gas prices forced them to.
Presidential candidates of both parties like to score points with voters by promising to get tough with China, but recent evidence suggests that currency reforms quietly adopted by the Asian giant since 2005 have come close to eliminating the biggest trade distortion and bone of contention between the two countries.
