CHICAGO — U.S. roads, airports, schools, levees, dams, and other infrastructure are in overall poor shape and require a $2.2 trillion investment to bring them up to par, an engineering group said on Wednesday. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave infrastructure a grade of ‘D’ as U.S. President Barack Obama seeks $825 billion in extra government spending and tax cuts to ease the economic crisis. Infrastructure earned the same dismal grade in 2005, but the group’s estimated five-year price tag to fix it rose by $600 billion to $2.2 trillion. Earlier this month, the engineers estimated that the president’s stimulus package contained some $90 billion in infrastructure spending. It called that amount a down payment that was long overdue. The group, which represents 146,000 engineers, assesses the nation’s infrastructure every four years. It has helped draw attention to what many experts say is the United States’ haphazard approach to building and repairing the economy’s backbone. ‘Crumbling infrastructure has a direct impact on our personal and economic health, and the nation’s infrastructure crisis is endangering our future prosperity,’ the group’s president, D. Wayne Klotz, said in a statement. ‘Our leaders are looking for solutions […]
US fast-food giant McDonald’s said Monday its 2008 net profit soared 80 percent from a year, lifted by growing demand from consumers seeking low-cost meals in a deepening global recession. Net profit for the full year totaled 4.3 billion dollars, compared with 2.3 billion in 2007, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said in a statement. Excluding exceptional items, earnings per share were 3.76 dollars, widely exceeding consensus market forecasts of 3.63 dollars. The robust annual results came despite a sharp 23 percent decline in fourth-quarter net profit to 985 million dollars, from 1.273 billion in the 2007 fourth quarter. Fourth-quarter earnings per share were 87 cents, above expectations of 83 cents. ‘2008 was a strong year for McDonald’s,’ chief executive Jim Skinner said in the statement. ‘Through our strategic focus on menu choice, food quality and value, the average number of customers served per day increased to more than 58 million in 2008.’ The global fast-food giant said it saw growth in comparable sales and customer counts across all segment for ever quarter, and double-digit growth in operating income for the final quarter and the year. Global comparable sales in 2008 increased 6.9 […]
When U.S. President Barack Obama’s choice for Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, talked tough on China’s exchange rate policy during his confirmation hearing, Wall Street traders got the shivers. Geithner accused the country of currency manipulation, sparking concerns that Chinese authorities might react by scaling back their investments in U.S. Treasurys. The fears, which drove down the price of Treasury debt slightly, are certainly understandable. Last fall, China took over Japan’s position as the largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt. Is the country’s new creditor status transforming China into a major world financial power? Many assume the answer to be yes. The West — and the United States in particular — is borrowing more than ever, leaning on China more and more to foot the bill. President Obama arrives at the White House pushing an $800 billion-plus stimulus package to pump up a flailing economy. Loans for that stimulus package may well increase the $652.9 billion in U.S. Treasuries already held by China as of October 2008. In December’s Atlantic Monthly, Gao Xiqing, who oversees a portion of that debt for China’s government advised the United States to ‘Be nice to the countries that lend you money.’ It is […]
WASHINGTON — House Democrats are likely to jettison family planning funds for the low-income from an $825 billion economic stimulus bill, officials said late Monday, following a personal appeal from President Barack Obama at a time the administration is courting Republican critics of the legislation. Several officials said a final decision was expected on Tuesday, coinciding with Obama’s scheduled visit to the Capitol for separate meetings with House and Senate Republicans. The provision has emerged as a point of contention among Republicans, who criticize it as an example of wasteful spending that would neither create jobs nor otherwise improve the economy. Under the provision, states no longer would be required to obtain federal permission to offer family planning services – including contraceptives – under Medicaid, the health program for the low-income. Democrats considered the politically-potent change as congressional budget experts estimated it would take slightly longer for the overall legislation to achieve an impact on the economy than the administration projects. The Congressional Budget Office said the economy would feel the effects of almost two-thirds of the money over the next year and a half. The administration claims 75 percent of the funding would be […]
President Barack Obama plans to call on the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday to consider allowing states including California to regulate automobile greenhouse-gas emissions, said people familiar with the administration’s thinking. The move will signal a major policy break from his predecessor on an issue that has divided key Democratic Party constituencies. Mr. Obama’s announcement is almost certain to spark a war between two key Democratic constituencies: environmentalists and state officials who want power to set greenhouse-gas rules, and auto makers and unions who say such rules would exacerbate the industry’s woes following the worst year of U.S. vehicle sales in more than a decade. Mr. Obama also plans to direct the Department of Transportation to complete automobile fuel-economy standards by March so that they can take effect for the model year 2011. Mr. Bush’s administration had pledged to take such a step before the end of his term but ultimately punted the issue to Mr. Obama. Mr. Obama’s plans were described to The Wall Street Journal by three people familiar with the administration’s thinking, including one administration official. Mr. Obama was expected to outline his plans in directives to the agencies to be released at a […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
