Congress
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Robert Reich, former U.S. Labor Secretary; Rana Foroohar, Time Magazine; Jim Pethokoukis, American Enterprise Institute; and Matt Swift, Legacy Management Group CEO, debate whether President Obama's budget proposal will include enough entitlement cuts when he sends it to Congress next week.
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As the Democrats cement their control of the Legislative branch, their actions in the first 100 hours in power are being scrutinized by business watchers. Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation, told “Power Lunch” that he believes the Democrats are using taxation for political gain – and not “good policy” that will drive American prosperity.
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Stocks in the U.S. look set for a weaker opening, influenced by touchy tech stocks, earnings, and the big decline in oil. Dow components GE and Citigroup both reported earnings early today. GE's 12 percent increase was in line with expectations and Citigroup's lower profits were a bit better than Wall Street expected. Citigroup also raised its dividend by 10 percent.
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At this hour, as crude oil futures are trading below $50 per barrel for the first time since May 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives is voting on a controversial bill that targets the oil industry with higher taxes, fees and royalties. The bill is expected to pass the House with ease. “Power Lunch” covered all the bases of the proposed legislation...
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This afternoon--Congress is mulling over how to proceed, after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the U.S. economy could be gravely hurt if Social Security and Medicare aren’t revamped. In his testimony before the Senate Budget Committee, Bernanke also said that economic growth alone is unlikely to solve the nation's impending fiscal problems.
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House and Senate Democrats are certainly trying to shake things up on Capitol Hill. Both chambers are expected to push an energy package through for some $15 billion in fees, taxes and royalties on big oil (we'll have another post on this subject). But--they're doing a lot more says CNBC's John Harwood on "Power Lunch."
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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned the U.S. Congress that failure to take action soon to deal with the budgetary strains posed by an aging U.S. population could lead to serious economic harm.
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The new Democratically controlled U.S. Congress is in the middle of its 100-hour agenda, and one hot item up for legislation today is a proposal to cut student loan interest rates in half – to 3.4%. The proposal is likely to pass easily but some critics say the plan does nothing to make college more affordable to low and middle-income students.
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Big oil. It's a big issue for Democrats on Capitol Hill and one of their announced targets for reform. Today-they're taking up the issue in the House. They're "after" oil they say because of record company profits and high gas pump prices. What are they proposing to do? They want to raise $12.7 billion for research in alternative energy sources.
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President Bush addresses the nation tonight at 9 pm to explain his new plan for Iraq, which includes a surge in the number of Americans on the ground. Key Democrats including Ted Kennedy fiercely oppose the Bush plan and are threatening action. On today’s "Power Lunch" CNBC’s Bill Griffeth examined whether this is the end of bi-partisan cooperation we’ve been hearing so much about – and if a huge power clash between the Democrats and the GOP is about to get underway.
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While on Capitol Hill the new Congress begins to take on the pharmaceuticals industry, the healthcare investment community is holding its annual confab in the hills of San Francisco--House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home district. I'm at the 25th Annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square. The four-day event is just getting started, but the halls are...
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Leaders in the new Democratic Congress are kicking off their new session with their so-called “100-Hour Agenda.” In a “First on CNBC” interview, incoming House Majority Leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer discussed these initiatives and what's ahead.
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President Bush outlined his agenda for the remaining two years of his presidency today. He did so at the White House Rose Garden with his cabinet standing behind him. But his words were only a brief synopsis of a much larger outline written by the President in today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription needed). For perspective we talked with CNBC Chief Washington Correspondent John Harwood and The Wall Street Journal's Assistant Managing Editor, Alan Murray.
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The 110th session of the U.S. Congress opens in less that one week--and the Democrats are back in power in both the house and senate. One of their stated goals is making health care more affordable for Americans. But is that good news or bad news for HMOs? And either way--which healthcare stocks should investors look at?
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Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota was taken ill and sent to a Washington hospital, a development that could conceivably impact the balance of power in the Senate.
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The House of Representatives has approved legislation that extends popular tax breaks, opens the Gulf of Mexico to new oil and gas drilling and cancels a scheduled pay cut for doctors who treat the elderly under Medicare.