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Demonstrations by public workers in Madison, Wisconsin. Public workers are protesting cuts in benefits by Republican governor, Scott Walker. Governor Walker is proposing legislation that will require public workers to pay more for health insurance and pensions, resulting in a reduction in take home pay of about 7%. He is also proposing changes that limit bargaining to basic wages, excluding benefits from bargaining. Wisconsin faces a deficit gap of $3.6 billion for the next 2 years.

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Job cuts of upto 12,000 planned at Barclays in 2014 as part of restructuring effort. Barclays showed a net loss of 642 billion pounds for the 4th quarter of 2013. Underlying proft for 2013 declined to 5.17 billion pounds with 1.2 billion pounds in restructuring costs.

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A smaller and radically reshaped BBC to emerge after budget cuts.

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For the 1st quarter 2009, finance industry spent $104.7 million to lobby Congress and the administration, down 8% from the prior year, according to WSJ analysis of data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics. The health-care industry spent $127.1 million for lbbying, up by 12%. Lobbying can affect legislation in ways that can be for either good or bad in the public interest. Since 1990 the financial industry has spent $2.2 billion in political contributions to lawmakers, more than any other industry tracked by the Center for Responsive Poltics. Since 1998, the earliest available data, the finance industry has also been the highest spender on lobbying activities , with spending on lobbying lawmakers at $3.6 billion. Its significant that the financial industry landscape has been changed, the higher risktaking by banks enabled, and the reduced regulatory activity environment advanced by heavy lobbying. The banking industry lobbied for the 1999 repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, a1933 law that kept banks out of the securities business. That effort led by Citicorp, J.P. Morgan,Bankers Trust took 20 years, many tries and more than $300 million in lobbying funds according to the WSJ. The Mortgage Bankers Association with a 10 story headquarters in Washington D.C. has 114 staffers, and SIFMA the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has 120 staffers and 14 people in its lobbying group. As a sign of how all this lobbying is viewed across the country, Rep, Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committtee, frankly told Mr. Courson, the President of the Mortgage Bankers Association, "everybody hates you, and now they're starting to hate me for hanging out with you," a remark Courson recited at a meeting....

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The costs of fraud in medical care from spurious Medicare claims to kickbacks for unecessary services is estimated at $125 to 175 billion. Costs of unnecessary care from overuse to unnecessary lab tests are between $250-325 billion. The amount wasted for on treatment for preventable conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. is $25-50 billion. This number is much higher when all the complications from obesity are figured in. These amounts alone add up to $500 billion. Add to it the problems and the costs of medical errors leading to bad drug reactions or other misdiagnosed procedures which cost an estimated $75-100 billion and the the total is upto $600 billion. These amounts are not going to be tackled by computerization of medical records. The whole manner and ways in which medicine is practiced today and the manner in which the public takes care of its health would have to change for an impact to be made in these numbers.

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A report of the Transportation Department shows that over the past 8 months Americans have reduced their driving by more than 40 billion miles. Higer gasoline prices led to Americans driving less. In April 2008 Americans drove 1.8% less miles than the year earlier April, and in May this increased to 3.7% fewer miles than a year earlier. And this trend is not going to change or go back as as happened previously. So its a permanent feature of the new landscape according to experts. Everythng the kinds of cars people drive (smaller and fuel efficient), where people live (closer to work, and in closer proximity), the way they drive (less and use bicycles and small Smart vehicles also), and the way they use alternative transport ( frequent use of mass transit and better quality of mass transit with new investment), all tis is about to change permanently. The way the USA funds road and bridge repair and maintenance and new road and bridge construction is through gasoline taxes at the federal level (18.4 cents a gallon) and state taxes. With reduced driving there is less money available to fund these road projects. But this happens at a bad time because existing road and bridge infrastructure is crumbling. About 25% of the country's bridges are in bad shape or obsolete or structurally deficient and one in seven miles of roads are in bad shape according to the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, and most people can see this when they drive around intheir cities. And big increases in the cost of asphalt and other construction materials are only compounding the problem. The Commission says it will cost $225 billion a year to tackle national transportation infrastructure needs. Worse still only 40% of this is getting funded. So a huge gap in funding looms and Congress is being pushed to come up with funding solutions as states struggle to deal with the problem....

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After OPEC says in a joint decision that it will stick to strictly followin quotas set earlier this year which would mean a modest drop in production, Saudi officials spread the word that they will continue to pump out as much oil as the world needs. So what is the end result? The Saudis are saying they went along yet they will continue to pump oil like before. Part of the reason is the Saudi belief in their own argument that with high prices the world economy would be further affected resuklting in a possible collapse of demand and of prices something it seeks to avoid and is in everybody's interest. This makes sense if one looks at the deep financial crisis facing the US and which has ripples around the world, most recently in financial mmarkets the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie and the possible collapse or sale of Lehman Brothers. And as U.S. elections are up in a few weeks the Saudis do not want to anything that can be interpreted one way or the other, and also a wait and see attitude because a lot of information about the US and world economy is not yet in....

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UK will spend $3 billion more through NHS payment to pharma companies in UK to get the US to cut its pharma tariffs on UK to zero for 3 years. This agreement with UK helps to protect $11 billion in UK pharma exports to the US. For the US it addresses it's complaint that Americans pay more for the same drugs because in Europe the pharma customers pay less, and has called for a correction.

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The title is misleading as it does not day that the the drop in the trade deficit is largely because of the steep climb in the trade deficit in March so that the April numbers decline was made that much larger. Importers tried to beat the DJT tariffs by importing ahead of the tariffs date. For the trade deficit to truly turn around Make in the USA has to go into effect over the next 5 years reducing imports and rebuilding American manufacturing, and the tariffs should be seen in that context as a way to do this. Tariffs only reduce the overconcentration of manufacturing in one country which poses serious risks as well as leaves American workers at the mercy of other countries.Imports were still $351 billion in April and the deficit at $62 billion.

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Strident tone of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defending tariffs, the economy, and affordability. Bessent defends the DJT administration's tariffs plan, its effort to bring back jobs, its policies on gas prices that have cut inflation, and the president's Big Bold Beautiful Bill with it's provisions for Businesses to expand investment in the economy using a rapid depreciation provision. He has called the critics as having "Trump Derangement Syndrome." Part of this is based on his economic experience and understanding of how tariffs can be used to level the playing field where the EU, Japan, China, Mexico and other countries have taken advantage of trade policy for their own gains to the detriment of the US and communities in the Nation that lose jobs and factories. One of the assets to the current administration of DJT is Bessent's grasp of financial markets, his extensive experience in the field as a business person. He was able to convince the president to withdraw tariffs or mitigate tariffs to adjust for the effects on financial markets in the US and worldwide.  ...

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Chris Klomp, 45 years, takes over at 65,000 person $2.6 trillion government agency, Department of Health and Human Services, as Counselor, as Robert Kennedy Jr. heads for the campaign trail in addition to HHS duties March 12 2026. He impressed DJT with his negotiating ability against the drug companies in the government's efforts on Affordability of medicines. DJT calls him "my favorite Mormon." Susie Wiles was looking for a stabilizing force at HHS after vaccine controversies and wants the message to focus on improving health and cutting costs. Robert Kennedy Jr says about Klomp- "He is moving quickly to impose operational discipline, sharpen our strategic direction, and fortify a renewed sense of mission and accountability.” Klomp is pulling together all the agencies under HHS including FDA and others. Klomp takes his role seriously to cut costs and improve Health- .“In health care in particular, I do believe that I’m my brother’s keeper, and our job is to do the very best that we can for the people that we serve — the American people.” ...

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The Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Deputy Chair, Nanette Baragan, Adriano Espaillat ,say "we stand with president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris." There are 43 members in that group. Biden also had a good conversation Monday night with 60 members of the CBC Congressional Black Caucus. The CBC offered full support to Biden and Harris and the CBC called for efforts to invest in housing and invest in the Black Community. Every member of CBC praised Biden. Senator Patty Murray, president pro tempore of the Senate, asked Biden to be more forceful and energetic- "There is such a case to be prosecuted against Trump, president Biden has to lead the charge making that case." She also praised Biden for leading a "historic" first term.

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Delicate labor relations cause nervousness at Moodys and the rating is lowered for GM in Feb 2006, for a second time.