NBC anchor says request for positive stories has hit ‘incredible nerve’
NEW YORK - Between the drumbeat of bad economic stories, two wars and a winter that won't quit, NBC's Brian Williams knows he's been anchoring a depressing "Nightly News" for a depressed audience.
Still, even he was shocked at the thousands of responses he has received in less than two days after asking viewers to suggest some good news to report.
Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect
Barack Obama is likely to back a bank-rescue effort that combines fresh capital injections with steps to deal with toxic assets clogging lenders’ balance sheets, according to people familiar with the matter.
Obama’s economic team will use another portion of the $350 billion remaining from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. It may also assist cash-strapped cities and states that are having trouble selling bonds, the people said.
This week’s sell-off in financial stocks and the continuing decline of the U.S. economy put pressure on Treasury Secretary- designate
Timothy Geithner and Obama’s economics chief
Lawrence Summers to unveil a comprehensive program. Without a radical new effort, soaring credit losses could prolong and deepen a
recession that is now more than a year old.
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Though 2008 was wrought with layoffs and economic struggles, the New Year means rejuvenated hope for job seekers.
While several companies continue to make mass layoffs, other companies are shifting their focus to hire aggressively in the beginning of 2009.
"This is a difficult economy, no doubt," says Andrea Hough, vice president of talent acquisition for ServiceMaster, a lawn care and landscape maintenance company. "However, I would caution job seekers to be thoughtful about whom they are going to work for and not act out of desperation. There are some very strong companies with solid ethics in need of employees eager to be a part of a thriving organization."
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Some companies are promising not to lay off any workers, even during times of financial hardship.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In the midst of a recession, job cut announcements have become a daily occurrence. But some employers have promised no pink slips, and are sticking to it.
So far this week around 40,000
job cuts have been announced by an array of companies as varied as Dow Chemical, Electronic Arts, the National Football League and Sony Corp.
But even as the number of unemployed grows, some companies say their workers have nothing to fear.
"I have never in my 13 years [at the company] felt that my job is in jeopardy due to the economy," said Jill Kronman, a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines (
LUV,
Fortune 500).That's because Southwest is committed to avoiding layoffs at all costs - and they're not alone.
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New York (CNN) -- Saying that moving quickly is imperative, President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday offered an outline of his economic recovery plan to create 2.5 million jobs by 2011, saying American workers will rebuild the nation's roads and bridges, modernize its schools and create more sources of alternative energy.
"These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis," Obama said in the weekly Democratic address, posted on his Web site. "These are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long."
Details of the plan are still being worked out by his economic team, Obama said, but he hopes to sign the two-year, nationwide plan shortly after taking office January 20.
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Americans are eating out less,
driving down restaurant profits around the country.
But some eateries are doing better.
The first is McDonald’s, where profits grew 11 percent last quarter. A recession would seem to be good news for inexpensive food.
The second is a plucky, five-year-old community kitchen in Salt Lake City called the One World Cafe. Thanks in part to its pay-as-you-wish pricing policy, One World has seen its traffic grow by 15 percent this quarter.
Prices aren’t the only negotiable thing at One World. There’s no set menu, and diners choose whatever size portion they’d like. The restaurant also lets customers work off the cost of their meal by volunteering.
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By Jim Christie
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Democrats who control the state Assembly said on Tuesday they would push for a 120-day moratorium on foreclosures after mortgage default notices have been filed, compared with a 90-day stay proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The rival plans will be debated during special session of the state legislature that Schwarzenegger called last week to tackle a state budget shortfall that has widened to more than $11 billion because revenues have plunged amid recent financial market turmoil and the state's housing slump.
Some areas of California, the most populous U.S. state, are among the hardest hit in the nation by foreclosures stemming from risky mortgages such as subprime loans taken on during the state's booming homes market earlier this decade.
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A new program aimed at homeowners who haven't defaulted yet could help 130,000 mortgage borrowers stay in their homes.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Citigroup says it will expand its foreclosure prevention efforts and try to keep 130,000 troubled borrowers with $20 billion in mortgages in their homes.
The news follows similar initiatives announced earlier this year by IndyMac Bank, which was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last summer, as well as Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) each of which heralded enhanced housing rescue efforts.
Banks are undoubtedly feeling pressured to be more aggressive in aiding home owners, given how many billions of taxpayer dollars have poured into the industry to stem the credit crisis.
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(CNN) -- For Liz McCartney, selection as one of the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2008 could not have come at a better time.
Anderson Cooper will host "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," to air on Thanksgiving at 9 p.m. ET.
"With the recent storms in Texas and southwest Louisiana, we have experienced a sudden drop in volunteers," said McCartney, whose St. Bernard Project helps Hurricane Katrina survivors rebuild their homes just outside New Orleans, Louisiana.
"While other areas need help, this recognition is letting the American people know that the New Orleans area still matters," McCartney said.
The diverse group of honorees includes a Cambodian activist who offers free schooling to children who work in Phnom Penh's trash dump; a Georgia prosthetist-orthotist who provides limbs and braces to hundreds of people in Mexico; and a Virginia woman who tapes video messages from incarcerated parents for their children.
CNN's Anderson Cooper announced the 10 honorees Thursday on "American Morning."
Read the story and watch the video here
(CNN) -- Tracy Orr sat in the back of the room and prepared to watch her foreclosed home go up for auction this past Saturday. That's when a pesky stranger sat down beside her and struck up a conversation.
Tracy Orr faced losing her home to foreclosure when Marilyn Mock, a stranger, stepped in to buy it.
"Are you here to buy a house?" Marilyn Mock said. Orr couldn't hold it in. The tears flowed. She pointed to the auction brochure at a home that didn't have a picture. "That's my house," she said.
Within moments, the four-bedroom, two-bath home in Pottsboro, Texas, went up for sale. People up front began casting their bids. The home that Orr purchased in September 2004 was slipping away.
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