Day: April 10, 2009

President Barack Obama wants Congress to act quickly on his $83.4 billion request for U.S. military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, an appeal that’s disappointing the most liberal, anti-war wing of his party.

But with the president promising to remove all combat troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010, his Democratic allies in control of Congress are sure to pass his request without the type of tortuous battle that characterized their dealings with former President George W. Bush.

The U.S. Treasury Department is asking banks not to mention the regulatory "stress tests" as part of their first-quarter earnings results, according to a source familiar with government discussions.

Many of the top 19 U.S. banks who are undergoing regulatory stress tests have already completed internal versions of the examinations, which are designed to determine their capital needs under more adverse economic conditions.

However, the banks do not yet know the results of the government’s version of the assessment, the source said.

There he was, our president, on TV as usual, urging millions of Americans to refinance their homes by clicking on MakingHomeAffordable.gov. But wait! The first two hits on Google are for commercial sites and have nothing to do with his plan. Its best to go to WhiteHouse.gov to get to the government’s site.

So President Obama has been adding a warning against scams in the home refinancing push, saying that anyone who wants money up front is not legitimate.

Its not easy being our national life-skills coach.