High unemployment in US sets foreclosures record

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162341.html

As unemployment lines grew to staggering lengths in the US, so grew the number of foreclosure signs peppering the lawns of American homes throughout the country.

Foreclosures reached record high numbers in 2010. Realty Trac, says high unemployment drove up foreclosures 72 %in more than 200 major metropolitan areas.

The US housing crisis is far from over. Many of the leading metropolitan areas not hit as hard by the initial waves of foreclosure are being pounded now.

Las Vegas posted the nation's highest metropolitan foreclosure rate.

One out of every nine homes is in foreclosure.

Nationwide, it is 1 in 45 homes. In all, nearly 3 million U.S. homes are being taken back by mortgage lenders.

Americans living in Idaho, Colorado and Atlanta are now experiencing a surge in foreclosures. The Atlanta region posted a 21 % jump in filings last year. Dave Kuhn has been selling real estate near Atlanta for 24 years.

Despite some dips in hard-hit areas, foreclosure levels remain five to 10 times higher than in normal times. And U.S. foreclosures have not yet peaked. Last fall, major mortgage servicers, including Bank of America, delayed foreclosure activity following revelations that foreclosure documents may have been improperly prepared.

Meanwhile, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose sharply last week. Applications surged to 454,000, the highest level since late October, according to the Labor Department.

9.4 million people are receiving unemployment benefits. On YouTube, President Obama answered questions about the economy. The Great Recession has been brutal. And at least for now and for millions, the American Dream to have a steady job and own a home has been put on hold.

US budget deficit to hit historic high

A financial professional looks up at a screen on floor of the New York Stock Exchange

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162163.html

The US budget deficit will hit a record-breaking 1.5 trillion this year due in part to a recent tax cut deal, the Congressional Budget Office says.

The daunting numbers released on Wednesday mean that the US government will have to borrow 40 cents for every dollar it spends, according to the AFP.

The analysis predicted that joblessness in the country will remain above nine percent this year. The nonpartisan agency also estimated a nationwide unemployment rate of 8.2 percent on Election Day in 2012.

The deficit is on track to beat the record of $1.4 trillion set in 2009.

"The fiscal challenge confronting us is enormous. We can't continue to put this off. We need to reach an agreement this year," said Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad.

"We need to have both sides, Democrats and Republicans, willing to move off their fixed positions and find common ground," he stressed.

The chilling figures come the morning after US President Barack Obama called for a five-year freeze on domestic agency budgets passed by Congress each year.

Those nondefense programs make up just 18 percent of the budget, which means any upcoming deficit reduction package will require politically dangerous curbs to popular benefit programs, including social security, the Medicare social insurance program for senior citizens, the Medicaid health care program for the poor and disabled, and food stamps.

Neither Obama nor his Republican rivals in Congress have yet come forward with any specific proposals for cutting benefit programs.

US economy losing to rising powers

US President Barack addresses a Joint Session of Congress while delivering his State of the Union speech

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162006.html

Painting a grim picture of the financial trials in the US, President Barack Obama has called on authorities to gear up in order to meet challenges from rising economies.

In his State of the Union address before Congress on Tuesday, Obama said America is at the risk of losing out to rapidly developing economies, such as China and India, in the global market.

Listing areas where the United States had fallen behind the rest of the world, the US president said Americans had lost to South Korea in internet penetration, to Europe in infrastructure and to China in trains and airports.

He then called for a return to the American traditions of innovation and risk-taking to keep up with the rising powers from the East.

We need to “out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world,” the US president pointed out.

Obama also spoke of investments in education and research as the way to provide a more sound economic base and accelerate employment and development in the country.

“Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school degree. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren't even finishing high school,” the US president warned.

But finding the money for programs to create a competitive economy is the problem.

That is why during his nationally televised speech, Obama urged rival politicians in the Republican and the Democratic camps to ditch partisanship for a unified push for a better future.

"We will move forward together," he said, "or not at all."

In other comments, Obama also urged US colleges to allow military recruiters and officer training programs back on campuses.

The president also proposed a three-year partial freeze on civilian programs and a $78 billion cut in military spending.

On the war in Afghanistan, he said that a tough fight is ahead, but repeated his plans to bring some US troops back home in July.

However, he pledged to continue attacks on what he called 'al-Qaeda' in Pakistan.