When Bad Luck Blackie takes his Friday constitutional through the news wires, the crap in his wake tends to be a little more foul than usual.
Bad Luck Blackie: A kitten enlists the aid of a black cat who causes things like flower pots, safes, and battleships to fall on a bulldog that is tormenting him. [(1/22/49) dir Tex Avery] (Click here for full-size picture.)
U.S. Army slips further behind recruiting goals, 1 hour, 12 minutes ago [at 6:20 PM ET 06/10/05)
Greenspan, regulators raise volume of housing alarm, Fri Jun 10, 2005 04:36 PM ET
Bonds Fall on Fed’s Bullish Assessment, 51 minutes ago (7:40 PM ET 06/10/05)
Trade Deficit Swells As Oil Imports Climb, 1 hour, 59 minutes ago (as of 7:25 pm ET 06/10/05)
Fire in the hold …
The low=lights:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Army has slipped further behind its recruiting goals amid the Iraq war, figures released on Friday showed … The Army hopes to raise the maximum cash bonus for new recruits … and begin a pilot program to give up to $50,000 in home-mortgage assistance to people who volunteer for eight yearsof active-duty service … The new proposals would need congressional approval … The Army, which provides most of the U.S. ground troops in Iraq, had missed its fourth consecutive monthly recruiting goal in May, officials said earlier in the week. The Pentagon had delayed release of the detailed recruiting figures by more than a week for what it called extra scrutiny.
WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan this week added to a chorus of worry about the growth of home loans seen as far riskier than the 30-year mortgage that has been U.S. housing’s bedrock for decades.
NEW YORK – Bond prices fell Friday as the Federal Reserve chairman’s bullish assessment of the economy a day earlier raised expectations for further interest-rate increases. Stocks drifted to a mixed finish. The price of the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 23/32 point, or $7.19 per $1,000 in face value. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, rose to 4.05 percent, from 3.95 percent late Thursday.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. trade deficit rose to $56.96 billion in April as a big jump in exports was swamped by record foreign oil prices and heavy American demand for imports. The Commerce Department reported Friday that both exports and imports climbed to record levels. … The Bush administration insists that the soaring trade deficits reflect a faster-growing U.S. economy … However, critics contend that the deficits are the result of failed administration free trade policies [which] have produced a string of record deficits and the loss of more than 3 million manufacturing jobs over the past five years. … Those attacks are coming at a time when the administration is struggling to round up enough votes in Congress to pass its latest free trade deal, the Central American Free Trade Agreement with six Latin American countries.
Crossposted at the Daily KOS