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WASHINGTON — On Dec. 31, just hours before a New Year's Eve celebration, President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Section 1245 of the law contains language providing authority to impose economic sanctions on Iran in order to deter the ayatollahs from acquiring nuclear weapons. White House efforts to have the sanctions provision stripped from the bill failed, and the measure became law with a quiet flourish of the presidential pen. Ever since, Washington and Tehran have been waging a war of words. None of this works to the advantage of the American...

LINCOLN — Californian Therese Ebert dreamed of being a modern-day homesteader, pulling up stakes from her rented room in Poway, Calif., to build a home of her own in Beatrice, Neb. Chasing the promise of free land, she packed her two dogs and her belongings into the back of an SUV and set off for Nebraska. She had signed up last January for a free lot in Beatrice on condition that she build a home on the property within five years. "Everything I owned was with me," Ebert said. "The car was packed, I wasn't looking back." But, alas, homesteading...

That's certainly how it sounded, in a CNBC World interview I just watched. Let's roll out a "windfall profit" tax on any and all Buffett outsourcing, formerly made by any eliminated American employees of his. We can call it the "Buffett Tariff"!

Lay offs were announced today at my place of business. It's a small company. 10 were given the pink slip. I know it's an unusual request...but join me in saying a little something to the BIG boss man up high for these people. Thanks.

WASHINGTON -- New jobless claims fell last week for the third time in four weeks but remain elevated. The Labor Department says first-time claims for unemployment insurance dropped by 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 457,000. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a smaller drop. Claims have fluctuated this month due to temporary seasonal factors. General Motors and other manufacturers skipped their traditional summer shutdowns, which led to fewer layoffs and unemployment claims. But the impact of that distortion has largely faded from the data, a Labor Department analyst said. The four-week average of claims, which smooths fluctuations, dropped to...

ya know, if I had a job, I wouldn't need to do this...

Consumer confidence rises in May Consumer confidence rises for third straight month to 63.3 in May as job worries ease NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans' confidence in the economy rose in May for the third straight month, fueled by growing optimism about future job prospects. Still, many worry improvements in shoppers' mood and spending may be reversed because of sharp declines on Wall Street fueled by fears that a debt crisis in Europe could hammer global growth. Already, there are signs pointing to a weakening business at stores in May after a solid spring season.

Congressional Democrats reached an agreement Monday with the White House and possibly the Pentagon on a key legislative step toward repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars openly gay soldiers from the military. In a letter to President Obama obtained by CNN, three congressional sponsors of legislation to repeal the policy outlined the proposed agreement that would set contingencies based on completion of a military review of the matter already under way and subsequent final approval from the president and military leaders. Specifically, the proposed agreement calls for repeal to become final only after completion of the military...

Majority Leader Harry Reid is pressing to extend unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies for the jobless through December as he and Republicans try to figure out a way to clear the Senate's plate of business left over from last year. Reid also hopes to keep helping cash-strapped states with their Medicaid budgets, he said Tuesday on the Senate floor.

WASHINGTON -- The day after Congress raised America's debt ceiling above $14 trillion -- potentially adding another $6,000 in debt to every man, woman and child -- a surprisingly upbeat January jobs report that showed unemployment dipping below 10 percent prompted President Obama to declare that "we are climbing out of the huge hole that we found ourselves in." Obama assessment was partly based on a report out Friday that showed the unemployment rate dropping in January from 10 to 9.7 percent, while employers shed only 20,000 jobs. But it's not all roses, as the Labor Department revised its past...

The bad news for this spring's college graduates is that they're entering the toughest labor market in at least 25 years. The worse news: Even those who land jobs will likely suffer lower wages for a decade or more compared to those lucky enough to graduate in better times, studies show. Andrew Friedson graduated last year from the University of Maryland with a degree in government and politics and a stint as student-body president on his résumé. After working on Barack Obama's presidential campaign for a few months, Mr. Friedson hoped to get a position in the new administration. When...

SAO PAULO- General Motors plans to invest $1 billion in Brazil to avoid the kind of problems the U.S. automaker is facing in its home market, said the beleaguered car maker. According to the president of GM Brazil-Mercosur, Jaime Ardila, the funding will come from the package of financial aid that the manufacturer will receive from the U.S. government and will be used to “complete the renovation of the line of products up to 2012.” We're sending a Billion dollars to Brazil?

<p>BOSTON (CNNMoney.com) -- For those in the real estate industry and for those looking to buy or sell a home, it could take until 2009 to catch a break.</p> <p>That's the forecast from Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), who will present his outlook to an auditorium full of real estate professionals on Wednesday morning.</p>

<p>NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Builders continued to slam the brakes on new homes in September, as the government's latest reading on the battered market out Wednesday showed housing starts and permits were weaker than expected at levels not seen for more than a decade.</p>

<p>NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The meltdown in the mortgage market in August dried up the supply of buyers for homeowners looking to sell their homes, as an industry group report showed the lowest level of homes under contract on record.</p>

<p>NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The binge that many housing markets went on in the early- to mid-2000s is over, and some of the hottest markets like California are now experiencing the worst hangovers.</p> <p>But other areas, especially many that recorded slower home price growth earlier this decade, have seen little increase in foreclosure rates, according to the latest data released Tuesday from RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosure properties.</p>

<p>NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- American consumers are defaulting on their credit cards at a sharply higher rate compared to last year, in what could be another consequence of the recent subprime mortgage market crisis, according to a report published Tuesday.</p>

<p>Waiting to see big banks piling into the mortgage business a la Bank of America (BAC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating)? Don't hold your breath.</p> <p>BofA surprised Wall Street last week by making a $2 billion bet on struggling Countrywide (CFC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating). The news, announced after the close last Wednesday, gave Countrywide's sinking stock a one-day reprieve.</p>

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers said Sunday it was too early to declare the financial markets crisis over and said chances had risen sharply of an economic downturn in the United States. ADVERTISEMENT Despite interventions by the US Federal Reserve last week which appeared to reverse heavy selling pressure over the collapsing US housing debt market, Summers said the risk of recession was its highest since the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. "We certainly saw some repair and some return to normality this week, but I think it would be far premature to...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bond remained higher Friday despite a surprisingly strong durables goods reading as credit worries continued to trouble investors. The dollar fell against the euro and the yen. Video More video Luke Newman joins CNN to explain how a private investor can build a balanced portfolio in uncertain times. Play video The 10-year benchmark note gained 8/32, or $2.50 on a $1,000 note, to yield 4.62 percent, down from 4.64 late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. Bernanke: The un-Greenspan The closely watched three-month Treasury bills, which have been the focus of the market...