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U.S. President Barack Obama speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C. Recently, Obama called on business leaders to play a role in reviving America’s economy, a plea that critics called un-American.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

U.S. President Barack Obama speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C. Recently, Obama called on business leaders to play a role in reviving America’s economy, a plea that critics called un-American.

Lenny McAllister is a syndicated political commentator and the host of the morning radio show in Chicago.

Are higher prices good or bad? That depends on whether you are a buyer or a seller. It is good if you are a buyer and receives higher prices (though this of course assumes that the price increase isn’t associated with a lower sales volume) and bad if you are a buyer.

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Industrial production in the U.S. probably rose in January for a third consecutive month, adding to signs manufacturing is leading the expansion, economists said before a report today. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

 

Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) — Jan Hatzius, chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., talks about the outlook for the U.S. economy, labor market, consumer spending and stocks. He talks with Carol Massar and Matt Miller on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Industrial production in the U.S. probably rose in January for a third consecutive month, adding to signs manufacturing is leading the expansion, economists said before a report today.

In 2009, the count of such filings stood at 1.47 million. “Bankruptcy filings in the federal courts rose 8 per cent in calendar year 2010… Total filings remain at a five-year high,” Administrative Office of the US Courts said in a statement on Tuesday.

The financial meltdown in 2008-09 had ravaged the American economy that not only pushed many entities out of business but also caused large scale unemployment.

Durham, N.C.-CMOs are more optimistic about the economy now than they were six months ago, according to a survey by the American Marketing Association and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

The report, “CMO Survey,” was based on an online survey of 421 top marketing executives, conducted between Jan. 11 and Jan. 28.

When asked to rate the U.S. economy on a scale of 0-100, the average score was 63, up from a score of 56 in August, when the survey was last conducted.

Spending on traditional advertising this year is expected to increase by 2.0%, the first increase since February 2009, according to the survey.

Preview the full findings of the McKinsey Global Institute’s study here.

As the United States crawls out of recession, many commentators have wondered out loud whether the economy can ever get back on a path toward healthy growth. In the immediate term, there are concerns about when and from where the next wave of jobs will come. In the long term, some are questioning whether America’s best economic days are now behind it. The Barack Obama administration caught the thread of that conversation early and tried to counter naysayers in the January State of the Union address. “The future is ours to win,” Obama told the country, “But to get there, we can’t just stand still.” Specifically, what’s required, the president explained earlier that month, is to “unlock the productivity” of the American people.

As the new Republican House of Representatives and President Barack Obama prepare for what looks to be a major budget showdown it was revealed on Monday that the US National debt now equals the same amount of the entire United States economy. This alarming news sent shockwaves throughout the entire financial sector and with millions of concerned Americans.

As both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue gear up for a bruising budget-driven federal spending debate, Congress and the president have an opportunity to deliver a bipartisan boost to U.S. job creation in the form of three bilateral Free Trade Agreements.

Without question, the American people are looking for action. According to a new Gallup poll, 35 percent of Americans believe that unemployment is the biggest problem facing the country, the highest percentage since October 1983. Their concern is well founded – it’s been 21 months since unemployment was below 9 percent, and the job market isn’t expected to recover overnight. While there is no silver bullet for this situation, there are things we can do to create jobs right now. At the top of the list: Passing free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

Deficit is biggest as share of economy since 1945

(AP) – 2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – Not since World War II has the federal budget deficit made up such a big chunk of the U.S. economy. And within two or three years, economists fear the result could be sharply higher interest rates that would slow economic growth.

The budget plan President Barack Obama sent Congress on Monday foresees a record deficit of $1.65 trillion this year. That would be just under 11 percent of the $14 trillion economy – the largest proportion since 1945, when wartime spending swelled the deficit to 21.5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.