Let me get this straight. In the years leading up to the crisis, Ed Yingling – the head lobbyist for the American Bankers Association (ABA) and all the big banks – successfully lobbied against every real effort to regulate consumer credit products. Operating under the lax regulation and weak rules that Yingling and his army of lobbyists helped create, the industry got reckless and, in the process, brought the economy to its knees

If you were here yesterday, you may have seen the case that James Boyce and Paul Abrams laid out for breaking up the big banks . I want to reiterate the importance of having balance among the competing interests in Washington, and the security that comes from an economy in which no small group can affect the financial well-being of millions.

Jane Padgett couldn’t believe it when the company that sells her dog’s medicine said her credit card had been denied. When she called Bank of America, she learned that her $1,000 credit limit had been halved.

My friend Mollie called and she was mad, mad, mad. You won’t even believe this, she said. I’ve been waiting for this job interview for two weeks, and preparing, and stewing over it, and so I went to the interview on Friday and now I’ve been waiting for almost a week.

Versace will cut 350 jobs, or 25 percent of its workforce according to Wednesday’s WWD report . The decision was made by Gian Giacomo Ferraris, CEO of Versace SpA, who hopes to reorganize the company and regain profits by 2011. The cuts will primarily effect the Milan headquarters, the Burago factory and the ready-to-wear plant in Novara and will be in place by next March.

WASHINGTON — More than 650,000 jobs have been saved or created under President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan, the White House said Friday, saying it is on track to reach the president’s goal of 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year. New job numbers from businesses, contractors, state and local governments, nonprofit groups and universities were not scheduled to be released publicly until Friday afternoon.


 
 After a record four straight losing quarters, the economy finally grew again. It was hardly a boom, and it was almost all because of government spending.