Free Republic

<p>Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush said Tuesday that the government should have broad surveillance powers of Americans and private technology firms should cooperate better with intelligence agencies to help combat "evildoers."</p> <p>At a national security forum in the early voting state of South Carolina, Bush put himself at odds with Republican congressional leaders who earlier this year voted to end the National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records.</p>

The U.S. dollar may weaken and Treasury yields rise when Asian markets reopen on Monday, though any selling in response to ratings agency S&P's downgrade of the United States is likely to be tempered by the escalating crisis in the euro zone. The S&P cut in the U.S. long-term credit rating by a notch to AA-plus is an unprecedented blow and results from concerns about the nation's budget deficits and climbing debt burden. It called the outlook "negative," signaling another downgrade is possible in the next 12 to 18 months. "The initial reaction will be a high degree of uncertainty...

Irvine consultant Joe Vranich, who has been compiling a list of companies leaving California because of the state’s anti-business environment, is now up to 144 companies that have departed in 2010, including 34 in Orange County. In addition, he lists 51 companies (8 from Orange County) that left in 2009. That three-fold increase, Vranich says, is the tip of the iceberg that is California’s financial woes. “Quite clearly, the exodus of businesses out of California continues. It makes sense for companies to reduce their California footprint considering the ample supply of attractive, lower-cost alternative locations. Unless California reduces its hostility...

WASHINGTON – Big companies are building up cash and are expected to report strong earnings starting this week. Not so for small businesses that can't get loans — or hire freely until they do. The gap helps explain why the economic rebound isn't stronger and could even stall. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stepped up pressure Monday on banks to break the logjam and lend more to smaller firms, which employ at least half of American workers. Small business owners are relying on personal credit cards or raiding retirement accounts to stay afloat, the Fed chairman said. Bernanke and other...

Few small-business owners would hire more workers even if they had more money, according to the monthly American Solutions survey. Almost half (46%) would put the extra money into savings and 15% would hire more workers. One in 17 would use the money to delay laying off existing employees. This is the basic reason for the lack of job creation even though most experts think the economy is no longer in recession. “The cautious behavior shows entrepreneurs are still very reluctant to make any large investments or outlays of new capital given the current economic environment,” says American Solutions, a...

Although President Obama and many Democrats promised during the health care reform debate that “if you like your health plan, you can keep it,” the health insurance plans that are now offered by small businesses probably will not survive the transition to a regulated marketplace. The Obama administration acknowledged this on Monday, when it proposed regulations for determining what insurance plans can remain exempt from market reforms. And while participants in those plans will probably be grateful for it, business owners may be less sanguine about the outcome. Because so many people were evidently reluctant to trade the comfort of...

NEW DELHI -- While the contentious political battle over the new health-care law continues in the United States, in India the outsourcing industry is seeing it as a boon for business and is salivating over its prospects. Indian companies are working with U.S. insurers handling back-office operations, including claims processing, supply management and transcription services. The extension of health care to 32 million Americans over the next decade will mean that the need for those services will grow, executives here said. "The health-care reform bill is a very, very big opportunity for us," said Ananda Mukerji, managing director of Firstsource...

Of the more than $2 billion the federal government has given out to boost the economy and create green-energy jobs, more than three-quarters has gone to foreign-owned companies that dominate the global wind-power industry. This latest finding by the Investigative Reporting Workshop, a nonprofit at American University in Washington, D.C., is illustrated clearly in San Diego County, where about a dozen commercial wind developers have offices. La Jolla is the headquarters for Eurus Energy America, the subsidiary of a Japanese firm that received $91 million in federal stimulus money for a wind farm in western Texas. It plans to apply...

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- As many as 50 financial firms with assets greater than $50 billion each would be hit by a levy President Barack Obama will propose today to help recoup taxpayer bailout money and trim the federal budget deficit, an administration official said. The levy based on bank liabilities would be imposed starting June 30 and the administration estimates it will raise $90 billion over a minimum of 10 years, said the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity. Obama plans to outline the proposal late this morning at the White House and a more detailed...

Nancy-Ann DeParle, one of President Obama's chief advocates for the health care reform bill wending its way through Congress, earned more than $6.6 million as a paid director for health care firms, some of which were targeted in government investigations or whistleblower lawsuits on suspicions of billing fraud and other legal problems.

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday that the drop in the health insurance stocks this week was a sign the industry has become nervous that a healthcare reform bill may pass.

The Schwarzenegger administration pushed through new rules Thursday allowing California's biggest timber firms to cash in on the fight against global warming even as they clear-cut parts of their forests. Forest owners stand to reap tens of millions of dollars in the coming decades by selling the capacity of their woods to cleanse the air of carbon dioxide, offsetting greenhouse gases belched by industrial polluters. But the administration's successful effort to allow loggers to sell their carbon credits to industry while also clear-cutting their lands sparked intense opposition from several conservation groups. Ecologists say the self-styled "green" governor, an opponent...

The official overseeing White House health care reform efforts earned more than $5.8 million in the past three years from her work for major medical companies, according to a personal financial disclosure and other public records . The disclosure statement filed by White House health czar Nancy-Ann DeParle, released this week, shows that from the start of last year until her appointment this March, she pulled in more than $2.3 million from her positions on the boards of six firms likely to be significantly affected by the health care reforms that she’s championing.

The U.S. Treasury Department is considering using more of its $700 billion rescue fund to buy stakes in a broad range of financial companies, not just banks and insurers, after tentative signs of the program's success, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. In focus are companies that provide financing to the broad economy, including bond insurers and specialty finance firms such as General Electric Co's (GE.N) GE Capital unit, CIT Group Inc (CIT.N) and others, the people told the paper. Treasury may also scrap part of its early plan of purchasing assets through an auction...

WASHINGTON -- Two years ago, the U.S. Congress pressured the Arab emirate of Dubai to back out of a deal to manage U.S. ports. Today, governments in the Persian Gulf, China and Singapore have snapped up $37 billion of stakes in Wall Street, the bedrock of the U.S. financial system. Lawmakers and the White House are welcoming the cash, and there is hardly a peep from the public. This is no accident. The warm reception reflects millions of dollars in shrewd lobbying by both overseas governments and their Wall Street targets -- aided by Washington veterans from both parties, including...

PHOENIX - Smugglers who bring illegal immigrants into the U.S. are getting crucial help from seemingly legitimate businesses that supply them with cars, lodging, plane tickets and other services, knowing full well what's going on. Investigators say the number of these corrupt businesses is small, but they play a significant role in helping illegal immigrants reach the country's interior. The accomplices have included landlords and rental agents who provide homes for smugglers to hide immigrants; taxi drivers near the border who bring immigrants to the closest cities; used-car dealerships that let smugglers register vehicles under false names; and travel agencies...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economy might be edging toward a recession in the wake of mortgage-related credit woes plaguing the financial markets, bankers and analysts said on Monday. "I think that the risk of a recession is greater than people realize," James Dunne, chief executive of Sandler O'Neil & Partners, said at the Reuters Finance Summit in New York. With home prices dropping, more people about to lose their homes due to unaffordable mortgages and sharply higher oil prices, the economy could be on the brink of slowing down, they said. "I think there is a serious risk...

SACRAMENTO — Soon after taking office in January 2003, state Controller Steve Westly began helping three venture capital firms land multimillion-dollar investments from California's giant pension system, according to public records including e-mails and officials' calendars. Westly, now running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, received campaign donations from individuals associated with each of the funds, campaign finance records show. At any given time, hundreds of fund managers are angling for CalPERS investments. Westly is one of 13 members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System board, and as the state's chief financial officer, one of the most influential. The funds...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - An Arab company's potential takeover of some marine terminals at six major ports on the East Coast has raised questions about foreign operations at seaport facilities. Such arrangements have been commonplace at West Coast ports for years. Most of the cargo that enters the country comes through huge ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington. Each has marine terminals operated by foreign shipping lines - many from Europe and Asia. "On the West Coast, almost all the ports have their terminals operated by foreign companies," said Ivan Eland, senior fellow...

Shetland jumper firms running short of knitters By Auslan Cramb (Filed: 13/02/2006) Knitwear companies in Shetland are having trouble fulfilling orders for their distinctive sweaters because their knitters are "a dying breed". Garments from Britain's most northerly islands are highly prized in Japan. But Doreen Brown, of Shetland Collection, the largest hand knitting company in the islands, said her firm had struggled to meet a large order for Japan. "We have two dozen knitters but they are a dying breed," she said. "Our oldest is 94 and the youngest is 60 and we can't get any more." Turnover in the...