Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New U.S. claims for jobless benefits hit their lowest level in more than two years last week while consumer spending rose for a fourth straight month in October, suggesting the economy is nearing a self-sustaining recovery. The picture was further brightened by another report on Wednesday that showed consumer sentiment in November reached its highest level since June, likely reflecting the surge in stock prices in the wake of a Federal Reserve decision to again loosen monetary policy. But the upbeat mood was tempered somewhat by unexpected declines in new home sales and in orders for long-lasting...

WASHINGTON, March 1, 2007 – Rebuilding Iraq is shifting from a U.S.-led “jump start” effort to a self-sustaining Iraqi driven phase, the director of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office said today. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has built the majority of its large projects, Ambassador Joseph Saloom, director of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office. “It is a shift away from us building large things … to more working to build their capacity to do things for themselves,” Saloom said. All but 15 percent of the $13.4 billion Iraq Relief and Reconstruction fund has been spent, and that will...