The cost of living in the U.S. was little changed in December for a second month as stores cut prices to boost holiday sales and fuel expenses fell, reinforcing the Federal Reserve
In the land of big-time deficits and trillion dollar budgets, Congress is spending less money on at least one thing.
Itself.
After voting last year to cut its own operating budget by 5%, House members have reduced the number of paid positions on their staffs, and are spending less on office supplies and computers.
The cuts have translated to 948 fewer salaried staff positions, a 62.5% drop in spending on computers and 30.7% less spending on office supplies, according to an analysis conducted by the Sunlight Foundation.
Staff assistant positions were the hardest hit, registering a 16.6% decline, while the number of part-time employees dropped 15.6%. Meanwhile, the number of slots for communication directors actually increased.
The House has around 12,000 staffers, and the job cuts amounted to a 7.4% overall decline in positions, according to Sunlight.
When compared to current deficits, the House spending reductions don’t add up to much in the way of savings. But for a Republican-controlled chamber, they are an important reflection of legislative priorities.
"The cuts are such a tiny fraction of the overall budget," said Lee Drutman, a data fellow at Sunlight. "And the reality is it makes it harder for them to do a decent job."
And more cuts are on the way, as funding will decrease another 6.4% for the legislative year that kicks off Tuesday.
Commentary: Debt crisis must be solved in the open
With many of the easy cuts already made, and staff salaries accounting for about half of congressional budgets, things might get tricky for lawmakers trying to keep a full roster of employees saving account pay day loan.
A report from the Congressional Management Foundation, a non-profit that helps congress improve its operations, backs that up.
"The 2011 cuts were manageable," the report said. "However, the consensus is that the cumulative two-year cut of 11.4% will require the large majority of offices to make painful cuts that will be felt by virtually all staff."
Drutman warns that any further reduction in staff levels will hurt the ability of congressional offices to independently produce sound policy recommendations and legislation.
"Capitol Hill staffers are already stretched incredibly thin," Drutman said. "And that means if you’re a staffer, you’re more dependent on outside sources."
And who are those outside sources?
For the most part, said Drutman, they’re lobbyists. And dependence on lobbyists for policy expertise is a dicey proposition.
Lobbyists can help fill policy knowledge gaps on congressional staffs, but at the same time come with deep-pocketed backers seeking a specific legislative outcome.
European leaders will this week try to rescue under-fire efforts to deliver new fiscal rules and cut Greece
A group supporting Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich says it will remove errors from a film it made about Mitt Romney’s business experience _ if Romney helps them figure out what is inaccurate.
The political action committee Winning Our Future sent Romney a letter asking him to respond to several questions about his tenure at Bain Capital, a private equity firm.
The PAC, run by Gingrich allies, says the questions will help clarify any errors in a film the group released this week assailing Romney’s experience at Bain. The accuracy of some of the film’s assertions have been called into question.
On Friday, Gingrich asked the group to either edit out any inaccuracies or take down the ad entirely.
Campaigns and PACs are prohibited from directly coordinating.
The Federal Reserve should provide enough policy accommodation to give the unemployment rate, currently at 8.5 percent, a chance to drop, a top Fed official said on Friday.
Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans added he was worried that recent improvements in the U personal loans for people with bad credit.S. jobless rate could be “transitory.”
Raymond James Financial is nearing a $930 million cash deal to buy Morgan Keegan, a Memphis-based brokerage owned by Regions Financial, Bloomberg News is reporting.
The Bloomberg report, citing a source close to the deal, said St. Petersburg-based Raymond James may announce the deal as early as this afternoon. The deal would include a $250 million from Morgan Keegan to Regions prior to the sale, bringing the total price to about $1.2 billion.
If the deal finalizes, it will make Raymond James among the largest underwriters of municipal bonds and boost its roster of financial advisers from 5,100 to about 6,300.
St business cards. Louis-based Stifel Nicolaus has pursued efforts to buy Morgan Keegan since Birmingham-based Regions put the unit up for sale in June. Bloomberg reported that Stifel’s most recent bid, made on Jan. 8, was $875 million in cash and stock. Stifel has 2,000 financial advisers and has grown its geographic footprint and adviser ranks through acquisitions in recent years.
Check back on stltoday.com for updates to this story.
The U.S. is starting the year on a positive note, a sign that investors may be too gloomy.
Payrolls rose 200,000 in December, double the gain in November. A weekly measure of consumer confidence ended 2011 at a five-month high. And manufacturers reported their business in December grew at the fastest pace in six months. The combination indicates the world
A judge has appointed a receiver for the Ridge Point Crossing apartments in St. Louis County, a two-property complex that’s owned by an affiliate of Gannon International.
The appointment is the latest of a string of apartment properties owned by Creve-Coeur based Gannon that have been put in receivership following loan defaults in the past year.
Ridge Point Crossing includes 292 units at 11251 Graben Drive in St. Ann and 96 apartments at 11302 Bonanza Drive in Maryland Heights.
Wells Fargo sought a receiver for Ridge Point Crossing last month after an affiliate of Gannon defaulted on a $9.9 million loan secured by the property, according to court filings.
The Gannon affiliate “has failed to make debt service payments, make critical vendor payments and keep up with payroll obligations,” St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Robert Cohen wrote in his order appointing Nolan Real Estate Services receiver of Ridge Point Crossing on Dec. 13.
As receiver, Nolan Real Estate will collect rent at the property, make repairs and pay utilities.
Bill Schierholz, president of Gannon’s real estate group, could not be reached for comment payday loan. Daniel Spirn, an attorney representing Wells Fargo, declined to comment.
The appointment of a receiver at Ridge Point Crossing follows similar appointments at Gannon-owned apartment complexes in the past year.
In April, a receiver was appointed for the 272-unit Springwood Apartments in Bel-Ridge after PNC Bank alleged Gannon defaulted on a $5.7 million loan secured by Springwood and failed to properly maintain the apartments. Springwood has since been sold.
In June, a receiver was appointed for the 336-unit Suson Pines Apartments at 5625 Suson Hills Drive in south St. Louis County after PNC alleged Gannon defaulted on a promissory note and owes the bank more than $13 million.
The real estate arm of Gannon International, which is owned by Chief Executive William Franke, owns nine apartment properties in the St. Louis area.