GM The Government Recoup Half its Mioney Back

American taxpayers’ ownership of General Motors was halved on Wednesday, and billions of dollars in bailout money was returned to the federal government, as a result of the nation’s largest initial stock offering ever.

The offering, which raised $23.1 billion, is bigger and more ambitious than had once seemed possible. But the recently bankrupt automaker will have to build on its revival for the government to recoup its entire $50 billion investment and validate the Obama administration’s decision to keep G.M. from collapsing.

The new shares start trading on Thursday at $33 each. To break even, the Treasury Department will need to sell its remaining 500 million shares at an average price of $53 each in the months and years to come. And while the administration may retain great influence over the company, it may not be able to keep stoking the enthusiasm investors have shown
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/business/18auto.html?src=me&ref=business

World Currency Exchange Rates

http://fx-rate.net/

Historical and Projected Number of Medicare Beneficiaries and Number of Workers Per Beneficiary

http://www.allhealth.org/sourcebookcontent.asp?CHID=70
Historical Projected Number Medicare Beneficiaries Number Workers Per Beneficiary

Deficit Commission Draft Document November-10-2010

The chairmen of President Obama’s fiscal commission proposed a sweeping collection of spending cuts and tax increases today in a bid to jolt the panel's 16 other members away from their Republican and Democratic orthodoxies.

$200 Billion In Savings

AMOUNT (Billions) Item No. DESCRIPTION
$0.80 1 Reduce Congressional & White House budgets by 15 percent
$15.10 2 Freeze federal salaries, bonuses, and other compensation at non-defense agencies for three years.
$13.20 3 Cut the federal workforce by 10 percent
$18.40 4 Eliminate 250,000 non-defense service and staff augmentee contractors
$0.10 5 Cap the number of federal political appointments at 2,000
$0.40 6 Cut federal travel budget
$0.70 7 Establish Veterans Administration (VA) health co-pays
$0.40 8 Reduce unnecessary printing costs
$0.30 9 Trim the Federal Vehicle Budget
$1.00 10 Other efficiencies
$11.00 11 Create a Cut-and-Invest Committee charged with trimming waste and targeting investment
$1.00 12 Merge the Department of Commerce and Small Business Administration into a single agency and trim its budget by 10 percent
$1.00 13 Terminate low-priority Corps construction projects
$1.30 14 Reduce overhead cost of diplomatic operations
$4.60 15 Slow the growth of foreign aid
$1.80 16 Eliminate the Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools
$0.30 17 Eliminate the Economic Development Administration
$0.50 18 Eliminate a number of programs administered by the Rural Utility Service (RUS)
$1.60 19 Reduce wasteful spending at the Department of Justice
$0.10 20 Eliminate certain regional subsidies
$0.10 21 Eliminate the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Baldrige National Quality Program
$16.00 22 Eliminate all earmarks
$0.90 23 Cut research funding for fossil fuels.
$1.20 24 Eliminate funding for commercial spaceflight
$0.50 25 Drop wealthier communities from the Community Development Block Grant program
$0.30 26 Reduce voluntary contributions to the United Nations
$0.20 27 Eliminate administrative fees paid to schools for student aid programs
$0.10 28 Eliminate the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
$1.00 29 Sell excess federal property
$0.30 30 Reduce funding to the Smithsonian and the National Park Service and allow the programs to offset the reduction through fees
$1.20 31 Eliminate grants to large and medium-sized hub airports
$0.50 32 Cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
$0.90 33 Require food processing facilities to finance food safety and inspection services
$0.50 34 Change inland water systems to be fully self-funded
$1.90 35 Require airports to fund a larger portion of the cost of aviation security
$0.30 36 Charge beneficiaries for the cost of the International Trade Administration’s trade promotion activities
$0.30 37 Reduce land acquisition under the Land and Water Conservation Fund
$0.40 38 Create a more cohesive and cost-effective fire management service
$28.00 39 Apply the overhead savings Secretary Gates has promised to deficit reduction
$5.30 40 Freeze federal salaries, bonuses, and other compensation for the civilian workforce at the Department of Defense for three years
$9.20 41 Freeze non-combat military pay at 2011 levels for 3 years
$5.40 42 Double Secretary Gates’ cuts to defense contracting
$20.00 43 Reduce procurement by 15 percent
44 End procurement of the V-22 Osprey
45 Cancel the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle
46 Substitute F-16 and F/A-18Es for half of the Air Force and Navy’s planned buys of F-35 fighter aircraft.
47 Cancel the Marine Corps version of the F-35
48 Cancel the Navy’s Future Maritime Prepositioning Force
49 Cancel the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), the Ground Combat Vehicle, and the Joint Tactical Radio
50 Reduce planned levels for "Other Procurement.”
$8.50 51 Reduce military personnel stationed at overseas bases in Europe and Asia by one-third
$6.00 52 Modernize Tricare, DOD health
$5.40 53 Replace military personnel performing commercial activities with civilians
$7.00 54 Reduce spending on Research, Development, Test & Evaluation by 10 percent
$2.00 55 Reduce spending on base support.
$1.40 56 Reduce spending on facilities maintenance
$0.80 57 Consolidate the Department of Defense’s retail activities
$1.10 58 Integrate children of military personnel into local schools in the United States
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
http://nationaljournal.com/budget/fiscal-commission-to-unveil-preliminary-plan-20101110

The Economy of Immigration

http://www.econ.utah.edu/~philips/soccer2/readings_files/Borjas%20The%20Economics%20of%20Immigration%20%201994.pdf

US Unemployment Data October 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization
[Percent] Measure Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Oct.
2009 Sept.
2010 Oct.
2010 Oct.
2009 June
2010 July
2010 Aug.
2010 Sept.
2010 Oct.
2010
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force
5.5 5.3 5.5 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.7

U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force
6.0 5.6 5.4 6.7 5.9 5.9 6.0 6.1 5.9

U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate)
9.5 9.2 9.0 10.1 9.5 9.5 9.6 9.6 9.6

U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers
9.9 9.9 9.8 10.6 10.2 10.2 10.3 10.3 10.4

U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other persons marginally attached to the labor force, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force
10.8 10.7 10.6 11.5 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.1

U-6 Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force
16.3 16.2 15.9 17.4 16.5 16.5 16.7 17.1 17.0
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm

The US Oil Imports Table Data

US Energy Information Adminstrator
Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports Top 15 Countries
August 2010 Import Highlights: Released October 28, 2010
Monthly data on the origins of crude oil imports in August 2010 has been released and it shows that five countries exported more than 900 thousand barrels per day to the United States (see table below). The top five exporting countries accounted for 64 percent of United States crude oil imports in August while the top ten sources accounted for approximately 83 percent of all U.S. crude oil imports. The top five sources of US crude oil imports for August were Canada (1,933 thousand barrels per day), Mexico (1,158 thousand barrels per day), Saudi Arabia (1,080 thousand barrels per day), Venezuela (974 thousand barrels per day), and Nigeria (942 thousand barrels per day). The rest of the top ten sources, in order, were Angola (472 thousand barrels per day), Algeria (374 thousand barrels per day), Colombia (346 thousand barrels per day), Russia (334 thousand barrels per day), and Iraq (281 thousand barrels per day). Total crude oil imports averaged 9,486 thousand barrels per day in August, which is a decrease of 404 thousand barrels per day from July 2010.

Canada remained the largest exporter of total petroleum in August, exporting 2,483 thousand barrels per day to the United States, which is a decrease from last month (2,534 thousand barrels per day). The second largest exporter of total petroleum was Mexico with 1,282 thousand barrels per day.

Crude Oil Imports (Top 15 Countries)
(Thousand Barrels per Day)
Country Aug-10 Jul-10 YTD 2010 Aug-09 YTD 2009

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CANADA 1,933 2,055 1,981 2,002 1,924
MEXICO 1,158 1,174 1,119 1,057 1,119
SAUDI ARABIA 1,080 1,033 1,071 707 1,010
VENEZUELA 974 1,016 929 1,007 995
NIGERIA 942 1,143 1,010 877 700
ANGOLA 472 374 410 352 484
ALGERIA 374 353 329 404 257
COLOMBIA 346 381 331 260 256
RUSSIA 334 367 296 221 263
IRAQ 281 430 467 500 460
KUWAIT 251 189 208 148 171
BRAZIL 249 315 280 269 334
ECUADOR 236 200 191 131 202
UNITED KINGDOM 121 200 146 72 110
CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE) 98 44 78 37 45

Total Imports of Petroleum (Top 15 Countries)
(Thousand Barrels per Day)
Country Aug-10 Jul-10 YTD 2010 Aug-09 YTD 2009

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CANADA 2,483 2,534 2,543 2,523 2,468
MEXICO 1,282 1,289 1,253 1,159 1,228
SAUDI ARABIA 1,132 1,053 1,086 729 1,042
VENEZUELA 1,022 1,084 1,006 1,070 1,117
NIGERIA 985 1,174 1,041 917 740
RUSSIA 786 719 620 505 636
ALGERIA 565 518 504 551 479
ANGOLA 484 374 419 364 494
COLOMBIA 372 404 359 269 282
VIRGIN ISLANDS 339 239 257 223 292
IRAQ 281 430 467 500 462
UNITED KINGDOM 266 351 290 225 247
BRAZIL 251 332 301 275 352
KUWAIT 251 189 210 148 174
ECUADOR 242 205 194 131 206

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html
http://www.eia.gov/

College Finance

http://www.bankrate.com/student-loans.aspx

Health and Life Insurance Policies

http://www.bankrate.com/insurance.aspx

Mortgage Payment Calculator

http://www.bankrate.com/calculators.aspx

Mortgage Rates Record Low Rates November-04-2010

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 9 basis points this week, to 4.42 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.37 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 5.35 percent; four weeks ago, it was 4.45 percent.
http://www.bankrate.com/

The US National Unemployment Rate

US unemployment rate surges to 10.2 percent; 190,000 jobs lost in October, 2009.
http://www.forecast-chart.com/graph-unemployment-rate.html
US National Unemployment rate - 60 Year Graph
http://tipstrategies.com/archive/geography-of-jobs/
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Unemployment-Rate.aspx?Symbol=USD