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Tourism ads largely escaping states’ budget cuts

At a time when states are slashing spending to deal with staggering budget shortfalls, there’s one area they’re not cutting: tourism ads.

Think “Virginia is for Lovers,” “Connecticut: Closer than you think” and “Explore Minnesota.” Get the full story »

Minutes show Fed OK with recovery, not jobs

U.S. Federal Reserve officials are increasingly confident of the economic recovery but remain unsatisfied with the healing of the job market, minutes of their January meeting released Wednesday showed.

“Participants generally expressed greater confidence that the economic recovery would be sustained,” the Fed said. Get the full story »

EADS submits ‘final,’ lower bid for Air Force tanker

EADS North America said it submitted a final proposal in the politically charged U.S. tanker competition against Boeing Co. and that it lowered its price.

“We submitted what we think is a very competitive price proposal,” EADS North America Chairman Ralph Crosby told a briefing for reporters. Get the full story »

Groupon co-founder to head state innovation panel

Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to announce during his budget address Wednesday the creation of an innovation council to be headed by Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell.

Part of the council’s job will be to determine what kind of projects the state needs to support to be able to compete in the global market place, such as developing new technologies in agriculture, finance or in a combination of industries. Get the full story »

Indiana steps up efforts to lure Illinois business

Indiana is cranking up its push to lure Illinois businesses in the wake of tax increases here, rolling out a $250,000 marketing campaign that tries to position the Hoosier state as a lower-tax option.

“Feeling Squeezed by Taxes?” is the tagline on a Northwest Indiana campaign launching Monday in Chicago print and electronic media, and it dovetails with a broader Indiana push rolled out late last month, using the tagline, “Illinnoyed by Higher Taxes?” Get the full story »

TARP chief resigns, saying goals were met

Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, told President Barack Obama on Monday that he is resigning from his position, effective March 30.

“I believe that it is the right time for me to step down and pursue other opportunities,” Barofsky wrote in his resignation letter. Get the full story »

FDA OKs first 3-D mammography system

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first three-dimensional mammography system developed by Hologic Inc.  to screen for breast cancer with hopes the device will prove better than current mammography technology.

The device, the Silenia Dimensions System, augments traditional two-dimensional images produced by a mammogram with a 3-D image to be used in breast cancer screening and diagnosis. The system would provide both types of images during a scan so doctors could compare images with previous ones from prior, conventional mammograms. Get the full story »

Lawmakers oppose financial bailouts for states

Lawmakers of both parties expressed opposition Wednesday to having federal taxpayers help state and local governments cope with widespread budget problems, underscoring the impact that Washington’s crushing budget deficits are having on the appetite that Republicans and Democrats have for such aid.

“The era of the bailout is over,” Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., told a House hearing on the debt problems facing scores of states and municipalities around the country. Get the full story »

IRS offers new amnesty to offshore tax cheats

Wealthy tax evaders with assets stashed offshore can come clean with U.S. authorities under a new amnesty program with reduced penalties, the government said Tuesday.

“It gives people a chance to come in before we find them,” Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman said. The new effort follows a 2009 amnesty program, which lured 15,000 taxpayers with hidden accounts. Get the full story »

FCC to use rural phone subsidies for broadband

Government regulators are planning to overhaul the $8 billion federal program that subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural areas to pay for high-speed Internet connections.

The Federal Communications Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday to begin drafting a blueprint to bring the federal program, the Universal Service Fund, into the digital age. Get the full story »

NASA unlikely to report defects in Toyotas

An investigation into sudden acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles by the nation’s space agency is expected to report Tuesday that no significant electronic defects have been found, though the issue requires continued monitoring, according to automotive electronics and safety experts.

The NASA report was commissioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after thousands of owners complained that their Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles accelerated unexpectedly, causing dozens of deaths.

The study was launched in March in the wake of three congressional investigations. It is scheduled to be made public at a press conference in Washington.

U.S. budget plan includes increase for FHA

The White House budget proposal to be unveiled next week includes an increase in borrowing costs for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, industry sources said Tuesday.

The move is part of a broader revamp of the U.S. housing finance system to reduce the role of the government in the mortgage market, including a gradual wind-down of government-controlled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Latest data show continued recovery in jobs

U.S. job openings slipped in December, a government report showed Tuesday, but a decline in layoffs supported views of a gradual labor market recovery.

Job openings, a measure of labor demand, eased 139,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.1 million, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Get the full story »

Baucus prepares for tax overhaul hearings

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said he plans a series of hearings to lay the groundwork for a tax code overhaul.

A Senate aide said Baucus has tentatively blocked off every Tuesday the Senate is in session in March and April, for the hearings. Get the full story »

Consumer borrowing posts 3rd straight gain

Americans increased credit-card use for the first time since 2008, a sign they are growing more confident about the economy and opening their wallets wider.

The surprising rise in December revolving credit as tracked by the Federal Reserve pushed up consumer credit outstanding by $6.1 billion, or 3.0 percent, to $2.41 trillion. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast the Fed data Monday would show consumer credit rising by only $2.5 billion. Get the full story »