What You Need to Know: 03.17.09

Obama in Effort to Undo Bonuses at A.I.G.
“President Obama and his top economic advisers scrambled to calm a nationwide furor on Monday over bonuses paid at the American International Group, even as administration officials acknowledged they had known about the issue for months.

One day after the economic advisers insisted that their hands had been tied by contracts requiring the payments, Mr. Obama ordered the Treasury Department to “pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses” and make the American taxpayers whole.”

U.S. banks suffer 149 percent rise in bad loans
“Foreclosures and bad loans raced through the banking industry in 2008, with the more than 8,000 U.S. banks registering a 149 percent increase in troubled assets, according to a new analysis of bank financial reports to the federal government.

While a large majority of banks were still healthy, 163 ended the year with more troubled loans than capital, up from only 13 a year earlier, according to the analysis of data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. by msnbc.com and the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University in Washington, D.C.”

Obama Pushes Congress to Pass $3.6 Trillion Budget
“President Barack Obama is again asking Congress to pass his $3.6 trillion budget, saying it will “spark the transformation” the country needs to remain economically competitive.

Appearing Tuesday with the chairmen of the congressional budget committees, Obama said he doesn’t “just view this document as numbers on a page.” He called it an “economic blueprint for the future.”

Obama said the country “can’t go back to a bubble economy, an economy based on reckless spending and spending beyond our means.” He acknowledged though, that new deficit figures likely to be revealed in coming weeks will make the job tougher.”

Seattle Paper Shifts Entirely to the Web
“The Seattle Post-Intelligencer will produce its last printed edition on Tuesday and become an Internet-only news source, the Hearst Corporation said on Monday, making it by far the largest American newspaper to take that leap.

But The P-I, as it is called, will resemble a local Huffington Post more than a traditional newspaper, with a news staff of about 20 people rather than the 165 it had, and a site with mostly commentary, advice and links to other news sites, along with some original reporting.”

Obama to meet Irish leaders, emphasize peace
“President Barack Obama is meeting on St. Patrick’s Day with Irish political leaders intent on maintaining peace despite dissidents’ violence in Northern Ireland.

Obama plans to meet with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in the Oval Office, and then with Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson and his deputy, Martin McGuinness, in his national security adviser’s office on Tuesday. Administration aides singled out that trio as leaders who have resisted partisan reactions to a series of killings in Northern Ireland that threatens a decade’s break in violence.”

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