Last night, the Federal Reserve announced that investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will become bank holding companies. The move will put the two firms under greater regulation, which the NY Times says "fundamentally reshapes an era of high finance that defined the modern Gilded Age."It was a blunt acknowledgment that their model of finance and investing had become too risky and that they needed the cushion of bank deposits that had kept......

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama better keep working on their economic policies: The White House released an estimate saying the deficit will grow to $482 billion next year, thanks in part, per the AP, to the "sagging economy and the stimulus payments being made to 130 million households in an effort to keep the country from falling into a deep recession." Keep in mind Bush inherited a $128 billion surplus in 2001. The budget......

Late Thursday, right before the long July 4th weekend, it was announced the Bush administration had declined to keep on the World Trade Center health czar. Dr. John Howard was the director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health within the Center for Disease Control and had much support--last Wednesday, Governor David Paterson asked President Bush to extend Howard's term, noting his "pivotal role" in 9/11 health efforts. The NY Times reported that......

Yesterday, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Immediately, politicians weighed in with their reactions, including two notable presidential wannabes from our area. Senator Hillary Clinton calling it a "dramatic departure from Supreme Court rulings that upheld a woman's right to choose" while former mayor Rudy Giuliani said the Supreme court came to the "correct conclusion." Which the Daily News points out is a reversal from his 2000 position,......

Could travelers out of LaGuardia Airport soon see some new airlines or increased service from smaller airlines? If the Bush Administration has its way, there may be some changes ahead for the airport in northern Queens. A law passed by Congress in 2000 attempted to change how landing (and departure) slots were allocated to airlines in airports around the country. Taking advantage of the rules passed in 2000, airlines added an additional 300 flights......

Maybe it was the umpteenth “F Bush” tag that seen in the subway station. Or maybe it was President Bush’s interview on Sixty Minutes last night. But recent news about the war, troop deployments and civil rights has infused us with feeling like we're in the 21st Century version of the Wonder Years. This is not the Sixties, but it seems like today’s commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. has gotten some of us......

ART OPENINGS: Ann Craven's latest Deer and Beer, will most likely feature new repetitive paintings (that is, her shtick is to repeat the same painting in multiples) of Deer and ... um ... Beer? 6 to 8pm // Klemens Gasser & Tanya Grunert, Inc. [524 W 19th] // Free David Fox's Images of War, features recent monotypes part of an ongoing cycle of work. "Fox explores themes of war and human rights violations brought to......

As the repaired levee helps water drain out of New Orleans, the finger pointing has only begun at political offices. The NY Times has an editorial about the government's attitude towards FEMA, the response to Hurricane Katrina, and possible investigations that raises a lot of good points. For instance, Senator Hillary Clinton's suggestion to raise FEMA to a cabinet-level position might be "premature," and that the problem needs to be investigated at all levels -......

As if sending a disproportionate amount of money to the Federal Government's coffers weren't enough, New Yorkers could get screwed again. That's if a proposed tax plan by the Bush Administration goes through. As much as $37 billion worth of deductions that New York residents take for local and state taxes would be eliminated under the plan. The New York Times reports that 38% of New Yorkers take some federal deduction for their state and......

Bush Administration Raises Terror Alert Look at the Terror Alert chart to understand that "High," in this case, is not good. Read John Ashcroft's remarks. Buy some canned meats.......