: …The role of consumers has had considerable attention … because the economy desperately needs additional spending… But it is not … the responsibility of middle-income families to provide that spending. If … families want to … pay down their bills or save a little more, concerns about the economy shouldn’t stop them.
Government is in a far better position to provide immediate economic stimulus. … [E]ven by mortgaging itself Read the rest of this entry »

Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) — Human bird-flu infections may rise in
Asia as people handle more poultry for next week’s Lunar New Year
celebrations, according to a United Nations veterinarian who
tracks the virus in birds.
Health authorities in China, South Korea and Vietnam have
stepped up surveillance of H5N1 avian influenza among poultry
ahead of the festival, which starts Jan. 26. Production of
chickens and ducks swells as much as three times in the Read the rest of this entry »

A PSYCHOTHERAPIST friend says that several of her patients are fretting about whether they have an obligation to help the nation spend its way out of the current downturn. Some of them are having a hard time making ends meet, she said, yet are reluctant to cut back for fear they would cause the economy to slide further.
The role of consumers has had considerable attention in the press because the economy desperately needs additional spending right Read the rest of this entry »

The two rivals are joint-second in Serie A, six points behind leaders Inter
Milan.
“There isn’t optimism or pessimism. He has a groin problem. It could be
that he doesn’t even train today, but he will leave with the squad for Turin,”
said coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Losing their main creative force would be a further blow to Milan, who will
miss midfielder Gennaro Gattuso after he was almost certainly ruled out for
the rest of the season Read the rest of this entry »

SUSSEX – It will be up to a judge to decide if Kia owes the Gray family of Sussex more than a promise to repair its rotten car if the family agrees to absolve the car company of responsibility for its poor health.
Greedy is not a word Crystal McLaughlin-Gray would use to describe herself, but she cannot accept an offer while her young family is still running to doctors.
Shortly after the Grays bought the car new from Saint John Kia in 2006, they Read the rest of this entry »

, Carmen initiated Jeanine, a California-based real estate agent who saw her income tank along with the housing market.
Jeanine was successful in her business – selling as much as $6 million worth of property in a single month back in early 2007 – until the housing bubble burst and took her job along with it. Now she is going on a full year since her last paycheck and is considering withdrawing from her 401(k) just to stay afloat. With four Read the rest of this entry »

House lawmakers on Thursday are slated to examine the impact the hemorrhaging economy has had on health care coverage for Americans.
The Energy and Commerce Committee’s health subcommittee plans to look at the state of federal health care programs, including Medicaid, which has been hurt by state budget shortfalls.
Medicaid is the joint state-federal partnership that provides coverage to low-income Americans. Governors nationwide are urging Washington Read the rest of this entry »

Rochester ranks toward the top of two new rankings of health and fitness.
Rochester ranks 23rd out of 100 major cities of conditions for men by “Men's Health” magazine.  A “Women's Health” magazine article puts Rochester in 27th for health and fitness.
The magazines looked at 38 factors, such as air quality, cancer rates and the number of gym memberships.
The focus was cities, not metropolitan areas.
The best place for women was Read the rest of this entry »

Hearth Family Restaurant owner Kim Zoumas considered making his business a no-smoking establishment years ago, but he and his brother, Pete, didn’t want to offend any of their loyal customers.
After they remodeled the North Cornwall Township eatery earlier this year, they decided the time was right to make the switch.
“I wanted to do it years ago,” said Zoumas, who has run the restaurant on the south side of Route 422 west of Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK (Associated Press) – Federal health advisers on Wednesday will debate the merits of two experimental antibiotics designed to fight “superbug” bacteria that have grown immune to older drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration has asked its panel of antibiotic experts to take up drug applications from San Francisco-based Theravance Inc. and Cambridge, Mass.-based Targanta Therapeutics. The agency is not required to follow the group’s advice, Read the rest of this entry »