Most of the big things Barack Obama hopes to get done - health-care reform, slowing climate change - would have a big economic impact over the long run. But the administration's plan to reshape financial regulation, outlined in an 88-page Treasury report in June, could have an immediate effect on your wallet.
A lot was supposed to happen on health reform before Congress went on summer vacation. Turns out, a lot didn't. End result: The heavy lifting on health reform legislation has been pushed to the fall.
While the Cash for Clunkers program is being hailed as a success, having apparently burned much or all its of its billion dollar budget in a matter of days, some analysts doubt the program will amount to much in the long run.
The pace of economic decline slowed substantially in the second quarter, as the U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate of 1% -- far less than it did in the first quarter, according to a government report released Friday.