Like all budgets, the federal government's spending plan is all about revenues and expenditures. Unfortunately, Uncle Sam is very good at grossly overestimating tax receipts and grossly underestimating spending. It's enough to make you wonder if any of it is real.
A parade of Republicans immediately lined up to attack the president's proposed budget this week, claiming the plan falls short of making a real difference. They're right. And that's good, because really deep reductions are the last thing the economy needs right now.
In his State of the Union address, President Obama didn't shy away from tackling the ongoing questions about the health care reform law head on. And though he opened with a joke, he made it clear that while he's serious about repairing any flaws in the law, repeal is not an option.
The Tea Party says everything is on the table regarding its goal to cut federal spending and balance the budget -- including defense spending. If the political faction succeeds in cutting military spending, not only would the U.S. economy benefit, national security could well be strengthened.
Factory orders rose just 0.1% in July, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday in a report that further clarified that the manufacturing sector's expansion slowed down this summer. While the statistic did indicate tepid growth, it was less than the 0.3% gain economists had predicted.
Northrop Grumman depends on government contracts for more than 90% of revenue, making talk of cutting the budget deficit a prickly subject. Here's how the defense contractor plans to stay in the game and how it will affect earnings.
Boeing is expected to submit a bid for a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract today, as tensions build over subsidies to its rival, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company.
The $3.8 trillion spending plan combines overly rosy projections of rapidly rising tax revenues with skyrocketing outlays in defense, entitlements and other mandatory spending, creating structural deficits above $1 trillion for a long time. Ending Bush-era tax cuts on the rich won't change that reality.
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin posted higher fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations, boosted by sales of its fighter jets and satellite systems. The earnings per share results, however, were boosted by a share buyback.