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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — President Bush asked Congress on Saturday for the authority to spend as much as $700 billion to purchase troubled mortgage assets and contain the financial crisis.

The legislative proposal - the centerpiece of what would be the most sweeping economic intervention by the government since the Great Depression - was sent by the White House overnight to lawmakers. (Read the text here.)

The plan matches the scope of the problem, Bush said.

“It is a big package because it’s a big problem,” Bush told reporters at a news conference. “The risk of doing nothing far outweighs the risk of the package.”

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, lawmakers and their aides are expected to work through the weekend in an effort to craft a bill swiftly. Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill said they expect the bill to go before a vote within days.

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(CNN) — Eric Hahn thought his financial situation was set after he was approved for a private student loan with an 8 percent interest rate to supplement his federal education loans.
Eric Hahn, 21, estimates he will be in debt for the next five to seven years for his undergraduate tuition.

Eric Hahn, 21, estimates he will be in debt for the next five to seven years for his undergraduate tuition.

Just a few weeks later, Hahn, 21, was forced to cash in his savings and investments so he could make his rent and tuition after finding out that the lender, MyRichUncle.com, had suspended its private student loan program.

“Due to continued disruptions in the capital markets, combined with the continued demand we have experienced this year, we are reaching funding capacity limits,” a message on his cell phone said, mimicking a statement on the company’s Web site.

The sudden news left Hahn, a senior-year finance major, scrambling to find additional funding after maxing out his borrowing options from the federal government. Eventually, the country’s leading student loan provider, Sallie Mae, approved him for a private loan at 12 percent.

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 Full Story At CNN Money.com

EW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Computer maker Hewlett-Packard said it will lay off 24,600 employees, or 7.5% of its workforce, over the next three years in a plan to integrate tech outsourcer Electronic Data Systems, which HP bought late last month.

HP said the workforce reduction will result in annual cost savings of about $1.8 billion. Of the nearly 25,000 layoffs, HP said about half will come from workers in the United States.

“HP has a strong track record of making acquisitions and integrating them to capture leading market positions,” said Mark Hurd, HP’s chief executive, in a statement. “We will deliver on the promise of HP and EDS for our customers and shareholders.”

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Full Story At CNN.com

Tired of watching kids fail in school, the education activist came up with a plan. She called a meeting with the parents and told them she’d pay them $25 just for showing up.

“Ten dollars isn’t dignified, $30, that’s too much,” says Wiley. “But $25, that sounded real good. Real good.”

At the first meeting in May, parents introduced themselves and explained why they had come. Wiley says she was struck by the level of pain of the parents.

“One father stood up and talked about how he wanted more for his children, how he was second-generation special education and how his children were coming through special education, and how he wanted to break the cycle,” recalls Wiley.

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Full Story At CNN.com

(CNN) — You’ve heard of hybrids, electric cars and vehicles that can run on vegetable oil. But of all the contenders in the quest to produce the ultimate fuel-efficient car, this could be the first one to let you say, “fill it up with air.”
The compressed air car planned for the U.S. market would be a six-seater, a New York company says.

The compressed air car planned for the U.S. market would be a six-seater, a New York company says.

That’s the idea behind the compressed air car, which backers say could achieve a fuel economy of 106 miles per gallon.

Plenty of skepticism exists, but with many Americans trying to escape sticker shock at the gas pump, the concept is generating buzz.

The technology has been the focus of MDI, a European company founded in 1991 by a French inventor and former race car engineer.

New York-based Zero Pollution Motors is the first firm to obtain a license from MDI to produce the cars in the United States, pledging to deliver the first models in 2010 at a price tag of less than $18,000.

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Full Story At  CNN.com

WILMINGTON, North Carolina (AP) — With the flick of an eight-foot switch at midday Monday, Wilmington, North Carolina, became the first television market in the United States to switch to digital-only broadcasting.
Viewers who receive programming through an antenna and own older TV sets must buy a converter box.

Viewers who receive programming through an antenna and own older TV sets must buy a converter box.

The switch wasn’t really connected to anything, but it did serve as a centerpiece for a downtown ceremony at 12 noon marking the moment that commercial broadcasters voluntarily turned off their old-fashioned, inefficient analog signals.

The move risks outrage from viewers not equipped to receive a digital signal on their aging televisions.

Wilmington has volunteered to be a canary in a digital coal mine — a test market for the national conversion to digital broadcasting.

The rest of the nation’s full-power television stations won’t be converting until February 17, 2009, a date set by Congress.

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Full Story At CNET News

Google has entered the browser space. Chrome, its browser still in beta, is based on the open source Webkit project. Some will recognize Webkit as the foundation for another browser, Apple Safari. But Chrome also borrows heavily from Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer, giving this new browser an old and familiar feel.

There is, however, innovation.

Tabs are arrayed atop the browser instead of in the traditional toolbar. And users can drag and drop the tabs on the desktop outside the browser. There is also a way to make an icon for GMail and Google Calendar on your desktop.

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Full Story At Yahoo! News

Dell is tightening its belt by another notch. As part of its continuing effort to cut costs and increase its competitiveness, the computer maker is reportedly considering selling its factories.
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An article in Friday’s Wall Street Journal reported that, according to unnamed sources, Dell has been approaching contract computer manufacturers in recent months “with offers to sell its plants.” One source told the newspaper that the Round Rock, Texas-based company expects to sell most, if not all, of its factories “within the next 18 months.”

Unsold factories would simply close, and Dell would get its computers made by contract manufacturers. The Journal report noted that ex-Dell factories could be first in line for contracts to continue making machines for Dell — an obvious sweetener to any possible deal.

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