NPR 2008-07-15

Congressional leaders say the Bush administration's plan to shore up mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be on the president's desk as soon as next week. Lawmakers are reacting favorably to the proposal. NPR's Brian Naylor has more.

The administration wants Congress to increase the lines of credit for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and to allow the government to buy stock in the institutions as a way of making more capital available and to restore investor 2 confidence. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank says the plan makes sense. “We are not bailing 3 them out. We believe we are trying to help them cope with an excessive fear in the market that isn't rational.” The package will be attached to a housing bill working its way through Congress and Frank says it could be on the president's desk by next week. Brian Naylor, NPR News, the Capitol.

Hundreds of worried customers of IndyMac Bancorp were lined up this morning at the financial institution, hoping to pull out as much money as they could, following the announcement Friday from federal regulators they were seizing the bank’s assets. IndyMac's assets were seized Friday after regulators determined 4 the bank was insolvent 5. Collapse 6 of IndyMac is the second largest failure by a financial firm in US history. Regulators say it will take a substantial amount of time to fully 7 resolve the affairs of the failed bank.

President Bush has lifted a nearly 20-year-old ban, executive ban on prohibited off-shore oil drilling. The move, however, will not mean drilling would begin because a Congressional ban remains 8 in place. NPR's Don Gonyea reports

The executive order being lifted was signed by President Bush's father during his time in office. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino acknowledged today that this action by this president will have little effect unless Congress also acts. Ultimately, it's a political move with the White House pointing to Democrats 9 in Congress as the only impediment to more off-shore oil exploration. The president maintains that record high gasoline prices require more drilling, even though any impact on the price at the pump would not be felt for many years. The president himself has said there's no quick fix, but he has also pushed unsuccessfully for drilling in places like Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge since he took office in 2001. Don Gonyea, NPR News, Washington.

The Federal Aviation Administration said today it has approved measures designed to improve runway safety at the nation's major airports, including installation of lights that will signal pilots when a runway is safe to enter. Robert Sturgell is the acting 1 FAA administrator 10. "This is a system that is basically the traffic lights to tell pilots whether the runways are clear." The announcement comes amid criticism of the FAA over recent runway issues. The FAA Friday ordered a change in the way takeoffs and landings are sequenced after two airliners 11, one taking off and another landing, came within half a mile of one another at Kennedy Airport.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45 points today to close at 11,055. The NASDAQ was down 26 points.

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The brewer 12 of Budweiser says it has agreed to a takeover by Belgian brewer InBev. The St. Louis-based company announced it will accept a sweetened 52-billion-dollar offer from InBev. The move will create the world's largest brewer. It heads off what could have been a bitter fight for control of the company. Anheuser-Busch board agreed to the takeover last night. InBev's CEO Carlos Brito will be the CEO of the merged 13 company. InBev says it will use St. Louis as its North American headquarters.

Another airline has announced major job cuts. Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines and its subsidiary Skyway Airlines are trimming 1,200 jobs. Chuck Quirmbach of Wisconsin Public Radio reports.

Midwest Airlines recently announced it will remove twelve MD-80 jets from service because of concerns about the fuel efficiency of those planes. The company says that decision has triggered the majority of the job cuts being announced. Midwest spokesman Michael Brophy says cutting 1,200 jobs is difficult. "That's a significant number of people, but, this is an airline that I think (have) the real sense of family. And so,  it's a tough day here." Brophy says Midwest Airlines is in the middle of a major restructuring that will allow it to better compete during times of high oil prices. He says some jobs will end in a few weeks, others will be gone by mid-September. An unspecified number of the cuts will be furloughs, meaning people could be called back if Midwest adds more flights. For NPR News, I'm Chuck Quirmbach in Milwaukee.

A hurricane watch has been issued for Bermuda today as tropical storm Bertha, at one point the Atlantic season's first hurricane, has accelerated and picked up a bit of steam as it moves by the island. Bertha packing sustained winds of around seventy miles an hour is blamed for scattered 14 power outages across Bermuda, but no immediate 15 reports of injuries or damages there.