Wednesday, January 21, 2009
[1]
Obama has been sworn in, but his top money guy depends on the goodwill of others. Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner supplicates in front of the Senate finance committee, whose approval for his nomination may have been dimmed by recent revelations that he shirked a few tax payments and employed a nanny whose immigration papers later went stale. It’s a rare opportunity for political haymaking during the Obama honeymoon, but the GOP has to be wary of any move that could be seen as hindering the new administration’s response to the economic crisis.
[2]
It’s not just exercising its constitutional duty to review appointments, though. The august congressional halls will be chockablock with favor-seeking and -dispensing legislators, deputants, and lobbyists. Among the committees meeting are appropriations (reviewing its stimulus package) at noon ET, energy and commerce (discussing plans to delay the transition to digital-only TV till June) at 1:30 p.m. ET, and the Senate budget, commerce and homeland security committees.
[3]
A clenched-fist-full of big concerns announce earnings reports on Wednesday. They include railroader CSX at 8:30 a.m. ET, Abbott Laboratories and US Bancorp at 9 a.m. ET, American Airlines’ AMR Corp. at 2 p.m. ET, and West Coast tech giants eBay and Apple at 5 p.m. ET.
[4]
Despite decades of limited or flagging growth,
[5]
The Brooklyn Academy of Music is expected to officially kick off a $300 million fundraising campaign Wednesday. The recession hasn’t curtailed our need for beauty, art, or attractively designed infrastructure. So consider a little donation to your local arts organization during this post-New Year’s philanthropic drought.
Comments