Economic Issue Page

States, counties, and cities with high home-foreclosure rates - now poised to reap a windfall in federal aid to help them cope with the crisis - are busy laying plans for what, exactly, they will do with the money. So far, their blueprints are as varied as the places themselves. Some plan to use the money for demolition, some for rehabbing abandoned properties. Some even envision using the one-time bonanza to try to prevent future foreclosures. The money, $4 billion in all, is part of a larger housing rescue package that Congress approved and President Bush signed late last month. It will go to America's hardest hit communities - and even some that aren't so hard hit.

In an age of subprime mortgages, credit cards, and payday lending, it's hard to imagine that charging any interest was once considered immoral. Yet like many ancient moral leaders, Moses commanded, "If you lend money to any of my people who are poor, do not...require him to pay interest." (Exodus 22:25, Good News Translation). Interest is what fuels savings and investment. Without interest, borrowing - from home loans to bonds - would virtually disappear. Most of us today don't lend to the poor. Rather, we "lend" to the very rich: When we buy bonds or set up a savings account, we give banks and government our money, expecting a modest rate of return in exchange. Does Moses' injunction apply in such cases? If so, is our modern economy intrinsically sinful?

The National Center for Atmospheric Research, an important hub for work on the causes and consequences of climate change, has shut down a program focused on strengthening poor countries' ability to forecast and withstand droughts, floods and other climate-related hazards. The move, which center officials say resulted from the shrinking of federal science budgets, is being denounced by many experts on environmental risk, who say such research is more crucial than ever in a world with rising populations exposed to climate threats. In e-mail exchanges, these experts said the eliminated program, the Center for Capacity Building, was unique in its blend of research and training in struggling countries.

Utility shut-offs for customers behind on their energy bills are increasing around the country, reaching 50% or more in some hard-hit areas, as the effects of rising prices and a sagging economy are beginning to drag down more vulnerable consumers. Agencies that provide financial assistance for energy costs report long waiting lists and significant jumps in first-time applicants. With the prospect of much more serious trouble this winter, when bills traditionally are higher, Congress is exploring a significant increase in federal energy assistance as part of a second economic stimulus plan scheduled for consideration next month.

The soaring price of oil will leave the Iraqi government with a cumulative budget surplus of as much as $79 billion by year's end, an American federal oversight agency has concluded in an analysis released yesterday. The unspent windfall, which covers surpluses from oil sales from 2005 through 2008, appears likely to put an uncomfortable new focus on the approximately $48 billion in American taxpayer money devoted to rebuilding Iraq since the American-led invasion. And in an odd financial twist, a large amount of the surplus money is sitting in an American bank in New York - nearly $10 billion at the end of 2007, with more expected this year, when the accountability office estimates a skyrocketing surplus.

Planned layoffs at U.S. companies jumped 26 percent in July from June, depicting further deterioration in the labor market, a report showed on Monday. Planned layoffs at U.S. companies totaled 103,312 in July, compared with June's 81,755, employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc said. Announced job cuts at U.S. companies last month were the second highest total so far in 2008, more than double the 42,897 a year earlier, the report said. From January to July, planned layoffs totaled 579,260, up 33 percent from the same period a year ago. Financial companies, in particular mortgage lenders, have been slashing their payrolls, prompted by billions of losses and write-downs tied to soured investments on housing and mortgages.

If you were to ask Democrats Barney Frank and Chris Dodd -- the principal architects of the massive housing bill signed Wednesday by President Bush -- which of its many features pleases them most, the answer would surprise you. It is not the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the embattled mortgage giants, or the aid the bill provides for thousands of homeowners struggling to afford their subprime loans in a faltering real estate market. Instead, it is the section creating the National Housing Trust Fund, a creative way of meeting the chronic shortage of affordable low-income rental apartments -- a huge problem in cities and rural areas across the country.

The nation's employers eliminated 51,000 jobs in July, the seventh consecutive contraction in the labor market, as the unemployment rate reached a four-year high, signs that the pressure on business owners and consumers was likely to continue. Still, Friday's report from the Labor Department showed that the declines have softened since spring. The number of layoffs was less than the 75,000 that economists had expected, and the government said that businesses cut fewer jobs in June and May than first thought.