The Illinois Personal Injury Weblog of Schaeffer & Lamere P.C.

Locke for Commerce

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News: "Obama chooses Locke to run Commerce Department," by Liz Sidoti --

President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced he has chosen former Washington Gov. Gary Locke as his nominee for Commerce secretary, trying a third time to fill a key Cabinet post for a country in recession.

"I'm sure it's not lost on anyone that we've tried this a couple of times. But I'm a big believer in keeping at something until you get it right. And Gary is the right man for this job," Obama said, standing with the fellow Democrat in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House.

--Posted by the Madison County Illinois personal injury lawyers and the Alton Illinois car accident attorneys of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C., handling lawsuits for accidents in Missouri and Illinois, personal injury Illinois and Missouri, products liability Illinois and Missouri, workers' compensation, medical malpractice Illinois and Missouri, Illinois truck accidents.

Say Hello to 1997

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News: "Major stock market indexes fall to 1997 levels," by Sara Lepro--

Investors' sagging confidence has pulled the major stock market indexes to their lowest levels in over a decade.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell to April 1997 levels Monday, while the Dow Jones industrial average, down about 150 points, reached its levels of October 1997 as investors succumbed to their growing worries about a recession that has no end in sight. "People left and right are throwing in the towel," said Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services.

--Posted by the Madison County Illinois personal injury lawyers and the Alton Illinois car accident attorneys of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C., handling lawsuits for accidents in Missouri and Illinois, personal injury Illinois and Missouri, products liability Illinois and Missouri, workers' compensation, medical malpractice Illinois and Missouri, Illinois truck accidents.

Ouch: Dow at Six-Year Lows

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News: "Dow slides to new 6-year lows, led by financials," by Stephen Bernard--

Stocks tumbled again on Wall Street Friday, leading a worldwide rout, as investors lost even more confidence in the ability of U.S. banks to right themselves.

Investors again pummeled the shares of financial bellwethers Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., sending them down 21 percent and 18 percent respectively in early afternoon trading.

--Posted by the Madison County Illinois personal injury lawyers and the Alton Illinois car accident attorneys of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C., handling lawsuits for accidents in Missouri and Illinois, personal injury Illinois and Missouri, products liability Illinois and Missouri, workers' compensation, medical malpractice Illinois and Missouri, Illinois truck accidents.

Obama's Giant Mortgage Plan

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News: "Obama to unveil $75 billion mortgage relief plan," by Mark S. Smith and Alen Zibel--

President Barack Obama's plan to tackle the foreclosure crisis will spend $75 billion in an effort to prevent up to 9 million Americans from losing their homes.

In tandem, the Treasury Department said it would double the size of its lifeline to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The government, which seized the mortgage finance companies last fall, said Wednesday it would absorb up to $200 billion in losses at each company.

--Posted by the Madison County Illinois personal injury lawyers and the Alton Illinois car accident attorneys of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C., handling lawsuits for accidents in Missouri and Illinois, personal injury Illinois and Missouri, products liability Illinois and Missouri, workers' compensation, medical malpractice Illinois and Missouri, Illinois truck accidents.

The Plane Crash: Investigating the Engines

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News: "NTSB to lift engines from NY plane crash site"--

An investigator says a crane will lift the engines from the site of last week's deadly plane crash outside Buffalo, New York. Steve Chealander (CHEE'-lan-der) of the National Transportation Safety Board says the engines will be taken from the debris field on Monday.

Investigators want to scrutinize all the pieces to learn whether the plane was intact when it hit the ground.

--Posted by the Madison County Illinois personal injury lawyers and the Alton Illinois car accident attorneys of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C., handling lawsuits for accidents in Missouri and Illinois, personal injury Illinois and Missouri, products liability Illinois and Missouri, workers' compensation, medical malpractice Illinois and Missouri, Illinois truck accidents.

How the Stimulus Will Work

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News: "Stimulus Aims Two-Phase Jolt at Fading U.S. Economy," by Matthew Benjamin--

The stimulus plan emerging from Congress may jolt the U.S. economy in successive waves: relief to cash-strapped consumers, businesses and states, then a job- creating lift from spending on roads, utilities and public transit.

While the package will take time to have an impact, and unemployment is likely to keep rising for months, it will start returning the U.S. toward growth by the end of the year, economists said.

--Posted by Alton Illinois personal injury lawyers and the Alton Illinois car accident attorneys of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C., handling lawsuits for accidents in Missouri and Illinois, personal injury Illinois and Missouri, products liability Illinois and Missouri, workers' compensation, medical malpractice Illinois and Missouri, Illinois truck accidents.

Stimulus Deal: Reached

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News: "Key lawmakers reach deal on $789B stimulus bill," by David Espo--

Moving with lightning speed, key lawmakers announced agreement Wednesday on a $789 billion economic stimulus measure designed to create millions of jobs in a nation reeling from recession. President Barack Obama could sign the bill within days.

"The middle ground we've reached creates more jobs than the original Senate bill and costs less than the original House bill," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, one of the participants in an exhausting and frenzied round of bargaining.

--Posted by Alton Illinois personal injury lawyers and the Alton Illinois car accident attorneys of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C., handling lawsuits for accidents in Missouri and Illinois, personal injury Illinois and Missouri, products liability Illinois and Missouri, workers' compensation, medical malpractice Illinois and Missouri, Illinois truck accidents.

A Cap on Executive Pay

From the Associated Press via Yahoo News: "Obama caps executive pay tied to bailout money," by Jim Kuhnhenn--

President Barack Obama on Wednesday imposed $500,000 caps on senior executive pay for the most distressed financial institutions receiving federal bailout money, saying Americans are upset with "executives being rewarded for failure."

Obama announced the dramatic new government intervention into corporate America at the White House, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner at his side. The president said the executive-pay limits are a first step, to be followed by the unveiling next week of a sweeping new framework for spending what remains of the $700 billion financial industry bailout that Congress created last year.

--Posted by Alton Illinois personal injury lawyers and the Alton Illinois car accident attorneys of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C., handling lawsuits for accidents in Missouri and Illinois, personal injury Illinois and Missouri, products liability Illinois and Missouri, workers' compensation, medical malpractice Illinois and Missouri, Illinois truck accidents.

Pirates and US Seamen

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News: "US seamen are being trained to fend off pirates," by Clarke Canfield--

With an alarming number of tankers and cargo ships getting hijacked on the high seas, the nation's maritime academies are offering more training to merchant seamen in how to fend off attacks from pirates armed not with cutlasses and flintlocks but automatic weapons and grenade launchers.

Colleges are teaching students to fishtail their vessels at high speed, drive off intruders with high-pressure water hoses and illuminate their decks with floodlights.

--Posted by Alton Illinois personal injury lawyers and the Alton Illinois car accident attorneys of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C., handling lawsuits for accidents in Missouri and Illinois, personal injury Illinois and Missouri, products liability Illinois and Missouri, workers' compensation, medical malpractice Illinois and Missouri, Illinois truck accidents.