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Econ 101: July 22, 2011

Welcome to ThinkProgress Economy’s morning link roundup. This is what we’re reading. Have you seen any interesting news? Let us know in the comments section. You can also follow ThinkProgress Economy on Twitter.

  • U.S. consumers “are increasingly using credit cards to pay for basic necessities as income gains fail to keep pace with rising food and fuel prices.” [Bloomberg]
  • The government rescue of Chrysler officially ended yesterday “when the Treasury Department sold off its remaining stake in the automaker, and the final tally shows the taxpayers lost $1.3 billion.” [Los Angeles Times]
  • The European Union “moved Friday to stanch the region’s lingering financial crisis, agreeing to $145 billion in new loans to Greece and measures to prop up weak banks and other national governments.” [Washington Post]
  • House Republicans (joined by 10 Democrats) last night approved legislation that would “make it easier to restrain the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from issuing regulations.” [The Hill]
  • “Housing prices increased in May for the second straight month but still lag behind last year’s level,” according to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency data. [The Hill]
  • In response to the National Labor Relations Board’s investigation into potential union-busting at Boeing, House Republicans on the Education and Workforce committee approved a bill yesterday that would prevent the NLRB from looking into companies’ transfer of labor. [Post and Courier]
  • A U.S. District judge threw out a lawsuit that accused mega-bank Goldman Sachs “of duping investors on mortgage securities that were sold during the buildup to the financial crisis.” [Wall Street Journal]
  • Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weill calls Bank of America’s recent stock plunge one of “the most immediate threats to the global financial system.” [Bloomberg Views]
  • Egypt has “lost more than $2.6 billion by the end of June because of the upheaval surrounding former President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation and ongoing protests against the interim military government,” according to the country’s tourism officials. [McClatchy]
  • Many of the states hit hardest by this week’s heat wave “have drastically cut or entirely eliminated programs that help poor people pay their electric bills, forcing thousands to go without air conditioning when they need it most.” [Huffington Post]
  • Alabama’s Jefferson county “faces an 80 percent chance of declaring bankruptcy, one of its commissioners said on Thursday”; if it happens, it would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. [Reuters]
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