Washington scrambles to save clunker program

Date: Friday, July 31, 2009

Washington scrambles to save clunker program

Congress is moving quickly to add $2 billion to the government's "cash for
clunkers" program after strong demand threatened to swamp the program.

OBAMA SEES SIGNS SLOWDOWN IS EASING

Data due out Friday will show that the U.S. economy shrank in the second
quarter, he says, but adds that there's been a "significant slowing
down of the contraction."

Q2 GDP DOWN 1.0%, MUCH LESS THAN PAST 6 MONTHS

The U.S. economy contracts at a much smaller pace in the second
quarter of the year, Commerce Department data show, suggesting that
the trough of the recession has been reached.

CRUDE FUTURES KEY ON WALL ST. STOCKS, U.S. GDP

Crude-oil futures reversed losses and moved higher as U.S. stocks
showed the potential for further upside and as government data showed
a
smaller-than-expected contraction in the U.S. economy in the second quarter.

CHEVRON NET INCOME FALLS 71%; PRODUCTION RISES

Chevron's second-quarter net income falls 71% as the oil major joins
the rest of its class in sharply lower earnings tied to the global
recession and steep drop in energy prices compared with a year ago.