News In Brief

MID-DAY UPDATE: Equal pay for equal work, foreclosure fund and a royal wedding

Shelly Moulton Nov 17, 2010

The U.S. Senate will be considering a bill to ensure women and men receive equal pay for equal work. There’s yet another budget deficit reduction plan, and this time it is being proposed by the independent Bipartisan Policy Commission. Marketplace has confirmed that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Inspector General’s office could charge as many as 50 former bank executives for involvement in the financial collapse. And hopeful news for U.S. homeowners: Banks and lenders are in negotiations with states to set up a fund for people who can prove they lost their home in wrongful foreclosures.

Marketplace has learned that down at the U.S.-Mexican border the Department of Homeland Security has extended a virtual fence contract for Boeing, which expired today. And if that isn’t enough on Boeing’s plate, they also have a Chinese airplane company delivering 100 orders for commercial jetliners in direct competition to Boeing’s 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft.

Across the pond in Britain, the happiness of the Brits matters to their government as it announced plans for a happiness index, which will ask citizens about their well-being. Maybe now is not a good time to start measuring. Following yesterday’s announcement of a royal wedding, concern is brewing about the possible cost to taxpayers in a time of austerity.

And finally, just in time for the holiday season — a super size TV from Panasonic for a measly $100,000.

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