In addition to a whopping 9% of Americans thinking the country is headed in the right direction, USA Today reports that the financial meltdown has demolished retirement savings, wiping out $2 trillion  - or about 20% of value - in the past 15 months.

MSNBC is reporting that Congress is close to reaching a deal on the bailout.  Top leaders are huddling today at 10:00 a.m. to work out the details before taking the plan to the White House where President George W. Bush will be meeting with Barack Obama and John McCain.  Sen. Olympia Snowe said that she wasn’t sure that the deal would be complete before the end of the week.

The timing of the deal will have a huge impact on whether McCain will attend tomorrow night’s debate in Oxford, Mississippi.  I still don’t understand McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign and get involved in this problem.  He doesn’t sit on a committee with jurisdiction and several outlets are quoting sources from inside the Treasury suggesting that McCain’s decision has unnecessarily politicized the situation.

Chuck Todd reports that House Republicans were on the verge of killing this bailout plan, which would have resulted in a negative that McCain could not have survived.  He also notes that polls were moving quickly to Obama and McCain needed to get away from the bad political week he was having.  “At the photo op, he’ll declare victory,” Todd said.

John Dickerson of Slate writes, “John McCain has launched his second Hail Mary pass in a month. On Wednesday he called for a suspension of the presidential campaign—no events, no ads, and no debate Friday—so that he and Barack Obama can head to Washington to forge a bipartisan solution. Even more than his selection of Sarah Palin as running mate, this gambit feels like a wild improvisation someone in the McCain team mapped out on his chest: OK, you run to the fire hydrant, cut left, and then when he gets to the Buick, John, you heave it.”

Barack Obama and John McCain will return to Washington today to meet with President George W. Bush to discuss the state of the economy.

There is still no word whether McCain will participate in Friday’s debate in Oxford, Mississippi.

Is the sky falling?

Barack Obama and John McCain weigh in.

Kane Webb of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette sits down with CALS chief and big idea guy Bobby Roberts to talk about War Memorial Park.  Unfortunately, the article is only available to subscribers, but this should tell you enough about his view of Roberts’ involvement:

“This I do know: Bobby Roberts has a history of getting things done, of thinking a little differently. And when he comes up with an idea, I listen. He’s come up with an idea.”

Right on, Mr. Webb.

Thank you to the readers of the Arkansas Times who voted in the annual “Best of Arkansas” readers poll.  This blog was recognized as a runner up for Best Local Blog behind the Times own “Arkansas Blog,” which took home the winning prize.

Thanks for voting and thanks for reading.

“In a statement timed to precede the opening of Asian markets Monday, as well as a closely watched auction of debt by Freddie, the Treasury said it plans to seek approval from Congress for a temporary increase in a longstanding Treasury line of credit for the two companies. The Treasury also said it would seek temporary authority so that it could buy equity in either company “if needed” to ensure they have “sufficient capital to continue to serve their mission” of providing a steady flow of money into home mortgages. The plan, which requires congressional approval, also calls for a provision to give the Federal Reserve a “consultative role” in the process of setting capital requirements and other “prudential standards” for Fannie and Freddie,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

Rumors swirled this morning - from the Wall Street Journal to CNBC - that Verizon and Alltel had inked a deal that would result in Verizon acquiring the Little Rock based wireless provider. The deal is for real, according to Scott Ford.

The Arkansas Times and Arkansas Business have been all over this story today.  Comprehensive coverage from both publications, all in the online realm. Bravo. Lance Turner, also of Arkansas Business, has video of Mr. Ford’s announcement on his own blog.

“The impact of this sale could be profound and painful, although some leaders are hoping it creates a new opportunity.  Alltel has been a home-grown company, is a deeply-rooted corporate contributor to the capital city and state, and it employs thousands directly and indirectly when you consider the firm’s product and service vendors as well as employees,” notes Roby Brock of Talk Business.

KARK, KATV and KTHV all have coverage of the announcement.

Dealbook at the New York Times has more analysis on the deal.

The New York Post reports that the New York Times will embark on its first mass firing in its 156-year history.   From this story, it appears that the Metro desk will absorb a bulk of the cuts.  The Times has also seen a decline in online ad revenue from a year ago, prompting the paper to experiment with welcome ads.   According to Editor & Publisher, “A little more than one third of the top 30 newspaper Web sites reported an increase in the time spent per person in March, according to new data from Nielsen Online.”

Thanks to Lance Turner for the links.

                                                            
Ellen McGirt has a very interesting article in the April issue of Fast Company about Barack Obama as a brand, and the lessons businesses can take from his campaign.  She concludes, “Barack Obama may not win his party’s nomination. And even if he is nominated, he may lose at the polls. If that happens, pundits will be quick to point out strategic or tactical missteps, and some will say America just isn’t ready to elect a black man as president. Such a pat analysis is to be expected. But there is no question that the brand of Obama — what he represents to the next generation of Americans — is important. A business that ignores this message does so at its own peril.”

“The University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service and the Sam M. Walton College of Business today announced a new dual degree program in which students can receive both a Master in Public Service and a Master of Business Administration,” according to release issued by the Clinton School today.  The first class will begin in the fall of 2008.

Friends from Wal Mart tell me that the famous (and once required) weekly Saturday morning management meetings instituted by Founder Sam Walton have been changed to monthly meetings—no doubt the result of a diverse and international workforce and an expanding leadership team—not all of whom are based in Northwest Arkansas.

“Yahoo Inc.’s board will reject Microsoft Corp.’s $44.6 billion takeover bid after concluding the unsolicited offer undervalues the slumping Internet pioneer,” reports AP.

In a bold move to counter Google’s online pre-eminence, Microsoft said Friday that it had made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo for about $44.6 billion in a mix of cash and stock. If consummated, the deal would redraw the competitive landscape in Internet consumer services, where both Microsoft and Yahoo have both struggled to compete with Google. The offer of $31 a share represents a 62 percent premium over Yahoo’s closing stock price of $19.18 on Thursday. It would be Microsoft’s largest acquisition ever,” reports The New York Times.