Joseph Lazzaro

Moody's Investors Service has placed the Aaa bond rating of the U.S. Government on review for a possible downgrade, due to the debt deal talks stalemate in Washington, and the possibility of a U.S. debt default, the credit rating agency announced. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke also said a default would trigger a major crisis.

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is quite candid regarding his evaluation of the impact of a U.S. Government default on the financial system: it would be catastrophic, and also hurt the nation's largest city.

The nation's two political parties, the Democrats and Republicans, are at it again -- so far failing to agree on a budget deficit reduction package and a debt ceiling raise. But which party is to blame for this latest crisis?

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), one of the most powerful interest groups in the United States, has launched a new ad campaign to protect benefits seniors have earned through a lifetime of hard work.

Still doubt the good faith and credit of the U.S. Government? Consider this: in June, PIMCO's Bill Gross, the head of the world's largest bond fund, increased his holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds, commonly known as Treasuries.

The head of the world's most powerful central bank said Wednesday a third round of quantitative easing, QE3, may be up ahead, if the tepid U.S. economic recovery doesn't improve. However, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, in Congressional testimony, underscored that the Fed is also considering other options -- or a monetary tightening -- if the recovery gains strength.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says he may have a way out of the debt deal crisis -- a sort of last-chance option that would permit President Barack Obama to increase the debt limit, even if Democrats and Republicans can't immediately agree regarding how to cut the budget deficit. But will Conservative Republicans support it?

The rhetoric is getting hot and heavy inside the beltway regarding the debt talks. On Tuesday, the Republicans essentially said the Democrats haven't offered a viable debt deal proposal and President Obama said Republican reluctance to compromise could prevent senior citizens from receiving Social Security payments on August 3.

OPINION: As President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats have to negotiate a debt deal and prevent the totally avoidable -- a U.S. default on its debt -- Tea Party Republicans appear only to be interested in one thing: getting their way, even if it hurts the nation.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry will receive the Medal of Honor -- the nation's highest military honor -- for his courageous actions in Afghanistan. Despite being wounded, Sgt. Petry threw a live grenade away from his fellow soldiers during combat, losing his right hand.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. is looking for action, not words from Syria regarding its domestic reform process, and warned that further delays by the Assad regime will only intensify the resistance movement, which seeks a democratic government.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, did not mince words Monday regarding who the American people should blame, if the U.S. Government defaults on its debt and Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling: President Obama and Congressional Democrats.

Former Fox News Talk Show Host Glenn Beck was warmly received by Israeli lawmakers during a visit to the Middle East nation.

This is the first day visitors can make a free, online reservation to visit the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. Advance visitor passes for date and time are required, officials said, and are free. The Memorial will be dedicated on the 10th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on September 11, 2011.

President Barack Obama on Monday reiterated that Congressional Republicans and Democrats will resolve the debt ceiling and that the U.S. Government would not default on its debt -- but the key, he underscored, is a GOP compromise on the revenue component. Major cuts in spending are already a part of the deal.

Unconventional economic times require unconventional answers, and awhile back an economist proposed one to create jobs: have the U.S. Government distribute a $3,000 gift card to every American over age 16.

Cutting federal spending in 2011 could tip the U.S. economy back into a recession, just as it almost did in 1937. On the contrary, if the federal government spent more on infrastructure/public works projects it would create many jobs, and achieve great things, like the construction of the Empire State Building in the 1930s and 1 World Trade Center today.

What is it about Sarah Palin? Support her or not, the Republican side of the U.S. political community has not seen as personable a public figure in decades, which is why the 2012 GOP nomination for U.S. president will not be decided until her intentions are known.

Americans, it’s been said, are a resilient, can-do bunch. Well, it looks like U.S. motorists will have to become even more resilient, as the days of $2-something per gallon gasoline appear to be gone.

Greece, tiny Mediterranean nation plagued by debt problems, still bears watching by U.S. investors/readers. The reason? Bond vigilantes who have driven up Greece's interest rates could do the same in the United States, if Washington doesn't eliminate its budget deficit.

There's no way to sugarcoat it: the current U.S. job market is a challenging one for recent grads -- for the young and young at heart. But fret not: you can increase the likelihood of finding meaningful employment by following a few important tips.

The last space shuttle flight does not mean the end of NASA sending humans into space. However, the era of big-ticket space projects that occurred during the Cold War is undoubtedly over, at least until the United States has eliminated its more than $14 trillion national debt.

In a sense, the Casey Anthony trial provides a snapshot of the United States -- showing, depending on your perspective, what's right about the nation, and what's lamentable.

The world's largest economy continued to create jobs a tepid rate in June, adding just 18,000 jobs, when economists were expected a gain of about 105,000. The sub-par job growth rate increases concern that the economy may enter a double-dip recession.

Suddenly, momentum is building in the nation's capitol toward what could be an historic deficit reduction package -- a grand deal deal of $4 trillion or more in cuts -- including changes to entitlement programs, cuts in defense spending, and selected tax increases via ending tax loopholes.

They're getting there. That, in a few words, perhaps best characterizes the state of the nation's debt ceiling talks. President Barack Obama said Thursday Congressional Democrats and Republicans are making progress toward deficit reduction and raising the debt ceiling, but big gaps remain.

It turns out, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's 'lamestream media' descriptive doesn't apply to just American journalists. It applies to journalists in the United Kingdom, as well, in the ex-governor's interpretation, following a British tabloid's story about a documentary made about her.

It's a small world, after all. For U.S. readers and investors, Greece may seem like some small, exotic European country, but that could not be further from the truth. From an interest rate standpoint, if Greece defaults on its debt, U.S. interest rates, including home mortgage rates, are likely to rise.

It's highly unlikely that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will replace U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on the 2012 Democratic Party presidential ticket, but sometimes is U.S. presidential politics, the unexpected occurs.