American Morning
AM Minding Your Business for December 22, 2011
Today on American Morning, Christine Romans reports on the morning business news headlines.
This morning, we're watching:
* U.S. stock futures are trading higher this morning after a quiet day yesterday. The Dow and S&P 500 just barely ending the day in positive territory. Investors were concerned that Europe's banks were in more trouble than originally thought.
* This morning, we'll get a fresh read on the employment situation. The initial jobless claims report is expected to show that 380,000 unemployment claims were filed for the first time last week. It's a good sign for the jobs market.
* The Justice Department is announcing Bank of America will pay $335 million to settle claims the bank's Countrywide Financial lending unit steered minorities into into higher interest rate sub-prime loans. Attorney General Eric Holder says the discrimination took place between 2004 and 2008.
* Investigators who are trying to track down the missing $1.2 billion in customer funds missing after the collapse of MF Global say some of that money could be in the United Kingdom. They've identified about $700 million that was transferred to England in the days before the firm's collapse. Investigators warn getting that money back could be a long and drawn-out process.
* Johnson and Johnson is pulling 12 million bottles of Motrin from store shelves. The company, which has been plagued by recalls over the past two years, says the products are safe.
* It's go time for workers at UPS. Today is the company's busiest shipping day of the year. UPS says it will deliver nearly 26 million packages today - or almost 300 a second! That's about a million more than it delivered last year. UPS attributes the increase to more folks shopping on-line.
Tune in to American Morning at 6am Eastern every day for the latest in business news.
Vander Plaats says Santorum 'comes from us and not to us'
Long shot 2012 GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum placed all his chips on winning the Iowa Caucuses on Jan 3rd, and it just won him the backing of leaders of an influential conservative group in the state.
The President of the Family Leader, Bob Vander Plaats, is throwing his support behind the former Senator for the nomination. But in a new report this morning, there are questions about how he came to that decision.
This morning, Vander Plaats talks with Christine Romans about his endorsement of Santorum.
Rep. Bachmann: No reason to back out of presidential race
2012 GOP Presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann is on a bus tour of all 99 counties in Iowa, hoping for a late comeback with two weeks to go until the Iowa Caucus on Jan. 3rd.
Her campaign claims that the leader of a very influential conservative group asked her to consider getting out of the race.
This morning on American Morning, Rep. Bachmann talks with CNN's Ali Velshi and addressed the call from the Family Leader's Bob Vander Plaats for her to step aside, saying there's no reason for her to do that at this point.
Are Washington lawmakers getting rich with insider trading? Business Insider's Henry Blodget on how big the problem is
Some in Washington are accused of getting rich by doing things that would get you in some serious trouble.
Hedge funds are reportedly setting up meetings with lawmakers to discuss legislation. They're then trading on that information that you don't have access to. And they're making a lot of money. From the outside, this certainly looks a lot like insider trading.
This morning on American Morning, Business Insider founder and former sock analyst Henry Blodget explains how prevalent this practice is and what is being done to stop it.
Why astronomers are geeking out about NASA discovery of Earth-sized planets
It's being called a cosmic milestone for planet hunters!
For the first time ever, NASA's Kepler space telescope spotted two Earth-sized planets outside our solar system, orbiting a sun-like star. Though scientists say 1,000 light years away and at 800 degrees it's too hot for life, it's still being hailed as an important moment for space research.
This morning on American Morning, Franklin Institute Science Museum chief astronomer Derrick Pitts explains what makes this discovery so important.
What's in GOP candidate Jon Huntsman's economic plan? Christine Romans breaks down the numbers
There's one 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate who is sitting out Iowa, focussing on New Hampshire.
Jon Huntsman is a two-time Governor of Utah, speaks Mandarin fluently and recently stepped down as President Obama's Ambassador to China. Though he is polling in single digits, his economic plan has garnered the endorsement of the Wall Street Journal.
Christine Romans has analyzed Newt Gingrich's and Mitt Romney's plans. So what's in Huntsman's plan? Christine explains here.
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Welcome to the American Morning blog where you can get daily news updates from American Morning's reporters and producers. Join us for "the most news in the morning," weekdays from 6-9 a.m. ET, only on CNN.
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