The administration offered as an example brake pads for the M1A1 tank. While the pads are identical to fire-truck brake pads – and are, therefore, widely available – the company that makes them had trouble shipping them to foreign nations because they fell under the same product classification as the tank itself.

Now, the White House says, the tiers of products subject to export control will be refined to reflect product differences.

There will be three tiers for export-controlled products: Those at the top serve a "critical" military or intelligence purpose; those in the middle have a "substantial" military or intelligence function and those on the bottom have a "significant" military or intelligence role.

"This flexible construct," the administration says, "will improve the nation’s national security and permit the government to adjust controls in a timely manner over a product’s life cycle."

Products in the highest tier will require special licenses to be shipped; those in the middle tier may be subject to license exemptions if they are sent to allies or multilateral partners. In most cases, the products on the bottom tier won’t be subject to licensing requirements.

According to the White House, a major munitions list is being recategorized under the new rules. About 32 percent of the items on it should be totally decontrolled. That means those munitions products will be easier to ship overseas – good news for the companies that produce them.

The Obama administration has stated a goal of doubling exports in the next five years – a target the nation is on track to meet, the president said in July.

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The California Energy Commission is helping bankroll renewable-energy companies across the state with its Clean Energy Business Financing Program. Providing financing to green companies will help create jobs and stimulate renewable-energy uptake in the Golden State, the CEC hopes.

Already, demand for clean power is robust: California is requiring its utilities to buy a third of their power from renewable sources by 2020 under something called a renewable portfolio standard, and green-energy projects are springing up around the state.

The CEBFP works differently from an RPS, though. The program is designed to provide assistance to companies that make green-energy products – directly assisting firms that facilitate renewable-power installations.

Calisolar said last week that it was receiving a $5 million loan from the CEC. The funds will be used to increase the company’s annual production capacity from 60 to 75 megawatts – a move that will create or preserve an estimated 181 jobs.

"The Clean Energy Business Financing Program links two of California’s most vital interests, the environment and the economy," Calisolar CEO Sandra Beach Lin said.

Karen Douglas, the chairman of the CEC, echoed her sentiment. "By encouraging the creation of manufacturing jobs right here at home," she noted, "this program will help California to reclaim some of the most significant benefits of our [renewable energy] policies."

Job creation would be welcome in California, which has an unemployment rate well above the national average. In July, the state’s jobless rate was 12.3 percent – and the San Francisco Chronicle calculated the underemployment rate at a staggering 24.1 percent.

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Between the second quarter of 2009 and the same period this year, prices rose 3.6 percent, the Case-Shiller home price index shows. Sequential gains also occurred: Prices increased 4.4 percent, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, between the first quarter and the second.

There’s little doubt that the homebuyer tax credit – which provided up to $8,000 to first-time buyers and as much as $6,500 to current homeowners who were relocating – contributed to the second quarter’s price appreciation. Demand for homes jumped in the months preceding the tax credit’s expiration (it ran out on April 30).

Almost as soon as the credit expired, though, home sales plummeted. The National Association of Realtors says sales of existing homes were at their lowest point in 15 years in July – and the market for new homes is in even worse shape. According to Commerce Department data, new-home sales were at their lowest level ever last month.

David Blitzer, the chairman of S&P’s index committee, conceded that the Case-Shiller index’s improvement came as a result of the tax credit.

"The monthly composites cover June and the national index covers the second quarter, when the government’s program for first time homebuyers was winding down," he said. "The worry starts when you remember that the homebuyers’ tax credit has expired, foreclosures are still at high levels and July data on home sales and starts were very, very weak."

A new homebuyer tax credit program is unlikely to materialize – but the direction of housing market is just as uncertain.

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The California Energy Commission is helping bankroll renewable-energy companies across the state with its Clean Energy Business Financing Program. Providing financing to green companies will help create jobs and stimulate renewable-energy uptake in the Golden State, the CEC hopes.

Already, demand for clean power is robust: California is requiring its utilities to buy a third of their power from renewable sources by 2020 under something called a renewable portfolio standard, and green-energy projects are springing up around the state.

The CEBFP works differently from an RPS, though. The program is designed to provide assistance to companies that make green-energy products – directly assisting firms that facilitate renewable-power installations.

Calisolar said last week that it was receiving a $5 million loan from the CEC. The funds will be used to increase the company’s annual production capacity from 60 to 75 megawatts – a move that will create or preserve an estimated 181 jobs.

"The Clean Energy Business Financing Program links two of California’s most vital interests, the environment and the economy," Calisolar CEO Sandra Beach Lin said.

Karen Douglas, the chairman of the CEC, echoed her sentiment. "By encouraging the creation of manufacturing jobs right here at home," she noted, "this program will help California to reclaim some of the most significant benefits of our [renewable energy] policies."

Job creation would be welcome in California, which has an unemployment rate well above the national average. In July, the state’s jobless rate was 12.3 percent – and the San Francisco Chronicle calculated the underemployment rate at a staggering 24.1 percent.

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Between the second quarter of 2009 and the same period this year, prices rose 3.6 percent, the Case-Shiller home price index shows. Sequential gains also occurred: Prices increased 4.4 percent, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, between the first quarter and the second.

There’s little doubt that the homebuyer tax credit – which provided up to $8,000 to first-time buyers and as much as $6,500 to current homeowners who were relocating – contributed to the second quarter’s price appreciation. Demand for homes jumped in the months preceding the tax credit’s expiration (it ran out on April 30).

Almost as soon as the credit expired, though, home sales plummeted. The National Association of Realtors says sales of existing homes were at their lowest point in 15 years in July – and the market for new homes is in even worse shape. According to Commerce Department data, new-home sales were at their lowest level ever last month.

David Blitzer, the chairman of S&P’s index committee, conceded that the Case-Shiller index’s improvement came as a result of the tax credit.

"The monthly composites cover June and the national index covers the second quarter, when the government’s program for first time homebuyers was winding down," he said. "The worry starts when you remember that the homebuyers’ tax credit has expired, foreclosures are still at high levels and July data on home sales and starts were very, very weak."

A new homebuyer tax credit program is unlikely to materialize – but the direction of housing market is just as uncertain.

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3. Homebuyer tax credit extension fails to pass A measure that would have extended the homebuyer tax credit...

India, along with Saudi Arabia, had criticized Research in Motion – the Canadian company that sells the BlackBerry line – for failing to provide security officials with access to the data that travels through its servers. Security agencies in the U.S. and U.K. can scrutinize the data in RIM’s servers; the Indian and Saudi governments argued that they should have the same privilege.

RIM devised a solution whereby its data was accessible to the Indian government, helping stave off a BlackBerry ban.

BlackBerry phones are popular among corporate users precisely because the data they send and receive is routed through RIM’s network. The company’s secure servers are a major selling point – particularly for enterprise users concerned about secrecy.

But terrorist groups may also be relying on the protection those servers provide, security agencies say.

"Any communication through the telecom networks should be accessible to the law enforcement agencies and all telecom service providers including third parties have to comply with this," the Financial Times quotes India’s home affairs ministry as saying.

India has been rocked by terrorist attacks in recent years; hundreds died in a single incident in Mumbai in November 2009. And terrorist cells are using increasingly sophisticated technology to communicate, so Indian security officials are particularly attuned to the risks posed by networks like RIM’s.

The company came forward with a proactive response – a bid to keep the 1 million-plus subscribers it has in India. In addition, if it failed to meet the demands of the Indian government, other nations could be more likely to ban its email and messaging technology.

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India, along with Saudi Arabia, had criticized Research in Motion – the Canadian company that sells the BlackBerry line – for failing to provide security officials with access to the data that travels through its servers. Security agencies in the U.S. and U.K. can scrutinize the data in RIM’s servers; the Indian and Saudi governments argued that they should have the same privilege.

RIM devised a solution whereby its data was accessible to the Indian government, helping stave off a BlackBerry ban.

BlackBerry phones are popular among corporate users precisely because the data they send and receive is routed through RIM’s network. The company’s secure servers are a major selling point – particularly for enterprise users concerned about secrecy.

But terrorist groups may also be relying on the protection those servers provide, security agencies say.

"Any communication through the telecom networks should be accessible to the law enforcement agencies and all telecom service providers including third parties have to comply with this," the Financial Times quotes India’s home affairs ministry as saying.

India has been rocked by terrorist attacks in recent years; hundreds died in a single incident in Mumbai in November 2009. And terrorist cells are using increasingly sophisticated technology to communicate, so Indian security officials are particularly attuned to the risks posed by networks like RIM’s.

The company came forward with a proactive response – a bid to keep the 1 million-plus subscribers it has in India. In addition, if it failed to meet the demands of the Indian government, other nations could be more likely to ban its email and messaging technology.

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While no pressure was applied to BP by government officials, the company simply decided that its bid to drill in environmentally sensitive Arctic waters was too tenuous at the moment, the Guardian reports. "Everyone realized it would be political madness to give the green light to BP," a source said to the British newspaper.

BP is, at any rate, working to rehabilitate its reputation in the U.S. in the wake of the oil spill that has been called America’s worst environmental catastrophe. The oil giant reported Tuesday that it had made $400 million in claims payments to those afflicted by the spill; the payment process has now been turned over to the U.S. government.

BP has also granting $3 million to tourism agencies in Mississippi’s Gulf Coast counties, the Sun-Herald newspaper reports. The funds will be used to promote upcoming events in the three counties. They follow $15 million in tourism-promotion grants that BP gave to the state of Mississippi earlier this year.

The fallout from the spill is continuing in Washington, as well. The panel investigating the causes of the disaster said President Barack Obama failed to consult with enough environmental experts before backing increased offshore drilling. Obama pulled that proposal after the spill began in April.

Panel co-chair Bob Graham suggested that Congress require presidents to discuss plans that could have serious environmental ramifications with experts before those plans can proceed. In the past, major proposals like boosting offshore drilling haven’t been thought through sufficiently, Graham argued.

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While no pressure was applied to BP by government officials, the company simply decided that its bid to drill in environmentally sensitive Arctic waters was too tenuous at the moment, the Guardian reports. "Everyone realized it would be political madness to give the green light to BP," a source said to the British newspaper.

BP is, at any rate, working to rehabilitate its reputation in the U.S. in the wake of the oil spill that has been called America’s worst environmental catastrophe. The oil giant reported Tuesday that it had made $400 million in claims payments to those afflicted by the spill; the payment process has now been turned over to the U.S. government.

BP has also granting $3 million to tourism agencies in Mississippi’s Gulf Coast counties, the Sun-Herald newspaper reports. The funds will be used to promote upcoming events in the three counties. They follow $15 million in tourism-promotion grants that BP gave to the state of Mississippi earlier this year.

The fallout from the spill is continuing in Washington, as well. The panel investigating the causes of the disaster said President Barack Obama failed to consult with enough environmental experts before backing increased offshore drilling. Obama pulled that proposal after the spill began in April.

Panel co-chair Bob Graham suggested that Congress require presidents to discuss plans that could have serious environmental ramifications with experts before those plans can proceed. In the past, major proposals like boosting offshore drilling haven’t been thought through sufficiently, Graham argued.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation said that it is ramping up its investigation of Toyota’s Corolla and Matrix models. The cars may be susceptible to sudden stalling – a situation that could pose a significant safety risk to drivers.

When the NHTSA opened its preliminary investigation of 2005, 2006 and 2007 Corolla and Matrix models last November, it had received 26 stalling complaints, Reuters reports. It has now received in excess of 160.

The administration is opening an engineering analysis of the stalling problem, which could affect as many as 1.2 million vehicles. Engineering analyses, automotive news site Inside Line says, are sometimes the precursors to full recalls.

Inside Line quoted an afflicted Corolla owner as saying that her engine stalled at an intersection. "It was a harrowing and terrifying experience and I feared for my safety," the unnamed driver said.

The spate of recalls that has plagued Toyota comes as somewhat ironic. The company built its reputation on bulletproof reliability and high quality – and its reputation for developing high-quality vehicles is being called into question in some corners. More than 10 million of Toyota’s vehicles have been recalled in the past year.

Nevertheless, the company posted a $2.2 billion profit in the second quarter, and it is leading the way in sales of hybrid vehicles. Toyota and Lexus, the company’s luxury brand, combined for 73.9 percent of the U.S. hybrid market in July.

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