12/16

1. Government shutdown- Easily the most important economic event of 2013 was the government shutdown over the Congressional budget standoff.

2. Debt Ceiling Standoff- This year was not the first time Congress put the Nation in a position that risked defaulting on government debts; being a re-occurrence does not lessen its impact though.

3. Bond Buying Taper- timeline around the Federal Reserve’s bond buying taper is still uncertain however some members of the Fed indicate that it could be on its way before the 2014 cutoff.

4. Sequester- One the one hand, the national deficit has been decreased through the largely Republican efforts of the sequester, automatic cuts to federal programs.

5.  Benefit Programs Cut- With the discussion of the sequester, it seems appropriate to get a bit more specific on which programs and some people who have strongly felt the economic brunt of cuts.

6. Sanctions Against Iran- More significant than any economic effect it may have had on the United States  though that too is important  sanctions against Iran’s oil and gas industry have had a major crippling effect against the countries economic health.

7. Detroit’s Bankruptcy- On December 3, Detroit’s bankruptcy petition was ruled in Federal Bankruptcy Court by Steven Rhodes.

8.  Lawsuit against Big Banks- The year 2013 brought with it the record breaking Settlement and the Department of Justice for $13 billion.

9. Home Mortgage Debt- present $9.39 trillion in home-mortgage debt is a 12 percent drop from the first-quarter of 2008 prior to the housing bubble popping.

10. New Budget Deal- Finally, we hit the most recent, and possibly most uplifting item for the year  Congress passing a bipartisan budget dealing finally.