ATLANTA (AP) — It’s been 4 1/2 years since former Home Depot Chief Executive Bob Nardelli’s bold prediction that the home improvement retailer could sustain “unlimited growth” without significantly affecting sales at established stores.

That statement was made during much better economic times.

The Atlanta-based company, under different leadership, a different growth philosophy and amid an ailing housing market, put the brakes Thursday on some of its future expansion plans and said it would do what was previously unthinkable — close 15 of its underperforming flagship stores.

It is the first time the world’s largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. The move, to be completed within the next two months, will affect 1,300 employees.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080501/home_depot_store_closings.html?.v=2

Gulf States May End Dollar Pegs, Kuwait Minister Says (Update4)

By Fiona MacDonald and Matthew Brown

May 1 (Bloomberg) — Gulf states are considering dropping their pegs to the dollar after the U.S. currency’s decline stoked inflation across the region, Kuwaiti Finance Minister Mustafa al- Shimali said.

“Yes, there are some” Gulf Cooperation Council states considering dropping their pegs to the dollar, which has fallen 13 percent against the euro in the last 12 months, al-Shimali said in an interview in Kuwait late yesterday without naming the countries. “Some countries will do what we are doing.”

Al-Shimali’s comments may restoke speculation of a change in Middle East currency systems that eased after the United Arab Emirates and Qatar last month ruled out any revaluation or dropping the dollar peg in the short term. The issue will remain a key issue as long as inflation remains high.

“Inflation is rising in the Gulf to a great extent because of loose monetary policy,” said Marios Maratheftis, head of research for Standard Chartered Plc in the Middle East in a telephone interview from Dubai. “Tightening monetary policy can only happen if they drop their currency pegs or strengthen the currency, preferably both.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKafZEdY2xF8&refer=worldwide

By Luke Baker Thu May 1, 2:55 AM ET

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) – The U.S. military hopes to double its emergency funds for aid and reconstruction in Afghanistan this year, turning a once small-scale program into a core part of its strategy to defeat Taliban insurgents.

If the U.S. Congress approves, commanders on the ground say they could soon have as much as $410 million to finance new schools, roads, bridges and small hydro-electric power projects in rural areas, up from $206 million in 2007.

The program, known as the Commanders’ Emergency Response Programme, or CERP, gives mid-level officers the authority and financial freedom to launch local reconstruction projects without the usual lengthy approval process from above.

It has become a central to the military’s counter-insurgency strategy as it seeks to quell the still-potent threat from the Taliban more than six years after U.S.-led and Afghan forces removed the hardline Islamists from power after they refused to surrender al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The theory is that the sooner roads can be improved, clinics built, bridges repaired and power restored — especially in areas along the Pakistan border — the less likely the Taliban are to be let back in to vulnerable communities.

British commanders in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban is strong, have expressed envy in the past that they do not have the same funding or authority as their American counterparts to implement a similar strategy.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080501/pl_nm/afghan_reconstruction_dc

New Jersey Lawmakers Consider Tax On Fast Food
‘Sin’ Tax Could Help Fund Struggling Hospitals
Reporting
Christine Sloan
WINDSOR, N.J. (CBS) ? The sputtering economy has caused an increase in prices of many staples including gasoline, rice, ice cream, even beer. Now some lawmakers in New Jersey are considering taking food taxes a step further and install a proverbial “sin” tax on fast food.

Yes, the idea of marking up your favorite fast food burger or pack of fries is actually being tossed around, and it’s not settling well with many residents.

“They’re taxing everything. Now you’re gonna tax fast food? That’s crazy,” said Newark resident Miriam Robertson.

Added Livingston resident Tina Abrahamian: “No one wants to be taxed. I mean, it’s a necessity to eat and people need to eat and with everything skyrocketing, that’s the last thing we want to tax.”

The thought of taxing a Big Mac or a Wendy’s burger came up at a New Jersey Hospital Association meeting where Gov. Jon S. Corzine was asked if it could be an option to help fund struggling hospitals. At the meeting, he reportedly called it a “constructive suggestion.”

A spokesperson for the governor, however, told CBS 2 on Wednesday:

“The governor is open to reasonable solutions to help solve our financing problems, but there are no plans for any fast food tax.”

State Sen. Richard Codey has been quoted as saying a tax on fast food “is a tax on the poor.” And plenty of residents agree.

http://wcbstv.com/local/fast.food.tax.2.712510.html