Economic Growth: The federal government released a revised estimate for second quarter economic growth last week which showed the economy expanded at a 1.3% annual rate as opposed to the 1.7% rate previously estimated.

Housing Market. Sales of new homes fell 0.3% in August, but are currently 27.7% above where they were in August 2011. According to the Case-Shiller housing index the average price of a U.S. home was up 1.2% in September as prices in all of the top 20 U.S. cities increased.

Durable Goods Orders: Orders of durable goods, a key indicator for the manufacturing industry, fell 13.2% in August, far below expectations which had estimated a 5% drop.

Employment Growth and Jobless Claims. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual revisions of monthly jobs data. The new numbers showed the economy added 386,000 more jobs between March 2011 and March 2012 than previously expected. Meanwhile, the number of Americans applying for first-time jobless claims fell by 26,000 the week ending Sept. 22 to 359,000, a figure that shows modest employment growth.

Consumer Spending. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic growth, increased 0.5% in August, the biggest increase in five months.

Consumer Sentiment. The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence increased from 61.3 in August to 70.3 in September.

Manufacturing Indicators. The Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 49.7 last week, the lowest level in three years, while the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas announced its index of the state’s manufacturing activity rose to +10 in September from +6.4 in August and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City announced its manufacturing index fell to +2 in September from +8 the month before.

Ohio has sent a number of government contracts for services including, financial management, medical and restaurant equipment, legal and policy consultation and web design, out of state. The number has grown to $791 million since Jan. of 2009 and has local contractors upset with the process because of the inability for local vendors to bid on those contracts. Ohio, which uses a competitive bidding process to reduce costs, attached waivers to that same process to 128 out of 168 of the government’s bids this year so far. As a result local firms in the fields listed above are left without the chance to even compete for large government contracts. State Sen. Chris Widner of Springfield commented, “I know my initial assumption was we do our absolute best to try to find companies in the state of Ohio to provide these services. What we found, frankly, was practically the opposite.” Randy Cole, the governor’s appointed president of the state controlling board, said the board strives to keep dollars from leaving the state and will do so in the future, but pointed to several legitimate reasons for contracts being awarded outside the state.

Nationwide sales have contracted on U.S. home sales in June, pointing to an uneven recovery in the housing market at best. The National Association of Realtors pointed to a drop in the index of sales agreements by 1.4 percent last month, to 99.3 from 100.7 in May. While June’s reading was down from previous months, it was still significantly higher than the same numbers in 2010 when the index stood at 75.88 for the month of June. Contractors have been breaking ground on new homes lately though, as a low inventory is suggested to be one of the root causes for the slow and uneven recovery.

In Washington, the weekly release of the Labor Department’s report on jobless claims shows an unexpected jump in the number of filings. The report filed today showed 380,000 new filings for jobless benefits, up 13,000 fromlast week. This report follows another from Labor showing a very modest addition of 120,000 jobs to the economy in March, down from the previous month. Analysts insist that the economy is on “firmer ground,” but both reports detail a still fragile situation.

In the The New York Times today, a report requested by Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, could save billions in crop subsidies by capping crop insurance claims to be paid at $40,000.  According to the GAO crop subsides ballooned from $1.2 billion in 2000, adjusted for inflation, to $7.3 billion last year alone. Sen. Coburn remarked, “High premium subsidies have hurt small and beginning farmers because the subsidies themselves have distorted the market.” With the Agriculture Department estimating the net income for the farm industry at a record $101 billion dollars last year, subsides have become a target for deficit reduction. Both President Obama and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan have proposed overhauling the subsidies, but members of the House and Senate Agriculture committee oppose any changes to the crop insurance program. Read Gretchen Hamel’s take on the Farm Bill before Congress.

In Idaho, EPA regulations have forced Mike and Chantell Sackett of Priest Lake to sue the government in an effort to have a case held on their desire to build on their land. The case, which the Supreme Court ruled on yesterday, has now given the right to land owners to contest EPA regulations regarding construction on lands that the EPA has deemed to be wetlands. Previously, those served with compliance orders from the EPA had no recourse until the agency had fined them. The fine could be as much as $75,000 per day until lands had been returned to their natural condition.  Now those served with compliance orders are granted hearings regarding the condition of their lands.

The U.S. housing market has seen improvement in the past month as sales of existing homes were at their highest levels since 2007. As investment rises in new home and residential real-estate increases, the market slowly begins to rebound. One University of California, Berkeley commented, “Housing was pulling us down consistently, quarter after quarter, for years. That was really over in 2011.” Signifying some returning confidence in the housing market. Though this is good news, the Wall Street Journal insists that housing prices have yet to “hit rock bottom.”

Fox News and The Washington Times report that, in February, the federal government recorded its highest monthly deficit on record.

The Hill has details of the Senate Tea Party Caucus’s plan to cut the budget deficit.

On Thursday, the House passed legislation aimed at helping U.S. small businesses. The New York Times, Politico and The Washington Post have the details.

Reuters says companies that have little to do with manufacturing are taking a tax credit meant for the manufacturing industry.

The Washington Post looks at new efforts President Obama announced to help revive the housing market.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the federal agency tasked with overseeing Fannie and Freddie’s operations, recently approved $12.79 million in bonuses for 10 executives from the mortgage giants. The executives received the bonuses after, according to Politico, “met[ting] modest performance targets tied to modifying mortgages in jeopardy of foreclosure.” Politico also explains that the FHFA had pledged to adjust executive compensation after public outcry over perceived overpayment.

Freddie Mac spokesman Michael Cosgrove defended the corporation, arguing “Freddie Mac has done a considerable amount on behalf of the American taxpayers to support the housing finance market since entering into conservatorship.”

But the bonuses are being widely criticized by members of both parties. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) summed up popular opinion by saying, “It is outrageous that senior executives at Fannie and Freddie are receiving multimillion-dollar compensation packages when they now rely on funding from U.S. taxpayers, many of whom face foreclosure or whose homes are underwater.” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) echoed these sentiments: “It’s outrageous that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives would expect multimillion dollar bonuses after $170 billion in taxpayer bailouts and one in every four homeowners’ mortgage underwater.”

Reuters reports that Sen. McCain and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) plan to introduce an amendment “that prohibits top employees at the government-owned mortgage firms from receiving lucrative pay packages as long as they remain in federal conservatorship.”

This all comes as Fannie Mae is asking for another $7.8 billion in federal aid to cover a $5.1 billion loss in the third quarter. According to Reuters, Fannie Mae has returned to taxpayers only $17.2 billion of the total $112.6 billion it has received.

Politico says the debt supercommittee may be considering changes to Social Security.

According to Politico, executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which together have received nearly $170 billion in taxpayer bailouts, received nearly $12.8 million in bonus payments this year.

Next week, the Senate will likely vote on a $60 billion infrastructure bill. Politico says passage is far from certain.

The Washington Times says it won’t be easy for lawmakers to give up special interest tax breaks.

USA Today examines various proposals for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The New York Times has the latest on the European Union deal to bail out the Greek government.

On the opinion pages: in anticipation of this week’s G-20 meeting, John Taylor asks whether the U.S. will remain a global economic leader; Carl Schramm says entrepreneurs are vital to economic growth; and Charles Lane asks whether the U.S. should spend more on infrastructure.

According to ABC News Radio, Republicans used their weekly address to call on Congress to get the nation’s “fiscal house in order.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Senate will likely vote on a $50 billion infrastructure spending plan that will be paid for through tax increases on the wealthy.

Politico says more than 200 lobbyists have contacted the debt super committee in efforts to defend their points of view.

The Washington Times reports that the Senate voted Friday to cut agriculture subsidies for farmers that earn more than $1 million.

Politico looks at the debate over cutting defense spending.

The Washington Post examines failed federal efforts to boost the U.S. housing market. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal say the Obama Administration will announce new plans to help the market today.

The Economist looks at underfunded public and private pensions systems in the U.S.

On the opinion pages: The Wall Street Journal says the federal government should stop guaranteeing loans for McMansions.