Money in a Minute: Headlines for April 11, 2011

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SHUTDOWN: Budget deal averts shutdown

By now, you’ve probably heard the federal government didn’t shut down on Friday. But here are the nervous details: “The short-term spending measure – the seventh in the past six months – cut $2 billion and allows agencies to spend money through next Friday,” CNN reports. “Meanwhile, lawmakers will try to put the finishing touches on a broader bill.”

CHINA: China posts quarterly trade deficit

China has the world’s second-largest economy after the United States – and now it has something else in common with us. “For the first time in seven years, China reported a quarterly trade deficit, as imports soared to an all-time high,” CNN reports. “Imports soared 32.6 percent from a year ago.”

SPENDING CUTS: Governors poll drops as Scott cuts spending, Walker curbs unions

As Democrats and Republicans continue to debate cuts to federal government spending, the political toll may be foreshadowed by governors – who are already facing stiff opposition when they try to make cuts. “Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican who promised to cut spending and taxes, has watched his disapproval rating double since attempting to do just that,” Bloomberg reports. A half-dozen others face the same conundrum.

OIL: What spill? In some respects BP is stronger than ever

At the height of the Gulf oil spill, experts predicted the demise of BP. Those experts were wrong. “Not only is BP still in business, it has more cash today than before the spill,” MSNBC reports. “And, despite opposition from some in Congress, it has even resumed exploration in the deep waters of the Gulf.”

RETIREMENT: More unmarried couples living together in retirement

It used to be parents urging their children to get married – and not live in sin. Now the trend is reversing. “More than 7.5 million couples live together without tying the knot, and that number is growing,” USA Today reports.

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