Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) on Friday fired back against an ad by the Club for Growth that painted him as a liberal spender of taxpayer dollars. 

After hanging in there as Blockbuster stores across the country were shuttered, the company has decided to file for bankruptcy, according to a report on Thursday.

The L.A. Times cites sources as saying Blockbuster will file as soon as the middle of next month. Word leaked out as a result of talks between the company and major movie studios. 

Blockbuster has nearly $1 billion in debt and wants to get out of leases on around 500 of its nearly 3,500 stores, according to the report. Nearly 1,000 locations have been shuttered in the last year.

Women's groups are slamming President Obama for not booting Alan Simpson from the White House fiscal commission. 

Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Hoenig said the nation's economy is experiencing modest growth but that uncertainty is a main driver and a two-day conference with the world's central bankers could provide some longer-term answers. 

"The idea here is to get some ideas on the table, get some options defined so that we can perhaps chart a path that's a little longer term, that I think will address some of those uncertainties," Hoenig told CNBC. 

"It won't eliminate them, but perhaps address some of those uncertainties. That's the goal."

Central bankers are meeting Friday and Saturday in Jackson Hole, Wyo., to discuss world economic issues. 

Despite a week of bad economic news — sales of new and existing homes plummeted last month and the nation's economy slowed down to a 1.6 percent pace in the second quarter —Hoenig said the economy is recovering. 

"I think good news and bad news comes," he said. "And you balance it out, and you look at the trends. And I think we have a modest recovery under way. No one, I don't think any reasonable economist, should expect more than that, given the events that we've gone through."

One in seven homeowners are either past due on their mortgage or in foreclosure, according to the latest report on home-loan delinquencies by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). 

The number of past-due payments has increased since 2009, when one in eight were delinquent. Two years ago, one in 11 were behind on mortgage payments. 

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank is ready to act to ward off a further economic slowdown.

The Club for Growth on Friday announced a new ad that criticizes Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) for supporting mortgage and energy reform and the stimulus bill, saying the votes were too liberal and too expensive for Pennsylvania voters.  

Gross domestic product grew at a much slower rate than initially thought, stoking fears of a slowdown.

FRIDAY MORNING: REVISED GDP AND BERNANKE

At 8:30 a.m., the revised 2Q GDP growth number is due out. At 10 a.m., Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at the annual Fed retreat at Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Initial GDP estimate for April through June was 2.4 percent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict revised number to be 1.4 percent. http://bit.ly/dgCsSm

L.A. Times sets it up: "Weak GDP raises stakes for Obama, Fed"

"A bad GDP number would cap a week's worth of troubling developments in the housing and financial markets, and ratchet up the pressure on President Obama and congressional Democrats heading into November's midterm elections...

"... with the Fed's benchmark short-term interest rate already near zero, its policy options are limited, experts said.

"For example, the central bank's purchases of mortgage-backed securities have helped push mortgage rates to record lows, but home sales still cratered after a federal tax credit expired at the end of April."

http://bit.ly/bYwF8y

KRUGMAN AND BROOKS BRING THE GLOOM

Krugman: "This is not a recovery."

"I know what some players both at the Fed and in the administration will say: they’ll warn about the risks of doing anything unconventional. But we’ve already seen the consequences of playing it safe, and waiting for recovery to happen all by itself: it’s landed us in what looks increasingly like a permanent state of stagnation and high unemployment. It’s time to admit that what we have now isn’t a recovery, and do whatever we can to change that situation." http://nyti.ms/9GJB8W

Brooks: Germany, not the U.S., was right about stimulus and debt.

"The American stimulus package was supposed to create a 'summer of recovery,' according to Obama administration officials. Job growth was supposed to be surging at up to 500,000 a month. Instead, the U.S. economy is scuffling along... The German economy, on the other hand, is growing at a sizzling (and obviously unsustainable) 9 percent annual rate. Unemployment in Germany has come down to pre-crisis levels." http://nyti.ms/amoB6b

Imports hurting the U.S. recovery. WaPo's Neil Irwin: "The rise in the trade deficit, including an abrupt 16 percent spike in June, is a chief reason economists are downgrading estimates for recent U.S. economic growth." http://bit.ly/cK7hJ0

The Atlantic's Derek Thompson asks why stimulus spending wasn't more focused on shovel-ready projects. http://bit.ly/bXXGUD

Loews CEO Jim Tisch says executives lack confidence in the Obama administration. http://bit.ly/bOVlB2

President Obama should follow Bill Clinton's post-midterm blueprint, according to Clinton's pollster.

Doug Schoen in a WSJ op-ed: "... the administration must emphasize that it understands the electorate's concern about fiscal prudence, the deficit, the debt and the need to balance the budget. The independent voters who hold the fate of the Democrats in their hands are looking for candidates who champion, in a bipartisan context, fiscal discipline, limited government, deficit reduction and a free market, pro-growth agenda. If Democrats don't offer this, they will be branded liberal tax-and-spenders." http://bit.ly/dwFqpP

Frosh Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) called for Geithner's ouster two days before Boehner. http://bit.ly/bNJFV9

Dow below 10,000 for first time since July 6. http://bit.ly/c9h5Pm

BUDGET HEADLINE OF THE DAY: "Gay Bush Aide? No Bombshell in Age of Fiscal Issues" NYT: http://nyti.ms/9TtAmf

BUDGET IMPACT STORY OF THE DAY: Cities Shut Firehouses in Budget Crisis. NYT: http://nyti.ms/9DjwWW

It's not all bad... "Jobless Claims Decline." WSJ: http://bit.ly/bN0CbL

Report: Frannie's role as guarantor of mortgages to blame, not its mortgage securities. http://bit.ly/afWV43