Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine on Thursday predicted that the economy would rebound before the election in November.

The White House does not expect to announce a nominee to head the new consumer financial protection agency within the next two weeks.

Bill Burton, deputy press secretary, told reporters Thursday not to expect an announcement "any time soon," saying two weeks would be soon enough.

Democrats and consumer advocates have been ramping up their pressure on the White House to nominate Elizabeth Warren as the inaugural head of the agency, which was a centerpiece of financial overhaul legislation enacted by President Obama in July.

More than 40 House Democrats wrote to the president this week seeking a meeting to discuss Warren's possible nomination.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) again this week expressed concern that Warren could not win the 60 votes necessary for confirmation. In an interview with the Hartford Courant, Dodd said: "If the president wants to name her and it goes through the hearing process, then fine, she'll have my support."

Dodd added: "But she has to tell me more than just she's a good consumer advocate or that's she's got a great campaign."

Nearly one in three parents (32 percent) say the rough economy has forced their schools to cut back on education funding for their children, according to a new Gallup poll. 

Risky investments the Federal Reserve made to prop up the economy are on pace this year to return record profits to taxpayers, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The central bank bought more than $1 trillion of mortgage-backed securities to help the housing market and stimulate the economy overall. In a report Thursday, the nonpartisan CBO said the riskier investments mean more profit, which is returned to the Treasury Department each year.

The report estimates the Fed will return $73 billion this year to the Treasury Department, nearly double last year's total.

Over the last few years, the Fed has witnessed steadily increasingly profits, but the 2010 haul might be a record. The return on the investments is expected to decline after 2011.

The central bank said this month that it would continue its current level of investments to help fend off an economic slowdown. The bank said that as mortgage-backed securities mature, it would shift the investments into more conventional and less risky Treasury securities.

For the second time in three days, President Obama criticized Republicans for holding up small-business legislation.

Jobless claims hit 500,000 for the first time since November last week, raising fears that unemployment may rise.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Thursday estimated that the federal budget deficit for 2010 will hit $1.34 trillion, $27 billion below its last estimate in March. 

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) applauded U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan for chastising what he said was a "sweetheart deal" Barclays Bank received from the Justice Department for engaging in illegal transactions with Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Myanmar.

Barclays was essentially fined $298 million and has to acknowledge netting $500 million over an 11-year period by working with these countries even though the U.S. imposed trade sanctions or embargoes against each of them.

The Department of Labor on Thursday announced that jobless claims increased over last week.