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Pick an industry. Odds are it is being transformed by the Internet: retail, media, travel, manufacturing, even politics. "New economy" titans like Yahoo!'s Terry Semel like to say this represents the long-overdue demise of the omnipotent middleman: Consumers can find vastly more choices online than in a big-box store or a newspaper, while the big companies and institutions that used to dictate tastes and buying habits are losing their power.
Tax revenues are up sharply this year, causing the White House to lower its estimated budget deficit for 2006 from $423 billion to $296 billion. The deficit reached an all-time high of $412 billion in 2004. The Congressional Budget Office said the government received almost 13 percent more tax revenue in the first nine months of this fiscal year than in the same period last year. The most dramatic growth came from individual taxes on capital gains profits and executive bonuses. Corporate income tax receipts have nearly tripled since 2003, and individual income tax receipts were up 14 percent.
AP - Eight bombs exploded in first-class compartments of packed Bombay commuter trains Tuesday, killing 147 people and wounding hundreds in a well-coordinated terror attack on the heart of a city that embodies India's global ambitions.
AP - Israeli tanks moved into southern Gaza in a new phase of a two-week offensive early Wednesday, and at least five people died when an explosion destroyed a Hamas activist's home in northern Gaza, residents and hospital officials said.
AP - At least 12 tons of concrete collapsed onto a car in a Big Dig tunnel, fatally crushing a passenger and prompting renewed scrutiny Tuesday of a troubled highway project that is already the costliest in U.S. history. The state attorney general said he plans to treat the site as a crime scene that could lead to negligent homicide charges.
At least 454 people suffered injuries from the multiple explosions in Mumbai, India, that are being blamed on terrorists. Twelve hours later, bodies are still being recovered. Police say 174 people were killed. Analysts are comparing the attack with the mass transit bombings in Madrid in 2004 and London last year, saying they all involved a series of mutiple blasts and were well-coordinated.
Smoke halted service on the Chicago subway system Tuesday, and dozens of passengers were forced to climb out an emergency exit, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Transit Authority said.
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