THIS JUST IN: Uncle Miltie Jury Deadlocked, Could Mistrial
INQUIRER: The federal jury considering fraud and tax charges against T. Milton Street ended a second full day of deliberations telling the judge they were deadlocked on seven charges. But U.S. District Judge Legrome D. Davis did not declare a mistrial, telling the 12 jurors he and the defense and government lawyers had decided that “you need to continue discussing the case.” At that point, shortly before 4 p.m., the jury decided to stop deliberations for the day and return tomorrow to resume their review at the federal courthouse in Center City. It was not clear, based on the juror’s note, whether they had reached verdicts on any of the counts against T. Milton Street and co-defendant John H. Velardi Sr. of what those verdicts might be. MORE
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PHILLY FEDERAL RESERVE: Congratulations, It’s A Beautiful Baby Recession!
Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) — Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region unexpectedly contracted the most since February 2001, the eve of the last recession, as measures of new orders and shipments reflected weakening demand. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index declined to a minus 24 from minus 20.9 in January, the bank said today. Readings less than zero signal contraction. The Philadelphia Fed’s general economic index averaged 5.1 in 2007. A two-year housing slump, exacerbated by tighter credit conditions, is spilling over to other industries, pushing the economy to the brink of recession. The Fed, after cutting interest rates at the fastest pace since 1990 last month, has said it is ready to move in a “timely” manner to avert a downturn. “The Philadelphia Fed survey is sending clear signals that the U.S. economy is heading for a recession,” said Lena Komileva, chief economist at Tullett Prebon in London, who forecast a minus 25 reading. “The speed and magnitude of the recent decline in the series signals a very sharp deterioration.” [via BLOOMBERG NEWS]
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KILLADELPHIA: Six Dead In Eight Hours
Violence in Philadelphia last night left five dead and an armed man wounded in a span of eight hours. Another death in a West Philadelphia hobo camp is under investigation as a possible homicide. The first death was reported shortly before 6 p.m. in Northwest Philadelphia and ended at 1:15 a.m. in West Philadelphia. The victims were four men and two women, four died by gunfire, two from stabbings. Mayor Nutter, at an unrelated City Hall press conference this morning, acknowledged that “last night was a bad night.” At the same time, he told a reporter, “If your question is, is this city safe, it is certainly safer than it has been, but we have work to do.” Nutter noted that even with last night’s killings, the overall homicide numbers are 20 percent lower than they were at this time last year.The mayor also mentioned that two of the six deaths were the result of domestic disputes. “We can’t put police officers obviously in people’s homes.” The killing began near sundown. [via the INQUIRER]