Monday News Round Up: Post Black Friday, Health Bill and Obama on Troops in Afghanistan

Monday’s news round up includes articles linking to the health bill, Obama and Afghanistan and holiday spending post Black Friday.

Cost Control Big Question in Senate Health Bill

As the Senate takes up health care legislation this week, the question of whether it will “bend the curve” of soaring costs has emerged as a central dispute among experts and the subject of an all-out push by the White House.

With polls showing the public alarmed about deficits and dubious about the health care bill, White House budget director Peter Orszag said last week that the Senate legislation will control costs. He cited a letter signed by 23 top economists, including former Bush administration Medicare chief Mark McClellan, that said four provisions of the bill will help slow spending.

3 Keys to Understanding Obama’s West Point Speech

The president still must convince ordinary Americans he can be trusted to keep the nation safe.

When President Obama finally announces his Afghanistan decision Tuesday, the number of additional troops he sends will dominate headlines. But the real test of his leadership will depend on the depth of his commitment.

This article offers keys to understanding the speech.

Cyber Monday: Hope for disappointed stores

The good news for merchants is that more Americans this year turned out to bag Thanksgiving weekend deals than last year. The bad news, however, is that shoppers on average spent less on their purchases compared to a year ago.

For nervous sellers, it’s next about Cyber Monday, or the online retail world’s version of Black Friday, when millions of people take a few minutes at work to surf the Web to score “doorbuster”-like deals from e-tailers.