Need to know…

• U.S. Chamber Releases ‘Vote for Jobs’ Video. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today unveiled a Get-Out-The-Vote video reinforcing the message that economic growth and a vibrant free enterprise system are fundamental to the cause of creating jobs and opportunity for all. “America’s most pressing economic challenge is the lack of sufficient growth to create jobs, to expand incomes, to reduce government deficits, and to fund essential programs,” intones Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue in the video.

• Housing Starts Growing Fast. New home construction in September rose at the fastest pace in four years. Housing starts grew 15% next month, according to dats from the Commerce Department, showing a seasonally adjust annual rate of 872,000 units. The pace of groundbreaking has not been rapid since July 2008. While this is a positive sign for America's sluggish economic recovery, data on housing starts can change rapidly and see substantial revisions.

• Executives Doubt U.S. Competitiveness. Business executives around the world are pessimistic about U.S. companies' ability to compete globally and pay higher wages to U.S. employees. A survey of Harvard Business School alumni found 58% of respondents think U.S. competiveness will weaken on wages or international sales; only 25% think U.S. economic competitiveness will not decline. Survey responses found executives are less pessimistic about U.S. prospects than last year, but this could be largely a reflection of weakening economies in Europe and Asia.

• Obama to Play Hard Ball on Fiscal Cliff. President Obama is prepared to veto legislation to block year-end tax hikes and spending cuts, collectively known as the “fiscal cliff,” unless Republicans bow to his demand to raise tax rates for the wealthy, administration officials said. Meanwhile, sixteen of the nation’s largest financial services firms warned President Obama and Congress in a letter on Thursday that interest rates could spike significantly if they do not come to an agreement to stop the end-year series of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts.

• In Cyber, Business is Government Partner. The Chamber’s Anne Beauchesne weighed in on the cybersecurity debate in the New York Times, writing that Congress has an opportunity to remove the legal roadblocks that prevent public-private threat information sharing. She also wrote: "The Chamber supports legislation that treats the business community as a responsible partner; not as the enemy.”

Worth the read…

• U.S. to Get Downgraded Amid Fiscal ‘Theater,’ Pimco Says – Bloomberg
• Sales Stumbles Raise Fresh Worry for Corporate America – Reuters
• The Great Ohio Resurgence – CNBC
• Do Good C.E.O.’s Make Good Presidents? – New York Times
• Business Cards Do High-Tech Work – Wall Street Journal
• Employment Surges for Community College Grads – USA Today
• How Small Business Owners Become Cyber Victims – Information Week
• Numbers Reveal Why Facebook Is Trying to Seduce Small Business – Wired
• Want to Grow Your Company? Never Stop Learning – Forbes
• The Bullish Case on the Looming Fiscal Cliff – Fox Business
• The Worst Business Decisions of All Time – 24/7 Wall St.
• Business Process as a Service: Next Phase – ZDNet

Take a look...

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Vote for Jobs on November 6