Naming names: Outgoing BESE President Chas Roemer this morning endorsed Jason Engen to replace him as the District 6 member of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Roemer, who recently announced he will not seek a third term, is endorsing Engen over four other candidates: Kathy Edmonston, Jason France, Etta Licciardi and Laree Taylor. All are Republicans except for France, who is Libertarian. In a prepared release, Roemer says Engen “is hands down the best choice,” adding he will “put children ahead of politics and stand tall against the political pressure of the status quo.” The primary election is Oct. 24. If no single candidate receives the majority of the vote, a runoff for the top two candidates will be held on Nov. 21.
The waiting game: A survey of business economists finds that a majority still expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates before the end of the year, with the broader economy expected to grow at a slightly faster pace in 2015 than previously forecast. The Associated Press reports economists now expect the gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, to rise 2.5% for the year, according to the survey by the National Association for Business Economics. That’s up from the previous forecast of 2.4% in June. The uptick is the result of a stronger-than-expected growth in the first half of the year, however. For the remainder of the year, economists lowered their forecast. Read the full story.
The big deal: Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake announced this morning they plan to buy EMC for $33.15 per share—or a total price tag of about $67 billion—in what amounts to the largest deal in technology industry history. As USA Today reports, the deal is a major coup for company chairman and CEO Michael Dell, who two years ago took the personal computer maker he founded private with financial backer Silver Lake in a $25 billion buyout. It also marks a major milestone in his march to reinvent Dell as an enterprise player focusing on storage and security. EMC has been negotiating with Dell and Silver Lake on a sale after previous talks with Hewlett-Packard collapsed. Read the full story.
