Longshoremen Strike Averted

At least we avoided the longshoremen cliff, for now. A federal mediator says 14,500 workers at ports along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico will not be striking on Sunday as feared, reports AP. The International Association of Longshoremen still hasn't agreed to a new contract with shipping companies and port operators, but enough progress has been made that members have agreed to keep talking for 30 days. A strike would deal a huge economic blow to retailers and manufacturers. (More Longshoremen stories.)