Elections are important, maybe even the cornerstone of a democracy; but sometimes voters are just too busy to listen to everything being said by the Obama or Romney camps. Thank heaven sound bites can sum up everything we think we need to know.

Here are some recent tidbits from Capitol Hill:

The U.S. Department of Labor recently said that unemployment plummeted in September to 7.8%—the first time the rate dropped below eight percent since February 2009. (Source: “Employment Situation Summary,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, October 5, 2012.)

Last week's employment report has dominated the business, financial, and political news over the weekend.  With no action expected from Congress, attention will focus on the Fed.  Since Chairman Bernanke will testify before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee on Thursday, we will soon have an update on Fed thinking.

Mark Thoma raises the policy question and provides helpful context.

The GOP-controlled House has passed a bill renewing a payroll tax cut for 160 million workers and jobless benefits for millions more, backing the main items on President Barack Obama's jobs agenda in a rare burst of bipartisanship.

The bill passed Friday, 293-132. The Senate is expected to quickly follow and send the measure to Obama to sign.

The U.S economy created no new jobs in the month of August and the unemployment rate was held at the 9.1% mark. The NFP (Non-Farm Payrolls) report is fueling concerns that the U.S maybe heading toward another recession. GBP/USD came very close of breaking the 1.6110 minor support line yesterday and shifting the currency pair bullish momentum, but today’s report put a stop to the downtrend.