Obama To Tout Economy While Marking Lehman Fall

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is marking the fifth anniversary of the collapse of the Lehman (LEE'-muhn) Brothers investment bank by highlighting signs of recovery and warning against potentially market-rattling fights over the federal budget and the nation's debt ceiling.

Obama plans to address the state of the economy Monday in a Rose Garden speech, accompanied by a selection of Americans who the White House says have benefited from the administration's policies. The event marks the start of a week-long focus on the economy after a month of preoccupation with the crisis in Syria.

For Obama, the anniversary of Lehman's bankruptcy in 2008 is an opportunity to confront public skepticism about his stewardship of the economy and to put down his marker for budget clashes with Congress in the weeks ahead.