The holidays are a boon for a city with a FedEx hub.

Memphis, Tenn., is the poorest city in the country, according to the U.S. Census. And Mayor AC Wharton worries that inaction on the fiscal cliff would have a drastic impact on already cash-strapped residents.

Memphis — a city that has struggled with population decline and high unemployment — wants its native sons and daughters to help fuel a comeback.

In the summer of 2010, Memphis was filled with abandoned houses and other effects of the subprime crisis. A year and a half later, how's the city doing?

… He's Obama's new top economic adviser…

/**/ Sales of previously occupied homes fell in June; new unemployment benefit plans rose. Yet at this writing, Wall Street's jumping. What d…