The Iowa Power Fund’s planning committee will meet from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday in the Des Moines Botanical and Environmental Center’s Oak Room, 909 Robert D. Ray Drive, to discuss the 2009 Energy Independence Plan. The committee will discuss specific strategy options to promote Iowa’s renewable-energy, energy-efficiency and biofuel industries. Public comment opportunities are available for each category. For more information and a copy of the agenda, visit www.energy.iowa.gov. Please RSVP to Jessica Zopf at jessica.zopf@iowa.gov.

Housing starts are showing early signs of a turnaround in 33 of the nation’s metro areas, including Dubuque and the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area, according to the Adversity Index data from msnbc.com and Moody’s Economy.com. The report found that both Dubuque and the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area have posted a 35 percent increase in building permits issued this year over last. Though housing construction nationally recovered somewhat in May, it’s still 45 percent below the level of a year earlier, the U.S. Commerce Department reported earlier this week.

European Union leaders said today that they have spotted the first signs of a “sustainable economic recovery” from the worst recession since World War II and have started planning to roll back budget deficits piled up to combat the financial crisis, Bloomberg reported. The leaders said the looming end of the slump means it is time to start hatching an “exit strategy.” They also agreed to overhaul financial regulation after banking supervision failed to contain the crisis sparked in the U.S. housing market.

A $106 billion war-spending bill won final congressional approval Thursday after the U.S. Senate voted to retain a “cash for clunkers” provision aimed at helping the auto industry, Bloomberg reported. The bill awaits President Barack Obama’s signature. The Senate passed the bill on a 91 to 5 vote; the House approved the measure earlier this week.