Grave business - my financial world

Treasuries are off to their worst start in nine years amid signs the U.S. economy is strengthening and Europe is moving closer to resolving its […]

The ubiquitous symbols of gainful employment, the key card and picture ID attached to his sweater, speak equally to Ed Wolfgram’s periodic rejection of his […]

The Associated Press opened its newest bureau here Monday, becoming the first international news organization with a full-time presence to cover news from North Korea […]

One of the most spectacular flameouts in corporate history will be on the docket this week when pre-trial motions begin into criminal charges against former […]

Treasuries (YCGT0025) had the biggest annual return since the depths of the financial crisis in 2008 as Europe

For the first time, the top export of the United States, the world’s biggest gas guzzler, is _ wait for it _ fuel.
Measured in dollars, […]

A resurgent demand for gift cards may extend retailers’ holiday cheer well into January.
Gift card spending rose to nearly 18 percent of total holiday spending […]

%3Cp%3EThe+House+intends+to+vote+down+a+bipartisan+two-month+extension+of+the+payroll+tax+cut+that+has+cleared+the+Senate+and+is+backed+by+President+Barack+Obama%2C+and+request+immediate+negotiations+on+a+full-year+renewal%2C+Speaker+John+Boehner+said+Monday.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3E%22It%27s+time+to+stop+the+nonsense.+We+can+resolve+these+differences+and+we+can+do+it+in+a+way+that+provides+certainty+for+job+creators+and+others%2C%22+Boehner+said+at+a+news+conference%2C+although+he+provided+no+estimate+on+how+long+it+might+take+to+produce+a+compromise.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EWithout+action+by+Congress%2C+both+the+payroll+tax+cut+and+a+program+for+long-term+unemployment+benefits+will+expire+on+Jan.+1.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EHouse+Majority+Leader+Eric+Cantor%2C+R-Va.%2C+said+lawmakers+would+not+let+the+tax+increase+kick+in+but+he+did+not+say+how+they+would+resolve+the+dispute.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3E%22In+this+tough+economy%2C+middle+class+Americans+need+to+know+that+their+taxes+won%27t+be+going+up+at+any+point+next+year.%2C%22+Cantor+said+in+a+statement.+%22We+are+going+to+stay+here+and+do+our+work+until+we+guarantee+that+no+one+faces+a+tax+increase+in+the+year+ahead.%22%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EThe+leaders%27+comments+came+after+a+chaotic+weekend+in+which+Senate+leaders+first+failed+to+agree+on+a+full-year+bill%2C+then+coalesced+around+the+two-month-extension+that+passed+overwhelmingly%2C+only+to+spark+a+revolt+among+GOP+conservatives+in+the+House.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EThere+was+no+immediate+reaction+from+either+the+White+House+or+leaders+in+the+Senate%2C+which+adjourned+for+the+year+on+Saturday+shortly+after+approving+its+version+of+the+bill.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EThe+revolt+of+the+rank+and+file+placed+Boehner+and+Republicans+in+a+difficult+position%2C+just+as+it+appeared+they+had+outmaneuvered+Obama+by+assuring+that+the+legislation+would+require+him+to+make+a+swift+decision+on+construction+of+a+proposed+oil+pipeline.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EObama+had+announced+he+would+put+off+the+issue+until+after+the+presidential+election+in+2012+rather+than+decide+the+fate+of+a+project+that+divided+usual+Democratic+allies+_+environmentalists+opposed+and+several+labor+unions+in+favor.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EIn+a+television+interview+shortly+before+Boehner%27s+news+conference%2C+White+House+communications+director+Dan+Pfeiffer+accused+Boehner+of+reversing+his+position+on+the+two-month+measure+because+of+a+%22tea+party+revolt.%22%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EBoehner%2C+R-Ohio%2C+said+he+had+not+changed+his+view+on+the+bill.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3E%22I+raised+concerns+about+the+two-month+process+from+the+moment+I+heard+about+it%2C%22+he+said.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EHe+called+on+members+of+the+Senate+to+%22put+their+vacations+on+hold%22+and+return+to+forge+a+compromise.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EObama+has+said+repeatedly+that+Congress+should+not+quit+for+the+year+until+the+tax+cut+has+been+extended%2C+and+has+said+he+would+postpone+a+planned+Hawaiian+vacation+until+the+bill+is+finished.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EGOP+leaders+planned+House+votes+on+the+payroll+measure+for+Monday+evening.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EWithout+congressional+action%2C+the+payroll+tax+paid+by+160+million+workers+would+rise+2+percentage+points+on+Jan.+1+_+a+boost+that+Democrats+eagerly+said+would+be+the+GOP%27s+fault.+The+brinksmanship+is+a+familiar+pattern+this+year+between+the+two+parties%2C+who+have+narrowly+averted+a+federal+default+and+several+government+shutdowns+in+past+fights.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EExtending+the+payroll+tax+cut+and+jobless+benefits+have+been+a+keystone+of+Obama%27s+and+congressional+Democrats%27+effort+to+spur+a+revival+of+the+flaccid+economy.+Congressional+Republican+leaders+also+say+they+support+the+idea%2C+but+some+of+their+rank-and-file+remain+unconvinced%2C+saying+the+unemployment+coverage+is+too+generous+and+that+cutting+the+payroll+tax+does+not+create+jobs.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EThe+Senate+bill+would+cut+the+payroll+tax%2C+extend+jobless+benefits+and+avoid+cuts+in+Medicare+payments+to+doctors+through+February.+Both+sides+say+they+want+to+renew+all+three+for+a+full+year%2C+but+bargainers+have+so+far+failed+to+agree+on+how+to+pay+for+a+package+that+size%2C+which+could+cost+roughly+%24200+billion.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EThe+White+House%27s+Pfeiffer+said+there+was+still+an+opportunity+for+House+Republicans+to+avoid+triggering+a+tax+increase+and+for+the+chamber+to+pass+the+Senate-approved+two-month+extension.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3E%22You+only+need+a+couple+dozen+Republicans+to+do+it%2C%22+Pfeiffer+said.+%22I+find+it+inconceivable+that+you+can%27t+get+a+couple+dozen+Republicans+to+vote+for+a+tax+cut+for+the+middle+class.%22%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EAfter+Senate+Majority+Leader+Harry+Reid%2C+D-Nev.%2C+and+Minority+Leader+Mitch+McConnell%2C+R-Ky.%2C+struck+a+deal+on+their+two-month+bill+Friday+night%2C+McConnell+expressed+optimism+that+Congress+would+approve+it+and+lawmakers+would+revisit+the+battle+in+February.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EThey+expressed+their+views+a+day+after+House+GOP+lawmakers+on+a+conference+call+voiced+vehement+opposition+to+the+Senate+bill%2C+saying+it+lacked+serious+spending+cuts.+They+also+said+they+were+tired+of+their+leaders+striking+compromises+and+not+battling+harder+for+their+positions%2C+according+to+several+participants.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EBoehner+did+not+specify+the+changes+he+would+like+in+the+bill%2C+but+touted+%22reasonable+reductions+in+spending%22+and+language+blocking+some+Obama+administration+anti-pollution+rules+in+a+yearlong+payroll+tax+bill+the+House+approved+last+week.+That+bill+covered+its+costs+by+carving+savings+from+federal+workers%2C+higher-income+Medicare+recipients%2C+fees+paid+to+insure+mortgages+and+elsewhere.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EReid+and+Schumer+said+Sunday+that+Boehner+had+asked+McConnell+and+Reid+to+negotiate+a+compromise%2C+seemingly+suggesting+that+Boehner+had+walked+away+from+a+deal.+Republicans+said+that+is+untrue+and+said+the+House+GOP+played+no+role+in+last+week%27s+bargaining+between+the+Senate+leaders.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EMcConnell+offered+support+for+Boehner+Sunday.+His+spokesman%2C+Donald+Stewart%2C+said+the+best+way+to+%22provide+certainty+for+job+creators%2C+employees+and+the+long-term+unemployed+is+through+regular+order%22+_+a+term+used+to+describe+the+normal+process+of+negotiations+between+the+House+and+Senate.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EThe+Senate+bill+also+includes+a+provision+dear+to+Republicans+that+would+force+Obama+to+approve+a+proposed+Canada-to-Texas+oil+pipeline+within+60+days+unless+he+declares+the+project+would+damage+the+national+interest.%3C%2Fp%3E+%09%3Cp%3EObama+had+previously+said+he+would+make+no+decision+on+the+Keystone+XL+pipeline+until+2013%2C+allowing+him+to+wait+until+after+next+November%27s+elections+to+choose+between+two+Democratic+constituencies%3A+unions+favoring+the+project%27s+thousands+of+jobs+and+environmentalists+opposed+to+its+potential+pollution+and+massive+energy+use.+Obama+initially+threatened+to+kill+the+payroll+tax+bill+if+it+included+the+pipeline+language+but+eventually+retreated.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%3Ca+href%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stltoday.com%2Fnews%2Fscience%2Fboehner-house-will-reject–month-payroll-tax-cut%2Farticle_3b9464ff-f206-5a2f-94df-f3b798cbcc6e.html%27+rel%3D%27nofollow%27%3ESource%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E+

The British government will restructure the country’s banks by separating their retail activities from riskier investment banking operations, Business Secretary Vince Cable said Sunday.
Cable said […]

Jurors have resumed deliberations in a Utah company’s $1 billion federal antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. and say they’re close to a verdict.
Novell Inc. sued […]