MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2012   ECONOMICS: Bernanke Charts New Mission for the Fed: Financial Stability http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/177_77/bernanke-fed-chairman-financial-stability-1048606-1.html While by law the Federal Reserve Board must worry about price stability and unemployment, Chairman Ben Bernanke appears to have charted a third mandate for the central bank: financial stability. In his speeches, lectures and testimony, Bernanke has steadily … Continue reading →

FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2012   ECONOMICS: House passes 20 percent small biz tax cut http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/75362.html House Republicans sent a clear, election-year message that they’re going to make sure taxes are cut — stiff resistance from congressional Democrats and the White House be damned. With a 235-173 vote Thursday, the House passed a 20 percent tax … Continue reading →

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012   ECONOMICS Budget Fight Heats Up http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303513404577352232858786436.html The White House, firing the latest salvo in this year’s budget battle, threatened to block any new spending bills until House Republicans reverse the spending cuts they approved in recent weeks. The House budget resolution approved in March reduces non-defense discretionary spending for the … Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012   ECONOMICS: Senate Budget Panel to Take Up Deficit Plan http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/us/politics/senate-budget-panel-to-take-up-deficit-plan.html The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee said on Tuesday that he would introduce the blueprint of President Obama’s bipartisan deficit reduction panel to his committee as the starting point for negotiations over a long-term debt plan. But the committee … Continue reading →

TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2012   ECONOMICS: ‘Buffett Rule’ Tax Plan Fails in a Senate Test Vote http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304299304577348221678464912.html The Senate on Monday blocked the so-called Buffett Rule, a measure designed to ensure that high earners pay at least 30% in federal income tax, on a near-party-line vote highlighting the split over a key element of President … Continue reading →

MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2012   ECONOMICS: GOP and Dem lawmakers race hand in hand toward a fiscal cliff http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/221557-racing-hand-in-hand-toward-a-fiscal-cliff Republicans and Democrats are hurtling toward a fiscal cliff, and neither side wants to take the plunge. In less than nine months, Bush-era tax rates are scheduled to expire, hiking rates for the middle class as … Continue reading →

FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012   ECONOMICS: US House panels turn budget axe to automatic cuts http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/12/usa-budget-cuts-idUSL2E8FCNZ020120412 Republicans in six House of Representatives committees next week will dust off their past proposals for reducing the deficit as they try to replace some of the automatic spending cuts set to take place in January. Under a directive … Continue reading →

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012   ECONOMICS: Treasury Faulted in Effort to Relieve Homeowners http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/business/economy/treasury-department-faulted-in-effort-to-relieve-homeowners.html A fund to support homeowners in the communities hit hardest by the collapse of the housing bubble has disbursed just 3 percent of its budget and aided only 30,640 homeowners in the two years since its creation, according to a report … Continue reading →