House votes for new payroll talks with Senate

2011-12-20T10:00:28Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican House of Representatives, on a mostly party-line vote, on Tuesday rejected the Democratic Senate's bid to extend a payroll tax cut for two months and demanded instead urgent negotiations on a possible year-long extension.

House Republicans push for new payroll tax cut talks

2011-12-20T06:30:34Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led House of Representatives will set the stage on Tuesday for a showdown with Senate Democrats over a payroll tax cut extension that is becoming a proxy for 2012 election year battles.

The tax legislation has become the latest in a string of battles in...

House sets Tuesday vote on payroll tax cut talks

2011-12-19T18:00:12Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives will vote sometime Tuesday on a Republican plan calling for new negotiations with the Senate on extending a payroll tax cut now set to expire on December 31, House lawmakers said on Monday.

Republicans in the House say they cannot back a S...

White House says hopeful about payroll tax vote

2011-12-19T13:00:10Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House expressed hope on Monday that Republicans in the House of Representatives would support a short-term payroll tax cut agreement the Senate has passed and commit to finalizing a full-ye...

Obama aide: Republicans playing politics on taxes

2011-12-18T14:00:26Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House accused House of Representatives Republicans on Sunday of playing politics with the fate of the payroll tax c...

China to keep "appropriate" investment growth in 2012-planner

2011-12-18T02:00:12Z

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will keep "appropriate" investment growth in 2012 to help underpin the economy amid the global downturn, the country's top economic planner said in comments published on Sunday.

"The key to maintain steady and relatively fast economic growth is expanding domestic demand," the

Obama welcomes tax cut deal

2011-12-17T10:30:06Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama welcomed a deal on Saturday worked out by divided lawmakers to extend a payroll tax cut for U.S. workers by two months and to continue emergency jobless aid.

"This is spending money that also benefits families and businesses and the entire economy, and (the jobless ...

Senate passes two-month payroll tax cut extension

2011-12-17T08:00:11Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate voted on Saturday to extend a payroll tax cut for two months in legislation that also attempts to force President Barack Obama to approve construction of an oil pipeline.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed the legislation by a vote of 89-10. It is expected to be voted on by the

Keystone pipeline looms large in U.S. tax-cut talks

2011-12-16T16:00:26Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers intensified efforts on Friday to extend payroll tax relief for Americans, and it appeared likely that language to speed approval of a controversial oil pipeline might be part of a deal.

With Senate leaders huddling in offices near the Senate chamber in search of a payroll tax cut deal, the <...

Democrats mull dropping millionaire surtax

2011-12-14T16:31:01Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats on Wednesday considered dropping their proposed surtax on millionaires in a bid to reach a deal with Republicans to extend a payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans set to exp...

Democrats weigh dropping millionaire tax proposal

2011-12-14T15:00:27Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats are considering dropping a surtax on millionaires to pay for a payroll tax cut for U.S. workers, a move that would remove a major stumbling block to a compromise deal with Republicans.

Obama discussed the possibility of abandoning t...

House defies Obama on payroll tax bill

2011-12-13T16:30:22Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives defied a White House veto threat on Tuesday and passed a bill to expedite approval of the Reuters) - A bill that would keep the U.S. government operating beyond the weekend appeared in trouble on Tuesday as lawmakers bickered over whether they had resolved policy issues such as abortion funding and travel to Cuba.

The bill has been caught up in a year-end fig...

Congress cannot accelerate Keystone decision: State Department

2011-12-12T17:30:12Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department warned on Monday that a plan by congressional Republicans to fast track the Canada-to-

Greece opens bailout, debt swap talks

2011-12-12T04:00:12Z

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece began a round of talks with the EU, the IMF and bankers on Monday, with negotiators facing a tight timetable to decide key aspects of a new bailout plan to pull the country out of its economic crisis.

Inspectors from the EU, the ECB and t...

McConnell expects bipartisan deal on tax cut

2011-12-11T14:30:09Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell predicted on Sunday that Congress will renew a popular payroll tax cut, but it remained unclear how lawmakers will resolve deep differences before the December 31 deadline.

While he did not unveil a new deal, McConnell signaled that he and others anticipa...

Republican leader confident of tax break renewal

2011-12-11T07:30:13Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Sunday that Congress will somehow reach an agreement to renew a popular payroll tax cut set to expire at the end of this month.

"Of course, it has bipartisan support," McConnell told "Reuters) - The White House rejected on Friday the latest proposal from Republicans in Congress on a payroll tax cut, saying its costs needed to be offset in a balanced away and not with budget cuts exempting the rich.

"We are open to looking at other ways to pay for this, but they have to be economically responsible an...

EU bank capital hole deepens to 115 billion euros

2011-12-08T12:30:16Z

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe's banks must find 114.7 billion euros of extra capital, more than predicted two months ago, to make them strong enough to withstand the euro zone debt crisis and restore investor confidence.

Euro...

NYC mayor says no tax hikes despite deficit

2011-12-07T16:00:10Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed on Wednesday not to raise taxes, despite a significant budget gap that must be closed for the upcoming fiscal year.

Bloomberg made the pledge a day after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo a...

New York state raises taxes on rich, gives middle-class cuts

2011-12-06T12:00:42Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York's millionaires will pay higher taxes while 4.4 million middle-class and upper-income New Yorkers will get tax cuts, under a reform plan the governor and legislature unveiled on Tuesday.

The new top income tax rate for those who earn more than $2 million will rise to 8.82 percent. Without the agreement, this rate would have fall...

NYC mayor opposes raising taxes on rich despite Governor

2011-12-05T17:30:28Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday spoke out against Governor Andrew Cuomo's expected recommendation for higher taxes on the wealthy.

Bloomberg, a politic...

California governor launches tax ballot measure

2011-12-05T16:00:16Z

SAN FRANCISCO - (Reuters) - With California once again running short on revenue, Governor Jerry Brown said on Monday he would circumvent the legislature and press a statewide ballot measure to raise the state's sales tax an...

Obama: U.S. needs payroll tax cut, recovery fragile

2011-12-05T12:00:17Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday the United States needs to extend the payroll tax cut because the U.S. recovery is fragile and the situation in Europe is adding to the uncert...

Reid set to offer compromise to extend payroll tax cut

2011-12-04T07:00:59Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will offer a compromise on Monday to extend a popular payroll tax cut, a fellow Democrat said on Sunday.

Appearing on the "Fox News Sunday" program, Reuters) - The Senate on Thursday blocked a Republican plan to extend the payroll tax cut for workers for one year.

By a vote of 78-20, the Senate defeated the Republican legislation. Earlier, the Senate killed a Democratic version of the payroll tax cut extension.

Senate leaders are expected to begin negotiating a compromise. Under current law, the payroll tax cut for work...

California Governor Brown seeks $7 billion from tax hikes

2011-12-01T16:30:40Z

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The wealthy in California would pay more income tax and shoppers would face a sales tax increase under a measure to be unveiled by Governor Jerry Brown to raise $7 billion for the cash...

White House: Republican tax cut plan falls short

2011-12-01T11:30:49Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday that Republican proposals to extend a popular payroll tax cut fell substantially short of what President Barack Obama was proposing.

A Reuters) - President Barack Obama struck an optimistic note on Wednesday night that lawmakers in Congress could reach agreement to extend payroll tax cuts he said earlier were needed to avoid a "massive blow" to the economy.

At a fundraiser at a New York restaurant, ...

Obama: "Massive blow" to economy if tax cuts lapse

2011-11-30T17:30:33Z

SCRANTON, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - President Barack Obama warned on Wednesday that the U.S. economy would suffer a "massive blow" if Congress fails to extend expiring payroll tax cuts, saying the country was not fully recovered from the rec...

California groups jockey to put tax hikes on ballot

2011-11-30T12:30:13Z

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - With California Governor Jerry Brown making little progress in his efforts to solve the state's intractable budget problems, a number of private groups are maneuvering to put new tax measures to th...

U.S. consumer agency sees confusion over credit cards

2011-11-30T09:30:14Z

(Reuters) - The new U.S. consumer financial watchdog said there is a lot of confusion about the terms of credit cards based on complaints it has received from cardholders in recent months.

The agency on Wednesday released the first batch of data collected on credit card complaints since it opened for business on July 21.

"When consumers cont...

Reid to push for payroll tax cut extension

2011-11-28T12:30:07Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday he will not allow a payroll tax cut to expire at the end of this year without a fight, if Republicans block an upcoming measure that would offset the cost of an extension with a tax hike on th...

Obama pushes divided Congress to extend tax cut

2011-11-22T15:30:17Z

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - President Barack Obama challenged the U.S. Congress on Tuesday to vote next week to save an expiring payroll tax cut, a day after a high-p...

Obama urges Congress to save payroll tax cut

2011-11-22T11:30:16Z

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday challenged Congress to vote next week to preserve an expiring payroll tax cut, a day after lawmakers failed to agree on a way to control the ballooning federal deficit.

...

Obama: Not extending payroll tax would hurt economy

2011-11-22T10:30:16Z

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday U.S. lawmakers would have a chance to vote again next week to extend a payroll tax cut which, he said, would hurt the economy and employment if it were not e...

Obama pushes payroll tax cut after debt panel fails

2011-11-22T03:30:13Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will challenge the Congress to preserve an expiring payroll tax cut on Tuesday as he travels to New Hampshire to seize the initiative in the wake of a collapsed effort to reduce the nation's budget deficit.

W...

U.S. deficit panel could delay on taxes

2011-11-14T17:00:08Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers might opt to postpone tough tax decisions until next year as they struggle to forge a deficit-reduction deal over the coming week, congressional aides said on Monday.

With time running short, the "super committee" of six Democra...

Obama taps insider to head tax policy at US Treasury

2011-11-14T14:00:23Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has picked an administration insider as assistant secretary for tax policy at the U.S. Treasury, the White House

Obama taps insider to head tax policy at Treasury

2011-11-14T14:00:19Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has picked an administration insider as assistant secretary for tax policy at the Treasury, the White House said on Monday, as lawmakers weigh overhauling the U.S. tax code to help curb the deficit...

"super committee" still hoping for debt deal

2011-11-13T10:00:07Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The congressional "super committee" is at a difficult point in negotiations on deficit-reduction, but lawmakers said on Sunday they had not given up on reaching an agreement by this month's deadline.

The special congressional committee is tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in budget savings over 10 years, but with a November 23 deadline looming, CANNES, France (Reuters) - Twenty-nine banks were named on Friday as being so important to the global financial system that they are likely to need to hold more capital than rivals and must put in place a plan to allow them to be wound up without taxpayer help if they hit trouble.

Of the bank...

AIG makes $972 million TARP repayment to Treasury

2011-11-01T13:30:19Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury Department received a $972 million repayment from American International Group , funded by proceeds from the sale of AIG'S American Life ...

U.S. cannot overhaul tax code in 2 months: Geithner

2011-10-19T08:00:52Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday the country's tax code was riddled with special preferences but it was not possible to fix the system before the end of the year.

A select group of lawmakers are grappling with how to find at least $1.2 trillion in savings over the next decad...

ESRB's Trichet says crisis systemic, risks rising

2011-10-11T01:30:07Z

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The sovereign debt crisis has become systemic and risks to the economy are increasing swiftly, European Systemic Risk Board Chairman Jean-Claude Trichet said on Tuesday.

Trichet, who heads the DUBLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European banks may need more than 100 billion euros ($135 billion) to withstand the sovereign debt crisis, Ireland estimated on Saturday ahead of a meeting between Reuters) - At the request of the White House, Senate Democrats have pushed back the effective date of their proposed tax increase on millionaires until after next year's elections, a party aide said on Thursday.

In doing so, Democrats also increased the size of their proposed surcharge on the ...

Highlights: Bernanke testifies on economic outlook

2011-10-04T08:00:26Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The following are highlights from a congressional Joint Economic Committee hearing on Tuesday with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifying on the economic outlook.

US ECONOMY CLOSE TO FALTERING

"The economy is close, the recovery is close to faltering. We need to make sure that the reco...

EU says 420 billion euros injected into Europe's banks

2011-09-23T04:00:29Z

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European banks have already received 420 billion euros in funds to help recapitalize and are in a much better shape than three years ago, the European Commission said on Friday.

"The recapitalization of European banks is something that is ong...

Greek cabinet meets to decide more austerity steps

2011-09-18T08:00:12Z

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou chairs a cabinet meeting on Sunday to decide on more austerity measures to secure continued funding under an international bailout.

EU and IMF inspectors are holding a con...

Fiscal fix needed for jobs, investment: Blackrock

2011-09-15T07:00:10Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States needs to use fiscal as well as monetary policy to boost the economy if it wants to convince cash-rich corporations to start hiring and investing, Bob Doll, chief equity strategist of Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry, front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, on Monday said the economic stimulus program implemented by President Barack Obama created "zero" jobs.

Not so, according to information from...

Obama tries to sell jobs plan to Congress, voters

2011-09-12T07:30:24Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama was set Monday to step up his campaign to win support for a $447 billion jobs plan he hopes will salvage the struggling American economy as well as boost his 2012 re-election prospects.

Obama was due at a 10:40 a.m. EDT appearance in the Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday called on global finance chiefs to boost growth, but said a repeat of the massive coordinated fiscal stimulus efforts of 2009 was no longer possible.

In an opinion piece written for the Financial Times, Geithner said the

Deficit-cutting panel on short but tough road

2011-09-07T22:30:07Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A congressional "super committee" convenes on Thursday to launch its search for at least $1.2 trillion in new deficit reductions as global financial markets look for signs that the world's largest economy is trying to get its fiscal house in order.

When the panel of 12 congressional Democrats

Greece may ask for second bailout to expire earlier: report

2011-09-06T00:30:10Z

ATHENS (Reuters) - Athens may ask its euro zone partners that its second bailout, agreed by EU leaders in July, expire a year earlier than currently planned because of a higher than expected deficit, ne...

ECB's Coene says crisis heading to 2008/9 level: report

2011-09-01T23:00:05Z

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The problems of liquidity and confidence in Europe are not as severe as during post-Lehman crash, but are heading in that direction, ECB Governing Council member Luc Coene sa...

Irene smacks states amid tighter disaster budgets

2011-08-29T14:30:29Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. state and local governments may have to pay for some of the billions of dollars in costs from Hurricane Irene after slashing disaster spending in recent years to shore up bleeding budgets.

That bill will arrive as state and local government r...

Biden say U.S. needs more stimulus, business mad at S&P

2011-08-26T08:00:19Z

ON BOARD AIR FORCE TWO (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden said on Friday the U.S. economy needed more stimulus to get it moving, putting in a plug for government intervention shortly before the White House unveils new proposals to boost job growth.

At the end of a tr...

Analysis: South Korea's conservatives in crisis over policy

2011-08-17T20:30:07Z

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's battered conservatives are in the depths of an identity crisis -- torn between those who are keen to win back voters with generous welfare spending and traditionalists intent on maintaining a tight, business friendly focus.

The

Some states' woes to stretch to next year: economist

2011-08-17T11:30:13Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For some states, the budget crises spurred by the 2007-09 recession will extend well into the next fiscal year, a senior economist from Moody's Investors Services said on Wednesday.

Fiscal 2012 began for most states last month. Because all except Vermont must balance their b...

Insight: Will Buffett, Schultz debt plans be shunned?

2011-08-16T21:30:14Z

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Warren Buffett and Howard Schultz want to change the conversation about how to fix the United States

Stop coddling the super-rich: Buffett

2011-08-15T02:00:09Z

(Reuters) - Billionaire Warren Buffett urged lawmakers to raise taxes on the country's super-rich to help cut the budget deficit, saying such a move will not hurt investments.

"My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice," The 8...

Wikileaks Berkeley

2010-12-14T22:31:11Z

Beverly Dove holds a sign as she speaks during a city council meeting in Berkeley, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. The council in this famously liberal city is considering a resolution Tuesday night bestowing hero status on Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier at the center of the

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Speaker Boehner succumbs on tax deal

Impasse broken in House on payroll tax cut: Senate aide