Weekday NEWS to Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
Wednesday 01.02.2013
Late Beaking News … compromise and agreement
House approves 'fiscal cliff' deal; bill headed to Obama's desk
By Russell Berman and Pete Kasperowicz - TheHill.com
The House late Tuesday night voted to approve a sweeping tax deal to prevent the most significant effects of the "fiscal cliff," overcoming Republican resistance to raising income tax rates on the wealthiest earners.
The 257-167 vote culminated a day of high drama in the Capitol, as Republican leaders considered and then quickly abandoned a plan to attach steep spending cuts to a measure passed overwhelmingly by the Senate early Tuesday morning.
House passes 'fiscal cliff' bill
By Lori Montgomery and Rosalind S. Helderman - WashingtonPost.com
The House late Tuesday gave final approval to a Senate-backed bill that will let taxes rise for the richest Americans, shield the middle class from tax hikes and extend emergency unemployment benefits, ending Washington's long drama over the "fiscal cliff."
The dramatic vote followed a wild day in which the critical measure was assumed for several hours to be headed for defeat because of widespread Republican objections. The vote was 257 to 167, with 85 Republicans joining with nearly all of the chamber's Democrats.
Congress approves 'fiscal cliff' deal in bipartisan vote
By Stephen Dinan and Sean Lengell-The Washington Times
After briefly pumping the brakes, House Republicans were poised Tuesday night to pass the deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" despite deep misgivings about hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending included in the compromise foisted on them by Senate Republicans and the White House.
The Senate ratified the deal early Tuesday morning in an 89-8 vote, and the House followed suit later in the day, voting 257-167 in favor of the deal — though Republicans were nearly two-to-one opposed to it.
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Final fiscal-cliff hurdle: 218 votes in House Outlook for passage remains uncertain: No vote set
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch.com
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A bipartisan deal to avert the fiscal cliff that passed the Senate in the wee hours of Tuesday morning was being scrutinized by both parties in the House of Representatives, but no timetable for any vote on the measure had yet been set.
House Speaker John Boehner was meeting with his Republican colleagues behind closed doors to go over the agreement.
House Wavers on Cliff Compromise
By COREY BOLES and JANET HOOK - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON—House lawmakers meeting for a rare New Year's Day session emerged from lengthy closed-door meetings without embracing a Senate-passed budget deal that avoids the so-called fiscal cliff.
Republicans said party members are upset that the agreement does little to reduce federal spending, suggesting they may try to change an agreement that just hours earlier cleared the Senate in an 89-8 vote. The deal would boost income-tax rates for the first time in 20 years, maintain unemployment benefits and delay spending cuts that were part of the fiscal cliff.
Senate-Passed Deal Means Higher Tax on 77% of Households
By Richard Rubin - Bloomberg.com
The budget deal passed by the U.S. Senate today would raise taxes on 77.1 percent of U.S. households, mostly because of the expiration of a payroll tax cut, according to preliminary estimates from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington.
More than 80 percent of households with incomes between $50,000 and $200,000 would pay higher taxes. Among the households facing higher taxes, the average increase would be $1,635, the policy center said. A 2 percent payroll tax cut, enacted during the economic slowdown, is being allowed to expire as of yesterday.
House Republicans blast Senate 'cliff' bill
By Pete Kasperowicz - TheHill.com
Several Republicans took to the House floor Tuesday afternoon to slam the Senate-brokered "fiscal cliff" bill that was passed earlier in the morning, calling it a rush job that raises taxes and delays most of the spending cuts planned for this year.
"So we find ourselves again with a bill that reflects not financial wisdom, but the seductive spirit that pervades this town," Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) said.
House GOP looks to amend 'fiscal cliff' deal
By Stephen Dinan-The Washington Times
House Republicans are balking at the "fiscal cliff" deal the Senate passed early Tuesday morning and are looking at ways to amend it rather than accept it as is.
"I expect it to be amended," Rep. Lamar Smith, Texas Republican, said as he emerged from an all-hands meeting of House Republicans that began at 1 p.m. Tuesday and still was running more than an hour later.
House Republicans to Seek Spending Cuts in Budget Bill
By Roxana Tiron, James Rowley & Heidi Przybyla - Bloomberg.com
U.S. House Republicans oppose the Senate's budget bill and will seek to insert spending cuts, jeopardizing a bipartisan effort to undo $600 billion in automatic tax increases and spending cuts that take effect starting today.
"I do not support the bill," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia told reporters as he left a private meeting of House Republicans today in Washington.
Fiscal cliff deal in balance
as House of Representatives weighs options Hopes of avoiding tax rises for majority of Americans reside with Republicans as prospect of Tea Party rebellion lingers
By Ewen MacAskill in Washington - Guardian.co.uk
The fate of a deal to resolve America's fiscal cliff crisis hung in the balance on Tuesday, in spite of an overwhelming vote in the Senate hours earlier in favour of a compromise bill aimed at ending the long-running saga.
President Barack Obama hailed the Senate vote and called on the House of Representatives to act "without delay". But senior figures in the House, where the Republicans have a majority, expressed dissatisfaction with the deal and it was unclear on Tuesday what its fate would be.
Paul, Lee, Rubio Vote No on 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal
that Hikes Taxes, Puts Off Spending Cuts
By Terence P. Jeffrey - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) - Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah, and Marco Rubio of Florida were among only eight senators who voted at 1:39 a.m. on Tuesday against a "fiscal cliff" deal that increased taxes on Americans making over $250,000 but suspended the spending cuts that were set to automatically take effect under the terms of the deal President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner made in August 2011 when they increased the federal government's debt limit by $2.4 trillion.
On Monday, the federal government once again hit its debt limit, having borrowed all of the additional $2.4 trillion authorized by the Obama-Boehner deal.
Deal or No Deal: A Tax Hike for Every Working American Payroll tax hike.
BY DANIEL HALPER - WeeklyStandard.com
Deal or no deal, taxes are increasing for every single working American. And it appears no "fiscal cliff" proposal or provision being offered by the White House, Democrats, or Republicans will alter this fact.
The tax every working American will be hit with? The payroll tax increase.
"That means that the paychecks for more than 160 million Americans will be 2 percent smaller starting in January, as the payroll tax will jump from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent. And a huge number of those hit will be middle class or working poor (Two-thirds of those in the bottom 20 percent would be affectedby a payroll tax hike.)," describes the Washington Post.
Graham: 'Save the powder' for debt ceiling fight
by: Bobby Cervantes - Times247.com
Sen. Lindsey Graham on Tuesday urged House Republicans to "save their powder" for the debt ceiling fight in a few months, instead of getting blamed for holding out on the Senate-backed fiscal cliff deal and then "fold like a cheap suit."
"Do the best you can, make it (the cliff deal) better if you can, but here's reality: Right now all tax rates have gone up on all Americans," the South Carolina Republican said.
Republican Cole Predicts House to Pass Senate Budget Bill
By Roxana Tiron, James Rowley & Heidi Przybyla - Bloomberg.com
A House Republican said he expects the chamber to pass the Senate's tax and spending measure unchanged tonight with a "substantial" bipartisan vote.
"Let's accept the wins that we have and live to fight another day," Oklahoma Representative Tom Cole said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.
House Speaker John Boehner offered fellow Republicans two options, including allowing a vote on the Senate bill if party members don't show they have a majority vote to amend it with spending cuts.
Cantor opposes Senate-passed fiscal cliff bill
by: Andrew Taylor - Times247.com
The No. 2 Republican in the House leadership says he opposes a Senate-passed measure to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.
Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor told reporters after a two-hour closed-door meeting Tuesday with his GOP lawmakers that he did not support the bill.
Cantor opposes Senate-passed fiscal cliff bill
by: Andrew Taylor - Times247.com
The No. 2 Republican in the House leadership says he opposes a Senate-passed measure to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.
Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor told reporters after a two-hour closed-door meeting Tuesday with his GOP lawmakers that he did not support the bill.
Say Yes to the Mess
BY WILLIAM KRISTOL - WeeklyStandard.com
The fiscal cliff deal that the Senate passed early this morning is ridiculous in too many ways to count. There seem to be no figures from the Congressional Budget Office and only "very preliminary" figures from the Joint Tax Committee about the real spending and revenue implications. The two month delay of the sequester will make actual governance even more difficult (how is the Pentagon supposed to plan for the rest of the year?). The sequester delay is funded by a gimmick with retirement savings tax rules that is a caricature of what has become of Washington legislation and policy making. Working Americans making less than $400,000 will be shocked when they find that, contrary to promises from both parties, their taxes are in fact going up (the payroll tax). And we will face another cliff when we hit the debt ceiling and the sequester again in two months.
House Republicans balk at "fiscal cliff" deal
By Rachelle Younglai and Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON | Tue Jan 1, 2013 4:25pm EST
(Reuters) - Washington's last-minute scramble to step back from a "fiscal cliff" ran into trouble on Tuesday as Republicans in the House of Representatives balked at a deal to avert a budget crisis.
Republican leaders in the House said they might try to change the bill approved by the Senate which voted to raise taxes on the wealthy in a late-night show of unity.
House plans to act on cliff deal
By JAKE SHERMAN and CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN - Politico.com
Speaker John Boehner is leaving the fate of the Senate-passed fiscal cliff deal in the hands of the House Republican Conference.
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) vote-counting operation is kicking into full gear on Tuesday night — after the country has officially gone off the cliff — to gauge whether 218 Republicans would support amending the Senate bill with a package of spending cuts.
Keiser Report: Year of Banking Death Penalty (E387)
In this episode, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the two big themes for 2013: the execution of the too big to fail outlaw banks and the death of the Bretton Woods engineered fiat and faith debt based system as nations around the world ask for the return of their gold. They also talk to several Keiser Report guests about their predictions for 2013, including predictions from Rob Kirby on JP Morgan's collapse, Mitch Feierstein on JP Morgan's copper ETF, Ned Naylor-Leyland on the CFTC investigation into silver manipulation and the Yes Men's Andy Bichlbaum on the Global Spring.
Senate-passed 'fiscal cliff' agreement in trouble in House
By Erik Wasson, Russell Berman and Molly K. Hooper - TheHill.com
The Senate's New Year's Eve compromise on the "fiscal cliff" hit major turbulence in the House on Tuesday, and the Republican majority is likely to try to amend the bill and send it back to the Senate, House Republicans said.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told his conference he is flatly opposed to the Senate bill without more spending cuts, members said as they emerged from a nearly two-hour Republican meeting in the Capitol.
Mind Over Matter?
BY BRIAN PRETTI CFA - FinancialSense.com
From year end 2006 to the present, the top six central banks globally have printed close to $12 trillion in new money. Quite the feat given that they started with a collective balance sheet of $5 trillion. And it's not over yet, not by a long shot. One question I have heard again and again over this period is "where's the inflation?" Academically, the printing of money iscurrency debasement. Perhaps you'll remember from your college economics class the definition of inflation as being too much money chasing too few goods. This is exactly why the printing of money has historically been associated with the concept and often reality of price inflation.
The Ongoing War: After the Battle Over the Cliff,
the Battle Over the Debt Ceiling
By Robert Reich
"It's not all I would have liked," says Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, speaking of the deal on the fiscal cliff, "so on to the debt ceiling."
Regardless of what happens in the House of Representatives (at this moment, it's still a cliff-hanger), the battle over the fiscal cliff is only a prelude to the coming battle over raising the debt ceiling – a battle that will likely continue through early March, when the Treasury runs out of tricks to avoid a default on the nation's debt.
Keiser Report: Banker Infestation (E386)
In this episode, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert argue over whether things are looking better or worse for the American worker. While Stacy argues that the return of some manufacturing is a sign that wealth creating jobs may return to the US, Max counters that the system is so corrupt that the chances of labor getting any cut of the wealth is nil and that the Internet giants will prevent the rise of a powerful decentralized economy online. In the second half, Max Keiser talks to Professor Jonathan Feldman about the Global Teach-In and about a boycott and short sale campaign and creating an industrial policy for America because right now the US even outsources some military production to China.
Senate Democrats will reject House changes
to tax bill, aides say
By Alexander Bolton - TheHill.com
Senate Democratic leaders say they will reject any House effort to amend a fiscal cliff deal that passed the upper chamber with overwhelming support on New Year's Day.
"The House Republicans have two choices: cut their losses and pass the deal now, or else put up a fight they cannot win and pass the same deal a few days now after being further humiliated," said a Senate Democratic leadership aide.
Obama presses House of Representatives to pass 'fiscal cliff' deal
Agreement expected to encounter opposition from conservatives in the Lower House
By TIM WALKER - Independent.co.uk
President Barack Obama has pressed the House of Representatives to vote in favour of a Senate-backed deal that would avert the swingeing cuts and soaring tax rates of America's so-called "fiscal cliff".
The country officially passed its deadline for an agreement on new budget legislation at midnight on New Year's Eve, but after Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell brokered a last-minute agreement, the Senate approved it overwhelmingly at 2am this morning, by 89 votes to eight.
Why Riyadh Cares about the "Fiscal Cliff"
By Daniel J. Graeber - OilPrice.com
Oil revenue made up more than 90 percent of the total revenues for Saudi Arabia despite a steady decline in production. With a choppy 2012 drawing to a close, the Saudi finance minister said the kingdom had run a multibillion-dollar budget surplus. Despite a tense economic year, the ailing Saudi king, for his part, said there was "plenty of wealth" in the kingdom. Production from non-OPEC members could put a strain on Riyadh's budget for next year, however. And, should lawmakers in the United States fail to reach a budget deal before markets re-open Wednesday, oil prices could slump further on concerns of a recession from the world's top oil consumer.
CBO: 'Fiscal cliff' deal
carries $4 trillion price tag over next decade
By Peter Schroeder - TheHill.com
The Senate deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" will add roughly $4 trillion to the deficit when compared to current law, according to new numbers from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The CBO determined Tuesday that the package, hammered out late Monday evening by Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would — over the next decade — come with a $3.9 trillion price tag.
Keiser Report: Next American Revolution (E385)
(ft. Gerald Celente)
In this episode, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss Hank Paulson sightings in Chicago and the Boxing Day presents for the global peasants from the global elite, including 45 bad banker apples (at UBS) and an attempt to part the people of India from their gold hoard. In the second half, Max Keiser talks to trends forecaster, Gerald Celente of TrendsResearch.com about the next American Revolution and Nehru jackets.
Fiscal cliff: America goes to the brink,
but millions already fell into poverty Whatever the outcome of the political haggling, Congress has failed the 50 million Americans below the bread line
By Heidi Moore - Guardian.co.uk
The one comfort of government incompetence is that it is never a surprise: it is, if anything, a starting point for the public's expectations of Washington.
Still, even that certainty doesn't pay the bills, and that is a problem for 2.1 million Americans who have been out of work for more than 27 weeks and will be cut off from unemployment insurance tonight. No matter what happens, the fiscal cliff talks have been a failure: Congress will not achieve a "grand bargain" to save Americans from the brunt of ill-considered, sweeping tax hikes and government spending cuts.
This dysfunctional system
has just kicked the can down the road President Obama has too often seemed disdainful
not only of the recalcitrant House,
but of the entire legislative process
By RUPERT CORNWELL - Independent.co.uk
Americans can rarely have held their politicians in greater contempt, and rightly so. The agreement that pulls the country back from the brink of the so-called "fiscal cliff" is no more than a feeble, last-ditch palliative. And even that assumes the House of Representatives will follow the Senate in a bipartisan vote to ratify the deal (which at the time of writing was no sure thing.)
Some observers have glibly asserted that the stalemate is precisely what the country's founding fathers envisaged, with the constitution's elaborate system of checks and balances. But Messrs Washington, Jefferson, Madison and the rest could never have imagined so colossal a collective abdication of responsibility by the people's elected representatives.
Perspective on the Deal
By Paul Krugman - NYTimes.com
To make sense of what just happened, we need to ask what is really at stake, and how much difference the budget deal makes in the larger picture.
So, what are the two sides really fighting about? Surely the answer is, the future of the welfare state. Progressives want to maintain the achievements of the New Deal and the Great Society, and also implement and improve Obamacare so that we become a normal advanced country that guarantees essential health care to all its citizens. The right wants to roll the clock back to 1930, if not to the 19th century.
Krauthammer: Cliff deal 'surrender'
By BOBBY CERVANTES - Politico.com
The Senate-passed fiscal cliff bill that House Republicans now are debating is a "complete rout for Democrats" and '"complete surrender" for the GOP, conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer said Tuesday.
"Look, there are a lot of conservatives in the Republican caucus in the House who hate the bill for good reason. This is a complete surrender on everything," he said about the ratio of tax hike to spending cuts.
US Steel Industry Set to Grow on the Back of the Shale Boom
By Charles Kennedy - OilPrice.com
Hydraulic fracturing of shale rock across the US has led to a huge boom in natural gas production and a subsequent surplus in supply over demand. This has led gas prices to fall by as much as 50% in just two years, "triggering an avalanche of industrial expansion plans," according to Pehlivanova and Wang of Barclays.
The first industry that grew as a direct result of the shale boom was the chemical industry. After years of decline the cheap costs of natural gas enabled chemical manufacturers to slash their costs and become much more profitable and competitive. Shares in LyondellBasell Industries NV have more than doubled since its bankruptcy back in 2010, and it is just one of several chemical giants to invest billions of dollars to develop plants around the Gulf of Mexico to take full advantage of the cheap gas.
Stock market will blindside investors in 2013 Commentary: Optimist or pessimist, black swans will get you
By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — Investors, it's time to retest your 2013 strategic computer, your brain. Are you an Optimist who listens to the noisy Wall Street's media bulls? Or are you naturally a perennial skeptical Pessimist who never trusts Wall Street and likely every other so-called expert predicting the future of the economy, the market, the world.
Let's look past the typical avalanche of noisy predictions into the insanity that's ahead in 2013. First, the final phase of the 2008 crash that the Pessimist sees coming. Then, the stock market's surprising 2012 trouncing of the New Normal's predicted single-digits returns.
Safeguard Your Phone from Malware A Modern Cellphone Is Really a Small Computer and,
Like Its Bigger Brethren, It Needs Protection
By BONNIE CHA - WSJ.com
If you think that only computers can get viruses, think again.
According to a report by research group Juniper Networks, JNPR +1.50% hackers are increasingly targeting smartphones and other mobile devices with malicious software (also known as malware) to gain access to personal information. The threat is still small in comparison to computers, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take precautions to protect your smartphone.
Gun Owners Like Me Are Not The Problem
And Taking Our Guns Away Won't Reduce Gun Crime
By Charlie Daniels - CNSNews.com
On Friday 12/28/12, I raised the flag in my back yard to full mast. I had it lowered to half mast in honor and respect for the innocent citizens of Newtown, Connecticut who were brazenly, wantonly and uselessly gunned down by a demonically motivated individual, a coward who didn't even have the courage to shoot it out with others who also had guns.
Out of deference to the bereaved family members, I wanted to hold off entering the resulting battle that was sure to come over gun control and, in keeping, I offer my very deepest condolences to people who are suffering something I cannot not even begin to fathom.
Oil ship runs aground in Alaska Drill ship, the Kulluk, carrying about 155,000 gallons of fuel, drifted in stormy weather before being driven on to rocks
By Reuters - Guardian.co.uk
A large drill ship belonging to the oil company Shell has run aground offAlaska after drifting in stormy weather, company and government officials said.
The ship, the Kulluk, broke away from one of its tow lines on Monday afternoon and was driven, within hours, on to rocks just off Kodiak Island, where it grounded at about 9pm Alaska time, officials said.
Shells Arctic Nightmare Continues
as Tow Lines Snap on Drill Rig
By Joao Peixe - OilPrice.com
Shells attempts to explore for oil in the Arctic has been hit by delays and problems since the start, and even after the drilling season has finished things refuse to pass smoothly.
Shell (NYSE:RDS.B) used the Kulluk conical drilling rig to bore the first half of an exploratory well in the Beaufort Sea in Alaska, and then began towing it back to a safe harbour in Seattle where it would receive basic maintenance. Little did they know of the nightmare that would ensue.
David Cameron sets free trade agreement as his G8 priority PM to push for Europe-US deal despite problems of past muted response in Washington and his vulnerable position in the EU
By Juliette Jowit and Ewen MacAskill - The Guardian
David Cameron has made the establishment of a free trade agreement between Europe and the US a key priority during the UK's leadership of the G8 group of richest nations this year.
In a letter to fellow national leaders in the group, whose economies make up more than half the world's output, the prime minister said expanding free trade was one of three areas he wanted them to focus on.
North Korea Picks Stronger Economy,
South Ties as Top 2013 Tasks
By Sangwon Yoon - Bloomberg.com
North Korea's Kim Jong Un named improving the economy and better relations with South Korea as top policy goals for his second year as leader, signaling he may ease his country's confrontational approach toward Seoul.
"The building of an economic giant is the most important task that comes to the fore in the present stage of building a thriving socialist country," Kim said today in a New Year address carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "The reunification of the country is the greatest national task that brooks no further delay."
North Korean leader, in rare address,
seeks end to confrontation with South
By Jack Kim
SEOUL | Tue Jan 1, 2013 3:04pm EST
(Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for an end to confrontation between the two Koreas, technically still at war in the absence of a peace treaty to end their 1950-53 conflict, in a surprise New Year's broadcast on state media.
The address by Kim, who took power in the reclusive state after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in 2011, appeared to take the place of the policy-setting New Year's editorial published annually in the past in leading state newspapers.
Syria's Oil Now a Target of Civil War
By Claude Salhani - OilPrice.com
It was only a matter of time before Syria's oil industry, sagging as it may be, became a target in the country's civil war, a conflict that is rapidly devastating Syria's infrastructure and economy. The latest casualty is now Syria's modest oil industry, already suffering from lack of modernization.
In two separate incidents in the past couple of days rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar Assad have announced the capture of an oil pumping station in the northern part of the country in what was described as fierce fighting that raged over several days, and have blown up a natural gas pipeline in the eastern part of the country.
