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Check Out These Photos Of Federal Workers Living It Up In Las Vegas - (www.businessinsider.com) Room service and spa baths on the taxpayer dime. Jeffrey Neely, one of the embattled General Services Administration executives at the center of the agency's wasteful spending scandal, refused to testify in Congress today about a $822,751 Las Vegas training conference that he helped plan. Invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, Neely declined to comment on the lavish conference, which featured a mind-reader, a clown, commemorative coin giveaways, and a strange award ceremony in which he mocked President Barack Obama. Neely was placed on administrative leave this month after a scathing report from the GSA's inspector general revealed the excesses at the conference, and is now facing a possible criminal investigation into his activities at the GSA, according to the Washington Post. ABC's Jake Tapper may have stumbled upon the reason behind Neely's silence. Earlier this afternoon, Tapper reported on a trove of photos from two of six pre-conference "planning trips" to Las Vegas on Neely's wife Deborah's Google Plus page. show the GSA executive living it up in a fancy suite at Las Vegas' M Resort Spa & Casino.
Coming Soon: ‘Taxmageddon’ - (www.nytimes.com) ON Jan. 1 of next year, the federal tax bill for a typical middle-class household — making in the neighborhood of $50,000 — is scheduled to rise by about $1,750. This increase, which would come from the expiration of both the Bush tax cuts and the Obama stimulus, would follow a decade of little to no income growth for many people. As a result, inflation-adjusted, after-tax income for the median household could fall next year to its 1998 level, in spite of the continuing economic recovery. The middle-class tax increase is just the beginning of budget changes set to take effect at the start of 2013. Poor families would see their taxes rise somewhat, too. Total federal taxes for top-earning families would rise by tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Spending cuts would also take effect, squeezing domestic programs — education, transportation, scientific research — and the military.
U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Fell in April to Three-Month Low- (www.bloomberg.com) Confidence among U.S. homebuilders fell in April to a three-month low, a sign the industry is still trying to gain its footing.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence decreased to 25 this month from 28 in March, the Washington-based group said today. Economists projected no change in the index, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Readings below 50 mean more respondents said conditions were poor. Borrowing costs close to all-time lows, population growth that may spur more demand for homes and cheaper properties are helping stabilize residential real estate. At the same time, the recovery may take time as the prospect of more foreclosed homes returning to the market competes with new construction.
Downgrades Loom for Banks - (online.wsj.com) European banks are bracing for a wave of ratings downgrades in coming weeks that could intensify pressure on the fragile industry and further undercut recent efforts to defuse the Continent's long-running financial crisis. Under pressure from banks, Moody's Investors Service said Friday that it is delaying until early May its highly anticipated decision on whether to downgrade the credit ratings of 114 banks in 16 European countries. Moody's announced the review in February, saying it was needed in light of the banks' weak conditions and the tough environment in which they're operating. It had planned to start unveiling the decisions this week.
Argentina Will Seize 51% of YPF Under Fernandez Proposal - (www.bloomberg.com) Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner seized control of YPF SA (YPFD), the nation’s largest crude producer, ousting Spanish owner Repsol YPF SA (REP) after a dispute over slumping oil output and investments. Argentina took over management of YPF with immediate effect, replacing Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Eskenazi with Planning Minister Julio De Vido, Fernandez said yesterday in a speech in Buenos Aires. The government will also send a bill to Congress to take a 51 percent stake in YPF, she said. The takeover follows more than two months of increasing government pressure on YPF after fuel imports doubled to $9.4 billion last year.
1 comment:
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