Ethanol loses friends and
influence as reform movement grows - (www.cnbc.com) Ethanol
requirements for U.S. gasoline appear to be losing friends and influencing the
wrong people, with calls growing to reform or scrap the government mandates
altogether. The Environmental Protection Agency in November proposed reducing
the amount of renewable fuels, including corn-based ethanol, that oil refiners
must blend with gasoline. The rule is a centerpiece of government efforts to
curb carbon emissions, while jump-starting alternative forms of energy. The draft
rule would impact the 2014 requirement for renewables to fall between 15
billion and 15.52 billion gallons from 18.15 billion gallons. But the proposal
to reduce ethanol requirements for 2014 has done little to quell the
groundswell of complaints about the practical effects of using corn-based fuel
in America's gasoline supply. Earlier this month, California Democrat Dianne
Feinstein joined forces with Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn to
introduce a Senate bill to strip ethanol completely from the Renewable Fuel
Standard, also known as RFS. Although Feinstein continues to champion renewable
fuel, she has expressed concerns that excess corn-based fuel production—mainly
due to the RFS requirements—is "really not wise," and that the standards may hurt the
Golden State's livestock producers.
US Tax Court rules against
MBA student seeking tuition tax break - (www.cnbc.com) The
U.S. Tax Court has dealt a setback to young MBA students with little work experience
who try to claim their tuition costs as a tax-deductible business expense,
lawyers and accountants said on Thursday. In a ruling on Monday, a Tax Court
judge denied Adam Hart of Florida, who was studying for a Master of Business
Administration degree in finance, a $17,138 tax deduction he claimed for his
tuition costs in 2009. The IRS billed Hart for $2,572 in unpaid taxes. Hart,
now 31, who graduated in 2011 from the Rollins College MBA program in the
state, did not have enough consistent work experience prior to starting school
to claim the deduction, the judge ruled. "There is no evidence in the
record that (the) petitioner was carrying on a trade or business before he
enrolled in the MBA program," wrote Tax Court Judge Kathleen Kerrigan. Claiming
MBA tuition as an ordinary, cost-of-business deduction is a narrow needle to
thread, tax professionals said. The tax break cannot be claimed by law or
medical students.
Anyone Who Thinks We Need A 'Catalyst' For A
Market Crash Should Brush Up On Their History - (www.businessinsider.com) There
was no "catalyst" in 1929. Or 1966. Or 1987. Or 2000. Or 2008... The stock market continues to push higher, on route to
posting one of the best years in history. This advance comes in the fifth year
of recovery from the financial crisis, and it has seen the S&P 500 nearly
triple off its low of March, 2009. These years of gains have gradually made investors more
comfortable again, and now there appears to be a widespread consensus that it's
finally "safe" to own stocks. I own stocks, so I'm certainly enjoying
the advance. But unlike some other investors, I'm not feeling more comfortable
as they move higher. Rather, I'm feeling less comfortable.
Margin Debt sets another all-time high - (www.greedometer.com) In
yet another sign the stock market is wildly over-priced, NYSE margin debt
(borrowing money “on margin” to make leveraged bets) reached a new all-time
high in November. The NYSE released the margin debt data for November a few
hours ago. Here’s the chart. (note: the data is corrected for the M1 money
supply)
The Oldest Bank In the World Is On The Verge Of
Collapsing - (www.businessinsider.com) A
delay to vital fundraising at Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena
has increased the risk that Italy's third-biggest bank has
to be nationalized, a move the government would like to avoid. Shareholders led
by the biggest investor in the bailed-out bank rejected plans for a 3 billion
euro ($4 billion) share sale in January and postponed the capital raising until
after May 12. The bank's chairman and its chief executive may resign following
the unprecedented clash with the main shareholder in the Siena-based
lender, a charitable banking foundation
with close ties to local politicians. The focus of attention now turns
to Rome where both the economy ministry, which has oversight of
banking foundations, and the Bank of Italy are closely following
events. The world's oldest bank needs to tap investors for
cash to pay back 4.1 billion euros in state aid it received earlier this year
and avert nationalization after being hammered by the euro zone debt crisis and
loss-making derivatives trades.
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