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California Assembly speaker OKs $132,000 in staff pay hikes, promotions - (www.sacbee.com) New Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez handed out pay increases or promotions totaling nearly $132,000 per year the day he was sworn in this month, including a $65,000 raise to his chief of staff.
Junk Bond Avalanche Looms for Credit Markets - (www.nytimes.com) …..2012 also is the beginning of a three-year period in which more than $700 billion in risky, high-yield corporate debt begins to come due, an extraordinary surge that some analysts fear could overload the debt markets. With huge bills about to hit corporations and the federal government around the same time, the worry is that some companies will have trouble getting new loans, spurring defaults and a wave of bankruptcies. The United States government alone will need to borrow nearly $2 trillion in 2012, to bridge the projected budget deficit for that year and to refinance existing debt. Indeed, worries about the growth of national, or sovereign, debt prompted Moody’s Investors Service to warn on Monday that the United States and other Western nations were moving “substantially” closer to losing their top-notch Aaa credit ratings.
States Hope for a Rich Uncle - (online.wsj.com) Strapped states, facing up to $180 billion in budget deficits in the next fiscal year, are going hat in hand to Washington. California wants $6.9 billion in federal money for the next fiscal year, and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he'll have to eliminate state health and welfare programs without it. Illinois, facing a $13 billion deficit that equals roughly half of the state's operating budget, has what it dubs a stimulus team and a group in Washington pressing for additional state aid. Among other things, Illinois is hoping the federal government will keep paying a higher share of Medicaid costs. "That's $600 million we desperately need," said Kelly Kraft, a spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn's budget office. Those funds already are counted in the governor's budget proposal. But in Congress, members are balking at further subsidies amid an election-year outcry over the U.S. deficit and federal involvement in the economy. That tension sets up fierce battles as states work out budgets for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Because they can't run deficits, most states face yet more tough choices: raise taxes, cut services, lay off workers or trim employees' wages and benefits over union opposition. "Our demand for services continues to grow, especially with underemployment and high unemployment—and we expect this trend to continue as we enter what is expected to be a slow-growth recovery," said Anna Richter Taylor, a spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski of Oregon.
Sacramento business owner settles 4-cent IRS tab amid media frenzy – (www.sacbee.com) Midtown business owner Aaron Zeff has settled his beef with the IR, resolving an issue that drew national media attention after we wrote about it Saturday. "We're moving forward," he says, after sending the feds a check for 4 cents – and additional checks to cover $202.31 in interest and penalties. Zeff, the owner of Harv's Metro Car Wash, was upset last week after two IRS agents visited his business to collect on the debt. He couldn't understand how a 4-cent debt could generate so much in penalties and interest. He now thinks he may know the answer. It didn't. What most likely happened, he says, is Harv's was late on a large quarterly payroll tax filing. Penalties and interest then were assessed. When the late payment was received, it wiped out all but 4 cents of the payroll obligation, but left the interest and penalties in place. What's still a mystery is why Zeff was never informed about the tardy payment (and resulting fees) before last week's visit by agents. One possibility: He changed payroll services several years ago, and the old firm may have received notices but didn't forward them. In any case, he still thinks the agents' visit was "inappropriate – whether it was for 4 cents or $500."
Nicolas Cage: One-Man Real Estate Bubble - (www.nbcnewyork.com) Funny link to a variety of properties Nicolas Cage is currently selling. You may sorta like Nicolas Cage as an OK actor, but real estate agents absolutely adored him, at least until recently, when he began unloading some 15 homes around the world.
· Somehow, Cage found himself in Bath, England, where he promptly bought three homes, including the Midford Castle, for $7.74 million in July, 2007. Maybe he found it a bit drafty: He sold it for a $3 million loss earlier this year. He still reportedly owns a place in nearby Baltonsborough he snapped up in 2006 for $1.425 million.
· Cage sold off two adjacent units in Manhattan's Olympic Tower on Fifth Avenue in October. Although the condos were listed for $9.7 million, he sold units 48G and 48H for $7.5 million.
· Sure, The LaLaurie House in New Orleans' French Quarter is supposedly haunted, but that didn't stop ol' Nick. In April 2007, he bought the 10,300-square-foot-home for $3.45 million. Last month, the Regions Bank of Birmingham snapped it up out of foreclosure for $2.3 million.
· Maybe Cage was passing by in his absurd yacht when he saw a "For Sale" sign on this undeveloped, 45-acre Bahamas island called Leaf Cay. He paid $3 million for it, but he's now trying to sell it for $7 million.
OTHER STORIES:
Moody's warns nations to cut spending or risk AAA ratings - (www.bloomberg.com)
China, Japan Reduced Holdings of U.S. Treasury Debt in January - (www.bloomberg.com)
Reform Bill Adds Layers of Oversight - (www.nytimes.com)
European Union Puts Off New Rules for Hedge Funds - (www.nytimes.com)
Hedge Funds May Get $222 Billion Inflows in 2010, Survey Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
CLOs to End 12-Month Drought in Citigroup Deal: Credit Markets - (www.bloomberg.com)
EU Lays Groundwork for Greek Lifeline to Bolster Euro - (www.bloomberg.com)
China's scramble for water; one section of huge project halted - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Questions remain over Greece rescue - (www.ft.com)
FCC plan would greatly expand broadband Internet connections - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Citigroup Bolsters Trading Unit as Volcker Rule Spurs Defectors - (www.bloomberg.com)
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