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CBO Warns About 'Fiscal Cliff' - (online.wsj.com) The U.S. economy will likely fall into recession in the first half of
2013 if large tax increases and scheduled government spending cuts are allowed
to go into effect in January, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday. The
nonpartisan agency's finding could ramp up pressure on policy makers to reach a
broad budget deal later this year to avoid such an outcome. The combination of
tax increases and spending cuts, often referred to as a "fiscal
cliff," would sharply reduce the federal budget deficit but would
temporarily arrest the economic recovery, said the CBO, which serves as
Congress's budget calculator.
Greek banks to be recapitalised by Friday - banker - (www.reuters.com) Greece's bank stability fund approved an 18 billion euro ($22.96
billion) injection to rescue its four largest banks on Tuesday, and an official
said they would get the urgently needed funds as soon Wednesday. Bankers say
the recapitalisation will allow them to again receive funding from the European
Central Bank (ECB), which cut off some Greek banks last week because they
lacked enough capital to be considered solvent. Huge losses from a sovereign
debt swap in March nearly wiped out the capital of Greece's systemically
important banks and Greek authorities are scrambling to wrap up a bridge
recapitalisation to help them cope with a cash crunch.
Secret €100bn aid props up Greek banks - (www.ft.com) There has been
no official announcement. No terms or conditions have been disclosed. But
Greece’s banking system is being propped up by an estimated €100bn or so of
emergency liquidity provided by the country’s central bank – approved secretly
by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. If Greece were to leave the
eurozone, the immediate cause might be an ECB decision to pull the plug. Extensive
use of “emergency liquidity assistance” (ELA) to help banks in the weakest
economies has been one of the less-noticed features of the eurozone crisis.
Separate from normal supplies of liquidity and meant originally as a temporary
facility for national authorities to use when banks hit problems, ELA proved a
lifesaver for the financial system Ireland and is now even more so in Greece.
As such, it has given the ECB – which has ultimate control over the facility –
considerable power to determine countries’ fates.
SEC, FINRA call for Facebook review, pressure builds - (www.reuters.com) Two top U.S. financial regulators said the issues around the initial
public offering of Facebook should be reviewed, putting fresh pressure on the
company, its embattled lead underwriter and the Nasdaq. After Friday's nearly flat close and
Monday's 11 percent plunge, Facebook shares closed 8.9 percent lower at $31 on
volume of 101 million shares. At that price the company has shed more than $19
billion in market capitalization from its $38-per-share offering price last
week. Investors were still shaking their heads over the botched opening trading
of Facebook when Reuters reported late Monday that the consumer Internet
analyst at lead underwriter Morgan Stanley cut his revenue forecasts for
Facebook in the days before the offering, information that may not have reached
many investors before the stock was listed.
Obama
Is Getting Humiliated In The Kentucky Primary, 40 Percent Of Democrats Voted
For 'Uncommitted' - (www.businessinsider.com)
Problem in Appalachia. This is just crazy. With almost all
districts reporting, Obama is carrying about 60 percent of the vote in
tonight's Kentucky primary according to the Wall Street Journal.
But about 40 percent of that state's Democratic voters cast their ballot for
'Undecided.' Compare that to Mitt Romney, who has won
67% in the Republican primary, while Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich are all
scoring in the single-digits. The result doesn't exactly change anything
for Obama but it is another embarrassing result for the incumbent. Last week in
West Virginia, a convicted felon won 41 percent of
the vote against Obama. The message is this, Obama is unbelievably
weak among white Appalachian Democrats.
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