deficit reduction

Sequestration Imminent, Senate Rejects Stopgap Efforts

The Senate swatted aside last-ditch plans to block $85 billion in broad-based federal spending reductions Thursday as President Barack Obama and Republicans blamed each other for the latest outbreak of gridlock and the administration readied plans to put the cuts into effect.

Obama Seeks to Avoid Sequester with Short-Term Deficit Fix

President Barack Obama is asking Congress for a short-term deficit reduction package of spending cuts and tax revenue that will delay the effective date of steeper automatic cuts now scheduled to kick in on March 1. Obama said the looming sequestration cuts would be economically damaging.

Stocks Shoot Up as Investors Bet on 'Cliff' Deal

The stock market shot higher on Monday even as the "fiscal cliff" neared. By the time trading ended, Republicans and Democrats still hadn't reached a budget compromise %u2014- but investors were betting that they would.

Details of 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal Said to Emerge

Working against a midnight deadline, negotiators for the White House and congressional Republicans in Congress narrowed their differences Monday on legislation to avert across-the-board tax increases.

Stocks Whipsawed by 'Fiscal Cliff' Talks, End Flat

The stock market erased most of an early loss in late trading after Republicans said they would reconvene the House of Representatives Sunday in hopes of piecing together a last-minute budget deal. Still the Dow closed down 18 points for its fourth straight loss.

U.S. Economy Could Handle Short Fall Over 'Cliff'

Even if New Year's passes with no deficit reduction deal, businesses and consumers would not likely panic as long as some agreement seems imminent. The $671 billion in tax increases and spending cuts could be retroactively repealed, and the impact of the tax increases would be felt only gradually.

Obama Social Security Offer at Odds with Top Democrats

President Obama's offer to limit the growth of Social Security benefits would cost the average retiree less than $50 in the first year. But the cuts would grow over time, and that has advocates for seniors worried that Democrats in Congress will break their promise to shield the program from cuts in deficit reduction talks.

Poll Shows 25% Have an Opinion About a Totally Fake Budget Plan

Polls about Americans' views on politics and the economy sometimes return results that baffle the well-informed. Public Policy Polling's latest poll helps explain why that may be: It reveals that a high percentage of people have no problem offering an opinion on topics they know nothing about.

Obama: Americans Agree with My Approach on Deficit

President Barack Obama, laying down his marker for grueling budget and tax negotiations, said Friday he won't accept any approach to deficit reduction that doesn't ask the wealthy to pay more in taxes.

Paul Ryan's Budget vs. President Obama's: How They Differ

Even before Mitt Romney picked him as his running mate, Paul Ryan was a Tea Party star, a fiscal-policy super-wonk and author of the GOP House's budget proposal. Here's a look at some of the ways Ryan's fiscal ideas contrast with President Obama's:

Obama Sends FY2013 Budget Proposals to Congress

President Barack Obama on Monday sent Congress a new budget that seeks to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade while at the same time showering billions of dollars of increased spending on areas aimed at giving the economy a quick boost.

GS Deal Exposed; BofA Deal Nixed

Two surprises in the finance biz: A small group of bond investors has thrown a wrench into Bank of America's massive mortgage securities settlement, while the Fed revealed a secret $15 billion loan it made to Goldman Sachs in 2008. But in retail, there are no bad surprises on same-store sales so far.

Time to Kill the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction?

With proposals from both President Obama and GOP leaders to broaden the tax base, it seems likely that some cherished income tax deductions may be reduced or even eliminated, and one leading candidate for the chopping block is the deduction for mortgage interest.