Senate vote likely on U.S. "fiscal cliff" deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House and Senate leaders struck a bipartisan deal on Monday to try to avoid a "fiscal cliff" budget crisis, although the agreement was likely to face stiff challenges in the House of Representatives.

Senators were due to vote on the accord overnight and independent Senator Joe Lieberman said it had strong support from the Democrats who control the chamber.

The agreement came too late for Congress to meet its own deadline of New Year's Eve to pass laws halting $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into force on January 1.

But with Tuesday a holiday, Congress still had time to draw up legislation, approve it and backdate it to avoid the harsh fiscal measures coming into force.

That will need the backing of the House where many of the Republicans who control the chamber complain that President Barack Obama has shown little interest in cutting government spending to try to reduce the U.S. budget deficit.

House Republicans are also likely to balk at planned tax hikes on household incomes over $450,000 a year that was part of the agreement struck between Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The House has convened a session for Tuesday at noon (1700 GMT).

House Speaker John Boehner said the House would consider the deal if it were passed by the Senate.

"The House will honor its commitment to consider the Senate agreement if it is passed. Decisions about whether the House will seek to accept or promptly amend the measure will not be made until House members ... have been able to review the legislation," Boehner and other House Republican leaders said in a statement.

The deal would make permanent the alternative minimum tax "patch" that was set to expire, protecting middle-income Americans from being taxed as if they were rich.

Indiscriminate spending cuts for defense and non-defense spending were simply postponed for two months.

As New Year's Day approached, members were thankful that financial markets were closed, giving them a second chance to return on Tuesday to try to blunt the worst effects of the fiscal mess.

There is no major difference whether a law is passed on Monday night, Tuesday or Wednesday. Legislation can be backdated to January 1, for instance, said law firm K&L Gates partner Mary Burke Baker, who spent decades at the Internal Revenue Service.

"This is sort of like twins and one being born before midnight and one being born after. I think the date that matters is the day president signs the legislation," she said.

Republicans are pushing for savings in the Medicare and Social Security healthcare and retirement programs and threatening to block a increase in the debt limit - which caps how much debt the federal government can hold - in February unless they get their way.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Mark Felsenthal, Rachelle Younglai and David Lawder; Writing by Alistair Bell, Editing by Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-heading-off-fiscal-cliff-despite-senate-efforts-025641568--business.html

the village dallas fort worth tornado dallas tornadoes dallas weather nike nfl uniforms ben and jerrys free cone day tornado in dallas texas

Twitter Roach takes guidance from tweets, ushers in a terrifying 2013 (video)

We've already seen cockroaches turned into unwitting puppets for human overlords, but never have we seen dominance quite so casual as with Brittany Ransom's recent Twitter Roach art project. While part of the exhibition, one of the insects wore a modified RoboRoach backpack with an Arduino add-on that took commands from Twitter: mentions including specific hashtags steered the roach left or right by stimulating its nerves. Yes, that meant the poor roach rarely had the dignity of seeing its master face to face, although there's some consolation in knowing that it wore the backpack for limited periods and had a required 30-second pause between instructions.

As to why Twitter Roach came to be? Ransom tells CNET she imagined the currently dormant project as a reflection of the "overstimulation" us humans encounter in a digital world. We can certainly sympathize given our livelihoods, although its existence makes us nervous about 2013. If we're fighting off remote-controlled insect armies a year from now, we'll have to admit we had fair warning.

Continue reading Twitter Roach takes guidance from tweets, ushers in a terrifying 2013 (video)

Filed under: Robots, Alt

Comments

Via: CNET

Source: Chicago Artists' Coalition

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/XMmJMznTQ0I/

Danell Leyva Ye Shiwen OJ Murdock Olympics Live Mens Gymnastics Allison Schmitt Olympic Schedule

The Appeal of Local Savings | MyDealCompass Blog | Business ...

If you seek out daily deals on the popular savings websites, you are likely to have noticed the same digital coupon or savings over and over again. Of course, you will run into a new deal every once in a while. However, they are usually few and far between. This is mainly because the coupons site controls the savings, not the businesses.

myDealCompass provides a completely different approach for both businesses and consumers. It allows you to choose from a plethora of local deals, from a wide variety of different businesses. Additionally, if you join myDealCompass, you can send a message to local businesses and ask them to offer a coupon or savings on the site. The deals that are found on the myDealCompass DealMap do not expire until the business dictates. This means that you can actually use the savings over and over again and share the savings with family and friends, who can also use the savings.

myDealCompass divides the local savings into easy to sort categories, however, deal seekers do not have to use this filter. You can ask any sort of business to join. Then, new, more appropriate categories will be added. This is just another way that myDealCompass adapts to meet its users? needs. The simple fact is that a large variety keeps deal seekers coming back to the site, and it gives businesses a larger customer base for a very small, affordable fee. Deal seekers are not charged for using myDealCompass. Additionally, all the savings can be accessed through your smartphones for easy, on-the-go usability.

Source: http://mydealcompass.com/blog/index.php/the-appeal-of-local-savings/

super bowl score madonna super bowl performance superbowl commercials best superbowl commercials madonna half time m.i.a super bowl coin toss

Medieval Fantasy Rp Buddy Wanted

Happy New year all!

I am in need of a role play partner. As the title implies, I am looking for someone to go on epic adventures with me in a land of medieval happenings and magic. I am in need of someone at least semi-lit and who can reply at least twice a week. I am very open and welcoming to any and all ideas, and my boundaries are hard to cross so a little violence is to be expected as well as some drama. This will preferably take place over PM or email, and I already have my own character, a male, in mind for this rp, although I will likely double at some point as a female. I would like to discuss possible plots that we could start off on. I mostly have generic ideas that blossom as the details emerge so I'm hoping we can work together on fulfilling our ideas in the rp. I want a joint effort in making this as enjoyable as possible for both. I expect a little romance but that depends on how well our characters mesh and it certainly won't be instantaneous.

It's best if you pm me for more info. Thanks for reading :)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/Tjtqg-1kCpI/viewtopic.php

rob dyrdek oberon donald driver donald driver robin thicke mariana trench transcendental meditation

Fitch Affirms Turin Capital Leasing FIDC Ratings ? World Leasing ...

Fitch Affirms Turin Capital Leasing FIDC Ratings

The transaction is backed by a static pool of finance leases originated by Banco CNH Capital S.A. (Banco CNH) to companies and individuals throughout Brazil for heavy equipment. The FIDC consists of a sequential-pay structure of Senior Cotas and unrated Junior Cotas with the legal final maturity in January 2014.

The assets of the fund consist of a pool of 359 highly seasoned equipment leases and liens on the leased equipment. The financings are primarily monthly pay construction equipment leases with a small percentage of mining, forestry and agricultural equipment leases with semi-annual or annual payments. There is no residual exposure.

Credit enhancement is provided to the senior cotas through subordination of the junior cotas and a liquidity reserve. The subordination amount increased from an initial level of 15% to 40% at the end of November, given the sequential-pay amortization structure. The trust also receives enhancement through a limited performance guaranty provided by Banco CNH of up to 15% of the initial collateral balance; however, Fitch gives no credit to this arrangement. Repurchases under this agreement totaled 1.78% of the initial collateral balance through November 2012.

Total credit enhancement is more than sufficient to support loss coverage multiples in excess of the 6,0x base case losses. In addition, the senior class can withstand the default of greater than the top 20 obligors. These stresses are consistent with ratings of ?AAAsf(bra)? and ?A-sf?. The gross loss expectation on the collateral is approximately 2.5% with no credit to recoveries.

Information was provided to Fitch by Banco CNH, BEM DTVM Ltda. and Banco Credit Agricole Brasil.

Additional information is available at ?www.fitchratings.com?. The ratings above were solicited by, or on behalf of, the issuer, and therefore, Fitch has been compensated for the provision of the ratings.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

??Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria? dated June 6, 2012;

??Criteria for Rating U.S. Equipment Lease and Loan ABS? dated Jan. 11, 2012;

??Criteria for Existing Asset Securitisation in Emerging Markets: Sovereign Constraints? dated June 28, 2012.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=679923

Criteria for Rating U.S. Equipment Lease and Loan ABS

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=663732

Criteria for Existing Asset Securitisation in Emerging Markets: Sovereign Constraints

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=669810

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK:HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY?S PUBLIC WEBSITE ?WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM?. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH?S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE ?CODE OF CONDUCT? SECTION OF THIS SITE.

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/12/28/4509740/fitch-affirms-turin-capital-leasing.html#storylink=cpy

Source: http://www.worldleasingnews.com/news/fitch-affirms-turin-capital-leasing-fidc-ratings/

john tyler chuck elisabeth hasselbeck fran drescher scarlett o hara pat sajak vanna white

Explosions across Iraq kill at least 10, wound 46

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Explosions killed at least 10 people and wounded 46 across Iraq on Monday, police said, underlining sectarian and ethnic divisions that threaten to further destabilize the country a year after U.S. troops left.

Tensions between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni factions in Iraq's power-sharing government have been on the rise this year. Militants continue to strike almost daily, and carry out at least one big attack a month.

The latest violence followed more than a week of protests against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki by thousands of people from the country's minority Sunni community.

No group claimed responsibility for any of Monday's attacks, which targeted government officials, police patrols and members of both the Sunni and Shi'ite sects.

Seven people from the same Sunni family were killed by a bomb planted near their home in the town of Mussayab, south of Baghdad.

In the Shi'ite majority city of Hilla, also in the south, a parked car bomb went off near the convoy of the governor of Babil province, missing him but killing two other people, police said.

"We heard the sound of a big explosion and the windows of our office shattered. We immediately lay on the ground," said 28-year-old Mohammed Ahmed, who works at a hospital near the site of the explosion.

"After a few minutes I stood up and went to the windows to see what happened. I saw flames and people lying on the ground."

Although violence is far lower than during the sectarian slaughter of 2006-2007, about 2,000 people have been killed in Iraq this year following the withdrawal last December of U.S. troops, who led an invasion in 2003 to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Monday's violence also included a series of blasts that killed three people in Iraq's disputed territories, over which both the central government and the autonomous Kurdish region claim jurisdiction.

Two of those deaths were in the oil-producing, ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk, where a bomb exploded as a police team tried to defuse it.

Baghdad and Kurdistan are locked in a feud over land and oil rights and recently deployed their respective armies to the swathe of territory along their contested internal boundary, where they are currently facing off against each other.

Efforts to ease the standoff stalled when President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd seen as a steadying influence, suffered a stroke and was flown abroad for medical care earlier this month.

Maliki then detained the bodyguards of his Sunni finance minister, which sparked protests by thousands in the western province of Anbar, a Sunni stronghold on the border with Syria.

Protesters are demanding an end to what they see as the marginalization of Iraq's Sunni minority, which dominated the country until the U.S.-led invasion. They want Maliki to abolish anti-terrorism laws they say are used to persecute them.

On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, himself a Sunni, was forced to flee the epicenter of the protests in Anbar's city of Ramadi when demonstrators pelted him with stones and bottles.

(Reporting by Ali al-Rubaie in Hilla, Mustafa Mahmoud and Omar Mohammed in Kirkuk, Ali Mohammed in Baquba and Aseel Kami in Baghdad; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Pravin Char)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/explosions-across-iraq-kill-least-10-wound-46-083505805.html

stephen colbert new madrid fault rihanna and chris brown affirmative action helicon zac efron and taylor swift real housewives of orange county

Sony Vaio VPCZ11NGX Power Management Software 5.0.1.01270 for Windows 7 x64

This utility updates the VAIO Power Management software to version 5.0.1.01270 to improve the power consumption when the display color quality is set to 16-bit color.

It is highly recommended to always use the most recent driver version available.

Do not forget to check with our site as often as possible in order to stay updated on the latest drivers, software and games.

Try to set a system restore point before installing a device driver. This will help if you installed a wrong driver. Problems can arise when your hardware device is too old or not supported any longer.

Source: http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/Other-DRIVERS-TOOLS/Sony/Sony-Vaio-VPCZ11NGX-Power-Management-Software-50101270-for-Windows-7-x64.shtml

lamar d antoni fashion star andrew bird lizzie borden lizzie borden iona