“WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — President Barack Obama has called congressional leaders to come to the White House on Friday in a last ditch effort to avert the fiscal cliff.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi are expected to attend the meeting.

White House officials, McConnell and Boehner all confirmed plans for the meeting.

McConnell said separately late Thursday that Senate Republicans are open to any White House proposal to avert the fiscal cliff….”

Full article

• “Feinstein to Introduce Updated Assault Weapons Bill in New Congress, December 17, 2012
• Feinstein Statement on Connecticut School Shooting, December 14, 2012

Source

“(CNSNews.com) – Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the U.S. debt limit of $16.394 trillion will be met on New Year’s Eve, in a letter to Congress on Wednesday.

“I am writing to inform you that the statutory debt limit will be reached on December 31, 2012, and to notify you that the Treasury Department will shortly begin taking certain extraordinary measures authorized by law to temporarily postpone the date that the United States would otherwise default on its legal obligations,”Geithner said in the letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

Geithner said “extraordinary measures” taken by the Treasury Department could create approximately $200 billion in headroom under the debt limit.

“Under normal circumstances, that amount of headroom would last approximately two months,” he said.  “However, given the significant uncertainty that now exists with regard to unresolved tax and spending policies for 2013, it is not possible to predict the effective duration of these measures.”

“At this time,” Geithner continued, “the extent to which the upcoming tax-filing season will be delayed as a result of these unresolved policy questions is also uncertain.  If left unresolved, the expiring tax provisions and automatic spending cuts, as well as the attendant delays in filing of tax returns, would have the effect of adding some additional time to the duration of the extraordinary measures.”

“Treasury will provide more guidance regarding the expected duration of these measures when the policy outlook becomes clearer,” Geithner said.

The news of the federal government closing in on its debt ceiling adds another dimension to the so-called fiscal cliff that will be met at the end of the year, unless Congress and the president reach an agreement in the coming days….”

Full article

Harry Reid gave a speech on the stump chastising republicans for not showing up to work. Tensions mounted in he markets as his speech ran on over this behavior not being favorable to resolving issues at hand.

Full speech  

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdnY8r7_fLw 450 300]

“Several conservative House Republican members are contemplating a plan to unseat Speaker John Boehner from his position on January 3, Breitbart News has exclusively learned. Staffers have compiled a detailed action plan that, if executed, could make this a reality.

The Republicans, both conservatives and more establishment members alike, are emboldened after the failure of Boehner’s fiscal cliff “Plan B” on Thursday evening. Dissatisfaction with Boehner is growing in the House Republican conference, but until now there hasn’t been a clear path forward.

Those members and staffers requested anonymity from Breitbart News at this time to prevent retaliation from Boehner similar to what happened to those four members who were purged from their powerful committee assignments a few weeks ago. Their expressed concern is that if Boehner knew who they were, his adverse reaction toward them would be much more brutal than losing committee assignments, such as a primary challenge in 2014 by a leadership-sponsored candidate….”

Full article

“……Trying to predict 2013 by peering through the miasma, the big question on my mind is: Can Britain’s coalition government survive? By all rights it shouldn’t.

In the most recent Yougov survey, less than a third of Britons said they support the coalition. Fifty-nine percent oppose it. The combined poll ratings of its two parties, the Conservatives and their junior partner Liberal Democrats, don’t equal those of the opposition Labour Party.

It’s easy to understand why the government and its parties are so unpopular. The economy has been hammered everywhere except London and its suburbs by an ideologically driven set of austerity measures that led to a double-dip recession in 2012 and the possibility of a third dip in the first part of next year.

The Bank of England is forecasting a miserable 1 percent growth in GDP this year. Since its prognostications have been overly optimistic every year since the crisis began, however, I predict it will be off again and that growth will be fractional at best.

When matters become that bad economically and politically, grown-ups tend to blame someone else. For Conservatives, that means the EU. Most of the party wants to withdraw from the union. Lib Dems are very pro-Europe. They would also probably like to moderate the austerity cuts.

Irreconcilable differences. So will their marriage fall apart next year?…”

Full article 

“(Reuters) – President Barack Obama urged Americans on Friday to keep up the pressure on lawmakers to tighten gun regulations as a result of the mass shooting of 26 people in Newtown, Connecticut, a week ago.

Obama issued a videotaped response to the several hundred thousand people who have signed a petition posted on the White House website calling for toughened gun laws in response to the shooting, in which 20 school children and six adults were killed at a Newtown school.

“I need your help,” Obama said in the video. “If we’re going to succeed, it’s going to take a sustained effort from mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, law enforcement and responsible gun owners, organizing, speaking up, calling their members of Congress as many times as it takes, standing up and saying ‘Enough’ on behalf of all our kids.”

Obama has called for Congress to approve a ban on the sale in the United States of military-style assault weapons, a ban on the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips, and to ensure everyone gets a background check before they buy a gun, even if the purchase takes place at an open-air gun show currently exempt from such requirements….”

Full article

“The U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner called off a vote on Thursday to raise taxes for wealthy Americans in a proposal dubbed “Plan B,” bringing the country on the brink of going over the “fiscal cliff.”

A series of tax increases and spending cuts are expected to kick off on January 1, if lawmakers don’t reach a compromise and this could push the U.S. economy into a recession.

But analysts told CNBC they expect a “Plan C” within a few days that would help U.S. avert a fiscal crisis.

“I’m sure a ‘Plan C’ will materialize over the next few days, there’s time for things to be renegotiated, and 2013 will be in better shape for equity markets,” said Jim McCafferty, managing director and co-head of equity research with CIMB Securities in Hong Kong….”

Full article

“Stocks fell around the world, Treasuries gained and the yen strengthened against all its major peers after House Republican leaders scrapped a plan to allow higher taxes as budget talks stalled. Commodities declined.

The MSCI All-Country World Index dropped 0.4 percent at 11:43 a.m. in London. Standard Poor’s 500 Index futures slumped 1.3 percent, after plunging as much as 3.4 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.6 percent, falling from a 19-month high. The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased three basis points to 1.77 percent. The yen climbed 0.3 percent, while the euro weakened 0.3 percent. The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities lost 0.4 percent and oil in New York falling 1.1 percent….”

Full article

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Talks to avoid a U.S. fiscal crisis stalled on Wednesday as President Barack Obama accused opponents of holding a personal grudge against him while the top Republican negotiator called the president “irrational.”

As a year-end deadline nears, Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner are locked in intense bargaining over a possible deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff of harsh tax hikes and automatic spending cuts that could badly damage an already weak economy.

Obama said he was puzzled over what was holding up the talks and told Boehner’s Republicans to stop worrying about scoring “a point against the president” or forcing him into concessions “just for the heck of it.”

“It is very hard for them to say yes to me,” he told a news conference in the White House. “At some point, you know, they’ve got to take me out of it.”

The rise in tensions threatens to unravel significant progress made over the last week…”

Full article

“WASHINGTON (AP) — Three State Department officials resigned under pressure Wednesday, less than a day after a damning report blamed management failures for a lack of security at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, where militants killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans on Sept. 11.

The resignations came as lawmakers expressed anger and frustration over the findings of an independent review panel, and the State Department struggled to find a balance between protecting its diplomats while allowing them to do their jobs connecting with people in high-risk posts…”

Full article 

“Shortly after Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform gave Republicans the go-ahead to vote for House Speaker John Boehner’s “Plan B,” two top conservative groups urged GOP representatives to vote “no” on the measure.

While ATR gave Boehner some cover, Heritage Action and Club for Growth came out against Boehner’s new plan, which would see taxes revert to higher rates on incomes above $1 million per year or more while permanently preserving the cuts for anything less. It’s a plan that once was rather unthinkable to Republicans because of its tax increases, and one that conservative groups signaled they will continue to oppose.

Heritage accused Boehner of embracing “the other side’s political gimmick, as is the case with the Schumer-Pelosi tax plan.” The Club for Growth, meanwhile, said it wouldn’t “buy into Washington-speak, suggesting that these are actually tax cuts.” Some conservatives believe Norquist’s group is looking for political cover from its all-or-nothing pledge.

All of the groups’ sentiments are significant as Boehner looks to secure the votes needed to pass “Plan B.” There are 241 Republicans currently in the House. If no Democrats vote for the plan, Boehner can only afford to lose a maximum of 23 members of his own party…”

Read more

“In one of the strangest moments of the fiscal cliff debate so far, House Speaker John Boehner delivered an abrupt statement Wednesday, warning President Barack Obama to “get serious” about negotiations.
The 50-second “press conference” was in response to Obama’s criticism over Boehner’s “Plan B” option, which would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for everyone making under $1 million — far above the $250,000 income threshold demanded by President Barack Obama.
“Tomorrow, the House will pass legislation to make permanent tax relief for every American,” Boehner said. “Then the president will have a decision to make. He can call on Senate Democrats to pass that bill. Or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history.”
Then he stormed off stage….”
Read more

“US President Barack Obama supports a proposal from Senator Diane Feinstein (D-California) that would reinstate a ban on the sale of assault weapons in the United States.

Sen. Feinstein announced on NBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend that she helped craft new legislation that was aimed at once again eliminating high-powered firearms from gun stores in the States. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Pres. Obama will support the act.

“He is actively supportive of, for example, Sen. Feinstein’s stated intent to revive a piece of legislation that would reinstate the assault weapons ban,” Carney told reporters during his daily briefing from the White House on Tuesday, according to POLITICO.

Feinstein, who currently chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, championed an earlier ban passed by Congress in 1994, but that bill expired only a decade later. On Sunday, the senator said new legislation in the works would perfect that earlier bill.

“It will ban the sale, the transfer, the importation, and the possession. Not retroactively, but prospectively. It will ban the same for big clips, drums or strips of more than 10 bullets,” she told NBC. “There will be a bill.”

Full article

“French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici submitted to the cabinet a bill designed to force the country’s largest banks to fence off proprietary trading activities in dedicated units.

The product of months of discussions between industry and government officials, the bill would require banks including BNP Paribas SA (BNP) and Societe Generale SA (GLE) to split market activities that aren’t necessary to finance the economy into separately capitalized units, Moscovici said. The rules would also forbid banks from holding stakes in hedge funds and limit high- frequency trading and farm commodity speculation.”

Full article

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZn-Pq38B_Y 450 300]

“For reasons unknown, a U.S. senator has secretly blocked legislation that would authorize federal law enforcement agents to immediately respond to shootings, such as last week’s in Newtown, Connecticut.

The Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act was first introduced last year by supporters who contend federal law does not allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) or other U.S. agencies to quickly provide help whenever a mass killing is taking place.

But the proposed legislation is currently bottled up in the Senate, after a senator used the upper chamber’s rules to place a “hold” on it. The same rules allow the senator to keep his or her identity from being revealed.”

Full article

Boehner will introduce a bill that protects those with incomes below $1 million….

Full article

“In the town that launched the War on Poverty 48 years ago, the poor are getting poorer despite the government’s help. And the rich are getting richer because of it.

The top 5 percent of households in Washington, D.C., made more than $500,000 on average last year, while the bottom 20 percent earned less than $9,500 – a ratio of 54 to 1.

That gap is up from 39 to 1 two decades ago. It’s wider than in any of the 50 states and all but two major cities. This at a time when income inequality in the United States as a whole has risen to levels last seen in the years before the Great Depression….”

Full article