WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators sealed agreement Tuesday night on sweeping spending legislation that boosts housing and heating subsidies but curbs President Barack Obama's requests for aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The move comes as lawmakers wrapped the budgets of nine Cabinet agencies into a $1.1 trillion spending bill they hope to complete by Christmas.
The measure would combine six of the dozen annual appropriations bills for the budget year that began Oct. 1. It combines a huge increase in foreign aid with an 18 percent cut to a program that helps states with the cost of incarcerating criminal illegal immigrants.
The proposal continues current policy that permits detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center to be transferred to the United States to stand trial but not to be released.
The bill reflects Democrats' control of Congress and the White House. A long-standing ban on the funding of abortion by the District of Columbia government would be overturned, as would a ban on that city's needle exchange programs. It would phase out a Washington, D.C., school voucher program favored by Republicans.
There's $2.5 billion for high-speed rail programs, which comes on top of $8 billion approved earlier this year as part of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus program. A program that subsidizes flights to and from rural airports — sometimes at thousands of dollars per ticket — would receive $200 million, a 47 percent increase.
But while the measure provides a huge boost to foreign aid, Democrats forced a $151 million cut to Obama's almost $2.8 billion request for economic and security aid to Afghanistan. Obama's $1.6 billion request for aid to Pakistan would be cut $124 million.
All told, the measure blends $447 billion for the daily operating budgets of the nine Cabinet departments with more than $600 billion for benefits such as Medicare and Medicaid.
The measure would also set up an appeals process for the 3,000 car dealerships closed by General Motors and Chrysler earlier this year. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said dealers challenging closure decisions could enter binding arbitration.
And in a victory for gun rights advocates, Amtrak passengers could carry handguns in their checked baggage. Amtrak riders who give the railroad 24 hours notice could transport firearms that are unloaded and in a securely locked container checked in a baggage car, giving them rights comparable to those enjoyed by airline passengers. The policy would go into place within a year.
The agreement was sealed at a House-Senate negotiating session Tuesday evening. A House vote could happen as early as Thursday. Summaries were released by the appropriations committees.
The measure is generous throughout, especially with foreign aid and State Department accounts, which receive a 33 percent increase to almost $49 billion. A program that delivers heating subsidies for the poor would receive $5.1 billion, almost 40 percent more than Obama requested.
Veterans medical programs would receive a 10 percent increase over current levels while the State Department would receive a 16 percent increase for diplomatic operations.
NASA would receive a $942 million boost, to $18.7 billion, and the Census Bureau's budget would more than double, to $7.3 billion, to conduct next year's national head count.
Republicans say Democrats are spending too much as the government runs deficits in the range of $1.4 trillion a year. Still, most are happy to join Democrats in claiming their share of thousands of home-state projects such as community development grants, rural health centers, road projects, and grants to local law enforcement agencies for new equipment.
For example, no sooner had the session closed than Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., issued press releases claiming credit for so-called earmarks such as $1 million to combat methamphetamine and $500,000 for police communications equipment upgrades for the City of Montgomery and Montgomery County.
Lawmakers largely rejected budget cuts unveiled by Obama in May. For example, Obama proposed killing the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which helps states with the cost of jailing illegal immigrants charged with crimes, budgeted at $400 million for the current year. The proposal would provide $330 million.
The budget for the White House drug "czar" to run a national media campaign, however, would be cut more than one-third, reflecting doubts about its effectiveness.
The bill covers Commerce; Education; Health and Human Services; Justice; Labor; State; Transportation; Treasury; and Veterans Affairs.
A $626 billion measure funding the Pentagon would advance later and is likely to carry a variety of wrap-up legislation.
News Source: The Associated Press.
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Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
GM, SAIC Reshape Partnership
BEIJING—General Motors Co. announced plans Friday to cede control of its key Chinese joint venture to partner SAIC Motor Corp. alongside a push by the partners into India and other emerging markets.
SAIC's stake in Shanghai General Motors Corp. will rise to 51% from 50% at a time when China is overtaking the U.S. as the world's largest auto market, though GM described the move as a technicality.
The Chinese group will have the right to approve budgets, strategy and senior management appointments.
"In actual fact we operate that way already, so that's not a significant change," said Nick Reilly, who stepped aside as head of GM's international operations Friday to run its European business.
GM said the transfer was necessary to help SAIC consolidate earnings from the Shanghai GM joint venture, having been previously barred from doing so as a 50:50 partner under local financial regulations.
In return for the move, Mr. Reilly indicated he is hopeful GM would be allowed to gain a higher stake in the producer of Wuling micro minivans. That joint venture is jointly owned by GM, SAIC and the government of Guangxi province in southwestern China. GM currently has a 34% stake in the venture, while SAIC owns 51% and Guangxi the remainder.
"We don't have anything to announce on that, but SAIC has been very supportive in discussions around that," Mr. Reilly said, adding that GM also has been "able to achieve some funding for other activities [in China] from the Chinese banking sector, which would have been difficult to do on our own".
The expansion of the venture outside China sees the creation of a 50-50 joint investment company in Hong Kong, with a joint venture unit in India expected to follow early next year.
In India, the two companies plan to jointly produce small cars from GM's product portfolio in China as part of an effort to boost the competitiveness of GM's business in India.
GM declined to provide financial details. But Mr. Reilly said Mr. GM is contributing physical assets it already has in India, including manufacturing facilities and a sales network, to the Indian joint venture while SAIC is to invest about $300 million to $350 million in cash and other forms.
SAIC's participation helps GM "defray or share large investment" required for the India push and help the partners achieve results faster, Mr. Reilly said in a conference call with reporters. It also allows GM to market more products in India that had not been "envisaged in our GM-only plan," particularly ultra-cheap micro minivans and buses that GM makes with two Chinese partners.
Yale Zhang, a senior Shanghai-based analyst with U.S. consulting firm CSM Worldwide, said GM likely couldn't expand effectively in emerging markets such as India without SAIC's help. Most of GM's product offerings, from gas-guzzling big pickup trucks to even subcompacts, are generally too pricey for buyers looking for low-cost, no-frills cars in emerging markets.
Boxy Wuling micro cars, priced around $4,000, in particular are "competitively priced and most suitable" for India and others, Mr. Zhang said.
Mr. Reilly said the new India joint venture is targeting annual sales of 225,000 units by 2012. GM's sales in India last year rose 9.5% to 65,700 vehicles, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
News Source: online.wsj.com
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SAIC's stake in Shanghai General Motors Corp. will rise to 51% from 50% at a time when China is overtaking the U.S. as the world's largest auto market, though GM described the move as a technicality.
The Chinese group will have the right to approve budgets, strategy and senior management appointments.
"In actual fact we operate that way already, so that's not a significant change," said Nick Reilly, who stepped aside as head of GM's international operations Friday to run its European business.
GM said the transfer was necessary to help SAIC consolidate earnings from the Shanghai GM joint venture, having been previously barred from doing so as a 50:50 partner under local financial regulations.
In return for the move, Mr. Reilly indicated he is hopeful GM would be allowed to gain a higher stake in the producer of Wuling micro minivans. That joint venture is jointly owned by GM, SAIC and the government of Guangxi province in southwestern China. GM currently has a 34% stake in the venture, while SAIC owns 51% and Guangxi the remainder.
"We don't have anything to announce on that, but SAIC has been very supportive in discussions around that," Mr. Reilly said, adding that GM also has been "able to achieve some funding for other activities [in China] from the Chinese banking sector, which would have been difficult to do on our own".
The expansion of the venture outside China sees the creation of a 50-50 joint investment company in Hong Kong, with a joint venture unit in India expected to follow early next year.
In India, the two companies plan to jointly produce small cars from GM's product portfolio in China as part of an effort to boost the competitiveness of GM's business in India.
GM declined to provide financial details. But Mr. Reilly said Mr. GM is contributing physical assets it already has in India, including manufacturing facilities and a sales network, to the Indian joint venture while SAIC is to invest about $300 million to $350 million in cash and other forms.
SAIC's participation helps GM "defray or share large investment" required for the India push and help the partners achieve results faster, Mr. Reilly said in a conference call with reporters. It also allows GM to market more products in India that had not been "envisaged in our GM-only plan," particularly ultra-cheap micro minivans and buses that GM makes with two Chinese partners.
Yale Zhang, a senior Shanghai-based analyst with U.S. consulting firm CSM Worldwide, said GM likely couldn't expand effectively in emerging markets such as India without SAIC's help. Most of GM's product offerings, from gas-guzzling big pickup trucks to even subcompacts, are generally too pricey for buyers looking for low-cost, no-frills cars in emerging markets.
Boxy Wuling micro cars, priced around $4,000, in particular are "competitively priced and most suitable" for India and others, Mr. Zhang said.
Mr. Reilly said the new India joint venture is targeting annual sales of 225,000 units by 2012. GM's sales in India last year rose 9.5% to 65,700 vehicles, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
News Source: online.wsj.com
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Friday, December 4, 2009
Bank of America’s $19.3 Billion Is Biggest U.S. Sale Since 2000
Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender, raised $19.3 billion selling securities at $15 apiece in the biggest sale of stock or preferred shares by a U.S. public company since at least 2000.
The bank, which plans to repay $45 billion of U.S. rescue funds, sold 1.286 billion so-called common equivalent securities, according to Bloomberg data. The security is made up of one depositary share and one warrant and is convertible into one common share, subject to stockholder approval, according to a regulatory filing by the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank.
Bank of America plans to use the proceeds to free itself from government restrictions after accepting funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Banks, brokerages and insurers have raised $1.5 trillion to shore up capital after the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression spurred more than $1.7 trillion in writedowns and credit losses globally.
“It’s a good thing for Bank of America, it’s a healthy thing and it needs to happen,” said Jason Brady, a managing director of Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Thornburg Investment Management, whose $4 billion Thornburg Income Builder Fund owns Bank of America bonds. “It doesn’t mean necessarily that Bank of America stock is a wonderful investment because they spent a bunch of money to get the government out of the way.”
In May, Bank of America raised $13.5 billion issuing 1.25 billion common shares at $10.77 each in response to government stress tests and to help cushion losses tied to the takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. The tests gauged the ability of banks to absorb losses in an extended recession, prompting Bank of America to boost capital by almost $40 billion.
Succession Battle
The repayment may ease efforts to replace Chief Executive Officer Kenneth D. Lewis, who’s leaving the bank Dec. 31. His successor inherits a company ranked first by assets and deposits in the U.S. The plan saves billions of dollars in TARP dividends and ends extra U.S. oversight of operations and salaries, Wells Fargo Advisors analyst Matthew Burnell wrote.
“Repaying TARP is going to allow a lot more flexibility for the incoming CEO as he handpicks his individual management team,” said Todd Hagerman, an analyst in New York with Collins Stewart Plc, who has a “buy” rating on Bank of America.
Bank of America rose 11 cents to $15.76 yesterday after advancing as much as 7 percent. Michael Mayo of Calyon Securities USA Inc. raised his rating to “outperform” from “underperform” and boosted his target to $19 from $12, which had been the lowest among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
The bank plans to repay the U.S. using $26.2 billion of cash and the proceeds from the share sale, according to a statement. It expects to increase equity by $4 billion through asset sales and will issue $1.7 billion of restricted stock instead of year-end bonuses to some employees.
Wells Fargo & Co., based in San Francisco, raised $8.6 billion in May in a secondary offering, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sold $5.75 billion in shares in April. Wells Fargo accepted $25 billion in TARP funds last year. Goldman has repaid $10 billion received through the program.
News Source: bloomberg.com
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The bank, which plans to repay $45 billion of U.S. rescue funds, sold 1.286 billion so-called common equivalent securities, according to Bloomberg data. The security is made up of one depositary share and one warrant and is convertible into one common share, subject to stockholder approval, according to a regulatory filing by the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank.
Bank of America plans to use the proceeds to free itself from government restrictions after accepting funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Banks, brokerages and insurers have raised $1.5 trillion to shore up capital after the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression spurred more than $1.7 trillion in writedowns and credit losses globally.
“It’s a good thing for Bank of America, it’s a healthy thing and it needs to happen,” said Jason Brady, a managing director of Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Thornburg Investment Management, whose $4 billion Thornburg Income Builder Fund owns Bank of America bonds. “It doesn’t mean necessarily that Bank of America stock is a wonderful investment because they spent a bunch of money to get the government out of the way.”
In May, Bank of America raised $13.5 billion issuing 1.25 billion common shares at $10.77 each in response to government stress tests and to help cushion losses tied to the takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. The tests gauged the ability of banks to absorb losses in an extended recession, prompting Bank of America to boost capital by almost $40 billion.
Succession Battle
The repayment may ease efforts to replace Chief Executive Officer Kenneth D. Lewis, who’s leaving the bank Dec. 31. His successor inherits a company ranked first by assets and deposits in the U.S. The plan saves billions of dollars in TARP dividends and ends extra U.S. oversight of operations and salaries, Wells Fargo Advisors analyst Matthew Burnell wrote.
“Repaying TARP is going to allow a lot more flexibility for the incoming CEO as he handpicks his individual management team,” said Todd Hagerman, an analyst in New York with Collins Stewart Plc, who has a “buy” rating on Bank of America.
Bank of America rose 11 cents to $15.76 yesterday after advancing as much as 7 percent. Michael Mayo of Calyon Securities USA Inc. raised his rating to “outperform” from “underperform” and boosted his target to $19 from $12, which had been the lowest among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
The bank plans to repay the U.S. using $26.2 billion of cash and the proceeds from the share sale, according to a statement. It expects to increase equity by $4 billion through asset sales and will issue $1.7 billion of restricted stock instead of year-end bonuses to some employees.
Wells Fargo & Co., based in San Francisco, raised $8.6 billion in May in a secondary offering, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sold $5.75 billion in shares in April. Wells Fargo accepted $25 billion in TARP funds last year. Goldman has repaid $10 billion received through the program.
News Source: bloomberg.com
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Thursday, December 3, 2009
Nato ministers face Afghan surge pressure
America's Nato allies are set to face renewed requests to commit more troops to Afghanistan, two days after Barack Obama announced the US surge.
Nato foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels for two days of talks, with senior US figures expected to attend.
The US wants Nato allies to increase their deployments, but several European nations are reluctant to do so.
Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that America was sending 30,000 more forces to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban.
Top White House officials spent much of Wednesday bolstering domestic support for the surge.
Joint Chiefs of Staff head Adm Mike Mullen, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all addressed congressional committees on the issue.
"This is a huge commitment. It's the right commitment. And it gives us the forces to turn this thing around," Adm Mullen said.
He said that while there were no guarantees, he expected to "make significant headway in the next 18-24 months".
Mr Gates warned that failure to act "would mean a Taliban takeover of much, if not most, of the country" and the creation of a sanctuary for al-Qaeda militants.
But senior Republican John McCain warned that although the strategy would succeed, US and UK troop casualties would rise in the short term, and he criticised Mr Obama's target date for withdrawal.
"We need to make it clear to the enemy that we're going to succeed and we are going to stay as long as necessary to succeed," he said.
Sceptical
The 30,000 additional service personnel will take the US military presence in Afghanistan to over 100,000.
America has asked for 10,000 more forces from Nato allies to help win a war that has in recent months turned increasingly bloody.
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says other Nato countries will provide at least 5,000 extra personnel, and "probably a few thousand on top of that".
But the full extent of additional resources coming from Nato allies remains unclear.
Britain, Georgia, Poland and Slovakia have all pledged more soldiers but other nations such as France, Germany, Italy and Denmark are being more cautious.
It is expected that some countries will declare their intentions over the next two days but just how many is still not clear, reports BBC defence and security correspondent Nick Childs from Brussels.
Many Nato governments face publics even more sceptical about the mission than those of the US and Britain.
It is also emerging that some of those 5,000 extra non-US troops will not be entirely new - they will be forces that were sent out temporarily to support the Afghan elections that will now be staying on.
A senior US official has said this is a process that is going to take days and weeks.
But Nato officials believe that, at the end of it, some 20 countries will end up pledging extra resources, our correspondent says.
News Source: news.bbc.co.uk
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Nato foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels for two days of talks, with senior US figures expected to attend.
The US wants Nato allies to increase their deployments, but several European nations are reluctant to do so.
Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that America was sending 30,000 more forces to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban.
Top White House officials spent much of Wednesday bolstering domestic support for the surge.
Joint Chiefs of Staff head Adm Mike Mullen, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all addressed congressional committees on the issue.
"This is a huge commitment. It's the right commitment. And it gives us the forces to turn this thing around," Adm Mullen said.
He said that while there were no guarantees, he expected to "make significant headway in the next 18-24 months".
Mr Gates warned that failure to act "would mean a Taliban takeover of much, if not most, of the country" and the creation of a sanctuary for al-Qaeda militants.
But senior Republican John McCain warned that although the strategy would succeed, US and UK troop casualties would rise in the short term, and he criticised Mr Obama's target date for withdrawal.
"We need to make it clear to the enemy that we're going to succeed and we are going to stay as long as necessary to succeed," he said.
Sceptical
The 30,000 additional service personnel will take the US military presence in Afghanistan to over 100,000.
America has asked for 10,000 more forces from Nato allies to help win a war that has in recent months turned increasingly bloody.
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says other Nato countries will provide at least 5,000 extra personnel, and "probably a few thousand on top of that".
But the full extent of additional resources coming from Nato allies remains unclear.
Britain, Georgia, Poland and Slovakia have all pledged more soldiers but other nations such as France, Germany, Italy and Denmark are being more cautious.
It is expected that some countries will declare their intentions over the next two days but just how many is still not clear, reports BBC defence and security correspondent Nick Childs from Brussels.
Many Nato governments face publics even more sceptical about the mission than those of the US and Britain.
It is also emerging that some of those 5,000 extra non-US troops will not be entirely new - they will be forces that were sent out temporarily to support the Afghan elections that will now be staying on.
A senior US official has said this is a process that is going to take days and weeks.
But Nato officials believe that, at the end of it, some 20 countries will end up pledging extra resources, our correspondent says.
News Source: news.bbc.co.uk
How Tto Marketing
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Even sardines complain it’s too crowded on the London Tube
THE London Assembly has finally got round to accepting what three million commuters could have told them years ago about how stressful travelling on the cramped Underground like sardines can be.
The Assembly's transport committee publishes its findings this morning (Tues) into the jam-packed conditions on the world's oldest metro system with a call for "a different approach" into how to manage overcrowding and modernising the network.
The report, Too Close for Comfort, reveals the impact on Londoners in the morning peak hours, when some trains are carrying more than four passengers to every square yard.
Sometimes trains are so packed that half the commuters can't even got on the first train.
'Coping strategies' that hardy Londoners adopt once they do get on a train include becoming more ruthless or simply 'shutting down.'
"This highlights shocking levels of overcrowding on the Tube and the impact this has on people, said the Assembly's transport chair Caroline Pidgeon.
"We cannot have a repeat of the way the Jubilee Line upgrade works have been handled when it comes to upgrading other lines.
"There is an assumption that seemingly endless line closures are inevitable. But this is simply not the case."
The report criticises the 'chaotic' upgrade of the Jubilee, London's newest line which first opened in 1989, but which is closed every weekend.
Delays are having a knock-on effect on upgrading the much older Northern Line, first opened as the City & South London Railway in 1890.
Hastily-arranged and possibly inefficient closure procedures are used on the Jubilee which cause unnecessary disruption and costs venues along the Jubilee route like the O2 and ExCel hundreds of thousands of pounds, it says. Passengers should be given a higher priority.
News Source : eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk
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The Assembly's transport committee publishes its findings this morning (Tues) into the jam-packed conditions on the world's oldest metro system with a call for "a different approach" into how to manage overcrowding and modernising the network.
The report, Too Close for Comfort, reveals the impact on Londoners in the morning peak hours, when some trains are carrying more than four passengers to every square yard.
Sometimes trains are so packed that half the commuters can't even got on the first train.
'Coping strategies' that hardy Londoners adopt once they do get on a train include becoming more ruthless or simply 'shutting down.'
"This highlights shocking levels of overcrowding on the Tube and the impact this has on people, said the Assembly's transport chair Caroline Pidgeon.
"We cannot have a repeat of the way the Jubilee Line upgrade works have been handled when it comes to upgrading other lines.
"There is an assumption that seemingly endless line closures are inevitable. But this is simply not the case."
The report criticises the 'chaotic' upgrade of the Jubilee, London's newest line which first opened in 1989, but which is closed every weekend.
Delays are having a knock-on effect on upgrading the much older Northern Line, first opened as the City & South London Railway in 1890.
Hastily-arranged and possibly inefficient closure procedures are used on the Jubilee which cause unnecessary disruption and costs venues along the Jubilee route like the O2 and ExCel hundreds of thousands of pounds, it says. Passengers should be given a higher priority.
News Source : eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk
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