Breaking News Thread

[Flynbyu]

Reminds me of the 80's movie Real Genius.

~Brian

[Peelz]

Reminds me of the 80's movie Real Genius.

~Brian

One of my favorite 80's flicks!

Lazlo, the dude in that lives in the walls was uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite.

Great story Krandall

[Flynbyu]

Reminds me of the 80's movie Real Genius.

~Brian

One of my favorite 80's flicks!

Lazlo, the dude in that lives in the walls was uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite.

Great story Krandall

Holy shit, I just realized that.

Uncle Rico rocks.

~Brian

[Peelz]

Love the All-state quarterback video he tries to make.

[Flynbyu]

Love the All-state quarterback video he tries to make.

That was awesome.

Love the nut shot.

~Brian

[Flynbyu]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Remember all the talk during the presidential campaign about a middle-class tax cut? It could be showing up in your paycheck early next year.

As the debate heats up over how to pull the economy from the ledge, it's likely that tax cuts for the middle-class will play a central role.

President-elect Barack Obama hopes to have a massive economic stimulus plan waiting for his signature when he takes office on Jan. 20. It's expected to include hundreds of billions in spending on infrastructure and green energy, but he also made clear last week that he wants it to also feature tax cuts to lower- and middle-income Americans.

Tax cuts are "part and parcel of what we need when it comes to stimulus," Obama said last week.

"We're going to be putting money in people's pockets so that they can spend on buying a new computer for their kid's school, so that they can, you know, make sure that they are able to deal with heat and groceries and all the other strains on the family budget," he added.

The long-term benefit, in his view: It would create more fairness in the tax code.

One promise he made but may hold off on for awhile: the reversal of some of the Bush tax cuts for high-income taxpayers, who are roughly defined as individuals making more than $200,000 and couples making more than $250,000. Specifically, Obama has said he would increase the top two income tax rates and the capital gains rate to their pre-2001 levels.

Mindful that a tax increase during a recession might do more harm than good, he and his advisers have left open the possibility that they might wait to implement the increases until 2011, rather than next year. "Whether [the tax rate changes are] done through repeal or whether that's done because the Bush tax cuts are not renewed is something that my economic team will be providing me a recommendation on," Obama said at a press conference last week.

Tax cut considerations
Some economists think tax cuts for the middle class might be one way to create or save some of the 2.5 million jobs Obama has promised over the next two years if lawmakers put together the kind of stimulus package he envisions.

Others say it's a bad idea.

"It would be a serious mistake to enact tax cuts aimed at increasing already excessive consumption," wrote Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, in the New York Times last week. "The Obama administration needs to encourage the sort of saving that will put consumers on sounder financial footing and free up resources."

So what kind of tax cuts are being considered? Obama's transition team isn't offering details yet and one Democratic aide on the Hill told CNNMoney.com that specifics have not yet been discussed.

But in talking about his economic recovery package, Obama has mentioned his campaign promise to offer a "net tax cut" for "95% of American workers."

One option that could get Obama a good way toward that 95% is his proposed Making Work Pay credit -- a centerpiece promise in his campaign. The credit would essentially work as a payroll tax credit equal to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples.

The credit would have an income threshold. Only those making $75,000 or less ($150,000 or less for couples) would get the full credit. Individuals making between $75,000 and $85,000 (and couples making between $150,000 and $170,000) would get a partial credit.

The credit also would be refundable, meaning that even tax filers without any tax liability -- typically very low-income workers -- would receive one.

Rather than mail out checks to consumers, the IRS, together with employers, could coordinate a change in how much money is withheld from workers' paychecks, so they'd simply get a bigger paycheck.

Economist Mark Zandi, however, believes a payroll tax credit like the kind Obama has proposed could be tricky to implement because it's based on income. As a result, it could take longer to take effect than, say, an across-the-board payroll tax holiday -- a temporary suspension of the payroll tax viewed by some as another way to boost spending.

"Under the Obama payroll tax credit, payroll and other accounting software would have to be recoded and implemented across many businesses," said Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com.

Even though the short-term impact of such a credit could be muted, it has more potential bang for the buck in the long run than a tax holiday.

"A payroll tax credit would provide more of a spending boost since it is a permanent change in the tax code," Zandi said. "Households are more likely to spend a tax cut if it is the result of a permanent change rather than a temporary one."

~Brian

[Peelz]

I have been watching this. I think we may see a little relief.

[BLU700R]

one thing is to say and another is to do!

[Krandall]

Thought this was pretty cool: 

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/775/ford-says-ceo-will-work-for-1-to-get-loans/


DETROIT – Ford Motor Co. will tell Congress that it plans to return to a pretax profit or break even in 2011 when the Detroit Three automakers' CEOs appear before lawmakers this week to request $25 billion in government loans.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally said he'll work for $1 per year if the company has to take any government loan money.
After grilling the CEOs at hearings last month, Congressional leaders demanded plans from the automakers by Tuesday to show that they will survive if they get federal funds. The plan Ford submitted said the company will cancel all management employees' 2009 bonuses and will not pay any merit increases for its North American salaried employees next year.
The company also said it will sell its five corporate aircraft. The CEOs of all three Detroit automakers were harshly criticized during last month's hearings for flying to Washington in separate corporate jets.
Mulally said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday that Ford will give much more detail to Congress than it did previously, and the company will emphasize the steps it has taken to cut its labor costs with the United Auto Workers union.
Mulally said Ford will seek $9 billion as its share of the loan money but may not need to use it. The Dearborn-based company has said it has enough cash to make it through next year without assistance.
As part of the plan submitted to Congress, Ford said it does not anticipate a liquidity crisis in 2009, "barring a bankruptcy by one of its domestic competitors or a more severe economic downturn that would further cripple automotive sales." The loan would provide a safeguard against worsening conditions, the company said.
The company said it will accelerate plans to roll out electric vehicles as part of its plan.
"We are going to do that across our product line," Mulally said in the interview.
The first plug-in vehicle will be a Transit Connect small van for commercial use in 2010 and a car the size of the Ford Focus compact the following year.
Ford also said it will accelerate plans for hybrid gas-electric vehicles.
Mulally said he will encourage automakers and parts suppliers to join forces to develop new battery technologies in the U.S. for future electric cars so the country doesn't rely on foreign batteries.
"We don't want to trade oil for batteries," he said.
Ford's plan calls for an investment of up to $14 billion to improve fuel efficiency over the next seven years. The company said would improve the overall efficiency of its fleet by an average of 14 percent in 2009.
The CEOs of the Detroit Three are scheduled to appear before congressional committees Thursday and Friday. Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. have said they are perilously low on cash and need the government loans to survive the recession and the worst auto sales environment in 25 years.
GM and Chrysler were to submit their plans to Congress later in the day. At an appearance in Baltimore on Tuesday morning, Chrysler President and Vice Chairman Jim Press didn't give details of the business plan that Chrysler will present, but said it will tackle product mix, vehicle pricing and quality and fiscal responsibility.
Press said all players, including banks and labor, have agreed to "all the concessions that are necessary."
The CEOs were skewered on their first visit in November, when lawmakers criticized them for high labor costs and products that aren't competitive with foreign automakers.
"I think we learned a lot from that experience," Mulally said in the interview, adding that the CEOs were there last time to discuss the progress of the industry, not a plan for viability.
Ford's new plan is 32 pages long, plus an appendix, and it includes much detail that was lacking during the first visit.
The company says its plan to achieve profitability or break even by 2011 is based on industrywide sales estimates of 12.5 million units in 2009, 14.5 million in 2010 and 15.5 million in 2011. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate dropped to 10.6 million vehicles in October.
Ford shares rose 25 cents, or 9.8 percent, to $2.80 in midday trading.
Ford's plan said it will reduce its number of dealers by 606 to 3,790 by the end of the year. It will also trim the number of major sourcing suppliers it uses to 750 from 1,600.
Ford reiterated its intention to offload Volvo, by either selling the Swedish automaker or spinning it off into a separate company. Since 2007, Ford has sold its Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover lines. It also sold most of its stake in Mazda.

[socalrappy700]

I think it was a good move, show that you are willing to do whatever it takes.

[Krandall]

It's about damn time someone high up steps up.....

[Flynbyu]

I think Chrysler's CEO works for peanuts now, especially after Home Depot paid him ridiculous money to leave.

~Brian

[Flynbyu]

NORTH HALEDON, N.J. —  A message in a bottle tossed into the ocean off Barnegat Bay has turned up in North Carolina — 39 years later.

The note was sealed in a Schaefer beer bottle. It was dated Aug. 17, 1969 and read: "If found notify the North Haledon Fire Co. .2."

Mark Ciarmello and his 3-year-old daughter found the bottle along a beach in Corolla, N.C., in October. That's about 400 miles from where it was released.

The Downingtown, Pa., resident says he got on his cell phone, called North Haledon and e-mailed photos of the bottle to the firefighters.

No one is sure who tossed the bottle. But firefighters suspect it was during one of the many fishing trips that they used to take years ago.

Story via FoxNews.com

~Brian

[Krandall]

thats sweet. I'd love to find a "Message in a Bottle"

[socalrappy700]

thats sweet. I'd love to find a "Message in a Bottle"

Holy hell your gay!   :fruity: