Obama, Senate Republicans reach agreement on ‘fiscal cliff’

President Obama and Senate leaders struck a bipartisan agreement late Monday to let income taxes rise sharply for the first time in two decades, fulfilling Obama’s promise to raise taxes on the rich and avoiding the worst effects of the “fiscal cliff.” The agreement, brokered by Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), primarily targets taxpayers who earn...

Read More..

Thousands to march against Hong Kong leader

HONG KONG: Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to rally in Hong Kong Tuesday, calling for the city's embattled new chief executive to quit and for greater democracy.Organisers are expecting 50,000 people to turn up at the New Year day's march against Leung Chun-ying, while pro-government groups staged a separate and smaller rival rally in support of the Beijing-backed leader.Since...

Read More..

2012: Non-events

WALL STREET 'UNLIKES' FACEBOOK Facebook's looming IPO was the most hyped stock offering of the year, breathless coverage leading up to the big day in mid-May. But when the price of a share was set at $38 - which led to the company being valued over $100bn with revenues of just $3.7bn - the offering flopped. The firm's value fell by 28% and its shares are trading somewhere near $25.LETTING GO OF THE...

Read More..

Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

Happy TrailsPhotograph by Alex Cherney, TWANAmateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in...

Read More..

Fiscal Cliff Deal Vote Likely in Senate

The so-called "fiscal cliff" came tonight -- but now there is a specific deal on the table to try to soften it after the fact, according to congressional sources.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the deal -- brokered by Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- would get a vote in the Senate sometime after midnight. The House would...

Read More..

Senate negotiators yet to reach ‘fiscal cliff’ deal as clock winds down

Vice President Joseph Biden and Sen. Mitch McConnell were locked in urgent talks late Sunday over the “fiscal cliff” after Democrats offered several significant concessions on taxes, including a proposal to raise rates only on earnings over $450,000 a year. With a New Year’s Eve deadline hours away, Democrats abandoned their earlier demand to raise tax rates on household income over $250,000...

Read More..

S'pore stocks close lower

SINGAPORE: Share prices in Singapore closed lower in line with other regional markets in a shortened pre-holiday session. Markets were weighed down by the US fiscal deadlock, as hopes faded that a deal will be reached just a day before the deadline.The Straits Times Index fell 24.72 points, or 0.77 per cent, to end at 3,167.08. On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers by 216 to...

Read More..

Patrick Suckling appointed as Australia's next envoy to India

MELBOURNE: Career diplomat Patrick Suckling has been appointed as Australia's next high commissioner to India. Suckling will take up the post in New Delhi next month, according to media reports here. The appointment was announced by foreign minister Bob Carr who said the role was important because India is Australia's fourth largest export market, with trade between the two countries reaching 18-billion...

Read More..

How to Banish That New Year's Eve Hangover

For those of us who enjoy the occasional cocktail, the holiday season would be incomplete without certain treats of the liquid variety. Some look forward to the creamy charms of rum-laced eggnog; others anticipate cupfuls of high-octane punch or mugs of warm, spiced wine.No matter what's in your glass, raising one as the year winds down is tradition. What could be more festive? The problem...

Read More..

Hillary Clinton Hospitalized With Blood Clot

(MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images)By DANA HUGHES and DEAN SCHABNERSecretary Hillary Clinton was hospitalized today after a doctors doing a follow-up exam discovered a blood clot had formed, stemming from the concussion she sustained several weeks ago.She is being treated with anti-coagulants and is at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital so that they can monitor the medication over the next 48 hours, Deputy...

Read More..