What is a person? You never know who an unborn child might grow up to be. A new cartoon by Peter Steiner. Continue reading →
BY DAVID WESSEL Is Europe going to disrupt the U.S. economic recovery again? Can the mighty U.S. economy really be vulnerable to Greece, an economy roughly the size of Massachusetts'? Just a few months ago, it seemed Europe had found a way to keep Greece in the euro. But Greek voter resistance to austerity prescribed by Germany ups the odds that Greece, which already has reneged on its debts, will leave the currency union. If that happens, Spain and Italy could be next in line for bank runs, bond-market skepticism, skyrocketing borrowing rates and deep recessions. Updating its global forecast this week, the ...BY DAVID WESSEL Is Europe going to disrupt the U.S. economic recovery again? Can the mighty U.S. economy really be vulnerable to ... Continue reading →
We’ve seen an active U.S. proxy season the last few years, with Majority Voting and “Say-on-Pay” votes spoiling the party for a select few corporations on the unhappy side of shareowner votes. This has occasionally resulted in defenestrated directors or embarrassing “no” votes on executive compensation that invariably lead to negotiations with shareowners to rework pay plans. Maybe it’s just because this is an election year, but you can add this to the list of hot proxy topics: disclosure of political spending and lobbying. In 2011, the average support for political contribution proposals was 32.5 percent (see the ISS 2011 U.S. post-season report), up from 30.4 percent for similar proposals in 2010, the last major U.S. election year. As we are still in the middle ... Continue reading →
BY DAMIAN PALETTA WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy will likely fall into recession in the first half of 2013 if large tax increases and scheduled government spending cuts are allowed to go into effect in January, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday. The nonpartisan agency's finding could ramp up pressure on policy makers to reach a broad budget deal later this year to avoid such an outcome. The combination of tax increases and spending cuts, often referred to as a "fiscal cliff," would sharply reduce the federal budget deficit but would temporarily arrest the economic recovery, said the CBO, which serves as Congress's budget calculator.BY DAMIAN PALETTA WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy will likely fall into recession in the first half of 2013 if large tax increases and scheduled ... Continue reading →
