BUSINESS BRIEFS
Congress backing away from 90% tax on bonuses for execs
Associated Press
| |||
 |
|
||
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are softening their stance on denying bonuses to employees of bailed-out financial institutions after President Obama warned them against alienating the industry.
Less than a week after pushing through legislation to impose a 90 percent tax on the bonuses, the House Financial Services Committee prepared a considerably milder proposal that would let Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and financial regulators decide if employee compensation was "unreasonable" or "excessive."
The panel was expected to endorse the measure today, paving the way for a floor vote as early as next week.
The bill would exempt firms willing to participate in a government-sponsored program aimed at buying up $1 trillion of bad debt, or "toxic assets," sitting on the books of major banks.
MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS JUMP MORE THAN 30%
WASHINGTON — Mortgage applications surged last week, mostly by borrowers looking to refinance at lower rates after the Federal Reserve unveiled plans to buy Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities.The Mortgage Bankers Association said yesterday its weekly application index rose 32.2 percent for the week ended March 20. The index came in at 1159.4, up from 876.9 a week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index rose 31.4 percent compared with the previous week, the trade group said.
EU LEADER CALLS OBAMA BUDGET PLAN 'ROAD TO HELL'
BRUSSELS — The head of the European Union slammed President Obama's plan to spend nearly $2 trillion to push the U.S. economy out of recession as "the road to hell" that EU governments must avoid.The blunt comments by Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek to the European Parliament yesterday highlighted European differences with Washington ahead of a summit next week on fixing the world economy. It was the strongest criticism from a European leader as the EU bristles from U.S. criticism that it is not spending enough to stimulate demand.
