They say nothing is certain except death and taxes, but—as estate planners know—there’s nothing particularly certain about those either, especially this year. In the month and a half since Barack Obama won re-election, the only thing wealthy New Yorkers have been sure of is that if you want to give a gift, the time to Read More
The conventional wisdom insists that President Obama has all the leverage right now over the Republicans in their negotiation for a “grand bargain” to close the budget deficit. Bolstered by his smashing election victory, gains by the Democrats in both houses of Congress and a changing popular mood, this would seem like the ideal moment Read More
So now that the election is done at last, we can get down to the hard work of striking a “grand bargain” on the budget by cutting spending and raising taxes, and thus avoid the looming “fiscal cliff.”
Any bargain will be a bad bargain, of course. Not so long ago, any moderately bright schoolchild Read More
Citigroup says it gave Nasdaq a chance to make good on the botched Facebook IPO that cost market makers hundreds of millions of dollars. Now Citi has run out of patience, blasting the exchange in a 17-page letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission. “As set forth in detail below, the hundreds of millions Read More
Whither Europe: Spain will request European aid for its failing banks on Saturday afternoon, Reuters reports. That comes after Fitch Ratings downgraded Spanish debt three notches yesterday, and ahead of Greek elections on June 17 which could thrust European markets into crisis mode. “The government of Spain has realized the seriousness of their problem,” Read More
