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Monday, December 17, 2012

Tuesday: NAHB Home Builder Confidence

by Calculated Risk on 12/17/2012 10:09:00 PM

Two more articles on the possible "fiscal cliff" deal:

From the NY Times: President Delivers a New Offer on the Fiscal Crisis to Boehner

The White House plan would permanently extend Bush-era tax cuts on incomes below $400,000, essentially meaning that only the top tax bracket, 35 percent, would rise to 39.6 percent.

The president’s plan would cut spending by $1.22 trillion over 10 years, an official said, $800 billion of it in programmatic cuts, and $122 billion by adopting a new measure of inflation that slows the growth of government benefits, especially Social Security.
From the WSJ: White House Revises Offer on Tax Rates in Deficit Talks
In President Barack Obama's latest budget proposal, the White House said it now would seek to raise tax rates on income above $400,000, a person familiar with the talks said. ...

In total, the plan would include $1.22 trillion in spending reductions, with $400 billion coming from changes to health-care programs, $200 billion from cuts to other mandatory spending programs, $100 billion in cuts coming from defense spending and another $100 billion coming from nondefense discretionary spending.
Tuesday economic releases:
• At 10:00 AM ET, The December NAHB Housing Market Index (HMI) survey will be released. The consensus is for a reading of 47, up from 46 in November. Although this index has been increasing sharply, any number below 50 still indicates that more builders view sales conditions as poor than good.