The Wall Street Journal reports, President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats plan to pressure Republicans this week, to support a minimum tax on millionaires, to improve the tax system’s fairness, though most economic analysts say the measure would do little to dent deficits or boost the economy. Nicknamed the “Buffett Rule” for billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who complained that he paid a lower tax rate than his secretary, the plan would impose a minimum 30% overall federal tax rate on people earning more than $1 million a year.
Reuters reports, Facebook will pay $1 billion in cash and stock for Instagram, a 2-year-old photo-sharing application developer, in its largest-ever acquisition, just months before the No. 1 social media website is expected to go public. Mr. Zuckerberg called the deal a “milestone” for his company. But also said, “We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all.”
Bloomberg reports, JPMorgan trader Bruno Iksil’s outsized bets in credit derivatives, are drawing attention to a little-known division that invests the company’s reserves and is fueling a debate, over whether banks are taking excessive risks, with federally insured and subsidized money. Iksil’s influence in the market has spurred some counterparts, to dub him Voldemort, after the Harry Potter villain. He works in London in the bank’s chief investment office, and helps oversee $350 billion in investments. While the firm describes the unit’s main task, as hedging risks and investing excess cash, the trades are big enough to move indexes and resemble proprietary bets, or wagers made with the bank’s own money. The trades, first reported by Bloomberg News April 5th, stirred debate among U.S. policy makers over the Easter-holiday weekend, as they wrangle over this year’s implementation of the so-called Volcker rule, the portion of the Dodd-Frank Act that sets limits on risk-taking by banks, with government backing. The law passed after the collapse of the subprime mortgage market triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
The Wall Street Journal reports, President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats plan to pressure Republicans this week, to support a minimum tax on millionaires, to improve the tax system’s fairness, though most economic analysts say the measure would do little to dent deficits or boost the economy. Nicknamed the “Buffett Rule” for billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who complained that he paid a lower tax rate than his secretary, the plan would impose a minimum 30% overall federal tax rate on people earning more than $1 million a year.
Reuters reports, Facebook will pay $1 billion in cash and stock for Instagram, a 2-year-old photo-sharing application developer, in its largest-ever acquisition, just months before the No. 1 social media website is expected to go public. Mr. Zuckerberg called the deal a “milestone” for his company. But also said, “We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all.”
Bloomberg reports, JPMorgan trader Bruno Iksil’s outsized bets in credit derivatives, are drawing attention to a little-known division that invests the company’s reserves and is fueling a debate, over whether banks are taking excessive risks, with federally insured and subsidized money. Iksil’s influence in the market has spurred some counterparts, to dub him Voldemort, after the Harry Potter villain. He works in London in the bank’s chief investment office, and helps oversee $350 billion in investments. While the firm describes the unit’s main task, as hedging risks and investing excess cash, the trades are big enough to move indexes and resemble proprietary bets, or wagers made with the bank’s own money. The trades, first reported by Bloomberg News April 5th, stirred debate among U.S. policy makers over the Easter-holiday weekend, as they wrangle over this year’s implementation of the so-called Volcker rule, the portion of the Dodd-Frank Act that sets limits on risk-taking by banks, with government backing. The law passed after the collapse of the subprime mortgage market triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.