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• CBO: Obama Budget Cuts Deficits $1.1 Trillion by 2023
  President Barack Obama's budget would trim projected federal deficits by $1.1 trillion over the coming decade, using nearly $6 in higher revenues for every $1 in reduced spending to achieve it, Congress' nonpartisan budget analyst said Friday.After four straight years of...
• Minneapolis Fed Chief: Fed Hasn't Lowered Interest Rates Enough
  Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota said the Fed's record stimulus hasn't pushed down the real interest rate enough to meet its mandate to achieve price stability and full employment.
• Lew Tells Congress of Steps to Avoid Debt Default
  Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told Congress that the administration will begin taking steps next week to avoid a default on the nation's debt until Congress votes to raise the government's borrowing limit.
• Top Officials Call to Overhaul Euro Institutions, End IMF's Role
  Engineering a financial bailout for Cyprus in March was such a chaotic process that top European officials say it is time to rethink how the region manages its crisis — and who should be involved.
• S&P Cuts Rating for Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway by One Notch to AA
  Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway had its credit rating cut one notch by Standard & Poor's, which cited a new methodology for evaluating insurers and Berkshire's dependence on its insurance business for dividend income.
• Homeland Security Shuts Down Largest Bitcoin Exchange
  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made Dwolla, a mobile payments company, stop making payments to Mt. Gox, the largest and best known Bitcoin exchange.
• Consultant: Wall Street Bonuses, Staff Levels to Rise in 2013
  Wall Street bonuses and staff levels are expected to rise this year as trading and dealmaking activity pick up, according to a closely watched report released on Friday by a compensation consulting firm.
• The IRS Is Seeing Everything You Do Online
  The IRS may be watching your online activities — including what you post on social media sites, what you sell online, even what you write in emails and text messages.
• Fed Tells Bank of Montreal to Fight Money Laundering Harder
  The U.S. Federal Reserve Board said it told Bank of Montreal to step up efforts at the Canadian bank's Chicago branch to detect and prevent money laundering.
• Fed's Raskin: Inequality, Govt Cutbacks May Curb Growth for Years
  Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin said income inequality and government cutbacks may slow economic growth for years.
• Apple CEO to Propose Tax Reform for Corporate Cash Outside US
  Apple Inc., which holds $102 billion in cash and investments outside the U.S., will suggest changes to corporate-tax laws to encourage companies to bring more cash into the country.
• Mortgage Rates Rise to Highest Level in Six Weeks
  U.S. mortgage rates rose, pushing borrowing costs for a 30-year loan to the highest in six weeks.
• Big Banks Win as CFTC Adopts Weakened Swap Rules
  Big banks won key concessions in the battle over who dominates the $630 trillion derivatives markets as the top U.S. regulator adopted watered-down rules to bring swaps onto exchange-like trading platforms.
• IMF: Central Banks Face Steep Losses as They Pull Back
  Central banks got it right when they saved the world economy, but their unprecedented actions risk disruptive cross-border spillovers and potentially heavy losses when the time comes to reverse course, the IMF said.
• US Banks Threatened by China IPO If They Back DISH Bid for Sprint
  The Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Corp., which is vying to buy telecom giant Sprint Nextel Corp., is reportedly resorting to what could be termed financial blackmail to persuade banks not to finance DISH Network's competing offer for Sprint. SoftBank is under fire for its...
• San Francisco Fed Chief Williams Sees QE Tapering as Early as Summer
  Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said the Fed as early as this summer may begin slowing the pace of its $85 billion in monthly bond-buying amid signs the economy is gradually gaining strength.
• Pimco's Gross: Bond Rally End Unlikely to Be Reminiscent of 1994
  Pacific Investment Management Co.'s Bill Gross said the end of the 30-year rally in U.S. bonds is unlikely to be reminiscent of the drop in 1994, when the Federal Reserve raised interest rates more than forecast.
• Alex Pollock: Forget Too Big to Fail Banks — It's Time to Break Up the Fed
  By the Federal Reserve's own logic about breaking up banks that are too big to fail banks, it's time to break the Fed apart for the same reasons, according to a blistering analysis by Alex Pollock of the American Enterprise Institute.
• Moody's: Default, Bankruptcy Options for Detroit
  A financial recovery plan released on Monday by a state-appointed emergency manager running Detroit has negative consequences for the city's bondholders, Moody's Investors Service said on Thursday.
• Mortgage Rates Rise to Highest Level in Six Weeks
  U.S. mortgage rates rose, pushing borrowing costs for a 30-year loan to the highest in six weeks.The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage climbed to 3.51 percent in the week ended Thursday, up from 3.42 percent and the highest since early April, McLean, Virginia-based...
• Michael Burns on Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan
  
  The sharks are circling JPMorgan Chase’s Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon in the wake of the "London Whale," and all the bureaucrats who have felt the sting of his criticism of Dodd-Frank have their harpoons at the ready.
• Fed's Rosengren: Low Inflation Risks Echoing Japan's Malaise
  Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said inflation that has persistently stayed below the Fed's goal is a concern and may suggest policy hasn't done enough to support growth.
• Subscribers See Bloomberg Looming as Competitor
  Part of the reason why Wall Street firms are so concerned about Bloomberg reporters spying on their user data is that Bloomberg is increasingly intruding into their business space.
• Dimon Consults Blankfein for Damage-Control Advice
  Who better for a beleaguered financial titan to turn to for counsel than Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein?
• Yellen Seen as Next Fed Chairman by One-Third in Bloomberg Poll
  Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen is seen by a third of international investors as the most likely to take the helm of the central bank when Ben S. Bernanke s term ends in January.

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