Obama Proposes Cutting $4 Trillion From Deficit in 12 Years

President Barack Obama yesterday vowed to cut $4 trillion in cumulative deficits within 12 years through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Obama set a target of reducing the annual U.S. deficit to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2015, compared with 10.9 percent of GDP projected for this year. He reiterated his support for overhauling the tax code to lower rates while closing loopholes and ending some breaks to increase revenue. Over the next five years, the administration forecasts the government will pile up a cumulative deficit of $3.8 trillion; over the decade, the cumulative deficits would rise to $7.2 trillion. With yesterday's proposal, Obama is going beyond the fiscal 2012 budget he presented on Feb. 14, which forecast cutting the deficit by $1.1 trillion over a decade

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-04-13/obama-is-said-to-target-4-trillion-deficit-reduction-in-12-years-or-less.html

U.S. Pushes for Deal in Mortgage-Servicing Cases

The Obama administration is trying to push through a settlement over mortgage-servicing breakdowns that could force America's largest banks to pay for reductions in loan principal worth billions of dollars, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Terms of the administration's proposal include a commitment from mortgage servicers to reduce the loan balances of troubled borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth. The cost of those writedowns will not be borne by investors who purchased mortgage-backed securities. If a unified settlement can be reached, some state attorneys general and federal agencies are pushing for banks to pay more than $20 billion in civil fines or to fund a comparable amount of loan modifications for distressed borrowers.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703842004576162813248586844.html?mod=WSJ_business_LeadStoryCollection#printMode

Obama Launches New Economic Advisory Board

President Obama is launching a new economic advisory council focused on job creation and competitiveness and has named General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt as its head, the Washington Post reported today. Immelt will lead the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. The council is replacing the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which Obama created two years ago to help guide the administration's response to the recession. The recovery board has been chaired by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. Obama announced that Volcker will step down next month from his role advising the administration.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sectionfronts/business/index.html?nid=top_business

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/21/AR2011012100081.html