To come for Fannie and Freddie: $389 billion
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-owned companies that guarantee 53 percent of all U.S. mortgages, will need $389 billion in federal subsidies through 2019, says the federal budget office. The two companies have already received $145 billion from Washington.
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Number of millionaires rises
The number of U.S. millionaires rose 15 percent in 2009, to 4.7 million, after falling 21 percent in 2008. Those millionaires hold 55 percent of all U.S. wealth, according to the Federal Reserve.
Los Angeles Times
Jets nix offer from adultery-oriented website
AshleyMadison.com, the adultery-oriented website whose slogan is “Life is short. Have an affair,” has bid
$25 million for the five-year naming rights to the New York Jets’ new pro football stadium in New Jersey. The Jets have declined the offer.
TMZ.com
No taxes for heirs of billionaire
The heirs of Texas billionaire Dan Duncan, who died in March, paid no federal inheritance taxes on his $9 billion estate. Had he died in 2009, his estate would have been taxed at a 45 percent rate. Had he lived until 2011, the tax would have hit 55 percent. As a result of Bush-era legislation, the estate tax was repealed for 2010.
The New York Times
Health-care costs in 2011
Employers expect their health-care costs to rise 11 percent in 2011, says PricewaterhouseCoopers, and next year, for the first time, a majority of the American labor force is expected to have a health insurance deductible of $400 or more.
Associated Press