budget News

Unfinished Business Awaits California Lawmakers

California lawmakers are flush with money and unfinished business from last year as they returned to the state Capitol on Monday, but they head into an election year rife with uncertainty due to the redrawing of legislative districts after the …

IMF Urges Permanent Fix to U.S. ‘Fiscal Cliff’

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday urged the United States to quickly reach an agreement on a permanent fix to avoid automatic tax hikes and spending cuts early next year, saying a stop-gap solution could be harmful to the global …

Europe Drawn Back to its First Problem – Greece

The euro zone debt crisis was born in Greece. Nearly three years and two bailouts on Europe must decide whether to give the country yet more help or cut it loose. For all its complexities, Greece’s problems essentially come down …

Europe’s Tower of Babel Hampers Solution to Euro Crisis

As Europe considers a leap towards closer integration to try to save the euro single currency, it resembles the biblical Tower of Babel – unable to complete an ambitious project because the residents don’t speak the same political and economic …

Europe Moves Ahead with Fiscal Union; UK Isolated

Europe divided on Friday in a historic rift over building a fiscal union to preserve the euro, with a large majority of countries led by Germany and France agreeing to move ahead with a separate treaty, leaving Britain isolated. Twenty-three …

Insurance Investigators not Considered Critical in Minnesota Shut Down

The Ramsey County, Minn., judge overseeing state spending in the government shutdown has ordered continued funding for several Minnesota Historical Society operations and continued pension payments for former state executive officers but denied a request to fund insurance investigators at …

Minnesota Insurance Licensing Activity Frozen as Government Shuts Down

The Minnesota Department of Insurance said the shutdown of the state’s government, which became effective July 1, will cause disruption to the regulatory agency’s licensing activities. The shutdown that began on July 1 — Minnesota’s second in six years — …

Gov. Jerry Brown Proposes Eliminating Standards Board, Insurance Advisor

In an effort to save the state about $500,000, California Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed eliminating the Office of the Insurance Advisor and the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, according to his proposed May Budget Revise. The Office of …

UK Insurers Support Corporate Tax Reduction; Budget for Growth

The UK government’s recently proposed budget contain a number of measures aimed at helping UK firms to increase their business, and to make them more competitive. As the UK’s insurance industry is one of the country’s most successful sectors, it …