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Senate plans weekend votes on Democratic tax plans

WASHINGTON – A deal to extend expiring tax cuts for all taxpayers is starting to take shape even as Senate Democrats plan weekend votes on bills that would let the tax cuts for the wealthy die.

The White House is seeking to expand the tax package to include other measures designed to boost the nation's sluggish economy. Among them are extending jobless benefits for millions of unemployed workers and continuing tax breaks that were part of President Barack Obama's massive economic recovery package enacted last year.

Without action by Congress, unemployment benefits will run out this month for 2 million people, and several million more will lose them later in the winter.

Earlier Democratic efforts to extend the program into 2011 have been blocked by Republicans demanding offsetting spending cuts.

In addition, Democrats are seeking to extend Obama's Making Work Pay tax credit, which provides tax credits of up to $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples. The tax credit was enacted last year and expires in January.

Democrats also want to extend two other measures: a tuition tax break for college students and a cut for businesses that hire the unemployed.

Sweeping income tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush are to expire at the end of the year. If Congress does not act, taxpayers at every income level would be hit with a significant tax increase.

Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress want to extend the tax cuts only for individuals making less than $200,000 and married couples making less than $250,000.

Republicans and some rank-and-file Democrats want to extend the tax cuts for everyone.

The White House left open the door for a compromise to extend all the tax cuts for up to three years. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says he's willing to consider the idea.

Senate Democrats, however, want to publicly stake out their position before agreeing to any compromise, much like their counterparts in the House did Thursday.

The House passed a bill Thursday that would extend middle class tax cuts while letting tax cuts for the wealthy expire. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., introduced a similar bill Thursday evening.

"My view is, it's important to pass middle-income tax cuts," Baucus said. "That's very important and we should do it."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scheduled votes on Saturday on two Democratic proposals: one by Baucus and another by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Baucus' bill would extend tax cuts for individuals making less than $200,000 and married couples making less than $250,000. Schumer's bill would extend tax cuts for families making less than $1 million.

Neither bill is expected to pass the Senate because Democrats need Republican support to pass a tax bill.

Senate leaders from both parties negotiated Thursday evening on a plan that would have allowed votes Friday on Democratic and Republican proposals. Those talks, however, broke down. Without unanimous consent from all senators, Reid was unable to schedule the votes before Saturday.

McConnell said the Senate should "stop wasting time on political show-votes and focus on our priorities. It's time to get serious. It's time to extend the current tax rates and fund the government while cutting spending. Every day spent on a political show-vote is another day that Democrats won't be able to debate items that should actually pass."

Reid said, "We believe it's important the American people understand where we stand."

Federer too good for Ferrer at World Tour Finals

LONDON (Reuters) – Roger Federer got straight down to business at the ATP World Tour Finals Sunday when the world number two trounced Spain's David Ferrer 6-1 6-4.

The 29-year-old Swiss, bidding to win the year-ending showpiece for a record-equalling fifth time, produced a ruthless display to take his career record against Ferrer to 11-0.

Federer blazed into a 4-0 lead in the opening set with a succession of sublime winners and although his seventh-ranked opponent doggedly stuck to his task, he was no match for the imperious 16-times grand slam champion.

After claiming the opening set in 33 minutes, Federer broke in the seventh game of the second but had to fend off three break points when he served for the match at 5-4 before sealing a victory that puts him top of Group B with Andy Murray.

Murray earlier trounced Swede Robin Soderling and will play Federer Tuesday.

Group A begins Monday when world number one Rafael Nadal plays Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic takes on Tomas Berdych. The top two from each group move through to the semi-finals.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)

Japan's justice minister to step down over gaffe: media

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's Justice Minister Minoru Yanagida will step down after he caused outrage by saying his job was easy, public broadcaster NHK and other media reported Monday.

Yanagida visited Prime Minister Naoto Kan's office early Monday, where he was "seen to be expressing his will to resign," NHK said.

After finishing talks with Kan, Yanagida told reporters "I'll tell you later" when asked if he had told Kan he would step down, Jiji Press said.

Last weekend Yanagida told supporters in his Hiroshima constituency that "being justice minister is easy as I only have to remember two phrases, either of which I can use in parliament whenever I'm stuck for an answer".

He then recited the sentences: "I refrain from commenting on individual cases" and "I am acting appropriately based on the law and evidence."

The conservative opposition has reportedly planned a censure motion against Yanagida, which would be non-binding but would deal a blow to Kan's cabinet, whose public support has plunged below 30 percent over its handling of the ailing economy and territorial rows with China and Russia.

Yanagida has repeatedly apologised to parliament and the main opposition group, the Liberal Democratic Party, whose lawmakers have lashed out at his remarks, saying they were disrespectful of the Diet legislature.

Roche takes knife to costs, slashes 4,800 jobs

ZURICH (Reuters) – Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX) set out plans to slash costs on Wednesday, joining Big Pharma rivals with a wide-ranging restructuring program as it grapples with recent product setbacks and mounting pressure on prices.

The Swiss drugmaker said it would hack 2.4 billion Swiss francs ($2.4 billion) from annual costs from 2012 onwards, with 1.8 billion francs of savings expected next year.

Investors had been looking for cuts of at least 1 billion francs with some analysts hoping for more than 2 billion.

"The disclosed savings target of 2.4 billion francs per year from 2012 onwards is a positive surprise. The great majority of market participants expected Roche to announce savings of 2 billion francs," said DZ Bank analyst Thomas Maul.

The group's stock was indicated to open 0.5 percent higher, according to premarket data provided by Clariden Leu.

"Roche pessimists had not even expected the company to achieve 2 billion francs in savings. We might see double-digit upside revisions of earnings estimates, a clear improvement of sentiment and a very positive share price reaction today," Maul said.

Until now, the world's largest maker of cancer drugs has been alone among major European pharmaceutical companies in not implementing any significant cost-cutting in recent years.

But events have caught up with the Basel-based group this year, following a series of setbacks for its top-selling Avastin drug, used to fight a range of cancers, and disappointments for once-promising new drugs in its pipeline.

Its stock has fallen nearly 19 percent so far in 2010, making it the worst performer in the global large-cap drugs sector and piling pressure on Severin Schwan, chief executive of the family-controlled business, to deliver more value for investors.

JOB CUTS

The group will slash 4,800 jobs worldwide, or about 6 percent of its current workforce of around 82,000, over the next two years, with the largest reductions planned in sales and marketing and in manufacturing.

Most of the planned job cuts will be in Roche's pharma unit, particularly in the division's global sales and marketing organization, and in manufacturing after the setback of diabetes medicine taspoglutide and structural adjustments in the primary care sales business.

"This is a comprehensive, focused initiative to reinforce Roche's long-term innovation capability in the face of increased price pressures and a more challenging market environment," Schwan said in the statement.

"If Roche's program succeeds, the company will increase its profit by around 20 percent to 25 percent per annum. Given the low valuation, we see upside potential," one Zurich-based trader said.

The group expects restructuring costs of 2.7 billion francs from 2010 through 2012, of which 1.5 billion francs are cash-related.

Roche, once the darling of the pharma industry, is trading at around 10 times 2011 earnings, at a slight discount to cross-town rival Novartis (NOVN.VX), which is due to give investors an update on its pipeline later on Wednesday.

Roche announced a group-wide "operational excellence" drive in September, as a result of global pressures to curb healthcare costs and setbacks in late-stage development projects. It said at the time it would give details of cuts by the year-end.

($1=.9932 Swiss Franc)

(Additional reporting by Ben Hirschler in London; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)

Gallup poll: Likely voters prefer Republicans over Democrats leading country by wide margin

Voters are heading to the polls tomorrow hoping to send President Obama a message, and a plurality want the commander-in-chief to know that theyare not happy.

Thirty-eightpercent of Americans said their vote is a message of opposition to Obama while 24 percent are voting to support the president, according toa Gallup poll released Monday. Thirty-seven percent of voters stated that they are not trying to send a message to the president, the lowest number since Gallup began asking the question.

In the same poll, Gallup found that those more likely to vote think that Republicans would do a better job than Democrats leading the country, 45 percent to 23 percent, a 22-point difference.

Whilethe party not in the White House traditionally wins some seats in an off-year election, the spread this year iswider than the 2006 midterms when Democrats were preferred by only a7-point margin. The Democrats took back control of both the House and Senate that year. In 2002, when Republicans gained eight seats in the House even with a Republican in the White House, thepreference was for the GOP over the Democrats, 38 percent to 29 percent.

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