SEC Is Set to Propose New Rule on CEO Pay [WSJ]
The Securities and Exchange Commission will soon thrust CEO compensation back into the spotlight when it proposes a long-delayed rule requiring companies to disclose the pay gap between chief executives and rank-and-file employees. The requirement, a mandate of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law, could put added pressure on corporate boards to slow pay increases for chief executives at companies with significant or growing gaps, proponents say. The rule, expected to be approved by the SEC as early as next month, has come under fire from corporations. But it is expected to be less onerous than what lawmakers originally ordered the SEC to adopt, according to people familiar with the proposal.
Suit against IRS could run into speed bumps [MSNBC]
“It will probably be dismissed within the next 12 months,” said Marcus Owens, a former IRS official who used to oversee the agency’s Tax Exempt Organization.
HP’s Whitman abandons revenue growth target [FT]
Meg Whitman, chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, abandoned her forecast of a return to revenue growth next year as the US technology conglomerate stumbled in some of its core markets in the latest quarter. The HP boss also signalled a return to acquisitions for the first time since the disastrous 2011 acquisition of UK software group Autonomy, with the signs of business deterioration adding to the urgency to find new pockets of growth.
Up In Flames: Cigarette Taxes Create Opportunity For Revenue And Crime [Forbes]
Everyone loves opportunity.
Governor Christie Does Not Understand Tax Policy [David Brunori]
As politicians go, he's average.
Sorry Coffee Snobs, America’s Favorite Is Still Folgers [BBW]
Still tastes better than Flavia.
Utah Thieves Rob Vending Machine with Vacuum [AP]
A pair of enterprising thieves took a car wash to the cleaners: They used a powerful shop vacuum to suck quarters out of a coin-operated machine, police said Wednesday. The duo drew the suspicion of a passing police officer and failed to make a clean getaway. "They had a good plan. They were enterprising. If they were successful they could have returned night after night," said Sgt. Gary Young in the Salt Lake City suburb of Cottonwood Heights. "More often thieves just use a crowbar. They get an A for effort but an F for execution."