Government's Stress Test - A Big Con?

Wall Street finished the week with another champagne-popping rally as investment managers exhaled after the government published the results of its stress tests on the nation's major banks.

The healing process has begun, Quincy Krosby, the chief investment strategist at Hartford Investments told the New York Times. "You're seeing more conviction buying the banks, where investors are culling the weak from the strong and going into the strong names. The strong will get stronger and the weak will get weaker."

But the headlines buried the real lede.

On the face of it, Wall Street's rally came in response to the better-than-expected news that 10 of the banks must raise $75 billion in new capital. Turns out, however, that the banks had a significant hand in shaping the outcome of their own government-administered exams.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that that the smaller-than-expected deficit number came about because the Federal Reserve applied a "different measurement of bank-capital levels than analysts and investors had been expecting, resulting in much smaller capital deficits." The Journal reported that: - CBS News Story

Obama Preparing to Raise Taxes

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration will propose $60 billion in new tax increases over 10 years on wealthy estates, businesses and others to make up for shortfalls in its fund to pay for an expensive overhaul of the health-care system.

The measures go beyond plans the White House has announced in the past few weeks. Officials said that upon further analysis they realized that they had overestimated savings and tax increases proposed in February to help pay the bill.

The full proposals will come Monday when the White House releases a detailed analysis of its budget blueprint. Administration officials described the new proposals not as tax increases, but as eliminating "tax loopholes."

One element would raise an estimated $24 billion over 10 years by tightening estate-tax rules, giving taxpayers less flexibility to minimize their liability on inherited goods by claiming a different value on the same item for different transactions. - FOX News Story

Nascar Driver Jeremy Mayfield Fails Drug Test

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Jeremy Mayfield was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR on Saturday for failing a random drug test, becoming the first driver to violate a toughened new policy that went into effect this season.

Mayfield tested positive for a banned substance last weekend at Richmond International Raceway.

"In my case, I believe that the combination of a prescribed medicine and an over the counter medicine reacted together and resulted in a positive drug test," Mayfield said in a statement. "My doctor and I are working with both Dr. (David) Black and NASCAR to resolve this matter."

Black of Aegis Sciences Corp. in Nashville, Tenn., has worked on testing programs with the NFL, Indy Car and more than 70 NCAA Division I colleges.

NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter would not reveal what banned substance Mayfield used, but Hunter said it was not an alcohol-related offense. - FOX News Story

Severe Weather Kills 6 in Midwest

ST. LOUIS — Residents of the Midwest cleared away wreckage Saturday following a wave of powerful storms that splintered homes, knocked out power to thousands and killed six people.

Hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed Friday in Kansas, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri and 150,000 Missouri utility customers lost power. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency.

In southern Illinois, more than 63,000 customers of the utility Ameren still had no electricity Saturday, the company said. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Saturday declared three southern counties disaster areas.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear declared an emergency in central and south-eastern sections of his state Saturday, and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin made the same declaration for six counties in that state.

Trees were down and windows were broken on the campus of Southern Illinois University's Carbondale campus, but the school said weekend commencement ceremonies would go on scheduled. Friday's graduation ceremonies were canceled. - FOX News Story

Obama to Restart Military Commisions

Government officials say the Obama administration is preparing to restart military commissions established at Guantanamo Bay, the Washington Post has reported.

Obama obtained a four-month suspension of the commissions in the beginning of his administration that is set to expire May 20. Officials tell the Washington Post that Obama will seek a 90-day extension as early as next week.

After the extension, it is expected that Obama will revive the commissions, under new rules that would offer terror suspects greater legal protections. A lawyer briefed on the plan told the Washington Post that the commissions will subsequently restart on American soil.

The commissions will block the use of evidence obtained by harsh interrogations, sources told the Washington Post. - FOX News Story

Obama's Refinancing equals Tax Cut Statement - Not Quite True

President Obama's assertion to homeowners that refinancing their mortgage loans now with interest rates at a near-record low equates to a tax cut isn't that cut and dried, according to tax analysts.

Obama said at his third press conference last month that the housing plan his administration has launched has "already contributed to a spike in the number of homeowners who are refinancing their mortgages, which is the equivalent of another tax cut."

But tax analysts told FOXNews.com that lower mortgage rates actually reduces tax savings.

"While there could be overall savings by refinancing and lower monthly payments, there also could be reduced tax benefits as less interest is paid," said Gil Charney, an analyst for The Tax Institute at H&R Block. - FOX News Story

Afghanistan President Wants Stop to Air Strikes

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on the US to halt air strikes in his country, following an attack that reportedly killed scores of civilians.

Mr Karzai, who is in Washington, told CNN air strikes were "not acceptable".

Afghan officials say more than 100 civilians died when US jets attacked targets in the western Farah province.

The incident overshadowed a summit on Wednesday between the President Barack Obama, Mr Karzai, and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari.

"We demand an end to these operations... an end to air strikes," Mr Karzai told CNN.

He said the deaths were "definitely" the result of US air strikes and not Taleban militants, as some US military officials had suggest - BBC News Story

Venezuela President Takes over all Oil Operations

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sent troops to take over companies that provide services for the oil industry.

"This is a revolutionary offensive," he told workers near Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela's main oil-producing area.

Military vehicles were used as the state oil company seized supply boats and two US-owned gas facilities.

Mr Chavez nationalised Venezuela's main oil assets two years ago. The fresh drive comes as falling oil prices put state finances under pressure.

The move places hundreds of boats, several ports and an estimated 8,000 oil workers under state control. - BBC News Story

And this is the Leader Obama chose to hang with during his trip to South America?

Investigate Members of Congress about Torture

During a scantly noticed exchange in a Thursday Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) asked Attorney General Eric Holder a potentially explosive question -- given the furor over Nancy Pelosi's 2002 interrogation briefing.

Alexander wanted to know if the AG would consider investigating what House and Senate members knew about torture and when they knew it. And Holder didn't exactly reject the idea. - Politco News Story

By all means. If you are going to go after Bush Administration Officials then you have to Investigate and go after the members of the House and Senate that knew about it. They can't have it both ways. Those who knew about the techniques and did not stop them, can't turn around now and say it was illegal and not be held just as accountable. Mrs. Pelosi.

Obama New Transparent WH not so Transparent

As Washington prepares for President Barack Obama’s first White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, members of the White House press corps are grumbling about a spate of background briefings by “senior administration officials” who can’t be quoted by name.

But will they do anything about it?

After a “senior administration official” briefed reporters on a conference call about Chrysler last week, the Associated Press’s Jennifer Loven circulated an email among her colleagues suggesting some kind of joint action to protest the use of not-for-attribution sessions.

“We’ve been concerned about the needless use of ‘on-background’ briefings when it comes to sharing straightforward information,” AP spokesman Paul Colford told POLITICO, adding that the AP had “relayed” its views “to other news organizations in Washington” and is “eager to work with them in addressing the issue.”

But when the White House held two more background briefings this week – one on the president’s budget, the other on Pakistan and Afghanistan — AP’s reporters and all the other usual suspects were there. - Politico News Story