Published: Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Deductions extended for state sales tax
The state sales tax deduction for Washington residents is poised for another two-year extension, as it was included in a tax bill the U.S. Senate passed nearly unanimously Tuesday evening. The bill is pending a final approval vote in the House. Sen. Maria Cantwell's office said the sales tax deduction, in place since 2004, saves the average family about $600 a year. She is among those hoping to make the sales tax deduction permanent.
Official favors cheapest tanker
Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered some advice Tuesday on how the next administration should settle the bitter bidding war for the $35 billion tanker contract: Set basic requirements, then choose the cheapest. The contentious battle for the contract has raged on for seven years, largely between Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. The Pentagon recently halted the contract until the next president takes office. Gates said that since both bidders met the technical qualifications for the refueling aircraft, he toyed with the idea of changing the competition in the final days and making a decision based on which one offered the best deal.
Judge reinstates Wal-Mart suit
The highest court in Massachusetts has reinstated a 2001 lawsuit against Wal-Mart by employees who claim the world's largest retailer pressured them to work off the clock and denied them rest and meal breaks. In 2006, a Superior Court judge decertified the case as a class-action lawsuit representing 67,000 employees of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Massachusetts and dismissed many of its claims. But the state's Supreme Judicial Court overturned that ruling Tuesday and cleared the lawsuit to proceed as a class action, finding that the lower court was wrong to exclude testimony from a statistician whose data backed up employee claims.
Google phone looks like iPhone
The first phone that harnesses Google Inc.'s ambition to make the Internet easy to use on the go was revealed Tuesday, and it looks a lot like an iPhone. T-Mobile USA showed off the G1, a phone that, like Apple Inc.'s iPhone, has a large touch screen. But it also packs a trackball, a slide-out keyboard and easy access to Google's e-mail and mapping programs. T-Mobile said it will begin selling the G1 for $179 with a two-year contract. The device hits U.S. stores Oct. 22.
Pay drops for Freddie Mac's CEO
Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac says its new chief executive is earning a base salary of $900,000 a year, a 25 percent pay cut from his predecessor who also received sizable bonuses and stock options. The company, seized by the government earlier this month, said in a regulatory filing that Chief Executive David Moffett will earn the salary while his final compensation package is determined by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which controls Freddie Mac and sibling Fannie Mae. Moffett started at Freddie earlier this month after ex-CEO Richard Syron was ousted following the government's takeover of the company.
From Herald staff and news services
Official favors cheapest tanker
Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered some advice Tuesday on how the next administration should settle the bitter bidding war for the $35 billion tanker contract: Set basic requirements, then choose the cheapest. The contentious battle for the contract has raged on for seven years, largely between Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. The Pentagon recently halted the contract until the next president takes office. Gates said that since both bidders met the technical qualifications for the refueling aircraft, he toyed with the idea of changing the competition in the final days and making a decision based on which one offered the best deal.
Judge reinstates Wal-Mart suit
The highest court in Massachusetts has reinstated a 2001 lawsuit against Wal-Mart by employees who claim the world's largest retailer pressured them to work off the clock and denied them rest and meal breaks. In 2006, a Superior Court judge decertified the case as a class-action lawsuit representing 67,000 employees of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Massachusetts and dismissed many of its claims. But the state's Supreme Judicial Court overturned that ruling Tuesday and cleared the lawsuit to proceed as a class action, finding that the lower court was wrong to exclude testimony from a statistician whose data backed up employee claims.
Google phone looks like iPhone
The first phone that harnesses Google Inc.'s ambition to make the Internet easy to use on the go was revealed Tuesday, and it looks a lot like an iPhone. T-Mobile USA showed off the G1, a phone that, like Apple Inc.'s iPhone, has a large touch screen. But it also packs a trackball, a slide-out keyboard and easy access to Google's e-mail and mapping programs. T-Mobile said it will begin selling the G1 for $179 with a two-year contract. The device hits U.S. stores Oct. 22.
Pay drops for Freddie Mac's CEO
Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac says its new chief executive is earning a base salary of $900,000 a year, a 25 percent pay cut from his predecessor who also received sizable bonuses and stock options. The company, seized by the government earlier this month, said in a regulatory filing that Chief Executive David Moffett will earn the salary while his final compensation package is determined by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which controls Freddie Mac and sibling Fannie Mae. Moffett started at Freddie earlier this month after ex-CEO Richard Syron was ousted following the government's takeover of the company.
From Herald staff and news services
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