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To: mishedlo who wrote (16131)	11/17/2004 7:09:58 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Lawmakers work toward deal on Internet tax ban Wednesday, November 17, 2004 10:58:13 PM afxpress.com WASHINGTON (AFX) -- The U.S. Senate Wednesday approved revisions to a four-year Internet tax ban that supporters said pave the way for House passage by the end of the week A 1998 federal moratorium barring states and local governments from imposing taxes on Internet access expired last November "The future of the Internet will be brighter and more secure because of today's action to shake this legislation loose and make it law again, to protect Internet users and the thousands of small American businesses harnessing the power of the web for economic growth," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a primary co-author of the bill with Sen. George Allen, R-Va Telecom firms and Internet service providers both have big stakes in the outcome of the legislation The Senate last spring overwhelmingly approved an extension of the ban, which also bars double taxation of a product or service bought online, and prohibits discriminatory taxes that treat Internet purchases differently from other types of sales The revised measure that cleared the Senate by voice vote Wednesday includes provisions designed to appease House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. The bill includes Sensenbrenner's call for a two-year exemption to the access-tax ban The measure also provides a grandfather clause for a Texas utility law that includes access fees for telecommunications services Otherwise, the legislation includes provisions designed to update the definition of Internet access to ensure that the moratorium applies to any type of Internet access, including DSL, dial-up, cable modem and wireless service It also aims to ensure that the moratorium doesn't affect state and local taxation of voice telecommunications services, including voice-over Internet protocol, or VOIP. The bill doesn't ban sales taxes on goods sold over the Internet. It does further bar multiple taxes on the same purchase and forbids states and localities from treating Internet sales any differently than purchases from bricks-and-mortar or mail-order merchants.

To: mishedlo who wrote (16131)	11/17/2004 7:16:04 PM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Rack up another $12B in corporate bonds today $25B for the week (thru Wednesday). Investors just can not get enough of them GM bonds improve amid new offering from finance arm Wednesday, November 17, 2004 10:31:31 PM afxpress.com CHICAGO (AFX) - The corporate bond community estimated about $12 billion in new issuance on Wednesday alone from U.S. and European-based sources, which pushed the total so far this week to a robust $25 billion Among the bigger deals to price was a $1.25 billion offering from General Motors Corp.'s finance arm, GMAC GM's 8.375 percent bond due in July 2033 was the most actively traded issue in the secondary bond market for a second day, according to MarketAxess The bond was trading at a spread of 313 basis points to a Treasury bond of comparable maturity. That's tighter by 5 basis points on the day. The spread remains wider by 10 basis points on the week The spread, or difference in yield between riskier company debt and relatively lower-risk government debt, narrows when investors will accept lower yields. The spread widens when investors expect a higher payout from the company for taking on what's seen as increased risk Automaker bond spreads had widened amid expectations credit ratings could be cut GM's 7.25 percent note due in March 2011 was the second most-active issue Wednesday. It was trading at a spread of 196 basis points to a Treasury note of comparable maturity. That narrower by 5 basis points on the day and by 2 basis points on the week Among the other issuers of note, American Express brought to the block $750 million total in 2- and 3-year floating-rate notes HSBC's Household Finance division proceeded with its two-part deal. It included $1.5 billion of floating-rate notes and $1.75 billion of 5-year fixed-rate notes