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To: loantech who wrote (53836)	2/14/2006 1:44:04 PM
From: shades	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

DJ Cendant CEO: Sees 'Soft Landing' For Real Estate Mkt >CD . By Christopher Scinta Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Cendant Corp. (CD) Chief Executive Henry Silverman says the real estate market continues to be strong through most of the country and results at its real estate business should improve during the second half of 2006. "We continue to expect a soft landing for the real estate market in 2006," Silverman said on a conference call Tuesday to discuss the company's fourth-quarter results. Cendant's real estate brands include ERA, Coldwell Banker and Century 21. The New England, California and Florida markets are the hardest hit, not surprisingly, because those where much of the housing market speculation has been reported, the executive said. December default rates - the number of unclosed contracts - spiked 30%, he added, as house flippers departed the market. Late Monday, Cendant lowered its outlook for the first quarter, citing the impact of the cooling housing market on its real estate business - saying it would cut overall results 3 cents to 5 cents a share from prior estimates. Silverman, on the call, said the expected poor first-quarter performance will be impacted by seasonality and won't reflect full year performance, which he expects to improve in the second half of the year. The travel and real estate conglomerate late Monday reported fourth-quarter net income of $537 million, or 53 cents a share, on a gain from a business sale, versus $357 million, or 33 cents a share a year earlier. Excluding charges, the company hit the 23 cents a share in net income figure it predicted when it lowered earnings guidance in December, matching the consensus among analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. It lowered first-quarter earnings guidance to 11 cents to 16 cents a share from continuing operations, down from its prior projection of 18 cents to 20 cents a share on the slow down in real estate and later-than-expected price increases at its car rental businesses. (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

To: loantech who wrote (53836)	2/14/2006 1:48:10 PM
From: shades	Respond to of 110194

DJ IRS Says US `Tax Gap' $345 Billion In 2001 . By Rob Wells Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Internal Revenue Service released updated estimates Tuesday of the magnitude of uncollected taxes, and said the overall "tax gap" was $345 billion in 2001. The tax gap represents the difference between what taxpayers should have paid and what they actually paid on a timely basis. Individual taxpayers are the largest component of the tax gap, with $197 billion in uncollected taxes in 2001. A $345 billion tax gap is a significant shortfall in the $2.28 trillion in tax receipts the government is due to collect in 2006. The IRS said it collected $55 billion for the 2001 tax year through its enforcement activities and with other late tax payments, bringing the net tax gap to $290 billion. "The vast majority of Americans pay their taxes accurately and are shortchanged by those who don't pay their fair share," IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said in a statement. "The magnitude of the tax gap highlights the critical role of enforcement in keeping our system of tax administration healthy." In March 2005, the IRS released preliminary estimates of the tax gap, saying it was between $312 billion and $353 billion. The latest figures finalize the tax gap estimates and are derived from the "National Research Program," a three-year study involving audits of 46,000 tax returns. The IRS, in a press release, also blamed the complexity of the tax law as "a significant factor in causing the tax gap." This "can be seriously addressed only in the context of fundamental tax reform and simplification," the IRS said. "Helping taxpayers better understand their obligations under the current tax law will facilitate compliance, but simplifying the tax code would have a big impact on reducing the tax gap," said Everson. The IRS said the largest component of this gap, more than 80%, comes from under-reported taxes. Small businesses, independent contractors and sole proprietors remain a large component of the problem because their income taxes are automatically withheld from their paychecks. The IRS said "nonfarm sole proprietor income" contributed to about $68 billion to the tax gap. -By Rob Wells, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9272; Rob.Wells@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires February 14, 2006 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT) Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 12 00 PM EST 02-14-06