ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria#39;s Senate has said it wants to adopt a $75 per barrel oil price benchmark in the 2012 budget, up from the $70 proposed by the finance ministry, which would give the government more money to spend and leave less for savings. Nigeria saves money into an Excess Crude Account (ECA) over the benchmark price in its budget to cushion Africa#39;s second largest economy against ...

With the still-reeling economy serving as a backdrop, the Senate's 89-10 vote belied a tortuous battle between Democrats and Republicans that produced the compromise two-month extension of the expiring tax breaks and jobless benefits and forestalled cuts in doctors' Medicare reimbursements.

Senate Democrats are pressing ahead on President Barack Obama's plan to cut in half every worker's payroll taxes next year — paid for by a 3.25 percent tax surcharge on the very wealthy. The $248 billion plan would trim Social Security payroll taxes from 6.2 percent to 3.1 percent in hopes of propping up the still-weak economy. It also would cut in half the 6.2 percent tax paid by employers on ...

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are pressing ahead on President Barack Obama’s plan to cut in half every worker’s payroll taxes next year — paid for by a 3.25 percent tax surcharge on the very wealthy. The $248 billion plan would trim Social Security payroll taxes from 6.2 percent to 3.1 percent in hopes of propping up the still-weak economy. It also would cut in half the 6.2 percent tax paid by ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate overwhelmingly passed two modest job-creation bills Thursday in a rare display of cooperation between Democrats and Republicans to boost the struggling economy.