Business_Finance

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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta during a visit with troops at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. Panetta stopped to visit troops in Turkey before heading home after spending three days in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool)

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House Speaker John Boehner accuses President Barack Obama of not being serious about cutting government spending, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Boehner is insisting that Obama wants far more in tax increases than spending reductions and appears willing to walk the economy "right up to the fiscal cliff." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012, where he accused President Barack Obama of not being serious about cutting government spending. Boehner is insisting that Obama wants far more in tax increases than spending reductions and appears willing to walk the economy "right up to the fiscal cliff." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. gestures as she meets with reporters during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Pelosi questions why the fiscal cliff negotiations are going to the last minute. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., second from left, accompanied by fellow Senate Democratic leaders, pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012, to discuss the stalled fiscal cliff negotiations and other unfinished business in the Senate. From left are, Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., Reid, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., listens at left as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., right, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012, to discuss the stalled fiscal cliff negotiations and other unfinished business in the Senate. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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** FILE ** Congressmen walk down the steps of the House of Representatives at the Capitol as rank and file members adjourned for several days, in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., have advised members to be ready to work on the fiscal cliff negotiations during the Christmas holiday period. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta performs a swear-in ceremony to reenlist four troops during his visit to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, on Dec. 14, 2012. Panetta is heading home after spending three days in Afghanistan meeting with troops, commanders and Afghani leaders. (Associated Press)

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“It’s clear the president is just not serious about cutting spending. But spending is the problem.” - House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican (Associated Press)

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President Obama leaves Blair House in Washington after attending a party for the National Security Council. Mr. Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner are locked in talks to try to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” (Associated Press)

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“I have a feeling it is going to be this typical way Washington always works: raise taxes now, for promises of spending cuts later that will never come.” — Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican (Associated Press)

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House Speaker John A. Boehner uses a chart to make a point on Capitol Hill on Thursday. He and President Obama are locked in talks to try to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” (Associated Press)

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One of the conductors for Tuba Christmas 2012 is seen reflected in a tuba during rehearsal at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Gunnar Tokar, 15, of Damascus, Md. polishes his tuba before the start of the rehearsal for Tuba Christmas 2012 at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center. They rehearsed for two hours before performing on the Millennium Stage at 6 p.m. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)