Business_Finance

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House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio is pursued by reporters as he walks to the House floor to deliver remarks about negotiations with President Barack Obama on the fiscal cliff, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Boehner said President Barack Obama is slow-walking talks to avoid the fiscal cliff, and hasn't outlined spending cuts he's willing to support as part of a compromise. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich disputes the media and congressional fear-mongering related to the pending “fiscal cliff.” He says it can broken down into more manageable fiscal “foothills.” (Associated Press)

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Sen. Jeff Bingaman reported the Dec. 3 sale of between $250,001 and $500,000 in HSBC stock on forms he filed with the Senate on Dec. 8. Three days later, HSBC announced it agreed to the record settlement. (Associated Press)

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FILE - This Dec. 5, 2012 file photo shows President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about the fiscal cliff at the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers, in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

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House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio leaves his office and walks to the House floor to deliver remarks about negotiations with President Obama on the fiscal cliff, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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**FILE** Steam rises from towers at an Exxon Mobil refinery in Baytown, Texas, on April 16, 2010. (Associated Press)

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Trader George Ettinger works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 11, 2012. (Associated Press)

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House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, leaves his office Dec. 11, 2012, and walks to the House floor on Capitol Hill in Washington to deliver remarks about negotiations with President Obama on the "fiscal cliff." (Associated Press)

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**FILE** President Obama, accompanied by business people, speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on April 30, 2010. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** A123 Systems Inc. high power Nanophospate Lithium Ion Cell for Hybrid Electric Vehicles batteries are shown Aug. 6, 2009 in Livonia, Mich. (Associated Press)