by Calculated Risk on 1/26/2014 08:38:00 PM

From the WSJ: States Weigh New Plans for Revenue Windfalls

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are pushing for tax cuts as collections rise, while putting money into job-training and prekindergarten programs, respectively. In Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal is proposing the largest increase in K-12 school funding since the recession to mark what he called the end of the "deep freeze," while Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is calling for a boost in K-12 spending and holding tuition steady at state colleges.

The improving fiscal picture is coming in an election year in many places, which is further animating debates over whether to restore recession-era budget cuts, fund new programs or reduce taxes. Some governors or legislators want to use the money as a cushion against likely swings in income-tax collections or to address mounting pension and health-care costs.

The states are just starting to see surpluses, so the correct initial policy is to pay down debt and restore some funding to severely cut programs. 

Monday:
• At 10:00 AM ET, the New Home Sales report for December from the Census Bureau. The consensus is for a decrease in sales to 450 thousand Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) in December from 464 thousand in November.

• At 10:00 AM, the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey for January. The consensus is a reading of 5.0, up from 3.1 in December (above zero is expansion).

Weekend:
• Schedule for Week of January 26th

• FOMC Preview: More Tapering

The Nikkei is down about 2.5%.

From CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures: the S&P futures are down 2 and DOW futures are down 20 (fair value).

Oil prices have declined with WTI futures at $97.12 per barrel and Brent at $107.87 per barrel.

Below is a graph from Gasbuddy.com for nationwide gasoline prices. Nationally prices are around $3.27 per gallon (about the same as a year ago).  If you click on "show crude oil prices", the graph displays oil prices for WTI, not Brent; gasoline prices in most of the U.S. are impacted more by Brent prices.

Orange County Historical Gas Price Charts Provided by GasBuddy.com