In 2012 I learned 5 Major Things About Running A Business ...

2012, was a tough year for me. For many years I have been trying to build a company out of the house, but have failed. I hired many people, but never managed them.

In the beginning of the year I was doing very well from web properties, mailing, and doing pay-per-click for affiliate offers. Then things changed. Affiliate networks dropped like flies, and ppc networks became very strict. My affiliate revenue crashed.

I was not sure what to do. I knew the affiliate game that I had been playing and profiting from for many years was coming to an end.

From the way I looked at it I had 2 choices:

A)Build a real company.

B)Buy out my lease, other contracts, and go back to working out of my house writing my blog. Essentially retiring.

The big turning point for me was when I was talking to one of my best friends in the industry (who also owns a affiliate network). He was telling me about how he had bought a new SEO Company and it was really rough at the start investing in that and not the affiliate industry, but it was one of the best things he ever did.

A couple months before I had this conversation we signed a deal with blu electronic cigarettes to take over their ?customer acquisition and growth? through email. They had been collecting email addresses for a long time, but never sent out any emails other than sale alerts.

Within a couple months we started to account for a very significant portion of their sales that were coming in from emails I had constructed for them. ?The most interesting thing we found was that not only were new customers purchasing their product, but existing customers were purchasing their product through our emails.

Even blu came to us and said what an amazing impact it had on their company and that we should think about just doing this service for companies. However, I never really thought about it.

And that was it ? Par Program was born.

It met my basic screening test:

Was this a badly needed service? ? Yes, anyone who sells a product or service drastically can benefit from the PAR Program.
Is this a service that I would use every day ? ? YES! Forget about what I bring to the table for a minute? The features and level of service of a true enterprise level automated mail marketing service was badly needed.

So, again that?s it. That is what I am doing, and I am going to do this right.

But, it?s obviously not that easy. In order to do this right I needed to get away from the fly by night stuff, which has always brought in an awesome injection of capital when needed. Plus, I had a LOT of overhead still, and to do this right I needed to commit to investing a lot of money carried over from last years profits.

It was very painful to see your monthly financial reports in the red? sometimes tens of thousands of dollars? month after month. Being told we will now profitable? then surprise we lost money again. Sometimes I just felt so demoralized like there was no hope, and I should just quit and take up plan b. I don?t like that feeling.

Fortunately, we were on the right path though and midway through the year we were back in the green monthly and attacking our debt aggressively.

As of December, the PAR Program is now over $50,000 a month in gross revenue. Our overhead is 1/4th (literally) of what it was a year ago.

So, now we are on the right track and it has been an educational experience to say the least.

Here is what I have learned from switching to running a real company:

Talk to smart people with real experience : I was in the Entrepreneurs Organization, and a huge thing they do is allow you to present problems to other business owners. Just to be in the organization you have to be the majority owner, and do over a million a year in revenue. In my group there was a medical delivery company CEO, a printing company CEO, a heavy construction company CEO, a local sandwich franchise owner, and a janitorial service company CEO. I met with these guys all the time, and even though their businesses have nothing to do with the internet, just the learning the basic business structure for me has been priceless. I have routine calls with people that own internet companies and some of them I have weekly calls scheduled. I also pay a couple grand a month to a guy I highly respect to have a one hour conversation with him and my team. He holds my team accountable and even myself. It?s kind of like a business coach, only more like a 1 hour a week CEO. However, the thing is he is a guy that has been a CEO at various internet companies and currently is running his own search marketing agency. So more then just holding me responsible he has my respect when he tells me I am doing it wrong.

Do not underestimate what you bring to a company:?I have been making money selling millions of dollars of my own products/services AND selling other people?s products and services as an affiliate. Now consider this, a company gives 30% or more to a affiliate network to make sales, then the network gives half to an affiliate (formally me). But, now through the PAR Program I am doing this directly for the company and not only is everything 100% off of their plate it?s also much cleaner, insightful, and it delivers a much larger ROI then what they were doing through affiliate networks. Well there is a lot more? copywriting, graphics, marketing insight? I mean I bring 10 years of?invaluable? experience doing this.

ROI on everything: I am not sure why this always escaped me, I am dead serious on this. I never thought of things this way, but one day I came to a revelation that everything I spend money on I need to get a positive return. This actually seems comical given the fact I have been calculating ROI promoting affiliate offers like crazy that I never actually looked at more obvious things.

One of the big things, actually THE biggest was employees. If I am spending 10k a month on an employee what am I getting back? But, this is as much about me as it is any of my employees. Lets say I am worth $500/hr to the company when focused on what I am best at. So, if I can hire 2 full time people to take care of misc things at $15 an hour that not only take up time, but distract me from what I do best then you would have to be an idiot not to do it. Again as crazy as this sounds I would say at least half of my time was being taken up with jobs that I now have interns doing.

Roles and responsibilities: Make a list for each of your employees on what their role and responsibilities should be. Ask them to do the same including exactly what they do day to day. Make them responsible for the job they are doing and the tasks they are responsible for. Do not, under any circumstances, do something that is their task. The problem with knowing how to do everything is that you know how to do everything, and if you?re like me and have no?patience?it?s very very hard to wait for someone to fix an issue that you know you can easily do. But, here is the problem if you fix the issue. It now becomes ?your responsibility. The person who was previously responsible for fixing that issue no longer has ownership of it. You do. When a client goes around their client manager cause its 9pm on a Sunday night, and they know you will be available cause you have no life you need to tell them to go through their client manager. Otherwise guess what? You are now their client manager. When they ask their client manager if I did what I said I would do at 9pm on Sunday she/he will be like um what is this? And like I said you are now their client manager. My point is this ? I am a badass at sales, marketing, and copywriting. Those are my roles and responsibilities. When I do another employee?s job it?s a bad use of my time, costs me money, and undermines my employees.

Getting frustrated:

Getting things done: Read the book. It has changed my life.

Regular short meetings: Another thing that made a huge impact. It?s important to meet everyday for a few minutes. Everyone tells me where they are at on the projects they are working on. If time lines have changed, over/under budget, ?and if they need any help. I try to limit each person to 5 interrupted minutes. Someone will take detailed notes especially if someone needs help.

Now don?t get me wrong? Sometimes I can?t help but promote the occasional affiliate offer or try some new angle on something. But it?s more like a hobby to me.

I also planned for a slow January this month so, I am releasing the book (hopefully on the 7th or 8th FINALLY). I am doing Affiliate Summit, will be home for a day (1 day) and then going to Hawaii with my wife for 10 days. So, between January 12th and 31st I will be home 5 total days.

I have had an agency approach me about shooting an infomercial, which I am still not sure about? but basically I don?t have to do anything but film. I also have a smaller product that will be coming out this month.

But, for the most part 99% of my day is focused on the PAR Program.

I went through some hard times, recovered, and refocused in 2012. I look forward to a much more organized, focused, and profitable 2013.

Cheers!

About the author...

Jeremy Schoemaker ? who has written 2594 posts on ShoeMoney.com.

Hi I am Jeremy Schoemaker and ShoeMoney.com is my blog. 99% of the post here are done by me but you will see others occasionally make guest posts. This blog is fun to write but for my day job I run several online companies.

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1. Conference Travel Survival Guide
2. 99designs From the Top Designers? Perspectives
3. Maybe You Should Have Given Fatty A Piece

Source: http://www.shoemoney.com/2013/01/02/in-2012-i-learned-5-major-things-about-running-a-business

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HBT: Berkman, Rangers discussing a deal

FOX Sports? Ken Rosenthal has the scoop:

Free agent?Lance Berkman?still has not decided that he will play in 2013. But he is talking about a possible return with multiple clubs, including the?Texas Rangers, major-league sources say.

Berkman ? a native of Waco, Texas ? considered signing with the Rangers before the 2011 season but instead joined the Cardinals and went on to win his first World Series ring. He re-signed with St. Louis for the 2012 season but appeared in only 23 games?because?of knee and calf issues.

The 36-year-old could serve as the Rangers? primary designated hitter this summer ? a role manned last year by Michael Young. Berkman has undergone multiple recent knee procedures but is claiming to be healthy.

The Astros are also known to have interest, but ?Big Puma? probably prefers to join a contender.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/02/lance-berkman-has-discussed-a-deal-with-the-rangers/related/

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Optical strontium clock to become much more accurate

Jan. 2, 2013 ? An optical clock with neutral strontium atoms is considered one of the top candidates for the definition of a "new" second. The probabilities have increased considerably, since its frequency will now be determined more accurately (probably by an order of magnitude). Scientists of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) have laid the foundation for this by measuring, for the first time, the influence of the most important uncertainty factor, namely the ambient temperature. To date, its influence could only be derived theoretically.

Their results, which have been published in the latest issue of the scientific journal Physical Review Letters, might well spark interest also in geodesy and in fundamental physical research -- more specifically: in the question as to whether fundamental constants are really constant.

Optical clocks are deemed the clocks of the future. This has several reasons: they could allow the SI base unit the second (which is already the most accurate of all SI base units anyway) to be realized even more accurately. Its definition would then no longer be based on the interaction of microwave radiation with caesium atoms, but on the interaction of optical radiation with strontium (or other) atoms or ions. But even before the new definition, optical clocks are useful, e.g., in geodesy where they can help determine Earth's geoid (basically, the exact position of "sea level") even more accurately than before. Furthermore, they provide fundamental physicists with the long-awaited instrument to perhaps detect possible changes in the fundamental constants, e.g. the fine-structure constant.

The reason why optical clocks are so accurate is that optical radiation oscillates extremely fast -- considerably faster than microwave radiation, which is currently used in caesium atomic clocks to "produce" the second. The faster the "pendulum" (the oscillating system) of a clock, the finer the time can, in principle, be broken down and, thus, the more stable and accurate the clock becomes. In an optical strontium clock, a cloud of neutral strontium atoms is cooled down in two steps by means of laser radiation until the atoms finally exhibit a speed of only a few centimetres per second. A so-called "optical lattice" ensures that the atoms are trapped and can virtually no longer move. Unfortunately, strontium atoms, of all things, react relatively strongly to changes in the ambient temperature; their atomic levels are then shifted energetically, which causes the clock to become inaccurate.

This is the highest contribution to the uncertainty of this clock, and PTB scientists have now succeeded in measuring it for the first time. To this end, they, however, needed an auxiliary system: in order to carry out measurements with the required accuracy, they considerably amplified the effect by using a static electric field instead of the alternating electromagnetic field of blackbody radiation. They constructed a special parallel-plate capacitor whose electric field is known with a few-ten-ppm accuracy. For this purpose, the distance between the two plates, which amounted to 0.5 cm, may only vary by a few 100 nm over its length of 7 cm; the same applies to the accuracy of the distance.

With this parallel-plate capacitor, the PTB scientists measured the influence of electromagnetic fields on the two decisive (for their clock) eigenstates in the strontium atom. In this way, they determined its uncertainty contribution to the total measurement uncertainty to 5 ? 10^-18. And because just this influence had, to date, been the most restrictive influence on the total measurement uncertainty, one can expect the next frequency measurements of the clock as a whole to lie well below the previously attained 1 ? 10^-16.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Thomas Middelmann, Stephan Falke, Christian Lisdat, Uwe Sterr. High Accuracy Correction of Blackbody Radiation Shift in an Optical Lattice Clock. Physical Review Letters, 2012; 109 (26) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.263004

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/3E7hGcWN0L8/130102104947.htm

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Judge Rules Samsung Will Have To Reveal Device Sales Data In Ongoing Apple Case

This week U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh ruled that Samsung will indeed have to reveal specific device sales numbers for a variety of its gadgets, denying the Korean company's request to keep that information secret. Samsung has to pony up the information after Apple made a follow-up request to its $1.05 billion award from a jury August 24 regarding damages resulting from the sale of Galaxy devices after a request to have them banned in the U.S. was denied.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/AVeigr7H6Ak/

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Building a house in Merida Mexico - Casa Yucatan Real Estate

Merida, located in Yucatan, Mexico, has become a hotbed for prospective home owners looking to capitalize on its budding and lucrative market. The capital of Yucatan, Merida is located just twenty two miles away from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is extremely cost-effective. Whether you are prospecting personal finances or business expenses, building a house in Merida, Mexico, is not only easy, it?s one of the only sensible investments in a nationwide scale where real estate is usually dangerous bidding. As of this writing, three hundred square meters of land in Merida costs a scant twenty five thousand United States dollars, while the costs of paying for construction every two hundred square meters averages at around sixty give thousand United States dollars, bringing the final tally to ninety thousand dollars for an equitable and lucrative house in prime real estate location that will typically sell for over a hundred and twenty five thousand dollars, earning you a return equity of over thirty thousand dollars.

Personal testimonies promise land that sells for a thousand pesos every square meter, which translates into an affordable eighty two US dollars for a construction job which typically lasts only three months. The market gestation period in Merida is less than half a year, which is up to four times as fast as comparable markets in the United States.

These bonuses can?t truly be appreciated until the health of the Merida market is fully understood, and what a healthy state for estates it is ? well beyond comparable examples in the United States. Merida is the twelfth most popular Mexican metropolitan area, and has become an attractive destination for residents throughout the country. Because real estate markets rarely improve in a bubble, the health of the real estate market in Merida is a good indicator for the relative health of the surrounding economy and livability. Despite the turmoil in the border towns that is so well known to residents of the United States, Merida enjoys a safe lifestyle and boasts sixteen higher education institutions.

The city?s schools have been praised as the best performing public schools in Mexico since 1996, and all of these elements come together to increase the real estate market for curious investors. Homebuilders can purchase lots of land that can house nearly ten homes alone, and with quick work times, in addition to very few large established homebuilders monopolizing the land and its worker resources, prospective builders have a more accommodating schedule and atmosphere than they are used to stateside.

Merida is an emerging real estate market, and terms like ?emerging? should perk the ears of all savvy homebuilders who recognize the goldmine that is new markets. The city has grown into a metropolitan area filled with numerous public and private hospitals and medical centers, an international airport, and accommodating public transportation systems that rival larger metropolitan competitors like those found in Mexico City. Merida is situated in a similarly golden time when the market is ripe and healthy, but has yet to be monopolized and exploited by larger construction organizations. With cheap costs and quick equities, building a house in Merida Mexico insists upon itself. An exotic city that is uniquely isolated from the cultures of the larger Mexican countryside, Merida has become a choice destination for people seeking a genuine Mexican experience in a steadfastly native city, and as such Merida hosts a wide variety of authentic restaurants to entice buyers with the spice of the region.

When arranging homebuilding in Merida it is important to choose from local architects and construction firms, as most of them speak English and are experienced in working with prospective homebuilders. Building a home in Merida Mexico will teach you the essentials of renovation and remodeling, and while the total cost of home construction tallies at around ninety thousand dollars, additional home perks such as pools can be added for less than five thousand dollars at most reputable construction firms. For these reasons Merida in Yucatan Mexico compels homebuilders to take advantage of its market and prune the budding market. Located in the northwest of Mexico near the Gulf, Merida is a cost-effective alternative for prospective homebuilders searching for financially rewarding plots in exotic locations. Whether you can afford the building personal or in a business investment, building a house in Merida Mexico will offer one of the most cost effective solutions in the entire Americas. Alternatives to homebuilders include a real estate market will many properties ripe for renovation, such as smaller colonial houses scattered throughout the old town district of Merida.

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Merida Mexico Architecture and Construction

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Arq. Gabriela Cornelio is a native of Merida Yucatan, co-founder and owner of CasaYucatanRealEstate. Gabriela holds degrees in architecture and international commerce from UADY University in Merida, and full range of residential design and construction projects to her credit. Her experience in architecture and real estate coupled with her knowledge of Merida and Yucatan, allows her to provide clients with expertise that is beyond the norm.

Source: http://www.casayucatanrealestate.com/blog/?p=602&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=building-a-house-in-merida-mexico

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Relationship Tips by David Milliron : Signs That you'll be Online ...

Posted by mikaza on December 31, 2012 in Finance | Short Link

Enough is that you demonstrate seriousness along with respect. They?re crucial to laying a strong base and constructing any relationship. You should never ignore an online friendship. It may lead to online dating and eventually marriage.

Probably the most important things you can do in order to find the best dating site is to determine exactly what you have been looking to get out of the idea. If you obviously have no idea of a typical specific qualities that you might be looking for outside of a dating web site then it is likely to make it considerably tougher to decide which one will allow you to find a right diamond necklace for you. So the goal is to figure out selected qualities which the dating website must have and then bottom everything that you peer at off from that. This will make for a quicker and more accurate decision-making process.

Don?t lie about your grow older or peak! This is a huge one and for that reason many fellas continue to do the idea. How many times perhaps you have read content articles about women who met up with a guy which looked Nothing can beat his pics because he seemed to be 20 times older, or perhaps 200 fat heavier, or even three inches shorter? Isn?t going to make for good business to are lying in your page because you will end up absolutely Photo DOWN when you meet face-to-face.

You and Dr Conan Stevbolg are going to carry out some writing if you try your hand in dating online. You are going to employ writing within your actual page, and you are additionally going to make use of writing when you initially communicate with a woman. Being able to utilize emotion is vital, because it is way too easy to publish things that come across as being absolutely bland along with boring. Should you get the chance to quick message a lady, you want to sweep her socks off, not really bore your ex to cry. So, you might want to practice the writing a little, so that you never run the risk of sounding kind of tedious.

Creating an online dating profile doesn?t need to be difficult. Retaining it straightforward and simple is the greatest possible road to take. The last thing you want to do will be be facing digging yourself out of a hole before you have even been on your primary date Relationships by David Milliron.

Ancient young couples had move through hardships to fulfill while dating because of the undeveloped method of transport along with modes of communication. Adult men would holiday for long time periods or ride upon donkeys for long distances in order to meet themselves. Now as a result of technology, you?ll be able to hit a control button, login with a dating site in addition to chat with your lover as if you were being in the very same room. Online dating will be real enjoyable! By simply subscribing to one of the best online dating web-sites, you are connected to many single men and women like you looking for a date. With a nice profile and a good character, it?s easy to have a hook up.

Keep it short! It?s rather easy, try and keep your profile ?above your fold,In meaning the lady won?t have in order to scroll to read your own write-up. Too many folks want to reveal their living story within their dating profiles. Once i always claim, it comes all over too obsessive and ?try tricky.? Small and powerful can do wonders for you personally!

Tags: Relationship Issues With David Milliron

Source: http://valttiblogi.com/relationship-tips-by-david-milliron-signs-that-youll-be-online-dating-way-too-much/

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LIVE: Final Day Before The Fiscal Cliff - Business Insider

After a LONG day, the Senate has overwhelmingly voted to approve a Fiscal Cliff deal, sending legislation for final approval in the House.

There was a little nervousness this evening that liberals might not be on board the deal, but the bill passed easily 89-8.

The basic gist is: taxes will rise for individuals making $400K or more and families making $450K or more.

These thresholds are higher than Democrats would like, but Democrats are getting an Unemployment Insurance extension, as well as an extension of other credits.

There is also a permanent fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax indexing.

As for the "sequester" that will be delayed for two months.

This part is infuriating conservatives, who see the spending cuts delayed once again, while taxes rise on many Americans (even though the income taxes will stay low for most taxpayers, payroll taxes will rise).

11:07 AM | The Senate is back in session...

11:09 AM | Harry Reid: Negotiations Are Continuing As We Speak, Still Issues To Be Resolved

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took the floor briefly to inform lawmakers that negotiations are still ongoing, but that they don't have anything to vote on yet.?

"There are still some issues that need to be resolved before we can bring legislation to the floor," Reid said. "Negotiations are continuing as we speak."?

"We really are running out of time," he added. "Americans are threatened with a tax hike in a few hours."

11:23 AM | Sen. Tom Harkin (D-ID) just blasted Democrats for giving up the farm on the fiscal cliff.

Harkin, a staunch liberal, took the Senate floor after Reid, and blasted his party for making too many concessions on the fiscal cliff ? specifically by raising the threshold for extending the Bush tax cuts to $450,000, up from the $250,000 that President Barack Obama campaigned on.?

"This looks like a very bad deal."?

Harkin's sentiments have been echoed by many Democrats, who are frustrated with last night's developments. After talks failed in the Senate yesterday, fiscal cliff negotiations turned into a backroom affair between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden. According to reports, Biden also agreed to concede to Republican demands on the estate tax, in addition to agreeing to raise the income threshold for the Bush tax cuts.?

12:04 PM | Everyone is saying that Obama got rolled on fiscal cliff talks.

Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein has a pretty brutal takedown of the White House's leadership on the fiscal cliff. The gist of his argument is that while Obama entered the fiscal cliff negotiations with the apparent advantage, he has caved every step of the way.?

Here's the key passage:?

The Republicans plan to say that now that they broke their pledge and voted for a tax increase, they?ll insist on a dollar of spending cuts for every dollar of debt-ceiling increase ? the so-called ?Boehner rule?. The White House plans to insist that it won?t negotiate over the debt ceiling at all.

Republicans I?ve spoken to laugh at this bluster. Obama is already negotiating over the debt ceiling, they point out. He began the fiscal cliff negotiations by saying he wanted a permanent solution to the debt ceiling. Then it was a two-year increase in the debt limit. Now he?s going to sign off on a mini-deal that doesn?t increase the debt ceiling at all. Does that really sound like someone who?s going to hold firm when faced with global economic chaos? The White House always talks tough at the beginning of negotiations and then always folds at the end. Republicans are confident that the debt ceiling will be no different.

Slate blogger Matt Yglesias has a similar take here. The White House, Ygelesias argues, lost any credibility it had by putting the debt ceiling on the table despite insisting that Obama wouldn't negotiate on raising the debt limit. Even worse, by including the debt ceiling in a "grand bargain" package delayed until 2015 , the Obama White House is actually institutionalizing the practice of negotiating on the debt ceiling.?

12:27 PM | There are reports a deal is emerging, but there's major Democrat drama over the sequester

The AP reports that a deal could be imminent, but that both sides are still at odds over how to deal with the sequester,?the package of dramatic budget cuts scheduled to go into effect at midnight.?

According to the AP, the deal would include returning tax rates for households earning over $450,000 to 39 percent, the same rate that they were under President Bill Clinton. The deal would also extend unemployment benefits and raise the tax on estates over $5 million from 35% to 40%.?

But Republicans are pushing for the fiscal cliff deal to include a three month delay of the sequester, and want to use the Chained CPI to offset the cuts. Democrats want to push back the sequester until 2015, and use new revenues to pay for the cuts.?

CNN reporter Dana Bash tweets that Democrats are pushing hard against Republican demands, and are now?saying they will block any bill that includes a three-month delay, part of a ploy to keep Vice President Joe Biden from agreeing to the measure.?

12:42 PM | Obama to speak at the White House at 1:30 p.m.

The White House just announced that President Obama will speak in the South Court Auditorium at 1:30 p.m.?

According to the schedule update, Obama will "deliver remarks at an event with middle class Americans," so it doesn't sound like he will be announcing a deal, although reports indicate that a deal is imminent.?

We'll be liveblogging Obama's announcement here >?

1:19 PM | REPORT: The two sides have reached an agreement on tax rates

CNBC and other news outlets are reporting that the two sides have reached an agreement on the threshold for extending the Bush tax cuts.?

Sam Stein and Ryan Grim have more details on the emerging deal here. Here are some of the key elements, according to their report:

1. The Bush-era tax cuts will be extended permanently to 39.6 percent for individuals earning more than $400,000 and households earning more than $450,000.?That same threshold would be applied for capital gains and dividends, with the top rate going up to 20 percent.?Estimated revenue: $370 billion over 10 years.?

2. ?The estate tax will go up slightly for estates over $5 million, from 35 percent to 40 percent. Estimated revenue: $25 billion in revenue over 10 years.?

3. Personal tax exemptions would be capped at $375,000 for individuals and $425,000 for households. Itemized deductions would be capped at $250,000 and $300,000 respectively. Estimated revenue: $185 billion over 10 years.?

4. A permanent patch in the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and a five-year extension of stimulus tax policies.?

The main sticking point is still what to do about the sequester. Stein and Grim report that both sides are still negotiating the cost of an extension of unemployment benefits and how to pay for a one-year resolution to postpone changes in Medicare payments to doctors.?

1:40 PM | Sen. John Cornyn, the Senate GOP's No. 2, tweets that Republicans have delayed a 2 p.m. meeting to discuss the latest cliff negotiations.

2:02 PM | Republicans aren't too pleased with Obama's political grandstanding...

Here's a tweet from Doug Heye, an aide to Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor:?

2:08 PM | Reports say Senate Democrats are rebelling against the deal

BuzzFeed reporter Rebecca Berg tweets that Democratic sources say liberal Senators, including Al Franken, Sherrod Brown, and others, marched into Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office this afternoon to voice their dissatisfaction with the deal.?

2:28 PM | Sen. John McCain is ripping into Obama for his fiscal cliff speech.

Just minutes after Obama's remarks, McCain launched into an epic rant on the Senate floor, slamming the President for not taking the fiscal cliff seriously.

"It's time to stop the cheerleading, it's time to stop the campaigning ? the President won," McCain said, slamming his podium for emphasis. "Isn't it time to govern?"?

Obama, McCain said, "laughs and jokes and ridicules Republicans. Why?"?

"That's not the way presidents should lead!"

2:50 PM | MCCONNELL: "We are very, very close" to a deal

Speaking on the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says that both sides are "very, very close" to a deal, and that both sides have reached an agreement on the threshold for raising income taxes.?

McConnell urged the Senate to move forward with the deal on taxes, while both sides continue negotiating on a deal to cut spending and avoid the sequester.

"Let's pass the tax relief portion now," McConnell said. "Let's take what's been agreed to and keep moving."?

"We?ll continue to work on finding smarter ways to cut spending but let?s not let that hold up protecting Americans" from tax hikes, he said.?

3:14 PM | Markets are surging after McConnell's announcement.

4:01 PM | It's official: We're going over the cliff

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's office just announced that no vote will be held tonight on the fiscal cliff.?

The House GOP conference will reportedly meet at 5 p.m.?

4:28 PM | DEM DRAMA: Fox News is reporting that Harry Reid hasn't signed off on the revenue deal

Fox News reporter Chad Pergram tweets:?

4:32 PM | Now Republican aides are saying a vote could still happen...

Several House Republican aides are now saying that a vote could still happen tonight, despite Cantor's announcement. Republican sources say members are being told to stay near the Capitol in case of a last-minute fiscal cliff vote.?

While it remains unlikely that a vote will be held tonight, it's worth noting that Republican House leaders moved Sunday to give themselves expedited authority to bring a vote to the floor in the event that the Senate passes a fiscal cliff bill Monday evening.

6:05 PM | Some Senators are still holding out hope for a vote tonight, but it doesn't look good...

Arizona Republican Sens. John McCain and John Kyl told reporters that Senate Republicans will likely agree to the deal, which would put off sequestration for two months.?

But while Kyl said he is still holding out hope for a vote tonight, McCain told reporters that he doesn't think there will be a vote tonight.?

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tweets that the Senate's "Morning Business" has been extended until 7 p.m.?

6:08 PM | Boehner tells House Republicans to "stick around and stay sober"

National Journal reports that House Speaker John Boehner has told his caucus to stay close by the Capitol in case the Senate votes on a fiscal cliff deal.?

He ""told us to stick around and stay sober ? semi-sober, anyhow,? Rep. John Carter told NJ.?

6:24 PM | Still no word from Senate Democrats on whether there will be a vote tonight...

6:37 PM | On CNN, Republican anti-tax guru Grover Norquist says he's cool with the deal.

6:45 PM | Biden will head to the Hill at 7 p.m.

News outlets are reporting that Vice President Joe Biden is planning on heading to Capitol Hill at 7 p.m. in order to break a tie if there is a tie on the still tentative fiscal cliff deal.

7:21 PM | Biden is meeting with Democrats to try to coax them into agreeing to a deal

Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO is urging Democrats not to agree to a deal that raises the tax threshold above $250,000 and allows Republicans to renegotiate on the debt ceiling.?

8:44 PM | CNN reporter Dana Bash tweets that Senate Democrats will caucus at 9:15 p.m.

Biden is expected to arrive at the Capitol around that time.?

8:53 PM | The Washington Post reports that Democrats and Republicans have finally reached a deal on the fiscal cliff

Via WaPo:?

According to Democratic aides, Vice President Biden is on his way to the Capitol to explain the details of the pact he negotiated with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and? a vote on the package could be held by 10:30 p.m., beating a midnight deadline. White House officials gave in on the last issue, how to handle estate taxes, yielding to GOP wishes, aides said. The House will begin considering the bill tomorrow, with final passage in the next day or two.

9:09 PM | White House officials report that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have signed off on a deal.

Biden has arrived at the Capitol to convince the rest of the Democratic caucus to do the same.?

10:41 PM | Dems still caucusing

Biden has been meeting with Democrats for over an hour in a private meeting. The longer this goes, the more nervousness there will be about whether Dems are really on board.

10:54 PM | Vote still coming tonight

Harry Reid says there will be a vote tonight, but that they're just waiting for a CBO score.

11:31 PM | LATE VOTE

NRO's Robert Costa says vote could occur between 1-3 AM.

1:29 AM | THE SENATE IS BACK IN SESSION

After a long wait, there's action again in the Senate.

Some buzz about a vote before 2 AM.

1:39 AM | REID: "The Senate soon will act."

1:42 AM | THE SENATE IS NOW VOTING

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/fiscal-cliff-live-2012-12

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