Finance ministry to reopen assessments of taxpayers with secret foreign assets

NEW DELHI: The finance ministry is considering reopening assessments of taxpayers found to possessundisclosed foreign assets and bank accounts to up to 16 years as against six years now.

"We are examining allowing opening up of reassessment to up to 16 years to verify older information and establish money trail, it is necessary to have a provision for opening of older assessment," said a finance ministry official.

A government panel on black money has pitched for reopening assessments of such taxpayers as part of the measures to tackle black money. The official explained that such a law will also help the government secure information under its revised tax treaties such as the one with Switzerland.

iPhone 4S pre-orders sell out

Pre-orders for the iPhone 4S sold out in the first day of availability, according to shipping estimates on Apple's Web site.

The iPhone 4S went on pre-order in the predawn hours on Friday. Carrier AT&T called it its most successful iPhone launch ever, with more than 200,000 orders in the first 12 hours.

Users looking to pre-order the iPhone 4S now are seeing shipping estimates of one to two weeks.

• STORY: Apple announces iPhone 4S

• COLUMN: iPhone 4S: Cool camera, voice control

Customers can still get an iPhone 4S this coming Friday, though, if they wait in line at an Apple Store or at other retail partners.

Those who were able to pre-order the phone Friday will get it delivered to them this coming Friday.

The ordering process was marred with some of the hiccups that have become typical for an iPhone launch. Customers struggled to connect to Apple.com, especially when the site tried to connect to the carriers' servers to access the buyer's account.

Apple used a new triage system that offered a confirmation to customers that an iPhone had been reserved for them but said that they'd have to come back to finish their order when the account could be accessed.

Verizon customers reported an easier time ordering through the carrier's Web site on Friday morning.

The iPhone 4S features a better camera, faster processor and Siri, a new digital personal assistant. It is available to customers on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.

Apple's next mobile operating system, iOS 5, will be released Wednesday as a free download.

Pelosi Supports Occupy Wall Street Movement

House Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she supports the growing nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement, which began on the streets of downtown New York City in mid-September.

"I support the message to the establishment, whether it's Wall Street or the political establishment and the rest, that change has to happen," said Pelosi in an exclusive interview with ABC News "This Week" anchor Christiane Amanpour. "We cannot continue in a way this is not relevant to their lives."

Pelosi sees the protestors' anger stemming from unemployment, which remains above 9 percent.

Pelosi added that the failure of TARP, commonly known as the bank bailout, to add liquidity to the Main Street marketplace is fueling Americans' animosity towards Wall Street.

"The thought was that when we did that [pass TARP], there would be capital available and Main Street would benefit from the resources that went largely to Wall Street," said Pelosi. "That didn't happen. People are angry."

President Obama is hoping to remedy the struggling economy with his proposed $447 billion American Jobs Bill, which is a combination of tax breaks and spending on infrastructure. Obama has touted the bill as the country's insurance policy against a double-dip recession.

"We've needed jobs for awhile," Pelosi added. "What he [the president] is proposing is job creating. And it's really important for him to explain what this is about, or at least keep saying it over and over."

The proposed American Jobs Bill is still awaiting a vote on the Senate floor on Tuesday. Pelosi said she thinks that the bill will get the majority of Senate Democrats' support. But with a few Democrats still on the fence and significant Republican opposition, it's anticipated that the bill will not pass.

"Whether one or two members, Democrats, vote for it or not, we'll see," said Pelosi. "But they have to be allowed to bring the bill up. And the obstruction is not from the Democrats, it's from the Republicans."

The gridlock on Capitol Hill has the vast majority of Americans dissatisfied with Congress. Only 14 percent of Americans approve of Congress' performance, according to the latest Washington Post/ABC news poll released last Wednesday.

Pelosi said she includes herself in the group of Americans dissatisfied with Congress.

"Count me among those ... who object to the way Congress is conducting itself," said Pelosi. "We have a responsibility to try to find common ground."

At times, such common ground can seem to be a long shot. Last Wednesday, Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., called the Occupy Wall Street protest a "growing mob."

Pelosi lashed back at Cantor, saying that American democracy allows for public expression.

"How they characterize someone who may disagree with them, that says more about them," said Pelosi.

Pelosi: America in 'Abusive Relationship' With China

Pelosi affirmed her strong support for the bipartisan China Currency Bill, which is designed to take away benefits for Chinese products because of China's undervaluing of its own currency.

A final vote on the legislation is scheduled for Tuesday.

In an effort to balance what supporters see as an unfair advantage for Chinese manufacturers and a loss for U.S. companies, Pelosi said she wants to put an end to China's manipulation of its currency.

"We're in an abusive relationship with China when it comes to trade -- whether it's the policy of our intellectual property, lack of market access for our products [or] manipulation of their currency," said Pelosi.

She added that the manipulation of currency has a direct impact on the U.S. economy and hinders how well American products compete in a global market.

"We have to make sure that we're not losing a million jobs on a technicality of manipulating currency," Pelosi said. "They certainly are looking out for their workers. We have to look out for ours."

Economy adds 103,000 jobs, but it's not enough

WASHINGTON

The jobs crisis isn't getting worse. But it isn't getting much better, either.

The economy added just enough jobs last month to ease fears of a new recession. But hiring is still too weak to bring down unemployment, which has been stuck around 9 percent for more than two years.

The nation added 103,000 jobs in September, an improvement from the month before, the Labor Department said Friday. But the total includes 45,000 Verizon workers who were rehired after going on strike and were counted as job gains.

Even setting aside that technicality, the job gains weren't enough to get the economy out of its soft patch. It takes about 125,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth. For September, the unemployment rate stayed stuck at 9.1 percent.

"Well, the sky is not falling just yet," Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors, said in a note to clients. But there was nothing great about the report, he added. "It's incredible how low our sights have been set."

On one hand, the unemployment report was encouraging for economists. Some of them had feared the nation would lose jobs in September, raising the risk of a painful second recession.

But everyday Americans can't take much solace from it, either. The Great Recession has been over for almost two and a half years, and while corporate profits and the stock market have bounced back in that time, unemployment is still high.

There are 14 million people counted as unemployed in the United States. An additional 9.3 million are working part time and would rather work full time. And 2.5 million more have simply given up looking for a job.

The Labor Department said the economy added more jobs than first estimated in July and August. The government's first reading had said the economy added zero jobs in August.

While the report was clearly better than feared, it also showed the economy is not gaining much momentum, said Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets.

"It moves you away from the ledge," he said.

It was also discouraging news for President Barack Obama, who will almost certainly have to wage his 2012 campaign under the highest unemployment of any president running for re-election since World War II.

Gene Sperling, a White House economic adviser, said the administration was "slightly comforted" that the jobs figure came in better than expected. But he said it was not good enough.

Obama, adopting a combative tone as he waits for the Republicans to settle on a nominee to oppose him, has challenged Congress to get behind his $447 billion jobs bill or risk being run out of Washington.

The Obama plan aims to jolt the economy but cutting taxes and increasing spending on schools, roads and other public projects. He has proposed paying for it in part by raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations.

Obama's Republican rivals are trying to persuade voters that he is to blame for high unemployment and the sluggish economy. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told Fox News Channel on Friday that Obama is criticizing Congress simply because he is "looking for someone to blame."

The report sent the stock market higher. The Dow Jones industrial average was up about 90 points, slightly less than 1 percent, at midday. In the bond market, yields rose, another sign that investors welcomed the news.

There were some signs that business activity is increasing. The temporary help industry added almost 20,000 jobs, and the length of the average workweek increased slightly. Wages also rose a bit.

More hiring and better pay could add up to more consumer spending. That accounts for 70 percent of the economy. When people spend more money, it generates demand for businesses, which hire more workers.

The private sector added 137,000 jobs, up from August but below July's revised total. The economy lost 34,000 government jobs. Local governments in particular cut teachers and other school employees.

Among the industries that added jobs in September were construction, retail, temporary help services and health care. Manufacturing cut jobs for a second straight month.

The economy returned in September to something closer to the job growth of earlier this year. In February, March and April, the nation added an average of more than 200,000 jobs a month.

But then manufacturing slowed, consumer confidence crashed, and Washington was caught in gridlock -- first over whether to raise the nation's borrowing limit and then on how best to get the economy going.

Meanwhile, hiring slowed dramatically. The economy added only 53,000 jobs in May and 20,000 in June. The figures out Friday showed hiring improved in July, slowed slightly in August, and improved again in September.

Still, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress earlier this week that the economic recovery was "close to faltering," with slow job growth dragging down consumer confidence.

Bernanke, speaking in unusually blunt terms, said he could not blame Americans for being frustrated at the financial industry "for getting us into this mess" and at Washington for not coming up with a strong response.

August's figures were revised higher to show a gain of 57,000 jobs, up from the previous estimate of zero. July was revised to 127,000 jobs, from 85,000.