Late Night News - Jan. 20

• 1) N.J. Revenue $1.2 Billion Less Than Corzine Target

“Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) — New Jersey’s tax revenue will be $1.2 billion less than projected in the current fiscal year, Governor Christopher Christie told reporters today.

Christie said his administration learned about the revenue shortage yesterday about an hour after he took the oath of office. Governor Jon Corzine’s administration refused to disclose the information in the transition period, Christie said.

“They wanted to drop this egg on me in my first day on the job,” Christie, 47, told reporters today in his first Statehouse news conference. “That’s OK. It’s my job. It’s my responsibility now. I’m the governor and I’ll deal with it in a way that won’t result in higher taxes.” ”

• 2) Senate panel to hold hearing on PBGC director nominee

“WASHINGTON—The Senate Labor, Health, Education and Pensions Committee on Wednesday will hold a hearing on Joshua Gotbaum, an operating partner at New York-based private equity fund Blue Wolf Capital Management L.L.C., whom President Barack Obama nominated in November to be the director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

Mr. Gotbaum’s hearing comes at a difficult financial time for the PBGC. In fiscal 2009, the agency’s deficit nearly doubled to $22 billion from $11.2 billion as the PBGC was hit by huge losses from failed plans it took over.

And more big losses could be on the way. The PBGC in November reported that its potential exposure to future losses from financially weak companies was about $168 billion, up from $47 billion the prior year.

In fiscal 2009, the agency took over 144 pension plans, up from 67 in 2008.”

• 3) Foreclosures could hit 3 million in 2010

“The U.S. Treasury Department was unsuccessful in recent negotiations with the country’s largest financial institutions to procure contracts requiring participation in a second mortgage modification program to reduce the number of housing foreclosures this year, which could hit record numbers.

Leading lenders, including Bank of America and Wells Fargo, currently hold a combined $1.05 trillion in home-equity debt, a figure so enormous it threatens to again disrupt housing stability and lead to 3 million foreclosures this year, after contributing to the 2.8 million in 2009, Bloomberg reports.”

• 4) No new loans this month?

Some Chinese banks have been asked to stop granting new loans for the remainder of January, the report cited the state-run China Securities Journal as saying.

• 5) Paul Krugman: “I’m Pretty Close To Giving Up On Obama”

“(Obama) seems determined to confirm every doubt I and others ever had about whether he was ready to fight for what his supporters believed in.”

• 6) Buffett: Cash Strapped Consumers Will Make Recovery Slow And Uncertain

And the stimulus was a flop.