This morning, the U.S. Senate approved, in an 89-10 vote, a two-month extension of the payroll-tax break and federal unemployment insurance. The Senate's 89-10 vote will allow workers to continue paying a reduced 4.2% of their earnings to fund Social Security for the first two months of 2012.
Senate leaders agreed to include a provision requiring President Barack Obama to make a decision within 60 days on whether to move forward with TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL crude-oil pipeline.