Sears will offer Black Friday deals 5 days early

With its announcement that it will offer Black Friday deals five days early, Sears wins the coveted spot of being the first retailer to open its "doorbuster" sales.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- In an effort to be first to offer Black Friday deals this year, Sears announced on Thursday that customers can shop the store's "doorbuster" discounts online starting Nov. 18, five days before the retail holiday.

The early deal-hunting is available for two days to members of Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500)' Shop Your Way program, a free membership program that customers can join online or in stores. Select items that the retailer is offering on Black Friday will be available through Nov. 19 at 11:59 p.m. CT.

"We're making the search for that perfect holiday gift easier, more convenient and rewarding this season," said Imran Jooma, senior vice president of Sears, in a press release.

Retailers have inched the start time to the major shopping day earlier and earlier this year. Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) announced on Wednesday that it would get the discount shopping started just after Thanksgiving dinner, with doors opening at 8 p.m. on Nov. 22.

But according to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group, Sears' move puts it first in line. And that's a position every retailer is gunning for.

"Retailers rely on the early consumer because their wallet is full," he said. "The early consumer is clearly the most profitable one and gives you longevity."

Stores run the risk of consumers becoming more discriminatory and more strategic if they wait too long to unveil discounts, Cohen said. Shoppers really start to compare prices once the excitement of early deals wears off and their wallets start to thin out.

Related: Holiday deals shaping up to be best in years

It's not just start times that are competitive. Retailers from Target (TGT, Fortune 500) to Toys R Us to Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) have all unveiled price matching programs designed to bring customers in early.

And Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and Kmart rolled out layaway plans and cut fees earlier than usual this year, hoping to lock in customers before they shop elsewhere.

Related: Hot toys on layaway leads to shortage

These ploys are driven by retailers' concerns that the slow economic recovery and high gas prices will make Americans less willing to open their wallets freely this holiday season.

Reports are already estimating that there will be less money to go around this year. The National Retail Federation is expecting only a 4.1% increase in holiday shopping this year, while Wells Fargo said Monday it expects only a 3.8% rise. Last year, shopping grew by 5.6%.

First Published: November 8, 2012: 5:53 PM ET

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Inflation slows in China

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- Chinese consumers paid 1.7% more for goods in October than they did a year ago, the government's National Bureau of Statistics reported Friday. That's down from a 1.9% increase in September.

Food prices, which account for more than a third of the inflation calculation, rose 1.8% during the month.

Household finances in China are especially susceptible to fluctuations in food prices, as many poor families spend large percentages of their income on food.

Still, inflation remains at very low levels. As recently as one year ago, China's consumer price index stood above 6% -- well north of the government's stated inflation rate target of 4%.

China's economy has grown at an average of around 10% a year for the past three decades, allowing the country to rocket past international competition to become the world's second largest economy. Along the way, China's markets have opened to the rest of the world, trade has increased dramatically and many of China's citizens have joined an emerging middle class.

But in October, the government reported that economic growth in China slowed to 7.4% in the third quarter. The deceleration sparked concern in some quarters, but more recent data indicate the economy has turned the corner -- especially in the crucial manufacturing sector.

China's political leaders are hard at work this week in Beijing, where the ruling Communist Party is appointing a new generation of leaders.

The week-long congress will set a new cast for the powerful Politburo Standing Committee -- a small group of officials who will wield tremendous power over China's tightly-controlled economy for years to come.

First Published: November 8, 2012: 9:13 PM ET

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Madoff controller pleads guilty

Bernie Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- Irwin Lipkin, the former controller of Bernie Madoff's investment company, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to falsifying documents and conspiring to commit securities fraud.

Preet Bharara, the Manhattan district attorney, described Lipkin in a statement as a "loyal foot soldier" to Madoff, his long-time employer.

The guilty plea covers charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, to falsify records and to make false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"By his own admission, Irwin Lipkin aided and abetted Bernard Madoff in his colossal Ponzi scheme for more than two decades," FBI Acting Assistant Director-In-Charge Mary Galligan said in a statement. "He regularly and routinely cooked the books, a recipe for concealing the largest investment fraud in history."

With the two-count guilty plea, Lipkin joins a growing list of Madoff associates facing long jail sentences.

Madoff's brother Peter, who worked at the firm with him, recently pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and falsifying investment records.

Related: Madoff ruined thousands, including his son

And in October, federal prosecutors filed new charges against five additional Madoff employees, saying that his massive scheme to defraud investors started in the 1970s, much earlier than previously alleged.

Last year, Lipkin's son Eric, who also worked for Madoff, pleaded guilty to criminal charges of conspiracy, fraud and making false statements.

Madoff pleaded guilty in March 2009 to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, cheating thousands of victims out of billions of dollars. He is currently serving a 150-year sentence in federal prison in North Carolina.

First Published: November 8, 2012: 11:12 PM ET

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Fiscal cliff: Boehner's opening gambit

House Speaker laid out his opening gambit for upcoming fiscal cliff negotiations with President Obama, saying Republicans will accept higher tax revenue if generated by growth.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- There's a big difference between raising tax rates and raising tax revenue. And the distinction may prove key in fiscal cliff negotiations between House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama over the next two months.

Boehner on Wednesday laid out in public his opening gambit for that deal-making.

House Republicans, Boehner said, are open to raising more tax revenue to reduce deficits -- a key Democratic requirement -- but only if it's done through tax reform that lowers income tax rates and in conjunction with entitlement reform.

Done right, Boehner said in public remarks in Washington, a reformed tax code can raise more revenue by curbing special interest loopholes and deductions and by generating economic growth.

That's very different than raising tax rates -- something that has been off the table for Republicans.

Obama, by contrast, has proposed making a down payment on debt reduction by letting the portion of the Bush tax cuts that apply to high-income households expire. That would mean the top two income tax rates would increase to 36% and 39.6% next year from 33% and 35% today.

(Related: Big business reacts to Obama re-election)

Boehner's remarks left several questions unanswered.

For one, how much of the new revenue would Republicans want raised through economic growth versus through curbing tax breaks?

Many tax experts believe smart tax reform can boost economic growth and thereby generate more revenue over time. But how much growth and when is unpredictable. And there's no guarantee that other factors that hurt economic growth won't undercut the revenue raised by tax reform.

In any case, the conventional way Congress assesses how much revenue a proposal would raise does not include potential economic growth effects of the kind Boehner expects, noted Jim Kessler, senior vice president for policy at the centrist think tank Third Way.

So an official "score" of revenue raised from such a tax reform plan would be most heavily reliant on the tax breaks that are curtailed.

And curbing tax breaks is not always an easy sell politically to either party, because it could mean many taxpayers end up paying more in taxes even when income tax rates are lowered, said Pete Davis, a former Capitol Hill staffer who now runs Davis Capital Investment Ideas.

Related: What Obama win means for fiscal cliff

In 1986, the last time the tax code was overhauled, lawmakers reduced rates and curbed tax rates for individuals. Most people got a net tax cut because lawmakers raised corporate tax rates a lot, Davis said.

This time, both Democrats and Republicans want to lower corporate tax rates, too. And if reform is to raise more revenue than the current system in great part by closing loopholes, more than half of taxpayers would likely see a net tax increase, according to Davis.

Given the country's long-term fiscal shortfalls, that may be necessary. But it will be a tough sell on Capitol Hill.

Nevertheless, Boehner's comments are a "promising start" to fiscal cliff negotiations, said Steve Bell, the economic policy director of the Bipartisan Policy Center.

First Published: November 7, 2012: 6:51 PM ET

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Wal-Mart unveils Black Friday deals

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Wal-Mart wants you to forget Black Friday this year. Instead, the store is kicking off some of its hottest "Black Friday" deals on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, beginning at 8 p.m.

The retailer says its best deals will be on electronics, tablets, TVs, gaming consoles, home appliances and toys. Last year, Wal-Mart rolled out its Black Friday deals at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. This year is the earliest that Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), the world's largest retailer, has ever jumpstarted its holiday sales bonanza.

Duncan MacNaughton, Wal-Mart's chief merchandising officer, said the decision was based on customer feedback. "Our customers told us they wanted to shop earlier this year, and go to bed earlier," he said.

MacNaughton also promised that Wal-Mart's Black Friday deals will be "some of the most aggressive" the retailer has ever had.

Wal-Mart is rolling out the discounts in three stages.

Phase 1: Beginning at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, the best in-store deals are on toys, games, home goods and clothing. These include Xbox 360 4GB with SkyLanders bundle for $149; Nintendo's Wii console for $89; a Crock Pot 6-quart slow cooker and Mr. Coffee programmable 12-cup coffee maker for $9.44 each; DVD and Blu-ray movies for $1.96 to $9.96 each; video games for $10 to $25 each; Barbie, Bratz and Disney Princess dolls for $5 each.

Related: Hot toys on layaway lead to shortages

Phase 2: At 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, the deals mostly focus on electronics. Among them, Samsung 43-inch, 720p plasma HDTV for $378; HP 15.6 -inch laptop with 4GB and 320GB hard drive for $279; Beats by Dr. Dre headphones for $179.95 and Samsung Smart ST195 digital camera for $99.

Related: Hottest holiday toys of 2012

Between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., Wal-Mart is also guaranteeing that customers who are already inside its store and waiting online will be able to buy three special deals -- Apple iPad2 16GB with Wi-Fi for $399 plus get a $75 Walmart gift card; Emerson®32" 720p LCD TV for $148 and LG Blu-ray Player for $38. MacNaughton said the Wal-Mart is offering that guarantee because it has enough inventory of those three products to meet the anticipated demand.

Phase 3: On Black Friday, Wal-Mart's deals, which roll out at 5 a.m., mostly focus on home goods, jewelry, tires and furniture.

Wal-Mart is also offering separate Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday deals on electronics, TVs and toys that will only be available online.

First Published: November 8, 2012: 12:04 AM ET

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Obama win boosts chances for tax hike on rich

President Obama has pushed to raise tax rates on the rich, and House Speaker John Boehner has pushed to keep them low. If the fiscal cliff is to be averted, they may need to compromise.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It won't happen without a fight -- potentially a really ugly fight. And it may even push the country over the fiscal cliff for a time.

But now that President Obama has been re-elected, and Democrats have retained control of the Senate, there's a far greater chance that high-income households will soon face higher tax bills.

"It seems likely," said Republican tax lobbyist Ken Kies of the Federal Policy Group. "I can't imagine President Obama will agree to extend the Bush tax cuts for everyone."

Indeed, senior administration officials have said that the president would veto any package that extends them for high-income taxpayers. (Related: California OKs tax hikes)

But that doesn't mean House Republicans will back down on their insistence that no one's tax rates go up.

On Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner held fast to the Republican line.

"We won't solve the problem of our fiscal imbalance overnight," he said. "And we certainly won't solve it by simply raising tax rates or taking a plunge off the fiscal cliff."

Obama staked his re-election campaign and his first term on the issue of asking the rich to "pay their fair share." And he has repeatedly called for the expiration of the portion of the Bush tax cuts that apply to households making more than $200,0000 ($250,000 if married).

But there may be more than one way to thread the needle on taxing the rich.

For instance, said Sean West, the U.S. policy director of the Eurasia Group, a potential compromise threshold for "rich" could be $1 million instead of $250,000.

Or lawmakers could agree to cap the value of some tax breaks on the rich. That may help clear a path to a short-term deal to avert the fiscal cliff and buy lawmakers time to work out a more comprehensive debt-reduction package that includes tax reform.

While higher taxes on the rich may be likely, "the question is how much more and what form it takes," said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, a GOP think tank.

In other words, a tax hike could come via higher tax rates (anathema to Republicans) or through base-broadening, which would limit tax breaks available to high-income households.

Since Obama overwhelmingly won the electoral vote but only narrowly captured the popular vote over Mitt Romney, the president and Boehner could engage in a "standoff of mandates," Holtz-Eakin said.

And what will be needed is principled compromise.

One way to move in that direction, he said, is if the president sends a full-fledged bill to the Hill laying out his debt-reduction proposals in detail. That could help start the process.

"The Hill needs air cover to say we don't want to do this but the president asked us," Holtz-Eakin said. And once lawmakers put in their own modifications, those who need cover can say they "fixed" it.

First Published: November 8, 2012: 2:05 AM ET

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Marijuana legalization on the ballot

Voters in Colorado, where these smokers celebrated the pro-marijuana holiday known as "420" earlier this year, are voting on legalization on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- On Tuesday, voters in three Western states are casting their ballots on an unorthodox way of raising tax revenue: marijuana legalization.

Colorado, Oregon and Washington each have statewide measures to legalize cannabis for recreational use, in the hope that it stimulates the economy and fills state coffers.

"Whatever state votes to legalize, they'll have become the first state to cross the legalization Rubicon anywhere in the U.S.," said Allen St. Pierre, spokesman for NORML, which advocates for the reform of marijuana laws.

Analysts of the legalization issue say that Washington's Initiative 502, to legalize and regulate marijuana for people aged 21 and older, has the best chance of passing. They say it proposes a relatively heavy taxation on the drug, which might make it appealing to budget hawks.

The Washington referendum calls for a 25% tax rate imposed on the product three times: when the grower sells it to the processor, when the processor sells it to the retailer, and when the retailer sells it to the customer.

It's not clear exactly how much tax revenue legalization would bring in. Estimates for the Washington measure run as high as $500 million -- a figure analysts say is overstated.

Related: California's marijuana industry under attack

The illicit market for marijuana is $300 million, according to an estimate by Mark A.R. Kleiman, a professor of public policy at the Luskin School at the University of California in Los Angeles.

Kleiman said the Washington referendum has the clearest tax structure of the three.

"Washington, unless the polls are completely off, is going to pass," said Kleiman, co-author of Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know.

Colorado's Amendment 64 is tougher to call, given poll results, say analysts, who are bearish on Oregon's Measure 80, because of the language of the referendum. They say it would provide too much power to the growers themselves in setting the rules of marijuana regulation.

But even if any of the measures pass, legalization won't be smooth sailing, given the fact that federal law criminalizes marijuana.

Related: California vote: Is death penalty too expensive?

"[The feds] will do whatever they can to interfere with marijuana legalization in any state," said Jeffrey Miron, senior lecturer of economics at Harvard University and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, where he has conducted economic studies on nationwide drug legalization.

Miron said that state legalization would likely lead to federal challenges in the Supreme Court. "I think it will be a mess," he said. "I think it will be awhile before it gets sorted out."

Voters in California, where medical marijuana is legal in certain cases, took up this issue in 2010. Proposition 19 could have garnered $352 million in annual tax revenue and saved $960 million in law enforcement costs, according to a Cato study that Miron co-authored.

But Prop 19, which would have allowed individual cities and districts to make their own laws regarding legalization, did not pass.

Voters in three other states -- Arkansas, Massachusetts and Montana -- are voting Tuesday on medical marijuana referendums.

First Published: November 6, 2012: 2:15 PM ET

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Tweeted your ballot? You may have broken the law

Some Instagram users uploaded their completed ballots to the photo-sharing service. While many states prohibit the practice, this Instagram shot comes from one that doesn't: Rhode Island.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- We live our lives online now, tweeting our thoughts and uploading Facebook photos everywhere we go. But if you snapped a quick picture of your ballot this Election Day, you may have broken a state law.

Most states expressly prohibit filming or photographing inside polling places, or disallow the sharing of one's own ballot. The rules vary widely from state to state, and so do the potential punishments -- but experts say actual prosecution is unlikely.

"We have 50 states, and they go in many different directions on this," says Jeff Hermes, director of the Citizen Media Law Project (CMLP) at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. "Some have no laws, some only concern particular times and places. And they all vary in terms of penalties attached."

The CMLP compiled a chart explaining the rules in each of the 50 states. Some provisions come from formal laws on the books, while other states have issued other types of official written statements. Penalties range from a misdemeanor charge -- punishable in some cases with a year in jail -- up to felony charges.

If you used Facebook (FB), Twitter or Instagram to share your vote, though, you probably won't be carted off to jail anytime soon. Hermes says he doesn't "know of any court cases involving such issues."

A few voters in states that do allow images reveled in their freedom. Rhode Island Alex Taylor praised his state's "super-simple and low-tech" ballot with an Instagram snap of his choices.

"Not illegal in Rhode Island," he responded when commenters warned him about ballot photos. "Thank you for your concern!"

For voters in states that prohibit photo-taking or sharing, Hermes says it's not worth the risk.

"If you're exercising your First Amendment rights and it's at the discretion of law enforcement, you're in a dangerous situation," he says. "That defense might hold up in a court case much later, but it's tough to use that in the field."

Before this Election Day many voters were unaware of the laws, which predate social media and were enacted largely to deal with problems like vote-buying. Many news outlets reported on the legal risks on Tuesday, raising awareness -- but also setting off a tweetstorm of misinformation.

Related story: Why you can't vote online yet

Singer Toni Braxton tweeted Tuesday afternoon: "Make sure you guys don't post pics of your ballot! They will be voided if you are caught, you don't have to prove who you voted for! :)"

CMLP's Hermes chuckled when asked about Braxton's claim, and noted that only Hawaii and Michigan have any type of laws with provisions that "perhaps a vote would not be counted if it were disclosed." Even then, he thinks it's not likely those laws would be used to prosecute someone Facebooking a ballot or to void their vote.

The First Amendment issues around ballot photos get blurry in an era when people are accustomed to using their digital tools to play watchdog.

For example, one Pennsylvania voter's YouTube video went viral on Tuesday after he captured an electronic voting machine that appeared to mark for Mitt Romney a vote he was trying to cast for President Obama. CNN later confirmed that the machine, located in Pennsylvania's Perry County, was recalibrated after the voter pointed out the problem.

That video would have a strong First Amendment defense, Hermes says, because it captured "an item of substantial public concern."

For most voters, though, he says it's best to follow the letter of the law.

"It's important to be aware of these laws because they exist, and it's important not to defy officials at the polling place," Hermes says. "But people also shouldn't be afraid of going to vote. All of these laws are designed to make your vote count."

Even without photos, plenty of people are broadcasting which ballot boxes they checked off. A Pew Research Center report released on Tuesday found that 22% of registered voters told people how they voted through posts on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

First Published: November 6, 2012: 4:34 PM ET

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World markets react to Obama victory

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- World markets struggled to find direction Wednesday as investors processed U.S. election results.

Asia markets were mixed in afternoon trading, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong flat, the Nikkei in Tokyo up 0.1% and the Shanghai Composite down 0.2%.

European markets will soon open, followed by exchanges in the U.S., where futures were pointing to a lower open.

In currency markets, the U.S. dollar weakened against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Some races are still close to call, but it appears the status quo was largely maintained in much of the American government. President Obama captured a second term in the White House, Republicans retained control of the House of Representatives and Democrats held their majority in the Senate.

With a static balance of power, market reaction is likely to be muted, according to analysts at UBS.

"We believe that a status quo scenario is largely baked into stock prices," the analysts wrote in a note to clients. "As such ... we expect stocks to have a modestly negative initial reaction."

Yet there may be some movement. An Obama victory may result in an equities selloff, according to analysts at Barclays, who cautioned that the reaction was likely to be "small and short-lived if it happens."

Wall Street was thought to favor Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger with close ties to the private equity and business communities. But a Romney victory may well have resulted in tighter monetary policy, as the candidate had expressed unease over the direction of Federal Reserve policy.

Investors will now turn their attention, with the election settled, to the so-called fiscal cliff.

Inaction would bring a sharp rise in taxes and deep cuts in federal spending set to take effect in January. Economists, including several members of the Federal Reserve, agree the economy is likely to fall into a new recession if this happens.

Some analysts, including those at UBS, predict the issues will be difficult to solve -- especially before the next class of lawmakers take power next year in Washington.

"In a scenario in which the political makeup inside the beltway is largely unchanged from last summer, we expect an intense battle," they said. "We would not be surprised if the most difficult long-term fiscal policy decisions are kicked down the road once again."

A failure to make progress on fiscal issues could have economic consequences, including possible credit rating downgrades.

First Published: November 6, 2012: 11:48 PM ET

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Gas stations coming back online post-Sandy

John Cerone fills his gas containers at a Valero gas station in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, on November 5, 2012, in Mastic, New York.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Gas stations in the New York metro area are gradually coming back online, providing hope to motorists and also those who are still without power from last week's Superstorm Sandy.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Monday that 24% of gas stations in the metro area did not have gasoline available for sale, one week after the deadly storm swept through the Northeast on Oct. 29.

That's compared to 27% of gas stations that were unavailable on Sunday and 67% on Friday.

Related: Gas lines continue after Superstorm Sandy

Long lines of cars have become a common sight at gas stations in New York City and New Jersey. Pedestrians holding gas cans are also queuing up, seeking fuel for the generators powering their homes.

Shipping problems at the ports, as well as traffic jams resulting from the loss of mass transit, have fouled up supply lines in the wake of the storm. In addition, many gas stations lost power during Sandy, and with it the ability to pump gas.

First Published: November 5, 2012: 5:34 PM ET

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