High water: The Mississippi River is high enough at New Orleans to prompt daily levee inspections and a ban on subsurface work within 1,500 feet of a levee. The corps and local levee districts have been checking levees from Baton Rouge to Venice, at the river’s mouth, twice a week since Jan. 9. Local levee districts are also no longer allowed to grant waivers from a ban on subsurface work within 1,500 feet of levees south of Baton Rouge. Read the full story.
How much? Americans are projected to inherit $764 billion this year and will pay an average tax of 2.1% on that income, New York University law professor Lily Batchelder estimates in a paper published this morning, Bloomberg reports. By contrast, the estimated tax on work and savings is 15.8%. Read the full story.
Values rise: U.S. home prices rose at a faster pace in November than the previous month as lower mortgage rates and a sharp drop in available properties have pushed would-be buyers to bid up home values. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 2.6% in November from a year ago, up from a 2.2% annual gain in October. Read the full story
