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• Corporate Tax Slayers: Obama vs. Republicans
  

  SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- In an election-year showdown likely to hinge on the economy, President Obama and his Republican rivals are all fashioning themselves as corporate tax slayers.
  
  Obama on Wednesday unveiled his proposal to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 to 28 percent, ultimately higher than taxes under Mitt Romney’s plan, which would lower corporate rates drop to 25 percent.
  
  The current nominal U.S. corporate tax rate -- 35 percent -- is the highest in the world behind Japan.
  
  Rick Santorum, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich say they would each make the statutory rate even lower -- slashing it to 17.5, 15 and 12.5 percent respectively.
  
  But behind the top line numbers and a consensus that corporate rates are too high, differences in the fine print (or lack thereof) suggest bipartisan reform isn’t going anywhere fast.
  
  Cutting corporate tax rates as proposed will require significant offsets to avoid blowing a hole in the federal budget, experts say.  None of the candidates has fully or specifically articulated details on how their plans might address this.
  
  The Obama administration claims it would, “eliminate dozens of tax loopholes and subsidies” to cover the cost, including those for oil companies, hedge fund managers and private equity firms, but doesn’t list precisely which ones.
  
  Officials also say they would impose a new minimum tax on foreign earnings and end special preferences for companies that move work offshore, netting $250 billion more from corporations over the next 10 years.
  
  That some corporations would end up paying more in taxes than they do now is a non-starter for many Republicans.
  
  The Republican candidates, none of whom has advocated widespread elimination of loopholes or subsidies, favor extending additional tax credits to corporations.  The offset would come on deep cuts in government spending, they say.
  
  Romney advocates temporarily extending the investment tax credit and expensing allowance. He also favors a tax holiday for repatriation of foreign profits with an eventual elimination of the existing system.
  
  Santorum also favors expanding the research and development tax credit from 14 to 20 percent and allowing all companies to fully expense investments in new equipment.
  
  One tax policy priority that only Obama and Santorum have in common: special treatment in the corporate tax code for U.S. manufacturers.
  
  Santorum wants companies that manufacture goods in America not to be taxed at all. Obama doesn’t go as far, but favors a special lower effective tax rate of 25 percent for manufacturers.
  
  Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

  
  
  
• Realtor Report: Existing Homes Sales Rose 4.3% in January
  

  Stockbyte/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- Existing home sales increased 4.3 percent in January, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors.  Housing units were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million units; a warm winter could have been one reason homebuyers jumped the gun on the usually busy spring real estate season.
  
  The housing market has a long way to go before a full recovery.  Home prices are still falling and foreclosure sales make up a large part of total sales.
  
  Here are some positive signs from Wednesday’s report:

  • Sales of previously occupied homes rose to the highest pace in nearly two years.
  • The number of previously owned homes on the market dropped to 2.31 million, the fewest since March 2005. At the current sales pace, it would take 6.1 months to sell those houses, the lowest since April 2006. The glut of inventory has been a big problem in the housing market.
  • There has been an improvement in sales in three of the past four months.

  Sales still remain well below normal pre-recession levels. Foreclosure-related sales were more than a third of the total.
  
  Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

  
  
  
• Google to Sell 'Smart' Glasses by Year's End?
  

  KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- Glasses that function like a smartphone? Google plans to introduce what appear to be the specs of the future by year’s end, The New York Times reports.
  
  According to unnamed sources, which the Times described as Google employees, the glasses will be Android-based and include a small screen inches from the wearer’s eye.  The glasses also will be sold to the public for $250 to $600.
  
  “We are not going to comment on rumor or speculation,” a Google spokesman told ABC News via email.
  
  The glasses will reportedly have a 3G or 4G connection, several sensors and a built-in camera to watch the world in real time and relay information about locations and friends nearby.
  
  Seth Weintraub, a blogger for 9to5Google, reported on the glasses in December and February. Earlier this month, he reported that the display on the Google glasses would be on just one side and that the current navigation included head tilting in order to scroll and click.
  
  Rob Enderle, the head tech analyst at his Enderle Group, said head-mounted displays like Google’s glasses had been in the market for years. He said, however, that earlier versions like a pair made by Sony nearly 10 years ago were $25,000, heavy and had a power supply five times that of today’s smartphone. In addition, many of them also put the computer screen directly in front of the wearer’s face, rendering one blind to the outside world.
  
  “Google’s glasses are tied to something we call ‘augmented reality,’” Enderle told ABC News via email. “This takes virtual information and overlays it onto a real-world image.”
  
  “This could allow you to see in the dark, pick out things like powerlines, for instance, if you were flying a helicopter low or see an approaching Starbucks long before you got clear line of site,” he said.
  
  “I think this will be the most exciting technology product release this year,” Weintraub wrote.
  
  Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

  
  
  
• Honda Recalls 45,000 Vehicles to Fix Faulty Liftgate Struts
  

  Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Honda is recalling 45,747 Odyssey minivans due to a problem with the model’s liftgate.
  
  “[T]he gas-filled struts that help to raise and support the liftgate of vehicles equipped with a power liftgate system may be prone to early life failures due to a manufacturing flaw,” Honda said in its recall notice. “The flaw can result in a leak of the pressurized gas, leading to reduced strut performance.”
  
  The company says the potential malfunction -- affecting certain 2008-2009 models -- could cause the vehicle’s liftgate to close unexpectedly, posing a risk to those around it.
  
  Honda says its dealers will fix the problem at no charge.
  
  The recall is expected to begin around March 13.
  
  Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

  
  
  
• Microsoft Attacks 'Moonlighting' Google with Viral Video
  

  Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(REDMOND, Wash.) -- In an amusing viral marketing video, Microsoft has gone on the offensive, attacking Google Docs, the search giant’s collaborative, online word processing tools.
  
  The video offensive is an effort to promote its own Office 365 service.
  
  In the video -- set to a spoof of the song from the Bruce Willis comedy series Moonlighting -- Googen Apperson, a Google Docs salesman, tries to convince an executive to use the software in her organization. But she points out alleged flaws in the Docs service, including how it doesn’t work when you don’t have an Internet connection. She is interrupted when an R&B singer breaks into song about how Google killed off a number of services.
  
  “Google killed of Gears and Wave/They buried to Buzz the same way/If Google Apps meets its grave, your business is hosed,” he sings.
  
  Microsoft calls it Googlighting and explains in its accompanying blog post that it is, “what happens when the world’s largest advertising business tries to sell productivity software on the side.”
  
  “If these concerns and current revelations about Google’s privacy policies have you troubled, this may be a great time to check out Office 365, the online collaboration solution for businesses who don’t want their documents and mail read,” the video states.
  
  Microsoft has also called out Google for circumventing privacy policies. Google did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the new video.

  Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio