Bob Dylan blowin’ in the bagpipes

Dylan did not turn up at the centre’s shop himself but sent a representative to pick them up.”He’s always wanted to learn,” the spokesperson told Reuters. “It’s a lovely sound when they are played well, and something to be appreciated.”Dylan chose a set of R.G. Hardie pipes — one of the best makes — in the Piping Centre’s tartan along with a starter package including a chanter and a learning manual. She declined to say how much he paid.Dylan has often shown an affection for things Scottish. He has cited national poet Robert Burns as a big influence, has an honorary degree from St. Andrews University in Fife, and a number of his songs are rooted in Scottish folk tunes, including “The Times They Are A-Changing.”In a 1997 song “Highlands” he sang: “My heart’s in the Highlands wherever I roam, that’s where I’ll be when I get called home.”But for those who wince at the thought of Dylan’s raspy voice combining with the skirl of the pipes, it might a case of “There must be some way out of here.”

Group of US senators press for a refinance plan

Interest rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 3.94 percent for the first time last week, according to Freddie Mac. There are nearly 19 million loans guaranteed by both mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in which borrowers pay interest rates above 5.0 percent that could benefit from refinancing, the senators wrote.The bipartisan group, led by Senators Barbara Boxer and Johnny Isakson, sent the letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward DeMarco and National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling.The Obama administration is working with FHFA to ease rules to make refinancing more accessible under its two-year old initiative called the Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP. The program is open to borrowers whose loans are backed by Fannie and Freddie and are having trouble making loan payments since they owe a large portion of their home’s value.Specific changes to HARP are expected in a few weeks, Geithner told lawmakers on Capitol Hill.The group of lawmakers said they support improvements to HARP that address hurdles that have limited its success, “including representations and warranties, mortgage insurance, and high lender origination fees.”“All of these changes can be accomplished administratively and we urge that you take immediate steps to do so,” the letter stated.

New Issue-KEXIM adds 125 mln SFR to 2015 bond

Borrower Export Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM)Issue Amount 125 million Swiss francsMaturity Date March 30, 2015Coupon 2.375 pctIssue price 101.4540Reoffer price 101.004Spread 160 basis pointsUnderlying govt bond Over Mid-swapsPayment Date October 10, 2011Lead Manager(s) UBS & RBSRatings A1 (Moody’s)Full fees UndisclosedDenoms (K) 5Governing Law EnglishNotes The issue size will total 375 millionSwiss francs when fungibleISIN CH0125062270Customers can right-click on the code forperformance analysis of this new issueFor ratings information, double click onFor all bonds data, double click onFor Top international bonds newsFor news about this issuer, double click on the issuer RIC,where assigned, and hit the newskey (F9 on Reuters terminals)Data supplied by International Insider.

Obama says may have to “break up” jobs bill

The Democratic president was in Pittsburgh as part of a campaign to get lawmakers to pass his $447 billion proposal.It is the latest stop in a tour of swing states in advance of next year’s election to raise pressure on Republicans resisting big chunks of the jobs bill.”If they don’t pass the whole package we’re going to break it up into constituent parts,” Obama told a meeting of his Jobs Council.Obama was scheduled later to deliver remarks on the economy and the importance of passing the job plan.Republicans say Obama’s visit to a swing state like Pennsylvania was more about campaigning to keep his own job in next year’s election than fighting for American workers who are struggling with unemployment stuck above 9 percent since May.Obama’s council of top U.S. bosses, under the chairmanship of GE chief executive Jeffrey Immelt, delivered a report in which they proposed steps to foster U.S. innovation and make the country more attractive to foreign investment.But many of the report’s recommendations would require support from Republicans to become law — a potentially tall order in a divided Congress in which Republicans control the House of Representatives and Democrats hold the Senate.”There are certain ideas that are contained in this Jobs Council report that historically have received bipartisan support … We can’t wait for another election to start moving forward on these ideas,” Obama said.Obama’s 2012 re-election chances depend heavily on his ability to spur the sluggish economic recovery and revive a nearly stagnant job market.The president launched the jobs bill last month to persuade Americans that he had a plan to get them back to work.But the bill was headed for likely defeat in the Senate as his Democrats were expected to fall short of the 60 votes needed to clear a procedural hurdle.White House National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling said the Senate vote later on Tuesday would highlight how the Republicans were being obstructionist despite a public weary of high unemployment.However, he made clear the Obama administration’s fallback option would be to offer the jobs plan piecemeal.”If they (Republicans) choose not to give the support that will allow this to get 60 votes, if they choose to do that, then we’ll come back piece after piece,” he told CNBC news.Several Democrats and nearly every Republican are expected to vote against the bill 6 p.m. EDT/ (2200 GMT).Lawmakers could choose to pass pieces of the bill. A payroll tax cut is due to expire at the end of this year, and would impose an effective tax increase at a time wages have not been rising much at all. Obama’s bill would extend the tax cut and also extend unemployment benefits for long-term unemployed.Republicans said they had recommended breaking the proposal into smaller parts last month in a memo identifying areas where the two parties could find common ground.”The president and Senate Democratic leaders want to pretend that they are battling Republican intransigence, but — in fact — we are 100 percent focused on doing everything possible to help get our economy moving again,” said Michael Steele, spokesman for Republican House Speaker John Boehner.Despite a month of high-profile lobbying by the president, the bill could fail to get even a simple 50-vote majority in the chamber. Such an outcome would be an embarrassing setback for Obama’s top legislative priority.Republicans who control the House already have said they will not bring the full bill up for a vote.